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Diana Build Guide by Ronnie Law

AP Offtank Diana: Minutes To Midnight

AP Offtank Diana: Minutes To Midnight

Updated on April 3, 2013
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Ronnie Law Build Guide By Ronnie Law 4 7 8,601 Views 18 Comments
4 7 8,601 Views 18 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Ronnie Law Diana Build Guide By Ronnie Law Updated on April 3, 2013
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Before We Begin

Please read the guide.
Please try out my build.
Please leave your comments.

I am not here to tell you how to play.
I don't need you to tell me how to play.

I will give my opinion.
I will make suggestions.
I will present my own ideas.

If you don't like something, don't use it.
My delicate sensibilities won't be hurt, I promise.
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Diana: Minutes To Midnight

Welcome to my Diana Guide!

There are many different ways to build Champion's in League of Legends.

To me, what separates good from bad are solid themes and goals.

What follows is my analysis of Diana and how I build her.
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Inspirations

First And Foremost, some reference material:

The Drunkards Walk, By Leonard Mlodinow
The Art of War, Author Unknown (Sun Tzu commonly credited, however this is historically unverifiable.)
Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Also consider the Wikipedia article for Game Theory

Other influences include:

Chess Traps: Pitfalls And Swindles, By I. A. Horowitz
The Fabric of the Cosmos, By Brian Greene

Just a handful of the texts that have influenced me, as a person, and a player. As you can see, I read.
A LOT. I do not list these to give credence to some strategic pedigree. They are just books or articles that I have read concerning complex systems, and offer unique perspective. They are all thought provoking reads.


Q: What does any of this have to do with League of Legends.
A: League of Legends is a Zero Sum game, where skill level per game can be graded on a curve.

An idea that exists in Chess or Physics might have no correlation to League of Legends. On the other hand, it just MIGHT have a deep connection. This build stems from a lot of ideas borrowed from other areas.

Some of these are:
  • Temporal Progression
  • Statistical Probability
  • Mathematical Models For Strategic Decision Making
  • Psychology Of Decision Making
  • Concepts of Value and Significance

I find that these are generally not considerations to the average player in a typical game.
Rather, they follow basic guidelines that were developed with these ideas in mind.
Therefore, most players are using imperfect copies of winning stratagems because they do not understand the underlying principles.

With that in mind, please consider this.

There are ideas concerning progression, timing, and resources tightly woven into this build.
I may not have explained them well, if at all.
That does not mean they are not present or do not work.
Without a solid understanding of what it tries to accomplish, it probably won't feel right.

If you try this build, it likely will not work the first few times through.
I highly suggest a few trial runs against bots.
Get the feel for it, the flow, the rhythm.
Give it a shot.
Try my build.
Tweak it, play with it.
Change it as you need to and make it YOUR build.

If you give it a chance, explore what it can do, and really LEARN how powerful it can be, I doubt you will automatically dismiss the ideas presented. You might even learn something you didn't know before.

That is the whole reason I took the time to create this thing.
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Themes And Goals

Take a minute to familiarize yourself with Diana.

Some of the things you may notice:
  • Four abilities that scale with Ability Power(AP), including her Passive .
  • Three Area of Effect(AoE) Damage Abilities and an AoE Snare .
  • is on a short Cooldown(CD) and synergizes with her .
  • She is a Melee Champion and has an excellent Shield .
  • is a unique Skillshot, with a curved path.
  • is amazing Gap Closer .

Looking at these together, I see an AP Jungler.
  • She has an awesome, reusable Gap Closer and an AoE Crowd Control(CC) Ability .
  • She has the sustain and AoE to clear out Jungle Creeps quickly.
  • She likes to close distance and chain low CD abilities to generate kills.

However, she also has some glaring weaknesses.
  • She is an AP Mana user, and is dependent on Blue Buff.
  • She has no escape tools and low overall mobility.
  • She has no Gap Closer until hitting Level 6.

