Diana Build Guide by tehAsian

Introduction

Hey! Welcome to my Diana guide! :D

Diana is a melee assassin that is VERY similar to Akali, being able to 'tag' targets, jump to them (several times if necessary), and instantly burst them down.

She can also be built Tanky DPS because of her VERY high base damages, and using her skills as utility rather than damage, but I prefer to build her as an Assassin as it utilizes her high base damages and ratios better at the cost of survivability, as well as snowballing better in the hell known as Solo Queue xD

I play Diana in the Mid Lane and Jungle, but this guide will be focused more on Mid Lane. After playing Diana, I found out that while her kit is based on Jungling, it can be abused more easily in a lane against squishies. Mid was the perfect place.

Pros and Cons

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Pros +Very high base damage +High base stats +AoE Pull +Difficult to kill with Pale Cascade +Snowballs very well

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Cons -No mobility until 6 -Naturally pushes lanes -No real escapes - Crescent Strike is hard to hit -Somewhat item dependant

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Runes

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M A R K S

Greater Mark of Attack Speed: Diana's jungling speed is reliant on Attack Speed. 15% Attack Speed, in combination with Moonsilver Blade will allow you to absolutely TEAR through jungle camps. Also, it's great for if you get Blue Buff taken from you, as you can always rely on your auto-attacks for clearing power instead of spamming Q/W for clear speed. Not recommended for laning. Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Diana deals mostly if not all magical damage. These Marks, with Sorcerer's Shoes OR (not both) Abyssal Scepter will allow you to deal TRUE DAMAGE to any squishy laner that hasn't bought Mres. And even if they did, you'll hurt them pretty badly. Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration: Hybrid Penetration runes. Diana will do a lot of physical damage through auto-attacks. Hybrid Penetration runes require more IP investment but they are well worth it especially if you decide to build Guinsoo's Rageblade or Hextech Gunblade. These aren't that great without the Quints though, so think about it first.

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M A R K S

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S E A L S

greater seal of replenishment: Mana Regeneration runes. If you're having trouble managing your mana, then these would be a good alternative. However, you shouldn't be playing too aggressively before 6 anyway, and by 6 you have a couple of Doran's Ring/ Chalice of Harmony/Blue Buff to supply mana. They're still good, I just prefer flat Armor to abuse my shield ;D Greater Seal of Armor: Flat Armor seals are GREAT on Diana, for ONE REASON: it makes Pale Cascade hard to break. And when it does break, your enemies are going to have to break it again (if you used it properly)! These are also universal Seals for any champion, as most early damage comes from auto-attacks, which deal physical damage. Being a melee champion with no pre-6 gap closer, Diana is very vulnerable to ranged harass, so I take these to reduce the damage so I can stay in lane longer.

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S E A L S

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G L Y P H S

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: Magic Resistance per level if you aren't dealing with a lot of magic damage in the early game, like when you're jungling or going solo top against a typical bruiser. Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: Flat Magic Resistance if you ARE dealing with a lot of early magic damage, like Rumble or Vladimir, or if you're simply mid and you want your shield to be difficult to break. Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power: I'm not a fan of AP Runes anymore, mostly because I find it MUCH more beneficial to go defensive, and also because obtaining AP from items is easier than say, more Attack Damage. But, this will give you a stronger shield late game by about 20-ish, 50+ damage after damage mitigation so it's not too bad. Greater Glyph of Ability Power: I recommend these for jungling if you want to be slightly more sustainable, but I honestly didn't see the difference between having these and not having these. Maybe an additional 10 or so health from a camp, but it won't matter as your shield won't break as you invest levels into it.

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G L Y P H S

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Q U I N T S

Greater Quintessence of Hybrid Penetration: See Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration :3 But these aren't worth it unless you get the Marks, so think about it before you buy. Greater Quintessence of Ability Power: If you're jungling. This will make your Pale Cascade stronger and allow you to clear faster with Moonsilver Blade. This small amount of AP will make you a bit more resilient to damage because of your shield as well. Greater Quintessence of Spell Vamp: Well, at first this seems like a bad idea as her only non-AoE ability is her ultimate and Spell Vamp doesn't apply to Moonsilver Blade, but Diana has no sustain outside of raw blocking power, so it's not too bad, especially if you shield damage then come out with more health than you started with. Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: I've been using these a lot lately, and they really help from getting to place to place. If mobility is your thing/you really like ganking and HATE champions who are right on the edge of Moonfall and get away, take these. You will feel the difference.

