Hi!
As it seems im mostly done with this guide on Diana, but ofcourse if i find something that needs to be changed or i try a new way to play her i will change/post it and all those changes or news i come with will be written here so you can see what has been changed or added and when it was changed or added!

Have fun and good luck playing Diana i hope this guide will be helpful!

All updates that came will be crossed over for one day until it dissapear from the update list!(Really big changes that come with new patch will remain longer for comparision).

Hi this is my first guide on a champion so i hope you will take your time and read this guide on Diana.

This guide on Diana will be explaining the way to play her as an AP(Ability power) and as an AD(Attack damage).

If you like this guide and vote it up im more than pleased, and if you have something you want to point out or see that i have missed something then please tell what i have missed and ill add it with a explanation or if you find something that obviously is wrong then please then tell me what is wrong and where please.

What i will be talking about is what kind of champion Diana is and what can be done when playing her.
i will have you to know that she isnt that hard to play as long as you get the hang of her skills she won't be impossible to play and that is one of the things i will be explaning in this guide, i will also go in deeper on the masteries, skill sequence, runes, items and so on.

If you want me to explain something specific for example: "Jungle" then tell me and ill see what i can do.

Changes that come for diana in the late august patch(31 august 2012) will be pretty trivial for diana since all it does is to lower her damages a little bit so just keep that in mind when you play and you probably wont have any problem.

If it turns out that i need to update the item purchase list, then i will update it as fast as i see that it is needed and when i find what to replace.

Things you cant do:
You cant rush right in and nuke without a plan anymore.
You cant rush in when there is more enemies (champions) than allies anymore.

So keep in mind that you will need to be more cautious or be atleast 2 when there is more than one enemy.

Pros + High Burst Damage + Super AoE Damage + Pretty low cooldowns + Good chase mechanism + Capable run away mechanism + Good fight starter if needed

Cons - Squishy early game - If she get CC locked it is most likely over - Extremly mana hungry (if you spam skills)

(Will get updated when more Pros/Cons is found)


How to avoid these Cons so we dont die in vain:

squishy early game: avoid contact with enemy champions when you dont have to get close
(Just dont let it affect your team play!)

if she get CC locked it is most likely over: well what happens happens but if you can avoid by moving abit or just be careful on how you attack or harass it should be fine(Again dont let it affect your team play!)

Extremly mana hungry (if you spam skills): Can be avoided if you get the blue and have it all the time or you buy Chalice of Harmony(Only AP) or the upgrade Athene's Unholy Grail(Only AP) but that means you will have to remove one of the other items in the buy list, but if you do then you wont need the blue for mana regen.

As i said earlier when playing Diana you need to get the skills correct in all aspect so you wont stand there even in early game when your a bit squishy what i will be explaining here is why we take what skill in the order we take them.

Priority colours:
Red = 1st priority
Purple = 2nd priority
Blue = 3rd priority
Green = 4th priority
Innate skill (Passiv at all times)

- Moonsilver Blade
This is Diana's innate skill which deals an aoe magic damage every third attack you do
good for farming minions and dealing greater damage to enemy champions
(This works on towers as well as minions and enemy champions).


- Cresent Strike
Why take this first? Easy it is the only ranged skill she has which you can use in the beginning of the game to harass your enemies or even kill them. This is the skill you wanna focus on and max out as fast as possible.


- Pale Cascade
What is Pale Cascade? it looks complicated at first but it really is a shield that does close aoe damage and if all orbs that appear on activation is used the shield is renewed so this is essential when it comes to survival either in lanes or jungle so this will be the skill number 2 to focus on so you wont die and so you can play aggrasive, but be aware the shield dont hold forever and it isnt a really big shield either.


- Moonfall
Moonfall is straightforward and easy to understand what it does is to stop fleeing enemies by pulling them towrds you while they get slowed for a short moment but still it will feel like an eternity for them though, good when you wanna chase or seperate the enemies and in some cases even when your the one running away
(there wont be many chances to use moonfall when running away since sometimes you dont want them closer to you even if they get slowed).


