If Soraka is meant to be the ultimate healer, why does Sona seem better at it?

shaiith·Oct 23, 2014·4 votes·6,194 views

Or while Soraka is the best healer, Sona is the best support?

35 Comments

AnomanderOct 23, 20143 votes

Soraka can drastically out heal sona now but requires a build to support and long duration fights.

doubleguacOct 23, 20143 votes

I don't know if new Soraka is holistically well balanced, but she definitely has a niche. Her late game heals are outrageous. Sona is more versatile, but Soraka can absolutely out-heal her over the course of a decently long team fight.

UnicornPurpleOct 23, 20143 votes

Is this a joke? When I play Sona during lane it feels like my heals are almost a waste of mana. When I play Soraka during lane my heals feel OP. Soraka isn't as good as Sona or even optimal, but her heals do feel strong. I wish the hp% cost would scale down as she leveled though. Being 0 HP during team fights or at higher levels is just too risky.

Sire HippingtonOct 23, 20141 votes

thats the point, sora takes risk for healing, especially later on, sona doens't and can spam it as long as the mana flows( item 3222 ) In lane, sora can usually heal more, but over the entire game, sona will usually outheal her as she only needs to press a button and care about nothing, while sora hurts her self and hot less range...if we now consider the damge sonas shield absorbs aswell, sona out performs soraka in terms of damage-prevention in all most every game, simply cause her mechanics aloow so much easier acces to heal/shield, which overcomes her lower numbers.

AHeroNamedHawkeOct 23, 20143 votes

thats the point, sora takes risk for healing, especially later on, sona doens't and can spam it as long as the mana flows( ) In lane, sora can usually heal more, but over the entire game, sona will usually outheal her as she only needs to press a button and care about nothing, while sora hurts her self and hot less range...if we now consider the damge sonas shield absorbs aswell, sona out performs soraka in terms of damage-prevention in all most every game, simply cause her mechanics aloow so much easier acces to heal/shield, which overcomes her lower numbers.

Soraka presses R and your entire team is cleansed of GW then burst healed

Difficult to access

Sire HippingtonOct 23, 20141 votes

she does tha once every 2-3min, awsome

If seen alot sora vs sona matchups, and in the end, sona nearly always had more healing done in the stats, the only reson herfor can be her easy acces to the heal, as soras numbers are way higher in theorie

OrbvOct 23, 20141 votes

That's still a lower cooldown than Ignite. Soraka is anti-ignite. Sona can't do anything to combat that. And Sona could get inflated numbers because she's constantly healing herself when she goes to heal. It takes no effort other than hitting your W. It doesn't actually mean that she heals better when it matters.

In lane Sona can just spam a heal whenever her adc gets poked, Soraka can't afford to waste her health if it will just get regened or isn't prone to giving up a kill.

AHeroNamedHawkeOct 23, 20142 votes

she does tha once every 2-3min, awsome

If seen alot sora vs sona matchups, and in the end, sona nearly always had more healing done in the stats, the only reson herfor can be her easy acces to the heal, as soras numbers are way higher in theorie

Some brain damaged players in normal games not being able to press W/ not building any AP on Soraka don't count

Her healing numbers are higher across the board, anecdotal evidence doesnt change that

MarthianOct 23, 20143 votes

This thread needs nuked and reset. Too many people here that think both are trash when they aren't, and needs input from ACTUAL Soraka/Sona players.

Pika310Oct 23, 20142 votes

My apologies for playing Sona only ~250 ranked games season 3 alone and having been a Sona main that entire time. Clearly that's not enough to make me an "ACTUAL Sona player."

I'd also like to apologize for applying mathematics as logic and for using the observations of Sona players with double my number of games. My bad, by your logic they aren't "ACTUAL Sona players."

MarthianOct 23, 20143 votes

Well considering you consider her garbage with her rework, and doesn't sound like you actually tried to learn her new kit, doesn't sound like a sona player.

Also calling people Sona haters because they do well with the new Sona isn't going to get you any favor either. referring to other post below which I did not see any math at all.

Emmy Cha0sOct 23, 20142 votes

The problem with your propaganda is that, she does not have a new kit. She has the same kit, with a new paint job and lower numbers.

which I did not see any math at all.

