Hello all. This build is just my take on how Leona should be built at this point. However, it is still very early in her release stage, so some things are subject to change. With this setup though, I tend to have the most success, and I hope you will too.

The build is for a 2v2 lane, where Leona should be paired with an aggressive AD Carry, and the aim is to get an early kill or two, and maintain lane dominance, leading to success in the late game.

I will be updating the guide if the meta changes, or if Leona changes. I will also try to make it more visually pleasing if the guide gains some popularity. Please comment, as I am genuinely interested in what I should improve upon, and what I did well. I may also take into account your experiences playing with Leona.

Passive: - Leona's damaging spells affect the target with Sunlight for 3.5 seconds. When allied champions deal damage to those targets they consume the Sunlight debuff to deal 20 / 35 / 50 / 65 / 80 / 95 / 110 / 125 / 140 additional magic damage. Leona is unable to activate the additional damage herself.

Q: - Leona's next basic attack will deal additional magic damage and stun the target for 1.25 seconds.

Cost: 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 mana
Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 seconds
Magic Damage: 40 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 (+0.3 per ability power)

W: - Leona raises her shield to gain bonus Armor and Magic Resistance for 3 seconds. When the effect ends she deals magic damage to nearby enemies and prolongs the effect for a bonus 3 seconds if any enemies are struck.

Cost: 60 mana
Cooldown: 14 seconds
Armor & Magic Resist Bonus: 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70
Magic Damage: 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 / 260 (+0.4 per ability power)

E: - Leona projects a solar image of her sword, which deals magic damage to all enemies in a line. When the image fades, the last enemy champion struck will be briefly immobilized and Leona will dash to them.

Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 mana
Cooldown: 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 seconds
Magic Damage: 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 (+0.4 per ability power)

R: - After a brief delay, Leona calls down a beam of solar energy dealing damage and slowing enemies by 80% for 1.5 seconds. Enemies in the center of the beam are stunned instead of slowed.

Cost: 100 / 150 / 200 mana
Cooldown: 105 / 90 / 75 seconds
Magic Damage: 150 / 250 / 350 (+0.8 per ability power)

R > W > Q > E (Reasons why in further section)

9 Flat Armor Marks for a decent base armor to help with aggressive lane phase. Flat MR could also work, if you are using Armor Seals. Some people choose to run MPen, but I think these are better.

9 Dodge Seals because dodge will work well with her defensive mastery tree. However, if you do not like/have dodge, flat armor will also work.

9 Scaling MR Glyphs for a large amount of added MR, which is always good on a tank. CDR Glyphs could also work.

3 Movement Speed Quints because Leona is quite slow, and I feel this helps her (and many other tanks) to be a bigger factor in team fights. However, Dodge Quints would also work well if using Dodge Seals. You have a lot of leniency with what Quints you use though.

I am running a 1/21/8 mastery page with Leona. The defense tree is pretty self explanatory to what you should get, but if you aren't using Dodge Seals, don't take the Dodge or Nimbleness masteries. In Utility, I max Perseverance and take 1 point in Good Hands (feel free to switch these) since you are going to have a ton of health regen. Then I max exp increase. In offense, I take improved Exhaust, because it will really help you net a kill.

For Summoners, I take and . These are pretty much mandatory, as it aids so much in the aggressive duo lane you will be bringing.

My starting item is a Doran's Shield. Now, a lot of Leona players tend to start off with a Regrowth Pendant and HP Pot for a faster Philo Stone. Don't do this, unless you are in an unfortunate situation where your duo lane partner is not one who can be aggressive. You are going to be getting kills in lane with this build, and a Doran's Shield is so much better for accomplishing this.

For my next item I get a Philo Stone for the much needed regen and gold income. Then I get level 1 boots. Now I start towards my Aegis, the first core item for Leona. It is just overall an incredibly good item for its cost, and its recipe items are easy to buy, considering your income. Then finish your boots. I tend to like Merc Treads, but you can take Ninja Tabi, Boots of Swiftness, or Ionian Boots. Just depends on your preference.

Next I work towards my Warmog's. Now, here is where some debate lies. Lots of people bash Warmog's for various reasons, but on Leona, it is an amazing buy. With Leona's W and our runes, masteries, and other items, this item gives a ton of effective health, making it really cost effective. Now, to those who say: But she cannot farm it! You are wrong too. It is quite easy to get an assist as a tank, and each one is 10% of your Warmog's being filled. Even without it being fully filled, or even partially, it is worth your money.

