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Leona Build Guide by

Leona: For the Iron Solari!

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Leona Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (38) More Leona Guides

Spells:

Flash

Heal

Ability Order

Leona Passive Ability

To Start

Thanks to JhoiJhoi for the awesome banner ^^

Hello and welcome to my humble guide for ! She is a very unique champion, being the first female tank in League of Legends. I bought her the day she hit stores, and have fallen in love with her. She brings not only a fun way to tank, but also an amazing utility to the table. This build gives you the necessary requirements to tank effectively, and keep your creep farm up even though you don't have to. Should you find this guide distasteful and decide to downvote, please let me know how to improve this guide in the comment section below. I am quite stubborn, but I do listen to criticism.

Pros:

Multiple forms of Crowd Control
Can fill many roles
Great initiator/gap closer
Can be very fun to play

SPACE

Cons:

Difficult to play; Requires skill
High cooldowns
Kinda squishy for a tank
Abilities are easy to avoid

Rune Choices

Marks

Since there aren't many mark options available for tanks, I would grab . This will increase your damage with your abilities early game. It also affects your damage with and , should you choose to get these items.

Seals

Greater Seal of Replenishment Greater Seal of Defense

is the Seal I chose for . Since she is a tank, this allows her to be a bit more beefy early on. It also allows her to harass a bit more, since minions deal less damage to you. Of course, you could always skip the early game boost for more late-game armor, through Greater Seal of Defense. is very mana-dependent. If you feel you could make better use of Greater Seal of Replenishment , It's always an option. is the least likely rune you'd want to run on , but if you are going against an AD-heavy team, you might be able to find a use for it.

Glyphs

I choose because 's cooldowns are REALLY high. Sometimes, that extra 2 seconds needed to cast could mean the difference between winning a team fight, and hearing that dreaded word. You know, the one that means your team got their *** handed to them. Alternatively, you could go a more tanky route. In high ELO, you shouldn't be laning against mages, as you should be either Solo Top or bottom with your carry. However, is always nice for an early game boost against magic damage. If you feel you should skip the early game boost, You can always shoot for .

Quintessences

Greater Quintessence of Vigor

I chose for obvious reasons. Movement Speed is the gift that keeps on giving! These will get you where you need to go. is an option for early game beefiness. The only reason it's a second pick is because its usefulness dies out during mid-game. I have yet to try out Greater Quintessence of Vigor, though I know it will be useful if you solo top.

Summoner Spells

What You Should Choose

Flash is a must use on almost every champion. It can be used to escape or get into position for your and/or .

Teleport helps you get back into lane faster, get an unexpected push on enemy turrets, or defend a turret being overwhelmed by minions. It definitely has its uses.

Cleanse is a really nice option for teams with heavy CC or many and/or

What You Might Choose

Heals you and your allies. I feel this ability should only be used for SOME supports. Even so, Heal's usefulness dies out mid-game.

Ignite is almost completely useless on . She shouldn't be focused on getting kills. That's the carries' job.

Like , should be used only for champions that rely on kills.

Clarity is useful early game, and early game ONLY. It's better used on Supports, and there are better options available to .

Clairvoyance, like , is best used on Supports. shouldn't be the one getting this, but if your support doesn't grab it.. Dodge queue.

Ghost is another escape mechanic. Not as useful as , but it helps if you find yourself in a bad position.

Your Abilities

Sunlight - Leona's abilities mark the target with sunlight. Allied champions that damage marked targets deal additional damage and consume the mark.

This is the reason she's effective as a bottom lane support. One of the best passives for a tank, in my opinion.

Shield of Daybreak - Leona charges her shield with the power of the sun causing her next melee attack to deal additional damage and briefly stun the target.

One of her crowd control abilities. It lasts 1.25 seconds, which isn't great, but it does the trick.

Eclipse - Leona raises her shield granting her additional Armor and Magic Resistance for 3 seconds. When the effect ends she deals area of effect damage and increases the duration of the defensive bonuses by 3 seconds if she damages an enemy.

This is the ability that sets the good players from the great. It's a great farming tool when used along with . Knowing when to activate this ability is key to winning fights.

Zenith Blade - Leona throws a blade of sunlight that deals damage to all enemies in a line. Leona teleports to the last enemy champion hit by this attack.

's gap closer. This ability is like , except it takes you to the last enemy hit by it instead of the first. It also snares instead of stuns. Be careful though, as this ability can send you straight to the respawn timer if you aren't careful.

Solar Flare - After a brief delay, Leona calls down a beam of solar energy dealing damage and slowing enemies. Enemies in the center of the beam are stunned instead of slowed.

favors , except that it's ranged, and has a smaller area of effect. This ability is really nice for keeping an enemy on lockdown while your team hammers away at them.

Item Builds

Ideal Build

Join the Resistance!

AP Tank

SPACE

Preferred

Heavily Armored

Offtank

Game Phases

EARLY GAME

Philosopher's Stone Sight Ward

When you first jump into the game, you should start off with a and a . This will give you much more sustain during the early stages of the game. During early game, try to stay in lane until you're able to afford and the rest of Philosopher's Stone. If you have the money, grab a sight ward, then back into lane.

