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Diana Build Guide by Emi

Assassin -Ascending Nightfall-

Assassin -Ascending Nightfall-

Updated on March 18, 2016
9.2
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Emi Build Guide By Emi 113 7 2,214,077 Views 111 Comments
113 7 2,214,077 Views 111 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Emi Diana Build Guide By Emi Updated on March 18, 2016
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Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None



Table of Contents

In General
Getting Ready
Abilities/Skills
Item Choices
Gameplay




Welcome
Hi there, and welcome to my Diana mid guide! I hope to teach you how to play this champion and why the build presented is the optimal way to build her. You will be shown example build paths, how to use her abilities, her teamfight potential, and all of those things that make Diana a viable AP Carry.



About Diana
Why is Diana a viable choice? Diana is a melee burst assassin, and she can pull off huge amounts of damage in a very short amount of time. Due to her mobility with her ultimate, Lunar Rush, she is difficult to peel and can be a nightmare for enemy squishies. While her early game damage and utility is lacking, her late game potential is amazing. Not only is her kit extremely powerful once she gets ahead, but she is also very fun to play!
About Me
I'm Emikadon, a Season 5 Plat V ranked player on the NA Server. I main Support and ADC, but I have come to love the mid lane role. If you liked this guide, you should check out my others as well!

This guide is a free to use resource, but if you find it's really helped you, a donation is always appreciated! Any tiny thing helps! :)

Side Note
This guide is extremely long, since I will cover nearly everything you need to know in order to master Diana. If it was helpful in any way, please upvote my guide to let me know I've done a good job explaining! (And coding. I spent a ridiculous amount of time coding this xD) If you disagree with anything I have to say, please leave a comment and I will gladly discuss anything you have to say ^_^


lore





Pros
+ High damage
+ AOE pull
+ Very mobile
+ Can initiate
+ Ult CD reset
Strengths
Diana, like all assassins, has a high amount of burst damage. Between her abilities and passive, she can easily melt down squishy targets or weaken a tank. She has an AOE CC ability, which can be detrimental in teamfights. Diana is extremely mobile, since she has a long ranged gap closer. If played correctly, she can be nearly impossible to peel off. Her gap closer can also be used to initiate a teamfight, which will be discussed more in-depth later. However, the best part about her kit is the fact that her ult's cooldown can be reset. This allows you to have a double (even triple!) dash.



Weaknesses
Diana's main weakness lies in the fact that she is melee. It is always dangerous to walk up to CS, since the enemy laner can easily turn on you. This is heightened since Diana's early game isn't very strong. She doesn't have any major burst until she gets her ultimate at level 6, nor does she have any mobility until then. Even though Diana has a huge gap closer, she doesn't have any escapes (aside from Flash). This makes her very susceptible to ganks, since she can't get away from a 1v2 situation.
Cons
- Melee
- Weak early game
- No mobility til 6
- No escapes
- Easily ganked





Flash is absolutely necessary in every single situation you can possibly think of. Diana has no form of escape whatsoever, despite the fact that she has an excellent gap closer. Flash is the only hope you have of getting away from any bad situations, such as a gank from the jungler while you're pushed up. In addition, you can use it to either run away (blinking over a wall) or chase (dashing forward to land your abilities). Flash just gives you so many opportunities to make plays that there's really no other spell to replace it.
Ignite is a great spell to have, since it adds even more damage to your burst. It adds a lot of kill potential to your kit, especially if your own jungler comes to gank. Ignite is fantastic for finishing off those low health targets.
Teleport will allow for a lot more map pressure, both early and late game. You can easily gank lanes early game by teleporting to wards, or you can regroup with your team if there's an impending fight later on. This ability will also assist Diana to splitpush easier during the late game. For when your team gets in trouble, you can just Teleport to them to turn around the fight.


If you are not yet level 8 and you don't have access to Flash, you should take Ghost instead. While this does not have the same element of surprise that Flash does, it gives you a nice burst of speed that can help you get away if used with the slow from Moonfall. This is only for pre-8, since Flash just gives you so many more choices than Ghost can.



Recommended Runes



These should be your go to marks as an AP carry. It increases your damage output early game, as well as helping to reduce MR later on. All of your spells deal magic damage, which is most of your burst.






With the nerfs to Armor seals, running Scaling health seals is a much better alternative. This will help with your squishiness early game, and they scale quite well into late game. Since you will most likely be initiating some team fights, the extra survivability is extremely useful.



Beyond helpful in lane. Since you are melee, you can expect to get a lot of harass from the enemy opponent, which is most likely going to be another AP carry. The MR will help with early game trades a lot, which is essential since you're so weak pre-6.




