Why does Sona's W give a shield?

S0kaX·Jan 24, 2017·1 votes·652 views

A heal is not enough?

9 Comments

Maximum MordeJan 24, 20173 votes

Because they repeatedly nerfed the heal until they couldn't nerf it anymore without giving something back, so they introduced the shield mechanic to it.

AhristocatsJan 24, 20174 votes

they removed bonus mr and bonus armor and replaced it with a shield because it's more visible than bonus resistances

Maximum MordeJan 24, 20171 votes

That's what they said back then. But what they say are the reasons and the actual reasons aren't always the same thing. I don't think it had anything to do with visibility. I think they just wanted another nerf lever for her.

Visibility was just the favored buzzword they were using back then and didn't mean much. Now it's healthy, and counterplay or whatever.

AhristocatsJan 24, 20171 votes

at least it was the escuse they said

Maximum MordeJan 24, 20171 votes

It's true, they went on and on constantly about Sona and Invisible power etc etc. Its a trivial difference but sort of matters to me. You are going with their version which is basically, okay invisible power, we should nerf that. I'm going with, okay Sona needs nerfs, how do we justify it? Oh, let's call it invisible power.

The end result is the same so it doesn't really matter which version is true I suppose other than for understanding how Riots nerf cycles work and why they seem inconsistent in how they apply it to various champions while letting others roam free.

duckarpJan 24, 20173 votes

Precisely. Galio's W already works exactly like that, so it's a very poor excuse.

Yaśuo MainJan 24, 20172 votes

its not a very good heal unless ur like 200 AP or above

ChaddyFantomeJan 24, 20172 votes

Sona used to have resists on her W Aura, but Riot reworked Sona to instead of being an invisible power stat stick to have auras that give immediate power within the window she has the aura up.

So now instead of passive Resistances, it gives a flat shield. This make sit both easier to actually assess the power of Sona's kit for her, her team and the opponent while also making it much more appreciable.