Hello and welcome to the beginners guide of one the best disablers in the rift of League of Legends – Leona, The Radiant Dawn – “The dawn has arrived.“ Leona is known for her 4 active abilities that specialize in engage and crowd control while creating space for her team to pull apart the opposing enemy.

﻿

Introduction:

Leona is a melee AP champion who uses her abilities to close the gap upon her enemies, stunning them in an AoE radius, making them an easy prey for her teammates. She is mostly played as an Offensive Support due to her crowd control skills, as well as her tankiness to withstand the fight. If performed well, you can become a massive tank for your team, while granting your AD Carry everything he requires.







She is known for her aggressive playstyle, lane dominance, and exceptional combo flow mechanics. If you’re going against a soft line-up, for an example Soraka or Sona, the lane is in the bag. Even if you’re going against Blitzcrank, or even Support Nautilus, if your AD Carry can follow your calls, the lane can also be in the bag. Although you might perform eminently, you’ll still need an at least decent AD Carry to synergize with.

What are Leona’s Abilities and their use?

To begin our Leona guide on her abilities, we’ll start from her passive to her ultimate. Reading through, you will find out how to use them, what are their synergies, and how to pull out the full potential of their mechanics. Buckle up, Leona’s skills are fierce.

1. Sunlight (Passive)

Leona’s passive is a significant damage outburst (25-144 magic damage) that she inflicts while casting her abilities. Once inflicted upon an enemy, it triggers an on-hit mark that lasts 1.5 seconds, which can be activated by her allied champions, but not Leona herself. Meaning that any damage dealt by an allied champion will trigger the Sunlight affected targets.

The passive itself has no cooldown, but it doesn’t stack. What’s important is to time your spells between your passive for full damage potential. Meaning, you inflict one ability, Sunlight gets triggered by an allied champion, then you go for the second ability. Although you might time your abilities perfectly, it’s also important that your teammates know how to synergize with it.

Video couresy: League of Legends

2. Shield of Daybreak (Q)

Shield of Daybreak is Leona’s first main disable in her arsenal. After activation, her next auto-attack stuns the opponent for 1 second with additional magic damage (10/35/60/85/110 +30% of her AP). Although the damage output of this ability isn’t that much significant, what’s important is the low 6-second cooldown it possesses. With maximum cooldown reduction this champion requires, you can get it to an annoying 3.3 seconds.

During the laning-phase, you’re constantly open to make a play with your AD Carry, or simply poke the opposing champions. Given the Shield of Daybreak, like any other of your abilities, activates Sunlight, and it has a low mana cost of 45/50/55/60/65, it’s a poking mechanism like no other.







There are two neat tricks that come in handy with this ability. The first one is the attack timer reset it provides. You can auto-attack, then attack with Shield of Daybreak, then auto-attack again all combined in a faster manner. It’s not much damage to it, but sometimes it can be crucial to secure the needed kill. While the second trick is the additional 50 bonus attack range, that can be as well as crucial when chasing your opponent.

Video courtesy: League of Legends

3. Eclipse (W)

With her second ability, Leona raises her shield, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance that lasts for 3 seconds. This enormous tanky ability gives her 25/35/45/55/65 armor that scales with 20% of her armor and has a respectful cooldown of 14/13/12/11/10. With additional armor, she also gains 20/30/40/50/60 magic resistance that also scales with 20% of her magic resistance.

Besides Eclipse’s ability to make Leona super-tanky for just 60-mana, it grants her a damage-outburst just as it runs out. Eclipse deals significant 60/100/140/180/220 +40% of her AP magic damage to all surrounding enemies and grants her additional 3-second duration. If going against a strong line-up, for an example Pyke and Varus, Eclipse is considered to be maxed-out first.

Video courtesy: League of Legends

4. Zenith Blade (E)

Zenith Blade is the most important ability in Leona’s arsenal. She projects a solar image of her sword, and dashes upon an enemy champion she targets and roots them for 0.5 seconds. While engaging your opponent with an 875 range Zenith Blade, you deal decent 60/100/140/180/220 magic damage +40% of your AP.

This ability was made to synergize with your first two spells. As you engage with Zenith Blade, while having Eclipse glowing around you, you can activate Shield of Daybreak in mid-air, stunning your opponent and outbursting Eclipse’s damage just as you landed your dash.

This combo, of course, takes practice. What’s important is to active your Eclipse before engaging, try to time it just before you’re about to dash with Zenith Blade, and then activate Shield of Daybreak as you’re dashing towards your opponent.

For the full potential of your synergies, it’s important to max this spell first. On early levels, it has a long cooldown of 12/10.5/9/7.5/6, and for it to be efficient with at least Shield of Daybreak, be sure to add some early points in leveling this ability. The mana cost of this is ability is fairly low 60 mana, so it also comes as a great poking mechanism combined with your Shield of Daybreak.

Video courtesy: League of Legends

5. Solar Flare (R)

With her ultimate, Leona calls down a solar beam of energy to a target location of 250 radius, dealing 100/175/250 magic damage +80% of her AP, while stunning and slowing enemies that suffer its wraith. Units and champions that are hit within 100 radius are stunned, while in the other 150 radius are slowed for 1.5 seconds.