- Lunar Rush
Okay Diana's ultimate skill is a really hard one to time to the correct moment so you can kill your enemy but not die yourself, but basicly you use "Cresent Strike" to get moonlight on your target then use "Lunar Rush" to dash forward to your target and since the target had moonlight when "Lunar Rush" was used it doesnt go down to cooldown until you use it again so either you can use the first to dash right in to your enemy and kill him and then use the second charge
to get started on another kill or you can use the second charge to get away so you wont die.

When you are running away dont bother to try using lunar rush on a ally or a ward it doesnt work
(Trust me i have tested it)but you can if you are desperate run into the jungle and use lunar rush on a monster and if you still have flash then flash to get even further away from the enemy champion and the jungle monsters so you wont die however dont attempt this with like 20 hp left since you will take damage from the monsters atleast once.


(If you see a mistake in my explanation or some other type of mistake or missing thing,
please tell me and ill edit it as fast as possible)

Starting items:

- and 3x - Why? becouse you wont be attacking in melee for real until like lvl 4-6 and the pots is there as a life boat so you wont die.

Or alternative starting items:

- Get this at the start and then later when you have enough to buy one more of Doran's ring and
a pair of boots then recall to base and get them, then after that go with core items... This will increase damage and survivability early in the game but might leave you behind when your starting to get to lvl 10-11 if you dont get the correct item as fast as possible (What to get afterwards when using these start items isnt done yet)
When you start to get low on equipment space or need like 200-300 gold until next item then sell one of the Doran's ring so you either get gold or space for next item

Core Items:

Catalyst the protector - A must have item at this stage for two reasons, well first reason is becouse we need the HP and Mana i gives you and second reason is so when we level up we get some HP and Mana back.

- Okay this will be good to get so we can survive easier early in the game.

- this is super good item for diana since it will upgrade all things that Catalyst the protector have, and then it will also increase your stats (AP,HP,mana) every minute that goes by, and that increase happens ten times (Permenant increase it wont get lowered by death).

- we will take this so we get some AP and most importantly Spell Vamp (The downside of spell vamp is that you have to use skills to get hp back).

- You wonder why Needlessly Large Rod? well it is easy, to get that high amount of AP and thats all.

- get this so we get some attack speed and some cooldown reduction so that when we get Hextech Gunblade we will get back hp much faster with auto attack.

- Okay now you might wonder why the Hextech Gunblade and not the Will of the Ancients well since Diana is a melee she wants the gunblade so she can get not only hp back from the skills she does but also her auto attacks since the gunblade has life steal which gives you hp when you do auto attacks(and it increases both AP and AD so skills will deal more damage and auto attacks will deal more damage).

- And now it is time to take our Needlessly Large Rod and upgrade it into a Rabadon's Deathcap, which will make you notice a large damage increase since it has 140 AP and increase AP passivly by 30%.

- At this stage in the game you will need the extra HP and AP that this give you since otherwise your ability's wont be as nuke like as they can be
and also the slow effect will make you even more awesome.

- Why this one last? well since we have stinger higher up this will be a good upgrade at the end so if your having a hard time ending your enemies then this will make it easier since it will give you AP, attack speed, cooldown reduction and a small Mana regen, which will make you that edge harder to kill or survive (from enemies point of view).

Starting items:

- and 3x - Why? becouse you wont be attacking in melee for real until like lvl 4-6 and the pots is there as a life boat so you wont die (Keep in mind that if you see that you have a chance to get first blood or kill a enemy champ early, without getting killed yourself, go for it).


Core Items: (Why this kind of major change? well i noticed that if you use Manamune with these other items you will not only have super much damage you will also be able to have mana for the whole fight even if you dont have the blue, and your damage will be much more stable)

- Why this item so early in the game?
well to be honest Diana AD isnt easy to play and as an AD you want damage, HP and slow fast, this item give you that.

- This is good to take now so we get some mana and also so we can upgrade it into a Manamune later on.

- Okay this is important you get since it will help you increase your running speed and attack speed and as an AD attack speed is critcal to get early.

