LoL Inven Inven Global

After reading this, you will know everything, strategies and secrets,
about Sion from build to counterpicks and skills (driving ult).

There’s no other champion that’s as fun and easy as Sion.

I’m a Sion main player who has researched only Sion from season 5.
By playing only Sion, I’ve raised my tier to Master from Silver.


Here, the strategies and main points of Sion are revealed, who has always been in the win rate top 10.

Nickname: 사나이온 (Sanaion) - Season 6 top rating: [KR] Master


You can also become an awesome Sion player!

(Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdaWfo_murKx3mfpppoeuCA)

If you’re confident in melee combat, Glacial Augment,
if you’re confident long range combat, Arcane Comet.

Inspiration + Resolve = +145 Health

With these two runes, you gain more health.

 Glacial Augment

I’ve put in some time in trying different runes, and Glacial Augment is a very good rune if used properly.

If you hit your enemy with auto attack, the movement speed of the enemy will decrease by 40-50%. When it’s hard to hit your skills because the enemy is too close, you can slow the enemies with auto attack and then go on with the skill combo. By using this strategy, you can make them airborne after slowing the enemy and by hitting them with . Also, Sion can increase the survival rate by slowing the enemy and getting away from them. In addition, if the enemy is slowed by Glacial Augment,  Approach Velocity is activated and Sion being weak in exchanging damage, you can easily go in and out of the opponent’s range.

It is also very strong in the passive state and makes it easier to kill the enemy. If you slow the enemy with , he shoots out a glacial beam and freezes the area for 5 seconds. All the champions within that area are slowed by 50%.

*Approach Velocity: Gain 10% bonus Movement speed icon movement speed when moving toward a movement impaired allied champion, or toward an enemy champion whose movement you have impaired.

By slowing an enemy through Glacial Augment, you can approach the enemy in a very fast pace even in the passive state. Even when you hit the enemy with Sion’s  E, it’s easier to hit them with Sion’s  ult and even when allies are hit by a CC,
Approach Velocity is activated so you can get to them quicker to help them.
It’s convenient to throw skill combos by getting up close after having your enemy airborne with .

 Biscuit Delivery
Biscuits boost 15% of lost HP and MP. It’s good to maintain your MP. It comes in every 3 minutes, so it helps a lot when you eat one every 3 minutes, and it’s  even better when you’re using Corrupting Potion, and if used with Time Warp Tonic, it’s even better for managing your lane.


 Future's Market
This is the rune that buys time with gold. Some of you might be hesitating to select Future’s Market, but this is a very good rune because you can dip into your future earnings to buy things when you lack gold. There are situations like when you’re about 50-100 gold short of a core item, and in those situations, you can waste some time at the fountain waiting for the gold to get enough to buy it, and sell some stuff like wards to afford that item. Future’s Market relieves you of that worry and it helps you buy items faster than the opponent to give you a slight advantage.


 Unflinching

This is the rune that increases Tenacity when your spell is used. If one of your spells is in cooldown, it grants an additional 10% and if both spells are in cooldown, it grants 20%. With the  Elixir of Iron, it has 25% more and with  Mercury’s Treads 30% more. If you have either one, you’ll have nearly 60% Tenacity so you can go on a rampage even with several CCs targeted on you.


 Second Wind
Second Wind helps Sion, whose basic attributes are very low, maintain the lane in the early game. It restores 4%+6 HP when damaged so it helps you control your HP.


 Demolish
Demolish is very good because if you hit the turret 3-4 times, the first destroyed turret comes at around 10 minutes into the game.

 Aftershock

This rune is activated on or , and grants bonus armor and magic resistance for 2.5 seconds along with 10-120 damage + 3% of maximum health + 15% bonaus AD + 10% AP magic damage dealt to nearby champions/monsters. Also, it’s easier to give aftershock damage with the help of  Approach Velocity.


 Conditioning
You should use this rune when you’re playing against  Nasus to reduce the stack damage after 10 minutes.


 Perfect Timing
There’s no need for extra explanation on this rune. League of Stopwatches.


 Magical Footwear
In 10 minutes, you’ll gain boots for free. This means you get 300 gold for free. (=)

 Arcane Comet
If you master E first, Sion is extremely strong in the laning phase with Arcane Comet. If you hit the opponent with Arcane Comet + Scorch + Cheap Shot, the damage is quite thrilling.

 Cheap Shot
Cheap Shot adds bonus true damage to the slowed champions, so this means that additional damage is dealt if you just land one basic attack if you're holding  Glacial Augment.


 Zombie Ward
If you’ve selected the Domination rune, go with the Zombie Ward.

Place wards deep in the jungle before you get threatened by the jungler.

If you place wards in one of these places, it’s very good. You can spot Gromp and Blue Sentinel so it makes it easier to see where the opponent jungler is. Warding at 2-3 minutes is a must.

