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Support Question (Soraka vs Janna vs Sona)

SPICYMEATBALLS·4/3/2016, 6:59:17 PM·3 votes·1,699 views

Hey Everyone,

I've been playing ALOT of Sona recently, and I was wondering why higher - leveled players tend to pick Soraka or Janna.

Now I have played them both, and here are my opinions:

Soraka (First Champ I ever played) Nice heals, but loses health in return Sort of slow base movement Doesn't really do all that much damage Wish is a bit awkward to use (unless in teamfights)

Janna (First supp Champion after Soraka) Faster than Soraka Has a bit more damage options HAS A FUCKING TORNADO Has a shield that doesn't make you lose health, AND you can turtle turrets easily Monsoon is nice when you NEED it, other than that, uhhh

THEN I GOT SONA

Sona

Tits Kinda fast Little bit confusing at first HEALTH + SHEILD AURA + Slows Attack Speed SPEED AURA + Slows Enemies

A FUKCING BLUE AURA FOR ATTAACCCCK

This is my sucker right here. Does a pretty DARN good amount of damage early game, been tempted to go AP Sona more than once

And her Crescendo is pretty dope too. Nice, fat stun.

Now keep in mind that as a support, you shouldn't be worried too much about damage, blah blah blah.

Take my words with lots of salt as I'm still relatively new to this game.

If you couldn't tell already, I REALLY fucking love Sona.

But when I see all the good people play one of these champions (I'm not including the other supports) its usually Soraka and Janna.

Now Soraka the highest win rate, and Janna also has a high winrate as well. Sona, eh.

I was wondering what makes Soraka / Janna contribute so much to a team versus Sona.

Any info would be massively appreciated!

11 Comments

Athenes Lulu4/3/2016, 9:02:46 PM4 votes

The mass majority of Sona players don't even know the concept of "AoE buffs", so they decide to cry over the fact that Sona is "useless", while with decent players and in an organized team environment she is not at all bad.
She has no hard CC outside her ult, which makes her builds extremely "limited" because in order to remain useful outside just base values, she has to build AP. Conceptually, that's ok, but in a support's position where gold is limited, she will just have a harder time getting what she needs.
Janna is OP because disengage never falls out of flavor, unless mages become popular and strong again, which hasn't happened in a long time. Soraka is OP because spammable heals in PvP in general is "infuriating to go against".
Hinting Sona as "good" to any shape or form on the forums will get you instant downvotes, because #sheepopinions. IMO she actually isn't that at all bad, because I can play her like how I play Lulu and actually "carry". Heals and poke won't go wrong when it comes to working with randoms, bad players, or people who just prefer good ol' shields and poke.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not her rework that made Sona inherently "bad", it's because of meta shifts. The rework only made her "auras" that people originally hardly notice (and ended up becoming "pick to win" which is something Riot hates), into AoE buffs that people don't really know how to use and that they hardly notice as well. Back in season 3, when supports couldn't get gold and poke/sustain supports were favored, Sona was strong because she fitted into all those categories. After preseason 4 where the poke/sustain meta was gone, and that supports can get some gold for actual items, Sona just gets outclassed by other supports. That's what you have to understand. And because of that, for a long time, people have been constantly complaining that Sona is "bad".
Yes, she might need another rework, however, she still needs to retain her identity. "Baby's first support" isn't just "baby's first support" (that's always something Riot wants Sona to be btw), but also "very forgiving mistakes". Because of that, her spells have to be spammable so anything timed/used incorrectly won't be punished as harshly, and only heal and poke can highlight that "very forgiving mistakes". And also because of that, she really shouldn't have any form of hard CC, and very likely will remain as that, and to the eyes of angry players, she will remain "weak" and "bad".

I'm expecting downvotes, though hopefully I answered your questions.

Pika3104/3/2016, 7:17:58 PM3 votes

You should probably read this:

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/ezOgwxOh-sona-was-not-properly-compensated-for-the-loss-of-her-aura-stances

Baby Ghoul4/3/2016, 8:27:41 PM2 votes

Sona is a bit of a mess currently.

She's in need of a rework, and I've always considered her more of a mid laner pretending to be a support. She's really AP thirsty. Sona has been neglected by the balance team, but she's not hated. Sona fanboys are kind of going overboard. I can see why they don't want to just give her a straight buff, her kit is brainless and Riot has been trying to move away from auras for a while now.

Janna will always be a top tier support because her disengage and mobility is unmatched. That will always be useful in higher ELO games because deaths do not happen as often, so when Janna saves her ADC she likely saves the game. However low ELO tends to be a blood bath. Janna normally has a high win rate regardless of the patch. I think she's harder to make work than other supports in Gold or below because of how chaotic the games are.

Soraka is a champion that just came back into the meta recently. The thing I love about Soraka is you have more control over the situation bot lane than you do with most supports in low ELO. When you have a competent ADC, it's fine, but how many of those do we get?

With Soraka you don't need to take this control by stealing kills, CS, or building AP either. If you have a bum ADC, who has trouble farming and kiting, you can keep them sustained in lane. If the enemy support goes in to try to lock them down, you can lay down an E and save your ADC. The marksman update was terrible, and now a slight lead means total domination bot lane. In this environment Soraka can stop a snowball, and even allow her ADC to gain the upper hand. That's powerful across all ELOs.

Another note on Soraka, wish is not awkward to use. Do not only use it in team fights, and try to cap your CDR so you can use it as often as possible. The thing about playing Soraka is it requires you to be aware of not only your ADC, but also your other teammates. Pay attention to the mini map and the life bar of your teammates. I've saved so many people, and grabbed free assists, by using it correctly. Often times just that little amount of HP is enough for your teammate to outtrade the enemy.

Also don't build tank Soraka, no matter what people here say. It makes your heals so much less effective since the nerf. It's better to build a mixture of HP regen, AP, and utility. Building straight health on Soraka is not effective anymore. Also pick up Boots of Mobility or Boots of Swiftness and Ardent Censer if you're having trouble getting around places. She is pretty slow, but builds can fix that.