LoL Wild Rift Leona Build & Guide (Patch 5.0) - Runes, Counters, Items, Ability Analysis

A+ Tier

Class: Support

Recommended Lane: Support

Best Leona Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Leona guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Leona, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Leona’s skin shimmers with starfire while her eyes burn with the power of the sun. Wielding the Zenith Blade and the Shield of Daybreak, Leona brings enlightenment to some, death to others. Leona is one of the strongest aggressive supports thanks to her three crowd control abilities and the ability to turret dive on demand thanks to the tankiness that one of her ability gives her.

Leona Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Leona Wild Rift in this patch.

The Radiant Shield

This is the standard item build for Leona which focuses on increasing her tankiness and on increasing the utility that she can provide. This is also a good counter items against fed ADC.

Mercury’s Treads allows you to be fairly resistant to crowd control especially when combined with Hunter – Titan. This allows you to dish out crowd controls while being able to tank theirs easily. If they don’t have too many crowd controls, build Plated Steelcaps instead. Upgrade with the Stoneplate Enchant for the additional defense as it gives shield that further increases when there’s more enemies around.
Dead Man’s Plate increases your movement speed and empowers your first attack with bonus damage and a slow. The movement speed increase will help you land your 3rd, Zenith Blades with better accuracy because you’ll be catching up to enemies faster.
Dawnshroud – Immobilize effects damage and reveal around you
Thornmail – Reflects damage and reduces enemy healing
Randuin’s Omen – Attack to heal from enemy Critical Strikes

The Solar Blade

You can opt for this Leona Wild Rift build if the enemy team is composed of magic-dealing champions. This includes items granting magic resistance along with armor and health.

Zeke’s Convergence – Boosts allies Attack Damage
Force of Nature – Stacking Magic Resist and Move Speed
Abyssal Mask – After taking magic damage, immobilize enemies to deal additional damage
Amaranth’s Twinguard – In-combat durability

Runes for Leona in Wild Rift

The Radiant Shield

Aftershock – Grants a good amount of Armor and Magic Resist bonus upon controlling an enemy champion. After a short while, deal a burst of magic damage based on your max HP. This pairs well with Leona’s kit since she has a lot crowd control and her 2nd, Eclipse also grants Armor and Magic Resist boost.
Weakness – Amplifies the damage received by an enemy you have controlled. You will always be activating this since you have a lot of crowd control.
Hunter – Titan – Grants a little HP and tenacity for each unique takedown. Allows you to survive being controlled fairly easily especially when combined with Mercury’s Treads.
Hunter – Genius – Grants ability haste with each unique takedown so you can use your abilities more often.
Demolish – When near a turret, charge a powerful attack against turrets.

Spells

In our Leona Wild Rift Guide, here are the best champion spells that you can equip on her.

Ignite is the spell of choice even if you are a support because you’d want to play aggressively and bag as many kills as possible. Ignite also applies the Grievous Wounds effect so activate it early in the fight to counter the enemy’s Heal spell.

Flash opens up a lot of offensive and defensive options for Leona and the most notable one is that it allows her to engage using her E, Zenith Blade from afar.

Skill Order

1st, Shield of Daybreak is acquired at level 1 as it is the strongest ability to acquire for a level 1 fight. 3rd, Zenith Blade is leveled up next so you’ll be able to initiate with your combo as early as level 2. Afterward, we will be putting points into maxing 2nd, Eclipse first to scale your survivability so you can soak damage and dive turrets more efficiently. Max 3rd, Zenith Blade next to lower its cooldown, therefore increasing your engage potential then 1st, Shield of Daybreak last. Get a point in your ultimate whenever possible.

Abilities

Sunlight

Passive

Abilities apply Sunlight for 1.5 seconds. Other allied champions consume Sunlight when damaging enemies, dealing 25 bonus magic damage.

Shield of Daybreak

Active

Empowers the next attack to stun for 1 second and deal 50 bonus magic damage (15 + 15% AP).

Eclipse

Active

For 3 seconds gain 25 Armor (25 + 20% Armor) and 25 Magic Resist (25 + 20% Magic Resist).

After the effect ends nearby enemies take 60 magic damage (60 + 40% AP). If an enemy is hit, Leona retains her defensive bonuses for 3 seconds.

Zenith Blade

Active

Deals 60 magic damage (60 + 40% AP) to enemies in a line.

Leona roots the last champion hit for 0.5 seconds and dashes to them.

Solar Flare

Active

Calls down a beam of light, dealing 100 magic damage (100 + 80% AP) and slowing by 80% for 1.75 seconds. Enemies in the center are stunned instead of slowed.

Abilities Analysis

Innate Passive: Sunlight

Leona’s abilities marks the enemy with Sunlight. Sunlight marks deals magic damage when your allies attack the marked enemies.

The damage may not seem much but it quickly stacks up because you and your allies would want to quickly burst down your enemies while you are locking them down with your crowd controls.