- This is a extremly good item for AD Diana since it will give you mana and attack damage but thats not all it will also give you 1000 mana when fully charged and also give you 2% attack damage based on your amount of mana.

- Ok this is straight forward since it increase your attack damage much.

- Important to get this for survivability increase.

- Yes finally i can do some uber damage you think... well then you are correct this is the most important item to get at this stage in the game, since we have B. F. Sword since earlier we dont have to spend like over 3000 gold at once and when you have this your damage will increase ten fold.

- At this point really you want the huge amount of hp it gives you and the upgrade of the slow effect for two reasons, the first is so we dont get killed and second so we can kill our enemy easier.

- Bloodthirster will be a really good damage increase as well as a survivability increase at this point in the game(increases damage output and decreases your chance of death).

- Ooh Guinsoo's Rageblade...
Well when you have this your enemies will be taken by surprise and start screaming in fear when you come raining nuke attacks on them and why? well since it increase AD and AP it will increase damage output pretty much by only that, but it also proc with each skill and auto attack made increasing both AP and attack speed so not only that your attacks get faster your skills do much more damage also.

(Keep in mind that if you need Magic resist or Armor to survive change Guinsoo's Rageblade and never anything else)

Well what do you think?
For AD it is critical to get it right so you will do any damage at all, but also so you still can survive better(purchase order can/will get tweeked with time).

Okay that was AD then what about AP?

Well since Diana's skills scale with AP she dont get that much affected as an AD Diana but still some items such as Nashor's Tooth cant be moved or your damage and survivability will sink like a rock in a pond and you will have to get Rabadon's Deathcap in the lastest as it stands in the purchase order or your damage wont be super high which is needed for her to survive since she will be getting the most heal as AP from her Spell Vamp items.

If you have any questions just ask away and ill try to explain and give an example as quick and correct as i can...

(OBS! all items can/will be changed with time, becouse new patches bring new changes!!)

Ok here is all the items you can take instead of something from the recommended purchase list,
i will be explaining what and why we can take an item instead of the recommended ones.
(AP/AD)- means that it works for both AP-build and AD-build
(AP)- means it will only work for AP-build
(AD)- means it will only work for AD-build

Let's get started then:

Banshee's Veil - (AP/AD) this will be extremly helpful as a option since it will not only increase HP and Mana, but it will also increase magic resist and as a last touch it will nullify all ability's but sadly only one at a time, but since it will nullify one it will minimize the risk of you getting stuck at the wrong time (this is a good one to take when you have Manamune and you need magic resist).

Guardian Angel - (AP/AD) this will be a good item since it will increase both armor and magic resist, but it will also give you a revive chance that can give either the cance to run(and survive) or give your team the advantage over your enemy in a team fight as an example.

Zhonya's Hourglass - (AP) This can be a really good item if you see that your enemy has either many AD champions or more than one carry, why is it good? well since it give you armor it will decrease the amount of damage you take from pyshical damage but since it also have AP also it wont lower your own damage.

Abyssal Mask - (AP) this is like Zhonya's Hourglass but instead of armor it gives
you magic resist which can be good to take instead of something if you see that there is many AP champions in the enemy team and since it gives you AP and an aura it is good both you and your team in a team fight.

Mercury's Treads - (AD) well this can be choosen instead of recommeneded boots, if you face a team with much stun- and fear ability's or similar CC then this is a really good one to take since it will give you some Magic resist and it will decrease the time you is stunned for as an example.

Maw of Malmortius - (AD) This will be a really good one for Diana as AD since it will give you magic resist and a shield when your hp drop to low without lowering your damage too much at the same time.

Frozen Heart - (AD) This can be a really good item when you have Manamune since it will give you armor, mana and attack damage.

Sadly the masteries is so straight forward im not sure what i need to explain for both the AP and AD build but the AP build do have an alternative course that is possible to take, by not putting the last 9 points in the defense tree but instead go to utility and put:

1 point - Summoner's Insight
3 point - Expanded Mind
4 point - Swiftness
1 point - Runic Affinity
(OBS! this only affects the AP masteries!!)

