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Recommended Items
Spells:
Exhaust
Flash
Items
Ability Order
Power Chord (PASSIVE)
Sona Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Blitzcrank
His pull, knockup, and area of effect will destroy you. Play defensive, and avoid getting pulled.
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Change Log
-May 20, 2014: Guide created with items listed.
-May 21, 2014: Guide half completed, added first half chapters.
-May 25, 2014: Guide completed.
-June 19, 2014: Guide updated with patch 4.10 and addition of

-July 3, 2014: Guide updated with patch 4.11 and addition of support item changes.
-July 15, 2014: Guide updated with patch 4.12 and addition of more support item changes.
-August 1, 2014: Guide updated with the Matchups section and the vs. Champions section.
-August 5, 2014: Guide updated with patch 4.13 and addition of more support item changes as well as Sona rework.
-August 9, 2014: Guide updated with edits and item additions.
-November 20, 2014: Guide updated with edits and general information with patch 4.20.
-November 21, 2014: New matchups added.
-March 15, 2015: New matchups added.
-May 26, 2015: Brand new guide created for Season 5.
-June 20, 2015: Video guide added.
-June 22, 2015: More matchups added.
-August 16, 2015: More matchups added.
-September 17, 2015: Iceborn Gauntlet implementation.
-March 26, 2016: Counters, masteries, items, and Season 6 update.
Upcoming: Sona match recordings to help you understand how this build is actually put to the test and how I play Sona.
Here is a video version of this entire written guide. This video includes information on playstyle, runes, masteries, ability explanations, matchups, counters, builds, and a general overview and analysis on playing Sona in bottom lane. I would still recommend reading over the written guide here as it is much more detailed, and would probably take less time than watching the video.
This video does not include the recent Iceborn Gauntlet implementation I have made for my guide.
This video does not include the recent Iceborn Gauntlet implementation I have made for my guide.


While this guide may seem very biased (or not, not sure), the pros and cons below are still very accurate if played correctly. I play a lot of my ranked games with

Now before going further into the guide, I’d first like to make one thing clear about supports. You can build a support however you’d like. The point of a support is to help the ADC get fed and get CS while keeping the team safe for the most part. With this being said, you do not need to build tank for a support. I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but if you have someone like






So basically, what I am trying to say is, that this build will focus around AP heavily, and you should only be playing Sona for certain situations. These situations include, if you are really good with her and can carry your ADC without a problem, you have somewhat of a tank on your team, or your team is mostly AD. If you have a balance of AD and AP in your team with no tank, then go with a more tanky support.
Hope this guide helps, and if you have any suggestions or helpful comments and feedback please leave them in the comments below.
Pros
-Amazing poke ability (her Q).
-High damage early and mid-game.
-Very effective heal early and mid-game (her W).
-Double speed boost if buying the Talisman of Ascension (her E).
-Perfect crowd control stun ultimate to annihilate an entire team (if used properly) (her R).
-All abilities support the entire team.
Cons
-Very squishy (easy to be killed).
-AP scaling isn't that great (but still decent).
-Heavily relies on getting assists to earn gold.
-Mana can decrease very quickly early game and mid-game.
-Relies heavily on mana and mana regen.
-Requires some skill with making the right decisions when to stun, when to poke, etc.
Do pick Sona when…
-Your team has someone who is going to be building a bit tanky.
-Your team is mostly AD.
-You can easily carry your ADC without a problem and have mastered this champion.
-You’re going up against a poke lane (such as
Annie support).
Don’t pick Sona when…
-Your team has no tank.
-You’re going up against a tankier and sustain lane (such as
Leona support).
-Your team is mostly AP.
-Amazing poke ability (her Q).
-High damage early and mid-game.
-Very effective heal early and mid-game (her W).
-Double speed boost if buying the Talisman of Ascension (her E).
-Perfect crowd control stun ultimate to annihilate an entire team (if used properly) (her R).
-All abilities support the entire team.
Cons
-Very squishy (easy to be killed).
-AP scaling isn't that great (but still decent).
-Heavily relies on getting assists to earn gold.
-Mana can decrease very quickly early game and mid-game.
-Relies heavily on mana and mana regen.
-Requires some skill with making the right decisions when to stun, when to poke, etc.
Do pick Sona when…
-Your team has someone who is going to be building a bit tanky.
-Your team is mostly AD.
-You can easily carry your ADC without a problem and have mastered this champion.
-You’re going up against a poke lane (such as

