What aspect of Sona's abilities would you improve? Just out of curiosity. I'd give her more effective crowd control for greater safety, updated buffs (the ones she grants are very outdated), and also her Power Chord and ultimate (they're good, but not very satisfying). If she received one or more buffs, would she be viable in competitive play?
Thank you Jumaralo!
A random question: Would you like Sona to have one or more crowd control abilities in addition to the stun from her ultimate? Perhaps each ability or Power Chord would have a crowd control effect that complemented the others. For example, her Q would have a powerful crowd control effect, her W a knockback effect, and her E a crowd control effect that disrupted movement. Or, what crowd control effects would you choose? Knockdown, Knockback, Charm, Taunt, Fear, Blind, Disarm, Sleep, Ground Suppression, Stun, Root, Suspense, Silence, Fury, and Lulu's Transform. I know some crowd control effects might not be suitable for Sona, while others might be perfect for her, or perhaps you'd prefer Sona to have a unique and different crowd control ability.
I feel like I’ve just been spamming the same enchanter build recently and want to try something new/fun in norms and maybe… just maybe.. in ranked ;) I remember lichbane being fun but that was a while ago.
I saw a game designer mention that Actualizer was probably too niche, and that because it never really found its audience, it would eventually be reworked or removed from the game.
I think there is another item in a very similar situation: Diadem of Songs.
The item has a 0.6% pick rate, and it is basically only optimal on Seraphine. Even on Sona, where you would assume the item was tailor-made for her, it has around a 4% lower win rate than rushing Archangel's second. (Stats will be at the end of the post)
At that point, Diadem is basically a bait item on Sona, and good players shouldn't be building it.
The reason is pretty straightforward: enchanters, Sona included, don't actually need 1000 mana in stats.
A quick side note on Sona:
Sona is actually the one enchanter where the 1000 mana is convenient, because her mana costs are currently so high that she often wants to rush either Diadem or Archangel's second. But even in that situation, Archangel's is simply the better choice because it synergizes much better with Sona's AP ratios while also providing a valuable protective shield.
That doesn't really make Diadem's mana any more justified, though. If Sona genuinely needs a 1000-mana item as her second item just to keep up with her mana costs, I'd argue that her mana costs should be adjusted instead. She should be able to function with a more normal enchanter mana economy, while obviously taking her exceptional hyperscaling into account when balancing those costs.
For the other enchanters, mana regeneration already removes most mana issues starting from the first item, and by the time you reach your second item, it becomes extremely difficult to actually run out of mana in normal gameplay.
So a huge chunk of Diadem's mana is essentially figurative value. It's largely overkill, and too much of the item's gold value is being invested into a stat that its intended users don't really need.
I don't think the concept of the item is bad, though. The passive is interesting, and I like the idea of having Tear stacking eventually lead into a unique support item.
Instead of removing that identity, I'd consider changing what happens once Tear is completed: reduce the amount of value tied up in mana and invest more of the item's power directly into Diadem's passive.
That would preserve the Tear → stacking → transformation gameplay loop while making the actual finished item more attractive to a wider range of enchanters.
Right now, the item feels like it has a very interesting concept trapped behind a stat profile that is mostly unnecessary for the champions who are supposed to use it.
If the goal is to have Diadem be a real itemization choice rather than a Seraphine core build item, I think its power needs to be shifted away from raw mana and into the identity of Diadem itself.
AP/AH early>HsP early. Diadem, Moonstone ARE BAD OPENERS. Staff of flowing water is secretly the best opener EVEN when there is no AP on team because there is no cheaper access to 70 AP 25 AH and those are the stats you need early.
For free Sona LP go Staff > Archangels for max AP/AH early then pivot into HsP. My preference is moonstone into Dawncore.
HsP is a multiplier. If you multiply a small number you get a small number. AKA Slapping X% HsP on Sona low base W (90 hp heals) does not net you anything. You first have to invest in AP.
I recently got into sona more and i always stack my passive fully kidna late like 25+ minutes into the game and almost everyone is saying that it should be stacked at minute 16? I dont quite understand how that is possible even if i time my heal and shield to get 2 stacks and play aggressive with q i still am only half way trough at 16 minutes, any tips?