All the other 21 points cant be moved unless you is willing to lower your damage output
which you shouldnt be willing to do...(If you think im mistaken please tell me why and present me with an example)

Mastery alternatives/options/explanations:

Ok here in will say why there isnt much room when choosing masteries for Diana .

we start with AP then:

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Mental Force - good in the start with those free 4 AP at the start of the game. Sorcery - extremely important to have since it will lower you cooldowns with 4%. Arcane Knowledge - well what do i say 10% magic penetration is a no brainer. Havoc - this i great since it will passivly increase all damage you do with 1.5%. Blast - great one since it will increase AP with every level. Archmage - this is a must to have since it will increase your AP with 5% at all times Executioner - well all i can say is, if you wanna kill your enemies fast then this is a must since it will increase damage on all enemies whos health is below 40%.

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Hardiness - good so we get some more armor so the enemeies damage get reduced a little. Resistance - good when your up against an AP user since it will reduce their damage a little. Durability - super good for Diana so she gets more HP every time she levels up. Veteran's Scars - Very good since it means that you have 30 more HP at the beginning which in return means you probably wont have to die as often as you could have.

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Optional build for the last 9 points:
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Summoner's Insight - This will give you a good bonus to some summoner's spells, as an example it will decrease Flash cooldown with 15 seconds which can be really good sometimes. Expanded Mind - This can be really great since it increase your amount of mana every level. Swiftness - Really a no brainer since it increase movement speed by 2% at all times. Runic Affinity - Why this one last? well if you got blue it will increase the time you can have it by 20%. as an example: if you can have it normally 100 seconds then with this i can be prolonged to 120 seconds which can be really good.

And here comes the AD masteries (sadly there is no alternative build what i know of so far if i find one i will post it as soon as i find it):

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Summoner's Wrath - this is good when you use ignite since it will increase your AP and AD by 5 when it is on cooldown. Brute Force - increase your attack damage by 3 and thats good when you start since it will help you in getting first blood and also get last hit on minions. Alacrity - this is very important since it increase your attack speed by 4% and as AD you want pretty much attack speed. Weapon Expertise - increase your armor penetration by 10% also important. Deadliness - increase your attack with 0,5 damage per lvl so at lvl 18 it will increase with a total of 6 attack damage. Lethality - increase crit by 10% extremly important since it will increase your over all damage both early and later. Vampirism - Also a very good one since it will increase your life steal with 3% Sunder - this one will increase your armor penetration with 6 (and no its not in % this time). Executioner - well all i can say is, if you wanna kill your enemies fast then this is a must since it will increase damage on all enemies whos health is below 40%.

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Hardiness - good so we get some more armor so the enemeies damage get reduced a little. Resistance - good when your up against an AP user since it will reduce their damage a little. Durability - super good for Diana so she gets more HP every time she levels up. Veteran's Scars - Very good since it means that you have 30 more HP at the beginning which in return means you probably wont have to die as often as you could have.

Runes Summary:
To be honest there isnt much room to play around with the runes other than the three last where you can either go for magic/armor penetration runes or Ability power/Attack damage runes as long as you dont mix them your fine and wether you wanna take penetration runes or AP/AD runes it is up to your tastes what you take.
The "Armor" and "Magic resist" isnt optinal it is priority when playing as Diana.

Rune explanation:

AP Runes:

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - As AP Diana you want to use all "Mark" slots in your rune page so you get as much Magic Penetration so that both early and late game you can still do much damage without the need to stack items with Magic Penetration(Which you dont want since it lowers your damage overall).

Greater Seal of Armor - this is no option, you have to fill all your "Seal" slots so you get as much "Armor" as possible.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist - this is no option, you have to fill all your "Glyph" slots so you get as much "Magic resist" as possible.

Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration - With this you wont need any Magic Penetration items at all unless its a team with like 300-400 Magic resist(which is rare to see).


Optional:

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - This can be taken instead of Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration so you get that extra amount of AP in the start which can give you the edge at the begining of the game, but it is much harder since when you start getting items it wont be such a huge differnt anymore.


