Right now, as a Sona player, I don't feel as if Sona's "aura" fantasy is being fully realized. There's so much more that can be done than just "tag an ally with this circle once" (you don't even get rewarded for keeping them in the circle) I feel also that her gameplay identity as an AOE buff support could be more set with this as well
I want Sona to be the aura champion of league and right now that fantasy is just..lacking.
Uiraya6 votesBut don't you get it
they removed her invisible power
and didn't give her any visible power at all in exchange
it's genius
and people still think Riot's balance team has any interest at all in balance
Neo Cyrus1 votesThe whole point was to nerf her through the ground under the guise of a rework and make her feel like shit to play, hence why they never released any numbers through any main channels. The rework page made sure to avoid anything related to numbers. In before some shitter tells me her win rate was high at some point with the rework, not realizing old Sona was 10x more powerful and wasn't OP at the time only because everything else was significantly stronger too... and that got nerfed rapidly anyway.
The cycle of nerfs and nerfs will continue until the balance becomes even more fucked up because items were made with their AD/AP having much higher champion ratios in mind.
They'll probably continue to nerf mana too, because having half the mana regen of season 4 wasn't enough of a nerf. Sure it may have not destroyed balance because ALL mages got nerfed due to it, but it sure makes playing them shittier. Enjoy your new farm until level 6 and 2-3 Doran's game. Unless you're facing an AD mid, in that case just bend over and enjoy not being allowed to build mana regen in that matchup.
Edit: Typos.
GinoSoldier1 votes[{quoted}](name=Neo Cyrus,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6nHPN9BH,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2015-10-09T03:39:46.608+0000)
The whole point was to nerf her through the ground under the guise of a rework and make her feel like shit to play, hence why they never released any numbers through any main channels. The rework page made sure to avoid anything related to numbers. In before some shitter tells me her win rate was high at some point with the rework, not realizing old Sona was 10x more powerful and wasn't OP at the time only because everything else was significantly stronger too... and that got nerfed rapidly anyway.
While i do agree that previous Sona's poke was somewhat stronger, today's Sona would be an absolute monster if she had the same ratios. What they did that was unintended was shift her from being a strong support to being a strong mage. Granted her mid play also has issues like no waveclear, but improving her AP ratios would likely turn her into an unstoppable abomination.
Neo Cyrus1 votesWhat they did that was unintended was shift her from being a strong support to being a strong mage.
False. She has absolutely nothing that allows her to be a successful anything other than a shitty feeling support. Any time you want to test your mid Sona theory I'll be glad to show you why it's a terrible idea. Maybe then you'll realize why all the AP Sonas quit the game after the rework.
GinoSoldier1 votes[{quoted}](name=Neo Cyrus,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6nHPN9BH,comment-id=0000000000000000,timestamp=2015-10-09T04:35:42.270+0000)
False. She has absolutely nothing that allows her to be a successful anything other than a shitty feeling support. Any time you want to test your mid Sona theory I'll be glad to show you why it's a terrible idea. Maybe then you'll realize why all the AP Sonas quit the game after the rework.
I don't really care about proving anything. I play at silver elo in normals, and i have fair success as Sona mid. More often than not i'll have crappy CS by the end of the game and will get fed on assist and kill streaks instead. I know my matchups and avoid going against champions like Akali, Kassadin and Viktor.
Playing Sona mid demands skill. The champion is fairly simple and straightforward, but she's so weak that it requires near perfect play to work. You have to dodge, shield, and anticipate every single move your opponent makes or usually, you pay triple the price. What allows her to be a midlaner, is the fact that in the mid and late game, she can pretty much one or two shot enemy carries as well as sporting her AP enhanced heal, shield, and speed buff to the whole team, and her ult is still as efficient as ever.
My personal opinion is that the only thing Sona needs to be a legitimately good Mid mage is some form of waveclear, perhaps in the form of a tiny AoE on her Q projectiles, just enough to hit clustered minions. As far as Sona support goes, I think it no longer exists and does not need to remain a thing.
My usual build is; 
. I take Flash and Barrier for summoner Spells. I start with a Sapphire Crystal with two pots and rush Sheen. My usual strategy revolves around opportunistic poking while relying on dodging enemy hits to avoid having to ever heal, which lets me lane for longer.
