Sona, or Hastune Miku’s big sis, is the newst LoL champion this week. I say “big sis”, because she has…a bigger chest. She is a support character who aids your team and packs a punch.
The first problem that a new Sona player will come across is that they will try to play her like Soraka. Although Aria of Perseverance (W) does heal yourself and a nearby wounded ally, she is not a superior healer like Soraka is. Sona is an aura champion, so she plays a lot like Udyr, although not as aggressively.
Sona has three different auras: Hymn of Valor [Blue] (Q), Aria of Perseverance [Green] (W), and Song of Celerity [Purple] (E). All YOU need to remember is Offense, Defense, and Movement, respectively.
Each basic skill has an active and passive (aura) ability, which I think is cool.
Hymn of Valor (Q) sends out two bolts of sound to the nearest champion or monster. This is Sona’s killer move, and I’ve won many 1v1s because of it (being sure not to get too close to my enemy, of course). Unfortunately, it’s very hard to land a hit, since the minions will block it if they are in the way. Its passive gives your team bonus attack damage and ability power, which is great for giving your team that extra punch, especially when going for first blood.
As I mentioned, don’t expect Sona to restore close to 500 hp with a single skill, but there have been times that I’ve saved a teammate –– who was stupid and turret dived –– with Aria of Perseverance (W). A life saved is a life earned, and that’s 60 seconds LESS you’re teammate will have to spend dead. Aria of Perseverance’s passive is great for giving your team that bonus armor and magic resistance you may need when running or defending. Combined with its active heal, it may just be the boost you need to turn the tables on a team fight.
Lastly, Song of Celerity (E) passively gives your team bonus movement speed, while actively giving a burst of speed to a nearby teammate. This is where Sona depends on her teammates (more on this, next paragraph). Song of Celerity can be used both offensively, to chase down a runner, or defensively, to run to safety.
Sona depends highly on her teammates. Hymn of Valor (Q) works well with DPS champions to give them extra power; Aria of Perseverance (W) will make your tanks even harder to fall. The trick with Song of Celerity (E) is that you need a chaser on your team –– someone like Miss Fortune or Warwick. The problem is, if you’re teammate isn’t very good, they will just end up running in circles every time you give them a speed boost, instead of being aggressive and chasing down the enemy like they should.
I’m surprised by how many kills I’ve gotten with Sona, but this is mostly thanks to Hymn of Valor (Q) and her passive, Power Chord. After casting 3 spells, Sona’s next attack deals an extra 24 (+12 per level) magic damage. It’s basically a free critical hit. My K/D Ratio is 3.0 after 4 games (I’m not counting the 7/0 game were it was 3v1 –– that game got disconnected, anyway). I think this is because people tend to underestimate her. Unfortunately, Sona is not good alone, so I always carry a Flash for an easy getaway. Your other summoner spell is really up to you. Most people recommend Clairvoyance, which is a highly underrated Summoner Spell. Clairvoyance will allow you, and your teammates, to see where the enemy is or if a gank is coming. Best of all, it only has a 55 second cooldown! I used this often to spot Shaco hiding in the bushes. XD He eventually raged quit. DO NOT bring Ghost, since Sona already has a speed skill, or Revive (you’ll just feed XD).
I was stupid my first game and bought Innervating Locket. I forgot that the item has changed now, and no longer gives health and mana to your allies every time you use a spell (it does give slow regen, but it’s basically useless). And then I wondered why our Miss Fortune kept dying… =( EDIT: On my 4th game, even though I knew Innervating Locket didn’t help my team, the mana and health buff helped keep me alive. I was able to escape from a 2v1 gank with Yi and Xin this way, because I kept spamming my heal! XD The newest item, Shurlya’s Reverie looks okay. But it’s active, which gives extra movement speed to your team for 2 seconds, seems redundant since Sona already has a speed skill. I actually like to use Shurlya’s Reverie on Jax, for chasing people down (that Corki stood no chance running from me!).
In conjunction with Sona’s other spells, I prefer to get aura items, like Soul Shroud (it gives you +520 hp and gives allies mana regen and cooldown) and Aegis of the Legion (gives you +270 Health, +18 Armor +24 Magic Resistance and gives allies bonus armor, magic resist, and damage!). Other good items are Archangel’s Staff (trust me, you’ll need the mana) and Sheen –– or build it into Lich Bane if you’re having problems getting kills. Sheen/Lich Bane will add bonus damage to your next physical attack after you use an ability. In other words, her passive, Power Chord, is really going to hurt.
Her ultimate, Crescendo, sounds fun, but I haven’t found it that useful, since it only does damage for 1.5 seconds. I guess its stun is okay, but again, you have to depend on your team to dish out the damage.
Sona may seem to have little impact early in the game, but all those healings and buffs add up to big profit in the end –– usually resulting in a win.
