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Sona Build Guide by spaghalli

Support [12.17] THE ONLY SONA GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

Support [12.17] THE ONLY SONA GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

Updated on September 15, 2022
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League of Legends Build Guide Author spaghalli Build Guide By spaghalli 2,641 Views 0 Comments
2,641 Views 0 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author spaghalli Sona Build Guide By spaghalli Updated on September 15, 2022
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Runes:

1 2 3
Sorcery
Summon Aery
Manaflow Band
Celerity
Gathering Storm

Resolve
Second Wind
Revitalize
Bonus:

+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+65 Base Health

Spells:

1 2 3
Flash & Ignite
LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

Champion Build Guide

[12.17] THE ONLY SONA GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

By spaghalli
Why Play Sona?

SONA: THE MUTE PIANIST or something like that
I’ll be honest… I wouldn’t call myself a Sona OTP or main, but DAMN her kit is so friggin OP. Sona is one of the best enchanters in the game––if not thee best––and no matter how the meta changes, healing and shielding will always be broken in my opinion and Sona excels at just that.

Sona is often sh*t on because of her easy kit. I mean, you could probably just smash your head into your keyboard while playing her and you’ll still be useful. But, her simplicity doesn’t take away her power as one of the strongest enchanters. She’s able to dish out decent poke in the early game, but as the game progresses and Sona keeps stacking Accelerando, she becomes a healing machine allowed to perma-spam her abilities, making her team basically unkillable. Despite having a simple kit, don’t undermine the nuances that Sona's kit has to offer, as learning how to play her at her fullest capacity will make you a much better support and Sona player overall!

Pros & Cons

✧ SONA'S PROS ✧

✔︎ Strong AOE buffs
✔︎ Basically infinite healing and shielding
✔︎ Easy poke
✔︎ Great scaling (easy to comeback)
✔︎ Easy to play
Sona is an insanely strong enchanter, and her entire kit is dedicated towards buffing her allies and being a teamfight hypercarry. I know everyone likes to brag about 1v9ing and solo-carrying games, but Sona has the power to make everyone on her team a carry which, in the end, is a much better win condition. 

She has an incredibly easy kit, as her basic abilities require absolutely no aiming so it becomes pretty hard to screw up with this champion.
-
-
Her two biggest issues are her squishiness and mana issues. In the early game, you really have to be aware about how you’re using your spells because her high mana costs can make her go OOM pretty fast. You also need to have decent knowledge on positioning and your lane opponents’ important cooldowns in order to survive early game and wait to scale.

Even though she’s an easy champ to play, she’s not the best in lower elo because you need at least one good player on your team that you can 2v8 with.

✧ SONA'S CONS ✧

✗ Very squishy
✗ Mana hungry
✗ No reliable CC from non-ultimate abilities
✗ Need time to scale
✗ Need at least one person with a working brain cell

Rune Choices

STANDARD SONA RUNES: SORCERY & RESOLVE/ PRECISION


S
U
M
M
O
N
A
E
R
Y
SORCERY Keystone: Summon Aery
// Summon Aery is the best keystone for Sona since it synergizes perfectly with her kit and procs on all her abilities. It provides a great balance between damage and utility. Towards the late game, once you have a decent amount of AP, the aery shields will start getting really substantial, allowing this rune not to fall off for Sona in the late game.

✧ MANAFLOW BAND ✧
One of Sona’s biggest weaknesses is mana in the early game. Manaflow Band permanently increases your mana pool by 250 when fully stacked, so this is very helpful for minimizing this weakness. Keep in mind that Q is the only basic ability you have that can stack Manaflow Band so use it wisely.

✧ CELERITY ✧
Positioning is really important on any squishy enchanter, which makes Celerity the best option for Sona. Transcendence is also a viable option since ability haste is always great, but honestly taking haste as a minor rune shard basically gives you the same value.

✧ GATHERING STORM ✧
You can’t really go wrong with Gathering Storm as the scaling bonus AP will make you extremely strong late game, getting to dish out huge shields, buffs, and damage. Take Scorch when you’re with an aggressive laner so that you can get more damage off in the early game and help snowball your adc.

✧ CONDITIONING ✧
This branch is completely situational, dependent on lane matchups. Take Bone Plating when you’re in an aggressive lane that has strong engage, take Second Wind against heavy poke matchups, or take Conditioning for scaling.

