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In this guide, I will tell you how and why I play/build Sona the way I do. I will try my best to explain why I build the way I do and how my personal play-style is with this champion. I will also explain as to why you should at least appreciate your support because, to be honest, we are very underrated for what we do.


Where do I start when it comes to describing supports and the rules they follow?

Support is probably one of the most important roles, and underrated roles, in the game. They control the flow of the game and a great deal of map control. A lot of things happen behind the kills that most people do not realize or refuse to. As the name implies, this role helps the team to achieve victory by enabling them to get kills and objectives, such as the Rift Herald, Baron Nashor or the Dragon.


As a support, you head to the bottom lane with your AD Carry, and as the name implies, you support them. When you are in laning phase, don't last hit the minions for gold. There are items that will passively give you gold as the game progresses (That being said, you can farm the minions when your ADC is out of lane). Your job is not to take kills, but to set up kills for your team, so try not to kill steal!

Watch whole map, not just your own lane and ping/inform your allies of approaching enemies. Pinging missing champions and maybe even writing in the chat goes to this section and even if your mid doesn't say anything, but the enemy is gone there, you can ping it instead. Remember to buy and put wards and beware of ganks, inform your own jungler of the enemy wards and set up ganks. Remember: you can only place 3 wards at a time and 1 Control Ward. Remind others to ward as well, this is a team game.

Sona was probably the first ever support I learned how to play before her re-work. She has powerful utility, has decent poke, and has the capability to shut down threats through her healing. I have enjoyed playing her for a long time, even more so recently! When I play Sona I try to do so aggressively, which is fine with me due to her kit!

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Pros + Creazy healing power + AoE Stun on ultimate + Strong poke + Silence on ultimate + Self sustain Sona is a great support when you need to focus on heals but you also want to sustain your ADC in a lane. With your W, you can shield and heal your allies and your ultimate has a stun and a silence on it! It's a nice engage when you flash ultimate into a team fight or you can use it to pick off a straggler who is trying to escape!

Cons - Squishy - Steep learning curve - AP ratios - Countered easily - Mana reliant - Team reliant Like all champions, Sona has her downfalls. She is very squishy support that is heavily targeted, so she's reliant on her team in order to protect her. She can still be easily caught out when warding, even with her increased movement speed on her E.

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This is where I try to explain why I chose the masteries I do and compare them to the others that I do not. I will attempt to do this as clearly as possible without too much-unneeded text!

Summon Aery is my preferred choice when playing Sona. That is because it can be used defensively or offensively. For example, whenever you heal an allay it grants them a shield that for 35 − 80 (based on level) that lasts for 2 seconds which can be important early game. You can also use it as a poke tool in lane because when you hit an enemy champion with an ability it does 10 − 40 (based on level) damage. (I usually play her defensively and around her heals so I find this to be the best keystone!)

Arcane Comet is used if you prefer a more aggressive play-style and harass your enemy a lot with Sona. I pesronally tend to stick with Summon Aery most of the time due to the extra shield that it grants, but this is a nice second pick!

I am not exactly sure if Phase Rush is actually used on any champion. It'll grant you up to 3 stacks when hitting enemy champions and will grant you 25-40% movement speed (based on level) and up to 75% slow resist for 3 seconds. I personally don't recommend it.

Nullifying Orb could be useful for when you are facing AP champions, but I found that it generally doesn't give you too much and it feels like a waste in terms of utilization for Sona.

This is probably my favorite option when playing Sona because of the extra mana regen for the early game pressure. It makes it easy to sustain yourself when using Hymn of Valor and trying to heal your allied champions. It's easy to find yourself low on mana which makes this extremely useful.

This is probably my second favorite mastery for Sona. It gives you extra movement speed after you use your ultimate, which is why it makes this a nice second option, especially when you want to disengage from a terrible situation! (Though, I still prefer Manaflow Band over this any day! I love me my extra mana and my mana regen!)

