Hello and welcome to my Sonya guide! Wether you're an existing Sonya player wanting to take her for a whirl in Hero League or an aspiring Sonya player,I hope you will find something here for yourselves. In my opinion Sonya is a fun hero to play and these days get too much negativity directed at her, especially in SoloQueue.
I played Sonya exclusively from rank 25 all the way to rank 1 using this build(In the Kael patch). I only played alone. Total stats and win rate:
129 games, 78 wins Winrate:60.47%
I designed and played this build around two things; Versatility and Control. As with any MOBA, you want to impact the game as much as possible in your favor. This guide combines the game-affecting plays from being an assassin with obejctive control by being able to solo bosses.
I will go through the talent build for this, the heroes you might be up against, the maps as well as give you some general tips. I will also include a YouTube video at the end and a Replay-pack if you are interested in seeing me play this build in action in Hero league!
I recommend that you give it a whirl if you like Sonya! :)
Sonya is a versatile melee hero that relies on rage to deal damage. She is not mana dependant. While classified as a Warrior; do not be fooled. She is not a tank, and rather plays as a melee assassin with good sustain.
Core Abilities:
Ancient Spear: Your key ability. Not only does it reposition you next to your enemy, but it also stuns them(Thus can be used as an interupt) as well as grant you rage to use for your abilities. The most important bit and possibly the hardest part with Sonya is landing this ability on the correct target during different circumstances.
Seismic Slam: This is your main damage-dealing ability. It deals a good chunk of damage to a primary target, and a minor one to enemies behind it. This is your bead and butter with Sonya. Do not be afraid to trade with enemy heroes by using this, it deals plenty of damage.
Whirlwind: Oh, the classic Whirlwind! For Sonya, it is best used as a defensive skill or a skill for sustaining yourself. You can position yourself in the center of a minion wave, whirlwind and it will give you plenty of health. Whirlwind allows you to ignore unit collision and can be used to escape 's Wall of Zombies whilst simoultaneously healing you. Do not use this for damage! Tip: When you reach a good spot while whirlwinding minions with Sonya, you can press "S" to make her stop in that location for maximum healing.
Soloing Bosses
This is the main tactic you will be using on many of the maps(other than bashing peoples' faces in). The foundation is based on the build (explained below in a separate section) of together with and . This way, you are able to solo the bosses without any outside help.
Be careful when using this strategy, make sure not to be seen as you enter the boss-pit and do not engage the boss while there is a global event that hides all non-active camps (Such as the spiderspawning in as it will alert the enemy team that someone is doing the camp.)
Use boss soloing as a means to press your advantage or to catch up. Either way is fine, as long as you communicate with your team beforehand. I show how to do this in my YouTube video and the replays at the bottom of the guide if you wish to see it before trying it.
This will allow you to sustain yourself when you solo bosses.
Sonya's reliance on Shot of Fury has diminished with Furious Blow being moved to level 16.
Since you are not a tank, do not ever bother picking Block.
Level 4:Superiority
Reduces the damage taken by minions, mercenaries and structures and allows you to solo the boss.
With the moving of Furious Blow, the talents here are not all that gamechanging otherwise.
If you are on a map without a boss, you may choose whichever you like. Regardless of your choice or if you still go Superiority to tank Keeps, you will NOT be lacking damage.
Level 7:Poisoned Spear
Allows you to pack a harder punch when engaging enemy heroes.
Since you are not a tank, the healing is not necessary.
The spear range is a luxury, but not needed. Your "threat range" around yourself is already big enough with the default range, as such I prefer the damage.
Level 10:Wrath of the Berserker
Increases your overall damage and grants you a well-needed CC-reduction.
Scales with War Paint, making your sustain stronger.
Leap is unreliable. Against common heroes such as or you are going to run into a ton of CC after having leaped. Rage offers you strong, sustained DPS while making those CC effects much less annoying.
Level 13:Mystical Spear
Decreases the CD of your spear, which makes it a much more reliable source for rage-generation and chasing.
Slam cost-reduction is not needed, as you will be aiming to hit your Q's to generate most of your rage.
Allows your spear to be used as a escape tool.
Level 16:Furious Blow
Massively increases slam damage.
Squishies cannot take more than two hits of this in combination with Wrath of the Berserker and poisoned spear, making you a formidable threat.
Relies heavily on you hitting your Ancient Spears for the rage-generation.
Level 20:Ignore Pain
Makes you deceptively tanky, even with a full dps build.
After diving the squishies, you have about a 0.5 second delay before the damage starts raining in on you. Use this pre-emptively when you know the damage is going to come.
Works excellent against predictable abilities, such as 's or 's
Blackheart's Bay: This one is fairly simple. With and , control the mercenary camps. At level 10, sneak up topside and solo the boss using . Make sure not to be seen. The boss pressure will allow you to often snag chests or other camps for free while the enemy team is defending.
Tomb of the Spider Queen: This one is a little bit more complex; fewer minions and depending on when you start to solo the boss, the enemy team may know if the spiders spawn and the bosscamp is still visible on the minimap. Be very careful when you start it here, other than that it is completely doable and recommended. If you want to make ballsy plays as I do in my replay below, go take the enemy bruiser camp while they're busy elsewhere.
Garden of Terror: Concentrate on the Terrors during the night. This is a very objective-centered map, getting your team ahead on seeds can be an easy way to gain an advantage which a Slam-Sonya loves. There are also plenty of Mercenary camps for you to take. Don't be shy to go aggressive in the enemy jungle to steal camps from them; you do not take damage from them.
Haunted Mines: If there is a map where I recommend you take another hero than Sonya, this is it. Small map with few mercenary camps. The only thing you can do well is tank the boss and have long, sustained fights as you are not dependant on mana. Take another hero if you can, though.
