Hello and thanks for taking a look at my (AD) Sona guide. Before you judge, please read the entire guide and give it a try. I guarantee you will be surprised with the results.

I'm a veteran League of Legends player. I began playing when the game was first released. I own every champion and have tried almost every "alternative" build you can think of. I have near 1000 wins. Please consider this experience when you question me for saying (AD) Sona is force to be reckoned with.

** Note: If you have any input, please feel free to comment. I will update this guide as I experiment and make it better with the help of everyone. Also if you have screenshots of your success while using this build, please add a link in your comment, and I will add it to this guide :)

Pros
Amazing support even as AD. (heals, dmg increase, chase/escape)
Amazing burst
Super mobile / built in escape
Becomes strong and only gets stronger at level 4+
Opponents misjudge Sona for support, giving you easy kill opportunities

Cons
A tad weak until level 4 (no big deal)
Gets focused by smart teams
Good Trynds can be troublesome

The reason I stack mostly crit runes is because you're playstyle as (AD) Sona should be to offer support, and poke hard when given the opportunity. I've tested attack speed, armor pen, attack damage, and crit and I've fallen in love with this set up. You will notice a definite ease when last hitting as well as when you harass early game.

Fairly typical 9/0/21 build. Although in Offense I prefer Crit over AP, AS over 3% CD reduction, and Imp. Ignite over the Spell Pen. In Utility be sure to take Neutral Monster buff duration. Blue is amazing on Sona and Red is equally as good when playing (AD). You will often get these just from raping opponents. Why not keep them 30% longer?

Pretty self explanatory from the order listed above. I go into detail about what level you should be getting what item in the summary below.

I normally pick my first skill in lane depending on who my opponents are. If I feel I can be offensive from level 1, I will choose Hymm of Valor, if I need to be cautious, I go with Aria of Perseverance. I normally alternate and get 2 ranks of each, 1 rank of Song of Celerity at level 5, Crescendo at 6, and then max Hymm first, and Aria next. Ult obviously gets ranked up whenever possible.

Levels 1-4: If you used the runes I recommended, then you will have very little health. Stay safe behind your creep waves, and last hit as much as possible. If an enemy comes to the front lines, use Hymm of Valor and auto attack them a few times. With your crit runes and long attack range, they will be caught off guard by your burst, but probably think it was a fluke/think it was your teammate/blame creeps. Keep last hitting and healing you and your lane partner with Aria of Perseverance whenever needed. If you have an opportunity for a kill, make sure minions won't steal the Hymm of Valor nuke, engage and ignite, but keep an eye on you and your partners health. You are very squishy at this stage, and you should still think of yourself as support. By level 4, you should have 600 gold if you've been last hitting. Recall back and purchase Chalice of Harmony and 2x Health Potions. If you have extra, get a ward (for future Teleport shenanigans) Teleport back into lane without wasting time.

Level 5-10: With Chalice you can start getting twist happy. So, with that and your natural auto attack crits you make a great harasser. Whenever opponents are in range, auto attack them. If they are in front of their creeps Hymm of Valor and even chase a little with Song of Celerity to push them back. You will have no trouble healing up any creep damage while chasing. A lot of times I will end up standing between my enemy and their creeps, and only last hit to deny my opponents for a wave or two. Save your ult for a sticky situation or a guaranteed kill. Note: With Crescendo and Hymm of Valor and Ignite, kills should be pretty easy at this point... start getting fed. Around level 10, you should be able to purchase your Sheen and Boots depending on how good you've done. I'm usually something like 2-0-3 at this point.

Level 10-17: This is when the game starts getting fun. While getting fed, think of yourself as the caravan of victory. Whoever's with you gets move speed, damage and heals. Push towers together, gank enemies together, get dragon, etc. People will follow a confident Sona if you're making good choices and understand priority. Set up ganks with your Ult when you can get 3+ enemies in it, and go in for killing blows with your Hymm of Valor. Once you have your Triforce you will see a tremendous difference in your damage output. Hymm of Valor / Triforce crits will start taking 40-50% of carry's hitpoints in one poke. You should be very aggressive at this point, and you will rarely be on the defensive. With a confidently aggressive (but smart) Sona, both teams will know their role.

18+ to End Game: You should have your Triforce and Infinity Edge by this point and be working on your final 2 items (depending on what's needed). If you've done your job, offering your team great support and given the enemies something to fear, most of the action will be at the enemies base turrets. Sona really shines in these fights. Not only can you heal your team from occasional turret hits and enemy pokes, but you can harass & Ult/Hymm or Hymm/Ignite kill squishies that stick around at half health. I can't stress enough that you must stay confident and instill fear in your enemies. You should be your teams carry AND support end game.


NOTE: (AD) Sona is a poke/heal champ that capitalizes on people's poor judgment calls. You can 1v1 any champ because you have the power to kite. You can burst poke anyone in your range, song of celerity out of their range, heal if needed, rinse and repeat. If the enemy sticks around too long, you eat them. With Hextech Gunblade rarely do I ever retreat 1v1s. Between it's lifesteal/spellvamp & your Aria of Perseverance you won't be losing much health. If the enemy is doing more damage than you (unlikely) then drop a Crescendo bomb on their head, otherwise as soon as they try to retreat, right click the Gunblade and chase while twisting Song of Celerity and Hymm of Valor.

This is by far my most favorite champion and build that I've discovered yet. It's brought new enjoyment to this game for me. I hope you have the success I've had and the laughs! Please don't forget to rate if you found this guide helpful.

Thanks for reading :)

Just started taking these over these last couple days. I'm sure I can get some better scores to put up here in the future, but these should give an example of what you can expect.

** I do not recommend Tiamats! I was feeling cocky this game and sold some other items to try something new. Stick with Gunblade, Phantom Dancers, Last Whisper, Black Cleaver, Occult type items. Frozen Heart isn't too shabby either vs. certain teams.

** In the last screen shot, the enemy team surrendered @ 20 minutes. A little proof that (AD) Sona does very well with hardly any items.

** Above are screen shots submitted by a reader who tried the build. Thanks Toshiro!