Q | 1st: Shield of Daybreak

Shield of Daybreak empower’s Leona’s next attack to deal bonus magic damage and stun the enemy. This ability is a reliable way to stun a single target.

Most of the time, you are going to use Shield of Daybreak in combination with 3rd, Zenith Blade to lock the enemy in place so your allies can burst down the target.

Shield of Daybreak is an auto-attack reset so, if possible, use an auto-attack – Shield of Daybreak – auto-attack to squeeze in as much damage in your combos. But if your enemy has blink abilities or has their Flash up, skip this combo so they’ll have no room to escape. You should also use the auto-attack reset combo to destroy wards that are placed near you. You can also use this combo on turrets.

The stun of Shield of Daybreak is near-instant and you can use it to interrupt the action of enemy champions. Use it to peel/protect your team from potentially lethal damage or high-impact ultimates. You can also use the stun to reset the attack of jungle monsters which can be helpful for your jungler if you are leashing/helping them on their first buff.

Do not hesitate to do a Flash + Shield of Daybreak combo for short-range outplays to either secure a kill or protect your allies from getting damaged or controlled.

W | 2nd: Eclipse

Eclipse grants huge amounts of Armor and Magic resistance upon casting. This ability will allow you to soak lots of damage and enable you to dive turrets with lesser risks. When activated at the same time as your Aftershock proc, you will experience a huge boost in your dual resistances.

Eclipse does not affect your current actions. You can freely activate it while doing any other thing such as casting your other abilities or attacking without interrupting them. The only time where you cannot cast this ability is while you are stunned, airborne, or transformed.

The effects of Eclipse are extended after damaging enemies.

E | 3rd: Zenith Blade

Zenith Blade is Leona’s main engage tool. She flings her blade forward and when you damage an enemy champion with this ability, she dashes towards and past that enemy champion and roots them.

The ability will go through all enemies it passes and damage them and Leona will dash towards the last champion hit. Once Leona dashes towards the champion, she will follow that champion even if they use Flash or other displacement abilities.

The root only lasts for half a second so immediately follow up the ability with your 1st, Shield of Daybreak, or your ultimate, Solar Flare if you want to lock your enemy down. Especially if the enemy has blink abilities or has their Flash available.

Leona will attack the rooted target immediately after dashes through so you can immediately follow up with your 1st, Shield of Daybreak or you can do an auto-attack reset combo with it to squeeze in more damage.

You can do a Zenith Blade + Flash combo to surprise enemies with a longer range initiation but make sure to do the combo quickly because if you are late even a little bit, the Flash buffer will be unsuccessful and you will be canceling the ability instead.

If the enemy ADC is hiding behind their support, you can use Zenith Blade on the enemy support champion then target the ADC behind them and stun them with your 1st, Shield of Daybreak.

R | Ultimate: Solar Flare

Solar Flare is an amazing team fight ability which damages all those in its area and stuns those near the center while slowing those at the edge of the ability.

In most cases, you will be going to use Solar Flare to lock a single target in place and kill try to kill that target with your teammates while you are stunning them to death. But you can also use the ability on its own especially when the enemy team is clumped up at a choke point especially in objective fights in the Dragon/Baron Pit. It is also an amazing follow-up crowd control to your ally’s own CCs.

If you are using Solar Flare as a follow-up crowd control to your or even your teammate’s CCs, cast it as soon as you see the CC bar above the enemy’s head move because this ability has a one-second delay. Casting it too late will give the enemy chance to move or use their blink abilities or Flash to escape your chain CCs. Casting it too early will cause CC stacking instead of CC chaining and it is just as wasteful as missing it but it is better to be safe than to be sorry. CC stack until you are comfortable with the CC chain timing.

Combos:

Use the full damage combo to squeeze as much damage as possible to your target enemy champion. Only use this combo when you are sure that your target doesn’t have any movement abilities or Flash available.

Full damage combo: 3rd + 2nd + [Redemption Enchant] AA + 1st + Ult + AA + AA

This combo ensures that all your crowd control hits in smooth succession. Use this combo if your enemy has a movement ability or Flash available.

Sure CC chain combo: 3rd + Ult + 2nd + [Redemption Enchant] + AA + [AA] + 1st + AA

Leona Early Game Guide

Leona is one of the strongest early game support champions so you should abuse it while you can especially if you are paired with an ADC with a strong early game as well.

Before reaching level 2, already position yourself near the enemy team so once you reach level two, automatically to a 3rd, Zenith Blade + 1st, Shield of Daybreak combo then Ignite immediately to counter their Heal spell. Spam the heck out of the attack signal just before doing this if you are playing solo so your early initiation won’t go to waste.

Despite the memes, you should never to a level 2 turret dives because you are not tanky enough without your 2nd, Eclipse. And even when you have it available, you can only take three turret shots at the most in the early game so dive sparingly in the early game unless you are sure that you are going to kill your target.

