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Sona Rework

Somohexual·3/23/2015, 4:10:44 PM·1 votes·817 views

I've always loved Sona, but it seems like Riot has always had a difficult time balancing her kit, mostly (IMO) because they keep trying to make her a "stance-dancer" like Udyr. The problem with that sort of design goal is that, unlike Udyr, her "stances" are meant to effect herself AND her allies. This leads to her feeling non-interactive (she's a walking Aegis), underwhelming/weak (she's a walking light show), or oppressive (she can out-poke you while out-sustaining you).

So, what do I think are the core issues with Sona?

  1. Song of Celerity is completely overshadowed by Hymn of Valor and Aria of Perseverance.
  • Too much of her power budget is tied up in her ultimate. (Riot is aware of this)
  • The mechanics behind her poke and sustain are too efficient in a 2v2 lane.
  • She needs to break away from the idea of being "Udyr if he was a Support Mage".
  • Her auras need to feel useful and prevalent without just giving her "invisible power".
  • Her defining feature should be her auras, but she still needs to feel interactive and engaging in combat.
  • Staying in one aura for an extended period of time and quickly switching between multiple auras should both be attractive options.

Here's a (very) rough idea for a kit that I think could help address Sona's issues, make her more fun to play, and completely preserve her identity.

Tempo (Passive) Whenever Sona begins to play a new song, she and nearby allies gain 5% (+ 0.5% x Sona's level) bonus movement speed for 2 seconds.

RANGE: 350

Power Chord (Q) RANGE: 950 COST: 65 MANA COOLDOWN: 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6

ACTIVE: Sona plays a harsh chord that travels in a line, dealing 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 (+ 50% AP) magic damage to the first enemy it hits. Power Chord has an additional effect depending on the song Sona is currently playing. MAX. DAMAGE: 60 / 120 / 180 / 240 / 300 (+ 75% AP)

Hymn of Valor (W) RANGE: 750 COST: 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 MANA COOLDOWN: 10

ACTIVE: Sona beings to play a song, firing up to three bolts of sound at nearby enemy units. On hit, each bolt deals 35 / 45 / 55 / 65 / 75 (+ 50% AP) magic damage to its target. Hymn of Valor prioritizes enemy champions but cannot hit the same target more than once. TOTAL DAMAGE: 105 / 135 / 165 / 195 / 225 (+ 150% AP)

AURA - VALOR: Sona radiates an aura that empowers allies with Valor every second, adding 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+ 20% AP) bonus magic damage to that ally's next basic attack. The buff lasts for 3 seconds, plus 1 second for each second the unit remains in Sona's aura, up to a maximum duration of 5 seconds. The same ally cannot be empowered with Valor more than once every 5 seconds. Sona also gains Staccato for the aura's duration. RANGE: 350

NOTE - STACCATO: Power Chord and Crescendo deal 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 (+ 25% AP) bonus magic damage to enemies hit.

Aria of Perseverence (E) RANGE: 900 COST: 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 MANA COOLDOWN: 10

ACTIVE: Sona begins to play a song, healing target allied champion for 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 (+ 40% AP) health. The healing is increased by 0.5% for every 1% of the target's missing health. MAX. HEAL: 90 / 150 / 210 / 270 / 330 (+ 60% AP)

AURA - PERSEVERENCE: Sona radiates an aura that empowers allies with Perseverance every second, protecting them with a shield that absorbs up to 35 / 55 / 75 / 95 / 115 (+ 20% AP) damage. The shield lasts for 2 seconds, plus 1 second for each second the unit remains in Sona's aura, up to a maximum duration of 5 seconds. The same ally cannot be empowered with Perseverence more than once every 5 seconds. Sona also gains Diminuendo for the aura's duration. RANGE: 350

NOTE - DIMINUENDO: Power Chord and Crescendo slow enemies hit by 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 % (+ 2% per 100 AP) and reduce their damage output by 20% (+ 2% per 100 AP) for 3 seconds.

Crescendo (R) RANGE: 1000 COST: 100 MANA COOLDOWN: 140 / 120 / 100

PASSIVE: Increases the range of Sona's auras by 30 / 50 / 70.

ACTIVE: Sona unleashes a deafening wave of sound that travels in a line, dealing 150 / 250 / 350 (+ 50% AP) magic damage and silencing enemy champions hit for 1.5 seconds. Crescendo has an additional effect depending on the song Sona is currently playing. MAX. DAMAGE: 210 / 350 / 450 (+ 75% AP)

For those of you that made it this far, what are your thoughts?

13 Comments

The5lacker3/23/2015, 4:19:11 PM2 votes

Sona is absolutely fine from a purely mechanical standpoint, and just because her E isn't repeatedly slammed as much as her Q doesn't mean it's "Overshadowed." It's a utility skill. It's designed for making plays. Unlike her Q, which is a harassment skill. Harassment is always used more frequently than play-making engagement abilities.

Really, her only problem right now is that her Q does too much damage in-lane when maxed first, and costs so little mana as to be basically completely negligable. It allows Sona to reliably whittle away opponents from a very safe range with no worry about retaliation, which is a pain in the ass to deal with. Dropping the damage down to 40/70/100/130/160 and bumping the damage amp on her Power Chord back up to 50% should help give her a more interactive harassment pattern, as it locks more of her damage into AA range, which is far easier to react to.

DJ Di03/23/2015, 5:22:38 PM1 votes

The current rework clearly tried to break away from the 'stance-dance' because they raised her cooldowns and gave her more noticeable effects (tbh the only aura that's good anymore is W's aura).

Current Sona isn't weak, but I miss her stance-system; it's what actually set her apart from other supports. If the issue really was 'invisible-power', they could have easily just gave her auras visual particles like the Arcade skin used to have.