Since you don't have any AP in any of your marks/seals/glyphs, it is essential that you get some more damage in your quints. 15 AP at the very start of the game makes you much more powerful, since you have excellent scalings on your abilities, as well as the more potent shield.



alternative runes




The best mastery tree is 12/18/0 for Diana, and all other damage dealing champions in general. It gives your damage output a huge boost, all the while keeping some points in the defense tree for some tankiness. This set up will allow you to stay relatively safe early and still have the points necessary to scale into late game.


  • Sorcery gives you more damage, and because it scales with percentage, it becomes stronger as the game goes on. Alternatively, you can take Fury for the attack speed.
  • Double-Edged Sword is really nice, since Diana is a melee champion with ranged abilties (namely her Q, Crescent Strike).
  • Natural Talent is an "okay" mastery, but because most of Diana's abilities (including her passive) are AoE, the spell vamp from the other option is sub-par.
  • Bounty Hunter may not seem like a lot, but as an APC you should be getting more and more kills as the game goes on. Alternatively, you can pick up Oppressor to synergize with your E, but your Q + R (+ W) won't benefit from it (see Combos section).


  • Wanderer is really nice for roaming, which is something Diana can do with relative ease.
  • Secret Stash helps your sustain in lane. Alternatively, you can pick up Assassin if you want to focus on picking people off before teamfights.
  • Merciless is a very good mastery. After your initial burst, your target should easily be below 40% health, and this mastery will help you finish them off before they escape while your abilities are on cooldown.
  • Dangerous Game is amazing. I can't count how many times this mastery has saved my life. Your job is to get in the fight, kill the squishy, and get out. The 5% health/mana back will help with you surviving.
  • Precision + Thunderlord's Decree isn't as strong as it used to be, but it's still very strong. Diana's combo is very quick, so the Thunderlord's proc is an almost instantaneous additional burst.



In this section, I am going to cover all of the details regarding Diana's skill set. Remember to keep in mind the tips and things to note when playing! There are a lot of subtle nuances that separate the good Diana's from the great ones.


Moonsilver Blade (Passive)
Every 3rd attack cleaves nearby enemies for 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 105 / 120 / 135 / 155 / 175 / 200 / 225 / 250 (15 + 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 at each level) (+ 80% AP) magic damage. The counter will reset if Diana hasn't attacked for 3.5 seconds.
In addition, Diana permanently has 20% bonus attack speed.

Useful tips
  • When CSing, you can use the AOE damage to hit multiple minions at once. This can allow you to pick up two low health minions without missing either.
  • This ability can be really useful for pushing a lane quickly. Hit two different minions for the 3rd proc, and then position yourself so that you'll hit as many creeps as possible.
  • Once you hit level 6, you can stack two hits first, and then gap close to the enemy using your ultimate to proc the third hit for a lot of burst damage.
  • This makes Diana an excellent splitpusher. The 20% AS bonus as well as the bonus magic damage allows you to shred turrets quickly.

Things to note
  • The passive does not show up on your HUD, but rather her blade pulses when you've hit the 3rd stack.
  • Smart enemies will start backing off if they see you have your passive stacked, so don't overextend to get the proc on them.
  • The AOE effect is not a complete circle around Diana's figure. It is more of a crescent, so positioning is essential!


Crescent Strike (Q)
Diana unleashes a bolt of lunar energy that travels in an arc. Enemies struck take magic damage and are afflicted with Moonlight, granting sight of them for 3 seconds.

Range: 830
Cooldown: 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6
Cost: 55 Mana
Magic Damage: 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+ 70% AP)

Useful tips
  • This can be used as a scouting tool. It will reveal any enemies hit for a short duration, so you won't ever need to face check a suspicious bush.
  • Since it is a curved skill shot, most opponents won't know how to avoid it. Aiming the ability in different angles can hit the enemy champion in ways they won't expect. Sometimes people may try to dodge as if it is straight, and get hit instead.
  • This ability will pop Spell Shields.

Things to note
  • Since it is a curved skill shot, it is different from landing straight skill shots. Shooting it at an awkward angle has the potential to go around the enemy and miss them altogether.
  • It will not reveal stealthed units like Teemo.


Pale Cascade (W)
Diana gains a temporary shield for 5 seconds that absorbs incoming damage. She also creates three spheres that orbit her for up to 5 seconds. The spheres detonate on contact with an enemy unit, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies.
If all three spheres detonate, the shield is reapplied and the duration is refreshed. This second shield stacks with the original shield.

