Welcome to the world of League of Legends, where champions with extraordinary abilities compete for dominance on the Summoner’s Rift. Among them stands Senna, the Redeemer, a marksman whose skills are matched only by her unwavering faith.
Senna’s story is one of courage and determination. As a young girl, she was taken from her home by the Black Mist, a deadly supernatural fog that engulfs the Shadow Isles. But instead of succumbing to the mist’s corrupting influence, Senna found a way to harness its power and use it for good.
Now, armed with her trusty Relic Cannon and a deep sense of purpose, Senna fights alongside her husband Lucian as they seek to rid the world of evil. With her ability to heal allies, root enemies in place, and even pierce through walls, Senna is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the intricacies of playing Senna, from her abilities to her item builds and strategies. Whether you’re a seasoned player looking to master a new champion or a newcomer to League of Legends seeking a powerful and engaging playstyle, Senna has something for everyone. So let’s get started and see what this formidable champion is capable of!
Pros and Cons
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of Senna’s abilities and playstyle, it’s important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of this champion. Like all League of Legends champions, Senna has unique advantages and drawbacks that can make or break a match. In this section, we’ll explore the pros and cons of playing Senna, so you can decide if she’s the right champion for your playstyle.
Pros
- Unique Playstyle: Senna is not your average support champion. She combines long-range poke and healing with crowd control, making her a versatile pick for many team compositions.
- Solo Carry Potential: Despite being a support, Senna can deal significant damage and even take down enemies on her own. With the right build and strategy, she can become a powerful carry for your team.
- Strong Damage and Healing: Senna’s kit allows her to deal consistent damage and heal allies from a distance. Her passive, Absolution, also grants her bonus damage and range as she collects souls from slain enemies.
- Global Ultimate: Senna’s ultimate ability, Dawning Shadow, can turn the tide of teamfights from anywhere on the map. It deals damage to enemies and shields allies, making it a powerful tool for engaging or disengaging fights.
- Infinite Scaling: Senna’s passive also allows her to scale infinitely throughout the game. The more souls she collects, the more bonus stats she gains, making her a formidable force in the late game.
- Strong Early and Late Game: Senna has a strong laning phase thanks to her range and poke, and she can continue to scale well into the late game. This makes her a versatile pick for any stage of the match.
- Fun to Play: With her unique playstyle and powerful abilities, Senna is a fun champion to play for many players.
Cons
- Squishy and Vulnerable: Senna’s long-range playstyle makes her vulnerable to divers and assassins who can easily close the gap and take her down. She has low health and no escape tools, making positioning key for survival.
- Low Crit Damage: Senna’s passive does not increase her critical strike damage, which can limit her damage potential compared to other marksman champions.
- Weak Mid-Game: Senna’s power spikes are in the early and late game, but her mid-game can be relatively weak. Without sufficient souls and items, her damage and healing potential can be underwhelming.
- Reliance on Allies’ Waveclear: Senna’s passive requires her to collect souls from slain enemies to scale up, but she cannot collect souls from minions that she kills herself. This means that she relies on her allies to clear waves and provide opportunities to collect souls.
- Need for Aggressive Play: Senna’s kit rewards aggressive play and engaging fights, which can be a double-edged sword. Playing too passively can limit her soul collection and damage potential, but playing too aggressively can also lead to getting caught out and punished.
- Low Mobility: Senna has no mobility spells or abilities, making her vulnerable to skillshots and hard engages. She relies on proper positioning and teamwork to stay alive and contribute to fights.
Senna’s Abilities
Senna’s kit offers a unique combination of ranged poke, healing, and crowd control that sets her apart from other support champions in League of Legends. In this section, we’ll break down each of Senna’s abilities and how to use them effectively. Whether you’re a seasoned Senna player or new to the champion, understanding her abilities is key to mastering her playstyle and contributing to your team’s success.
Passive: Absolution
Senna’s kit offers a unique combination of ranged poke, healing, and crowd control that sets her apart from other support champions in League of Legends. In this section, we’ll break down each of Senna’s abilities and how to use them effectively. Whether you’re a seasoned Senna player or new to the champion, understanding her abilities is vital to mastering her playstyle and contributing to your team’s success. Let’s go over each part of Senna’s passive, Absolution.
Absorption of Mist: Senna gains Mist by attacking souls that spawn from dead enemies, and by siphoning Mist from enemy champions that she hits with attacks or abilities twice. This unique mechanic allows Senna to scale infinitely, granting her 0.75 attack damage per stack of Mist.