✧ REVITALIZE ✧
Revitalize has direct synergy with Sona’s W Aria of Perseverance and other healing items you might buy like Moonstone Renewer or Redemption






OR

✧ PRESENCE OF MIND ✧
The bonus mana regen from Presence of Mind can make a big difference, especially in the early game. Every time you hit a Q Hymn of Valor or auto attack, you’ll get back some mana.

✧ CUT DOWN ✧
Sona has one of the lowest base healths in the game, allowing this rune to proc and do extra damage on most champions. This is a great rune against tanky teams.

For your minor runes shards, take ability haste + 9 AP + either armor against heavy AD or magic resist against heavy AP. You could also take health, but I personally don’t like to take it to maximize Cut Down’s damage.


SITUATIONAL SONA RUNES: RESOLVE & PRECISION

-
G
U
R
D
I
A
N
RESOLVE Keystone: Guardian
// Guardian is the best keystone against engage supports (i.e. Leona or Pyke) so you and your adc can survive your opponents all-ins. Taking Guardian will make you a bit tankier, compared to if you take Summon Aery instead, but keep in mind Guardian’s cooldown as you will be extra vulnerable when it’s not up.

✧ SHIELD BASH ✧
Shield Bash is the best option on Sona from this section, as it will proc on Guardian and Aria of Perseverance.

✧ CONDITIONING ✧
Situational rune: take Bone Plating against engage, Second Wind against poke, and Conditioning for scaling.

✧ OVERGROWTH ✧
Overgrowth is useful for extra durability, but Revitalize is also good if you want to maximize your healing/shielding power.

✧ PRESENCE OF MIND ✧
Same explanation as above–– Presence of Mind’s mana regen can be really helpful for Sona’s mana issues. Presence of Mind is especially good for prolonged fights since it will continuously proc.

✧ LEGEND: TENACITY ✧
Legend: Tenacity is incredibly important against teams with heavy engage. Keep in mind that you need to kill units in order to gain legend stacks, so you’ll only want to take this rune if you plan to take Relic Shield as your support item.

For your minor runes shards, take ability haste or 9 AP + 9 AP + health. You can also take armor or magic resist in the second row instead of 9 AP.

Summoner Spells

FLASH: You’re always going to take Flash on Sona. As a squishy, immobile champion, you need Flash for its instant mobility.
IGNITE: Ignite is a great summoner spell for most supports when you want extra kill pressure in lane. Ignite is ideal for low elo because when your enemies make mistakes (which they will) you can punish them even harder with Ignite which can often lead to first bloods/early kills.
EXHAUST: Exhaust is a viable option, although it is not a necessity because Sona’s passive E auto attack is basically an exhaust built right into her kit. Nonetheless, Exhaust is great against assassins and burst damage champions because her E enhanced passive + Exhaust can reduce up to 60% of damage.
HEAL: Heal is another good option if your adc choses to go Exhaust, Cleanse, etc. instead. Don’t take the same summoner as your adc (not including Flash, obviously).
Itemization

✧ STARTING ITEMS ✧
♪
SPELLTHIEF'S EDGE
Spellthief's Edge is Sona's go-to support item in most matchups. She can easily proc its gold passive with her Q Hymn of Valor range and her auto attacks. Don’t forget 2x Health Potions to help you survive in lane.
♪
RELIC SHIELD
Relic Shield is a situational starting support item that you’ll want to take into difficult matchups where you’ll need to play ultra-safe in order to survive lane. Remember your 2x Health Potions too!

✧ MYTHIC OPTIONS ✧
♪
MOONSTONE RENEWER
Moonstone Renewer is one of the best mythic options for Sona since she is consistently able to proc it to keep her team alive, especially in prolonged fights. All of her basic abilities enhance allies, so the bonus healing and shieldingis really effective for Sona’s kit. When your team and the enemy team are both on the beefier side, Moonstone Renewer is definitely the way to go as it will be way more useful in teamfights.
♪
SHURELYA'S BATTLESONG
Shurelya's Battlesong is also a viable option for Sona as it buffs all her basic abilities with bonus move speed whenever they interact with an ally. Build Shurelya's Battlesong when the enemy team is composed of high damage squishy champions or has dive threats to keep your adc alive. Keep in mind, there is also an active component to this item, so if you’re not good with active items, opt for Moonstone Renewer instead.