Range: 200
Cooldown: 10
Cost: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 Mana
Magic Damage per Orb: 22 / 34 / 46 / 58 / 70 (+ 20% AP)
Maximum Magic Damage: 66 / 102 / 138 / 174 / 210 (+ 60% AP)

Shield Strength: 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 / 100 (+ 30% AP)
Maximum Shield Strength: 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+ 60% AP)

Useful tips
  • Remember that the orbs burst to deal AOE damage. If you want to push your lane quickly, you should stand in the middle of the creeps.
  • This is a low cost shield, especially at rank one. You can activate this ability when going up to CS to mitigate harass.
  • Since Lunar Rush ignore unit collision, the spheres won't detonate when you gap close to the enemy until the animation wears off.
  • The shield refreshes when all three orbs are popped, so make sure all of them detonate for the most optimal shield. Also, keep in mind that the shield stacks. If you still have a shield before all three are popped, the new shield will add on with your original.
  • This ability makes Diana deceptively tanky. With armor and MR from your core items, she is quite durable.

Things to note
  • The spheres will rotate around you, so if you walk past the enemy at the wrong time, the sphere will miss them altogether.
  • The shield only lasts a few seconds. if you activate it too early, it might wear off before all three orbs detonate.


Moonfall (E)
Diana draws in all nearby enemies to her location, slowing them for 2 seconds afterwards.

Range: 250
Cooldown: 26 / 24 / 22 / 20 / 18
Cost: 70 Mana
Slow: 35 / 40 / 45 / 50 / 55%

Useful tips
  • This ability will draw in everyone around you in a full circle.
  • Moonfall can be used to draw in the entire team during teamfights, and subsequently slow everyone.
  • Try saving this ability until the enemy has already ran away from you a short distance. This will draw them back farther towards you.
  • This can be used to interrupt animations. For example, when timed right you can interrupt Thresh's Dark Passage.

Things to note
  • This ability has a very long cooldown. Do not just throw it around.
  • Even though it will pull in any enemies in range, it will not deal any damage. It will only slow.


Lunar Rush (R)
Diana becomes the living embodiment of the vengeful moon, rushing at an enemy and dealing magic damage to it.

When used to teleport to an enemy afflicted with Moonlight, Lunar Rush's cooldown is refreshed and the Moonlight debuff is consumed. All other enemies will have the Moonlight debuff removed regardless of whether they were the target of Lunar Rush.

Range: 825
Cooldown: 25 / 20 / 15
Cost: 50 / 65 / 80 Mana
Magic Damage: 100 / 160 / 220 (+ 60% AP)

Useful tips
  • When timed correctly, Lunar Rush can be used to avoid skill shots. This is because you become untargetable while still in the animation.
  • This is a main ability that makes Diana such a terrifying enemy. Between Lunar Rush and Moonfall, it is nearly impossible to escape her.
  • Used in conjunction with the Moonlight debuff, you can double jump (even triple jump) to an enemy champion. This exceptional for initiating a teamfight.
  • Try to have your passive fully stacked when you go in with Lunar Rush. This will maximize your damage output.
  • If the enemy is out of range, you can Moonlight + Lunar rush to a nearby minion/monster, and then Lunar rush again immediately to cover twice the distance.
  • Using Crescent Strike and then dashing to the enemy while your Q is still in the animation will still allow your ultimate to refresh instantly.

Things to note
  • After using Lunar Rush the first time, you will need to make the choice of waiting for your Q to come up again or just going ahead and dashing again.
  • Lunar Rush can be cancelled if you're interrupted, such as by Thresh's Flay, and it will still go on cooldown.




Crescent Strike
Pale Cascade
Moonfall
Lunar Rush
1



Q
2



W
3



Q
4



W
5



E
6



R
7



Q
8



Q
9



Q
10



W
11



R
12



w
13



W
14



E
15



E
16



R
17



E
18



E




#1. Lunar Rush
6 / 11 / 16

#2. Crescent Strike
1 / 3 / 7 / 8 / 9

#3. Pale Cascade
2 / 4 / 10 / 12 / 13

#4. Moonfall
5 / 14 / 15 / 17 / 18
On Diana, you want to max your Q, Crescent Strike first. As an AP carry, you want to maximize your damage output and this is your main damage ability. In addition, you want the cooldown to be as low as possible.

Next, you want to start maxing your W, Pale Cascade. Since Diana has no built-in form of sustain, this shield is super important. It will shield you more as it's ranked up, so you'll be more durable by the time teamfights start breaking out. Also, this is your second damage tool. Since you're melee, you'll be up in the enemies' faces anyway and you'll be able to easily detonate the spheres.

