Sona Build Guide by potchewy

Introduction

Hi, fellow summoners, this is my guide for Sona, The Maven of the Strings.
I come from the South-East Asian Server (SEA), and my Summoner Name is eviolin.
This is my first guide, so please be lenient in your ratings, and leave a comment below on how I can improve on future guides.

I made the guide as I saw many Sona guides over the internet, that were both old, and not suited for ranked play. From the time Sona was released, she has gone through multiple changes, mostly nerfs. Updating for her newest playstyle is definitely important in a guide.
I hope you take the time to try my build, and please try to leave an upvote and a comment, as I put a lot of effort into this guide.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

• Wonderful babysitter, with heals and buffs.
• Early game harass is top-notch.
• AoE Stun (or dance), which is great in teamfights.
• Easy to play once you get used to the range.
• Long casting range for all her spells.
• Short cooldown for non-ultimate spells, and relatively short cooldown for her ultimate, Crescendo
• Largest boobs. NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE, not Ahri, nor Janna, has larger tits than Sona. Urgot may come close, but Sona is a clear winner in this department. These wonderful things provide a natural taunt on male champions, such as Master Yi, who can see your humongous tits from any part of the color spectrum.

Cons:

• Very squishy.
• People can walk out of your ultimate.
• 3 main non-ultimate spells are non-targetable, and may need some time to get used to the range of her spells.
• No burst healing (already explained)
• Not much damage late game (unless you are AP Sona, if so, read other AP guides)
• Huge boobs may obscure you and your allies vision, and makes female enemies jealous and want to kill you.

Runes

I personally like Greater Mark of Magic Penetration, as it gives me more damage in the early game phase when i use Hymn of Valor, Power Chord and Crescendo. Health marks ( Greater Mark of Health) or other defensive marks can work too, to take a little punishment when harassing.


greater seal of replenishment is the way to go, as it gives me the much needed Mana Regeneration at early levels. Late game, you may still run out of mana if you hit all your spells continuously, but after a Philosopher's Stone, you should not have mana problems.
If you find that you do need more mana mid-late game, you can opt for Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration. (I DO NOT RECOMMEND Greater Seal of Health and Greater Seal of Armor, unless you think you would not have mana problems)


Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is a great choice, providing the much needed magic resist at early game, and when you get mercury's threads, around 30% of magic damage, which usually are the ranged spells that can hit you, is reduced.
If you like cooldown reduction, which is viable, Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction and Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction are your picks.
If you want the ability power, which I DO NOT recommend, Greater Glyph of Ability Power or Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power should be your pick.


Greater Quintessence of Gold is great for any support champion, allowing your carry to farm, while having enough gold for items and Sight Wards.
If you are new to Sona, Greater Quintessence of Health are very good for early game survivability.
If you like movement speed, or just have these, Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed can be a good option too.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND Greater Quintessence of Ability Power, if you wanted to hurt (this is only for early game) Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration is WAAAAY BETTER(I still don't recommend this).

Masteries

Standard support masteries, Scout for better ward range, and taking Summoner's Insight for improved Clairvoyance and Flash.
I only take Expanded Mind to be able to take Meditation , Greed is standard, and Veteran's Scars is also important.

I take 3 points in Hardiness and 1 point in Resistance , as my runes give me plenty of magic resist, and I am lacking in the armor department, therefore I boost Hardiness more for that extra armor.

The only mastery that bears an explanation should be only 1 point in Wealth , instead of both points. My starting build consists of 1 Faerie Charm, 3 Sight Wards and 2 Mana Potions. The cost for these items are 180 + 3 x 75 + 2 x 40 = 485.
1 point in Wealth gives 495 starting gold, and 2 points gives 515 gold.
Why have 20 extra gold for nothing, than have a crucial point to max Intelligence and Awareness .

This is how I play Sona, so I stick with these masteries.

