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Diana is a battle mage/assassin (she's melee and AP). This is mainly a solo top/mid guide. After playing her a lot, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best way to play her. With her tremendous burst potential, you'll be able to jump onto and almost instantly kill any carry. I added a jungle guide because I was pushed into that position several times, and found a good way to play her in the jungle, but it is still a work in progress.

Note: Many compare Diana to Akali seeing as how both of their ults are dashes, but this is wrong. I cannot stress how different Diana and Akali are: this is due to her higher early game damage, and more skill reliant damage combo.

Shout out to Crimsawn. Help support him and check out his stream at twitch.tv/crimsawn

1. The first is a well rounded guide giving some tankiness and good damage (A solo top build). *TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED*
2. The second build in this guide is a standard mid lane build for the people who didn't like the nashors and/or the lich bane idea. Good burst with decent tankiness, but no sustained damage.
3. The third build is a more tanky AP Diana build for people who think she is not an assassin, but more of a battle mage, like mordekaiser. Okay damage with good health, armor, and mr, plus the rebirth from the GA.
4. The fourth build is an off tank jungle build that I used in a couple jungle diana games I've played in. Not completely sure how well it works, but it did well enough for me.

I deleted the old 2nd and 5th builds. The glass cannon build really doesn't work well, and the new 3v3 has outdated my build.

I find that it is necessary to outline Diana's skills, due to how combo-reliant she is.




Diana's passive gives her a passive 20% attack speed and makes every third auto attack deals AoE magic damage in a circle around her (It does a lot of damage. Not kidding, this is perhaps the most op passive I have ever seen. Second only to mordekaiser's iron man huehuehue). With a full build, the additional magic damage should be greater than 700 damage.




Her Q is an arced skill shot that does damage to enemies it passes through and then explodes at the end of that arc to do AoE damage at the end of the curve (No, the 2 forms of damage do not stack. the AoE at the end is just to make hitting people easier). It also applies moonlight, which lasts for 3 seconds, and is something I will talk about later in this section.




Her W gives her a shield upon activation and creates three circles that orbit her, which, upon touching an enemy, explode dealing AoE damage. If all three circles explode, she receives another shield. Nothing terribly special here, so lets move on.




Her E is similar to Oriana's ult. It draws in all enemies around her and slows them by a large percent of their movespeed. It doesn't actually do damage, so it is solely meant for cc.




Finally, Diana's R is a dash that deals damage to the target enemy. However, if the target is afflicted by Moonlight, the moonlight is consumed and her ult's cooldown is reduced to 1 second, making it (when used correctly) a 2 part burst. Her ult also has a very low cooldown (20 seconds at all lvls), so spamming it is fine if you just want to pressure your lane opponent.

I use magic pen marks because ALL mages get magic pen marks.
I take armor seals to help me lane against solo topers (because most top laners are ad bruisers).
For glyphs and quints I use flat AP for more early game damage.
With these runes, I can deal out a lot of damage early on in the game, but still be tanky enough to survive.


In the jungle build, I take attack speed marks.


In the AP mid build, I use flat mana regen seals for more mana sustain.


In the Tanky AP build, I use Magic Resist per lvl glyphs.

21-9-0 mastery page, taking all the magic related masteries in the offensive tree, and going up to veteran's scars in the defensive tree. Again, more damage is the key for this build, and these masteries will help you do big damage.

Expanded mind and Meditate and put the leftover points into Resistance

The masteries for the fourth build are the same as those in the first.

2 points in butcher and only one in havoc to help with clearing minions. I also get 1 point in summoner's resolve and 3 in hardiness

I take flash and ignite (typical mage spells).
The flash is for mobility and a way to escape being ganked (Diana's only cc is her E, which actually draws enemies TO her).
Ignite gives you the extra damage you need to finish off enemies that manage to narrowly escape your clutches.



Other possible spells would be exhaust instead of ignite (To lock down a high priority target so they cant do anything while you finish them off), or ghost instead of flash (to chase or escape).

and or

Smite and Flash or Exhaust if you're jungling. Flash helps you chase/escape, while exhaust helps lock down the target you're ganking.