AD Runes:

Greater Mark of Desolation - Cant be change, since it will be near to impossible to do any damage without armor penetration as AD Diana.

Greater Seal of Armor - this is no option, you have to fill all your "Seal" slots so you get as much "Armor" as possible.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist - this is no option, you have to fill all your "Glyph" slots so you get as much "Magic resist" as possible.

Greater Quintessence of Desolation - Will increase your chance of getting any damage done to your enemies especially later into the game when tanks and other champs get armor items.


Optional:

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage - This can be taken just so you get more AD early so you can get ahead with some kills and easier get last hit on minions, but will (as with AP runes) not be as noticeable later into the game as armor penetration runes would.


(Take into mind that this is my opinion, if you feel that this is wrong then please tell me that and send me an example of your way to arrange the runes and ill look into it)

(OBS! keep in mind that this is a recommendention if you dont want to follow this then it is up to you, and if you cant buy tier 3 runes then settle for tier 1 or 2 runes instead!)

Priority Spells:

- Why flash? easy so you can flash away and survive.


- And ignite is a good finisher if you cant finish them off completely


Optional Spells:

- exhaust can be a good optional since you can either chase down your enemies or run away from them


- Also a good option when it comes do chasing enemies or run away from them


- Teleport can be good if you know you have to get to a lane super fast to either take down enemies and thier tower or saving your team or your tower, but if your not sure if you need it dont take it.

Okay how do you team fight with Diana? it might look hard but it is easier than it looks,
if your the one attacking then use Crescent Strike so all or many enemy champions get moonlight
and then use Lunar Rush on a priority target (Example: low health target or champions like Brand or carry's like Master Yi ) when first Lunar Rush is used then either use the second one to get away fast or nuke a second target or the same target as before so it goes down faster.
Observe the situation and if the enemy try to chase you or try to run from you use Moonfall to slow them down and use Pale Cascade as often you can to get as much damage on enemies as you can and so you have the shield up as much as possible during team fights.

If your defending towers or similar key spots you want to use Crescent Strike so they think twice before just rushing right in there and if they get to close you can even use Moonfall to drag them to the tower followed by Crescent Strike and then Lunar Rush but if you cant do anything other than Moonfall or you'll die, then dont do any thing else since it is better to harass and survive, rather than attacking and die trying to kill him

Last part. If you wanna know how to get as much money as possible when in lanes so you can get items quick then read this...

AP farming: As an AP you need to use your skills sadly since your auto attacks isnt high enough
but all you have to do is to use Crescent Strike and then take the last with you Pale Cascade.

AD Farming: As an AD your auto attacks is really high and with the innate skill you probably wont need to use any other skills but if wanna be 100% sure then use a Crescent Strike.

If you still dont get any money in lane then that means your not getting the last hit which means it is better to wait abit until the minions is lower in health until you nuke them and this apply wether your a AP or AD, if your still having problem well then i cant help you sorry ;(

Okay here is the first picture, yes it is against bots but it is a good example of how it can look when you have won...




This is what it can look like when you do your part both in lanes and in team fights but your allies isnt there or isnt good enough...

[Will try to make one if i can]
(OBS! can take some time though dont expect it to come too soon)

(If you are willing to do a video as an example on how you can play then please tell me so we can talk more and see what need to be done when it is done,and yes you will be getting credit if you get your video uploaded)

But please do not rain me with messages if i dont answer within a day please!

Ok just scroll down to the type of Diana you want to play (AP or AD) and there will be a lazy version(Updates will come with time).

AP Diana:





AD Diana:

Here i will be posting all old item builds that has been posted in this guide, for those that either want some options or those who dont like the updated way to play and want the previous versions.

AP:

1:(was active until 22 august 2012)
Nashor's Tooth
Sorcerer's Shoes
Rabadon's Deathcap
Hextech Gunblade
Lich Bane
Rylai's Crystal Scepter

AD:

1:(was active until 21 august 2012)
Berserker's Greaves
Frozen Mallet
Infinity Edge
Bloodthirster
Phantom Dancer
Guinsoo's Rageblade