Talk:Kennen/@comment-84.186.186.34-20120419012326/@comment-2095407-20120420082534

If you use some math you can determine what it better by simply comparing health gained by both choises:

# 3 HP pots restores you 450 hp without any reduction or heal boots present.

# Shield gives you 120 HP boost and regerates 8 HP over 10 seconds.

If shield should regenerate as much health as 3 pots, it would take 6.875 minutes of actual action:

3 pots x 150 HP it restores = 450 HP

450 HP restored by pots - 120 HP boost by shield = 330 HP to go

330 HP remaining / 48 HP per minute (8 HP per 10 s x 6) = 6.875 minutes (or 6:52)

Calculations is based on independant conditions with no other healing or regeneration boosts or reductions.

Conclusion: If you can make use of aditional armor, mobility is not priority and you plan to 7 minutes below 100% health, Doran's Shield can be good way to go. However mobility of boots, health restoration on demand by pots and faster pace of your lane or game will make shield to be not useful at all. Besides, shield does not build into anything and will be eventually sold. Such item, that takes up inventory slot, its usefulness becomes obsolete as geme goes, does not build into anything and delays core build is probably bad decition in any angle you might look at it.

Doran's Shield looks indeed good in conditions as going top. I used it a lot in mid in my early Kennen times. Yes, HP boost, armor counter aa and minions' damage, and passive sustain that just works. In convenient lane you can get kills, last-hit like crazy and get 9+ level with 2k+ gold in your pocket. Just because of toughness it provides in early game for manaless pocker as Kennen is. However shield does not work against higher magic damage and skill-shots or on-target spells like Ahri's orb, Kassadin's silence, Anivia's stun. For those, you need speed to juke or outrun. In those speed demanding cases you NEED boots + 3 pots. However boots just helps, not guarantees you winned lane.

I myself use boots + pots when I play mid AP Kennen now. Works in most cases.