After you finish your Warmog's, you want to finish your Shurelia. This is a fantastic item for Leona, giving her needed CDR, health, regens, and a good active. You can choose to finish this before your Warmog's, but I feel that holding onto your Philo a bit longer to help with farming is worth it.

Now, you are done with your core! You should be very tanky, while also having 2 supporting items for your team. The game tends to end here, but if not, you have many options for what you should build next. It is honestly all based on how the game is going so far. Items on my list that could possibly be built in no particular order are: Frozen Heart (Glacial Shroud is really good as a recipe item), Sunfire Cape (does a bit of damage), Banshee's Veil, Force of Nature (Movespeed is fantastic), Thornmail (AD heavy team), Frozen Mallet.

That ends the section of obvious items to build, but there are some other items that are also good for Leona, but have some debate around them, mostly because they deal damage. The items I am referring to are: Atma's Impaler (You have a ton of health, the item gives armor too, and since Leona's Q refreshes attack cooldown, it sort of has 100% AD scaling), Trinity Force (You have 2 open slots for items, and a Phage and Sheen are good, cheap things to fill them with), Morello's Evil Tome or Death Fire Grasp (Both have a Fiendish Codex in their recipe, which is a good recipe item to have while waiting to farm the full item, plus these give a lot of CDR, and other useful aspects). I understand why you may not want these on Leona, since she is pure tank and not tanky dps, but there are situations where they are really good. They all add damage, and they aid her tanking ability in some way.

For my first point, I personally like to start with Q, but any of her skills are decent picks. They all add something to a level 1 team fight.

For my second point, I put it into W, just to be safe if your opponent tries to be really aggressive. However, if you lead with Q/E, you can finish the one you didn't get to set up your engage combo at level 2. It is very risky without your W though, and only do it when you have a clear edge.

For my third point, I take whatever skill I don't have. Once you have one of each skill, you need to start being aggressive, as you can easily net a kill.

From here my skill priority is: R > W > Q > E

W is the best to max, because it makes her very tanky without items. It also has a decent amount of damage.
Q is the next best since it reduces the cooldown on her stun.
E is lowest priority because its cooldown isn't all that important, since you are using it once just to engage the fight.

Do not stray from my advice here, it is the best thing you can do.

Leona is an absolute master of aggressive duo laning, if you have the right partner. As soon as you hit level 3, start looking to net a kill with your W-E-Q combo. Your full combo is very brutal in a fight early on, and you should get a few sunlight procs. Only use your Exhaust spell when you are confident you are getting the kill.

Remember to let your Carry get all of the last hits, and only take the ones he cannot get. Your gold income is going to be from all the kills you are netting, and your Philosopher's Stone. Don't forget to buy your lane's Wards as well, and HP Pots are decent on Leona since she cannot heal.

Leona is great in team fights, since she packs a lot of CC from being a tank. Personally, I like to engage a fight with my W-E-Q combo, instead of using my ult. Then I use my ult in the middle of the team fight, wherever their team is bunched up. The reason why is the other team has to respect the range of your ult, so by the time you use it and the rest of your team gets into the fight, the stun and slow has ended, and you didn't end up doing enough in the way of CC. However, I will use my ult to engage when a good opportunity arises. I just tend to not like starting a 5v5 with it, until the engage has already started. I feel it just does a lot more for you that way.

As a tank, your primary target is the enemy carry, so that is who you should be going for. Always try to be on top of them, stunning them with your Q. However, if your opponent has a channeled ult champion like a Kat or Malz, you need to save one of your CC for them.

Pros:
Great in duo lane
Can net kills easily
Fantastic CC
Long ranged ultimate
Can actually get to the carry with her E
Her W makes her naturally tanky, and makes health good on her

Cons:
Takes up the standard healing support's slot
Team may not have Clairvoyance
Very CDR dependent
Low damage output (obviously)

Overall, Leona is a wonderful new tank champion. She has much in the way of CC, and can do very well in a duo lane. The only drawback to her is that the current meta doesn't do her well. You sacrifice your standard support slot for her, which has numerous drawbacks in this meta. Her ability to top lane and jungle is limited, pushing her to take the support's slot. However, as the meta changes or if she gets buffed, I am certain she will have a higher value on a team, as her team fight presence is staggering.