Lol, it's funny that you libel and claim there's no math just because it's not on this one particular thread. If you weren't wearing blinders, you would've already seen the boards littered with it in these past 16 weeks since the nerfs. For my own self-amusement of further proving your anti-Sona agenda, they're right here:

Staccato damage reduced 25%

Power Chord and Aria Cooldown increased 43%

Hymn CD increased 14%, bolt damage reduced 20%, "aura" rank increase damage reduced ~50%

Aria scaling decreased 50%, base heal reduced 38%, damage mitigation reduced ~69%+, mana cost increased 17%

Celerity's CD increased 71%, passive movement reduced 100%

"Aura" range decrease 65%

Crescendo's mana cost STILL NOT standardized at 100 at all ranks

The last part about Crescendo is just to point out Riot's anti-Sona bias, a lack of change rather than a change. Every other support champion already has a flat 100-cost on their ult: Braum, Nami, Morg, Leona, Thresh, Janna and the only exception being Zilean. It sounds like they want to nerf Zilean though, so that may not happen there.

MarthianOct 23, 20142 votes

There's no math in THIS thread.

I still do not get what makes you think I hate Sona or have some diabolical anti-Sona propaganda. Old Sona had some issues: Auras had a lot of hidden power, and no one appreciated them that much. Old Sona was actually pretty strong, and even the rework, she still is very strong. I think she's a fun support to play instead of Thresh, Braum, or Janna, who are crowding the spotlight as of late.

If you still think I hate her and wish nothing but her demise, that's your problem.

AtheosisXOct 23, 20142 votes

"Supposed to be" and "actually is" are two very different things in this world. Sona is a vastly better healer than Soraka and a better all around support to boot. The new Soraka is a joke.

MarthianOct 23, 201410 votes

Soraka heals a lot more than Sona in a short period of time. New Soraka is actually really good when played right.

disregardableOct 23, 20142 votes

It's a shame that league has 30 minute games, right?

Soraka's Heal Maximum: 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 (+ 40% AP) Sona's Heal Maximum: 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 (+ 40% AP)

Yes, Sona has a 10 second CD (compared to Soraka's 4-2second CD) and costs twice as much mana, but those 2-4 seconds are what it takes for the teamfight to be over or for you to try to get close enough to heal. And Sona doesn't almost kill herself trying to heal, either.

When I play new Soraka, I get the heal level 3 or level 4. No one would do that with Sona. New Soraka is fun though. I rush chalice for maximum spam of everything.

JustMyBassCannonOct 23, 20149 votes

Soraka's Heal Maximum: 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 (+ 40% AP) Sona's Heal Maximum: 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 (+ 40% AP)

What the fuck? Where are you getting those numbers?--Oh, that's Soraka's self-heal. You know, the part that only works when she uses her Q on an enemy and only heals her.

Soraka's ally healing is 120/150/180/210/240 +60% AP. On a 4/3.5/3/2.5/2 second cooldown. Yes, it costs her HP, but Soraka gets to heal her teammate 250-500% more frequently than Sona, and has a significantly higher ally heal value.

Sona doesn't out-heal Soraka. She just has easier self-sustain.

Sightless66Oct 23, 201411 votes

Soraka's actual heal value is 120 / 150 / 180 / 210 / 240 (+ 60% AP). Also, that heal maximum on Sona is only if you ally is at 1% hp. In reality, her heal can be anywhere from 25 / 45 / 65 / 85 / 105 (+ 20% AP) to 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 (+ 40% AP).

So, Soraka's heal is better than Sona's maximum potential heal, and it has 1/5th the cooldown, and she has an ult that heals. Better burst healing, better sustained healing. I'm going to give the "best healer" award to Soraka.

AHeroNamedHawkeOct 23, 20141 votes

It's a shame that league has 30 minute games, right?

Soraka's Heal Maximum: 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 (+ 40% AP) Sona's Heal Maximum: 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 (+ 40% AP)

Yes, Sona has a 10 second CD (compared to Soraka's 4-2second CD) and costs twice as much mana, but those 2-4 seconds are what it takes for the teamfight to be over or for you to try to get close enough to heal. And Sona doesn't almost kill herself trying to heal, either.

When I play new Soraka, I get the heal level 3 or level 4. No one would do that with Sona. New Soraka is fun though. I rush chalice for maximum spam of everything.

