What do /you/ max on Soraka first?

DJ Di0·Jul 5, 2015·1 votes·1,139 views

So, I've been maxing W first on Soraka for quite a while now. http://i.gyazo.com/697215a4b21da61e61877201ba4e2414.png I've always done pretty well with that skill leveling choice.

Yesterday though, I found out a Soraka main maxing E first instead of W. I thought it was pretty odd (and he also goes smite heal, which is weird as well), so I asked him why. He said " It can hold a lead in lane aggressively. because E has high damage and easy to hit. Q is not easy to hit and W is specialized in the defensive play. "

So I tried it and was surprised how well it worked. http://i.gyazo.com/f8b84265709dadd7afe877c400f9667e.png I noticed I had a lot more mana to spare, as well (Q costs a ton when you rank it early).

The only downside I've noticed is that you won't have your heal up as much, but your E will.

(Also I go full ap after sighstone and talisman, pls don't judge me)

4 Comments

IllllllIIIIlllllJul 5, 20151 votes

Quite honestly, if you max E first, playing Sona would be better in every way. Better and safer poke, cheaper sustain, easy to land cc, I can't think of a single way E first Soraka is better than Sona.

DJ Di0Jul 5, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Quite honestly, if you max E first, playing Sona would be better in every way. Better and safer poke, cheaper sustain, easy to land cc, I can't think of a single way E first Soraka is better than Sona.

1 vs 1 me then /s

Yea; I'm gonna try this E max route a few more times just to see what it's like compared to W.

MartyrofsandJul 5, 20151 votes

Mainly because Sona's poke leaves you vulnerable for your opponents to trade back due to range and a lack of CC, Raka poke with E however prevent your opponents from following up with abilities due to the silence.

That said it still has a really long CD to max E first, it makes your primary purpose, IE healing, weaker until later in the game, due to lacking levels in W and due to how the health she gets from hitting her Q is tied directly to the level of her W it will also reduce that.

Myself personally when I fee like intentionally gimping myself in order to refer to old times when I spammed Sona/Raka in league I tend to take an alternate level path between W and Q getting W when I feel I need stronger heals on my ADC and Q when I feel I need more trading power. In general I tend to finish with W maxed first but at that point Q is like rank 3-4 as well.

Howlitzer20Oct 3, 20171 votes

Personally, my favourite ability order is W, Q then E, but if we're doing really well then I max Q and E at the same time. W is great to max first because the heal is so powerful, plus the cooldown will screw you over so having it up every second is very helpful. I always make sure to upgrade my sightstone and pick up Warmogs for the insane hp regen. Generally I have a high win rate with it ^_^