Lastly, you want to max your E, Moonfall. Save this one for last, since the only things that are upgraded is the slow percentage and the lowered CD. It doesn't deal any damage, so there's really no point in putting extra points in this until absolutely necessary.

And of course, always take a point in your ultimate, Lunar Rush whenever you can. It deals an additional 60 base damage every time it's ranked up, as well as lowering the cooldown by 5 seconds without the reset of Moonlight.


An alternative to starting with your Q, Crescent Strike, you can start with your W, Pale Cascade instead. As Vynertje says: "Mids don't need to leech buffs anymore. It only wastes your own XP/CS because you'll often be a tad late to lane if you do. It's quite good to be in lane at level 1 because it allows you to dictate the pace (as far as you want to do that as Diana). The shield isn't aimed at offensive purposes but just for sustain/safety, as Diana has 0 kill potential pre-6 anyway. Most mids will try to poke you with AA's and this is just a way to stay in lane longer / get denied less CS."

In addition, you can take your Moonfall earlier if you feel like it would help you assist in ganks or escape because of the slow. However, it isn't all that useful early game, since most of the time you won't be able to get in range for the pull. Save it right before you get your Lunar Rush, as it'll allow you to chain your CC as soon as you hit your power spike. Thank you GrandmasterD and FalseoGod!



Diana is a unique champion in the fact that she is an assassin that relies on going all in to pull off her burst. There are many different ways to do so, and her abilities can be combo'd for different sitations. Here, I will first tell you what the combo is, and then proceed to explain how it should be done and why it is useful. At the end, I will include a video demonstrating the combo.

Remember! Diana's passive is amazing, because once you get into mid-late game, it does almost as much damage as a whole other spell. To proc this passive, you must weave in autoattacks between each of your abilities. Learning to attack move is essential, and is the only way you can make her combos really shine! Attack-moving comes with practice, so do it not just on Diana, but every single champion you play!

Standard Combo

Q
→

R
→

W
→

E
→

R

This is the standard combo you want to use when playing as Diana. Using your Q, Crescent Strike, you can afflict your target with Moonlight. You then immediately R, Lunar Rush to them to consume this debuff. Once you get into range, activating your W, Pale Cascade will provide you with a shield to mitigate incoming damage that you'll most likely receive because you're in such close quarters. The orbs will pop as they come in contact with your target, or anything else around them. This then refreshes your shield.

Once the enemy target tries to flee, using your E, Moonfall will pull them right back to you, as well as slowing them so they can't try to get away again. Since this has all happened within a second or two, go ahead and Lunar Rush without the Moonlight debuff again to land the killing blows.

Keep in mind that throughout this entire process, you are weaving in autoattacks. This way, you can stack your passive. In addition, if you have any on-hit items (like Lich Bane), you'll get the bonus damage from that as well.


Standard Combo Video


Insta-Ulti Combo

R
→

Q
→

W
→

E
→

R

This combo takes a lot of practice. You'll really need to be used to Diana's ability animations to begin pulling this off consistently. Basically, you activate your R, Lunar Rush before you activate your Q, Crescent Strike. This will give you the element of surprise when suddenly going all in. In addition, if done correctly, your ult won't even go on cooldown.

How is this possible? Well, when you press R to begin your dash, there is a short window in which you can activate an ability while still in the dash itself. As you dash forward, you have to flick your mouse a little, moving your mouse forward a tiny bit. This will ensure that your Q lands successfully so that your ult will indeed go off cooldown.


Insta-Ulti Combo Video


No Cooldown Combo

Q
→

R
→

W
→

E
→

Q
→

R
→

W

In this combo, there is a slight break in between your abilities. You should honestly only try to pull this combo off if you have a lot of CDR, so the gap between your E, Moonfall and Q, Crescent Strike is not quite as noticeable. In the few seconds that you are waiting for your Q again is a few seconds in which you are vulnerable because you have no abilities up for you to use.

The mechanics of this combo are the pretty much the same as that of the Standard Combo, except you must be able to attack move very well. Since you won't be dashing until your Q is up again, you'll need to be able to keep up with your target until then. Learning how to smoothly attack move is essential to being able to do this combo without messing up/falling behind/dying.


No Cooldown Combo Video



Zhonya's Hourglass Combo

Q
→

R
→

W
→

E
→

#
→

Q
→

R
→

W

This is an extremely teamfight oriented combo. This is usually Diana's form of initiating, and it's an extremely effective one as well! Using this combo you can get in the heart of the enemy team and pull them all in with your E. The mechanics are identical to the that of the No Cooldown Combo, except for the timing. The No Cooldown Combo is used for 1v1s or individual skirmishes. On the other hand, this combo is used when the entire enemy team is grouped up.

