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Choose Champion Build:
-
Tanky/Aggressive Support
-
(In Testing) Special Combos
-
Ranked/Competitive
Recommended Items
Spells:
Exhaust
Flash
Items
Ability Order
Sunlight (PASSIVE)
Leona Passive Ability
Introduction

- Restructuring majority of guide
- Cutting superfluous text
- Re-evaluating item build
Just before we begin here, I have to say this - this isn't meant to be a normal guide. This simply tries to give you the most optimal knowledge of how to properly build Leona. There will be no pros/cons list or too much general LoL knowledge, since I will assume you are a competent LoL player overall and have at least small knowledge on most champions in the game.
Although I include a few tips involved on how to play Leona in the most efficient way, I should remind you that I myself am not a pro at Leona, as she requires a lot of practice and knowledge of your enemy to play the best. Be sure to check out the other guides on Mobafire, as most of them (the top rated ones anyways) offer lots of insight on good Leona play (and are a lot more pretty looking).
Do you want to tell me whether my build guide helped you in any way? Comment.
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Comment.

Runes




The reason we go with all these flat runes is due to the extreme usefulness of early game armor with Leona. In general, you are going to be playing very aggressive, zoning and smacking down the enemy AD Carry. You're no


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Other runes that work nicely on Leona:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() These are just some suggestions if you dislike any of the runes above. I don't recommend replacing the Seals (and Glyphs below, for that matter). |
Runes



The reason for my choosing these runes over flat magic resistance is quite simple. Firstly, the most damage you'll usually encounter bot lane is physical, and secondly, most AP champions don't get too powerful until mid-game, at which these runes will begin to outclass the flat magic resistance ones.

Leona has both the roles of a full tank and a support, so her masteries should reflect that. The points put into defense are essentially self-explanatory.
Since the points in















(Obviously this is the mastery, not the ability.)











I honestly don't consider any of the other summoner spells that viable to take on Leona, considering her playstyle. Spells like





Our first point will be allocated into


Once you have your basic kit at Level 3, focus on allocating points into your


If you think you'll be towerdiving, or the enemy carry has a good early game (


Your Q is maxed last, since it deals the least damage and already has low early cooldown. Your skill CDR is not required due to the items you gain along the way.

Leona's passive is what makes her an offensive support champion rather than a plain ol' toplaner. Whenever you use an abilities on a enemy champion or minion, they are marked with

If you're trying to focus on outputting the most damage possible, you'll want to delay your abilities so your carry can easily proc






This paired with your




Instead of maxing your



This ability is a lot more useful then it seems. The additional Armor/MRes and powerful damage that comes with it is really helpful when engaging with your



Whenever you are about to pull towards an enemy with your

Your







This is Leona's signature skill. Hard to pull off, but usually very rewarding if you do, your


Your






Since your



Your ultimate is quite a nice final addition to your kit. It basically wraps up your



Pretty standard start for Leona. The


If you know that your laning opponent will poke you down to hell, consider getting




I don't really need a description for this. They're Boots that give you Speed. What's not to like?
In my opinions, you don't REQUIRE these as early as I positioned them. Depending on how you play Leona, you could go through the entire laning phase without even buying a single


I usually don't build many GP/10 items on my aggressive supports, simply because of the fact that the amount of assists I'll be getting (if I play well) doesn't require that I get that many GP/10 items. However, you'll still be requiring some other source of gold than just assists, and since Philosopher's Stone gives the most and builds into items like

Gives cooldown reduction and some much-needed health, plus it builds into a


You can probably forego this for an Emblem of Valor if you wish to grab an early




These are basically the main items that you will have in most of your builds against a balanced team. There are only three items listed here (boots excluded), since there is rarely a team late-game that can be considered "perfectly balanced", and you're going to have to be building your items according to your enemy teams stats at some point.
I don't consider


This will usually be one of the first major items you'll be grabbing in the mid game, and boy is it good timing. Alongside being great for escaping, the active ability on


If you have team that is squisher than most, you might want to get

This item is a must-have. Not only does it make you tanky, it makes your entire team tanky. This is really effective in teamfights and grabbing that Emblem of Valor early on can give your carry an edge in laning as it gets more hectic during transition. Just make sure nobody else is building this, two


Both




I would also consider rushing






In general, any carry that has a form of closer can be effective with Leona. Obviously, some work more effectively (











(Can someone tell me if




AD Carries with great burst are Leona's best friend, since she is all about burst. Also, if you've noticed, many of these champions have closers as well. Can you guess which of these champions synergize with Leona well?
(


Any burst-carry can technically play "Aggressive", but the one champion that really sticks out when I say this is


Besides, lets face it, having both Leona and


While





This lane is just packed to the brim with burst. I've been able to take on ganks from both the Jungler AND the Mid at the same time. My

This might actually be detrimental - our laning opponents were scared to even go an inch near the bushes. In one game, I had to sit for a couple minutes before we could even get the jump on them.
There's another problem as well. You usually require early kills in order for this to be effective. If your


Just play smart and be patient, and you should dominate the laning phase.