Damn reading is hard

AtheosisXOct 23, 20141 votes

Soraka heals a lot more than Sona in a short period of time. New Soraka is actually really good when played right.

Not really.

Emmy Cha0sOct 23, 20142 votes

Saying Sona heals better than Soraka doesn't say much at all, when every other support heals better than Sona too. Taric, Alistar, even Nidalee's heal has higher base and better scaling. Since I'm not a Soraka player, I don't presume to say she's weaker, but I can confirm that Sona is absolute trash. Comparing trash with more trash won't give anything remotely close to usable results.

MarthianOct 23, 20146 votes

Haven't seen a good Sona then. I've played Sona, and seen Sona, and she's anything but trash.

Emmy Cha0sOct 23, 20144 votes

I don't understand your sheer animosity and hatred towards Sona, but I would appreciate if you take your blatant lies elsewhere. Your Fearless-worshiping anti-Sona propaganda is just an attempt to create intentional conflict in this thread.

Pika310Oct 23, 20142 votes

Your choice to play Sona in her weakened state is an affront to both the entire Sona fanbase as well as to her herself. Your biased lies that she's still playable is evidence of your Sona-loathing agenda.

Btw, where is your Fearless-worshiping cult located? How do people join and do you have a website for it?

Nucleophilic atkOct 23, 20141 votes

Dude is going on all Sona threads spamming how bad he is with her, thus she must bad.

MarthianOct 23, 20141 votes

Which person?

Nucleophilic atkOct 23, 20141 votes

Pika310 and I what I would assume to be her smurf of emmy chaos.

eztarg3tOct 24, 20142 votes

I think comparing Soraka to Sona in terms of healing is kind of unfair. Think of it like the 50 yard dash vs the 200 yard dash.

People who train to do the 50 yard excel because they use huge burst of energy in a short amount of time but won't be able to do the 200 because they already used up most of their energy for the first 50 yards.

The opposite is true for the people who do the 200 yard. It's all about keeping a constant stream of energy without over-extending yourself. They wouldn't stand a chance in the 50 yard because they are not trained to use all their energy in one go.

In this term, Soraka is the 50 yards (giving huge burst of healing in a short amount of time) while Sona is the 200 yards (giving a constant stream of healing over time). Sona will be able to outheal Soraka in the long run. But if you get dived on, Soraka is far more likely to help you survive it.

[Crossing fingers I sounded smart here]

Vistha KaiJul 21, 20151 votes

Except the fact Soraka's Heal costs laughable amount of mana and has much lower cooldown.

Zorae42Jul 21, 20152 votes

What? I don't think I've ever beaten a Soraka on healing done as Sona. I can usually beat everyone else (except sion and anivia 'cause their passives count).

And I've played both "support" Sona with enough mp5 to constantly spam heal, and (preferred) AP Sona where you have to be slightly more conservative and can't spam it every time. Although snce her scaling is so terrible she probably heals more as sup Sona. But I personally find straight sup Sona boring and just a worse nami/soraka with only her ult for peel.

Honestly, people are downplaying how much a Soraka ult does. If everyone is below 40% (not too unreasonable for a team fight), she does 525+82.5% per person. That's 2625+432.5%... It would take 16 Maximized Sona heals just to catch up to the base amount healed. And since Sona's heal has a 10 second CD and Soraka's ult has a 130 sec CD, it's practically impossible to catch up.

Soraka has much better healing, and is meant to. I kinda wish some of Sona's power was shifted from the terrible 1.5 second shield her heal gives. But otherwise I'm happy with the amount of healing she provides vs the amount of dmg she does.

EvangelineCrisisJul 21, 20151 votes

As a guy who has played and enjoyed both champions, I can say that it depends on your playstyle, your situation, your items and also your adc :') Granted that I'm just getting into grips with support as my main role and dying quite a lot with it :') I find that while Soraka has the stronger overall heal alongside the cooldown being so short, she's also far more risky and has less survivability compared to Sona whom alongside being able to heal herself as well as allies has the movement speed and a stun for a little bit more suvivability. Not gonna lie though the AoE heal that Soraka has is amazing but so is Sona's Crescendo stun. I think whichever is the better healer is completely upto you as a player and whether you know how to build either champion. Personally I prefer Sona because she has more utility for team support and escape ^^