1. Introduction 1.1 Sonya Defined 2. Talents 2.1 Tier 1 2.2 Tier 2 2.3 Tier 3 2.4 Tier 4 2.5 Tier 5 2.6 Tier 6 2.7 Tier 7 3. Matchups 4. Team Compositions 5. Drafting 6. Closing Remarks

Sonya is a damage dealing warrior, capable of dealing ridiculous damage and taking a little too. Her role is to protect your assassins/back-liners while threatening the opposing team's squishies with a quick smash to the head. Therefore she belongs in the front or the back of the battle -- not the middle. She is heavily reliant on Fury to deal damage and so restraint must be used when wildly smashing things into the ground. This may seem counter intuitive, but Sonya's playstyle is very unique. Is is most adequately described as 'restrained madness'.

Jack of All Trades, Master of One. Sonya is good at chasing, taking some hits, dealing damage, laning, jungling, and initiating, but she is flawed in all departments. Depending on the Traits you take, Sonya can become a master in one of those departments but her flaws will always be apparent.

Winner

Situational

Useless

synergizes with Ferocious Healing, Seismic Slam, and Wrath of the Berserker perfectly and acts as a fail-safe for a missed Ancient Spear. This should be taken because of its synergies and versatility. Tip: If you die and expect to be up just in time for a team fight, cast Shot of Fury immediately when you spawn then hop back on your mount so the cooldown is shorter and you can cast again in the team fight.

50% minion and tower damage reduction? Yes please. This makes bosses easy as pie and doubles as added defense against heroes with minions like Anub'arak's beetles, Zagara's Hunter Killer, or Jaina's water elemental. This is taken because it allows Sonya to solo a boss at 10.

heals for a fair amount of health which can make the difference between life or death in many situations. This also helps compensate for the nerf to Whirlwind's minion life leech. This also provides a move speed bonus from Fury. It's highly recommended to take Shot of Fury if going Ferocious Healing because otherwise you may find yourself Fury starved. Taking this with Superiority allows Sonya to take down a boss at 10 (when at full health) and provides much needed sustain now that Whirlwind's life leach was nerfed. Also, at this point in the game things start to get scary, so a little extra defense goes a long way.

increases Sonya's damage and makes her more resistant to stuns. Without the added damage, Sonya just doesn't feel like Sonya.

provides nice utility with some added mobility and reduced cooldown on your spear. This is basically mandatory since we chose Wrath of the Berserker over Leap and would lack mobility otherwise.

provides a free big shield for a long duration. Sonya starts feeling squishy at this point in the game, this is a very nice added defense. It is mandatory against a Kael'thas that takes Pyroblast or any other burst heroes. The cooldown is long, but not so long that it shouldn't be up most team fights. And while Furious Blow is very strong, a dead Sonya deals no damage.

provides a massive survivability improvement if used right. When Leap was viable, leaping in and popping Ignore Pain to watch the enemies flail their puny weapons at me made me laugh. It is still incredibly useful when you want to dive the back liners. This is the clear winner. Being able to survive longer means that much more damage output.

Slows and Burst Damage Jaina has a lot of burst and slows, which makes her a scary adversary. When fighting Jaina, look for an opportunity to catch her out with your spear when she is a little low and burst her down fast. Do not chase her because you probably won't be able to kill her before backup arrives.

Stun and Burst Damage High burst damage is scary on Sonya but Kael'Thas' lack of mobility makes him an easy target if you catch him with his lift on cooldown. Try to sneak up on him and unless you can quickly blow him up, save your spear for after he lifts you.

Burst Damage High burst damage, but if you get up close, she'll light up like a Christmas tree with just a couple whacks.

Stuns|Self Heal [if=His stuns can make life difficult since Sonya relies on getting in peoples' faces. Also 1v1 his self heal can be troublesome.]His stuns can make life difficult since Sonya relies on getting in peoples' faces. Also 1v1 his self heal can be troublesome.[/if]

Stun|Tank While he does very little damage, he will out heal your damage alone so be sure your team focuses him if he is out of position. Don't try to 1v1 him because his heals and potential attack slow trait will wreck you.

Slow|Damage [if=Tychus causes problems when Sonya has to run. Be sure to go Mystical Spear for added mobility. Consider leap as another way to cancel his gun.]Tychus causes problems when Sonya has to run. Be sure to go Mystical Spear for added mobility. Consider leap as another way to cancel his gun.[/if]

Mobile|Burst [if=Falstad is squishy but mobile. If he burns his escape then you can kill him, but otherwise it is risky to dive after him. Lure him in and use Seismic Slam once or twice then he should back off.]Falstad is squishy but mobile. If he burns his escape then you can kill him, but otherwise it is risky to dive after him. Lure him in and use Seismic Slam once or twice then he should back off.[/if]

Octograb Alone Murky can be easily burst down, but his slow limits your damage potential by lowering mobility. His octograb ultimate can also take your out of the fight completely and make you incredibly susceptible to being burst down.