Don’t pick Sona when…
-Your team has no tank.
-You’re going up against a tankier and sustain lane (such as

-Your team is mostly AP.
Now before everyone starts bashing me because I don't have



The only good summoner spells for

Now the reason why I don't pick




For


For


Now if you like to get to lanes quickly to support and help your team,





Based off of this, select the spells you want, but I recommend



With the new season 6 mastery system, we can setup some pretty interesting synergies. Before, there was no point in investing any points in cooldown reduction, since we pretty much already reached the max. However, we can now increase this by 5%, and spam our abilities even more. Along with this change, we also now can be more supportive for our team, with better shields and heals, granting armor and magic resistance. as well as providing some self-defense as well.
Five Key Mastery Focuses
-More gold earnings
-More mana regeneration
-More defense
-More team support
-More cooldown reduction
For the Cunning tree,




With the change of how


Then for Resolve, it's difficult to choose, between health regen and defense. Since our heals are going to be more effective anyway, I believe



Lastly,



Runes




For runes we want to focus on ability power and defense. For defense get magic resist and armor. Since seals have higher armor than glyphs, and glyphs have higher magic resist than seals, keep this in mind and take advantage of it.
Once again, many people will suggest

With this being said, get three


It may seem like getting more ability power for seals and glyphs would be pretty epic, but the amount for the price isn't really worth it. To keep our defense up, get nine




Now even though



Power Chord
This is



You'll know when
Power Chord is ready when you see the passive's icon as shown below.

Here,
Sona has only cast 2 abilities, hence the bonus affect on her next attack will not be granted, until she casts another ability to make it 3 spell casts.


Here,


Tip: If


Hymn of Valor
This is your poking ability, her Q. This ability deals magic damage to the two nearest enemy units within range, prioritizing champions. You'll want to use this as much as possible in the early game, and during fights with your ADC or with the team to boost damage, because that's what it does. Whenever you have the aura active, all team members gain bonus magic damage.
If this is the last spell you casted before using

Tip: Be aware that this ability can cause some kill steal, so be careful when using it.

Aria of Perseverance

If this is the last spell you casted before using

Tip: This ability can be spammed, if you have enough cooldown reduction, hence if someone is low on health, don't run away, keep healing, this heal has great potential.

Song of Celerity

If this is the last spell you casted before using

Tip: The speed boost applies for minions as well, so you can push a lane really well when needed and ensure that minions can quickly help take down a tower.

Crescendo
This is


Tip: This ability can be used to interrupt some champion's ultimate abilities, so be sure to look out for those and seize the opportunity to save your team.
For ability level sequencing, we always want to max