LadyRenly1 votesI don't really care about proving anything. I play at silver elo in normals, and i have fair success as Sona mid. More often than not i'll have crappy CS by the end of the game and will get fed on assist and kill streaks instead. I know my matchups and avoid going against champions like Akali, Kassadin and Viktor.
Playing Sona mid demands skill. The champion is fairly simple and straightforward, but she's so weak that it requires near perfect play to work. You have to dodge, shield, and anticipate every single move your opponent makes or usually, you pay triple the price. What allows her to be a midlaner, is the fact that in the mid and late game, she can pretty much one or two shot enemy carries as well as sporting her AP enhanced heal, shield, and speed buff to the whole team, and her ult is still as efficient as ever.
My personal opinion is that the only thing Sona needs to be a legitimately good Mid mage is some form of waveclear, perhaps in the form of a tiny AoE on her Q projectiles, just enough to hit clustered minions. As far as Sona support goes, I think it no longer exists and does not need to remain a thing.
My usual build is;
Have you thought about weaseling in Luden's Echo? It would probably help a bit
GinoSoldier1 votesHave you thought about weaseling in Luden's Echo? It would probably help a bit
I understand why Luden's is powerful on Sona both for the speed, and the proc, but the only items I can swap when going with this build are Rabadons and Void Staff. I would get it instead of Void Staff if at least two of the enemy squishies don't have any MR, because Sona was never meant to hit tanks anyway. I don't want to replace Rabadons because most of her relevance in the late game is directly tied to her AP ratios which need all the help they can get.
67chrome1 votesPlaying Sona mid demands skill. The champion is fairly simple and straightforward, but she's so weak that it requires near perfect play to work. You have to dodge, shield, and anticipate every single move your opponent makes or usually, you pay triple the price.
You're, uh, you're not making a very convincing argument that she's a strong mage.
Near-perfect play and never getting hit will allow you to win with anyone.
GinoSoldier2 votesBut don't you get it
they removed her invisible power
and didn't give her any visible power at all in exchange
it's genius
and people still think Riot's balance team has any interest at all in balance
I agree that Sona is pretty weak right now, though i can't stand the idea of playing the Maven as a support. Sona to me is a team-oriented sustain mage who trades out AoE damage for powerful poke. The issue is that 'weak' as she is, i'm still steamrolling a fair amount of games with scores like today's 12-2 game (silver elo). What's gonna happen to those games if she simply gets a buff? Gonna steamroll 18-0? I don't think riot wants that.
A lot of her potential power budget is lost in her Q+AA combo due to the fact that it's unavoidable. No matter what lane you're in, VS Sona will almost always be decided by the Sona player's positioning and dodge skills, because her damage is always steady and sure. (As example; today's game was against a Zed mid. I dodged around 80% of Zed's skillshots, shadows included, but practically every single one of mine hit and i ended up winning the lane. Now imagine what would have happened if my pokes had dealt as much damage as his did right from the start of the game.) Thing is, you can't break that for more power without destroying Sona's 'poke queen' identity.
Atuko3 votesI agree that Sona is pretty weak right now, though i can't stand the idea of playing the Maven as a support. Sona to me is a team-oriented sustain mage who trades out AoE damage for powerful poke. The issue is that 'weak' as she is, i'm still steamrolling a fair amount of games with scores like today's 12-2 game (silver elo). What's gonna happen to those games if she simply gets a buff? Gonna steamroll 18-0? I don't think riot wants that.
A lot of her potential power budget is lost in her Q+AA combo due to the fact that it's unavoidable. No matter what lane you're in, VS Sona will almost always be decided by the Sona player's positioning and dodge skills, because her damage is always steady and sure. (As example; today's game was against a Zed mid. I dodged around 80% of Zed's skillshots, shadows included, but practically every single one of mine hit and i ended up winning the lane. Now imagine what would have happened if my pokes had dealt as much damage as his did right from the start of the game.) Thing is, you can't break that for more power without destroying Sona's 'poke queen' identity.