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Q U I N T S

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Explanation

As an Assassin, I prioritize damage and mobility in my runes. However, I run Flat Armor runes because Diana has a weak pre-6 laning phase, where due to the lack of gap closers the enemy AP Carry can harass you easily with auto-attack pokes. Flat armor will help reduce that damage so you won't get bullied out of lane as easily. Also, there aren't a lot of offensive options for Seals that are better than using health or armor.

I use movespeed quints because extra speed is always helpful for staying in range, or

Masteries

Laning

Um, they're Masteries. o_o

As an assassin, I want to prioritize damage in my masteries, going 21/0/9. The increased AP and Executioner will allow me to deal that extra bit of damage to finish off squishies.

I take Swiftness in the utility tree because as an assassin, we want to be roaming and picking up kills for our team. Extra MS will let us roam a bit easier.

Summoner Spells

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Flash is a MUST on Diana! It is absolutely perfect for those Flash > Moonfall or Flash > Crescent Strike > ults shenanigans which allow you to easily surprise and catch squishies or low life champions for the kill. Also, it is one of the best escaping spells in the game, something you NEED as Diana pre-6, especially against junglers like Alistar or Lee Sin.

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Diana is an assassin, and having Ignite to add to your burst will really make securing kills early-mid game easier. Late game it can be used to shut down heals or the AD Carry's life steal so he doesn't heal through your damage.

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If no one on your team has this, take it. This will improve your ganks with another slow and improve your dueling with the damage reduction. Additionally, the slow will allow you to stick to enemies, meaning you'll deal TONS OF DAMAGE with your passive. Probably the most OP Summoner Spell in the game.

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This is great against a lot of CCs, but I'd rather get Quicksilver Sash as this doesn't remove suppressions. Not a lot to say about this.

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Sticking power on a 3 minute cooldown. It's a good replacement for Flash, but it's not as good as Flash E/R/Q > Rs. Still a solid choice, but I don't think it's better than Flash.

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If you're jungling, only if you're jungling, and ALWAYS if you're jungling. The risk of losing Baron or Dragons is NOT worth having an Ignite or Exhaust as every objective stolen can add up exponentially and you WILL end up losing the game.

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Ability Explanation

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Bonus Attack Speed and additional cleave damage every third hit. Timer resets every 3 seconds. Scales very well with levels AND AP.

• The AoE is kind of short, but it is wide. Position yourself properly so that you don't accidentally push your lane too hard. Hitting 1 or 2 extra minions early on won't hurt, so don't fret too much.
• Before you Lunar Rush someone in lane, try to stack up this passive so that you have extra burst right off the bat, instead of having to wait 1-2 auto-attacks for that proc.
• Timing this with Sheen or Lich Bane will allow it to have a 1.6 AP Ratio and deal absolutely tremendous damage.
• The cleave portion will not apply on-hit effects such as Lich Bane, Sheen, or Trinity Force procs, it will only apply the damage.

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Curved AoE skillshot. Ranged harass. Part of your 'stickiness'.

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• Practice with this skillshot and get used to how the curve curves. This is a MUST.
• Try to aim with the curved portion of your skillshot rather than the circular end portion. The area is bigger and you will still be able to hit people when they move slightly to your left.
• Anything hit by Crescent Strike will apply Moonlight and grant vision.
  
• Try standing a bit more to the left if you want to use this to push your lane, as you can hit more minions more easily if you position properly.
• Use this to last hit if you're getting zoned.

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Shield that refreshes if all three orbs detonate. HUGE damage mitigation.

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• When leveling this ability up first, buy more resistances like Chalice of Harmony, Abyssal Scepter, or Zhonya's Hourglass first so you can mitigate more damage.
• Each of the orb does a small amount of AoE damage, meaning you can use this to farm efficiently.
• Using Lunar Rush then Pale Cascade will allow all three orbs to detonate onto your target due to you being on top of your target.
• Try to get the refresh off in lane so you can take less damage from harassment. The easiest way to do this is walk close to minions.
• This ability, like Riven's Valor, will allow you to built straight resistances and damage and still be extremely tanky.
• Given enough AP, this ability is like a mini heal bait with both the initial and refreshed portion of the shield. Never give up!

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AoE pull and slow. Use as an escape to juke chasers or to group up enemies.

