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Sona Build Guide by

[10.17] SONA poke or outheal guide | AP / SUPP

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Sona Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion More Sona Guides

Runes: SUPPORT SONA

1 2

Sorcery

Summon Aery

Manaflow Band

Transcendence

Gathering Storm

Resolve

Shield Bash

Revitalize

Bonus:

+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+65 Base Health

Spells:

1 2

SUPPORT

Exhaust

Flash

Items

OUTHEALING

STARTING ITEMS

FIRST BACK OUTHEAL

CORE OUTHEAL

BOOTS

LATE GAME OUTHEAL

FULL BUILD OUTHEAL

DON'T FORGET!

STARTING ITEMS

FIRST BACK AP

CORE AP

LATE GAME AP

OTHER OPTIONS AP

FULL BUILD AP

DON'T FORGET

Ability Order

Sona Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Brand

Extreme

Burst damage, cc, will be bad to fight him.

Miss Fortune

Ideal

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Miss Fortune

Ideal

Champion Build Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

START

★ About Me
★ Pros / Cons
★ Abilities

BASICS

★ Spells
★ Insights
★ Runes

LANING

★ Laning phase
★ Mid Game
★ Late Game

INTRODUCTION

In this guide I'll be talking about how to play . My name is Vodka and I main the support role. One of my mains are: , (in mid lane, I play her as in normal games) and . I hope you have fun with this guide and it will be useful to you.

I've been playing league for over 6 years now but only recently decided to play it a bit more seriously. On that note if you ever want to play together you can always DM me and we can play a few matches.

is great for playing support but I thought I could mix in a bit of AP in it as well. I took some ideas from other amazing guides as well and I hope this helps you play better or just pick her up.

is one of the best supports out there right now. She provides a strong heal, a shield even movment speed, stuns and a slow. I decided to mix in AP for a little fun but I suggest you don't play it in ranked to not get flamed too much.

WHY SONA?

is a great that's fairly passive, but valuable. Plenty of auras to heal, increase movement speed, or damage, she has a lot of utility that gives brilliant sustain. Her AOE stun in is also fantastic in a team-fight. She is also a that outshines pretty much every other enchanter in late game teamfights. Her heal is strong once you have items and mana regeneration and few enchanters have such decisive power as . isn't hard to play but is still viable and is one of the most played supports ever.

It's not my video but it is very educational and I suggest watching it if you want to get into playing Sona or you're just bored and want to watch something.

PROS & CONS

PROS

→ high sustain
→ strong crowd control
→ a lot of poke damage
→ high AOE movement
→ decent utility pick

CONS

→ squishy
→ not so strong early game
→ not a lot of cc
→ low mobility
→ easily countred

ABILITIES

PASSIVE ABILITY

Power Chord

✦ After 3 spell casts, 's next attack will deal bonus magic damage in addition to an additional effect based on what song Sona last activated.
✦ This gives her utility and damage, creates a special AOE. Increases damage on Q, shield on W and increases movement speed to all alies on E.

Hymn of Valor

✦ plays the , sends out bolts of sound, dealing magic damage to two nearby enemies, prioritizing champions and monsters. Sona gains a temporary aura that grants allies tagged by the zone bonus damage on their next attack against enemies.
✦ This skill is great for harassing while playing. It is the main ability for your damage. Using this with your passive will grant you a 40% damage boost.

Aria of Perseverance

✦ plays the , sending out protective melodies, healing and a nearby wounded ally. gains a temporary aura that grants allies tagged by the zone a temporary shield.
✦ This ability is very useful since it provides healing and a shield.

Song of Celerity

✦ plays the , granting nearby allies bonus Movement Speed. gains a temporary aura that grants allied champions tagged by the zone bonus Movement Speed.
✦ The movement speed will get canceled if you take damage. It provides the movement speed for 7 seconds.

Crescendo

✦ plays her ultimate chord, stunning enemy champions and forcing them to dance and dealing magic damage to them. Each rank reduces the base cooldown of Sona's basic abilities.
✦ This is a large AOE ultimate with good range and a large hitbox. It also provides cooldown reduction.

It's not my video but it is very educational and I suggest watching it if you want to get into playing Sona or you're just bored and want to watch something. It informs about combos and useful tricks to do with her.

