The Radiant Dawn is perhaps the best tank-support to learn if you’re a beginner in League of Legends. She has really good base tank stats with regards to her Health, Armor, and Magic Resistance. She thrives in crowd control—perfect for engaging and disengaging, setting team fights, and turning the tide during clashes. Find out more about this wonderful tank-support in the article below before you purchase her on your League of Legends account!
Leona | The Dawn Has Arrived on your LoL Account
For one thing, Leona can be extremely tanky, even during laning phase – depending on your runes and masteries. She was created to to lock down enemy champions for her teammates. Her passive enables her to affect her enemies with Sunlight every time she uses a damaging ability; in turn, allied champions who deal damage to those targets receive the Sunlight debuff, gradually dealing additional magic damage.
Her skill set is quite interesting. First off, Shield of Daybreak (Q) deals magic damage and stuns the target for 1.2 seconds. Eclipse (W) grants her bonus Armor and Magic Resistance for 3 seconds. After Eclipse’s effect ends, Leona deals magic damage and prolongs the effect for another 3 seconds if enemies are struck. Her next skill, Zenith Blade (E), not only deals magic damage in a line, but also roots the last enemy Champion for a short duration as Leona dashes towards them. Finally, Leona’s ultimate, Solar Flare, calls down a delayed beam of solar energy, inflicting AoE magic damage. It also stuns enemies caught within the center of the beam, and slows those who are outside the beam.
Controlling Team Fights on your League of Legends Account
Leona’s CC protects her allies, peels and stuns her enemies, and secures kills for her team. However, it is also important to note that while she may have a very handy skill set, she is still susceptible to pokes, has low mobility, and has no lane sustain other than through her Relic Shield.
Expect to die a few times when playing as Leona (especially if it’s your first time) since her play style is very risky and aggressive. Leona is a setter, and is usually—if not always—the first to engage via her Zenith Blade and Solar Flare to prompt her team mates during clashes. Leona is not for passive players!
Laning, Supporting, and Winning the Game for League of Legends Account Holders
After taking the points above into consideration, you can now effectively use Leona when you buy LoL account. Choose Shield of Daybreak for your first skill, unless you want to harass early by dashing towards the enemy team’s ADC, though that would be risky. It’s best to wait until Level 3, so that you already have the three skills necessary for a W-E-Q combo. After getting Solar Flare, you may now dominate the bottom lane with your AD Carry. Make sure to stay close to your ADC, as the enemy team’s support may attempt all means to immobilize your ADC and prevent them from dealing further damage.
ITEMIZATION
Due to the nature of her skill set, Leona should be armed with tank and / or utility items. Equip her with Armor and Magic Resistance items like Randuin’s Omen, Spirit Visage, and Locket of the Iron Solari. To counter well-fed enemy ADCs, Thornmail or Frozen Heart is generally recommended. If you want to deal additional damage, you can also opt for Zeke’s Harbinger (bind it to your ADC) and / or Dead Man’s Plate, which can grant you additional movement speed as well. In summary:
EARLY GAME
Relic Shield + Refillable Potion / 3 Health Potions + Warding Totem
We recommend that you get the Refillable Potion instead as you’ll be able to save more money in the long run, especially if you’re a big user of pots. With Leona, this is almost a given (as we mentioned above, she is susceptible to pokes early game).
Sightstone + Stealth Ward(s) + Sweeping Lens
Once you have 800 gold, immediately pick up a Sightstone because you’ll be relying heavily on map vision (especially in bot lane as it is often ganked by either enemy mid laner or jungler). Change your Warding Totem into a Sweeping Lens for de-warding, and if you’ve got extra gold, get a Stealth Ward (for the Dragon’s Pit). We also have a guide for that here.
SITUATIONAL
Armor and Health: Randuin’s Omen / Frozen Heart / Dead Man’s Plate
Magic Resist: Spirit Visage / Banner of Command
Utility: Locket of the Iron Solari / Righteous Glory / Mikael’s Crucible
Actually, you don’t need to complete your Face of the Mountain since it won’t be of much use later on. You might as well rush into any of these tank items, especially if your team is rather squishy and in need of a solid front liner. Just adjust the items you will need, depending on the champions you are up against. Example: if most of the opposing team’s damagers are APs, make sure to keep your MR up.
That’s about it for the basics! Log on to your LoL accounts now and go try Leona. Let us know how it goes in the comments, too! Until next guide!