Effects of Mist: Every 20 stacks of Mist that Senna accumulates grant her additional attack range and critical strike chance, allowing her to deal more damage from a safe distance. Senna also gains life steal based on any excess critical strike chance she has.
In addition, Senna’s attacks take longer to fire but deal 20% extra physical damage and grant her a brief burst of movement speed. This can be useful for repositioning during fights or chasing down enemies.
Farming Souls: Farming souls is essential for Senna’s gameplay, as she does not gain Attack Damage per level like other champions. Souls have a low chance of spawning from minions that Senna kills, but they always spawn from large minions that Senna does not kill, champions, and large jungle monsters.
To maximize the amount of Mist she can accumulate, Senna needs to double-tap enemy champions with attacks or abilities to siphon Mist from them. It’s important to keep track of the timing between siphoning from each champion, as there is a cooldown of around 5 seconds before Senna can siphon from the same champion again.
Q: Piercing Darkness
Senna’s Q ability, Piercing Darkness, is a versatile tool that can be used for both damage and healing. This ability has an incredibly long range, and enemies hit take physical damage while allied champions hit are healed. What makes this ability even better is that both the healing and damage scale with AD, making it a strong source of healing even if you focus on building damage items.
Maxing this ability first is important, regardless of your build. Not only is it a key part of farming souls, but it also reduces its own cooldown with basic attacks. Additionally, Piercing Darkness can be used to pick up all souls hit, making it a valuable tool for farming Mist.
Finally, the AP ratio on the heal makes it a viable option to pair with items like Moonstone Renewer.
W: Last Embrace
Last Embrace is an extremely powerful tool for trading and catching enemies off guard. When activated, Senna sends forth a wave of Black Mist, which latches onto the first enemy hit. After a 1 second delay or if the target dies, the target and nearby enemies are rooted for a duration of 1.25 to 2.25 seconds, depending on the ability’s level.
This ability has a long range and can be used to catch fleeing enemies or initiate a team fight. It’s especially useful during the laning phase, where it can be used to set up kills for you and your ADC. You can follow up the root with an auto-attack or Piercing Darkness to steal a soul, increasing your damage output and range.
A neat trick with this ability is to use it to instantly clear low-health minions and root nearby enemies, allowing you to either engage or disengage with ease. Remember that the delay before the root gives enemies a chance to react, so try to catch them off guard or use it as a follow-up to your team’s engage.
E: Curse of the Black Mist
Senna’s E ability, Curse of the Black Mist, is one of her most complex abilities. When activated, Senna draws the Mist stored in her weapon into a storm around her, transforming her and nearby allies into wraiths. Allies who enter the area are camouflaged and gain 20% (+5% per 100 ability power) increased movement speed, making them untargetable and unidentifiable as long as no enemy champions are nearby.
There are two different types of stealth in this ability: camouflage and Wraith Form. While in the mist, Senna and her allies are fully camouflaged and cannot be seen, but if allies leave the radius, they become visible as wraiths. However, they are still untargetable and their identities remain masked. This makes it difficult for opponents to determine the number of people in the area, allowing Senna and her allies to surprise enemies with multi-person ganks.
Curse of the Black Mist is primarily used as a disengage tool due to the movement speed and untargetability it provides. In lane, it can be used to protect the carry and make them untargetable. However, it’s important to note that attacking or using abilities will break the stealth and make them vulnerable. During team fights, allies still gain movement speed even if they break stealth, as long as they stay within the aura around Senna. This can be especially useful for ADCs like Draven, allowing them to easily disengage or engage aggressively.
Later in the game, Curse of the Black Mist can be used to obscure Senna’s team during fights. Once an ally enters the radius, they become a wraith for the full duration, even if they leave. This can be used to keep the identities of teammates obscured when scouting objectives or entering a fight. However, it’s important to note that control wards can reveal the area and expose Senna and her allies.
R: Dawning Shadow
Senna’s ultimate ability is called Dawning Shadow. When activated, she fires a beam of light that deals physical damage to all enemy champions hit. The amount of damage dealt scales with her bonus attack damage and ability power. In addition, allied champions hit in a wider area around the beam receive a shield that lasts for three seconds. The amount of shielding scales with Senna’s ability power and the number of Mist stacks she has collected.