SKILL ORDER

ABILITY
SEQUENCE

1

Q

2

W

3

Q

4

E

5

Q

6

R

7

Q

8

W

9

Q

10

E

11

R

12

W

13

W

14

E

15

E

16

W

17

E

18

R

HYMN OF VALOR

★ We take (Q) first to get poke at lvl 1. It pokes 2 enemies, gives allies bonus magic damage on next auto-attack and even more poke once is up. I personally always take (Q) first for these reasons and I suggest always taking it first. We also max (Q) first to always have poke and some dmg then we start building into other important abilities. This ability will help you and your ADC poke enemies out way faster and charge your faster so I suggest always maxing it first. Unless you're against other mage supports that poke you out first (eg. , , ), then you may max your (W) first (NOT AT LVL 1 THOUGH!) to heal back up, but I don't always recommend that because most likely you will have more range than them and it's easier for you to hit your ability and not them.

ARIA OF PERSEVERANCE

★It is very useful to take (W) second for healing and shielding. It also reduces damage if is up. We max this ability before (E) in almost all match-ups. Why? I feel like it is more useful to have healing/shielding first before having a good escape option. With Q and your W you can poke out and heal/shield your ADC out of trouble in early game which is very important. Most likely, the enemy jungle will not even gank you pre level 4 (when you take your (E)) so you will not need any escape options. But, if you prefer it instead of giving another point into your (Q) at level 3 you can put it into your E.

SONG OF CELERITY

★At level 4 you can finally take your (E) to either catch-up or escape. It is a great speed buff for you and your allies (but it does get cancelled if you take damage) it also slows enemies if is up. We max this ability last because it is not as powerful as her other abilities, you will not use it as much as your other ones and it can be considered a situational one. Most of the time it will not save your dying ADC unless they also have up, but it makes it way easier to catch up to enemies or roam if you want to.

And of course, you take your Crescendo (R) which gives more damage and less cooldowns on abilities and CC. You take it at level 6, 11 and 16 when it is possible to take it.

SPELLS

SUMMONER SPELLS
-

FLASH: Flash is the best summoner spell in the game. Everyone should use it and Sona has to as well. It is extremely useful to get away from dangerous situations and you can also combo with it by using

EXHAUST: Exhaust targets an enemy champion, reducing their damage dealt by 40% and slows them by 30% for 2.5 seconds. This can help your ADC to catch an enemy that is running away or eliminate some of the damage the enemy does. It is a useful spell for any support.

IGNITE: Ignite is also a viable option, targeting an enemy champion, dealing 70-410 true damage (depending on champion level) over 5 seconds and applying Grievous Wounds to them for the duration.

KEY INSIGHTS

K
E
Y

I
N
S
I
G
H
T
S

FIRST INSIGHT
// Sona has a fairly mediocre laning phase and will usually resort to simply poking and healing to prevent all-ins.
SECOND INSIGHT
// Her E movement speed buff can be cut short if she takes damage.
THIRD INSIGHT
// Keep your R for times when the enemy team isn't spread out.

P
O
W
E
R

S
P
I
K
E

FIRST SPIKE
// Lvl 1 can be strong due to her Passive. Lvl 6 is her big spike in skirmish power.
SECOND SPIKE
// Her lvls 11 and 16 are also important as R passive reduces basic ability CD.
THIRD SPIKE
// and are important item spikes for her: boosts her protective and offensive capabilities.

T
H
E

W
E
A
K
N
E
S
S

FIRST WEAKNESS
// She's pretty much vulnerable all game as she's inherently squishy. Without R, she has very limited peel.
SECOND WEAKNESS
// She can almost never (unless late game) go into lane herself and not die.
THIRD WEAKNESS
// Lack of CC before lvl 6.

RUNES SUPPORT

SORCERY

★ Helps you to deal poke. Particularly useful for helping your teammates with the shield it can provide during the early and mid game damage. It deals 10-40 damage (based on level). When you damage an enemy Aery flies to the enemy and then comes back during the next 2 seconds, during that time she will not deal the enemy again. This is a perfect poke rune for and I always recommend taking it on her.

★ Basic rune for keeping your mana up during the early and mid game until the and it's upgrade fixes that issue. With this rune hitting an enemy champion increases maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana. After you reach the 250 mana you will always restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds. can be quite mana-hungry (meaning, champion that eats up mana quickly) so take this rune to fix that problem easily.

