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I do love knock knock jokes. (Janus Mid S2)

4 0 35,522
by Covertactician updated March 11, 2015

Smite God: Janus

Build Guide Discussion 6 More Guides
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Janus Build

Start

Build Item Vampiric Shroud Vampiric Shroud
Build Item Lost Artifact Lost Artifact
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion

Core Items

Build Item Doom Orb Doom Orb
Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti

Damage Items

Build Item Chronos' Pendant Chronos' Pendant
Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Polynomicon Polynomicon
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon

Defence Items

Build Item Bulwark of Hope Bulwark of Hope
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor
Build Item Void Stone Void Stone

Active Items

Build Item Combat Blink Combat Blink
Build Item Heavenly Agility Heavenly Agility
Build Item Purification Beads (Old) Purification Beads (Old)
Build Item Aegis Amulet (Old) Aegis Amulet (Old)

Situational Items

Build Item Spirit Robe Spirit Robe
Build Item Divine Ruin Divine Ruin
Build Item Magi's Cloak Magi's Cloak

Full Build Example

Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Shoes of the Magi Shoes of the Magi
Build Item Warlock's Staff Warlock's Staff
Build Item Rod of Tahuti Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Magi's Cloak Magi's Cloak

Janus's Skill Order

Portal

1 X Y
Portal
2 15 16 18 19

Unstable Vortex

2 A B
Unstable Vortex
1 4 6 7 9

Threshold

3 B A
Threshold
3 8 10 11 12

Through Space and Time

4 Y X
Through Space and Time
5 13 14 17 20
Portal
2 15 16 18 19

Portal

1 X
Janus creates a portal in the world. If placed on a wall, the portal will create a passage through to the other side of the wall that Janus or any ally may use. The portal may be entered from either side, but closes after 1 use.

If placed on the ground, enemies and Janus will fall into the portal, being teleported into the air above it. Enemies take damage upon landing, and are considered banished during the fall.

Ability Type: Circle, Banish, Damage
Damage: 80 / 130 / 180 / 230 / 280 (+60% of your Magical Power)
Banish Duration: 1.5s
Wall Portal Duration: 5s
Wall Portal Range: 100
Range/Radius: 55/10
Cost: 70
Cooldown: 12s
Unstable Vortex
1 4 6 7 9

Unstable Vortex

2 A
Janus creates two tethered unstable portals, far too small to fit into, and flings them forward dealing damage to enemies in their path. Enemies hit by both portals take 15% damage on the second hit.

Ability Type: Area, Damage
Damage: 110 / 175 / 240 / 305 / 370 (+80% of your Magical Power)
Range: 70
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90
Cooldown: 9s
Threshold
3 8 10 11 12

Threshold

3 B
Passive: Janus increases the movement speed of himself and allies each time they go through a portal or over a Threshold (max. 2 Stacks).

Active: Janus opens a multi-dimensional rift. Enemies who pass over the rift are slowed, and marked with Phase. Targets in Phase take additional Magical scaling damage when hit by Janus' damaging abilities.

Ability Type: Line, Buff
Phase Slow: 25%
Additional Scaling: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60
Rift Duration: 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 4.5 / 5s
Movement Speed: 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 / 20% per Portal
Passive Duration: 5s
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 13s
Through Space and Time
5 13 14 17 20

Through Space and Time

4 Y
Passive: Janus gains increased % Magical Penetration.

Active: Janus becomes CC Immune and blasts a ball of multi-dimensional energy across the battlefield, burning a portal into every surface it encounters within range 500. These portals last 10s, may be used by allies, and do not vanish after the first use.

Enemies hit take damage, increasing in Magical scaling the further the energy travels. Enemy gods cannot take more than 75% of their maximum Health as damage.

Ability Type: Line, Damage
Damage: 300 / 375 / 450 / 525 / 600 (+80% of your Magical Power)
Distance Scaling: 100% of your Magical Power at distance greater than 800
% Magical Penetration: 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 / 20%
Range: Global
Cost: 100
Cooldown: 110s

Introduction



Janus


Hello and welcome to my guide for Janus the Roman God of Portals and Transitions. Today I will give you a insight on how I play Janus, how to clear waves, how to build, and how to react in team fights. Lets get started shall we?

A little bit about me, I'm a coach for a amateur eu team and generally play Janus a fair bit. That's what encouraged me to make a build for him.