Casting this beam of justice, Leona additionally gains empowered auto-attacks (3/4/5) by the Incandescence, dealing significant damage of 30/40/50 +15% of her AP with a bonus attack range of 100.

One of the best combos you could do with Solar Flare is casting it right before you dash upon them with Zenith Blade. This will stop them for just enough time for Solar Flare to land, making them easy pray for your team to dismantle them. With this, we conclude Leona guide on her abilities and their use.

Video courtesy: League of Legends

Leona Guide on Itemization

Leona operates best as a tanky Support, providing all the required farm, kills, and vision for her AD Carry. In this section, I will show you how to do all of the following in a fashionable manner. First, we begin with your starting items.

As for any other tanky Support, Relic Shield, Warding Totem, and 3 pots are the best option for you. Relic Shield provides gold advantage per second, additional health and the ability to gain gold last-hitting minions every 40 seconds.

By last-hitting minions with this item, you aren’t actually taking any farm from your AD Carry. What you’re actually doing is last-hitting a minion for you and your AD Carry while simultaneously healing him for 30 health. This item also has a unique quest. If you earn 500 gold by last-hitting minions with it, Relic Shield automatically upgrades to Targon’s Brace.

After getting Targon’s Brace, you will need boots for mobility due to better engage/disengage during the laning phase. Since you got your boots, and you’re just enough tanky to withstand the early fights, it’s time to upgrade your Targon’s Brace to Remnant of the Aspect. This item is essential for you and your AD Carry, as it has 4 ward charges to provide you with vision.

With providing your AD Carry with vision, helping him out with farm with your Support item, now is time to focus on your core items. Generally, the best item for Leona is the Locket of Iron Solari. This item provides you and nearby allied champions with a shield that lasts for 2 seconds, absorbing up to 30-285 (+20% of the caster’s bonus health) damage.

Don’t forget to check out the new 2019 MSI Skin and Rift Changes.

Midgame

As the midgame arises, it’s time to focus on the big items. Knight’s Vow is currently the best Support item in the game. From giving you additional 40 armor, the essential 10% cooldown reduction, and 250 health, it allows you to link yourself to a teammate of your choice.

By linking yourself to your AD Carry, or even Mid Carry, you will gain an extra 20 armor and 15% movement speed while moving towards him. What’s most important regarding this link is that when your partner deals damage you heal 12% from it, and while your partner takes damage you take 12% for him.

For your last two items, I suggest Randiun’s Omen and Deadman’s Plate. These two items will grant you enough health, and armor to withstand any fight in the brink of battle. Additionally, Randiun’s Omen has an activation that slows units around you, while Deadman’s Plate builds up your movement speed while you’re out of combat, which are essential for Leona’s engage.

Leona Guide on Gameplay

During the laning phase, try to commit offensive presence to provide space for your AD Carry to easily farm. You can do this poking them with your Shield of Daybreak and Zenith Blade, or with just Shield of Daybreak. This will allow your carry to get the needed farm, while also slowly chipping down your opponents.

When your opponents are below 50% hp, an opportunity for kill-potential is now open. By dashing upon them, stunning them, and maybe committing a Flash, they are sure to fall. After you’ve done this a couple of times, you can now roam the map, and help your other teammates. See which lane is pushed most/needs help, or if you see your Jungler attempting to invade enemy’s jungle, try to assist him.

By doing so, you’ve set yourwith everything he requires, and also assisted your team like a true. When eventually team fights start popping, commit as a tanky frontline you truly are, and with this, we conclude our Leona guide on Itemization and Gameplay.

You also might be interested in the Jarvan IV Guide.

What are Leona’s Counters?

Pyke

While supporting your AD Carry, this champion can provide a great threat to your lane. His damage output is high for a Support, and if synergized well with his AD Carry, he can easily take down both of you. Keeping him distanced from your AD Carry is the key against Pyke.

Janna

This champion can be a real pain in the ass for Leona. Every time you want to dash with your Zenith Blade, she has the ability to knock you with her Tornado. The timing of your engage is crucial against this one.

Alistar

As Janna’s Tornado knocks you while you’re dashing, Alistar has the ability to push you away, or even Pulverize you. His mechanic flow counters perfectly Leona’s, so better keep it on the low against Alistar, and wait for his mistake.

Who are Leona’s Synergies?

Orianna

Leona synergizes best with Orianna. With her ability to attach her magnetizing ball on Leona, she can dash into the entire enemy team with her Zenith Blade, allowing Orianna to pull everyone towards her with her ultimate, immobilizing them, while dealing a high burst of damage.

Malphite

This rock-solid champion can do wonders with Leona. While Leona dashes, Malphite can follow up with his devastating ultimate. Knocking everyone in the air, Leona can now freely smack them with hear beam of light, making it a piece of cake for the team to clean what’s left of the enemy team.

Kha’Zix

His high damage output on an isolated target makes lots of trouble for anyone when combined with Leona. Leona’s passive and her disables makes a synergy like no other for the claws of Kha’Zix.

Final notes:

If you’re a League of Legends fanatic that is looking to learn a new, fun, yet brutal Support with exceptional crowd control skills, then Leona is the champion for you. She is dominant through public games, as well as she is in the ranked system. With this said, we conclude our League of Legends Leona guide for beginners, and as she loves to say – “The sun always rises.“.

You also might be interested in: 5 League of Legends Teams You Don’t Want To F With