Repeat doing your combo all throughout the early game phase. Use your wards in the tri-bush or riverside to avoid ganks then once you recall, switch to your Oracle Lenses so you can sweep for wards in the lane brushes so you can stay there to set up your pickoffs.

If the enemy team is doing great at playing it safe or if your ADC is playing it safe and is being passive, or worse, you lost your lane by dying, you should provide your support elsewhere by ganking the mid lane or by helping your jungle gank mid or invade the enemy jungle.

Leona Late Game Guide

In the middle and late game, focus on initiating unto the enemy’s priority target which is usually the enemy’s ADC or APC. Remember to initiate only if you have teammates nearby because unless you are sporting an AP build, your damage won’t be enough.

After you initiated and hopefully secured a kill for your team, focus on shutting down and stunning the highest damage dealer on the enemy with your 1st, Shield of Daybreak.

You should also shield your teammates from skill shots especially while your 2nd, Eclipse is activated.

Leona Video Guide

Synergies

For our Leona Wild Rift Guide, we highly recommend using her with the following champions as they synergize well with her.

Tristana needs to stack her 3rd, Explosive Shot so that it deals a lot of damage and Leona can make that happen easily with her chain CC combo. They can easily dominate as early as level 2 and if they get a few early game kills, they’ll be an unstoppable force together.

Kai’Sa deals a lot of damage to isolated targets with her 1st, Icathian Rain and auto attacks. Leona ensures that she has a great early game which then translates into a snowball that has a high chance of winning the game.

Jhin can extend Leona’s chain CC with his own 2nd, Deadly Flourish and while the chain CC is happening, he can place an 3rd, Captive Audience trap which will surely explode in the enemy’s face thanks to the extremely long CC chain.

All Leona Wild Rift Counter Champions

In this section, we’ll specifically show champions that can easily counter Leona in Wild Rift.

Alistar is an amazing peeler with tankiness that surpasses Leona’s when his ultimate is active. He is a constant danger to Leona because her 3rd, Zenith Blade places her behind her target and if Alistar is the target or if he is near his ally, he can knock up then fling Leona to their turret. Let him initiate then use your abilities to the enemy ADC once Alistar uses his abilities.

Lulu has one of the best defensive kit among enchanters. She is able to keep her allies alive through her abilities while turning Leona into a critter unable to fight if she chose to dive into Lulu’s team. It is better to kill Lulu first in most cases since she is a big nuisance to your team.

Pros & Cons About Leona

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Leona in Wild Rift.

Pros

Leona is one of the best offensive supports in the game. Her initiation is reliable and her chain CC lasts extremely long. If you want a support champion who takes the game into her hands and carry the game, Leona is the one for you.
She has great all-around defenses thanks to her 2nd, Eclipse. When activated, especially when combined with Aftershock, she can easily tank turret shots.
Thanks to her passive and her crowd controls, she enables her teammates to do more. This makes her teammate feel like they are having a great game so she is great at boosting their morale, making them feel good about their game, and therefore increases your chances of winning the game.

Cons

Leona is a high-risk, high-reward champion. She has to land her abilities in the early game to become successful. If she does not land her abilities and fail to acquire items, she can feel squishy even when her 2nd, Eclipse is active.
Since she is best played as an early game offensive support, playing with a late game ADC or a passive player will make her feel terrible to use.

FAQ's About Leona in Wild Rift

How good is Leona in Wild Rift?

Leona is an (Tier A+) champion. She plays great using an aggressive playstyle and she can kill her enemies together with her ADC starting level 2.

What role / lane should I play with Leona in Wild Rift?

Leona is a Tank support champion played in the Dragon lane together with the ADC. She excels in picking off enemies one by one using her chain CCs.

What abilities do I level up with Leona?

What items should I build with Leona?

Get your Mercury’s Treads first then upgrade with Redemption Enchant immediately. Redemption fits your combo perfectly as it adds damage and heal to it. Your core items are Zeke’s Convergence and Dead Man’s Plate. Both of those items increases your offensive and defensive capabilities nicely.

What Runes should I use when playing as Leona?

Aftershock – Grants a good amount of Armor and Magic Resist bonus upon controlling an enemy champion. After a short while, deal a burst of magic damage based on your max HP. This pairs well with Leona’s kit since she has a lot crowd control and her W, Eclipse also grants Armor and Magic Resist boost. Her other runes are Weakness, Hunter – Titan, and Hunter – Genius.

Any tips for locking down opponents?

Learn her full combo in our ability guide section. In order to properly lock down the opponent, CC chain the opponents by smoothly stunning them by one of your ability after another. Do not spam your abilities blindly because you will CC stack the enemy instead, resulting in a shorting lock down time.

List of all Wild Rift Champion builds

Last updated on May 12th, 2023