Heal or clarity could also work if you needed the sustain.

Everything else is worthless

I start by taking Q at level 1, which is her only harass early in the game and her largest source of non-ultimate damage.

or

At level 2 I take W for more damage and the shield that can help counter harass. However, if your jungler is planing on making a level 2 gank at top lane, then getting your E is also fine.

or

At level 3 I get whatever skill I haven't leveled yet so that I have my full combo.

Then, I focus on maxing my Q, Taking my ult at lvl 6 and then focusing on my W, maxing her E last.
The reason for maxing Q first is to make her Q-R-R combo very strong at early lvls.




When jungling, start with W for the shield and AoE damage.



Next take Q for more damage.



W again for more sustain.



Now, take your E for better ganks.

-> ->

Now, focus on maxing your Q first. Next, max W, and finally finish E last. Get your ult whenever its there.

THIS ITEM BUILD IS GOING TO BE REVISED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. PREPARE TO SEE MAJOR CHANGES.

x3
At level 1, I get tier 1 boots and 3 health pots. These help me get into a good position to land my Q's and allow me to stay in lane longer if I get harassed.

Next stop back, I try to have enough to complete a hextech revolver, which will later become a hextech gunblade. The revolver gives me AP and some sustain.

After leaving lane again, I finish off my sorcerer's shoes. Magic pen and more movement speed.

Then, I rush a nashors tooth. Now why would I get a nashors? Because its attack speed and on-hit passive synchronize very well with her passive. Her 3 attack burst is probably her strongest skill second only to her ult combo, so having this item increasing her attack speed will greatly increase her damage potential. The 20% cdr is also very useful in helping you spam your skills more.
or
Next, I buy a sheen, which I will later build into a lich bane. It gives me some AP, mana, and has a decent passive. Or, If you're having trouble surviving, this would be the time to buy a giant's belt.

Now, I focus on farming so that i can buy a quick deathcap. Huge amounts of AP. What more does a mage need?

After the deathcap, I finish my hextech gunblade giving me more damage with my passive and auto attacks, more AP, and an active ability. Dont forget to use the active: it can help you chase down escaping enemies because of the slow.

Now, I finish my lich bane, further increasing my damage output.

The final item on my list is a rylais. With this, you'll be tanky enough to be right in the middle of the fight where you should be, doing as much damage as possible to enemies around you. The slowing passive is also a bonus.
before
If you find it difficult surviving early on, you can get the rylais before the gunblade to help ur sustain.

Other good tanky items instead of a rylais are zhonyas and abyssal scepter.

x2
Same start as the second guide.
x2 Catalyst the Protector
When I return, I get double dorans rings and a catalyst, this is for the extra mana sustain and health.

Finish your boots and get a needlessly large rod.

Deathcap time.

Finish the RoA.

Zhonyas for some tankiness, AP, and the active, which can help you wait for your cooldowns if you jump into a bad fight.

My next item is liandry's torment. It adds tankiness, magic pen, and a strong passive that helps you deal even more damage.

Finally, get a void staff for people trying to counter you. (You can get this item earlier if they get magic resist really early on.)

x3
Same start as the first build.
x2
Double dorans like the third build.
Catalyst the Protector
Catalyst next for health and mana.

Now I get mercury's treads for the tenacity and mr.

Then I get a needlessly large rod.

Finish the RoA and Rabadon's.

Sell the dorans and get a blasting wand and leave it for later.
->
Next, a get a chain vest for the armor and turn it into a guardian angel.
->
Buy a giant's belt and turn it along with the blasting wand into a rylais for some utility and tankiness.

Finally I buy an abyssal scepter for more resistance and AP.

x5
Hunter's machete and lotsa pots for a good clear.

Get an early sheen for the damage, passive, and mana sustain and also pick up a ward (which I will talk about in the jungling section). Also, grab some boots to help you gank and move faster.
Catalyst the Protector
Get merc treads and grab a catalyst.

Rush a nashors. It helps proc your passive more, so you aren't quite so mana/skill reliant while clearing camps.

Now turn your catalyst into a RoA. More sustain and damage.

Get a lich bane now.

Start building a rylais for more health and utility.

