Leona is one of the best support champions that Riot Games have ever created in League of Legends.
But Leona isn’t only good at aiding allies in battle. With the right AD build, Leona can be one of the best bruisers in the game too, strong enough to carry games by herself.
If you’ve never tried to build and play AD Leona, this post will be just for you.
In this guide, I’ll tell you which items you’re going to need, and which runes you need to pick up.
I’ll also explain how Leona’s damage works and how her abilities scale.
So if you’re interested to learn how to play Leona AD, scroll down to begin!
Is Leona AP or AD?
Leona is an AP champion in LoL. All of her active abilities, as well as her passive, deal magic damage only, no matter the level or rank.
However, the standard build for Leona doesn’t include pure AP nor pure AD items, so she never increases the damage of her abilities and auto-attacks.
As a tank/support, Leona doesn’t need to deal damage in most games. Her job is mostly to keep enemies stunned so their allies can deal damage for her.
However, since this doesn’t always work, it’s good to be aware of all the ways Leona can deal damage if you like playing this champion.
Read Also: Full AP Leona Build – Guide
Does Leona Do AD Damage?
Every champion in League of Legends deals AD damage, including Leona. All champions in LoL can auto-attack a target and have base Attack Damage.
This base AD grows with levels, and it’s always the same. For example, Leona’s base damage is 60 on level 1 and 111 on level 18.
But does this really mean that Leona deals physical damage?
In reality – no. This is simply the basic attack we’re talking about. In this sense, Leona deals as much AD damage as Veigar or close enough.
However, if you take Leona in top lane, for example, and build her as a fighter/bruiser, she’ll do much more physical damage.
Items like Titanic Hydra and Sterak’s Gage can help her deal AD damage throughout the game while still keeping her tanky and hard to kill.
So, should you try AD Leona? Is Leona a bruiser?
Unless you’re playing a normal game with your friends, I’d advise you to go for an AP Leona build. AD Leona is simply weak.
Yes, the champion is pretty tanky and can fight multiple enemies at the same time. But Leona’s damage output is really low, even as a full AD bruiser in the top lane.
Read Also: Full AP Thresh Build Guide
Leona’s Abilities Explained – Damage Numbers and AP/AD Ratios
Does Leona scale with AP or AD?
Leona scales with AP only. Every ability that Leona has, including her passive, is considered magic and grows with Ability Power.
So, the more AP you have, the more damage Leona’s abilities will do. And if you have enough Ability Power, you can certainly one-shot enemies with Leona.
As I stated above, the only thing that scales with AD here is Leona’s basic attacks. None of her abilities have AD ratios, so you have no reason to build AD items on this champion.
And if you do, you won’t increase the damage of Leona’s passive, Q, W, E, or R.
That said, let’s take a look at how Leona scales with AP!
Passive – Sunlight
Enemy champions marked with Leona’s passive receive 25 − 144 (based on level) bonus magic damage the next time allied champion hits them.
Q – Shield of Daybreak
Leona’s Q stuns the target and deals 10 / 35 / 60 / 85 / 110 magic damage, plus 30% of her Ability Power.
W – Eclipse
Eclipse grants Leona a shield that reduces her damage taken and grants her Armor and Magic Resist. Upon expiring, Leona’s W explodes and deals 45 / 80 / 115 / 150 / 185, plus 40% AP, magic damage to all enemies nearby.
E – Zenith Blade
Leona’s E allows her to jump on the enemy champion, dealing 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 magic damage, plus 40% of her AP.
R – Solar Flare
Solar Flare is a massive AoE stun/damage ability that deals 100 / 175 / 250 magic damage and scales with 80% of Leona’s AP.
As you can see, these AP ratios aren’t bad at all. In fact, Leona’s R can really one-shot a squishy target if she has enough AP.
The 80% scaling is really massive, and I dare you to try full AP Leona in a normal game.
Read Also: Nautilus AP – Build Guide
AD Leona Season 13 Build – Runes
- Grasp of the Undying
- Font of Life
- Conditioning
- Overgrowth
- Legend: Tenacity
- Coup de Grace
GRASP OF THE UNDYING is the best overall keystone for AD bruiser Leona. It gives you additional damage when you’re in combat and it even increases your health.
