Leona the Radiant Dawn, Support Guide

League of Legends Support Guide

You may find yourself wanting for a good game of League of Legends after your everyday mundane shores. A match that can help you release some stress, and have some laughs for a couple of minutes. You power up the computer, load up the game and queue for a match. Either solo or with some friends.

At the champion selection screen, you might delve into your champion’s collection to find something that suits your needs.

• First, you look at mid lane champions but you may remember how troublesome that lane can be. You need to be aware all the time for possible ganks. Also, you pray the gods that your turret is not the first one to blow out…so much stress…maybe not this time around.
• After that, you may look at those different ADC champions available. But at the same time, you remember that doing last hits sucks. So you look elsewhere for more peaceful options.
• In the jungle, you may fall asleep killing neutral monsters, Nah.

So…seeking your wellbeing, why don’t you try for support instead? Now being at it, why wouldn’t you try some luck with Leona?

Why Leona? You may ask.

Well… why not? I mean she’s a total badass when it comes to being a good support. She doesn’t require too many items to be relevant in the lane, her skills reduce the damage from both physical and magical sources, and she actually laughs if any enemy champion tries to “right click” her.

Now you’re probably nodding of the idea to pick this awesome champion (I hope), and to make the process of winning another match in League of Legends a lot easier, here are some tips that can help you in knowing her better *wink wink*, and “light” up your day.

Lore

When it comes to her story, she was completely devoted to the protection of her territory since she was a little girl. Training endless hours with a sword and a shield until she was acknowledged to be a good presence between other soldiers. Everything was looking great until someone ratted her out because she felt that killing an unarmed Demon was unworthy. She was sentenced to a duel that could only conclude if one of the combatants perished in battle.

Luckily in the middle of the fight, the elders of the “Solari” intervened in time to stop the duel. Between their visions, there was one prophecy that Leona should be one of the greatest warriors for the Sun. They took her and healed her in their temple and she once again found herself protecting her beloved territory. But this new life was once again interrupted by someone “special”.

This time it was Diana that visited the temple in order to announce a possible truce between the followers of the Sun and the Moon. But after being rejected by the elders, she wiped them up with one spell and escaped the temple. Leona shocked by these recent events, swore to find the culprit and avenge her fallen superiors.

Weeks passed and still there was no trace of Diana, feeling exhausted by the restless journey, Leona almost lost faith in the light. Luckily, her destiny drastically changed when she crossed her path with the same Demon that she spared in her village. Being grateful for the last encounter they had, the Demon “showed her the way” to enlightenment and she was blessed by the “Light”. Her armor turned to gold and she was now wielding magnificent powers to company her in the endless journey to protect Solari of any threats.

Tl,dr: Life is a pain for Leona and Diana sucks.

Support/Lane Guide

Now back to the technicalities of League of Legends, Leona is best known for her skills as a support, which means that you are stuck in the bottom lane of the map (Summoner’s Rift). Keeping an eye for your ADC, and be there to the rescue in case he/she gets initiated.

And yes, we all know that being a Support is often not the preferred position to be in, but look at it this way… The entire winning probability for your team lays between your hands and skills. The early game (Lane Phase) is crucial for the ADC to gain the required gold and be able to carry up your team afterward.

Without a good support, the ADC won’t be able to do anything productive but stare at the enemy’s team as they effortlessly walk in any lane, destroying every building of your base and crush your Nexus. GG, go next!

What does Leona bring to the table?

If you played any other RPGs or MOBAs out there, Leona can easily be compared with the “Crusader” archetype. Which means that she shines when it comes to damage protection, crowd control and holy (in this case “light”) powers that burst tons of damage. Just like the archetype stands for, Leona is best used to protect her teammates and give a lot of control in team fights.

Pros and Cons

Leona’s Abilities

Passive

Sunlight

Damaging spells afflict enemies with Sunlight for 1.5 seconds. When allied champions deal damage to those targets, they consume the Sunlight to deal additional magic damage.

This passive helps burst her team’s damage with every spell cast on her enemies. Which means that is better if you try to hit multiple enemy champions with your skills to keep the control in a team fight and increase the damage overall.

First Skill

Shield of Daybreak

Leona uses her shield to perform her next basic attack, dealing bonus magic damage and stunning the target.

The main goal of this ability is to share it with every enemy that comes close to you. It gives a lot of control thanks to the stun but combined with your passive, this skill can deal some magical damage as well in the late game.

Second Skill

Eclipse

Leona raises her shield to gain Armor and Magic Resist. When the duration first ends, if there are nearby enemies, she will deal magic damage to them and prolong the duration of the effect.

Thanks to this ability, Leona gets a lot of damage resistance from both physical and magical sources of damage, and if the opposite team still feels “brave” to stand next to you for a couple of seconds, this skill makes sure to return some of the damage back to them.

Third Skill

Zenith Blade

Leona projects a solar image of her sword, dealing magic damage to all enemies in a line. When the image fades, the last enemy champion struck will be briefly immobilized and Leona will dash to them.

Even though this ability requires some skill to get used to, this is your main tool for a good initiation. When you master it, you can punish the careless enemy’s ADC, that is too clumsy in their movements. At the same time, it can be useful to save your troublesome teammates.

Ultimate

Solar Flare

Leona calls down a beam of solar energy, dealing damage to enemies in an area. Enemies in the center of the area are stunned, while enemies on the outside are slowed. Afterward, Leona’s sword is charged with the power of the sun and deals bonus magic damage for a few attacks.

This wonderful ability gives Leona an AoE (“Area of Effect”) stun creating even more crowd control. It can be used in two different ways: the first technique relates to how much you have mastered “Zenith Blade”. Because this ultimate can be used to initiate a team fight and leave your enemies vulnerable to your abilities.

The second way is to initiate with “Zenith Blade” and use your ultimate afterward. This combo will help you maintain the enemy champions stunned for a couple of seconds. At the same time, gives enough time for your team to use all their abilities in team fights.

Skill and Item Build

For the skills, prepare your stun first “Q” (“Shield of Daybreak”) and then “E” (Zenith Blade”) for your second level. With those two abilities, you’re able to begin your opponent’s demise. After that, focus on your defense and max your “W” (“Eclipse”) to maintain the dominance on the lane.

The second ability to max out is your “E” (“Zenith Blade”) to reduce the cold down and give more damage.

For the last part go with “Q” (“Shield of Daybreak”) because the cold down for this skill is still the same regardless of any point you invest in it. Remember to level your ultimate when is available.

To keep the presence of Leona relevant, it’s recommended to buy items that can boost your primary stats. Everything that gives health, magical defense and physical defense is welcome here.

For Leona’s item build we recommend:
You can start with:

Relic Shield 

2x Potions 

Afterward, you can obtain items such as:

Boots of Mobility 

Eye of the Aspect

Locket of the Iron Solari 

Knight’s Vow

Conclusion

Leona can be a great champion for new supporting players. You can understand her abilities quickly and has good stats to keep you “alive and kicking” in the lane.

At the same time, this champion is a viable option for those “control” veteran players. Since she’s able to keep the opponent team restrained for a couple of seconds.

Hope you have learned a couple of new things in this support guide, have a great day and GG.

For more information about Supports, check these articles:

Best LoL Champions for Beginners

Earning Gold as a Support

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