I found that this is an alright alternative to Celerity if you feel like rushing 40% CDR asap. While it's an alright alternative, it's only 10% CDR over the current cap of 30% and it's just a mastery.

This is my current go-to! Sona is not exactly a slow champion, but she could use all the extra movement speed she could get, even if it's out of her AP.

This is probably the worst choice for Sona in my opinion and I feel as though it's obvious! Absolute Focus give you bonus AP when you are above 70% of your maximum health! You are a squishy support, while you will be above that threshhold at some point during the game, I find the other options to be more viable!

Poking your enemy is lane is almost a must, but I don't recommend Scorch because the extra damage that it give you is nearly non-existent.

Waterwalking I have noticed is for champions who tend to roam and are in the river area a good amount. I can see it being viable option for Sona, but I personally don't use it. I think it's probably the second best option for Sona because of her roaming potential!

This is my personal choice when playing Sona currently. It gives you nice AP scaling and the extra AP is always nice for the extra healing potential! (Her heals scale off of her AP!)

This is probably the best choice to get out of the Resolve mastery section. It's nice because you have a stun on your Crescendo and a slow with your Song of Celerity and your Power Chord combo which you can utilize with this for some extra healing for your ally.

Sona, if you couldn't' tell, loves to heal her teammates! This mastery, specifically, works really well with her kit because the heals and shields she has will be stronger, even more so when your allies are below 40% HP. Revitalize is basically the reason I consider taking anything from the Resolve track.

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- FLASH: This is standered on every champion, support or not. EXHAUST: This I find is a must on any support champion! Not only does it slow the enemy champion affected by 30% for 2.5 seconds in order to help secure your carry a kill, you can use it to get out of a sticky situation or disengage if need-be. IGNITE: This is not a spell I perosnally use or would reccomend, but that does not stop me from seeing other people take it on Sona for some reason. I see it mostly in aggressive play-style. I would still personally recommend Exhaust and Flash.

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PASSIVE ABILITY

Power Chord (Passive): This is her passive. After 3 ability casts, your next basic attack will deal 20-240 (at levels 1-18) (+20% of ability power) bonus magic damage, with an additional effect depending on the last basic ability cast.

Q

Hymn of Valor (Q): This will be your main source of damage when it comes to harass. It does magic damage to the two nearest enemies within 700-range, prioritizing champions. Aura: Both you and allied champions tagged with this aura deal 10/15/20/25/30 (+30% of ability power) bonus magic damage on their next basic attack within 3 seconds. Power Chord - Staccato: If this spell was last cast when Power Chord is ready, Power Chord deals 40% bonus damage.

W

Aria of Perseverance (W):Each time you use this you heal yourself and an allied champion as well as shield them for a period of time with your aura. Aura: Both you and allied champions tagged with this aura deal 25/50/75/100 (+30% of ability power) for around 1.5 seconds. Power Chord - Diminuendo: If this spell was last cast when Power Chord is ready, Power Chord will also reduce the target's damage output by 25% (+4% per 100 ability power) for 3 seconds.

E

Song of Celerity (E): Each time that you cast this spell you gain 10/11/12/13/14 % (+8% per 100 AP) movement speed for 3 seconds. Aura: Allied champions tagged with this aura deal 10/11/12/13/14% (+6% per 100 AP)movement speed for 3 seconds. Power Chord - Temp: If this spell was last cast when Power Chord is ready, Power Chord will also slow the target by 40% (+4% per 100 ability power) for 2 seconds.

R

Crescendo (R): This is your ultimate. Once cast, you stun your enemies for 1.5 seconds and they take 150/250/350 (+50% of your AP) in magic damage. Passive: Each point in this ability reduces her basic ability cooldowns by 10/25/40%

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#1 Crescendo 6 / 11 / 16 #2 Aria of Perseverance 1 / 4 / 5 / 7 / 9 #3 Hymn of Valor 2 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 13 #4 Song of Celerity 3 / 14 / 15 / 17 / 18

> > > Alright, so to be clear I tend to vary on my skill sequence, but I always tend to start off with my W. I also tend to favor maxing Hymn of Valor second before I even bother with Song of Celerity due to my semi-aggressive playstyle. While the increased movement speed is nice, I prefer the extra poke. I always tend to max Aria of Perseverance first as well due to the heal and shield that it grants. It's useful all the time, and I find it a nice option early game when you have to focus on living.

