10/21/2011

• Initial guide completed

This is my first guide so bear with me and let me get out my umbrella for the rain of flames.

Leona was the first champ I bought with RP since she came out when I first joined LoL. I enjoy playing as her but will agree that there are better tanks like Amumu or Alistar. Regardless, this guide is for those of us that love our shining Leona. Please note that this guide is for Dominion and not as viable for Classic.

The first build is the tankier Leona with more HP and MR. The second build is the faster Leona with slightly better CDR and a good amount of AP to give her abilities more bite. I enjoy the second build more, but I don't use it when the enemy has a lot of CC. You can mix and match items though, this build is not all powerful, just what I find useful.

Pros

• 2 stuns
• Durable
• Great Initiator

Cons

• A bit slow
• Zenith Blade has a terrible range and slow reaction time when you miss
• Terrible AP ratios

Masteries

For the first build I went with a 9-21-0 for the extra damage reduction. Leona's abilities all do magic damage so that extra magic penetration is always a plus. The other bonuses in the defense mastery tree help her take just that much more punishment too.

The second build is 9-0-21 which benefits from an extra 6% CDR, 3% movement speed, and I love utility mastery in Dominion since it makes all of those runes and quest rewards last 30% longer.

Runes

Pretty much standard tank runes. Leveling is quick in Dominion so I went with the per level Armor Greater Seal of Defense and Magic Resistance Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist as well as Magic Penetration Greater Mark of Magic Penetration. Flat health Greater Quintessence of Health to help with that first battle at the top point.

Max out your Eclipse first, your Shield of Daybreak second, and your Zenith Blade last not forgetting to level up your ultimate Solar Flare at levels 6,11, and 16. She does her most damage and damage reduction with Eclipse. We up Shield of Daybreak next mostly just for the extra CDR from levelling it. Zenith Blade is last because this thing has such a short range that you will only hit two champs if they're standing still and nearby while chasing someone with it is useless unless you fire it when they are right next to you due to the slow animation and projectile speed.

Recommended

Ghost - Because you can never get where you are needed fast enough
Garrison - Very useful when two champs push a large creep wave towards a tower you are defending and you are all alone.

Viable

Exhaust - Always good to slow someone else down
Revive - Finally useful again in Dominion, granted you might only get to use it maybe twice a match.
Flash - Not as useful in Dominion, but still a viable option in my opinion.
Heal - Helps mostly with that first team fight up top, but with all of the health packs laying around, it doesn't do much good late game in my opinion.

Not recommended

Promote - Unless your team sends you bottom, you really won't be pushing a lane alone often, or shouldn't be.
Clairvoyance] - So many areas of the map are revealed on their own that it's easy enough to predict where they are going most of the time.
Cleanse - If you're taking all the DoT, snares, and other annoyances in a team fight, you're doing your job as a tank!

Most of the time in Dominion you will never complete a build unless both teams are evenly matched. I always start off with Boots and a Kindlegem. These two items work into both builds.



Usually I skimp on health potions though, but it's your choice. The extra health and slight CDR of Kindlegem are a good start to both builds.



Sunfire Aegis - Works well with Leona's [Eclipse] and you will need the health as a tank.

Mercury's Treads - Standard equipment on most tanks.

Glacial Shroud - Gives us more mana, armor, and some CDR, who doesn't love stunning more!



Abyssal Mask - Helps Leona's abilities pack a little more punch and extra Magic Resistance is always a plus

Shurelya's Battlesong - 15% CDR with Health and HP/MP Regen helps any Leona do well. I wait to upgrade this late because the 5% extra CDR, 130 HP, and HP/MP regen aren't worth the cost mid-game. Granted, this is only my opinion and can see the benefits of upgrading this sooner.

Frozen Heart - Upgrading the Glacial Shroud into this gives you even more armor, mana, CDR, and slows down the attacks of those AD carries.

Odyn's Veil - The Dominion version of the Banshee's Veil, 10$ magic damage reduction along with Magic Resistance, extra HP/MP and a damaging active make this a very useful item.



Mobility Boots - Leona is slow, these help her get where she needs to be faster.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter - Gives us the extra health we need mid game and pack more punch with our abilities

Glacial Shroud - Lets us stun a little bit sooner, more armor, and help our small mana pool.



Abyssal Mask - Helps Leona's abilities pack a little more punch and extra Magic Resistance is always a plus

Shurelya's Battlesong - 15% CDR with Health and HP/MP Regen helps any Leona do well. I wait to upgrade this late because the 5% extra CDR, 130 HP, and HP/MP regen aren't worth the cost late game. Granted, this is only my opinion and can see the benefits of upgrading this mid-game.

Frozen Heart - Upgrading the Glacial Shroud into this gives you even more armor, mana, CDR, and slows down the attacks of those AD carries.

Zhonya's Hourglass - The extra armor and ability power will give you even more punch. Many people also forget about the active which can give you an extra 2 seconds under a turret. I would only use this when you're alone as your teammates could get mad at you for not helping.




Randuin's Omen - A very useful tank item, the main selling point on this item though is the area slow. The extra armor and HP you get from it is useful, I just prefer other items over it.

Warmog's Armor - Having a ton of Health is great, but it doesn't mean much when it melts away due to lack of armor or magic resistance. If you want this, I would replace Shurelya's Battlesong with this, but that would alter the entire build order.

Hextech Sweeper - I sometimes replace Shurelya's Battlesong with this when the other team has an annoying Shaco, Evelynn, Twitch, or Akali so they can't hide in stealth or shroud after one of my abilities hits them. It still offers CDR and a good amount of health and AP. It doesn't have the regen of Shurelya's Battlesong though or the speed boost active.

Thornmail - I recommend this if the enemy is very "right-click kill" dependant, helps a lot against Master Yi, Tryndamere, Ashe, and the many other auto-attack killers.

Between the two builds, your strategy really won't change much. You will be on defense most of the time protecting your own turrets. Sadly your score will suffer, and you may get flamed since people seem to base your performance purely on score. Fortuantely you do get a bunch of points for dying on a turret.


At the beginning of the match, you will go top with everyone, do not get mid, and you will most likely get yourself killed helping secure top. Chase down someone and get yourself focussed and hopefully your teammates will catch on and capture the top turret while you're getting yourself killed. Sadly this probably won't get you any points, but it will get a capture if the enemy gets tunnel vision and starts beating on you only.


Most of the time, I babysit a turret and force them to send at least 2 champs to capture what I'm defending. If one dives while the other holds the turret, hit your garrison and start doing laps around the base of the turret, stunning the holder each chance you can. If you have Rylai's Crystal Scepter, this will give you an extra slow every now and then. If you're tanky enough, they will probably give up once they both reach about half health if you live long enough. If they want to fight it out to the end, keep stunning with your Shield of Daybreak and remembering to use your Eclipse every chance you get.


If you go on the offensive and you and someone else are capping a turret, feel free to try and slow down the enemy champ or champs to give your buddy a chance to finish capping a turret. I wouldn't advise this though if they are sending 3 or more for it, sometimes it's better to run away and live to fight another day.

I'm not claiming this to be the best Leona build, this is just how I play her in Dominion. The key is to adapt and adjust as needed. And do not forget about the active effects of items. Play smart, this goes for any champ. Don't initiate fights you don't have to away from a turret, holding 3 turrets will still win you the game. Also, be a pal and hold up the enemy turret for your turret diving buddy.