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Hey @Meddler, can we talk about Sona?

Ahristocats··11 votes·1,209 views

i know right now the hot topics are yasuo/adc but still it makes me sad that i can't play her in diamond/master without being flamed, or that i didn't see any Sona in my last 100 ranked games

Right now her kit has SO MANY ISSUES: -uninteractive -needs AP to work which is the worst idea ever -needs level 16 to work -cannot be good in high elo without destroying low elo

What if her Q no longer prioritize champions, but prioritize champions that were hit by her allies/herself? her Q now becomes interactive and she can have a decent base damage once again What if her W shield was higher the more she shields allies? She could be a good counter to AOE damages without shielding a lot a single target What if her passive is no longer garbage without freaking AP? ESPECIALLY DIMINUENDO

she needs a huge power shift from heal and shield to passive SHE NEEDS A SKILLCAP INCREASE TO NOT MAKE HER WIN RATE GOING TO 58%

are you going to work on her once again?

18 Comments

Maximum Morde4 votes

Dude. #1 Rule of Sona is you don't talk about her or Rito will nerf her

IA9hRfpP5q2 votes

I usually select Sona when I'm gonna take a nap. Leave my hand on the keyboard QWER and fall asleep.

0 interactions 0 "gameplay" mechanics I just fall asleep harder than she falls off late game.

Also the true support sona has a item 3089 in her kit, because she's like Lux "support" To be effective she needs a item 3089

Ahristocats1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Whitney Houston,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=BmmoJQPs,comment-id=0006,timestamp=2017-01-05T19:00:41.094+0000)

to be effective she needs a item 3089

i don't know who thinks it's ok in riot game, a support wasting money to build AP, maybe in bronze it's effective

And i know that her kit isn't interactive, Q and E are the offenders hence i proposed the change above to correct this

ACENOX1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dr Sona x Rubick,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=BmmoJQPs,comment-id=,timestamp=2017-01-05T11:36:38.766+0000) SHE NEEDS A SKILLCAP INCREASE TO NOT MAKE HER WIN RATE GOING TO 58%

Janna

Swarovsko1 votes

She needs a rework, not just a random cdr buff. I've been playing Sona a lot and found out that she has so many flaws. Not to mention that Nami is literally a better version of her, she's just this generalistic support who can do lots of things but excels at anything, and even her little strenghts are mediocre compared to other champions, she's easy to gank, has no engage/disengage pre 6, she's hard to teammates to gank for and saying "she's strong late game" is just bullshit since games in league of legends end around 18-25 min.

I still enjoy playing her, at least in silver elo. I'm just mad because she could be much more.

Ahristocats3 votes

IMO here is what she needs: passive damage values increased with levels, AP ratio tuned down W passive increased, ap ratio tuned down same with E passive Q passive changed from bonus damage to magical damage amplification from all sources, Sona isn't a burst mage but a support, and her Q passive isn't a debuff unlike other passives Q now prioritize champions hit by Sona's allies or sona herself+damage increased+Q aura now works on spells applied to a random target if it's in AOE (like luden) W: idk healing reduced, shielding increased for every ally shielded, making her a counter to AOE damage E: no longer speeds sona+ms increased on allies+now has a passive giving sona ms whenever she applies power chord, why does she needs it? because Meddler said that if her E is strong sona becomes uncatchable, i think this passive balances her while giving her a reason to skill E in laning phase R: passive changed from cdr at lvl 6/11/16 to cdr at all levels 10% cdr at lvl 6+3% cdr each 2 levels capped at 40% at lvl 16

all of this will make Sona's kit: -not half working -not needing ap -not needing lvl 16 -increases her skillcap with Q passive/new Q/new E -fixing Q uninteractive laning phase -give her a niche

Swarovsko1 votes

I was opting for a full VGU like Taric lmao but your ideas are cool. I still feel like she needs more than poke, heal, slow,ms speed and an engage/disengage ult. Every support can do what Sona does and they are still more interactive and have more identity, Sona is way too generic, the only interesting thing about her is her dmg reduction, that's why I was hoping to see a Support Update (like the assassin update) with Blitzcrank Sona Alistar Karma Lulu. I hate when Riot gives random cdr to champions without even thinking what the real issue with the champ is (Don't know how to buff Ivern ? JUST GIVE HIM CDR ON E AND LET HIM SPAM IT!).