✧ BOOTS ✧
♪
IONIAN BOOTS OF LUCIDITY
Ionian Boots of Lucidity are going to be your go-to offensive boots. Obviously, Sona loves ability haste and the extra summoner spell haste is helpful so she can have access to her Flash and Ignite (or whatever secondary spell you took) more often.
♪
MERCURY'S TREADS
Mercury's Treads is best into a heavy AP enemy team, or a good rush if you’re against a double AP botlane like Ziggs and Seraphine for example.
♪
PLATED STEELCAPS
Plated Steelcaps is ideal against heavy AD comps, or again, a good rush if you’re against a double AD botlane like Caitlyn and Senna for example.

✧ HEALING & SHIELDING ITEMS ✧
♪
STAFF OF FLOWING WATER
If you have an APC (i.e. Ziggs, Seraphine, or Veigar), Staff of Flowing Water is a great legendary item after your mythic. This item is an ideal buy when you have two or more AP champions on your team.
♪
ARDENT CENSER
Ardent Censer is best when your team is heavily auto-attack/ attack speed based (i.e. Master Yi jungle or Kayle top). Since Sona doesn’t benefit as much from Ardent Censer as Staff of Flowing Water so I’ll typically buy this item when there are three or four auto-based champions on my team.
♪
REDEMPTION
Redemption is another great option on Sona as it provides a giant AOE heal that also does true damage to enemies in the area. You can also cast this item's active when you're dead, which is helpful for having impact in team fights even when you’re dead.
♪
MIKAEL'S BLESSING
Mikael's Blessing is ideal against heavy AP teams and champions that have one important CC ability (i.e. Malzahar ult or Ashe ult). Mikael's Blessing is like a Cleanse that you can use on an ally, and can have incredibly high value for saving your adc if they get targeted in team fights.

✧ FINISHING/SITUATIONAL ITEMS ✧
♪
SERAPH'S EMBRACE
Tear of the Goddess is a really important item to help Sona’s mana thirst, and she can stack it extremely fast. Seraph's Embrace is a great item for perma-spamming your abilities, although the upgrade isn’t always necessary because in the late game your other items will provide a lot of mana regen.
♪
CHEMTECH PUTRIFIER
Chemtech Putrifier is the best anti-heal item for Sona, and should be built into heavy healing comps (i.e. Soraka and Dr. Mundo). If you don’t already do this, you’ll want to build Oblivion Orb and then sit on it until you have built three or four full items to finish building the item into Chemtech Putrifier.
♪
ZHONYA'S HOURGLASS
Zhonya's Hourglass should only be built if you really need its hourglass stasis effect, which is incredibly useful. Zhonya's Hourglass is a great counter-pick item for certain champions, such as Master Yi or Pyke.
♪
VIGILANT WARDSTONE
Watchful Wardstone is a bit of a weird item, but if you back with 1100 gold and are already/almost level 13 (your support quest will also most likely be done by then) it’ll automatically transform into Vigilant Wardstone and then it’s honestly not a bad purchase.

✧ VISION ✧


✧ STEALTH WARD ✧

Before your Spellthief's Edge transforms into Frostfang, you’ll want to take and keep Stealth Ward as your trinket. Since Sona is extremely squishy in the early levels and prone to ganks, setting up vision is important to make sure you don't int.

✧ ORACLE LENS ✧

Once your Spellthief's Edge transforms into the warding item Frostfang, switch Stealth Ward for Oracle Lens and keep that as your trinket for the rest of the game. Denying enemy vision is just as important as setting up your own.

✧ CONTROL WARD ✧

Control Wards are incredibly valuable for both you and your teammates and are definitely worth the 75 gold. A lot of times enemy roams will retreat once they know they stepped on vision, and even if they don’t, at least you know they’re coming!

"JUST SHUT UP AND WARD."



Abilitiy Run Down

P
POWER CHORD
ACCELERANDO: Sona generates a stack of Accelerando each time she hits an enemy champion with Hymn of Valor and each time she mitigates sufficient damage or heals damaged allies with Aria of Perseverance, which stacks up to 120 times.  For each stack, Sona gains 0.5 basic ability haste, up to a maximum of 60. If she has maximum stacks, she instead reduces the cooldown of Crescendo by 1.5 seconds each time.

MELODY: Sona's basic abilities incur 0.5-second global cooldown on her other basic abilities, and cause her to generate a unique aura for 3 seconds that empowers herself and nearby allied champions.

