Sona used to be dubbed the biggest faceroll champion in the game, but recently it has been proven otherwise. Sona has one of the highest damage on a support champion, with one of the best AoE ultimates in the game, causing her to be an amazing support pick.

As a reminder, any general support information is covered in my other guide of which this guide is an extention of.

Sona is one of the strongest support champions in utility and damage, making her a sought out pick in the both the competitive scene and high Elo solo queue.

Strengths:
+High ranged poke
+Decent heal
+High AoE mobility aura
+AoE stun ultimate
+Multiple uses on Power Chord
+Strong defensive and offensive aura

Weaknesses:
-Very mana hungry
-Single target heal, that is not immediately maxed
-Can be difficult to control Power Chord's effect
-Can be difficult to land ultimate on running targets

Startitems:





Core:

With the new masteries additions/changes, there are two paths to masteries that I currently run.

0/22/8: This page gives addition defensive stats and is great for Sona due to her high movement speed with her





0/9/21: This page gives Sona increased gold and experience, making up for a support's tendency to fall behind in these areas. The points into the Defensive tree gives an addition HP boost at level 1 with an additional 100 HP at the later levels.

Dodge Support: Despite the masteries not synergizing well with Dodge, Dodge is still extremely powerful.



MR Support: When against champions with a lot of AoE magic damage, picking up extra MR through runes can be very advantageous.

Q: Hymn of Valor

Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Hymn of Valor, increasing nearby allied champions Damage and Ability Power by 8/11/14/17/20.

Activation: Sona fires bolts of sound, dealing 50/100/150/200/250 (+70% ability power) magic damage to the nearest two enemies (prioritizes champions).

Power Chord - Stacatto: Deals double power chord damage

Cost 65 Mana
Range 700

Explanation:


This skill is one of the strongest spells on a support. 500 damage + 1.4 ratio on a 7 second cooldown is incredibly powerful and makes for powerful poke damage early on.

Note: This spell can autolock onto champions ONLY if they are in a certain range.



W: Aria of Perseverance

Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Aria of Perseverance, increasing nearby allied champions Armor and Magic Resist by 7/9/11/13/15.

Activation: Sona sends out healing melodies, healing Sona and the most wounded nearby allied champion by 40/60/80/100/120 (+25% ability power). Grants double her passive aura bonus to her heal target and herself for 3 seconds

Power Chord - Diminuendo: Debuffs the target to deal 20% less damage for 4 seconds

Cost 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 Mana
Range 1000

Explanation:


This skill provides decent sustain for both you and your lane partner early on and when maxed, does more heal per second than Soraka's heal.

Note: The skill will always target the champion with the lowest % HP.
Another note: This Power Chord effect should be spammed on map objectives such as Baron and Dragon, as the 20% damage reduction is significant.

E: Song of Celerity

Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Song of Celerity, granting nearby allied champions 8/11/14/17/20 bonus Movement Speed.

Activation: Sona energizes nearby allies, granting them 6/8/10/12/14% Movement Speed for 1.5 seconds.

Power Chord - Tempo: Slows the target by 40% for 2 seconds

Cost 65 Mana
Range 1000

Explanation:


Amazingly powerful skill for chasing and running away. Movement speed is key to engaging onto teamfights and for maneuvering.

Note: The slow is very strong, but lasts for a short time, very important for chasing.

R: Crescendo

Sona plays her ultimate chord, forcing enemy champions in a line in front of her to dance, taking 150/250/350 (+80% ability power) magic damage over 1.5 seconds.

Cost 140/120/100 Mana
Range 1000

Explanation:


Sona's ultimate is basically a 1.5 second AoE stun.

Note: Crescendo does give a stack towards Power Chord, but does not have its own Power Chord effect.

I always maxfirst, but I may not rank it immediately at every opportunity.

When deciding which spell to max second, I typically look at both teams and figure out whether I need healsor the ability to engage/disengage

Core items that I would get on all supports:
After these items, there are numerous possibilities.

I personally have a very hard time spamming spells on Sona and I dislike that, therefore I immediately opt for mana/mana regen.