Summoner Spells

Main summoner spells:

Clairvoyance is a wonderful spell, checking for ganks, enemy jungler position, lizard elder / ancient golem camps, etc. More about usage of this spell later. As a support, you'd better be the one taking Clairvoyance


See that jungler coming to gank you? Quickly get to the brush and Flash away when the jungler enters the brush. Power Chord tricks and tips will be covered later in this guide.
Flash is your primary escape spell, or secondary chasing spell to land a slow (purple Power Chord, Tempo) or to land a Crescendo effectively on as many enemy champions as possible. IF YOU EVER GET CAUGHT IN THE JUNGLE, use Flash over terrain to ensure escape.


I was SO wrong about this summoner spell. It can very well replace your Clairvoyance, as I've watched many high ELO ranked games not use Clairvoyance, as everyone in the team gets wards, Clairvoyance is really not needed. It does quite a lot too, like baiting people into attacking you (or your teammates), then suddenly healing them, and you can already feel your opponents' rage. It helps tremendously in Level 1 team fights too, ensuring your team an early advantage. While it's late game effectiveness (in teamfights) is reduced, so is Clairvoyance. I do encourage this spell, but only if EVERYONE in your team is warding, such that Clairvoyance should not be needed.


Possible other spells:


Exhaust and Ignite are possible, maybe for slowing, shutting down carries, burst healers, or that extra damage for killing, but leave these spells to your teammates as they are supposed to do the damage and TAKE THE KILLS. As a support, you must let them have the GOLD from kills and you get extra gold from assists.


While Ghost has many more uses than Flash and has a shorter cooldown, Ghost would not get you through Crowd Control(CC) effects as safely as Flash. Also, its mastery ( Summoner's Wrath ) is in the Offense Tree, and you do not want to touch there.


Cleanse is possible, if the other team has many CC. But, mercury's threads should be enough of any CC. And you should not be in the position to get CC'ed. Quicksilver Sash can be a better option as Cleanse uses up a valuable summoner spell.
Not Recommended.


If those 4 Mana Potions don't do enough mana regeneration for you, or your laning partner is extremely mana-hungry but unable to buy mana regen (such as Caitlyn) you may opt for Clarity but I DON'T RECOMMEND Clarity anyway.
Not Recommended.


HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED SUMMONER SPELLS:


NO. JUST NO. If you die, it's not so bad, but please, NEVER TAKE THIS.If you actually tkae this, I'm going to go to your house, and smash your face on the keyboard until you never take it for Sona ever again. (Ok, I'm kidding but you get the point.) The only time I see worth in Revive is when you are TROLLING. If so, Revive away.


Your AP ratios are lousy, and AD not enough for that boost in Attack Speed from Surge. Maybe your Teemo can get this, but definitely not Sona.


Oh, Improved Smite gives 10 gold on use! Time to get it! Please, your team will hate you, and your opponents will laugh over your dead body (literally).


Sona does not gank. If you need to push, use Song of Celerity. It will be good enough.
The only good use of Teleport is to run away from sudden ganks, but the long cooldown makes it suck.


Even though the patch preview said that Promote was "a good option instead of Clairvoyance" for supports, I once met a Sona in normal game with Promote. She pushed a little, then... my jungler came in and killed her, as she has no escape options ( Flash).

Core Build Explanation

This is my usual starting item build, costing 485 gold. Feel free to swap any Mana Potions to health potions, but remember to use it!

DON'T FORGET TO ALWAYS BUY WARDS!

---

Shurelya's Reverie has everything Sona needs. Health, CDR,15 Mana Regen/5s (not visible in MobaFire's item tooltips), Movement Speed buff for all allied champions.
It is built from Philosopher's Stone, which is your first item for extra mana regen and 5 gold/10s (or commonly referred to as gp5).


Mercury's Treads is a great choice for your boots. Giving Magic Resistance and Tenacity, this boots is the best choice for most non-carries. If the enemy team is low on CC spells, you can buy Ionian Boots of Lucidity instead. It gives you the much needed CDR, at a low cost, making you able to hit your auras more often.


Heart of Gold is great on Sona, due to it having health and gp5. Good for survivability and some income, but can be swapped or sold later on for something better if doing well.