Sky Temple: Good map for you, as any "King of the hill" type of map will force the enemy to come to you. Soloing the boss here is risky only due to the position of it, it is easily spotted by the enemy team. Be careful with it, I do not normally attempt such unless some heroes on the enemy team are dead. You can however tank the boss with little risk, as it does no damage to you. Also, don't be scared to ninja the enemy bruisers by using your to get in there early game.
Dragon Shire: Like with Sky Temple, these kind of maps are good for you. Control the shrines, fight anyone who comes to contest it. Try going with a support and steal camps whenever able. You are also a good candidate to take the Dragon Knight.
Cursed Hollow: Plenty of mercs for you to take, most importantly stick with your team. You are able to solo your own boss on 10, risky to go into the enemy jungle to do so as they often run by there when repositioning. You want to be there for every tribute with your team.
Playing this build, you will face a variety of heroes amonst today's more popular picks.
: E.T.C is a formidable threat as a tank. If you face E.T.C, your main goal is to stay out of his . A defenseless is an easy pick. If you see him engaging on your team however, you can use your to interupt his almost immediately.
: Anub'arak is a low threat hero individually. Do not be afraid to stand and bang with him. His does not even protect him from the damage of a single and his beetles can be used as a source of healing when using . If Anub'arak holds on to his while waiting for you to , his damage is neglible and you can sustain it with . Be wary of him however in teamfights, his strength lies there. In case Anub'arak uses his to close the distance, punish him! It has a fairly long cooldown and is his only means of escape.
: Uther is a rather versatile support that will aim to CC you as best he can. Make sure to have your rage up when dealing with him. The hardest part about Uther though is that you cannot, under any circumstance, counter his . It is the reason why I consider Uther to be one of the strongest picks against this Sonya as he can easily shield his squishies from all harm.
/ Nova/Zeratul are stealth-based heroes. Your best bet at pulling heroes out of stealth is . Watch for the shimmer very carefully, you will not be able to invisible targets. If you are scared of their damage, pick instead of on level 13.
Tassadar, the only real threat to uncovering your secret attempts at soloing the boss. If he is nearby, try to position yourself far enough away so that his does not detect you. If you can't, don't do it.
Brightwing? Biggest annoyance for you. hurts you at low levels as it effectively disables your ability to defend yourself. Brightwing however cannot take a punch, and past level 10 when you have CC-reduction bashing her face in is an option. Brightwing however, is one of your best allies on the team.
: Tyrael deals a lot of damage during laning. Once he uses his , you have two options: Either the minions and him, or back away. His shield is strong(much stronger than that of Anub'arak's, as Tyrael's also shields minions) so there is little point slam-trading against him after that.
: Feel free to walk all over Gazlowe. There is absolutely nothing he can do about you going into his face, or whirlwinding his turrets for extra healing if you are in trouble. Don't expect him to stick around near you, especially on Blackheart's Bay when he may risk losing coins.
: Illidan is very versatile and mobile, requiring you to time your abilities correctly. If you miss your Q by casting it just as he dashes, just run away. Otherwise you can trade with him. Especially Ancient Spear and Slam deals a lot of damage to him early game when he does not have . Focus him down in teamfights and peel for your teammates, it is very unlikely that he will be targeting you.
: Valla is pretty hard to catch. There is time for her to after you have cast and avoid it completely. The dream scenario however that will force her back is that if you get in her face without using the spear, she will vault away and you can directly spear her and take her out. An added bonus with is that if you get caught in her , the stun will be so low duration that you can move out of the second burst before it hits. All things aside, she is a priority target!
: Jaina WILL kite you if she can. What this means that she will be a pain in lane, especially when she can hide behind minions. If she gets her slow on you, do not chase her. It deals a hefty amount of damage to her. In teamfights, be wary of her water elemental. Post 20, remember to use your after engaging or Jaina will melt you really fast. If opportunity presents itself to hit an and Slam, do it! Do not be surprised if it chunks half of her health - Sonya's damage against squishies is significant even early game.
: Do not go solo against Sylvanas. She can very safely deny you from sustaining from minions and her escape is very good(It will even interrupt an ongoing slam if used at the right time). Her hinders your damage a lot, be sure to have on when you fight as it halves the duration. She cannot tank you, thus will rely heavily on her escape.
: A lesser threat to you. For Azmodan to deal any kind of damage to you, he will need to channel his which is interupted by your . Feel free to use on a lane pushing with his .
Do not miss your ! You will be heavily penalized if you do, both in terms of positioning, rage generation and potential for damage. It is an extremely unforgiving mechanic while using this build.
Work with your team. If you are about to go solo the boss, tell them. Ask them to play normally as not to draw unwanted attention to you.
This goes without saying, but always aim for the squishies. With this build, you play as a melee assassin rather than a tank. Your best defense is your offense.
You most likely will run into negativity in the Draft-screen if you prepick Sonya. Don't mind too much. The most important thing in this game is to work as a team rather than "tier-lists" or "meta".
Game on rank 2. It will show how to do this in a rather basic way to let the objectives finish the game for you. Heroes of the Storm provides that luxury; you do not always have to beat your enemies straight up in teamfighting to win the games.
I included four of my games in the rar, all from 2015-05-28(yesterday at the time of this post) on rank 2 and 3. (Older games, despite it only being a day ago, seem to be "unsupported" due to update. When Blizzard fixes so that you can view old replays, I will update the replay pack with more replays!)
In these I have included, I display a variety of things including boss soloing, ETC's interrupting as well as aggressive, objective-focused plays by stealing enemy camps.
I also clearly show a major fail where I miss my twice on Cursed Hollow which cost me a 1v2! Live and learn! ;)
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the guide and/or the replays! Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions! Peace out!
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