★ The AP provided by this scales insanely well and the average game length is long enough to get a great value out of it. You gain increasing Adaptive force every 10 minutes AND grants bonuses based on which stat you already have the most bonuses for. If you're going for the AP you should take instead for increased movement speed and bonus attack damage.

★ Take two because it gives you +9 Adaptive force. The is a great choice for since she is a squishy champion, it provides +15-90 health (based on level) so it will help you stay healthy.

RUNES DAMAGE

Future's Market

★ This is one of the most unique runes and it provides a lot of help to you. This rune lets you go into debt in the shop. This is super beneficial for .

Cosmic Insight

★ This is one of the most useful runes in the game right now, giving you 5% CDR (cooldown reduction) across the board.

NOTES:

The other runes are the same as the runes while you're playing support. The only difference is that instead of I personally use . This might seem like a small change but it does provide a difference for .

CORE ITEMS SUPP

Ardent Censer

Athene's Unholy Grail

Redemption

Heals and shields on allied champions (excluding yourself) enhance you and them with +10%-30% (based on target's level) attack speed and 5-20 (based on target's level) bonus on-hit magic damage. Ardent is a good support item all around, but it is especially good on . allows you to gain stacks for poking(100-250 based on level). Healing or shielding another ally consumes charges equal to 100% of the heal or shield, to heal them, up to the original effect amount. is too good without this item not to take it. is the most influential in teamfights if you can use it correctly, healing your team up for a good amount, which can change the direction the fight is going in.

NOTES:

Other items are valuable as well. For example: which grants a shield on yourself and your allies. for situational reasons. if enemies have a lot of cc.

CORE ITEMS DAMAGE

Luden's Echo

Rabadon's Deathcap

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

if you want to build heavy AP, provides a very useful passive coming along with it. it provides OP heal and OP damage. if the enemy team is super mobile, you will also get a slow on your Q, R, and auto attack if it is empowered by

NOTES:

Other items are valuable as well. For example: if enemy has high burst damage, it can save your life a lot of times. provides AP and MS. It gives a really good synergy with 's empowered .

LANING PHASE

In the laning phase the most important thing you should do as a is a lot of poking. I also suggest you always use your (Q) and then auto attack for more damage. That would make one of the combos (Q) > AA. You should first max out (Q) since it's your morst important tool during the beginning phase.

Who you poke however highly depends on the enemy support and ADC. If the support is tanky, for example: , , or you should focus the ADC instead.

No matter your MO during lane phase, Sona transitions into a powerful healer that can, with certain luck, outheal Soraka. Make sure you use your empowered auto attack on the enemy ADC as well.

If you get ahead earlier than your enemies you should be more aggressive and bully the ADC as much as you can. If however, it was a bad start I suggest playing more defensive and watching yourself while waiting for mid-game. However, no matter how the beginning ends up you should still be poking and supporting your ADC.

If you take don't worry about taking a kill (don't steal your ADC's kills though, it's only if the enemy is running away). But you should always remember one thing - as a support when fighting an enemy, recognize if your ADC can pick up a kill so you don't accidentally take it yourself trying to help take down the enemy faster.

A great way to engage in kills in bot lane is to take advantage of your ultimate. It should go like this: (R) at least one of the enemies and follow up with a combo using . Though, always make sure your ADC is nearby so they can actually take the kill.

NOTES:

I recommend finding some sort of streamer that is highly ranked and plays and see what they do to pick up good habits. The sooner you pick up and apply good habits, the better you become at playing her. Also, always remember not to get titled or shy away from using certain abilities not at the right time, practice makes perfect.

MID GAME

In mid game it's the part when you start doing damage and provide way more healing. If you went for a build you shouldve build at least a few items to help you out by now. Make sure to always use your because you should have quite a lot of mana regen by now. Provided with the right amount of AP you should help your ADC big time.

However, if you went for a more AP build it will be way easier to do more damage now. Make sure you provide yourself some items for mana regen and items that help boost your (W) and (E).

Make sure you haven't forgotten to upgrade to an , bought s and any sorts of boots.

You should now be very valuable in team fights and provide helpful healing and shields. Make sure to help your team out by taking out the squishiest champions though. Usually (based on my experiences) it is either the ADC, Mid or Support.

Remember that your Q is relatively low mana cost so you should use it as often as possible.

NOTES:

Do not shy away from taking kills mid game (don't steal them however) since it's a great way to get money fast.

Also, don't forget you are still playing as a and you should take care of the wardning.