Fifth Item:

: Chalice combined withhttp://solomid.net/guide/items/shurelyas-reverie.pngprovides all the mana regen I need, plus it adds 30 MR and only costs 890, which is very affordable.


: Two Doran's Rings provides 200 HP, 10 MP per 10 AND 30 AP, for only 950 gold, this is a lot of stats per gold. Unfortunately, having to spend two slots leaves very little room for the very important wards.




: Tear of the Goddess is a viable alternative and provides a ton of mana for Sona. However, I feel that the extra mana is unneeded, plus getting a Tear early on delays gold per 10 items, which I believe are much more important.






-->: Glacial Shroud provides a decent amount of MP, with bonus armor and cooldown reduction. This is a very viable alternative for mana if an is not picked up, as otherwise, the cooldown reduction will be completely wasted. Plus, Frozen Heart grants an amazing aura for the team.




--> /: Sheen is actually a fairly decent item for Sona. The AP and mana are very useful plus the Sheen proc will be used effectively due to the need to spam spells and use Power Chord. Afterwards, building it into a Trinity Force/Lice Bane; however, I typically don't suggest this as the price is almost unreachable for a support.








->Fiendish Codex provides AP, CDR and mana regen, making it an amazing item for Sona. I would most likely pick this item up if I choose to not pick up


: Soul Shroud provides a lot of mana regen and cooldown reduction in an aura. However, most champions do not need the mana regen, nor would they need the cooldown reduction, while the champions that do need these stats tend to build it themselves. It also doesn't help that the item has a steep price.


Final item:

->: Hourglass provides extra AP plus armor with the addition of a 2 second status. Though I would not exactly suggest it, it can be a decent item if you are having trouble surviving heavy focus.



[img=-->Deathcap is exactly what Sona needs to carry a team. Sona's has a ridiculous ratio (1.4) and is spammable, making AP extremely good for her. Oh, you mean Sona is a support champion? Oh well, I tried.

On a serious note, Deathcap does provide a lot of AP and if you can afford it, I would definitely go for it.




: Stark's is an amazing aura for your team if there are multiple autoattackers, even though it won't benefit Sona herself. Unfortunately, the parts are useless both to her team and herself, making it only useful after 2600 gold has been spent on it.





: A very useful aura item for the team, plus it provides a plethora of defensive stats for Sona.




Will of the Ancients is actually very good for Sona. The relative cheap price, the amazing aura and the strong scaling on Sona makes WotA a definite buy after my mana problems are solved.

Sona has amazing damage even as early as level 1. Similar to Ashe, a charged Power Chord with an autoattack andwill do around 150 damage, which is the highest among supports. Landing this on a champion can be very hurtful to the enemy's laning phase. Balancing harass and sustain while also managing your mana is very important and is one of the main reasons I start with a over

Mid game is a very annoying period for Sona. It is at this time where Sona'shits the hardest, but it is very difficult to maintain that mana usage without any sort of mana or mana regen. It is also crucial to land ultimates, as missing it is very devastating (but it's ok, I miss them all the time).

Sona, like Janna, are both ranged supports that should stay close to the fight. Both require effective positioning to maximize utility due to the short ranges on both their ultimates. Constantly staying in range of the enemy to QWE and actively procing Power Chord is key to playing Sona.

Important usages of Power Chord to note:
This Power Chord provides extra damage to a target, useful if all you need is burst damage.


This Power Chord is great for stopping a high DPS target, by reducing their damage ever so slightly.



This Power Chord is great for kiting a single target or simply attempting to chase.


Comboing your spells correctly to get the right Power Chord at the right times takes both practice and quick glances at the Power Chord icon.

Sona is commonly seen as a very "faceroll" champion when compared to supports, but truly is not the case. Sona actually has a very high skillcap that most players aren't aware of due to the possibility of being very aggressive in laning and the difficulty of maximizing her effectiveness in a teamfight. She is an easy champion to learn, but a difficult champion to master, a characteristic that is fairly consistent with most supports. Also, even with the slight nerfs to Sona (which I honestly believe is a buff to early game Sona, since one would not maxfirst), she is still amazing.