Tip: All of these abilities do scale from ability power, so take advantage of that.
So before we actually get into the build let me explain why this build does not focus that much on armor and magic resist as many other traditional support builds do. I know a lot of people are going to say AP sucks on Sona because her scalings aren't that great. But if you think about it, what is Sona good for? Her pokes, that scale off of AP, her heals that scale off of AP, and her speed that scale off of AP.
The argument is, if you go all AP, you'll be focused and destroyed. True, but if you are a good support, and you use abilities correctly, you will snowball enough with your ADC to not even need the defense because of the high mobility. The speed boost on Sona is insane, I've escaped countless times with my ADC because of it. And even if it isn't enough you still have the active of Talisman of Ascension and
Frost Queen's Claim to escape. You have to play Sona from a distance, that's why she has a poke, why her heals have a pretty decent range, and her speed has a pretty decent range too. If you can play Sona with enough range to stay safe, you don't need to worry about defense that much.
But what about ganks? You have a stun, use it. In a 3v2, use the stun, that's why it's there. Use it to escape or to get a kill or two. I will admit, Sona can be a boring support, if you like to get in the enemy's face, like with
Leona, but that's because for that champion she needs to get in their face, with Sona you don't have too.
In teamfights, you are mobile enough to escape, and you should still be keeping your distance, I've gone games with 0-2 deaths where I've had over 30 assists because I've gotten so good at this champion. All of Sona's abilities scale off of AP, and they are all really good abilities. Only because the scalings aren't that amazing, they aren't amazingly terrible that you won't benefit from AP. You will benefit from it, and you will be healing for more, damaging for more, and speeding up for more.
If at any point you see yourself having trouble with one of the harder match ups, you can always begin to build
Zhonya's Hourglass second, or build
Seeker's Armguard early on. Defense and health items are meant for tanks, the people that go in to take all the damage, because their abilities are close range. Sona isn't a tank, her abilities aren't close range, and she is mobile enough and even giving other teammates enough mobility to escape difficult situations.
Make smart decisions, play from a distance, watch your enemies and their abilities, and protect your ADC. Sometimes you will have to die for your ADC, which is fine, but just play it smart.
Tip: Sona is a champion that requires you to pay attention. If you can do that, you will do amazing. While she may be a good starting Support if you're new, she is even more amazing if you can master her.
The argument is, if you go all AP, you'll be focused and destroyed. True, but if you are a good support, and you use abilities correctly, you will snowball enough with your ADC to not even need the defense because of the high mobility. The speed boost on Sona is insane, I've escaped countless times with my ADC because of it. And even if it isn't enough you still have the active of Talisman of Ascension and

But what about ganks? You have a stun, use it. In a 3v2, use the stun, that's why it's there. Use it to escape or to get a kill or two. I will admit, Sona can be a boring support, if you like to get in the enemy's face, like with

In teamfights, you are mobile enough to escape, and you should still be keeping your distance, I've gone games with 0-2 deaths where I've had over 30 assists because I've gotten so good at this champion. All of Sona's abilities scale off of AP, and they are all really good abilities. Only because the scalings aren't that amazing, they aren't amazingly terrible that you won't benefit from AP. You will benefit from it, and you will be healing for more, damaging for more, and speeding up for more.
If at any point you see yourself having trouble with one of the harder match ups, you can always begin to build