ADDITONAL TIP:If an enemy assassin dives on your carry you can use (W) > AA.

LATE GAME

If you managed to get enough gold and win teamfights or basically your team is winning the game, you should be able to kill the most squishiest champions. As I mentioned before, in my experience, it is usually the ADC or Mid laner.

Now you can just focus on getting kills, helping out your team and winning teamfights.

However, if you are losing the game or it's even I suggest you rush buying since it can turn any teamfight into a closer victory for your team.

NOTES:

Don't hesitate to use your abilities. Your (Q) should do quite a lot of damage by now and you can take care of some champions your team is dealing with. Your (W) can save lives by now, your (E) can help your team rush for a destination or run away from an unfortunate fight.

Also, do not hesitate to use your (R) at any given time and follow up with combos afterwards.

It's not my video but it is very educational and I suggest watching it if you want to get into playing Sona or you're just bored and want to watch something.

TIPS & TRICKS

S
O
M
E

R
T
R
I
C
K
S

FIRST TRICK
// If an enemy assassin dives on your carry you can use W - + auto-attack.
SECOND TRICK
// If you want to catch an enemy use E - + auto-attack.

S
O
M
E

T
I
P
S

FIRST TIP
// You can charge your passive even before going back on the lane.
SECOND TIP
// Your spells have an AOE secondary effect, get close to your allies to buff them.

A
D
D
I
T
I
O
N
A
L

T
I
P
S

WORTH KNOWING
// before leaving pool get your up that way you don't use any mana and you get the extra damage poke right off the bat.
WORTH KNOWING
// when playing you want to save your (R) for game changing moments (but don't be afraid to use it if you aren't sure when yet).

NOTES:

All of this is what I personally noticed while playing as if you don't agree with me please leave a comment why because I am not the best player out there and I just made this guide for fun. Thank you for understanding.

WARDING

WARDING IS IMPORTANT

There are a variety of wards and you should know how/when to use them

I'll add an image to the most important places to ward and where you should be in control of the vision. Also, if you're starting with do not forget to change your to an because it is not only important to put down your wards, but also deny vision for the enemy team.

CONTROL WARD

Grants sight over the surrounding 900 units. But a also:

Reveals and disables enemy wards (excluding Control Ward).
Reveals enemy traps.
Reveals camouflaged champions.

The is exposed to enemies while it is revealing one of the above stealthed units, or granting vision of a Prophet of an Elder God Tentacle.

Life span: Indefinite.
Limit: 1.
Visible: Yes.
Health: 4, regenerates after 6 seconds of not being attacked.
Bounty: 30 Gold and 40 Experience.

STEALTH WARD

Grants sight over the surrounding 900 units.

Life span: 150 seconds.
Limit: 3 placed, shared with Totem wards.
Visible: Stealth.
Health: 3.
Bounty: 30 Gold and 40 Experience.
Source:
/.
/.
/.
/

BLUE SIDE WARDING

The dots show where to place your while you're playing on Blue Side. The light blue squares show where the warding is a must and the dark colored ones are optional.

RED SIDE WARDING

The dots show where to place your while you're playing on Red Side. The light red squares show where the warding is a must and the dark colored ones are optional.

DRAGON STEALTH WARDS

The blue squares represent the Blue Team's and the red squares for the Red Team.
The darker colored squares are optional s for each team.

BARON STEALTH WARDS

The blue squares represent the Blue Team's and the red squares for the Red Team.
The darker colored squares are optional s for each team.

CONCLUSION

Final words
Hopefully you enjoyed this guide and will leave a rating and/or a comment, I'd really appreaciate it. This is only my second guide ever so if you have any suggestions or tips please let me know. Thank you for reading and good luck playing !

is a great support that is very fun to play and I wanted to share my love for her with everyone. I will add more stuff to this guide soon.

NOTES:

is the type of champion that a lot of people would enjoy playing. She provides great healing, shielding and even stunning abilities. You also help your team to stay sustained. So if you like all of that go play a match with !

Sona is Demacia's foremost virtuoso of the stringed etwahl, speaking only through her graceful chords and vibrant arias. This genteel manner has endeared her to the highborn, though others suspect her spellbinding melodies to actually emanate magic—a Demacian taboo. Silent to outsiders but somehow understood by close companions, Sona plucks her harmonies not only to soothe injured allies but also to strike down unsuspecting enemies.