Let's say you're about to have a teamfight. Both sides are grouped up, and everyone is in position. Throwing out a Q, you hit someone on the enemy team. Immediately, you dash forward with your ult, Lunar Rush and shield yourself at the same time. Once you arrive in the center of the team, you pull everyone towards you with Moonfall. The entirety of the enemy team is slowed and in a single clump, and they attempt to turn onto you.

Sike! You just went untargetable. Too bad enemy team, no dead Diana for you. Instead, you get a huge mouthful of team follow-up. Plus, once you're out of stasis, your Q will be up again so you can double jump without a single cooldown (providing you have some CDR, of course).


Zhonya's Hourglass Combo Video





Doran's Ring is very aggressive start. The 60 health will help with your early game tankiness, but doesn't offer much sustain in terms of health other than that. However, the 15 AP makes your abilities stronger, which also means that your shield shields you for more. The mana regen should also allow you to use your abilities pretty often to help you CS. Only go with this start if you are experienced with playing melee vs ranged and if you are certain you can handle any incoming harass.



If you're going against melee mids like Zed or Yasuo, this start is really useful. It'll make you pretty tanky since the armor works well with your health runes, as well as your shield being harder to pop. The 5 health potions should help with any damage that you do take, or if the enemy jungle is AP and they come to gank. But the best part is that this can later be upgraded into Seeker's Armguard, which can then be upgraded to one of your core items. Alternatively, you can take Armor Quints, which will only give you 3 less armor, and run that with one of the previous two starting options.



A sustain start that mainly focuses on surviving against heavy poke lanes. It doesn't build into anything, but it gives you plenty of health/mana to farm effectively and will save you a bit of gold on potions. Sell it later to free up a slot for more items.



Considering you are dealing mostly magic damage, you want to amplify that as much as you possibly can. By grabbing Sorcerer's Shoes early, you can cut through any base MR the enemy might have. In addition, these boots give Diana some much needed movement speed. On a melee champion, it is essential to keep up with any targets you are chasing. The 45 movement speed + your gap closer + your pull usually is enough to keep you stuck to the enemy to net the kill.



AND

> 120 AP is a huge amount. It will make your burst much more meaningful, as well as increasing your shield amount for more durability.

> An early Seeker's Armguard is amazing against AD enemies. It will allow you to get more AP/Armor as you farm, reduce incoming damage, and build in Zhonya's Hourglass!

> 50 armor is tremendous, especially for an APC. It'll allow you to pull off your burst without as much fear of the enemy physical damage tearing you apart. This is really useful considering you are melee, and will need to get into melee range to complete your combo.

> The active is huge. This will allow you to do what most other APCs cannot: Initiating. Imagine, you use your Q and ult to get into range, pull everyone on the enemy team back towards you, and once they attempt to turn on you, you go untargetable. Pretty awesome, eh?
> On Diana, you can get away will building defensively because your passive just does so much damage if you stay alive. So building an early Negatron Cloak against the enemy APC will make you pretty much unkillable early-mid game.

> That then builds into this, Abyssal Mask. 70 AP isn't quite as much as Zhonya's Hourglass, for instance, but it gives 20 MR reduction. Considering Diana is melee, the debuff will always be applied because of your close range to the enemy.

> The 45 MR is huge. It'll help you stay alive when you begin to engage the enemy APC, and with your mobility you'll be extremely difficult to kill. Plus, the 70 AP will strengthen your shield, which will also make you a little more tanky.






When you can, you want to get Void Staff. This is a major item when the enemy begins building MR. This will shred enemies even more when stacked with Abyssal Mask and your runes/masteries. In addition, the 70 AP adds a lot to your shield and overall damage output. More often than not, this should be the third major item you build, unless the enemy team is really dumb.
A must take on any APC. Once you get it, boosts your AP by a huge margin. The passive gives you flat AP, which is a really nice item to round off with. This will make your late game assassinations beyond deadly, and with the rest of your build will give you almost 700 AP. However, I have seen too many APCs rush this item and get it first. Do not do this. Since it gives you more AP based on how much you have, it isn't gold efficient early game because you don't have very much AP. Get it once you have a good chunk so it'll spike your power even more.
For Season 4, each individual person on the map can place only 3 wards. This means that you can no longer flame your support by saying "no vision GG" or whatnot. Now, it's up to you to help them out and trinkets can help you out a lot. Your Stealth Ward can store up to 2 wards, so be sure to place them in choke points for vision.
Deathfire Grasp gives you huge single-target burst, which works really nicely since you are an assassin targeting squishy ADC/APC. It actually works extremely well if you use the active while you're still in the dash animation from Lunar Rush. The moment when you hit the enemy, you'll already have the amplification on all magic damage. Plus, it deals damage according to the maximum health. Added along with the rest of your burst, you can easily take down a squishy within a second.