POWER CHORD: Sona's basic abilities generate a stack of Power Chord, stacking up to 3 times. At 3 stacks, her next basic attack is empowered to consume them all to have an uncancellable windup, deal 20 − 240 (based on level) (+ 20% AP) bonus magic damage, and apply an additional effect based on the last basic ability cast. Gaining Power Chord's empowered attack resets Sona's basic attack timer.
♪ Sona has a stack counter under her health bar that is not visible to other champions.
♪ When Power Chord is ready, Sona gains a ring around her. This ring will have a different color depending on the last ability used (blue for Hymn of Valor, green for Aria of Perseverance, or purple for Song of Celerity).

♪ The effect does not change if abilities are used while the projectile is in motion.

♪ The triggering attack will apply other on-hit effects and can critically strike as normal.

♪ Sona retains Power Chord's stacks when entering resurrection.

♪ The empowered attack will trigger but not be consumed nor apply its effects against wards.
Q
HYMN OF VALOR
COST: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 MANA | COOLDOWN: 8 | CAST TIME: NONE | EFFECT RADIUS: 825 SOUND BOLT SEARCH RANGE / 400 AURA RADIUS (CENTER TO EDGE)
ACTIVE: Sona sends out bolts of sound to the two nearest visible enemies, prioritizing champions, that each deal 40 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 (+ 40% AP) magic damage and granting sight of the area around them for 1 second. She gains a stack of Accelerando for each bolt that hits an enemy champion.

MELODY BONUS: Sona and tagged allied champions deal 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 (+ 20% AP) bonus magic damage on their next basic attack within 5 seconds.

POWER CHORD – STACCATO: Power Chord deals 28 − 336 (based on level) (+ 28% AP) total magic damage.
W
ARIA OF PERSEVERANCE
COST: 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 MANA | COOLDOWN: 10 | CAST TIME: NONE | EFFECT RADIUS: 1000 HEAL SEARCH RANGE / 400 AURA RADIUS (CENTER TO EDGE)
ACTIVE: Sona heals herself and sends out a tone to heal 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 (+ 15% AP) the most wounded allied champion nearby. She gains a stack of Accelerando whenever she heals a wounded ally or shields a minimum amount of damage (25 / 45 / 65 / 85 / 105) for an ally with Aria of Perseverance.

MELODY BONUS: Sona and tagged allied champions receive a 25 / 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 (+ 25% AP) shield lasting up to 1.5 seconds.

POWER CHORD – DIMINUENDO: Power Chord reduces the target's size by 8% and damage output by 25% (+ 0.04% AP) for 3 seconds.
♪ If no one is injured, Aria of Perseverance will target the closest allied champion.
♪ The projectile of Aria of Perseverance will follow an ally in stealth but will not reveal them.
E
SONG OF CELERITY
COST: 65 MANA | COOLDOWN: 14 | CAST TIME: NONE | EFFECT RADIUS: 400
ACTIVE: Sona gains 20% (+ 2% per 100 AP) bonus movement speed for 3 seconds, which is extended to up to 7 seconds if she does not take damage during this time.

MELODY BONUS: Tagged allied champions gain 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14% (+ 0.02% AP) bonus movement speed for 3 seconds.

POWER CHORD – TEMPO: Power Chord slows the target by 40% (+ 0.04% AP) for 2 seconds, capped at a maximum of 99%.
♪ To achieve a 99% slow with the empowered attack via Power Chord, it would require at least 1475 AP.
R
CRESCENDO
COST: 100 MANA | COOLDOWN: 140 / 120 / 100 | CAST TIME: 0.25 | RANGE: 1000
ACTIVE: Sona strikes an irresistible chord in the target direction that deals 150 / 250 / 350 (+ 50% AP) magic damage to enemies hit, which stuns and forces them to dance for 1.5 seconds.
♪ This ability will cast from wherever the caster is at the start of the cast time.

Matchups

✧ VS ENCHANTERS ✧
MATCHUP DIFFICULTY: ✦✦✧✧✧ Even
KEYSTONE: Summon Aery
SPECIALTY: Never die
Typically, enchanter matchups versus Sona are pretty even. You’ll want to rush Oblivion Orb and hold onto this item until you have your core items before upgrading it to Chemtech Putrifier. Use your Hymn of Valor to poke the enemies out of their range to make favorable trades.



