League of Legends S12: Leona Support Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Leona as a support 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

Locket of the Iron Solari

2500Gold

Knight's Vow

2300 Gold

Build

Locket of the Iron Solari is a standard tank support item, adding survivability with a powerful shield that can turn the tide in a teamfight.

Knight's Vow is a great item for a support, as it will aid in your ally's survivability. 

Other good items include Zeke's Convergence and Thornmail.

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Relic Shield

400 Gold

Mobility Boots

1000 Gold

Skill Order

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

R > W > E > Q

Summoner Spells

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

Gameplay

Leona is a hard engage support, whose job it will be to dive on enemy teams in an attempt to lock down the carry. As such, she'll need to be tanky, so build according to the enemy team. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - Shield of Daybreak, for the stun against early trades. 
• Level 2 - Take E - Zenith Blade, for the gap closer. At level 3, with a point in W - Eclipse, you'll be able to start engaging relatively safely.
• First Back - Mobility Boots will help you zone in lane, as well as roam up to the midlane quickly  if the opportunity arises.

Tips & Tricks

• Shield of Daybreak acts as an auto-attack reset, meaning you can put out a surprisingly decent amount of damage for a hard tank. It's also great for clearing wards quickly, before it vanishes.
• Aim to land the very center of Leona's Solar Flare on the target you want to stun, as the outer reaches only slow opponents. 
• A great combo to completely lock down a carry is to throw your ult, then dive in with Zenith Blade to apply a second stun from Shield of Daybreak.
• If Zenith Blade hits multiple champions, you'll dive to the last one hit.
• Hextech Flashtraption, given it has a cast time, is best used to surprise the enemy from a bush or over walls. Timing is everything.