Aegis of the Legion is a good item on any support, due to it providing survivability from health, armor, and MR for its bearer, and for nearby allies (and the bearer) armor, MR, and AD. Helps a little in pushing due to the 8 AD Aura.
Do not get this item if someone in your team already has it.

Other Item Choices

This section will show the possible item choices for that 5th slot, and 6th slot in very very late game (generally avoided for Sight Wards).

---

Banshee's Veil is a wonderful item, providing health, mana, MR, and a spell shield to counter 1 negative spell. The spell shield is good, but dont rely on it, as enemies try to pop it with a low-importance spell all the time. This is, in my opinion, the best MR item for non-tanks.

Only problem? It is expensive, and does not build from any of the core items, unless Heart of Gold was not built, leaving a Ruby Crystal to be made into Catalyst the Protector.

Can be used for 5th item slot, or to replace Heart of Gold at mid-game, as the 4th item.


Zeke's Herald? OMG u n00b. Attack speed, lifesteal, heatlh regen, armor reduction on enemies, Y U TROLLIN?

However much Zeke's Herald is useless to you, it is EXTREMELY beneficial to your team, but build it only if your team has many physical damage dealers.

In ranked, your team will usually have an AD Carry (at Bottom lane with you), AD Jungler (most of the time AD), and a Tanky DPS up top, making 3 AD users. If you buy Zeke's Herald, your team will be most glad to protect you, for that sweet armor reduction.

Good item, 5th item slot, build it only during late mid-game.


However brightly it shines on Sona's recommended items, I almost never get it. However, if someone in your team has Aegis of the Legion, you can buy this instead. The CDR for the whole team is extremely beneficial, its chunk of health is good for you, and it acts as a steady Clarity for your teammates with the mana regen aura.

Can be used for 5th item slot, 4th item slot if no Aegis of the Legion, 4th item slot if it replaces Heart of Gold.


I personally love this item, as it gives me a thick chunk of health, a good amount of AP, and a steady slow.

You may ask: "Potchewy, why do you need a slow? Isn't Tempo's 40% slow enough?"

Tempo is slow enough, but having a Rylai's Crystal Scepter makes all your abilities (and power chords) have a slow. Using Hymn of Valor's 700 range to slow 15% is quite good, considering Tempo needs to be charged up, with Song of Celerity being the latest spell cast. Any Power Chord can also be used to slow 35%. So, in my opinion, Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a wonderful item on Sona

It is expensive, however, and should not be bought until late mid-game. You can buy Giant's Belt first for the health boost, then spend another 1995 gold on the remaining items and combine cost.

Can be used for 5th item slot, or to replace Heart of Gold at late mid-game, as the 4th item.


D you want armor with more CDR? Frozen Heart is the item for you! With Armor, CDR, Mana, a great 20% attack speed debuff (with a fairly long range) for a passive, this is a great item.

I never tried stacking both Randuin's Omen and Frozen Heart together before, but I think the attack speed debuff will stack. Both these items together provide a real heap of armor, making u a Tank Sona.

IF you do get this item, this will make you hit the CDR cap with Shurelya's Reverie(15%), Frozen Heart(20%) and 3 points in Intelligence (6%), to a total of 41%, but only 40% counts.

A 5th, or more likely 4th item.

---

Randuin's Omen is a good item, as it gives you a ton of armor, nice amount of health and health regen, small amount of CDR, an active which does awesomely well on AA champions, and slows everyone in its radius anyway. Best part, it builds from your Heart of Gold, and in doing so does not use your 5th item slot at all.

However, only build this if the enemy team has a good amount of AA or just AD champions.

Possible item, 5th item slot, build it only during late mid-game.


Will of the Ancients is, of course, the Zeke's Herald of magic damage dealers. It gives them a good chunk of AP and Spell Vamp, allowing them to heal while dealing more damage.
A good item, but it also makes the enemy want to kill you more, to shut down the auras.

Possible item, 5th item slot, build it only during late mid-game.


12 Mana Regen/5, 20% Cooldown Reduction, 75 Ability Power. At only 2350 gold. Isn't this good on Sona?

Yes, I would say so. However, this item does not give you any survivability (unless you count spamming Aria of Perseverance). It is still good to have to have this item though, as you can buff your teammates more by reducing your cooldowns. Mana Regen-wise, Philosopher's Stone may not be enough, but Shurelya's Reverie is more than enough to get you through.