Thematically:

AP Melee Bruiser.
Get in, Get Kills, Be The Last One Standing.

Goals and Objectives:
  • Build enough AP/Cooldown Reduction(CDR) to quickly and efficiently secure kills.
  • Prioritize enough defense to be sustainable in melee engagements.
  • Increase overall mobility to improve tactical options.
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Pro's And Con's Of This Build

This build is not perfect, I understand that.
I set goals and made compromises to achieve my goals.
I think the final product is extremely aggressive and well designed.


Pro's

Increased Mobility
Accelerated Progression
Improved Damage Mitigation
Con's

Diffuse Stat Allocation
Low Impact Before Level 6
Poor Scaling Past Late Game
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On Clairvoyance

If you prefer Flash, then take Flash.

Some of the reasons I use Clairvoyance:
  • To see the enemy team starting buys. This can identify initial Gank targets.
  • Scout out possible enemy invades.
  • Tracking the enemy Jungler. Am I ahead/behind? Where is he Ganking first?
  • Split push surveillance. When they respond to my push I can leave safely.
  • Scout a possible ambush, is he running to his team or is he just a sitting duck?
  • Baron and Dragon checks.

Clairvoyance is map awareness, wherever you want it, whenever you want it.
It is extremely powerful for a Jungler that uses it correctly.
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On Flash

WARNING! This section is new, and poorly written. I feel I need to put SOMETHING here to explain my aversion to Flash, so I will quickly try, and make a more concise edit later.

There are so many ideas crammed into this build that I sometimes have a hard time keeping them straight.

This is an idea, I have not fully explored it, therefor I could be wrong.
That being said, a direct snippet from the comments section.
Also, don't take this section as proof that Clairvoyance is good.
Clairvoyance is limited, and while I like it, it may not be for everyone.

---

Flash is only about ~1/3rd as effective on Diana as it is on other champs.
Let's look at the sample space.

1. Flash is used to close a gap and get a kill.
2. Flash is used to create a gap and negate a kill.
3. Flash is used to counter Flash.

The other reasons for it's use are a minority and I will ignore them in this formula, however I recognize that they exist and are a minority.

1. Not very useful considering the mechanics of Lunar Rush.
2. This is useful on Diana, no argument there.
3. Again, not as useful because of Lunar Rush.

There are some very rough assumptions with this logic, but I think it is sound.
Diana is a Flash counter innately. She does not need it, nor is it very effective against her.
It is likely that a BETTER pick exists.
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Abilities

This has an AP Ratio of .8 and is the only ability that does not require a direct engagement.
Use it to Poke, Zone, check bushes, whatever. It has a low CD/Mana cost and should be used very aggressively.

First pick at Level 1 for sustain while Jungling. Use it any time you are about to take damage or want to add damage to a Lunar Rush. Try to use all three charges to amplify the shield.

Add a point at Level 5 for use during Ganks. Watch for the long CD. If she can't stick to her target, make them stick to her. Use this in a pinch to stall a duel while waiting on a CD, preferably Pale Cascade. Lastly, use it to slow pursuit and gain distance.

Combo this with Crescent Strike to keep it off CD. This is the centerpiece of any combo chain, don't be afraid to use it. Even without the CD reset it has a low CD. Always use it with a connected Crescent Strike to amplify DPS.


> > > .

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Masteries

The primary focus here is to improve Experience Gain, GP5, Armor/Sustain and Mobility.
Bonuses include: Improved Summoner Spells and Buffs.

Note - The increased level gain is used to augment her natural level scaling, enabling you to become more powerful faster. This increase can be exponential, as Diana can easily snowball.

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Runes

Again, the focus is XP and Mitigation, especially considering a lack of armor items selected.
AP and AS are taken to increase the overall effectiveness of her kit.

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Still a work in progress

A more comprehensive guide would be exhausting.
If you have questions or comments, please leave comments.
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