Skill Build

It is important to change your skill build according to who you’re facing.
Basically, if the opponent is a tank champion, master  W first
(you can counter opponent champion trying to hit you with basic attack),
against a counter pick, E first (maintaining a safe range) and
if the opponent buys magic resistance, Q first (strong AD).


 P (Glory in Death)

The passive can’t be ignored in teamfights.

It’s important to get hit by opponent CCs  instead of allies to protect ally DPS champions.

 

▲ It's very efficient if used when the three warrior minions have low HP.

 W: Soul Furnace
This should be used before you approach an enemy and you need to control the shield so that it won’t be destroyed before 3 seconds. If you have 1 second left until reactivation, you have to get close to the opponent to give damage to them. To make hitting the enemy easier with  W, you should slow the enemy through Q or E.

The advantage of W is that even if you get hit, the shield blocks the damage, and you can still deal damage to the opponent if you reactivate the skill near the enemy. The most important part is controlling the damage taken so that the shield isn’t broken by the opponent. If you’re able to control the shield well, you’ll be able to defend the attacks well and even deal enough damage to the opponent.

If the opponent has a long range, master  E first.

 E: Roar of the Slayer
This is a skill that can knock any monster other than Baron and Dragons quite far. It can knock Annie’s Tibber, Ivern’s Golems and even Rift Heralds. You can knock away the Herald with E even when she’s charging at a tower.

It’s very efficient if you use  E and  R combo. If the you use  R to an opponent who has been slowed through  E, the opponent will be hit by R unless they have an escape skill like  Flash.

▲ If you hit your opponent with E and think you can kill them, use R right away.

 R: Unstoppable Onslaught
As stated above, this is very efficient if used with  E. The max speed of  R is 950, and the speed in the early game can be enhanced through Righteous Glory. It’s easier to hit an enemy that’s running close to a wall.

You can use  R with  Flash. If an enemy is nearby, you can stun them instantly by using . In a late game teamfight, if Sion uses Flash+R to hit an enemy DPS or support and goes through the skill combo, Sion did enough in that fight.

Above was just the basic strategies of Sion. I'll reveal the main tips and tricks from here.

1. The standard Sion skill combo.

Sion’s W can be used at the same time as other skills, during auto attacks as well.
If used properly, the damage can be maximized.

2. Utilizing the max distance of R
As Sion’s R was buffed, up to 1,200 damage can be dealt if driven at max speed. The routes are explained here.

3. Dealing with opponents.

Easy champions to play against
            

Normal

            
            
            
            
             
             
             
   ...

Difficult
            
         
※ When playing against these champions, you're gonna need to play at your best mechanics.

HELL

You will not be able to survive

      
 

Playing Against:

 Garen (Easy)
Garen uses his  Q in two ways. Either  to approach you, or run away from you.
From now on, you can make him use it only to run away.
When Garen uses Q to approach, usually, it's to stop Sion’s Q.
But what did we master first? W.
Activate your  shield when he tries to kill minions, and bother him with Q and E.
Garen should use  Q to approach you, and you can let him hit you  because you have your shield on. After silence is over, you can detonate your shield to deal damage and simply hit him after slowing him with Q or E. Meanwhile, be careful of Demacian Justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 citruses get rid of all CC so try to hit him when they're not available.

 Gragas (Difficult)
If you charge your  Q, Gragas might roll his  Q and it can also be canceled by Gragas’  E. You need to use  Q just enough to get him airborne to prevent him from using  or . Gragas is also a good global champion .



 Graves (Difficult)
If Sion slows Graves with E,  his E also gets slower so it’s easier to continue with  Q, so you always need to hit him with E first.
Be careful not to become the innocent victim of his ultimate .


 Gnar (Hell)
Since Gnar has increased movement on his third hit of  W and also has an escape skill,  E, if you miss just one skill, you’ll be regretting it right away. He also throws  Q from quite far which is also very bothering. If you meet such a champion, you need to master  E first. Later in teamfights, it’s important to hit your ult better than Gnar. vs.


 Darius (Hell)
If you try to charge your  Q, Darius will drag you in and hit you frantically.
Don’t even think of fighting by auto attack and just poke him using  E.
If you’re dragged in, activate  W and slow him with  E before Darius’ 5 stack blows, stop him by using  Q, detonate your shield and run.

Watch out for  + ...

Starting

Main Items

 

Final Items

     

Item Build

 →  →  →  →  →  → 



 
Dead Man's Plate + Banner of Command
Highly recommended for first items.

*If the opponent is AD based, Dead Man’s Plate first, 
if AP based, Ruby Crystal, Banner of Command and Mercury’s Treads.

With the fast movement speed of Banner of Command + Dead Man’s Plate, the disadvantage of being able to walk only is relieved and can take benefit in macro through the Banner.

If you don’t buy these items, Sion becomes a tank that only walks around slowly waiting to get hit. Other items should be bought after these two items.

Sion’s only escape skill is his ultimate, but through this combination, he can escape disadvantageous situations. When attacking, he can look for faster routes to approach the opponent and slow them through Dead Man’s Plate and Glacial Augment to land his skill combos.


