Diana blends burst, mobility, and strong dueling power in one unique package. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Scorn of the Moon.

Diana is a really good champion that excels in both 1v1 or team fight situations. She’s really strong at dueling, has good wave clear, and to top it all off, her burst damage is pretty insane. In team fights, she makes for a really good flanker and she can instantaneously take out the enemy team’s backline with little effort. If left unchecked, she can snowball unstoppably and solo carry the entire team. 

Abilities

All of Diana’s kit is all about dealing damage. She can deal a lot of damage and most of it is in massive bursts.

Passive – Moonsilver Blade

Diana has increased attack speed. After casting an ability, this bonus is tripled for 3 seconds. Every third consecutive basic attack cleaves nearby enemies, dealing magic damage (deals triple damage against non-epic monsters).

This ability is what makes Diana a very strong duelist. Moonsilver Blade increases her overall DPS while also increasing her clear times in the Jungle.

Q – Crescent Strike

Unleashed a bolt of lunar energy in an arc dealing magic damage. Afflicts enemies struck with Moonlight, revealing them if they are not stealthed for 3 seconds.

Crescent Strike is your main damaging ability. It can be tricky to land on your first few tries but you’ll need to master it to make the most out of your combos. Use this to clear minion waves or to set up your E ability.

W – Pale Cascade

Unleashed a bolt of lunar energy in an arc dealing magic damage. Afflicts enemies struck with Moonlight, revealing them if they are not stealthed for 3 seconds. Creates three orbiting spheres that explode on contact with enemies dealing magic damage. Lasts 5 seconds. Grants a temporary shield that absorbs damage. If the third sphere detonates, the shield is reapplied.

Pale Cascade is your main trading ability. It gives you a shield and damage whenever you get into close quarters against your opponent. It’s great for increasing both your survivability and damage capabilities.

E – Lunar Rush

Becomes the living embodiment of the vengeful moon, dashing to an enemy and dealing magic damage. Lunar Rush has no cooldown when used to dash to an enemy afflicted with Moonlight. All other enemies will have the Moonlight debuff removed regardless of whether they were the target of Lunar Rush.

Lunar Rush is your main source of mobility. This lets you dash right into the thick of a fight or into an enemy’s backline and just wreak havoc.

R – Moonfall

Reveals and draws in all nearby enemies and then slows them for 2 seconds. If Diana pulls in one and more enemy champions, the moonlight crashes down onto her for 1 second, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies, increased for each champion drawn in beyond the first.

This is the biggest reason why Diana is good at team fights. She can instantly deal crowd control that can turn the tides of the team fight and even force the win on a close game.

Runes and Item Builds

For items, your only focus on Diana is to increase her ability power while also enhancing her basic attacks with other effects.

Starting Items

For your starting items, you have two options. If you’re going to play in the Jungle, go with Emberknife. This will turn your Smite into Challenging Smite which will increase your dueling power whenever you use it on an enemy champion. If you’re playing in the Mid Lane, take Doran’s Ring. This will give you everything you need to survive the laning phase and make it later on in the game.

Mythic Items

For your Mythic item, you have three choices. The best choice is Hextech Rocketbelt since it gives you health, ability power, and an active that lets you dash. The next best option is Crown of the Shattered Queen. It gives you all the stats you need and since Diana is a champion that often dives the enemy team, it’s passive can be very useful. The last choice is Night Harvester. Use this item if you just want more damage. It doesn’t have much in the way of stats but it really pumps up the damage you can deal.

Full Build

Diana is one of those champions that doesn’t need to rush her Mythic as her first item. When playing as her, your first choice should be Nashor’s Tooth. This gives her attack speed, ability power, and on hit damage that stacks really well with her passive. Next, go for tier 2 boots. Since she’s a mage, go for Sorcerer’s Shoes. Then go for your desired Mythic item. Up next, you’ll need Zhonya’s Hourglass for the ability power and the stasis active. Shadowflame is next for all the ability power and anti health properties it can give you. Top of your build with Rabadon’s Deathcap and you’re good to go. 

Other Viable Items

While the full build we’ve shown above is generally considered the standard for Diana, it is not set in stone. There are plenty of other items that you can purchase depending on your preference or what your situation currently needs. Items like Lich Bane, Demonic Embrace, Void Staff, Banshee’s Veil, and Morellonomicon are all good items to have especially if you’re looking for ways to deal more damage. Try to mix and match these item sets to see what works best for you. Doing so will help you develop a better understanding of the game’s deeper mechanics.

Runes

For runes, go with the Domination tree and take Electrocute as your keystone. This will increase your burst damage. Next, take Sudden Impact for the bonus whenever you dash, Eyeball Collection for more damage, and Treasure Hunter for more gold when you score takedowns. For your secondaries, go with the Resolve tree and take Shield Bash and Bone Plating. Shield Bash will give you bonus damage whenever you have your shield up and Bone Plating will increase your durability. For rune shards, take double Adaptive Force and Magic Resist. 

Useful Tips

1. Landing Crescent Strike is the most important skill to master. It will help you land Lunar Rush much easier without having to worry about the cooldowns.
2. Diana is countered by champions like Anivia, Zed, Yasuo, and Lissandra. Try to play it safe whenever you match up against these champions.
3. For your summoner spells, take Flash and Smite when playing as a Jungler. If playing in the Mid or Top Lane, swap out Smite for Teleport or Ignite.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Diana in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!