Root|Sustain His root and ability to sustain massive damage over time make him difficult to 1v1. Sonya excels at bursting squishies down, not necessarily taking on tanks.

Silence Brightwing's silence can be scary if you're in the back lines trying to blow up someone. Play more defensively against Brightwing and really pay attention to your positioning. You should be protecting your backliners more until you see Brightwing use her silence, then look for an opportunity to blow someone up.

Silence [if=Her range, mobility, and silence make Sylvanas a threat, but if she burns her escape and you're still on her, she's dead.]Her range, mobility, and silence make Sylvanas a threat, but if she burns her escape and you're still on her, she's dead.[/if]

Burst Thrall's self heal and high damage output up close makes him troublesome. Careful when encountering him 1v1. You will need all your defensive skills to handle his damage.

Stun|Tank Any tank is not your ideal target, but Diablo's stun makes him especially annoying. Don't chase him without backup.

AOE Stun|Squish Not mobile but do not chase him into his turrets because Gazlowe can deal a surprising amount of damage.

Stun|Damage Her damage can be scary, but with a good healer and your defensive abilities late game, she is not a problem.

Scary DPS He does a ton of damage if left alone, but has little means of escaping. Dive him if he is out of position, but otherwise try to avoid being focused by him.

Don't let Sgt. Hammer do what she wants. If you don't risk immediate death, jump her and be aggressive. Sonya can bully her because of your superior damage and health and spear to close the gap.

[if=Hard to kill and potentially deals a lot of damage with Archon. Sometimes it's best to just ignore him and move on to better things.]Hard to kill and potentially deals a lot of damage with Archon. Sometimes it's best to just ignore him and move on to better things.[/if]

Beam Save your spear for his beam and he will be forced to run.

Weak [if=Chen does very little damage and Seismic Slam out damages his brew.]Chen does very little damage and Seismic Slam out damages his brew.[/if]

Sustain|Tank|WORD 3 [if=Avoid Mosh Pit at all cost. Consider Leap as a secondary stun to cancel the mosh.]Avoid Mosh Pit at all cost. Consider Leap as a secondary stun to cancel the mosh.[/if]

Avoid the hook and you'll be just fine. He deals basically no damage.

They are mobile and can escape and deal damage safely with their ultimate, but can be burst down easily. Wait for the ultimate to be over and then spear one to engage.

Enhance [if=Abathur can obviously make it very difficult to kill someone, with his shielding and movement speed, but his minions don't hurt much thanks to Superiority and alone, Abathur is goo.]Abathur can obviously make it very difficult to kill someone, with his shielding and movement speed, but his minions don't hurt much thanks to Superiority and alone, Abathur is goo.[/if]

CC Alone Johanna is not scary. Sonya is more mobile and can handle the little damage she deals with no problem. And depending on how the Johanna is built, Sonya can 1v1 her pretty easily.

Ultimate Heals [if=His ultimate is uninterruptable with Leap and he has a root but he has no escape and does basically no damage.]His ultimate is uninterruptable with Leap and he has a root but he has no escape and does basically no damage.[/if]

lol zombies [if= Whirlwind out of his [Zombie Wall]] then smash his pitiful face. If he uses Sprint, do not bother chasing unless you can Leap to stun him then use Ancient Spear to stun him again, eating up his sprint duration.] Whirlwind out of his [Zombie Wall]] then smash his pitiful face. If he uses Sprint, do not bother chasing unless you can Leap to stun him then use Ancient Spear to stun him again, eating up his sprint duration.[/if]

[if=His Ancestral Healing can be problematic but otherwise he is a straight forward fight.]His Ancestral Healing can be problematic but otherwise he is a straight forward fight.[/if]

Runs Her heals aren't enough to keep someone up through your burst early game, so be sure to take advantage of that. Take Leap against her to have an extra way to cancel her ultimate. And don't bother chasing her. She's a fast little panda.

{In the works}

{In the works}

Sonya is a high skill capped hybrid damage/tank hero that when played right can clean house. People don't give her much credit, but that is one of her strengths. No one expects the ol' bash to the face. Or maybe they do and they just can't stop it.