Pros and Cons


Pros


Good Burst
High Utility
Global Presence ultimate
Decent CC
CC Immune ultimate
Mobility City
Team ultimate



Cons


Portal is difficult to land (Walls get in the way in small areas)
Unstable Vortex is the pure damage of Janus's kit (Important to land)
Skills can throw off teammate's timing.
Squishy



Item Explanation


Starter build


You're picking this up for the sustain in lane. Since Janus has really good waveclear, it means you will be able to get the most out of this passive, and stay in lane longer.

Pretty standard start, doing this allows you to build into Doom Orb straight away, or after your boots and as I mention below, Doom Orb is such a brilliant item right now on any mid, and its defiantly something you should pick up.

Picking up these potions will allow you to take harass, and stay in lane longer. You could also opt for a Ward over a Mana Potion but I'd base that decision on the enemy jungler. If the enemy jungler is a god like Fenrir, Loki, or Mercury who can get a early gank on midlane which could result in a kill, then a ward or two might not be a bad idea.



Core Items


Disclaimer, only build the first 2 core items in order. The rest is your choice and dependant on the enemy. I will have example builds at the end.

Most gods need boots, and it isn't different for Janus. Extra movement speed for rotating, extra power, and CDR or More power.

The question is, which do I get? The power boots or the CDR boots? You can choose. It normally depends on your team set up. A majority of Janus's cooldown's are long, but do you want to get some more power early for more damage? Or be able to use your abilities more? Normally I'd pick CDR over power boots as its so useful to have lower cooldowns over a extra bit of power, but it's your choice.

This is such a strong item right now. With it's cost being lowered, it is so efficient with even little stacks. Like if you have more than around 15 stacks then Doom Orb is worth the money. The extra stacks on top just help you get even more bang for your buck, and if you're in a winning situation can help you snowball/stay ahead. So don't worry when you lose half your stacks, it's worth it anyway. Make sure to pick this item up.

This item is necessary on most mages, and it defiantly is on Janus. 25% more magical power, more MP5 and a LOT of power. Pick this up, defiantly.



Power Items


Remember when I said I you should pick up some cdr later if you take pen boots? Well this is the item to get. Offers a decent amount of power, high cooldown reduction and a large amount of MP5. You could pick up Breastplate of Valor over this, but it depends on the situation. Are you behind in experience? You could pick Breastplate of Valor up. Three physicals destroying you? You could pick Breastplate of Valor up.

Ah... Poly. Even after its nerf it is still a decent on most mages, and good on a few. Janus, is one of those few. Considering Janus's abilities all lead up to one massive combo, having poly can really increase his burst for the better.

I consider this a must for most mages, and Janus is no exception. That extra pen will get you through enemy protections in a second. I'd only not pick this up if your team consists of 1 magicial. Otherwise, pick this up. You may also be wondering, what about Spear of the Magus? Yeah he does have a really strong combo, but the thing is late game you most likely wont be doing that combo. Landing Janus's Portal is hard enough by itself, but to do it successfully in a team fight isn't easy. Hence why I get Obsidian Shard over Spear of the Magus. If you insist on picking it up though I wont complain, since it is viable early-mid.



Defence Items


This is only something I'd pick up if the enemy has 3-5 high damaging mages, and that is a very rare occurance. But if it does happen, don't be afraid to pick this up as the passive may save you from the burst.

This item is sort of dependent on what the enemy team has, if they have like 3-5 physical gods I'd pick this up over Chronos' Pendant. Its gives you a large amount of mana, good protections and a large chunk of cdr.

Are 2-3 mages on the enemy team dealing a lot of damage to you? Then picking up this item may be worth while. It'll give you some power, some protection and some penetration.



Situational Items


Ah... This item. A love of mine, even before the buffs. This item is good against any type of cc comp, and with magi's blessing being much weaker, I really prefer this item over magi's. Its so good for its cost, offering cdr and defence and it's defiantly always a option.

Does the enemy have a decent amount of healing on their team? Like a Hercules and Aphrodite? They do? Then yeah, pick this up. You already have a large amount of burst, but having this item will make sure they can't heal up much after you have delivered it to them.

Magi's blessing Don't you just hate it when the enemy team has a high amount of cc and you can't do anything? That's why magi's blessing is there. I'd only pick this up against a high CC team, as this will allow you to go in a teamfight and deliver your combo without being CCed for a duration. Its only works once every 45s though, so be careful.