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This item is good for its raw healing power in a single item slot and also for its active, which cleanses CC from an ally. That makes it great for teams against heavy CC! Though, I feel like it should be taken only if you don't plan on taking Athene's Unholy Grail for reason that I will state when I get to that item.

I usually run this after I run Redemption in my build order. This item is amazing for a couple of different reasons! One reason is the fact that it has the ability to convert your mana regeneration to ability power--which increases your healing power! What's better is that when you do damage you get stacks that will heal your alley for additional HP! BONUS HEALING! So in short, Athene's Unholy Grail will increase your potential healing ability!

This is an alright situational item. I have seen it from time to time when playing games, but I personally don't recommend it. I can see this being viable in heavy AP teams and you become the target and are dying easily, but other than that I would say skip it and purchase something a little bit more useful.

Alright, this one is an exception. I will sometimes build into this after I purchase Dark Seal, but I usually don't. I will say if you do decide to build into it, make sure that you and your team are ahead of the enemy. If you're not, I wouldn't suggest getting it (but again, that's my opinion).

This is alright all things considered. I've seen this in some games throughout the years, but it's not one I can personally recommend for Sona because I feel like there are better items for her. Most games I don't see a use for it for this champion when some people already built it.

This is the best red hat I've ever seen; it's perfect in every way. That being said, this hat will amplify your ability to heal due to it increasing your AP. I almost always shoot to buy this last.

This. This is a good situational item all around for almost every--if not every--support in the game in my opinion. I buy this when I know I'm going to be needing to play more defensively and I need to keep everyone alive in team fights.

This item will give you AP equal to 1% of your maximum mana and will refund you 25% of the mana you spend. It has 40% cooldown reduction which is nice, but excessive in my opinion. Still a good item, though.

This item can come in handy if used correctly. Once you activate it, two cute little ghost dudes will come out and look for nearby enemies. If they find them they get slowed and you will have vision on them--even if you don't have vision in that particular area. While it's not ideal in every situation, it is in some.

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This is where I'll talk about how I usually play as Sona. Please, keep in mind that you can either play this champion or any champion, aggressively or defensively--but here I will focus on my mixed play-style.


This phase usually goes from the beginning of the game to when the first tower, ally or enemy, is down. So, with that in mind, the main thing you want to do during this phase is to keep your ADC alive and to try to get a tower. Do not forget that you are Sona, so you do have a good amount of CC. Watch your mana and be sure to ask for ganks if you need them.

Once you hit level 6 you'll get Crescendo. Be sure to keep vision on your enemies and use your ultimate when you can make a play so your ADC can get a kill or to get out of a sticky situation.

Alright, now the tower is gone. This makes the game a little bit more tricky when it comes to your opponents. You can be easily picked off especially when you are trying to ward (for rough warding map click here! Remember that wards/Results may vary). Always remember to keep vision on Baron and Dragon if possible! Those are very important game changers.

In team fights, you should be sure to position yourself somewhere in the middle your team and heal them when possible. You are very squishy and can die easily! In certain fights, you can be closer to your front line--especially if you are ahead--in order to heal them and not wait for them to back off. This can help make team fights last longer.

Remember, try not to use Crescendo to save only one player. Use it to engage or disengage fights. Also, do not be me and forget that you have Song of Celerity! You can use that to increase everyone's movement speed in order to initiate or disengage a team-fight!

This is probably the hardest phase to determine when is happening, but usually, it's usually when everyone starts to group together and 5v5 for towers.

Now I feel like there's not of a difference betwen the Late-Game and the Mid-Game play-style. Teamfifights are usually the same along with the objectives.

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