Make smart decisions, play from a distance, watch your enemies and their abilities, and protect your ADC. Sometimes you will have to die for your ADC, which is fine, but just play it smart.
Tip: Sona is a champion that requires you to pay attention. If you can do that, you will do amazing. While she may be a good starting Support if you're new, she is even more amazing if you can master her.
Sona's build is pretty supportive and ability power orientated, which is probably what's best for her in my opinion. Below you'll see the items you'll want to get and some explanations. There are others ways to build Sona, but I'll explain why I didn't decide to build her in a different way.
Start with
Spellthief's Edge if you’re going against an easy lane, or if you’re going to be playing rather aggressively while still staying safe. Otherwise, you can start with a more passive approach and start with
Ancient Coin. Both of these items generate a good amount of gold, one however rewards you for poking and playing aggressively, and the other rewards you for allowing your ADC to get the CS and allowing you to play defensively if you choose.
The
Vision Ward will allow you to ward the tribush in your lane, which is always very helpful to be aware of when the jungler is coming. If you’re lucky, some people may not even clear your pink ward, because it does take some time to clear. Along with your pink ward, also pick up a
Health Potion which will actually be a biscuit to help you regain mana and health, and your
Stealth Ward to ward the river bush whenever needed.
The first item you want to start building towards is either the Talisman of Ascension or the
Frost Queen's Claim whichever you’re upgrading from. After this, you’ll want to get your mobility up, not only for you but also for your ADC, since Sona relies heavily on good mobility. Buy the
Mobility Boots with the Captain's enchantment so both you and your carry get the speed boost, which is amazing on top of your E. With this built, you can now avoid ganks easier, secure kills easier, and poke easier while still being able to back off quick enough.
With green wards no longer in the game, it can be encouraged to buy a
Sightstone if necessary, or ask your ADC to buy a
Vision Ward along with you, otherwise stay on top of warding with your
Stealth Ward.
After you’ve got the mobility aspect of the build down, we need to start building some mana so we can spam our abilities more often.
Archangel's Staff is great for this, since it gives tons of mana, and it will also eventually upgrade to
Seraph's Embrace which will give you a shield. Depending on who’s doing more damage to you, pick and choose which you need more, the
Chalice of Harmony or
Seeker's Armguard. Eventually you’ll want both though, as they both will be used to give you more armor and magic resist.
If you’re not going to build a
Sightstone, make sure to also upgrade your trinket to the
Greater Stealth Totem so you can ward more often.
Recently, I've also tried building
Iceborn Gauntlet over
Archangel's Staff. While it doesn't give us 1,000 mana when, it does give us 500, which is double what the staff gives us to start with (it still gives us AP as well). We're still able to spam efficiently with this, and top of that we can bring even more utility to the team and defense, since the armor, and the potential permaslow that can be achieved. We also get max 40% CDR from this too, and the item is cheaper as well.
Late game you’ll want to build
Athene's Unholy Grail for magic resist and
Zhonya's Hourglass for armor. Both of these items give you ability power to help boost your spells, and your cooldown reduction will also be benefited from this too. Another great thing about the hourglass is that you can use the active if you ever are getting focused for some reason, hence, you could build this earlier if you’re getting focused.
The last item you’ll want to buy, is
Lich Bane, if you get to a point in the game where you have that much money that is. This will give your Q a massive damage boost, and you’ll be wrecking people with your damage as it gives you a great passive and a good amount of ability power.
If your game also goes on long enough, you may want to get a bit more tanky, as everyone's going to be doing more damage. Replacing
Frost Queen's Claim with
Locket of the Iron Solari or
Randuin's Omen is a good idea depending on whether you need more armor or magic resist.
Now this is a very good option for all supports, including
Sona. In my build here, I don't built this because I am very good at managing my wards, and usually our bottom lane wins early on and ends the game rather quickly. If you are doing terrible, are getting ganked a lot, or just see a need for more wards, I highly recommend you buy this.
Very good item for heavy CC champions on the enemy team. This is a great item when laning against a
Lux or a
Morgana. However, if you and your ADC are dodging very well, you probably won't need to invest in this item.
If the enemy team is heavy ability power based, this is a good buy as it not only gives you magic resist but also lowers enemy's magic resist and gives you more ability power. You may also want to consider a
Locket of the Iron Solari though in this case, if you're tank isn't going to buy one.
A very underrated item, but can be very useful and helpful when your team has heavy attack speed based champions such as
Kalista,
Master Yi, or any ADC in general. Since all your abilities are auras, all your abilities will proc the attack speed bonus on this item.
If you happen to be facing a heavy attack damage based team, this is a great item as it will basically reflect some of the damage, and give you tons of armor.
In case you need more CC, or if you need to be a bit more tanky, this item will work just fine.
If you did buy a
Sightstone or a
Ruby Sightstone, instead of upgrading your
Stealth Ward, get this, as you'll have plenty of wards already, and will be able to clear wards with this.
Many of these optional items can replace either your hourglass or holy grail depending on whether you're facing a heavy AP or heavy AD team.
Tip:
Mikael's Blessing does take some time to master when using the active ability. I suggest learning and practicing how to use the item first before officially incorporating it into your build.
Starting Items
Start with


The



Early Game
The first item you want to start building towards is either the Talisman of Ascension or the


With green wards no longer in the game, it can be encouraged to buy a



Mid-Game

After you’ve got the mobility aspect of the build down, we need to start building some mana so we can spam our abilities more often.