Alright, I know that Quinn was just released, but I have a good feeling that they will work together nicely.





Leona was born to burst.




You being rendered useless, she'll then just shred away at your laning partner until you either try to switch lanes with Top in a futile attempt to recover, outright surrender, or farm under tower and hope to make it to the end of the laning stage.
Good thing everyone is playing










She may be very reflex-dependent, but she is an effective counter to Leona. Still, good luck finding someone who'll play her, and play her well at that.

This lane is almost a joke. "Aww Blitz, thanks for grabbing me! I didn't even need to use my

...okay, maybe it doesn't go that far, but you get the gist. Just don't underestimate him too much, a good


Although the majority of this matchup is dependent on how skilled the enemy





Things don't really change at level 6, when you gain your



That's it? Well, yes and no. There may have been a few supports that I have missed (this list is based on my person experiences and WILL be updated), but most of them are either just a challenge of skill or dependent on the carry. A general rule is that most squishy supports will be easily crushed (


Oh, and you essentially counter all carries. Some carries might be more difficult to kill, but that is pretty much up to how good YOUR carry is.

- If you aren't playing premade, try to signal the enemy AD carry before you use your



- Try to mix your abilities with other tanky champs, like






- Don't be afraid to ask your AD carry if he/she can share a small amount of the ward burden with you (1 per every 3 or so). If he/she refuses, you should still ward as much as you can.
- Leona can be considered a "Snowball Support", so playing badly or getting counterpicked can ruin you, if not cost you the game. Practice really is perfect. Luckily, this has happened to me once before (Fiora partner, long story) and it is not irreparable if you hold out long enough.
- If you repeatedly use Ctrl-1 at a steady pace, it will seem as if you are humping the air. Abuse this for fun and profit after getting first blood, you get more League Points that way.
Oh, and this was the very first video I ever watched when I started playing Leona, which happened around level 21, so I hope you appreciate it as much as I do.
As a tank, you want to be laning with an AD carry, preferably ranged. You don't want to lane with a bruiser or another tank.
(v.1.1): Slight formatting changes, item elaboration. Added Spirit Visage, moved Banshee's Veil to miscellaneous.
(v.1.2): Added a video and a super pro tip to the General Tips section. A little cleanup here and there.
(v.1.3): Added those nice, long lines. What are they called again, dividers? I'm too old for this.
(v.1.4): Added Ranked/Competitive Starting Items, edited lane synergies (added In Testing section).
(v.1.5): Did some math, realized how stupid the skill sequence was (Early Kindlegem negates need for cooldown reduction). Edited. I'm an idiot.
(v.1.6) Slightly edited Ranked/Competitive build, small formatting changes.
(v.1.7) Update in accordance with discussion. Changed build, edited a lot of item and ability information. Decided to add summoner spells section as well.
(v.1.8) Slightly edited masteries to reflect warding job as support. Also added some extra mastery considerations for different team comps. Also, forgot to close a bracket. Whoooops.
(v.1.9) More mastery updates, just a tiny adjustment and another mastery consideration.
# of comments against


Although I did not read the guide (until just now, at least), I really do recommend jhoijhoi's manual, Making a Guide, for new Mobafire users.
I also recommend Laggermeister's Ten Commandments of Writing a Guide, as it is equally as useful. Hell, even moreso.
Finally, I would like to give thanks to the many friends I have on LoL who taught me how to play Leona, and advised me on this build guide. I am probably the only person on LoL to autolock support because of this.

I could explain the 1/4/0 game, but it's a long story. Lets just say Fiora/Leona is not the best lane.

You know what, I'm starting to like this guide even more. I get to brag.
Anyways, thanks for reading my guide. Again, rate and comment, give me your hugs and slaps. I'm always open to criticism as long as it's constructive.
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