REMEMBER: Buy a ward, save a life.

Other Options

Glacial Shroud is a nice option if you're going against heavy AD in your lane. It can replace .

Aegis is an amazing item to rush early on, as it gives Magic Resistance and Armor to not only you, but your teammates as well. It can replace .

If the enemy team is lacking in CC, you can go for Boots of Mobility.

If the enemy team is lacking in CC, you can go for Ionian Boots.

If the enemy team is AD-heavy, you might make better use of ninja tabi.

Solo Top

If you have a jungler on your team, and not a good solo top, such as or , you can always take up that position. Grab Greater Quintessence of Vigor, a , and a . When you get to top, take care not to get near the bushes, as you could be walking right into an ambush. Stay in experience range, last-hitting minions when necessary until you know your enemies' location. They will probably push you unless you're going against a solo top. If this is the case, then play aggressively. Activate your , use to close the distance, and stun them with . If done correctly, all of your abilities will land, and do a nice chunk of damage. Sit back and wait for your cooldowns, farming minions when necessary. When your abilities are up, wait for the opportunity to do it again. If you are not against a solo top, be passive-aggressive. Last-hit your minions, wait until they push too far, and the minions to keep them off of your turret. If one of them decides to make the mistake of turret-diving you, make them regret it with your and .

Support Bottom

In this game, I went bottom with our carry . I'm actually beating myself up for this, because my job as the tank is to assist, not kill. The point is, I went bottom, got our carry some kills, and won the game. I never took his kills while I was with him. All of the kills he got were because I assisted them. This is your job with Support Bottom. Be aggressive, don't touch minions, buy wards, and get your carry fed.

MIDGAME

By mid-game, someone on your team should have . If your support decided to grab it, then grab and . If the enemy team has alot of AP, grab instead of . Unless the enemy team is AP-heavy, you should have and by late-game.

Helpful Tips

If you have a lot of health, and the enemy team is countering you with Madred's Bloodrazor or Deathfire Grasp, Start building some extra Magic Resistance. Remember that the passive from Madred's Bloodrazor and the active from Deathfire Grasp are magic damage.
Watch what the enemy is building. If you see them getting Last Whisper or Void Staff, build items that give health and defense
Don't use Solar Flare to initiate, even if you can get a good shot off. Always initiate with your Eclipse Zenith Blade combo
If you need to die to keep your carry or mage alive, so be it. 600 AD doesn't mean **** if that carry has a grey screen. You are a tank, it's your job to protect.
Wards are the most important item in League of Legends. Buy them, they will save your carry's life on more than one occasion. The task of collecting wards falls to you, the support, and the jungler. Your carry and your mage need to focus on their items, so they can't buy many wards early on.

Other Options

Though Abyssal Scepter is not a staple build, it's still extremely useful in given circumstances. If there is an enemy mage that keeps outplaying you, this will put them in their place. Also, if you have alot of AP-based champions on your team, this will help everyone out in terms of damage. A must have for either of these circumstances.

In very few situations, you'll run into an AP-heavy enemy team. If this occurs, you can completely skip or for Force of Nature

In very few situations, you'll run into an AP-heavy enemy team. If this occurs, you can completely skip or for Banshee's Veil.

QSS can be extremely useful against enemy CC. It's especially useful against and .

LATE GAME

gives movement speed, along with nice sustain and Magic Resistance. is pretty slow, so this helps her out alot. is a staple for just about every champion with mana. This item gives too many amazing stats for you to pass up! Check the enemy team's builds, and counter-build accordingly. Make sure you have enough Magic Resistance and Armor to stay in a teamfight. Initiate for your team, Die for your team, win for your team.

Other Options

If you find yourself pitted against a team without much AP, you will probably find Randuin's more effective. Instead of speeding you up, it slows enemies down!

Shurelya's might be more to your liking if you feel you could use the extra HP and CDR.

You might find Soul Shroud more useful to you than one of the core items.

Guardian Angel gives a nice amount of armor, and some magic resistance. However, it might not be the best item for .

I wouldn't suggest it, but Thornmail is always optional if you're having major problems with their AD Carry. The only problem is, this item makes you less likely to be attacked. Being a tank, you want to be attacked. Still, it's an option.

Summary

Please don't rate without commenting. If you do comment, be productive. Let me know ways I can change my build to be overall better. Also, I will post images on how well I/you have done using this build. If you want me to post the image, just add it in the comment. One more thing. No trolling please. I hope you guys have as much fun reading this guide as I did making it. Happy Gaming!

Patch History

No recent patch notes have affected Leona.

Change Log

10/13/2011 12:14 AM Created the guide.
10/16/2011 6:06 PM Updated the "Item Choices" section.
10/18/2011 4:37 AM Added some pretty pictures.
10/24/2011 6:39 Did some formatting on every section in the guide. Changed the title of "Item Choices" to "Game Phases." Added a "Item Builds" Section so viewers can get a better grasp of the options they have with Leona.