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• When you're running into a brush, you can use this to juke enemies more easily. Or, you can use this when you're being chased because this IS an interrupt and it WILL slow enemies down and save your life.
• Use this to group up minions in lane so you can AoE them more easily and push faster.
• When engaging on champions, Moonfall is best used immediately after Lunar Rush as it will catch them even if they Flash away immediately.
• In teamfights, if your team has any form of AoE like Solar Flare or Soul Shackles, use this to group together enemies so your AoE can hit more.
• This isn't just a pull and a slow, it's an interrupt, meaning it will cancel channeled ultimates like Absolute Zero or Death Lotus.

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Gap closer. Cooldown refreshes if used on enemies 'tagged' with your Q.

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• If you use Lunar Rush on a champion afflicted with Moonlight, the cooldown will instantly refresh. However, the refresh only happens once, meaning you won't be able to tag 5 champions for 5 refreshes.
• A lot of times it's worth it using this JUST as a gap closer, like for harass OR if you don't need the double dash for a kill.
• If you need an escape, tag minions or jungle creeps with Crescent Strike then use Lunar Rush to quickly gain distance. Again, you don't need to use Crescent Strike if it's an emergency.
• When ganking enemies, you can tag minions in lane, Lunar Rush to them, then again to your target. This is a very good way of gaining a LOT of distance very quickly, and not a lot of champions can actually avoid this.

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Ability Sequence

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R > Q > W > E

Max Q first. After a bit more testing, Q is superior as you gain a more consistent form of harass, and also Diana is amazing at keeping out of trouble.

There are still times where you'd want to put more than 1 point into Pale Cascade if you need the shield more. In those situations, putting points into W will prove more beneficial than extra poke or harass.

Itemization

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Recommended: Speed is important on a low mobility champion. So is sustain. Starting Boots of Speed and three Health Potions will give you both. This is the most versatile start as well as the most common for Mid Laners. Start with this item ONLY if you know you don't need any sustain and if you know you can absolutely dominate your lane. But honestly, I would never start with this as Diana is really weak pre-6 :/ Kind of like Doran's Ring start, but it gives you the opportunity to bring in a potion as well. If you're going to rush a Hextech Revolver, Sheen, etc then this is an acceptable choice.fillerfiller fillerfiller Standard choice of boots for an AP Caster in Mid. 20 Magic Penetration with your Mpen runes will allow you to deal almost True Damage to enemy mids that do not buy Magic Resistance. More Magic Resistance and Tenacity against CC effects. I used to get these every game, but they aren't always a must until you reach late game and when you already have a Void Staff to replace the Mpen from Sorcerer's Shoes. Armor boots, get these ONLY if you're against a lot of physical damage, like Talon.fillerfiller This is SO GOOD on Diana as it builds into Deathfire Grasp, which allows you to do insane burst to squishies. Always a good option regardless of how the game is going. The sustain this thing grants is great. It also builds into Shurelya's Reverie which grants valuable sticking power, or Eleisa's Miracle which grants precious Tenacity. Or, you can just sell it later on! This is great if you need a bit of extra tankiness. Builds into Randuin's Omen for sticking power, or Locket of the Iron Solari which gives you a troll shield in combination with Pale Cascade :D Or, like Philosopher's Stone, you can sell it!Buy GP5 if you want, however, do not buy them after the 13-15 minute mark unless it builds into something you need/want! Sometimes, if you're jungling, buying triple GP5 early on will allow you to snowball extremely well despite doing literally nothing, however getting them too late will make them more of a burden.
fillerfiller Dat AP. Pretty much the only reason you'll be buying this. As an assassin, you should RUSH this item after you get your early game items as it will give you tons of damage AND durability (from Pale Cascade). Getting this item at about the 20 minute mark (certainly doable) will make your Crescent Strike and Pale Cascade instaclear minion waves and hit like a truck. I usually get this after Rabadon's Deathcap because you have a ton of AP, and it synergizes well with your Moonsilver Blade, as well as adding a bit of extra damage after every ability. The move speed and mana isn't bad either. You can buy this at any time really, but I usually save it for late game as I prefer durability and utility from items like Athene's Unholy Grail or Zhonya's Hourglass first as you need to be alive to deal damage, and with a Rabadon's Deathcap + Lich Bane you already do enough.fillerfiller This is AMAZING on Diana, whether you're building AP or AD. Everything benefits you, and the proc does decent damage while the slow will let you stick onto enemies easier. A squishy AP Carry's best friend :D The main purpose of this is to use it when you're cooldowns are up so you don't take extra damage while waiting, then when you come out of stasis you have a fresh Pale Cascade up and can survive longer! This item has CDR to spam your abilities ( Pale Cascade in particular), Magic Resistance to make your shield stronger, and the second highest amount of flat AP in an item. This is absolutely amazing :D This is amazing for Diana. The extra Attack Damage goes well with your passive, and the Spell Vamp/AP is always nice. Also, it gives you a bit of sticking power with the active. If you're getting dominated in lane against an AP threat, you might want to consider picking up an early Abyssal Scepter. The Mres, Aura, and AP is really great and makes you difficult to push out of lane because of Pale Cascade. Ehhhh, why not? Makes you very tanky, but I don't like health items because you already have a spammable shield via Pale Cascade and that's already like having a couple hundred extra health. Sticking power and health. That's pretty much it. You also only have one non-AoE skill that will apply the full slow, so I don't think this is that great. Still viable though.fillerfiller This is a great item for Diana as it gives Armor to strengthen your shield, Cdr to spam it, and mana so you can keep using it. Also, it gives an Aura that debuffs enemy AD Carries. Consider this if no one on your team has it. Best counteritem against a LeBlanc. Or reqieum. But the Bubble + Health + Mres is really nice. Get this if you're up against a lot of CC or Suppressions like Nether Grasp or Infinite Duress. Builds off a Heart of Gold if you decide to buy it and don't want to sell it. A bit of sticking power and also synergizes with Moonfall. Builds off a Philosopher's Stone if you don't want to sell it and if you want a bit of sticking power or mobility. Raw resistances for your shield and a second life to burst down an enemy. The only problem is that this is purely defensive, and as I've said before, Diana can get by with mostly damage items.
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Gameplay - Early Game

