Hi all,

Ever since Sion rework I have been playing him almost exclusively and have gained quite a bit of knowledge on how to maximize his potential. I have played Sion to get me out of Silver and into Gold!

Sion is not a very popular champ - and this can be used to your advantage as many players underestimate his potential, even before he gets to level 6. Once he gets to level 6 the enemy better be prepared for his extremely devastating ganks with his ultimate Unstoppable Onslaught.

Also, he can be built many different ways but I will just be focusing on an AD focused item set, runes, and masteries. Other guides may have him as a pure tank but I think this is wasting his potential, plus it is just kind of boring to play him as a strict tank.

If using this guide please practice Sion in teambuilder until you are comfortable enough with his abilities before you take him into ranked. His ultimate is especially difficult to master but once you do it is really a game changer.

This is not a jungling guide. I will add some jungle tips but this is not an in-depth guide on how to jungle.

Lastly, please be fair if you are going to vote on this guide as I am just interested in conveying the strategies and builds for Sion that are working for ME. I have played many, many games with Sion and have concluded that the way I build him is effective for my playstyle and may not be right for the way you like to play.

*UPDATE* Sion, imo, is meant to be played as a wicked engine of destruction. Build him according to your situation, but do not shy away from building damage if you get behind early. His Unstoppable Onslaught can turn the tides of just about any game! Its super low CD and high cc potential literally make people run for cover!

Pro
- Devastating ganker after level 6
- Great CC
- Knock up
- Tanky but has damage
- Good jungle clear speed
- Can be built many different ways
- Scales well into late game
- damage absorbing shield with Soul Furnace which also deals damage!
- Ultimate has many uses (more later in the guide)

Con
- Slow auto attacks
- Low usefulness when abilities on CD
- People know when you use your ultimate when offscreen
- Low health without items
- Relatively weak early game
- Easy to dodge Decimating Smash and Unstoppable Onslaught
- Team reliant to secure kills
- No escapes when ult is on CD

An offensive oriented rune setup will help you carry your team to victory instead of just being a meatshield.


greater quintessence of hybrid penetration are very useful for Sion late game.

are never bad on Sion

are good throughout the entire game.

greater quintessence of armor penetration when going against a very tanky team.

more damage, more kills!

greater mark of armor penetration armor crushing runes!

A good alternative to Greater Seal of Armor if you think the enemy jungler will not invade. I only go with scaling armor when jungling if Sion can gain levels in the jungle without the threat of an enemy invade.

Use these when the enemy has an AP team but an AD jungler.

I have had SOME success using these. It enables Sion to get the full 40% CDR without getting a lot of CDR items. It makes him a bit more vulnerable early game before he gets his resistances.

Deathfire Touch is a great keystone mastery to give Sion BIG DAMAGE!!
Battering Blows and Piercing Thoughts compliment Sion damage output nicely!

These masteries will help Sion deal the most damage he can possibly inflict.

An example where these masteries have a big impact on Sion killing potential are with this combo...
, (while running), , auto attack, , auto attack.


I have decided that with the new S6 changes to the mastery trees Sion can go 18 in the resolve tree if you team ABSOLUTELY needs you to tank. If so, get to help his sustain in teamfights!

Core items on AD .

- THIS CLEAVER WILL BE RED SOON! Damage, CD reduction, armor shred, and health. What's not to like? Plus, Sion carries a huge axe so why not equip him with one? [BLACK CLEAVER CHANGES COMING - WILL UPDATE AFTER!]

*UPDATE* New IS A CORE ITEM NOW! It has way too many stats to ignore. Buy it every game!

- Best boots in the game. Period.

- New jung item is...not great anymore. The health and damage passives have been nerfed to the point that they are not so dominant a feature to him. Sorry, but its just this guy's opinion.

- Offers too many stats to be ignored. Takes over the core jungling item in my Sion build. Sell later and replace with a situation specific item!

- DO YOU FEEL A SHIVER RUN DOWN YOUR SPINE? Very useful for its protection vs. DPS champs and gives Sion a cool 20% CD reduction which he sorely needs. CORE ITEM.

