League of Legends S12: Diana Mid Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Diana in the midlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Hextech Rocketbelt

3200 Gold

Zhonya's Hourglass

2600 Gold

Build

Hextech Rocketbelt is a great gap-closer for assassins, and allows for waveclear in the early game.

With her kit being based around burst damage, the ideal combo is Crescent Strike > Lunar Rush > Zhonya's Hourglass. This adds survivability so you don't immediately get locked down.

Other good items include Rabadon's Deathcap for AP, and Nashor's Tooth for AP and attack speed. 

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Doran's Ring

400 Gold

Sorceror's Shoes

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Diana skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Diana in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Diana has a highly aggressive kit, and is fantastic up close. While she's sensitive to poke in the early game, she can begin to punish overextending from level 3. Once your ultimate is unlocked at level 6, it becomes more difficult for the enemy midlaner to farm effectively for fear of being burst down.

• Level 1 - Take Q - Crescent Strike, for farming and poke potential.
• Level 2 - Take W - Pale Cascade, for more farming speed and a shield to protect from early poke and burst.
• First Back - If you're looking to all-in early, try to get the Stopwatch. Alternatively, pick up boots or the Hextech Alternator for trade potential. 

Tips & Tricks

• If you're quick enough, you can use Lunar Rush before the Crescent Strike lands on your opponent and still benefit from the Lunar Rush reset.
• Given it can travel over walls, you can use Crescent Strike on jungle monsters and follow up with Lunar Rush to escape. 
• Pale Cascade reapplies the shield if all three spheres explode. You can use this to farm minions without taking damage. 
• Crescent Strike works similarly to Orianna's Shockwave, in that you can Flash during the animation. Use this to surprise enemies.