When the Plus 2.0 update arrived in June, Devara grabbed the headlines. But for support players, the more interesting arrival was a blonde girl with round glasses, a broomstick-like staff and a gust of wind for every situation: Annette, one of the three Arena of Valor heroes who joined Honor of Kings.
She does almost no damage. She does not heal. And yet a well-timed Annette ultimate can make an entire enemy dive bounce off your team like it hit a wall, because it literally did. After a month and a half on the global servers, it is clear she is a support for players who like to think one step ahead of the fight.
Here is how her kit works, how to build her and how to turn her wind into wins.
🌬️ Who Is Annette?
Annette is a Support who plays as a roamer. Her toolkit is all about tempo: speeding up allies, slowing enemies, handing out shields and, above all, protecting her carry with one of the most unusual ultimates in the game.
What makes her special:
- Her cooldowns refresh faster while she keeps moving
- A magic circle that slows enemies and speeds up allies at the same time
- A shield orb that also repositions her
- An ultimate that gives every ally inside it crowd control immunity
📜 Skill Breakdown
Passive – Whisperwind
While Annette is moving, her skill cooldowns tick down faster and she restores mana. She also gains extra movement speed when teammates are close to her. The lesson is simple: never stand still. Walk around your carry, rotate through the river and keep your feet busy between casts.
Skill 1 – Gust Force
Annette conjures a magic circle at a target location that pulses every half second for four seconds. Enemies inside take magic damage and a stacking slow, while allies inside get a stacking speed boost. It is a chase tool, an escape tool and a zone tool in one button.
Skill 2 – Wind Cuffs
She fires a wind orb in a chosen direction and is pushed back slightly by the recoil. Annette instantly gains a short shield and a burst of movement speed. The orb damages enemies it hits and shields allies it passes through. The real trick: if the orb passes through your Gust Force circle, it carries the whole circle to the end of its path, letting you drop slows on enemies who thought they were safe.
Always check what is behind you before you cast it. The recoil can push you into an enemy you did not see.
Ultimate – Hurricane Wall
Annette channels a wind barrier around herself for four seconds. Enemies inside when it starts are knocked back and damaged. Any enemy who touches the barrier afterwards takes damage and is stunned for 1.25 seconds. Every ally inside gains crowd control immunity, and Annette herself is untargetable while channeling, although her movement speed is cut in half.
One important detail: the immunity only stops new crowd control. It does not cleanse a stun your carry has already eaten, so cast it before the enemy engage lands, not after.
Skill priority: most players max Skill 1 first for stronger slows and speed boosts. If you need sturdier shields against burst-heavy teams, max Skill 2 first instead.
⚔️ Best Annette Build
Annette’s damage is an afterthought. She wants health, defenses and cooldown reduction so she can survive at the front and cycle her skills as often as possible.
| Slot | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson Shadow – Redemption | Roaming item with an active group shield for teamfights |
| 2 | Boots of Tranquility | Cooldown reduction to keep circles and shields rolling |
| 3 | Dawnlight | Defense, health and cooldown reduction, plus shields when you deal damage |
| 4 | Frozen Breath | Skill hits slow enemies, stacking perfectly with Gust Force |
| 5 | Venomous Staff | Cuts enemy healing, great against lifesteal fighters |
| 6 | Overlord’s Platemail | A huge pool of health for the late game |
Situational Swaps
- Boots of Resistance – when the enemy chains crowd control on you before you can cast your ultimate
- Boots of Deftness – extra roaming speed if you like to visit every lane
- Glacial Buckler – lots of cooldown reduction and physical defense, with a slow when you are hit
- Longnight Guardian – magic defense and regeneration against mage-heavy teams
- Crimson Shadow – Starspring – swap your support item for sustained healing on your lowest-health ally in long, drawn-out games
🔮 Arcana and Battle Spell
| Color | Arcana | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Fate ×10 | Health, physical defense and a little attack speed |
| Blue | Harmony ×10 | Health, regeneration and movement speed |
| Green | Void ×10 | Health and cooldown reduction |
This page makes Annette very hard to burst down. If you prefer a faster, more mobile style, swap Harmony for Hunt: the extra movement speed feeds her passive and refreshes her skills even faster.
Battle spell: Flash is the safe default. Sprint is a clever alternative: it strips and reduces slows and adds movement speed, and many players use it to offset the speed penalty while their ultimate is channeling. Heal also works if your lane partner has no sustain.
🔥 Combos You Need to Master
1. The Slingshot Slow
Skill 1 ➝ Skill 2 through the circle
Drop Gust Force near you, then fire Wind Cuffs through it toward the enemy. The circle flies to the end of the orb’s path, catching enemies who are kiting at max range or hiding under their tower.
2. The Dive Breaker
Ultimate ➝ Skill 1 under your feet ➝ Skill 2 through your carry
The moment an assassin jumps on your marksman, open Hurricane Wall right next to them. Divers get knocked away or stunned on the wall, the circle slows their retreat and the orb gives your carry an extra shield.
3. The Team Charge
Skill 1 ahead of your team ➝ Skill 2 ➝ Ultimate as the fight starts
When your team wants to engage, the speed from Gust Force lets everyone arrive together, and the ultimate makes your frontline immune to the enemy’s crowd control for the first seconds of the fight.
🌙 Game Plan: Early, Mid and Late
Early Game
Start with your marksman in the Farm Lane. Use Skill 1 to slow enemies who walk up for minions and fire Skill 2 through your partner during trades for a free shield. Because your passive rewards movement, leave lane to help your jungler at the river or check bushes before the first Tyrant.
Mid Game
Once your support item and boots are done, skirmishes start around the mid lane and objectives. Stay half a step ahead of your carry. When the enemy fighter or assassin commits, open your ultimate: the knockback comes instantly, so you can afford to wait and watch their engage before reacting.
Late Game
Patience wins late fights. Hold your ultimate for the one enemy who decides the fight, usually the assassin or diving fighter. Remember that you are slowed while channeling, so always open it right beside the ally you protect. Cast it in the wrong spot and you will be stranded while the fight happens elsewhere.
🛡️ Strengths and Weaknesses
✅ Strengths
- Group crowd control immunity that can erase an entire enemy engage
- Shields, speed boosts and slows to control the tempo of every chase
- Skill 2 is damage, shield and reposition in a single button
- Her passive keeps her skills cycling as long as she keeps moving
❌ Weaknesses
- Very little damage of her own
- No healing, so chunked teammates stay chunked
- Her ultimate cannot cleanse crowd control that has already landed
- Bad ultimate positioning leaves her slow and isolated
🎯 Counters and Teammates
Annette shines against teams that rely on diving into your backline. Assassins and fighters who jump onto your carry run straight into her wall, and a knockback plus stun usually turns their engage into a disaster.
She struggles against enemies who strike before she can react. A hero with an instant, targeted stun, such as Daji, can lock down your carry before the barrier goes up, and long-range poke teams simply wear your team down from outside the wall’s reach.
Her best partners are marksmen who need a few seconds of freedom to unload their damage. Marco Polo is a fan favourite pairing, since crowd control immunity lets him finish his ultimate without being interrupted, and immobile carries like Hou Yi or Lady Sun also benefit hugely from her shields and speed.
💡 Final Thoughts
Annette is not a support for players who want flashy kills. She is for players who read fights, wait for the enemy to commit and then turn their best play into a wasted cooldown.
Keep moving, keep your carry shielded and save the wall for the moment that matters. Do that, and you will be the reason your team wins fights it had no business winning.