Dawning Shadow is a powerful tool for turning teamfights in your favor. Its long cooldown means that you need to use it strategically, but don’t be too conservative with it. Look for opportunities to use it, such as when enemies are low on health or your allies are in danger. During teamfights, try to position yourself in the backline so that you can hit as many allies and enemies as possible with the beam.
Runes and Items for Senna
As a versatile champion with both support and marksman playstyles, Senna has a variety of viable rune choices and item builds to suit different playstyles and team compositions. Depending on your preferred role and playstyle, you can choose between defensive, offensive, or utility-focused runes and tailor your item build to prioritize raw damage output, utility, or survivability. We will take a look at the most optimal rune set that will work well in several situations.
Aery vs Harvest
Summon Aery is the recommended keystone rune for Senna, especially for those who are just starting out with her. While Dark Harvest can be a powerful choice in a bot lane matchup that you can easily bully, it requires getting ahead early to scale into a late-game beast. On the other hand, Summon Aery provides reliable damage and protection, making Senna a jack of all trades. With Aery, you can heal your ADC and damage enemies with your Piercing Darkness, while also providing shields with Dawning Shadow. Overall, Summon Aery is a safer and more versatile option that suits Senna’s playstyle.
Supporting Runes
Manaflow Band is a must-have rune as it helps stack the mana needed to constantly heal your allies. By landing 10 Piercing Darkness or Last Embrace early, you’ll have enough mana to heal your carry without worrying about running out.
Transcendence is a slow-burner, but it’s worth it for its spammability mid-late game. Although it doesn’t give you anything in lane, it provides extra adaptive force when you’re full build. If you’re new to Senna, Absolute Focus may be a bit difficult to use as it requires great positioning.
Lastly, Gathering Storm is an excellent rune for those looking to scale infinitely into the late game. It works well with your heal and ult, making it easier to keep your carry alive and peel for them. While Scorch can provide extra damage in lane, Senna is not a lane bully with Summon Aery, but rather a support focused on keeping allies alive.
Starting Items
When it comes to starting items, Spectral Sickle with 2 Health Potions is the go-to for most games. The flat AD and gold generation from exploiting Senna’s 600 base attack range make it a solid choice, especially since it also provides much-needed early game mana regen for better sustain in lane. However, in certain scenarios where extreme poke is present or lag is an issue, Steel Shoulderguards with 2 Health Potions can be a viable alternative. It’s important to note that starting items like Spellthief’s Edge or Relic Shield aren’t recommended, as Senna’s passive heavily relies on raw AD and the mana regen from Spectral Sickle is crucial for her early game performance.
Core Items
To optimize your build on Senna, I recommend going for Eclipse as your core item. It provides great sustain and raw power, making it a strong choice for most situations. Additionally, the armor penetration it provides is particularly effective against tank matchups.
As for boots, Boots of Swiftness are a great option for Senna as they provide consistent movement speed and a strong slow resist. However, if the enemy team has no slows or you don’t need the defensive stats from Plated Steelcaps or Mercury’s Treads, consider going for Ionian Boots of Lucidity instead.
Lastly, Umbral Grave is an essential item for Senna. Its blackout passive lets you one-shot wards, which is incredibly helpful in freeing up vision for your team. The haste and raw AD also work great with Senna’s scaling and auto attack passive. In short, this item should be a priority in almost every game, regardless of whether you’re building for damage or support.
How to play Senna in the early game?
In the early game, Senna’s strength lies in her poke potential, but she can struggle against counter picks. To maximize her effectiveness, focus on constantly poking the enemy ADC and harassing them whenever they try to last hit a minion. Your Q ability is particularly useful for trading as it allows you to heal the damage you take while dealing extra damage to the enemy. As Fasting Senna, you can also take 1-2 melee minions per wave to balance out your gold and mist acquisition.
If playing as a support, it’s still important to roam, but not as frequently as other supports as Senna benefits from staying in lane to collect mists. You should consider roaming when your ADC is dead or gone, or when there’s an objective to contest like a herald or drake. Additionally, if you can’t gain value in bot lane due to an enemy freeze, it’s a good idea to walk to mid lane or deep ward the enemy jungle.
How to play Senna in the mid game?