Finally, get a deathcap for more damage.

If the opposite team starts building magic resist, get a void staff.

If the opposite team is getting fed and has a lot of AD or AP, get a zhonyas, abyssal, or GA when you need it.

If you need more health or mana, getting a rylais or RoA early is fine.

Items i don't list aren't bad, its just that I don't recommend buying them on Diana. But if you think you need a different item than those listed on my builds, feel free to get them. You don't really need a guide telling you exactly what to get in order to do well.

YOU MUST FARM
All of these items are rather expensive. Money is ur friend. You need to be farming all game long, only stopping to help in team fights and get kills. But make sure you are managing your mana pool. Diana is a champion that doesnt need to use skills to clear waves and camps (due to her passive) so don't waste your mana on minions, save it for fights.

Diana is a snowball champion, so try getting some early kills. Don't recklessly jump onto a target, but if you see an opportunity to get a kill, go for it. Even if you screw up, as long as you put some pressure onto your lane opponent, you're doing a good job. Ask for ganks too. Having your jungler set up some easy kills for you is also good, even if you end up getting an assist instead of the kill.

-> ->

What sets Diana apart from other champions is her Q-R-R combo that I mentioned earlier. Her Q deals massive damage and sets you up for a double ult. Used in conjunction with her W, you should be able to insta-gib your target, or bring them low enough for someone else on your team to easily finish them off.
Also, the pull on her E prevents any actions from her targets, giving you even more time to deal free damage on them, or run away to safety.
With a nashors tooth, you'll have 29% cdr, making her Q have a 4 second cooldown and her ult have about a 14 second cooldown. With a blue buff or deathfire grasp, you'll be able to spam even more. With these short cooldowns on such powerful skills, you should have no trouble destroying anyone in a 1v1.
Also remember to auto attack during the down time when your skills aren't up. The gunblade allows you to do 140 damage with each auto attack and the third strike creating a burst of damage totaling at 700 damage (not including resists). After one round of 3 strikes, your skills should nearly be up again, allowing for you to once again, deal massive amounts of damage.

-> -> -> -> -> -> -> ->

The full damage combo is this: Gunblade-Q-R-W-E-AA-Q-R-R


Don't forget to time your skills so that you can proc your Lich Bane as much as possible (if you buy one). Spacing your skills out every 2 seconds can let you nearly double your damage.
If your in a bad situation, you can Q to an enemy (preferably a minion) and then dash to it. after one second, dash again (to another minion) and your home free.
The only problem with Diana, is that she is relatively easy to be cc locked. AVOID STUNS AT ALL COSTS
Also, try not to engage any bad fights. Make sure you can actually kill your target and escape without dying yourself. Especially in the first 3 builds, you need to make sure you don't give up free kills due to bad decisions. In the tanky build and the jungle build, you have better sustain, so engaging fights for your team is what you should be doing.

I don't know how to make my own jungle map, so there aren't any images here. Sorry.

I start at wolves, get a hard leash at blue (so i can save my smite), and look for an early level 2 gank. If I'm on the blue team, I gank top, if I'm on the purple team, I gank bot. If they are push back somehow, or I can't find a good opening to gank, I either go mid, or try invading and stealing the enemy red. If the enemy jungler is at their red, try smite stealing it and killing their jungler, or at least doing some damage to them so they have to go back. From there, I go get my wraiths, red, and golems. After that, clear camps and gank at your own discretion. At around 6:00, place a ward at the enemy blue. Stay close to their blue and when they show up to get it, smite steal it through the wall and get out. If the enemy mid shows up, back out, or have your own mid lane come to help you kill/push him away from the blue.

Before a team fight begins, you need to position yourself behind the enemy team, so that you can reach their carry quickly and remove them with your Q-R-W-E-Q-R. Then switch focus to other high priority targets and melt them.

Pros:

Very high damage
Hard to chase down
Easy to chase enemies

Cons:

Easily cc locked

Diana is a really fun champion and a very reliable mage. By using skill combos, you can blow up all but the tankiest targets. Have fun!

Btw, this was my first guide trying to use color and pictures in the text. Tell me how i can improve my guides even more in the comments and remember to vote.