Alternatively, if you'd rather get an item that allows for more power of Diana's autoattacks, you can get one of the following items instead. Both of these are niche picks, but under the correct circumstances can really shine, depending on whether you want AA procs or a splitpush presence.


OR

> 80 AP is really useful. It gives your burst a really nice boost, so your overall damage output is increased.

> 250 mana helps with your small mana pool. If you don't have a blue buff, this alone will allow you to cast over 4 more Qs, which is really useful if you want to poke.

> The 5% movement multiplier will make you a lot more mobile. Since melee champs like you rely so very heavily on keeping up with your target, the 5% goes a really long way. Added along with your dash, pull, and boots, you'll be extremely difficult to escape from.

> The passive is what makes this item really amazing on Diana. Since your passive relies on you autoattacking, the Spellblade passive gives your autoattacks themselves a lot of damage. If you stack 2 hits before you go in with Lunar Rush, the combined damage in that split second can deal almost 500 damage (not counting any MR/Magic pen).
> 60 AP isn't quite as much as Lich Bane's, but it still adds a lot of damage to your kit.

> 50% Attack Speed will allow you to stack your passive much more quickly. Added along with the fact that your AS is always increased by 20% because of the second part of your passive, it works really well together.

> 20% CDR is huge. It's especially helpful since you can now spam your Qs more often. It lowers the cooldown of your max rank Q by almost 2 full seconds. *If you're willing to wait a small delay, you can even double jump with your ult with complete resets. Added along with blue buff and a blue pot, you'll have reached the cap.

> Once again, the passive is what really makes this item shine. While it does not give as much instantaneous burst as Lich Bane, it makes you more powerful in extended trades. It increases your DPS, since you now have additional damage on your basic attacks (which have been boosted due to the attack speed bonus).

*Note: This does not mean that you must wait for the cooldown. If you need an immediate gap closer, do not wait.



Because no game is ever the same, I've included some situational items that all work pretty well with Diana's kit. These include both offensive and defensive paths, all depending on the amount of each you need in that game. There are some pretty niche picks, so be very careful about when to choose what item.


Offensive Alternatives


Despite the nerfs, it's still a very strong item. It's a good item to rush if you want the extra gold generation and lock down potential. The ghost active is very strong for scouting (especially since vision is so weak right now). In addition, the AP, CDR, and Mana Regen will help with Diana's early game problems. Later in the game, it's good to sell this item in favor of a more powerful one (such as Luden's, Rylai's, etc.)

Instead of getting one of Lich Bane or Nashor's Tooth, you can get this item instead. While it doesn't do anything to enhance your autoattacks, it has a really nice passive that will help make enemy healers completely useless. In addition, it gives 20% CDR (Be careful of the 40% cap!) and plenty of mana regen if you're having problems. Finally, the 75 AP is plenty useful for your burst.
You can substitute Abyssal Mask with this instead. While you'll be losing the MR reduction aura, you'll get more mana regen and CDR instead. You can now spam more abilities, without as much fear of going out of mana without blue buff. However, keep in mind that if you do get this item, you'll need to keep track of your CDR. Since it maxes out at 40%, you don't want to be spending gold on unnecessary stats.
A very strong item ever since the AP got buffed to 100. The damage is very good for all of your abilities, and it helps not just your damage output, but also your survivability because it scales with your W. In addition, it provides flat health which works very well with the resistances you already have (from Abyssal/Zhonya's). Finally, Diana's only form of CC is her E, so the slow will help you lock down and kill targets.


Defensive Alternatives


Diana is a champion where you want to inherently build defensively because you'll always be in range of the enemy. For just that slight bit more of defense, you can get Mercury's Treads for the tenacity and MR. Alternatively, you could also get Ninja Tabi if you're being killed by physical damage. However, you do not get the tenacity bonus that you would from Merc Treads.
A new moon shall rise again...

This item should be pretty self-explanatory. If you feel like you'd rather sacrifice some of your damage so that you can live twice and come back to life to pull off your burst a second time. Just make sure that you don't accidentally pop it and waste the passive.
This will give you a spell shield that will most likely protect you from long ranged skill shots/abilities. As an assassin, your job is to stay out of the fight until you get the opening to dive in and delete the enemy squishies. This should help you avoid getting caught out before doing so.