✧ VS TANKS ✧
MATCHUP DIFFICULTY: ✦✦✦✦✧ Hard
KEYSTONE: Guardian
SPECIALTY: Engage
Tanky engage supports tend to counter Sona more than other supports, which is why it’s better to opt for the Guardian rune page over Summon Aery. The most important thing to keep in mind with these matchups are playing around important cooldowns, such as Blitzcrank Q Rocket Grab and Nautilus Q Dredge Line. You’ll need to get good at dodging their skillshots since this is the key to surviving lane.



✧ VS MAGES/POKE ✧
MATCHUP DIFFICULTY: ✦✧✧✧✧ Easy
KEYSTONE: Summon Aery
SPECIALTY: damage
Mage matchups can be easy, if you don’t suck at dodging skill shots that is. Rush early tier-1 Boots to dodge their abilities. When you see an enemy ability cast animation beginning, use Song of Celerity to help you and your adc dodge their skillshots. Versus damage supports, you can also use your W-enhanced auto attack on them if you feel like they’re doing more damage than their adc.

Early, Mid, & Late Game

✧ EARLY GAME (<15 MIN) ✧

Sona is decently weak in the early game compared to other support champions. However, she still has solid poke with her Q Hymn of Valor and her Q-enhanced Power Chord which can harass the enemy bot laners quite a bit. Refrain from spamming your abilities, as you will run out of mana extremely fast. Here’s some tips on how to use your spells effectively in the early game:
♪ Make sure enemies are in range of Hymn of Valor so that the bolts don’t hit the creeps instead.
♪ Use the combo AA+Q+QAA to poke the enemy when they step up to last hit a creep.
♪ Don’t use your Aria of Perseverance just to passively heal your adc if they are not critically low. You want to save your Aria of Perseverance right before damage is about to land on you or your adc so the shield can mitigate its damage. This is incredibly important for persevering your health bar without wasting your mana.
♪ If the enemy laners engage, use your W-enhanced Power Chord auto attack on the enemy adc to reduce their damage. Its basically a mini exhaust, and can be the make-or-break to winning/ surviving fights.
♪ Song of Celerity is best used for running away or chasing down enemies. E-enhanced Power Chord auto attack is Sona’s only form of CC in her basic abilities, so use it to either set up ganks or for keeping enemies in range so your adc can finish them off for the kill.
♪ Due to Sona’s high mana thirst, never spam your abilities randomly in the early game just to set up your passive Power Chord.
♪ Keep in mind your level-6 power spike, as you now have access to your ultimate and main form of CC, giving you a lot more kill pressure. In the laning phase, look for a 2-man ult after the enemies are poked down a bit.


In the early game, you’ll typically want to stick with your adc because you are not a roaming champion, especially pre-6. Sona is extremely squishy and prone to being picked if she’s alone, so don’t put yourself in that spot in the first place. After destroying the bottom tower, you can roam mid with your adc and begin to influence other lanes.

✧ MID GAME (15-25 MIN) ✧

As you move out of the laning phase, Sona becomes much more about healing and shielding than being a poke support. By this point, you are decently strong as you should have your core items power-spike You’ll want to stick with your adc and other teammates to avoid getting picked by the enemy team. Even though you are a support, which means it’s your job to set up good vision for your team, you’ll still want to have your team walk you into the river to get vision for upcoming objectives since you are such a vulnerable champion.

The mid to late game is centered around team fights and taking objectives. Proper positioning, just like any other enchanter support, is extremely important on Sona. Look at your team and determine who the win conditions are. Once you’ve figured that out, now you know who your main focus will be for peeling. Also look at the enemy team and consider who the main threats are and which abilities specifically pose a threat to you and your carries. In team fights, you only want to use your W-enhanced Power Chord on enemy threats as it will provide the greatest impact in team fights. Your ult Crescendo is also an essential team fighting tool, and before you even enter the team fight you should have a good idea of who to use it on and when to use it.

✧ LATE GAME (25+ MIN) ✧

Sona is a scaling god and becomes an incredible win condition for her team at this point, since she can basically dish out endless AOE buffs and heals for her teammates. Again, it’s imperative that you stick with your team at all times since you are a team fight hyper-carry, and Sona is essentially useless when alone. Continue setting up vision with your team and take picks and objectives togethers. At this point in the game Sona should have full stacks of Accelerando, so you can use your ult Crescendo at the beginning of team fights and its cooldown will lower immensely and can come back up pretty quick. Remember, Sona outscales basically all supports, so if you make it to the late game, it should be a free win.

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[12.17] THE ONLY SONA GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

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