How to beat Leona

Common role: Support

The best counter to Leona in Support is Renata Glasc: 55.2% win rate over 741 ranked games on patch 26.17.

A tanky engage support who chains cc and locks a target down for the kill.

What makes Leona dangerous

Leona is a full-lockdown engage tank: she stuns with her E dash, roots and slows with her passive and Q, and her ultimate is a delayed AoE stun that starts fights. She chains so much cc that a caught target is dead before they can act, and she's durable enough to dive the backline and survive.

How to play against Leona

• 1Dodge her E engage — it's her only gap-closer. If she can't land the E stun, her whole cc chain never starts. Stand behind minions.
• 2Respect her all-in range: once she's on you, the cc chains together. Back off when she steps up, and punish her when her E is on cooldown.
• 3Dodge or spread for her ultimate — it's a slow-moving delayed AoE stun. Sidestep the center to avoid the full lockdown.
• 4Buy tenacity/QSS on your carry — Leona's whole threat is cc duration. Cutting the chain lets your carry escape the dive.

Weaknesses to exploit

• ✓Everything hinges on landing her E engage — dodge it.
• ✓Long cooldowns; punish her when E is down.
• ✓Tenacity/QSS breaks her cc chain.
• ✓Low damage on her own — she needs a follow-up.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Leona's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  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.

• Q
  Shield of Daybreak

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

• W
  Eclipse

  Leona raises her shield to gain Damage Reduction, 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.

• E
  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.

  Strong: a dash-stun — her only engage and the start of her cc chain. Weak: dodge it (stand behind minions) and her whole lockdown never begins.

• R
  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.

  Strong: a delayed AoE stun that starts fights. Weak: a slow-moving zone — sidestep the center to avoid the full lockdown.

Itemization

Leona is a tanky engage support; you don't itemize against her — you dodge her E and bring tenacity/QSS to break her cc chain. Body-block her engage with minions and punish the long cooldown on her E.

This guide covers Leona's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.