 Abyssal Mask
It’s easy to manage mana with the effect of Eternity along with 10% cooldown reduction and decent tanking. Also, with the aura that makes the nearby enemy champions take 15% more AP damage, it contributes to Sion’s W and E damage. If the team has several AP champions, it’s highly recommended to buy Abyssal Mask. If the opponent is an AP champion, it’s quite useful if bought early in the game.



Gargoyle Stoneplate + Locket of the Iron Solari
As Solari is now based on the champion’s health, it became a lot stronger. When used with Gargoyle Stoneplate’s Metallicize, an insane amount of shield is granted to the allies.

Righteous Glory is a perfect item for Sion.
It helps speed up when using his ultimate, and it’s also very threatening to the opponents in the  passive state. Using  R in close range with  Righteous Glory’s bonus movement speed makes it easier and more efficient to strike an enemy.



Sterak's Gage's 75% bonus shield is very efficient for Sion in teamfights. The max health and auto attack damage also increases, so it’s very good to create a decent deal-tank champion. It’s better to increase the attack damage because if you only increase the armor, the damage received rises by only 1% after 300 armor.



Ninja Tabi’s 10% basic attack damage reduction is very useful against enemy ADCs.
Mercury’s Treads should be bought when the opponent has many AP champions or CC.



Sunfire Cape is not good anymore for Sion. Many think that Immolate is useful, but Sion isn’t a strong infighter; he has to move out as soon as he uses his skill combo. However, if a champion like Fiora sticks close, Sion can’t help but to be hit, so by buying Dead Man’s Plate and Banner of Command first, just approach the opponent quickly and fall back after the skill combo. It’s no use staying close to champions like Darius by burning them with Sunfire Cape. It’s not good anymore. To whoever still wants to buy it: when your inventory is full, sell it and buy Banner or Frozen Heart, because Sion lacks cooldown reduce items.



Frozen Heart is a must when the opponent has two or more ranged DPS champions. It’s a must.
Thornmail and Randuin’s Omen is good too.



Adaptive Helm is useful when you play against Rumble, Cassiopeia and Karthus.



Spirit Visage is good against AP champions because it increases health restoration; the biscuits’ restoration rate is also increased to have stronger lane management. It’s especially good when there’s Soraka in your team. Do not buy when opponents are all AD champions.



Thornmail reduces enemy heal rate by 40%. When playing against a champion that self-heals like
 Aatrox. It’s also a must when playing against  Maokai.



Tytanic Hydra is useful when the opponents underestimate the damage of Sion.
2 consecutive attacks can be made by landing a basic attack and using Titanic Hydra right away.
When used in the passive state, the enemy ADC may be deleted in no time.

Early Game
You need to detonate your  shield on the opponent first. If you get hit too much, you’ve already lost. W has 140 + 14% of the opponent’s max health damage so it’s really good. To make it easier to hit them, slow them with  E and  Q before you blow your  shield.

Mid Game
To make good use of your  ult, you always have to hit the opponent with  E first.
If you use your  ult first, the opponents evade the ult really well, so hit them with  E and then  ult them. The opponents that are hit with  E get hit by the ult most of the time.
Unless it’s a very critical situation, never use your ult first. It’s important to know how to stop your ult when it didn’t hit. The splash damage you can deal to opponents after missing your ult is also very important.

Late Game
Sion is good enough in the late game. Although he loses most 1v1 fights against top laners, he can be strengthened with Dead Man’s Plate and Banner of Command. With the fast movement speed from the two items, there’s no need to use your ult to escape the fight alone against opponent top champions. Also by strengthening the minions with your Banner, you can make the opponent come defend a different lane.

For example, champions like Fiora are very threatening to Sion. When Fiora starts focusing her skills on Sion in the late game, it’s nearly impossible to escape without the ult. However, with the faster movement speed with Dead Man’s Plate and Banner of Command, Sion can escape a lot more easily. With Glacial Augment, it gets even easier. As explained, Dead Man’s Plate+Banner of Command is really good for Sion. It’s completely different from holding Frozen Heart and Abyssal Mask. The biggest difference is survival after using your ult.

Also, Gargoyle Stoneplate is a must for Sion in the late game. With the double HP of Gargoyle, tanking at vanguard is more convenient. If you also have Solari, the amount of Solari’s shield can be doubled with Gargoyle.

In teamfights, one  ult can change everything; the team can lose because of you or you can become treated as the MVP. Don’t be too impatient to use your  ult only to die and be called a troll.


Sion’s Role in Teamfights
In the invade phase, Sion is the strongest champion at LV1.  Even if there’s a  Blitzcrank in the opponent’s team, don’t be scared and use your Q from the brush. A fully charged  Q hit properly stuns the opponent for 2.25 seconds and deals 200 damage. Even if you die, you can double-kill with your passive.

Just remember these things, and Sion won’t be weak in the laning phase anymore.