Actives


This is probably the active which I've least bought because of its 3 minute cooldown. Yeah, it could save you. But so could Purification Beads, or Greater Sprint. There is just much better options for escapes, but if their team has large cc, this may be better than sprint overall, but not Purification Beads.

Being able to make your entire team faster for 6s is a great thing. It can help in retreats, engaging and sometimes even healing. That's right, Heavenly Agility increases healing by 25%, making it great if you have a healer on your team such as Hel or Aphrodite. In most cases I'd pick this up, 40% extra speed with slow immunity is just too good to pass up.

Best active in the game. Completely remove cc? Check. Lower Cooldowns? Check. Annoying piece of ****? Check. This active has it all. It'll let you escape, survive a Ullr combo, and lower your cooldowns for kills. A must have most of the time.

This isn't a active I pick up on a regular basis, but is sometimes needed if the enemy team has I'm a Monster, Searing Pain and Regurgitate. I'm pretty much trying to say if the enemy has a lot of burst, picking this up might just save your day.


Level Order


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20
I'll explain what I level in what order and why.


Unstable Vortex


ALWAYS level this to max first, it is your wave clear and your main damage. You need this to clear waves efficiently and get large amounts of poke off.


Threshold


This should be your second thing to max. Why? You get so much utility if you level this ability over your Portal. Levelling up portal only adds some damage, levelling up Threshold however will increase slow, speed, scaling and duration.


Through Space and time


You should only level this past rank 1 when you have maxed Unstable Vortex and Threshold. This is because levelling this up only adds a small amount of damage, and most the time you won't actually hit a snipe anyway, and will be using it more or less for the portals themselves. However, getting the damage on this is more useful then getting the damage on portal.


Portal


Level this up last, as it only adds a bit of damage and nothing else.


Gameplay


Early Game


Early game isn't much of a problem for Janus. As long as you hit your entire Unstable Vortex the waves should get damaged pretty heavily. Focus on clearing then poking. You should be safe to use your Portal for clearing the wave and poke while the jungler is in solo lane, but try to use it less when the jungler is missing.

Level 5, Through Space and Time is up. If you are pushing out the enemy, but other lanes are getting pushed in charge up that ultimate and prepare to rotate. Assuming your team know you are coming, you should be able to get a decent gank off and maybe a kill if you play it right. If you are the one getting pushed in, just farm. Wait for your laner to back/rotate then rotate if possible. Try and make advantage of your ultimate.

Mid Game


Mid game is going to be when rotations and teamfights are starting to happen. Your laner will start to rotate, and so will the rest of the team. Keep in mind that this part of the game is where gold fury will be focused upon. You've got to take advantage of your mobility, I mean, 3 movement abilities should allow you to go anywhere you want.

Look for ganks, enemy duo pushed up? Try and get your jungler to you then use your ultimate to go over. Remember multiple people can use your ultimate, so you can send in a army to one area. You can always rotate by yourself for a kill, but its always better with teammates.

Ontop of that make sure you are picking up both normal Wards and Sentry Wards. Knowledge is power. Ward offensively if you have towers, and defensively if not. Sentries should be placed on in both defensive and offensive areas, as well as the gold fury.

When it comes to the teamfights I'm going to tell you to take care with the abilities you use. If you use Portal to set up Unstable Vortex then you are left without your escape. Take this in mind when fighting, this is my main reason why I wait to level up my Through Space and Time 2nd last as I will mainly keep it for escapes and initiation, not the damage.

Late game

Teamfights and objective sieging. At this point in the game you will be grouping for towers, and looking to take one the biggest objectives in the game, the fire giant. Now, make sure to keep this area lit up with wards, as you want to know when the enemy are near by it. One massive advantage of Janus is the fact you can ultimate your entire team over 100 feet. What does this mean? This means your entire team can be in duo lane, make the enemy sit under phoenix/tower then ult over to the fire giant and take it, after all they cant go as fast as you. Or if the enemy is attacking it you can Through Space and Time your entire team to it.

What I'm trying to say overall is yes your ultimate does a lot of damage if you hit it, buts it's mobility is more important.

Make sure to note that if you use Portal for poke you are losing your escape, and that might be vital to the situation you are in. Make sure to keep spamming your Unstable Vortex though, just through it out when you can and don't focus too hard on hitting both vortexes.

Skills


Passages



Any time Janus transitions through a portal or over a threshold he becomes aged and wizened, gaining 25% additional magical scaling on his next ability cast.