If you’re not going to build a


Recently, I've also tried building


Late Game
Late game you’ll want to build


End Game
The last item you’ll want to buy, is

If your game also goes on long enough, you may want to get a bit more tanky, as everyone's going to be doing more damage. Replacing



Optional

Now this is a very good option for all supports, including


Very good item for heavy CC champions on the enemy team. This is a great item when laning against a



If the enemy team is heavy ability power based, this is a good buy as it not only gives you magic resist but also lowers enemy's magic resist and gives you more ability power. You may also want to consider a


A very underrated item, but can be very useful and helpful when your team has heavy attack speed based champions such as



If you happen to be facing a heavy attack damage based team, this is a great item as it will basically reflect some of the damage, and give you tons of armor.

In case you need more CC, or if you need to be a bit more tanky, this item will work just fine.

If you did buy a



Many of these optional items can replace either your hourglass or holy grail depending on whether you're facing a heavy AP or heavy AD team.
Tip:




Another strategy is to use the bushes to come out and poke and then run back behind your ADC. It's important to note though that if bushes are warded, you will most likely have a hard time with this strategy since the enemy will anticipate your attack. When you poke it's important to make sure that you know when




During the laning phase you will also want to ward, but this is discussed in a separate section of the guide.
This is pretty much it for the laning phase, other than poking with





Tip: Because of



When and if you need to ward, with either the
Sightstone,
Stealth Ward, or the
Vision Ward, these are some of the most important places to ward.

Warding in the areas around your lane, especially around the river is crucial to survival and to avoid getting ganked without preparation. Some other great warding spots are near the dragon and near Baron. Besides that, you'll want to ward near the bushes on the outside of the lane where most people hide early game, and where
Sona does some of her poking. I usually use my
Vision Ward in the tribush of my lane every game, because most of the time it stays up for at least half of the game.
During late game an even mid-game still, you'll want to ward mid lane a bit too, especially during team fights. This will help a lot because many people will try to gank from there during team fights. Depending on if you're winning or losing, you'll want to ward jungles, on either side of the map, since it will give some vision especially in games where the enemy is using the jungle a lot, and lots of ganks occur.
Warding can be easy if you know where to place them, and they can even save lives, so learn when to place them and where to place them.
Tip: The difference between the wards from the
Sightstone and the
Vision Ward is that, if the
Vision Ward does not get destroyed, it will stay active for the whole time, while the wards in the
Sightstone have a time limit. Place a pink ward in a couple locations and if you notice them stay up for a good 7-10 minutes, then they are worth the buy, if not, then stick with the ordinary wards.




Warding in the areas around your lane, especially around the river is crucial to survival and to avoid getting ganked without preparation. Some other great warding spots are near the dragon and near Baron. Besides that, you'll want to ward near the bushes on the outside of the lane where most people hide early game, and where


During late game an even mid-game still, you'll want to ward mid lane a bit too, especially during team fights. This will help a lot because many people will try to gank from there during team fights. Depending on if you're winning or losing, you'll want to ward jungles, on either side of the map, since it will give some vision especially in games where the enemy is using the jungle a lot, and lots of ganks occur.
Warding can be easy if you know where to place them, and they can even save lives, so learn when to place them and where to place them.
Tip: The difference between the wards from the





Having the upper hand
If your team is going strong and has an advantage over the other team, then you can play Sona a bit more offensively. You'll want to always use








Standing on Equal Ground
When both teams are pretty equal,






Tip:Remember to use your active abilities on


Having the lower hand
When the opposing team has the upper hand and you're behind, they'll most likely engage and use their ultimates to pick up quick kills. This is why you'll want to be a lot more defensive, and use