Enchantments


This is a really good Enchant to have, since it lowers the cooldown on your Flash. Diana has no escapes, even as you later into the game. So the more times you have Flash up, the better. In addition, if you ran Teleport for the Splitpush power, it will lower the CD on that summoner as well. Overall a really nice Enchant to have, but always prioritize your actual items.
If you'd really like to move fast, you can grab this enchantment. The 20 movement speed will allow you to get in range for your Crescent Strike and will make you even more difficult to peel off. It'll also allow you to reposition yourself before teamfights with more ease.



Now, I will describe how you should play Diana early game and add any tips and tricks that you can keep in mind while playing. Playing smart, as well as staying safe are essential, since Diana is at her weakest early game. I'm going to tell you in general terms what to expect, but remember that every game is different. Not all of the situations will be exactly as described.

Farming/Last Hitting

Pre-6, your main objective is to get as much farm as you possibly can. Farm = Gold. Gold = Items. Items = Useful Diana. Plus, without your ultimate you don't have any kill potential in lane (unless your jungler comes to gank). Try and last hit as much as you can without overextending. This means that you should not go too far forward to try and get a CS. If the dying minion is in the enemy laner's zone, know your limits and back off. It is better to lose 15 gold than it is to be chunked down to half health.

At the 10 minute mark, there are 114 minions available. However, this is absolutely perfect CS and does not count any other factors—harass, ganks, deaths, kills, recalling, etc. You want to have a realistic goal, though. I'd recommend trying to get about 80 farm by 10 minutes. Keep in mind it is very difficult to get perfect CS consistently, and it will only come with practice. Try opening up a custom game and just last hit for 10 minutes.

Remember that each kill on average is worth about 15-20 minions. Also, if you manage to get a kill on the enemy laner pre-6, you're not only allowed a short amount of time to just purely free farm, but you're also denying them their own farm.

Don't push the lane too often.

Diana has no escapes in her kit, aside from Flash. If you push too far, you leave yourself wide open to ganks from the enemy jungler. Her base movement speed alone is pretty slow, so if you get ganked while too far up, you'll most likely end up dying. Try not to hit too many minions with your abilities, unless you are using those abilities to get those out of range creeps.

However, there are times where you want to intentionally push your lane. One of these reasons is because you want to recall. Whenever you go back to fountain, you want to make sure you've pushed your wave up, so that you'll miss as little amount of minions as possible. In addition, pushing up to the enemy tower will in turn make them lose minions to the tower.

Another reason to quickly push lane is if you want to roam and gank other lanes. Since you are in the center lane on the map, you have access to both top and bottom lane, and it is partly your job to help snowball your team through map pressure. By quickly pushing your lane, you force the enemy laner to farm those under tower, and they won't be able to follow you to counter gank. This will be covered more in detail in the roaming section.

Using your abilities

Don't be stingy about when to use your abilities. You want to take as little damage as possible, and if using your abilities will protect you, by all means use it. However, make sure you manage your mana well. Know your limits and back off when needed to avoid draining your mana pool too quickly. Of course, this won't be a problem once your jungler allows you to get blue buff.

For example, you can use your Crescent Strike to reach out of range minions. In addition, you can position your Q so that you'll hit both the minion, as well as the enemy laner for some poke. This way, you'll be essentially getting two things out of a single Q. Just be sure not to push the lane when doing so, otherwise you'll leave yourself open to ganks.

If you're feeling brave and you want to go up in melee range to get a last hit, use your shield Pale Cascade as soon as the enemy laner turns on your to harass! Just be sure to pop all three orbs so that you can get the maximum shield. This will most likely push the lane since it does AOE damage, so make sure you have everything warded!

Ward the major choke points

You are a champion that lacks any form of escape, except through that of a summoner spell. This makes you extremely, extremely vulnerable to ganks. Therefore, by logic, we have to conclude that we should not get ganked to do well early game. To do this, you must have the major traffic areas warded. In the picture to the right, the green spots are the standard places to ward if you need vision in either your own jungle or the enemies. These will allow you to see when the enemy jungler is doing jungle camps, roaming up and down river, in the major bushes, blind spots, etc. The pink dots are where you could place your vision wards.




Briefly mentioned in the last chapter, roaming is a huge part of playing in the mid lane. Since you are directly in the center of the map, you are expected to travel either top or bot to gank their lanes. This puts massive amounts of pressure on the enemy team, as well as will allow you to help your own team to snowball.

Why do you roam?


