07/16/2011 - build created

07/17/2011 - new skillorder + added new Chapter "About the CDR Hype"

This won't be a full depth guide but I am going to show the most important things to know about Leona's gameplay to make her a succesfull TANK - what she is supposed to be. If you're not looking for a TANK build then this is the wrong place to look for. All the masteries, runes, summoners and skills are adapted to it. You will fail if you think you just use this build and then use 21/9/0 or 0/21/9.

greetz

suFFer

Leona's full and only potential can only unfold if you have the right lane partner. IMO Leona is for Bot Lane ONLY. Don't mess around and get farmed solo Top or Mid. Leona is a true first blood champion. I haven't tried every Champion by now as a lane partner but this is a list of extra ordinary partners I played with and first blooded + dominated lane. In general I think all kinds of huge DDs(Damage Dealer) work with her.







Why not Solo Top?
- Her passive is a huge amount of Damage if your Lane partner pops 'em
- She is not a killer. She is a tank with awesome Crowd Control(CC)
- You can easily setup kills for your team

So what to do with your lane partner?
FIRST OF ALL! If you don't have a team mate in your team and you're not skyping or in team speak dont play Leona. Her stuns are pretty effective but very short,too. Every single wasted second decides if you make the kill or get killed. So you play alone ranked or normal games pick another Tank...believe me random bobs always will leave the tank alone and run ASAP (as soon as possible).

Well you got a mate? - Awesome! Now how to get first blood?(actually it shouldn't be you who gets fb. It's way better to have a fed akali or xin zaho than a farmed Leona)
This is the way I do it and it works for me.

- Use the freakin' brushes! They're there for a reason. Do NOT over extend and push their lane (at least in the beginning).
- Skill first
- Now this is very crucial: farm some creeps and when an enemy comes near you stun him. Do not use yet (Don't forget the MR and Armor + Dmg Output reduction)! Akali/Xin/Pantheon/etc.... charges and deals damage. Now they're gonna focus your DD. Use to slow them. Probably your lane partner has ,too or even . Even if one of them manages to run low hp your should be ready again by now.
In most of the cases the second enemy champion will be trying to help. Don't waste the second on the 10% hp first target but on the second one. You will kill them both in 90% of cases.

If I see, after a few seconds in the fight, that we won't kill them, we rather fall back (to make them stay) instead of hitting them to 90%. That would mean they go back to base and heal up. If you prefer to make'em loose XP thats fine, too.

Your main objectives are:
- to initiate
- soak up damage
- block skill shots
- stun the most valuable targets
- and ALWAYS keep a stun ready to block nunu's, katarinas,...... ultis.

Being a tank isn't easy because in most of the cases if you suck and focus the wrong targets - the teamfight will end up with your team dead and you running full hp back to base. You're not there to steal kills nor nuke the enemys nor to push towers.
When you initiate do not throw everything in there and wait for your team to do the rest.
- Initiate with (pick a squishy)
- NOW use ; (don't use it before because every second of that shield is AWESOME for soaking up damage) and throw your on him. Now that YOU have their attention your team should have bursted him into the depths of mordor.
- Now in this crowd of 9 or maybe still 10 champions watch out for the low hp DDs. I love to pick a veigar or a vayne.
- Throw your on them and tell your team who to focus (skype or by blinking).
- As soon as one of your skills is ready again watch out for the most valuable target and focus again........
this continues until you're dead or the team fight is won.

Sometimes you will initiate with . Do that when the enemy is so stupid and 3 Champs stand on the same spot. Works especially for Bot Lane because of the huge range. Wait in the brush. Give your Xin/Pantheon etc a sign and throw (hopefully you hit the middle) on them :) happy slaughter.


Dying as a tank is normal. Of course you try to prevent it but in 70% of the teamfights I initiate, I'm the only one dead. This sucks? Not at all. Mission accomplished. Your team has now enough time to push towers or do nashor/dragon :). Again if you don't have a team - don't play Leona. People won't even use her passive and just run away if you initiate XD!gg!

People have been complaining about now CDR in this build. IMO you don't need any CDR if you know when to use the right spell. A spamming Leona isn't as powerfull as one that knows when to use the right spell. Besides, the spells on 40% still have high CD so spamming isn't even possible with 40%...CDR Items are way to expensive. The only one that makes sense is the Frozen Heart if you face a heavy DPS team!

- You can use Leonas on towers.
- farm with
- never farm with (you will regret it)
- dont farm with (you will accidently hit an enemy champ and be somewhere u don't want to be)
- you can't pop your own passive
- using resets the AA timer (Auto Attack)
- the buff of is crucial in teamfights