Ever since a certain Starry-Eyed Songstress arrived in League of Legends, Summoner’s Rift’s original magical musician has fallen into obscurity. But now, Sona is receiving a bit of love that aims to bring her back to speed with other supports.
In a new edition of Quick Gameplay Thoughts, Riot revealed today that the previously discussed Sona changes—including the removal of her team-reliant mana refund mechanic and new ability haste stacking—are planned to ship to the live servers in Patch 11.16. These changes are aimed at making Sona more prominent in the support role (and the occasional solo lane), as well as rewarding players for being proactive with the champion.
Riot further revealed that after maxing the stacks now associated with her passive, players will be able to slowly decrease their ultimate cooldown. Passive stacks will be easily gained by Sona players for continuing to play the champion the way they always have, whether they focus primarily on healing or dealing large poke damage to enemies. Regardless of the playstyle that players opt into with Sona, these substantial changes will allow them to reap benefits that result in more damage, more healing, and more ultimates being cast—all at a much quicker pace than before.
Players can look forward to fulfilling their healing and poking fantasies as Sona when her changes make their way to Summoner’s Rift in Patch 11.16. This patch will be released on Aug. 18, one week after the conclusion of the Sentinels of Light event that’s now live in League and Riot’s other games.