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Levels 1 - 5

Just farm. Use Crescent Strike to last hit ONLY minions that are out of range, or if you'll take too much harass from walking to it. Your goal is about 100 in 15 minutes, but you CAN do 100 in 10 minutes, which is what I shoot for if I'm playing seriously, and that WILL put you very far ahead in terms of farm.

Use Pale Cascade to absorb harass damage so you don't get forced out of lane too quickly.

If your laning opponent gets too close to you feel free to use Moonfall > Ability you're leveling first to push them away.

Be sure to manage your mana well too, and ALWAYS have enough for a clutch Pale Cascade. The easiest way is to make sure you're never full up on mana (if you are full, use some up to harass with Crescent Strike or get out of position on purpose and block stuff with Pale Cascade, etc.) but play conservatively.

Pre-6 is when Diana is the MOST vulnerable to basically anything, so you don't want to be too aggressive or cocky. Your time will come.
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Post-6

NOW you start playing aggressively :D

Once you have Lunar Rush, you start bullying your lane opponent. Every time your spells are off cooldown, you use them to damage your opponent. Over and over. And when they stay in lane with a low amount of health, you kill them. Not a lot of champions can avoid getting pushed out of lane against a Diana post-6, and even fewer can actually push her out.

If you max Q out first: Try your best to lane Crescent Strike, Lunar Rush to them, Moonfall (so they get slowed and pulled even if they Flash) and pop Pale Cascade for additional damage. Keep auto-attacking them to get your passive proc off and wait for Crescent Strike > Lunar Rush again. Ignite if they will die from it, if not don't be greedy and just settle for pushing them out.
> > >
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> > >

If you max W out first: Lunar Rush > Moonfall > Pale Cascade every chance you get, and try to have all three orbs detonate on your target. LANDING Crescent Strike FOR THIS IS NOT NECESSARY! Do this EVERY TIME Lunar Rush + Pale Cascade + Moonfall (not really necessary) is
up. If you get the chance to land a Crescent Strike before this combo, DO SO!
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(optional) > > >

In addition to bullying your lane opponent, you should also look for oppurtunities to take the Wraiths on BOTH jungle sides or roam.

Diana is an innately fast jungle camp clearer, meaning you are able to push your lane, clear a jungle camp, push your lane again (without missing CS!) and clear more jungle camps, allowing your leveling to outpace everyone in the current match! Sometimes the clearing speed is so quick that you just walk up to it and they die a second later.

*Tip: If you need to push your lane quickly, group up the minions with Moonfall first, THEN apply your AoE so that it hits all 6/7 instead of just 3 or 4.*

In the case of taking the ENEMY jungle camps, you might want to ward it for a while first so you don't end up getting caught in unfavorable situations. Alternatively, just play it safe and only take your own.

