I'm not a very good sona

Leti the Yeti·Dec 18, 2014·2 votes·1,033 views

I thought this would be easy but uuh theres more to spamming Q and W and I cant seem to figure it out -. - I like the passive sort o supports so I got sona but... its not working out lol

lf> halps

11 Comments

redniwediSDec 18, 20141 votes

I'm not the greatest Sona, but I find myself playing her in a similar way to how I play Garen. Look for easy but unfavorable trades, and then sustain back whatever they did to you. It doesn't work great if they also have good sustain, but it works for me.

She's not really a passive support in my eyes, if you want passive you should try Soraka.

Leti the YetiDec 18, 20141 votes

I can poke with her in lane but thats kinda it anytime we start fighting, I dk wat to do cuz its not working i speed em up, didnt do much i heal, didnt do much should i be fleeing ? i know that poking them with Q is the only thing that has worked

Dr Clueless PhDDec 18, 20141 votes

There are multiple things to keep track of, and neglecting any of them is going to cripple your Sona play.

Her passive. This is hard for new Sona players to pick up. Make sure you always know how close you are to a Power Chord, and make good use of it when you have it. Your PC has different effects based on the last spell you cast. So, you have lots of options on how to use it.
The active part of her spells. The nuke, the heal, the speedup. These have fancy particles and are easy to see. These are much easier to manage for most people.
The aura part of her spells. This is much harder, in comparison. You want your allies to benefit from these, and for them not to be wasted, ideally. When you hit Q in lane, you should hopefully hit the enemy Champ, then both you and your lane partner should get in an auto, because you both have a buff to deal extra magic damage thanks to your spell. Throw in a Power Chord proc, too. That's a LOT of incoming damage. Her W is similarly most efficient when you can use the heal and shield together. Getting optimal use from your spells is hard, but manageable. However, don't be too intent on getting your Marksman to play a certain way because of your casts. Don't expect them to go in whenever you hit Q, or reposition themselves into a bad spot to make use of your spells. There's give and take. Sometimes it's not a good idea. Sometimes people are stubborn or just doing other things in lane. Observe and adapt. Instead of hitting Q and hoping for some big face damage, wait for when your Marksman is about to go in for harass. Then, they didn't have to do anything different, but you amplified the effectiveness of that harass by a lot.

ChickendoodlesDec 18, 20141 votes

I play sona often and what I can say is after getting sightstone and frostfang, work on getting chalice and tear. Her passive (Power Chord) is all about spamming your skills so you might as well build mana. One thing you are gonna have to get used to is having a rotation when casting in fights and in lane. When in lane my favorite spell rotation is E to close distance, W to then Heal/Shield any DMG they throw at me then a Q AA that is set off by Power Chord. Does a lot of damage but be wary, your E might not be up when you finish up this rotation so you may not have any escape. This is also situational in terms of the supp they have and how far behind you are. When It comes down to fights make sure to have at least 2 procs of your passive ready at all times that way when you cast your last spell you get the passive effect off ASAP. Here's a situation: Getting ready to fight in teamfight have your heal set for power chord (reduce the target's damage output by 20% (+2% per 100 AP) for 3 seconds.) Its basically a weaker exhaust So use it on their dmg champs (Assassins/ADCs generally) then if you have your exhaust use it on them again if they are still alive, even LESS damage they're are outputting. Can throw a fight your way easily, followed by your ult and the rotations shown below dependent on the situation. But really the most important thing with sona is using your spells as much as possible (when there is a target) and not over extending.

(These are just the basic rotations I like using in fights) DMG/Heal/Speed/AA(Slow) Heal/Speed/DMG/AA(More dmg) DMG/Speed/Heal/AA(dmg reduction)

TerraeclipseDec 18, 20141 votes

Okay, so here's how you Sona now. First, get some ap in your build (frost queen, morellos, usually). You q, auto, and then when they're about to trade back, w, so you not only heal someone, but you can possibly shield some or all of the damage with the aura. If you're running, e away, or e (passive auto them). Using the power chord correctly and keeping track of spell counts is a HUGE difference between button mashing sona and skilled sona. Always ult when you're in range, and your team is either running or can capitalize off it. Your engage or disengage with it IS the reason Sona is strong in teamfights. Once you've burned your ult, back off and peel for your carry with heals and poking, exhaust, mikhails, etc.

If you have further questions, you're welcome to add me, or you can always swing by the stream for the Diamonds that I mod for : http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/tips-tricks/W7KqoJiI-free-coaching-from-diamonds

One of them is a support main, and does play Sona. She might be able to answer questions you have in a different way.

-T

Drunk RummateDec 18, 20141 votes

you arent there to make plays like thresh and leona, you're there to save your team's bacon

save crescendo to peel assassins and bruisers. use your other auras in the situations you need them - movement speed to run away or catch up in fights, healing + shield to buffer the burst of an assassin, damage and spell blade while poking

Leti the YetiDec 19, 20141 votes

This is pretty hard to get use, i thought the my ult was an engage and im pretty late when trying to save people with it :c

FantasySniperDec 18, 20141 votes

Just looking at your match history, here's what you can improve on:

If you're planning on being passive, use item 3069 instead of item 3092 . You're also rushing Claim, you should only be getting Frostfang before moving on to other items.

Sona needs at least 9 points into the offense tree. 9 / 0 / 21 is the most preferred, 9 / 5 / 16 provides defenses as an alternative.

Get Hybrid or Mag pen. Marks, not AD.

Beyond that, It's hard to tell what you're lacking. Go over a theoretical situation in lane for me.

Leti the YetiDec 19, 20141 votes

I would say that laning is more or less the same everytime Poking wth Q is the easiest part once fight starts, i sorta die first .. team fights lane fights etc of course i spam my poke and heal during those times ;l

FantasySniperDec 19, 20141 votes

Ok. Are you using AAs at any time while poking? You should be, don't be afraid to use extra ones when you can get them in. Use [W] to tank retaliation during trades. Try not to waste the shield when you may need to use it very soon. Try to get your partner in on the trades as often as possible. Use [E] when going to lane so you can stack your passive. Keep track of your passive. Use each effect at your discretion. Just don't let it sit there so that you're not dealing any damage, it's easy to get it back up. Her passive is also an AA reset. AA -> [Q] -> AA shoves a lot of damage at their faces and they can't even tell when it's coming. You're more back-line than front-line, avoid putting yourself in a bad position. [E] makes maneuvering and positioning a lot easier for this.

DethrynDec 19, 20141 votes

Start with item 3301 and some health pots. Back at 1300 gold for item 3096 and item 2049 . That will get you started. Early on, take advantage of the fact that your spells cast based on where you were when you started casting, not where you are when they finish going off. So you can run up in range, hit a spell, then book it in the opposite direction to allow you to land pokes/heals that should have gotten you whacked (e.g. by a tower).