Sorry if this has been asked before but I would like to know what items I should build as anivia early game. Currently i go for meki-tear-ruby crys-catalyst+boots-blasting wand-RoA-sorc boots-blasting wand-archangel-blasting wand-deathcap. Anyways what i'm wondering is if i should be getting RoA before I get tear (so i can have more time to build up the bonuses) or if I should get sorc boots as early as possible since anivia is really slow and usually dies in ganks even with ghost and flash. And also if I were to get catalyst-RoA before I get tear, should i carry clarity to help with her mana problem? As an aside, should I even attempt to harass before lvl 6 since flash frost is hard to land and usually my slow speed makes it really difficult to pull off the frostbite combo?

Once again sorry if this has already been discussed before (search function not working for some reason) but I'm just finding that my early game with anivia is weak and i'm never able to farm enough to get the necessary items to be useful mid-late game. Thank you in advance!

Dranslin has it right that runes/masteries keep your mana up; Clarity is a waste. Play defensively at lvl 1 using FF for last hits if you can't auto, and get more offensive when you hit 2 for the combo. You should save most of your mana for levels 2-4 harass and possible kill attempts, then back off until 6 for R->E harass. You definitely need a catalyst by 6 to stay in lane. Sapph -> Catalyst, Boots2, and NLR are my initial/first buys only finishing RoA first if I can't get NLR.

I personally shy away from AAS because Anivia needs Golem and that regen should keep you plenty active (as long as you remember to use your ult as a toggle for the slow and FB damage; only for DPS if you're about to land a kill and have excess mana). If you have someone else who's also dependent on blue or have a noob who keeps stealing it (bad junglers for example), then AAS may be viable after Rabadon's.

Early game items should be starting with a saphirre crystal and hp pots (or hp pot and mana pot.)

It gives you more opportunities to use spells, and her mana regen is pitiful w/o golem or midlategame items, meki pendant will not allow you to use spells frequently compared to other champs lvl 1-4.

As far as boots go, do not get sorcery's boots, get boots of swiftness. For one, in a teamfight you'll actually be far away so might not be able to get the bonuses from sorc boots, idk the exact range on it, but sometimes you will be sniping people with q/e, and with swift boots you'll actually be able to engage people to use the spells in the first place.

thanks for the replies guys but I personally find that anivia is very vulnerable early game. Does anyone have any tips on early game survivability (besides tower hug since that destroys anivia's ability to assist in teamfights mid to late game) since I find that if i get ganked pre-level 4, I always end up dead no matter what due to the fact that flash frost is my only cc and my ridiculously low movement speed. I find that getting boots as first item helps survive early game ganks but boots do not help at all with staying in lane. Any thoughts?

You could go Mregen/lvl quints and Seals for 24 extra regen which should be enough along with AAS.

You might want to try going 9/21/0 for quite a bit more survivability. You shouldn't have to tower hug all that much, you can keep the enemy harassed by firing off FF once in a while (have your path pass through minions as well so if it is going to miss its not a total waste.) Also of course getting wards in the two bush's on either side of the mid lane should allow you to do just fine.

And get Sorc Shoes, there's no such thing as being to far away, 20 mpen is 20 mpen. Your meant to do dmg and shouldn't have to rely on that "little" bit of MS to do less dmg.

A straight up Sapphire is always good, sooner you build into Tear or Catalyst the better.

Keep in mind pretty much the only thing anivia would want from the defense tree, the previously 60 hp just got nerfed down to 48 hp. I dont think defense is a good choice at all. The classic 9/0/21 does just fine in just about all situations. But yeah, usually start with mana crystal and 2 hp pots.

Build catalyst on first trip back. Then RoA and basic boots. Get sorc shoes, then rabadons. Now your pretty tanky with roa and egg, and you will be raping faces with all that ap.

Pretty much?, no she would want a lot of things. SoS, Tenacity, Harden Skin, Defensive Mastery for instance.

AAS is better first so you can proc it by using GS for one tick. (since you get the bonus when you activate it and turn it off) Abyssal usually before finishing AAS. If you really find you "need" that extra health from RoA sure go use it if that works for you, you shouldn't though. AP from AAS and Abyssal should be enough.

Defensive tree helps out your early game A TON... even though the health got nerfed a bit, health quints did too... And her health is really too low to say 48 health is no big deal.

I used to try and go straight for the catalyst, but i find i lack some burst early game if i go that route. It helps to go for the blasting wand first, then finish up the ROA, or grab a needlessly large rod if you have enough cash. So usually my items go something like this meki pendant--> boots 1--> sorcer's boots (or blasting wand) --> ROA (or NLR)

Also, the reason you probably feel vulnerable early game is because you either a) can't land FF consistently (Which just takes practice) b) are using your FF to farm(leaving you susceptible to an attack while it's on cooldown) or c) are overextending (because you're relying on FF to help you farm early game/or just auto attacking--- in either case, learn to last hit with the bird, and gain some map awareness ^ ^)

A good offense is the best defense... and a great offense is just fun.

Anivia has incredible burst damage, starting from level 2, which last I checked, counts as early game. Basically, what I do is harass the enemy with auto-attacks at level 1 (running into bush or behind your minions straight after the attack to avoid aggro) which can down about a bar of the enemies health before level 2. At level 2, throw a FF and FB and if you've done it right, that's about 2 bars of health.

By this point, almost any champ will have less than half health, unless you're laned against an tanky champ. Seeing that your combo takes out nearly a half of their health (more than half at level 3), most players are wary of you. If they aren't, unleash your combo, throw in an ignite if you have one and grab an early first blood.

Besides that, once they start getting scared of you, hide in bush a lot, and just come out for last-hits. As soon as you run into bush most champs tend to run 5 paces back, and still be a nice FF target. If they're brave, stun them as they run into the bush and break down their health again.