Sion, and the frustration of the hyper mobility meta.

Thefriendlyorc·2/19/2015, 3:11:51 AM·4 votes·1,138 views

So I'm a long time Sion player, old Sion, the new Sion, I like them both, new one came out and I was excited, cool telegraphing attacks, Keeping the old hp scaling from minion killing, confusing but fun to use ult that feels accomplished when you use it right. I like the rework but with so many dashes, jumps, blinks, leaps, etc. I feel like I should stop, why bother? Every time I use an ability, I'm dodged and danced around like a special needs kid by the likes of Kalista, Zed, Fizz, Lee, etc. etc. My question to the other Sion players out there, who play him with Noxus like dedication, why bother? Sell me on why I should keep playing my beloved top, or if I have to send another to the junk heap to join Singed, Mundo, or other top tanks.

20 Comments

Pvt Yong Tai2/19/2015, 4:40:10 AM3 votes

I like the new Sion. However, he is a hidden power and is extremely difficult to utilize well enough to be worth picking.

By that, I mean his strengths lie in places that extend beyond his own skillset. Namely teamfights, especially in 5-man teams.
Unless your team makes proper use of Sion's new cherry-shattering CC onslaught, he won't be effective. His damage can be unsuspectingly high at times, but overall his burst is not all that great. His sustain damage is poor. His kit is not suited for dueling, cleaning up, and his split push is all too mediocre and risky.
He can't even engage well against good opponents.

I suggest placing him in teams that rely on teamfighting to win, as I already said. Strong initiators like Amumu and Ashe work well with Sion. If your team's chemistry is particularly good, combining Sion with Nocturne creates a killer 1-2 ult combo.
Spoken another way, you can think of Sion as a CC amplifier. Like Yasuo, except much more difficult to use. Charge up your skills against champions who are already locked by CC to increase the landing chance and impact. Also, stay with teammates at all times, so that you don't get caught out (Sion is slow and can't duel!). To take that suggestion to the next level, I recommend going support so that you can be with your ADC even in the early game.

Here's a tutorial for Support Sion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isoV2Xdrqpk
And here's a good example of a Nocturne/Sion initiation combo: http://youtu.be/tveyldeuI_8?t=1m49s

Sorry, I don't think he's all that great as a top laner. His E harass is a killer against 0-sustain tops like AD Fizz, but otherwise he's too easy to poke down. If you're fine with hugging tower and scraping by with just CS, then that's all good and dandy, I suppose.
That said, I truly think Sion is currently best as a support (as wonky and unorthodox (and difficult) as his supporting is). I got to Plat V in solo queue with Support Sion during Season 4, if that means anything.

WhereTheNamesAt2/19/2015, 4:04:45 AM2 votes

No one is gonna tell you actual reasons game wise why you should keep playing him. You should continue to play him if you enjoy playing him but if you start getting burnt out on him then you can try other champions. New jungle kicks Kha'zix's ass but I still play him sometimes to remember the previous games that I did really well with him before the new season.

ForgiveColour2/19/2015, 4:08:34 AM1 votes

SION PLAYER COMPLAINING OLOLOLOLOLOLOL, its not like the game is over once sion gets to be unkillable considering your team isnt behind by like 20k gold

Raja Chachki2/19/2015, 4:08:37 AM1 votes

I only play champions I enjoy, because otherwise the game is boring. Tried Fizz, tried Zed, ,tried Lee, did well with all of them but it wasn't fun. It was too easy getting around. So I suggest you play Sion because you like him, and because he really is a contender for tankiest champ in the game. Also, if you feel like people do really well against you while playing mobile champions, play stuff like TeamBuilder or regulars, people in Ranked sometimes only want champions that are going to win, and that can get boring. Keep playing Sion if he's fun :)

BeatzBoyFTW2/19/2015, 4:43:13 AM1 votes

No, I just like the HP stack gains during cs-phasing. It's oddly addictive......

OxBaker2/21/2015, 7:03:00 PM1 votes

I like the rework and think they did a decent job overall in terms of functionality and balance but I just can't put my finger on why his performance is so team dependent. If the rest of your team does well then you'll do OK but if your team is behind there seems to be so little you can do to contribute to turning it around.

I think that's why J4, Vi, Mao etc tend to be much more preferred. They have a real, consistent, reliable impact on the team and the matches outcome, where as Sion seems to just be more of a meatshield that gets carried to do well or poorly depending on how the rest of your team starts to snowball. I think that's what makes him always the second choice to other champs in solo queue.

TL DR; What good is being supposedly "unkillable" if you can't have a noticeable affect on the games outcome.