Tip:




One thing you'll see in these three different types of game modes is the need for warding, and caution. Depending on who you're playing with and who you're playing against will depend on what type of items you'll need to buy and invest gold in. While it may not be wise to assume, and while some people may not find it ideal to do so, I think it's always good to prepare yourself for what you're going up against. Hence, using the sites LoLKing and/or LoLNexus to see who you'll be facing is a great tool.
From my experiences, here's what I've mostly seen during each game mode of play.
In Ranked, you will most likely not snowball, hence
Rabadon's Deathcap is out of the question. You will also a need far more wards, so a
Sightstone will most likely be mandatory rather than optional. Near late game you can replace it for the
Zhonya's Hourglass if necessary.
In Normal, depending on who you're playing with and against, you may not need any wards, and you can play a bit more aggressive. If matching against lower levels, they will most likely not understand the value of wards very well, hence the
Sightstone and the
Sweeping Lens become optional. However, you don't need to assume here, as you can simply tell if the enemy team is placing wards or not, or if their jungler is ganking or if they even have one.
In Co-Op you really won't need any of the optional items, and you probably are able to snowball. However, this doesn't mean that it's impossible to snowball in the other game modes, if you're able to do really well and are able to get tons of gold, go for the full AP build, but I've found it to be pretty rare in ranked games to build anything higher than the example build that you see above.
From my experiences, here's what I've mostly seen during each game mode of play.
In Ranked, you will most likely not snowball, hence



In Normal, depending on who you're playing with and against, you may not need any wards, and you can play a bit more aggressive. If matching against lower levels, they will most likely not understand the value of wards very well, hence the


In Co-Op you really won't need any of the optional items, and you probably are able to snowball. However, this doesn't mean that it's impossible to snowball in the other game modes, if you're able to do really well and are able to get tons of gold, go for the full AP build, but I've found it to be pretty rare in ranked games to build anything higher than the example build that you see above.
Please see the section at the top of the page below the masteries and skill sequence charts to see who
Sona is strong against, weak against, and how to counter each of them effectively.
Make sure to hover your mouse over the champion's picture to see the note that explains the countering details. Please also note that these matchups do not determine the outcome of a lane losing or winning. A good player can win any lane, this is simply a guide to help you and give you tips on how to play against a certain champion. If you can't achieve some of the tactics that are given as tips, it doesn't mean that the champion overpowers you, or that Sona isn't a good champion, you just need more practice.
Here is a general list of champions that Sona is generally weak and strong against. As stated before, scroll to the top of the page above the written guide to see details and tips by hovering your mouse over the champion icon.

Make sure to hover your mouse over the champion's picture to see the note that explains the countering details. Please also note that these matchups do not determine the outcome of a lane losing or winning. A good player can win any lane, this is simply a guide to help you and give you tips on how to play against a certain champion. If you can't achieve some of the tactics that are given as tips, it doesn't mean that the champion overpowers you, or that Sona isn't a good champion, you just need more practice.
Here is a general list of champions that Sona is generally weak and strong against. As stated before, scroll to the top of the page above the written guide to see details and tips by hovering your mouse over the champion icon.
Thank you for reading my guide on how to build
Sona. As stated in the title, this is a beginner's guide, so if this guide doesn't give you all the tips and tricks that you were hoping for, I hope it did give you a good scope into what type of champion
Sona is and what her potential is.
I do main the support role, and am very good at it. I tend to play other supports such as
Leona,
Janna and
Blitzcrank too. If you'd like to add me in-game feel free to do so, and if you have any questions feel free to ask in-game or leave them in the comments below.
Thank you, and good luck!
And remember this is your jam when you're playing bot lane support with
Sona.


I do main the support role, and am very good at it. I tend to play other supports such as



Thank you, and good luck!
And remember this is your jam when you're playing bot lane support with

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