- SPELLS...HAH! I love this item for Sion. If going against a balanced enemy team this item can help Sion dish out the punishment as well as receive it. A real life saver when his health is low. CORE ITEM.

Other useful items depending on the course of the game.

- A great item that one would expect on a hulking champ like Sion. This can be switched in the shop for free for a !! How awesome is that??

- NO MERE SPELL WILL STOP ME! Best magical resist item in the game.

- THIS IS NOT THE FIRST DEAD KING'S WEAPON I HAVE TAKEN! I only get this when the enemy team is stacking health plus it synergizes very nicely with his passive.

- PROTECTION FROM THE BITES OF GNATS! AD carries giving you problems? Just buy this.

- I WILL SHATTER THE GATES OF DEMACIA WITH THIS HAMMER! Really. Buy this and they will TRY to run!

- YESSSSS, I LIKE THIS WEAPON! I do not get often but it gives Sion a huge powerspike no matter how you look at it.

- THIS WILL SEVER A THOUSAND HEADS! - I only get this when I am WAY ahead and the game is just about won. Its a fun weapon because no one expects Sion to do crit damage plus you can see his custom crit animation.

- COLD AS THE GRIP OF DEATH - Good for armor, CDR, mana, and to help contain the likes of Master Yi, Udyr, and Shyvana with its icy passive.

- ALL WILL BURN IN MY WAKE - Get this when you want extra magic damage over time just by getting up close and personal with your enemies.

- LEAVE NO WOUND UNANSWERED! - This is a great 3rd item when the whole enemy team is AD. Its funny when a weakened Vayne auto attacks you, not knowing you have Thornmail, and dies! I laugh every time!

- THIS HAS SEEN MANY BATTLES! - Sandwich this item in between Maw of Malmortius and Thornmail and Sion will be just about unstoppable!

- I have changed my mind about this being a support only item. It provides high resistances, HUGE movement speed modifier when near ANY turret, and a base sieging portal that spawns voidlings. If placed in a lane bush the voidlings can keep the lane pushed, when overshooting an ult (it happens) the speed bonus can get you out of trouble, and if you are low on health it provides health regen.

- Get this if the enemy has the potential to burst you down. Really like this item. Pair this with and they will have a very hard time killing you!

Sion passive. This can be extremely gratifying to get a multikill after Sion dies but can be kind of embarrassing if the enemy team CC and run away. If you know you cannot attack an enemy DO NOT WASTE TIME RUNNING AFTER THEM! Attack minions for free gold, attack a turret to whittle its health down, or zone the enemy squishy. Also, tell your team to stay near Sion even if he is going to die. If they stay close to him after he dies it will increase the chances that they can turn the team fight around when he goes into zombie mode! To get the most out of this passive I recommend getting to chase down your prey!

Sion bread and butter spell. Land a fully charged Decimating Smash on a group of enemies and the probability of securing kills is greatly increased. It scales very well with AD and has multiple uses. Use it to zone out the enemy from fleeing teammates, can be "snap cast" where it is not fully charged to slow and damage enemies in its cone, or just keep enemies away from strategic areas on the map. When casting, you will see its cone outline extend on the ground in the direction the cursor is pointed. Any enemies in this cone will take SOME damage if snap cast. With this AD build the snap cast feature will help you secure many more kills than if you build him tanky.

*UPDATE* gets buffed! Now a FULLY charged Smash will scale to 1.95 TOTAL AD!!! Is 1.95 a large multiplier? Are you kidding??? This will now annihilate so many squishies it makes my head spin!

Great shield, damage, and health gaining passive from one ability! I usually start with this in the jungle to get the most from its passive and protect from jungle creeps. It deals percentage damage to enemy champs! Do not underestimate this spell as it can secure many, many kills for you! Shield strength scales with health and AP but damage dealt to enemies just scales with AP. I sometimes sneak in a Liandry's Torment to spice up its damage a little.

*UPDATE* - Rito decided to nerf Sion shield because it was too OP. Well, I have to admit it was. Now it takes 3 seconds to reach critical mass before it can be detonated - which, at first, really bugged me but I have become accustomed to its post-nerf timing. Rito also decided it absorbed AND dealt too much damage...so it got nerfed even further. But, IDGAF - Sion kit is so skewed to dealing damage I have just learned to work his build around it.

