OTP Sona Guide

Build Overview

You make up for Transcendence by taking an Ability Haste rune. Flat HP rune is better for early game. Scaling HP rune exceeds flat HP rune at level 7—you hit level 7 as support at around 10:30–11:00 in game time. Until then, flat HP rune is better.

HELIA RUSH!! Don't buy Tear. You get free boots and finish Helia at around 11–12 minutes with a few assists, or 9 minutes with a few kills (hehe).

LEVEL 6 ALL IN!! Buy Amp Tome and pop Elixir before the level 6 fight. You'll have an unhealthy 78 AP at level 6, and you'll catch people by surprise. Your R + auto + Q + auto does around 600–700 damage depending on their resistances. Paired with Ignite, you can 1v1 the enemy ADC as Sona support at level 6!! I do NOT recommend this under Diamond, because winning the level 6 fight doesn't guarantee a game win, and you're effectively nerfing your late game by 7–10% with these runes. Going Precision Legend: Haste is just that much better for late-game impact.

Going Swifties is a must. With your E's lingering movement speed, you're so fast ~~ But swifties ask for clean mechanics. Raw stats like HP is more reliable on Sona if you can't position well.

If you prefer.

If you have money for only one item, get Tear. If you go for Ruby Crystal, DON'T upgrade it into Kindlegem!! You only get +50 HP for the 400g upgrade, which isn't worth it. If you're playing into ranged, opt for Amp Tome and Faerie Charm, then upgrade into Bandleglass.

I buy Control Wards to make plays, not because my team might watch the map at that spot. I expect people to know what happens when they stay for a wave after a kill with 100 HP. The purpose of Control Wards is either to translate pressure or to defend against ganks/roams. You should always ask yourself, "Can I control the lane?" If yes, buy a pink, but on Sona, rarely. Sona spikes with items, so delaying that spike for 75g pinks before completing your lane quest just isn't worth it. Of course, there are situations where you need one. If your mid is weak early and likely to get ganked, placing a pink in the mid-river bush can help. But the most important thing is understanding jungle pathing so you always have a rough idea where the enemy jungle is, and pinging it for your clueless team. That only comes from experience. Use Sweeper only when it actually benefits you, and don't make it obvious you're clearing vision for your jungler to gank. Also, don't clear pointless wards that are clearly bait. I've seen 600 LP Masters clear wards I placed in lane as bait, only to then walk up and place a deeper ward in their jungle that they can't get rid of.

Refillable Potion is good in general, and amazing against poke. You can sell it for 60g whenever you want, so it only really costs 90g.

Seraph's users are suited for AP build. You'll have +300 AP, making your chords hit harder (W has 37% damage reduction!). Staff of Flowing can be swapped for Moonstone if you can't rely on your AP teammates. If Mejai's fails, you'll still have +300 AP, granted you proc Staff of Flowing Water and pop 500g Elixir. But you should replace Mejai's with Dawncore if you cannot keep it above 10 stacks. Full build with fully stacked Mejai's and SoFW proc gives you +500 AP. Your E slows them by +70% and W reduces damage by +50%

Helia is the best first item when you're able to consistently hit them with Q + auto. Going Diadem suggests Moonstone into Dawncore. This is your healer build. You can replace Diadem with Seraph's if you prefer.

Plated Steecaps and Frozen Heart when enemies draft too much AD. Mercs and Kaenic Rookern when enemies draft too much AP. Negatron Cloak if you get harassed by enemy AP like Kassadin, Vladimir, Fizz, Katarina. It's pretty much the equivalent of buying 4.5 Ruby Crystals for 850g instead of 1800g. If the game goes for long enough, you could sell it or upgrade it to Kaenic Rookern. Knight's Vow against full AD teams, especially if the carry you are playing around has a lot of lifesteal or life drain like Nilah, Samira, Swain, Hecarim, Olaf, Illaoi, Vladimir. You can kinda think of the 12% damage reduction as 12% bonus healing for both your heals and their own self-healing. Shurelya's Battlesong can be bought if your team has weak engage. Verdant Barrier stops Karthus from randomly taking 70% of your HP, Nocturne from blinding you, and it lets you walk near walls and bushes without worrying too much against hook champs. Good item to consider in lower ranks. Oblivion Orb... tragic, because 800g is extremely expensive for Sona support, especially since you tend to automatically win the game as soon as you finish Dawncore. You’re essentially delaying your late game to compensate for your teammates’ bad itemization, while putting yourself at risk by being too close to the enemies to apply anti-heal.

Heal adds sustain and mobility. It synergizes and scales the best with your kit. Don't try to save it for the last moment, use it as soon as you and your ADC are missing HP.

Exhaust helps against Nilah, Tristana, Pantheon, Olaf. However, you often make up for exhaust with your W Chords alone. It's exceptionally good against Hecarim because his damage scales with movement speed.

You're too close to the enemies by the time you're in range to apply ignite, and you're never taking ignite for late-game. But there are games where ignite gives you kill pressure in lane that you otherwise wouldn't have, especially when paired with Triple Tonic and Jack of All Trades.

Putting 3 points into Q before level 6 is good when you're playing a relatively safe lane where you can exert pressure. You can also take E at level 4 and put the other points into Q at levels 3 and 5. Max W after level 6. Max E after level 11. The philosophy is that you need this damage early on to poke. But mid- to late-game, empowered Qs are mostly useless in fights, and you really only want to be sending W and E power chords out accordingly. If you want to play defensive, W max into E max for slow play and scaling.