Possible item, can replace Philosopher's Stone or Shurelya's Reverie, or put as 5th item slot, build at mid-game.


A wonderful offensive and defensive item, giving AP and MR. The range of its debuff is 1000 (not shown on MobaFire's and LeagueCraft's tooltips, making me search the wikia), synergizing with your Crescendo. However, in the actual teamfight, after ulting, you generally want to stay behind, and this may waste the debuff, but just a little.

Problems? The components aren't very cheap, and the combine cost is high (1050 gold).

Possible item, 5th item slot, build it only during late mid-game.


while the gp5 from Kage's Lucky Pick may help, I suggest selling it later on. But Deathfire Grasp does not give you any survivability, but if you do get it, use it after your ult. You'll land the active safely. Crescendo>> Deathfire Grasp

Possible item, 5th item slot, get Kage's Lucky Pick early on, and upgrade straight to Deathfire Grasp.

Sona's Skills

Passive: Power Chord



Q: Hymn of Valor


W: Aria of Perseverance


E: Song of Celerity

Spell Combos: Basic Spells

All these skills are non-targetable, and require good positioning to hit properly. I'll go over some useful spell combos with these 3 abilities.
NOTE: Your spells can be cast while moving, and I strongly suggest you do so.

---

Hymn of Valor is one of the hardest non-targetable spell to master. It is your shortest ranged skill. At 700 range, you need to be able to walk near enough to an enemy champion (or both) to hit them. It prioritizes champions, which is good, and its range is larger than Caitlyn's Auto-Attack(AA) range, which is 650, the longest for low-leveled champions. A level 18 Tristana's AA range is 703, therefore at levels 1-17, her range is less than Hymn of Valor's 700.

Harassing with Hymn of Valor is relatively easy. Just wait in the brush for your opponent to come close, step out, and hit Hymn of Valor, and step back into the brush.
By doing this, you land a hit on the enemy champion, do not pull minion aggro, and charge 1 skill for Power Chord.
Hymn of Valor has a slow missile speed, and you can attack under tower without taking the damage. Just activate it within tower range, and walk out. This is bound to allow you a free hit on the enemy champion. ONLY ATTACK UNDER TOWER RANGE WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE THE JUNGLER IS, AND YOUR OPPONENT LANERS HAVE NO STUNS UP.



This is your main combo for running away, making sure you stay alive while have enough speed to run. Hit multiple times (WEWEWEWEWE...) for best effect.

Spell Combos: Power Chord

Sona's passive Power Chord is amazing. This is what separates the good Sonas to the GREAT Sonas. Lets go over it in more detail.

---

Blue Power Chord; Staccato


Green Power Chord; Diminuendo


Purple Power Chord; Tempo

Spell Combos: Ultimate

Sona's ultimate; Crescendo is a wonderful AoE stun, like Amumu's Curse of the Sad Mummy (not as awesome) or Leona's Solar Flare. Use it well in teamfights, and a win is almost guaranteed.

---

BRRRAAAAAMM! The enemy champions inside your ultimate's range are stunned, taking damage. This is your basic combo in using Crescendo, and if possible, make sure Hymn of Valor's passive aura is on for increased damage. The extra Hymn of Valor after Crescendo is for some extra damage, as the enemy champions can't move anyway.




These are the 'chasing' ults, and I strongly recommend the first one as your basic attack range of 550 will guanrantee a hit on your 1000 range Crescendo. The Flash Crescendo combo may not hit if you target walks out of the Crescendo animation during spellcast.


Combining these two will yield .
DO NOT USE unless no choice otherwise, as blowing your Flash isn't very smart.

Warding

As a support, you really need to ward their jungle up, in case of ganks or buff-stealing. These are some good locations to ward up. I'll go over the locations in more detail.