My thoughts


Portal



Janus creates a portal in the world. If placed on a wall, the portal will create a passage up to 100 ft through to the other side of the wall that Janus or any Ally may use. The portal lasts 5s and may be entered from either side, but closes after 1 use.

If placed on the ground, enemies and Janus will fall into the portal, being teleported into the air above it. Enemies take magical damage upon landing, and are considered banished for 1.5s during the fall.

My thoughts


Unstable Vortex



Janus creates two unstable portals, far too small to fit into, and flings them forward, dealing magical damage to enemies in their path. Enemies hit by both portals take 30% damage on the second hit.

My thoughts


Threshold



Passive: Janus increases the movement speed of himself and allies by 10/15/20/25/30% for 5s each time they go through a portal or over a Threshold (max 2 stacks).

Active: Janus opens a multi-dimensional rift that lasts for a few seconds. Enemies who pass over the rift are slowed and marked with Phase for 3s. Targets in Phase take additional magical scaling damage when hit by Janus' damaging abilities.

MY THOUGHTS



Through space and time



Janus blasts a ball of multi-dimensional energy across the battlefield, burning a portal into every surface it encounters within range 500. These portals last 10s, may be used by allies, and do not vanish after the first use.

Enemies hit by the energy ball take damage, increasing in magical scaling the further the energy travels. Janus is immune to crowd control while firing.

MY THOUGHTS

Matchups



Agni
DIFFICULTY
HARD


Agni is a very hard god to lane to against in any match up. He has the early wave clear with the dash, allowing him to clear a wave and then harass you, then when he stops using his dash to clear he will clear the wave with his Flame Wave and then harass you with his Rain Fire. You have to try and play this lane safe early, and rotate a large a amount mid game.
Tips and Tricks

There is a few things you can do to make his life a bit harder. For instance, at the beginning of the game you can opt to pick up Portal over Unstable Vortex. Why? While it still is a hard thing to do, if you place a portal and he dashes over it, it'll end the dash. Destroying his early wave clear. You also have to try and farm from under tower, using your Unstable Vortex at max distance if possible.



He bo
DIFFICULTY
MEDIUM


He Bo hits hard. He will harass you with Water Cannon and Waterspout, and can easily end a low health character with his combos. However, his wave clear is still weak early to mid game, with his Water Cannon not being able to hit a full wave.

Tips and Tricks

Use your wave clear to hit only the front wave, and hit He Bo you will still nearly outclear him. So really, don't be afraid to harass him back. If you use your combo on him most of his health will disappear, as he is quite squishy with barely any escape outside his Crushing Wave. Try and focus on clearing the wave early then harassing him after, and when it comes to mid game straight up focus him down.



Isis
DIFFICULTY
MEDIUM


Early game harass. Eset will harass you hard early. She does the same as Agni, she can damage a wave quite heavily early. Allowing for her to hit level 2 and get Spirit Ball, throw it in your face, and then have Wing Gust up to hurt you more. She'll mainly be clearing waves then trying to harass you, but if she does that she'll get hurt badly herself.

Tips and Tricks

Portal. Like with Agni if you use your Portal it can stop her wind gust, destroying her wave clear. Remember this is still hard to achieve however. Either way, try to keep the harass on her using your 1 2 combo. But remember, if you get Dispel Magic'd, you'll then find yourself with a Spirit Ball and Wing Gust in your face. This is all the burst she can put out, so after she has achieved this combo you can actually try and aggress on her as she'll only have her ultimate up. Remember to take her cooldowns into mind when doing this.



Kukulkan
DIFFICULTY
EASY



Kukulkan's playstyle is pretty simple. Place Whirlwind on wave, done. When he clears he will be trying to aggress with his Zephyr, of which he can spam a large amount. He won't be clearing much early, but level 6 up he will be clearing waves
easily.

Tips and Tricks

Try and be aggressive early. Your wave clear is stronger early, so try to take advantage of the low cdr on your Unstable Vortex and poke him when you cleared the wave. If you manage to keep on hitting your Portal Unstable Vortex combo he should be low and sat under tower. At this point you should take advantage of his tower hugging and rotate with your ultimate. Look for kills, anything to put you ahead more and more.