The goal here is not to make Sona into a mid-laner, we have plenty of those. Should she still be able to mid lane on the side? Sure.
She fits better as a support, thematically buffing her allies with the power of her music, and frankly as a Sona player I think it should stay that way.
They wouldn't get rid of Sona's poke, it's core to her identity.
I understand that you really seem to like playing Sona mid, but you also have to think about the people that play this champion in the role she was designed for.
GinoSoldier1 votesI understand that you really seem to like playing Sona mid, but you also have to think about the people that play this champion in the role she was designed for.
Well there are really only two paths that Sona can go towards. Either her scalings get nerfed and her bases go up, in which case she becomes a better support, or the opposite which would make her a better mage. Right now, her ratios are high enough and her bases low enough that she feels much better as a mage than a support. Currently, sheer AP gives her an E that defeats the Talisman in terms of power and utility, and a W that defeats the Locket in terms of power and utility.
Last time i've seen a Sona support goes back to a several months ago. I do see Sona mids every 30 games or so, myself excluded. I just feel like she hasn't been a good true support in such a long time, and does the same job so much better in mid, that pushing her back towards the support role would be a waste.
Mid lane has NO team oriented sustain mages, which is exactly what AP Sona is, which is why i love her. I still very much understand your point, but compared to the utility brought in by current supports, Sona has very little place down there.
Kitten of Evil1 votesA lot of her potential power budget is lost in her Q+AA combo due to the fact that it's unavoidable
This is really the core of the Sona issues. None of her skills (except her ult, which is appropriately strong) are skillshots. They aren't even point-and-clicks. It's entirely a range check. Are you in range of her Q/is an ally in range of her heal? Then there's nothing you can do. Her kit's just so un-interactive. That's why she's basically made of paper -- going all-in is the only way to interact with her.
GinoSoldier1 votes[{quoted}](name=Kitten of Evil,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6nHPN9BH,comment-id=000000010001,timestamp=2015-10-09T14:00:01.716+0000)
This is really the core of the Sona issues. None of her skills (except her ult, which is appropriately strong) are skillshots. They aren't even point-and-clicks. It's entirely a range check. Are you in range of her Q/is an ally in range of her heal? Then there's nothing you can do. Her kit's just so un-interactive. That's why she's basically made of paper -- going all-in is the only way to interact with her.
Un-interactive for the enemy, true, but very much so for the allies due to the auras. I don't believe they'll ever make her Q and W into targeted skills because she was made as a prime easy to play champion designed to teach positioning (and i really hope they keep her this way).
Kitten of Evil1 votesWell, now her auras are interactive for allies. The old version wasn't even that -- stand near Sona for free stat stuff. But un-interactive for the enemy isn't exactly great champion design either, just look at Poppy's ult.
GinoSoldier1 votesWell, the only other option i can think of that isn't just the old auras, is for her to keep her current AoE zone, but instead of Q giving a 1 shot damage buff when tagging, have it act similarly to Karthus's Defile AoE, or give allies a lesser damage buff for every attack made when in her aura. Have W give off the usual healing and a shield generation similar to Inner Turrets around her. Have E be a lesser speed buff, but perhaps also slow enemies in the area?
Just theorizing, but what else would be fitting for aura mechanisms that aren't completely stale?
As far as i'm concerned, as long as she's viable mid and gets her auras stronger with large amounts of AP, Riot can do whatever they want. I do like the current gameplay though, it's grown on me.
Secret Butt Fun1 votesI can't think of a better champion than her that utilizes 
better. It's simply a must on her.
Booriin1 votes[{quoted}](name=Scary Butt Fun,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6nHPN9BH,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2015-10-09T10:55:22.609+0000)
I can't think of a better champion than her that utilizes
isn't a good item, it just give you few amount of AP without any defensive stat. The buff is just kind of OK if you can buff for your whole team (but extremely weak if you can only buff 1-2 players). Meanwhile enemies can easily kill you in 2v2 fights, not mention any CC land on Sona would lead to instant death.
good buff but lame stat, Sona need great amount of AP to cover her poor scaling kit.
I rather pick 
than play a 
with . A jungler with full HP feel more useful than a powerless Sona that need her whole team to shine.