Grasp empowers your auto-attack to deal bonus damage based on your max HP while also healing you.
Grasp of the Undying is one of the strongest runes for 1v1 fights and trading in lane with your opponent.
FONT OF LIFE is not a must-have rune but a very helpful one. It marks your target for 4 seconds after you immobilize them. Then it allows your teammates to heal when they cast spells or auto-attacks on that target.
Keep in mind that you can always change Font of Life for Demolish if want more split-pushing power.
In the third row, CONDITIONING is the best rune to pick up. It grants you 10 armor and 10 magic resist when the 12th minute arrives. Additionally, it increases your overall defensiveness by 5%.
OVERGROWTH is another rune that improves your defensiveness. It passively increases your maximum health, making you tankier and tankier as the game goes on.
Overgrowth synergizes well with Grasp of the Undying and you can fully stack it pretty fast.
Since Leona is a melee champion, she must be free in order to deal damage. LEGEND: TENACITY is a must-have rune if you need to counter slows, stuns, and snares in League of Legends.
It will give you enough tenacity for the entire game, so definitely pick it up.
And the last rune you’ll need is COUP DE GRACE. Simply put, this rune increases your damage against low-HP targets. The boost isn’t much, but it definitely helps you slay your enemies faster.
Read Also: AP Lee Sin Support Build Guide
AD Leona Season 13 Build – Items
- Mercury’s Treads
- Divine Sunderer
- Manamune
- Death’s Dance
- Sterak’s Gage
- Titanic Hydra
When it comes to boots, MERCURY’S TREADS are the best choice for AD Leona. Again, tenacity is super important for any melee champion, especially Leona.
You don’t want to sit in stun for more than 1 second, so definitely pick up Mercury’s Treads.
DIVINE SUNDERER is the mythic item to go for on Leona. It will give you attack damage, health, and ability haste – all of the stats Leona needs.
Additionally, Divine Sunderer makes it so your auto-attack deals high damage after you use an ability and even heals you. The effect synergizes with Leona’s Q as well as Grasp o the Undying.
That’s why Divine Sunderer is the perfect bruiser item for AD Leona.
You should always start the game with Tear of the Goddess and two health potions. This is because you want to upgrade the Tear into MANAMUNE later on.
Manamune will increase your total AD a lot, so you’ll be dealing much more damage.
DEATH’S DANCE is the first defensive item you’ll get on AD Leona. But besides the armor, this item also gives you attack damage and ability haste.
The passive of Death’s Dance makes it so 30% of the incoming damage is taken over 3 seconds instead. This makes it very unlikely that you’ll ever get one-shotted while in the middle of the team fight.
Speaking of defensiveness, STERAK’S GAGE is another item to look out for. When you get below 30% HP, Sterak’s Gage will put a large shield on you.
Additionally, it also increases your AD, so it’s a great item to have.
And finally, you’ll want to close the game with TITANIC HYDRA. This is a super strong item that will significantly increase your power in the late game.
On top of the two key stats, health and AD, Titanic Hydra makes your auto-attacks deal AoE damage in a cone in front of you. This effect is very strong, so you’ll likely be unstoppable in the late game.
Read Also: Volibear Full AP Build Guide
Optional and Situational Items for AD Jhin
Besides Divine Sunderer, Trinity Force is another mythic item you can use. It will give you a bit more utility and it offers a nice playstyle.
Hullbreaker can be an OP purchase if you’ve decided to split-push your way to victory.
And the best defensive items for AD Leona are Thornmail, Dead Man’s Plate, Force of Nature, and Warmog’s Armor.
Conclusion
If you give this build a shot, you’ll quickly how good Leona AD actually is. To be honest, this champion is strong with a support build. But if you give her a few bruiser items, she becomes a true monster!
I hope this guide helped you figure out how you should build and play Leona AD.
Good luck!
Read Also: AD Nidalee Bruiser Build Guide