Ahristocats2 votes

No supports can give 400 hp AOE shield

right now she can shield for nearly 300, what riot should do is increase it to 400 while still make the duration 1.5 to make Sona doing W at the good time

that way Sona is the only one able to counter AOE damage like kennen

Chessoms1 votes

Karma :o

AirKingNeo1 votes

Is there a problem with champions being easy? Why can't a champion be easy to play?

Ahristocats1 votes

because then you can't balance a champ in high elo without destroying low elo look at old gangplank

right now sona is pure garbage in high diamond, you don't see any Sona in any games

Swarovsko1 votes

She's quite rare to see in low elo too. She's played a lot in bronze but in silver/gold she's not common at all since even there people know that there are just better picks.

Vekkna1 votes

Sona's stats are good. Her win rate in diamond over the past month is almost exactly equal to Janna and Soraka, and higher than Nami. There are 71 champs with lower pick rates than Sona.

In Master tier, there are 84 champs with lower pick rates, and her win rate is still nearly 53%.

In Challenger, 67 champs have lower pick rates, but Sona's win rate takes a huge nose dive.

So, if you're not Challenger then what's the issue?

Ahristocats1 votes

Find me a Sona player in master, that plays her SUPPORT not mid

because your numbers are from mid Sona

Every single sONA player above diamond 1 plays her mid

i can play her mid too, she's good

but i'm a support main, and i love supporting, and sona is garbage at supporting

Swarovsko1 votes

Arguing with win rates and pick rates is stupid. Just because a champion has 50%+ win rate that doesn't mean the champion is flawless with an interactive kit, coherent with the champion's identity ecc...

Vekkna1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dr Sona x Rubick,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=BmmoJQPs,comment-id=,timestamp=2017-01-05T11:36:38.766+0000)

...but still it makes me sad that i can't play her in diamond/master without being flamed, or that i didn't see any Sona in my last 100 ranked games

-cannot be good in high elo without destroying low elo

So OP can make anecdotal statements that Sona is considered a troll pick in high elo and is essentially never played, and that Sona cannot be good in high elo without destroying low elo. But I can't use stats to refute that?

The fact is that Sona's pick rate in high elo is not an outlier for the whole roster or even the support role. Because numbers.

Win rates speak to the fact that she can be good in high elo without destroying low elo. Like, this patch. Having a win rate well above 50% with a pick rate on the low end of average says that she can be quite good, in fact.

I do agree with OP that her kit is schizo, but not for the same reasons.

Vekkna1 votes

Generally, I agree that they make her too reliant on AP to function well as an Enchanter. I think a good thematic addition would be a permanent bonus at max Power Chord stacks based on which skill is picked first (or first to rank 5), similar to Syndra or Kha but with one build/identity defining buff instead of multiple power increases. Just spitballing some examples:

  • Q Sound Canon: aura deals direct damage to enemies twice per second
  • W Dolore : aura reduces enemy healing by 80%, decaying by 20% per second
  • E Adagissimo: aura slows enemies by 50%, decaying by 10% per second; enemies affected by the aura for 2 seconds are slowed by 99% for .5 seconds.

Only one would apply in any game. Something like that would open up viable builds for her to play as a true mage, enchanter, or controller. It would also give her more mid viability, wave clear, and even aoe battle mage options. The most important thing is that each "spec" empowers auras in a visible and impactful way - damage ticks, a unique GW, shield, slow.

The other thing is that is would make her less spammy overall because you would want to sit on your empowered aura for most or all of its duration depending on the circumstance, play style, positioning, and build. This would change nothing for people who like her now, but it would definitely add build complexity and reward high-skill players with great timing and positioning.

The problem with Sona is that her identity is her auras, but Riot has explained the problem with the aura buffs. That problem only applies to buffs, though, not debuffs. Debuffs are very tangible. The short range on the auras means you can add some pretty hefty debuffs to them, and that creates high risk/reward play that increases skill cap immensely.

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