Sona build help(gold league)

Zerglinglol·1/27/2017, 9:30:56 PM·1 votes·1,409 views

Hey all, I could use some build help. I've been playing about 90-95% jungle thus far this season but I'm looking to support more. My choice support is Sona but I'm unsure of builds.

I've seen multiple youtube guides that say to rush "tear." I actually enjoy this build since you can spam infinitely, but as a first back it puts you behind in vision and is very risky. As far as I can tell, I should only make this purchase if I'm already ahead?
Which keystone? Thunderlord's or Windspeaker's? I generally play sona very aggressive early, so I definitely prefer thunderlord's early, but if my lane or team get behind windspeaker's ends up feeling more valuable long-run. Which keystone do ya guys prefer?
Frost Queen's Claim or Eye of the Watchers?
Boots? I know most supports go mobi's, but I generally prefer sorc boots if I'm ahead, or defensive(merc/tabi) if I'm behind. Thoughts?

5 Comments

Paquay1/27/2017, 11:48:07 PM2 votes

as others have mentioned DON'T go for tear. Definitely get that sightstone and start warding up.
this all depends on how you want to play her or the team setup. Personally, I only play her now when I know what I'm up against. I prefer to use Sona aggressively and as an early poker to dominate our lane. I won't ever pick Sona if I see a Morg or Blitz or anything like that. I pick her when I see a passive support or an easy To poke ADC. For me, Thunderlords is best. Also, if you are going aggressive, Lich Bane is a must. Build sheen into it first.
since I go aggressive with her, I tend to build FQC and then upgrade to ruby sightstone to lower the CD on redemption and locket.
the boots for me depend on what is going on in the game. If our team is pushing lanes and able to get ahead, I'm going with sorc boots for that extra damage. Even late game Sona can be pretty powerful without a ton of AP. If you see enemy ADC, mid-laner, or a squishy jungler, you can nail a crescendo and Q them and usually have taken off 50% of their hp or more. All you need is a teammate to look at them and melt em.

Now, if your team is struggling to maintain vision, mobi boots will help you to get around and restore/clear vision. If it seems like your team fight is weak or you're getting pushed around, I actually like Lucidity as they lower CDs and summoner CDs. They can help with a little of extra umph for your teammates.

Just my preferences and observations.

Zielmann1/27/2017, 9:54:59 PM1 votes

If you want an idea of what players are building on a champion at higher levels, look them up on Champion.gg. Now, I wouldn't treat the builds on there as a set-in-stone best build at all, but it can give you an idea of what sorts of items people buy and how they prioritize them.

Not surprisingly, the common start for Sona is Spellthief's / pots. Generally on support, the critical first item is sightstone so you can really start getting your vision game on as early as possible. Given that, I don't think tear is actually something you'd really want to go for, as you'd ideally start stacking that up as soon as you can. Buying sightstone first is so important that it would delay the tear quite a bit.

Then it looks like her boots of choice are Sorc's, and her first big item is Lich Bane. It doesn't show this, but I'd be pretty certain that she builds the sheen component of it first.

As for the sightstone upgrade, if you do choose to get redemption and locket later, going for Ruby sightstone is probably preferable to FQC or Watchers, as it'll reduce the cooldowns for those two items.

That said, you can build it a lot of ways, and to me, whatever you have success with is what's best for you. Sure, most seem to be taking windspeakers right now for a keystone, but she can bully well early with thunderlords if she really wants to. You could also opt to go more offensive with the build, rather than building the utility items. A lot of it will be a matter of knowing what you can get away with, and adapting to the situation of the current game. Like if your whole team chooses physical damage dealers, you might want to go for a higher AP build so you actually have some burst and are a bit of a damage threat yourself.

Kneelbeforezoth1/27/2017, 10:02:08 PM1 votes

#1-Tear is a no go anymore the trade off is worth build your sight first

#2-Windspeakers is a must if you have a heavy poke comp where as if you are stalling go speakers

#3-this is personal preference i for one like Eye of the watchers cause the twin ghoul thing isnt as effective if you vision well

#4-Situational Mobis allow you to roam very well and get back to lane without giving up too more however if the enemy team is something like Camille,warwick,cassiopeia,twitch,morgana the adds off escape if caught out dwindle where as Merc treads or even the lucidity boots help keep you alive and in lane for longer

Zerglinglol1/27/2017, 10:07:56 PM1 votes

Alright thanks for the responses. I didn't think the tear was really a good build, but was just making sure. I like the idea of going windspeakers if I'm stalling, thunderlords if it's a poke/aggro lane, that makes sense.

I'm really not a fan of looking up pro builds because the game is played so differently at their elo from mine, but thus far I think it's been mostly eye of the watchers->boots->situational items such as ADC buff items or FQC.

Zerglinglol1/27/2017, 10:52:42 PM1 votes

The more I play her the less I like Thunderlord's. It's hard proc'ing it early because I feel like it opens you up to counter-harass. What about Deathfire Touch? It's pretty easy to get off a Q with her, but does her Q get full benefit or does it count as aoe?