When you roam, you are leaving your lane to visit other lanes to potentially net a kill or take an objective. Why do you do this? Well firstly, it puts tremendous amounts of pressure across the map. If you just stayed in your own lane and did nothing but farm, the enemy top and bottom lanes have only the jungler to watch and keep track of. However, if you throw in a second roaming entity, you throw in twice the amount of map awareness needed. By forcing the enemy to multitask as they try to keep track of when and where you are, they are more prone to making mistakes that you and your teammates can capitalize on.

In addition, by roaming to (let's say) bot lane, you can possibly net a few kills, as well as forcing the enemies to use their Summoner Spells to try and escape. Since summoners have such a long cooldown, you are ensuring an advantage for your teammates. If you do end up getting a kill, you get massive amounts of gold (both from the kill, as well as the assists). By eliminating the champions around important objectives, particularly Dragon , you can take them for free and get one step closer to winning the game.

How do you roam?

To roam, you'll need to leave your own lane to go and gank others. To ensure that you do not lose too much farm or leave your turret vulnerable, the most logical thing to do would be to shove your lane forward as fast and as far as you can without putting yourself in danger. Diana is particularly good at shoving because 2 (3 if you count her passive) of her abilities deal AOE damage. Quickly shoving the lane with your Q and W will force the minion wave to get to the enemy tower, where the enemy laner will have to deal with cleaning up, and they will be unable to follow you.


Once you've done this, it's time to start actually running to different lanes. Keep in mind that should you run into any wards, a smart enemy will immediately back off and you will have wasted your time. Usually to minimize this as much as possible, I run through allied territory, since most enemies only keep a few wards at the choke points. In the diagram above, this is the general pathing you should take, depending on which side of the map you are on.

When on the blue side of the map, it is easiest to roam to the top lane. Because the enemy top lane player usually only has wards around the exit of your own team’s blue buff, you can frequently gank top unseen by walking behind the Baron Nashor cove. Roaming when playing on the purple side of the map is very similar to doing so on the blue side except that you will be walking behind the Dragon cove to gank the enemy bottom lane.


Now that we have explored in length about what to do in early game skirmishes or 1v1 situations, it's time to talk about what to do in teamfights. Mid-late game, people will start grouping up to take objectives to get ahead of the other team. However, both teams will try to do so, and will end up facing each other in an impending teamfight. Your job as Diana is either one of two things: Be an initiator or be an assassin.

Being an initiator

Diana is a unique APC in that she has the ability to suddenly and quickly initiate teamfights. As discussed in the Zhonya's Hourglass Combo, she can jump to one target, and then using the reset on her ultimate, jump from the edge of the team straight into the center. In the heart of the enemy team, she can pull everyone in using Moonfall, and subsequently slow everyone.


However, you need to make sure your own team is in a position to follow up. Timing is very important when it comes down to initiating. Go in when you land a Q on a grouped up team. Hitting your Zhonya's after quickly dealing your first wave of burst should keep you alive while your team catches up. While you are in stasis, your team's CC champions should be diving in to lock down high priority targets, like the enemy ADC or APC. Once your invulnerability wears off, you should jump on these targets to burst them down with your second wave of abilities.

Being an assassin

With Diana's high mobility, she is classified as an assassin. If your team needs someone to 100-0 someone quickly, that job may fall to you. To do this, you must go in at the right time. I have seen far too many assassins go in too early, just to die because the enemy team quickly locked them down. Timing is essential: Too early and you'll be CC'd. Too late, and your team will die without you.

The ideal time to go in as an assassin is after the enemy team's CC has been mostly exhausted. For example: Enemy team has a Sona support? Wait until after she has used her ultimate, Crescendo. This way, she no longer has any hard CC to lock you down. Another example: Enemy team has a Morgana. Wait until she has already begun using her Soul Shackles before going in to deal your damage. Third example: Enemy team has an AP Lulu. Wait until she has already used her polymorph. From these three examples, you can see how I listed the enemy champions' major lock down abilities. As an assassin, you want to wait until these have already been used, so you won't be locked down right next to the enemy ADC/APC.



Well, congratulations! You've reached the end of my ridiculously long Diana Mid guide! I hope you've learned something after reading this guide, and I hope I've inspired you to play more of this champion. If you believe my guide was helpful in any way, please leave me an upvote! They always make my day ^_^ If you have any objections to my build/reasoning, let me know! I'll be more than happy to hear your side of the argument, and I know I'm not perfect. If my logic is wrong, please do not hesitate to correct me! I want this guide to be as accurate as possible, and I will update it if I do end up agreeing with you!

Thank you for reading!

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