Great for securing enemy kills due to its slow. Has decent armor shred and wave clearing ability. Use this combo for kills or to get the enemy to burn their flash - Charge Soul Furnace, Roar of the Slayer, Decimating Smash, pop Soul Furnace, auto attack if needed.

Super fun ultimate! Once Sion hits level 6 the enemy better be ready to flee for their lives! Its easiest to gank through lanes so give your teammates a ping to indicate that you intend to ult their lane. Its best when used against low mobility champs like Malzahar, Syndra, Orianna, Kog'Maw, Gangplank, etc. This ability synergizes very well with teammates that have CC like Ryze, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Leona, etc. and especially well with Yasuo.

*UPDATE* When Sion goes for a damage build he can literally BLOW UP people with his ult! Squishy, non-mobile targets across Summoners Rift - you have been warned!

USING Sion ULTIMATE:
Unstoppable Onslaught takes a lot of practice to get the most out of it. For ganking, you need to analyze the lane you want to gank by looking at the minimap first. Are your teammates going to be there to follow up? If you miss (which happens a lot) will you put yourself or your teammates in danger? (Ulting near an enemy turret) Will ulting even be beneficial? Is there a clear path to run in?

I found that Sion ultimate needs to be set up for it to work the best. Tell your teammates to let the enemy get closer to your turret, for one. ALWAYS PING if you are going to gank THROUGH the lane - meaning Sion will run the LENGTH of the lane not perpendicular to it. If things are getting hectic for your team, and you need to get to them, find the best pathway through the jungle in which to ult. Sometimes that path may not be the shortest but if you can get off a clean ult with the smallest chance of running into something most times it is worth it. If Sion can get a full head of steam by running a long distance he will cause so much damage, knock up, and stun (if he connects) that it will literally be mop-up time for your team! Additionally, Unstoppable Onslaught DOES NOT EVEN NEED TO HIT THE ENEMY FOR IT TO BE EFFECTIVE! Just the ultimate sound, then the sight of this hulking behemoth running towards them will be enough to make the enemy run away in such disorder that many times your team can get a kill or two in the ensuing chaos.

Find yourself getting mobbed by your opponents? Ult away from them but be sure you will not run into anything in your escape attempt. Once you ult you are immune to ALL forms of CC, but not damage! Use it wisely.

A level 3 ultimate with 40% CD reduction has a CD of 36 seconds! SPAM IT! 90% of the time it is NO BIG DEAL TO ULT WHENEVER IT COMES UP!

Get this 99% of the time.

Get this 100% of the time when jungling.

Honorable mention:

Not a bad alternative to .

Having played a bunch of games in the new jungle I have found that this is the order I take out the creep camps:

Blue Start
1. Gromp (immediate smite)
2. Blue Sentinel
3. Murkwolves
4. Raptors
5. Red Brambleback
6. GANK Bot(if lane is not pushed) or
7. Krugs

Red Start
1. Krugs
2. Red Bramblebacks
3. Blue Sentinel
4. Gromp
5. GANK top (if lane is not pushed)

Disclaimer:
This is not a definitive, strict jungle path because situations arise the dictate the flow of the game. Is bot lane being pushed heavily? Gank earlier. Are all you teammats doing well and have their lanes pushed? Then I continue to farm jung. Did your mid lane get killed? Then I cover until they get back to lane.

Lastly:
BUY THESE PLEASE!!! Ward the bush that is right behind the Red Bramblebacks!
BUY THESE TOO!!! Ward your jungle buffs. No vision = gg.

Thank you for reading my jungle Sion guide! Please be kind if you vote as this was a labor of love for my new favorite champion and I will accept any and all CONSTRUCTIVE criticism as I am still learning to code for Mobafire guides. I will try to update this guide when time permits and/or there is a new shift in the meta. I hope this guide will help you to carry your team to victory!

PS. - I have many more item builds for Sion. If there is interest I will post them here in the guide! Most were just created to bring some variety to his game and just to see if he could win with them!

Special thanks go out to Brofresco on Youtube for helping me with some of Sion special weapon interactions! Check them out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIPVlk4NVCQ