Credits

Thanks to:

PiederMan - BBcoding
Sanguis - BBcoding
BestMinionEver - BBcoding

I will be coming back to this guide whenever I have time, so please do leave some feedback on what I can improve on and add! Thanks :D

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Collapse All Comments

1
Covertactician (4) | March 23, 2015 5:33am
NookieNook wrote:

I studied this guide and went into practice mode with Janus to get a hang of the combos etc. i still need some more experience using his ult in different ways but let me tell you this...

1st game with him 10/1/7

2nd game with him 14/3/4


Janus is an absolute beast if you play smart. The only thing i struggle with ( as a player ) is how/when to engage in the team fights as Janus since i know im squishy but i do have the escape to use when ready. I tend to be slightly passive ( staying back and poking with vortex ) when engaging team fights but is it worth going aggressive on him, if so, what should i be doing when engaging in big team fights?

Thanks for the amazing guide


Glad to hear you like the guide! Thanks for the support.

Janus should always be poking in the fights, it depends on how you are playing him though as well. If you built him with cooldown for utility, then you want to make sure you're poking with Unstable Vortex and keeping Portal and through space and time up for escaping or helping out teammates. You want to be in the back line, not the front. If you build him more bursty, then you should be dumping your combo, being in the middle of the fight, getting your damage off then backing off waiting for it to come back online to go in again.
1
NookieNook | January 16, 2015 2:07am
I studied this guide and went into practice mode with Janus to get a hang of the combos etc. i still need some more experience using his ult in different ways but let me tell you this...

1st game with him 10/1/7

2nd game with him 14/3/4


Janus is an absolute beast if you play smart. The only thing i struggle with ( as a player ) is how/when to engage in the team fights as Janus since i know im squishy but i do have the escape to use when ready. I tend to be slightly passive ( staying back and poking with vortex ) when engaging team fights but is it worth going aggressive on him, if so, what should i be doing when engaging in big team fights?

Thanks for the amazing guide
1
NookieNook | January 16, 2015 2:07am
I studied this guide and went into practice mode with Janus to get a hang of the combos etc. i still need some more experience using his ult in different ways but let me tell you this...

1st game with him 10/1/7

2nd game with him 14/3/4


Janus is an absolute beast if you play smart. The only thing i struggle with ( as a player ) is how/when to engage in the team fights as Janus since i know im squishy but i do have the escape to use when ready. I tend to be slightly passive ( staying back and poking with vortex ) when engaging team fights but is it worth going aggressive on him, if so, what should i be doing when engaging in big team fights?

Thanks for the amazing guide
1
Covertactician (4) | December 9, 2014 8:30am
Zilby wrote:

You gave me a lot of constructive criticism on my guides (definitely made some good points) so I was curious to see if you had any guides for yourself. This guide is pretty great though, I've been meaning to try Janus again since I had some difficulty with him the first time I tried him, and after seeing some of the things discussed I can clearly see where I went wrong.

Only thing I will mention is that you did discuss Tiny Trinket in your starter build, but you never divulged into Bancroft's Talon. I know some people buy this for the early game stat boosts and then sell it, so I was curious which was your preference.
Really nice build though, +1.


Thanks, If I came off rude while writing my responses its because I was quite irritated during the day :P

You're right, I did forget to talk about what to do with tiny trinket, ill have to update that in my build. I will put it in short here though:

8/10 you will always build this into bancrofts because you don't benefit enough from anything else (except sometimes divine ruin). However, instead of finishing it first item which is what a few people do I'd say still build and finish boots first. Mobility is important. Its pretty much preference what you want to build after that, I still think you should always get warlock's sash next but you could always get Bancroft's Talon and instead later on get the Ethereal Staff so you don't need to stack. But yeah, as I said before its all about preference.
1
Zilby (132) | December 8, 2014 8:45am
You gave me a lot of constructive criticism on my guides (definitely made some good points) so I was curious to see if you had any guides for yourself. This guide is pretty great though, I've been meaning to try Janus again since I had some difficulty with him the first time I tried him, and after seeing some of the things discussed I can clearly see where I went wrong.

Only thing I will mention is that you did discuss Tiny Trinket in your starter build, but you never divulged into Bancroft's Talon. I know some people buy this for the early game stat boosts and then sell it, so I was curious which was your preference.
Really nice build though, +1.
1
cooliothex (1) | December 1, 2014 7:22pm
Fantastic guide IMO. looks great, lots of great tips and information. upvote from me.
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Covertactician
I do love knock knock jokes. (Janus Mid S2)
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