Talk:Leona/Strategy/@comment-8438922-20130420041226

Been maining Leona since around the end of S1 and start of S2 - I played her a bit when she was new, but was still trying to find what I was good at.

Anyways, current build - RejuvBead/2wards/3pots to start, leaves 40g to save up if you go tank runes. Start Q, E, W, then max W and E before Q - the stun duration barely changes and the CD goes down a bit, but W is your survival and damage, and E is damage and setups for the stun. Ult, of course, when it's available.

Rush a philo, get the gp5 started early. Then, boots. Start with 1, and upgrade later - Sightstone next. After that, it's kind of a choice - Ruby Sightstone, Locket of the Iron Solari, or Runic Bulwark? All depends on the team. I vary between the three depending on the game. Once you get those going, upgrade your boots. I've taken to getting Merc Treads on most teams - the CC Reduc is handy, and the MR is nice, since it doesn't come on much any more (Damn you FoN removal). Then polish off the other two you didn't get - RS, Locket, and RB are rather core items to help survive. Now that you're at 5 items, it's probably 30+ minutes in the game, and it's another choice - upgrade to Shurelyia's, or build the last item? The last item depends on what your team needs. If the team needs the AD/LS, snag a Zeke's. If the enemy team is a lot of MR, might be useful to grab an MR item - Banshee, Spirit Visage, or QSS are best. Spirit Visage's passive isn't useful compared to the others, but the extra health and CDR can help if you're lacking. If the enemies are AD Heavy, go for Randuins, Frozen Heart, or Sunfire. FH gives you more mana and CDR, which keeps you from going oom "quite" as fast. Randuins is good if you're initiating, because of the extra slow. Sunfire for damage, of course. Only go FH if you don't want any hp - Randuins and Sunfire both give you more, but with the other items you should be around 3200 by level 18, which is plenty with her resistances.

So, my final lineup usually is Shur, Mercs, RS, Locket, RB, and SV - gives you a fair balance of Armour and MR, and is pretty helpful to the team.

Leona's main damage comes from her W and R. Which is why those two have to be leveled first - Also because they keep her alive. Eclipse is one of the better tank steroids, and if used properly can be devastating in a team fight. Proccing her passive on all 5 enemies, as the ADC rips them apart with the extra damage, is nothing to scoff at - That and the 260 damage it does is pretty decent. I've scored a few kills off it. Solar Flare can be used in three ways late game - to initiate, to stop the enemy ADC, or to secure a kill. I've had quite a few times where somebody flashes away, and my ult stops them with good placement - it's possible to score a kill with it if they're low, even; If not, it gives you time to e->w->q in and finish them, or time for somebody else to do it. Depending on your team is how you use it - if you have a better initiatior like Amumu, let him use his ult first - use yours later when it can be a bit more devastating. And remember, Zenith Blade pulls you to the last champion it hits - if you want to jump to the ADC, make sure you don't hit somebody else afterwards. And always try to put your passive on as many as possible - Prepping Eclipse before you Zenith in gives you a better chance of hitting more people with it. Especially during an AoE ult, like MF's - both the ZB and Eclipse activate it, and it procs twice for even more damage. The only downside is not being able to proc it yourself.

Leona can be hard to master, especially if you go into solo queue. But you have to be a bit aggressive to play her well - you can't just be a "passive" support. You will engage more than your ADC half the time. And that's what causes most issues - people aren't used to it. But when you get somebody smart, you can destroy lanes.

I have not, personally, tried her anywhere else - why bother? She excells as a bottom lane support tank, and is a great initiator. Although apparently my friend does actually have a recording of me 1v1ing a Teemo and winning, from S2.

Oh and I run a "relatively" normal AD Rune setup - ArP Reds/Quints, Armour yellows, Crit Chance blues. May sound kinda wonky, but gives her surprisingly strong attacks for how she looks. 7/23/0 currently on masteries, still playing around a bit. CDR and AD from Red, Health and MR mostly from the blues. A few fillers to let me move up trees, but a few trees that I needed an extra point in too. Run Flash/Exhaust - Exhaust can keep you alive just a bit longer if put on the right person, or help secure a kill/escape.

Take it or leave it, but that's how I play her, and I almost always does well.

I do, of course, run a lot better in premades, but this works surprisingly well in solo queue.