After the Xin Zhao and Akali changes, Riot confirms that Sona is also getting a mini-rework in 2021.
Sona was somewhat considered a decent support champion last season, where she had fairly good pick rates and win rates. However, currently, in season 11, she only has around 1.6% pick rates in the Plat+ Elo, which clearly shows how bad she is in the current meta.
There are many reasons behind the downfall of Sona in the Summoner’s Rift. First, she was heavily nerfed in patch 10.17. In that patch, Riot nerfed her AP ratio on most of the abilities. Just after that nerf alone, she went from having a 55.03% win rate and 7.0% pick rate to just a 2% pick rate.
Later, in patch 10.22, “Sona-kit-alike” Seraphine was released in League of Legends. Even though Riot received a lot of criticism for Seraphine’s kit, many believed she was just the better version of Sona and that Seraphine would shadow Sona. Which eventually did happen after the 2021 preseason update.
After the introduction of the new items in League of Legends, Seraphine has been having a great time in season 11. At one point, she had a massive 55% win rate. Although she did get nerfs later on, currently, she still has a 51.04% win rate with a fairly good pick rate.
However, on the other hand, Sona is still struggling to maintain a 2% pick rate in the support role. Even though the new Moonstone Renewer item should help her kit as well, unfortunately, Sona currently only has a 1.6% pick rate. And many Sona mains have been asking Riot for some big buffs to make her playable in the Rift once again.
And now, after the Xin Zhao and Akali mini-rework, League of Legends Lead Game Designer Riot Jag has confirmed that Sona is also getting some major updates in 2021.
According to Riot Jag, the new mini-rework/mechanics upgrades and buffs are “supposed to feel rewarded to play with allies.” Moreover, they also want to “cement her hyperscaling fantasy in a way that doesn’t solely rely on needing lane farm.”
Sona Mini-Rework Changes
Here are the complete Sona rework changes that are currently on the PBE:
Passive – Power Chord
- Accelerando: Sona gains Accelerando stacks from using her Basic Abilities well. She gains +0.5 Basic Ability Haste permanently per stack, up to 60 Basic Ability Haste. When she reaches 60 Basic Ability Haste, instead of gaining further stacks, her current Ultimate Ability’s cooldown is reduced by 1.5 seconds.
- Power Chord: After using 3 basic abilities, Sona’s next Attack deals an additional [20-245 +20% AP] magic damage and may have an additional effect based on the song Sona last activated.
- Hymn of Valor: The Attack deals [28-336 +28% AP] magic damage instead.
Aria of Perseverance: The target deals [25% +0.04% AP] less damage for 3 seconds.
Song of Celerity: The target is Slowed by [40% +0.04% AP] for 2 seconds.
Q – Hymn of Valor
- Sona deals [40/70/100/130/160 +35% AP] magic damage to the nearest two enemies, prioritizing champions. She then begins a new Melody. Gain a stack of Accelerando for every champion you damage with this.
- Melody: Sona gains an aura for 3 seconds, granting allied champions an additional [10/15/20/25/30 +15% AP] magic damage on their next Attack within 5 seconds.
- Power Chord – Staccato: Power Chord bonus damage ((28-336 +28% AP) total magic damage).
W – Aria of Perseverance
- Active: Sona restores [3050/70/90/110 +15% AP] Health to herself and a nearby allied champion, prioritizing the most wounded. She then begins a new Melody.
- Melody: Sona gains an aura for 3 seconds, granting allied champions [25/50/75/100/125 +25% AP] Shield for 1.5 seconds.
- Gain a stack of Accelerando whenever you heal another injured ally and every time you protect another ally from at least 25 damage with this shield.
- Power Chord – Diminuendo: Power Chord also reduces physical and magic damage dealt by the target for [25% +0.04% AP] for 3 seconds.
E – Song of Celerity
- Active: Sona begins a new Melody and grants herself [20% +0.02% AP] Move Speed for 3 seconds, extended to up to 7 seconds if she doesn’t take damage.
- Melody: Sona gains an aura for 3 seconds that grants allied champions [10/11/12/13/14% +0.02% AP] Move Speed for 3 seconds.
- Power Chord – Tempo: Power Chord also slows the target’s movement speed by [40% +0.04% AP] for 2 seconds.
R – Crescendo
- Sona strikes an irresistible chord, Stunning enemies for 1.5 seconds and dealing [150/250/350 +50% AP] magic damage.
- Enemies that know how to dance, will dance during the stun.
Here’s the full side by side comparison of the Sona changes:
Sona Rework Release Date
Riot Games has confirmed that Sona rework is going to release on LoL patch 11.16, August 11, 2021.