1. Dragon and Baron, use pink Vision Ward to check and clear any enemy wards.

2. Regular Lane Warding, where you ward between Baron/Dragon entrance, the tri-brush at Ward #7, and your lane. If you go off to get blue, or just to top lane, just help the solo top (if there is a jungler) to ward.

3. Mid Lane/Counter Jungle Ward
On both sides, a ward is greatly needed to check for ganks in mid, which is VERY vulnerable.

4&5. The Counter-Jungle/Mid-Lane/Baron & Dragon walking route.
A Must ward in mid-game, in order to safely escape Baron/Dragon or any buffs. A well placed ward at #4 can disregard warding at #3.

5&6. Mid-Lane Pusher/Defender's Choke point.
If you are going for their inner tower, or defending your inner tower, ward these 2 places up, and you should not get ganked.

7. Bottom/Top Lane Tri-Brush
Pushing Bottom (if purple team) or Top (if blue team), warding this brush is good for late mid-game to early mid-game. in early game, if you have been pushed to your tower (blue team), that brush marks the entrance of the enemy gankers.

8. Ancient Golem Ward
The locations of these wards are correct if you are on the blue team. Put nearer to the wolf camp in the enemy jungle, and away from it in your jungle.

9. Lizard Elder Ward
Warding the brush (just the tip), is good enough for your own jungle. Unless your team is counter-jungling, you do not have to ward their Lizard Elder.

Clairvoyance Positioning

Clairvoyance is a great summoner spell for supports, even after it got nerfed. It checks for ganks, sets up ganks, hit single-target spells (which you need to be able to click the target), snipe for long range skillshots (like Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage, Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow) Those require your carry's cooperation, in their skillshot and where your Clairvoyance should be placed.

In its simplest use, there are some good places to use Clairvoyance. Let's go over them.

1. Ancient Golem/Wolf Camp CV
Most Junglers start with the Ancient Golem. Use Clairvoyance here to check who's at the Ancient Golem Camp and the Wolf Camp, or at your own camps in mid-game to see if someone has stolen it.

2. Dragon/Bottom Lane Gank CV
Use this if your opponent are acting odd (being extra aggresive/defensive or freely losing HP), when your laning opponents leave the lane (not immediately) and you see them walk by your #2 ward, without heading to Mid Lane. They are probably doing the Dragon.

3. Lizard Elder/Double Golem CV
Use Clairvoyance here for special junglers that you think do not need the Ancient Golem buff to jungle, and that they will appear at these 2 camps. Your Jungler can also go for a counter-jungle at these places too.

4. Lizard Elder/Wraiths/Ward #6 CV
If you're pushing, using Clairvoyance here (enemy jungle) can help you pick off ignorant fools. If you're defending, using Clairvoyance here (your jungle) can help you check who's trying to gank you, or steal your Lizard Elder buff.

5. Mid Lane Gank/Baron&Dragon pretense Ambush CV
"The whole team's MIA! Check Dragon/Baron now!" Wait, are the really doing Baron/Dragon? Or are they lurking in the brush indicated by Ward #3, to catch you off guard? This is quite important in a counter-ambush, but does not always need to be used. For example, CV #2 and #6 can check for Baron/Dragon, and if they aren't there, don't foolishly go and facecheck.

6. Baron/Top Lane Gank CV
In the early game, you use this to check if an enemy jungler is going for your solo top ally. While in the late game, this is to check for the enemy team doing Baron.

Actually, if your team is doing Baron, you want to check for enemies trying to steal the Baron Buff for their team, so CV between #6 and #3(if you are in the blue team), and between #1, #5, #6 (left jungle)(if you are in the purple team).

If your team is doing Dragon? Between #1, #2 and #5 for the blue team, and between #2 and #3 for the purple team.

Edits

- Changed starting build to 1 Faerie Charm, 3 Sight Wards, 2 Mana Potions, from the old build of 1 Faerie Charm, 2 sight wards, 4 Mana Potions.
- Moved Heal up to Recommended Summoner Spells.
- Moved Zeke's Herald to Good Item Choices, from Possible Item Choices.
- Added Morello's Evil Tome and Tear of the Goddess
(They used to be part of my core build when I started Sona, at summoner level 15 or so.)