Oh, and be sure to ask your jungler for permission, or he'll get angry at you :C Taking Blue, Wraiths, AND possibly Wolves basically limits your jungler to ganking every second and SUCCEEDING every gank.

Gameplay - Mid Game

Keep farming. Force Dragon fights if you're ahead. Roam and gank.

At this point, I look at my map for potential ganks that can end in my team's favor, and while doing so I unrelentlessly push my lane, especially if I have Blue Buff or a Chalice of Harmony. This will ensure that 1)The enemy mid laner cannot roam because I will break their tower (20% AS Buff from passive OP) or 2)If they do abandon their tower, Mid lane will be extremely pressured after the tower has died and that will let ME roam more. And, like in the Early Game, when I finish pushing my lane and there's nothing to do, I farm my jungle.

There isn't a lot to explain in Mid Game :P Just try to deny the other team any Dragons and gank when the opportunity arises. That's it.

Gameplay - End Game + Teamfights

End Game is pretty much where all the Baron and tower staredowns are. Try your best to not get caught and killed because Diana has very weak escape mechanisms, and if you do get caught it usually means GG.

The best thing to do is to BE PATIENT around Baron fights, and calmly find the AD Carry.

Towards End Game, you have TWO main roles in teamfights. The first and your top priority role as an Asassin is to take out the AD Carry on the other team, and the second is to peel for your OWN AD Carry.

End game, the AD Carry will almost always have a monstrous amount of DPS through items, but also a monstrously small amount of defensive items unless they decide to get an early Guardian Angel. You're going to abuse that by landing Crescent Strike on them, jumping onto them with Lunar Rush, and have Pale Cascade/ Lich Bane/whatever other burst you have to take them out as quickly as possible. SAVE Moonfall UNLESS YOU NEED THE INTERRUPT!

Now, to peel is simple. Position yourself so that the enemy you want to 'peel' is between you and his target. Then click E. Congrats, you have now given your carry some distance and possibly saved his life, and he will now carry the rest of the fight :D

Jungling!

Decided to put a jungle section here :P!
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Items

This is the only real thing I want to talk about while playing Diana as a jungler, as everything else is either set in stone or already explained somewhere.

Triple GP5 in the jungle is AMAZING in conjunction with Diana's super fast clear speed, as it basically allows you to farm up TONS of gold with little to no effort. Every time I have used triple GP5, I haven't regretted it as I would gave an enormous income despite not even being slightly fed, and because of that income I was able to get far far ahead in terms of items.

But you really shouldn't ALWAYS go triple gp5, but the Gold Per 5 items you want to get as early as possible would be Philosopher's Stone and Heart of Gold. You want to get them earlier than 10 minutes in (most optimal), or 12 minutes at the latest. Kage's Lucky Pick is optional, but getting it ~12 minutes in in conjunction with Philo Stone and HoG will yield positive results.

As for big items, just buy your Core Items ( ) as both of them are efficient items for your gold and for what you're doing.

And that's it! You can basically buy whatever, but keep in mind Junglers have to be tanky, especially if you have a squishyish carry at top. Pure tank items like Randuin's Omen are especially good, but Rylai's Crystal Scepter/ Abyssal Scepter/ Zhonya's Hourglass (Tanky AP Items)are great as well.
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Route:

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Screenies~! :3

Summary

And that's it! Thank you for taking the time to look at this guide C:

Hope you learned something about playing Diana, and if not oh well :P

Thanks to:

• Jhoijhoi for her Line Dividers and her Guide to making a Guide, I always have to reference it when I make one of these :P
• IceCreamy for his Columns Guide for aesthetics in a lot of parts :P
• Everyone who reads this and votes on it, providing valuable feedback <3

Change Log

8/17/2012

• Published guide

8/19/2012

• Noticed I had W maxed first in the Q cheat sheet *facepalm*
• Changed around some masteries.
• Added Change Log

8/25/2012

• 15k Views and only 8 votes wtf why u no vote? D:
• Changed around the jungle build, masteries still awaiting further testing

8/27/2012

• Decided to listen to people and not max W out first :P Also because I finally realized it's not necessary.
• Added Screenies :3

9/2/2012

• Added a win screenshot
• Still testing Rose's suggestions. So far, they work really well, but I'm fed up the *** every game :/

9/5/2012

• Changed cheat sheet.

10/11/12

• Cheat sheet changed again
• Removed jungling section, after giving it some thought she really doesn't work well there :l
• Going to open up Soviet's review and work on this later