During the mid game, Senna’s power spikes as she has collected a significant amount of mists, making her a potent healer and damage dealer from a safe distance. In this phase of the game, you should focus on setting up wards and clearing enemy wards around the Dragon/Baron pit and the river, especially when they’re about to spawn. You can also assist other laners in pushing lanes or securing map priority. If necessary, don’t hesitate to back to get pink wards and reset your support item, even if you don’t have any other items to purchase. However, you should avoid being alone in a lane as Senna is vulnerable and can be easily taken down.
Champion Synergies
Champion synergies are an important aspect to consider when playing Senna. As a marksman support, Senna can provide a lot of utility to her team, but her full potential can only be realized with the right champions by her side. In this section, we’ll discuss some of the best champions that synergize well with Senna, and how you can use their abilities to create devastating combinations.
Caitlyn
Caitlyn is a strong pick when paired with Senna due to their combined range and poke potential. Senna’s Root ability also helps set up Caitlyn’s traps, allowing for easy pickings on unsuspecting enemies. Together, they can keep the enemy constantly poked down and create a strong presence in the bot lane.
Lucian
Senna and Lucian have a great synergy in lane, as their abilities complement each other well. Lucian’s passive double-shot benefits from Senna’s Mist, allowing him to deal more damage and heal more. Senna’s long-range poke can also set up Lucian’s all-in potential, while her W can provide a root to lock down targets for Lucian’s damage. Additionally, both champions have strong mobility, making them difficult to catch and allowing them to kite effectively in fights. Overall, Senna and Lucian can be a deadly duo in the bot lane.
Yasou
To maximize your synergy with Yasuo, you should aim to play an aggressive lane after level 3. Use your abilities to force fights with the enemy and land multi-person Q’s. If you can land your W, it can be a death sentence for the enemy champions with Yasuo around. Together, you can deal a lot of damage and secure kills with your combined abilities.
Jhin
Senna and Jhin make for a deadly lane with their combined burst potential and crowd control. Jhin’s root allows Senna to easily follow up with her abilities, poking enemies down until Jhin can finish them off with his fourth shot. The lane can be played aggressively or passively depending on Jhin’s playstyle, but always look for opportunities to combo with his W and your own, setting up long roots to bully enemies in lane.
Seraphine
Senna and Seraphine are a strong duo in the bot lane, particularly when Seraphine is played as an APC. Senna’s Q slow can easily set up Seraphine’s E to root or stun enemies, and their combined poking and trading is very effective. Additionally, Seraphine’s wave clearing abilities ensure that the lane isn’t constantly pushed under Senna’s turret.
Senna Combos
Mastering Senna’s combos is crucial for maximizing her damage and utility in fights. In this section, we will explore some of the most effective Senna combos that you can use to dominate the battlefield.
Fast Burst Combo
The Fast Burst combo is a great way to poke and trade with the enemy in lane. It can be executed by casting your W to root the enemy in place, following up with an auto-attack, then using your Q to deal extra damage and heal yourself, and finally finishing off with another auto-attack. This combo can catch the enemy off guard and deal significant damage, while also providing sustain for yourself. It’s important to time your W correctly and follow up quickly with your auto-attacks to maximize the effectiveness of this combo.
Spectral Executioner
This combo is a powerful all-in engage combo that can quickly burst down enemies. Start with a Q followed by an AA to apply some poke damage. Then use your W to root them in place and land another AA. Finally, use your R to finish them off with a final AA. This combo is great for catching enemies off guard and quickly eliminating them.
Final Flash
The W Flash AA Q R AA combo is a high damage combo that can catch enemies off guard. It is useful for initiating fights or finishing off low health enemies. The combo starts with a surprise W Flash, followed by an AA and Q for additional damage. Then, Senna’s ultimate is used to finish off the enemy, and a final AA is used to secure the kill.
Ward Trick
This is not a combo, but rather a technique. The Ward + Q technique involves placing a control ward or trinket in a bush or over a wall, and then using your Q to hit an enemy champion or monster on the other side. This can be useful for surprise damage or stealing objectives like Baron or Dragon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Senna is a versatile champion that can fit well in multiple team compositions and playstyles. Whether you choose to play her as an ADC or support, it’s important to understand her unique abilities and use them to your advantage. With her long-range poke, crowd control, and utility, Senna can be a game-changer in the right hands. By mastering her combos and understanding her champion synergies, you can dominate the bot lane and impact the game in the mid to late game. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different builds and playstyles to find what works best for you. Keep practicing, and you’ll be able to climb the ranks with Senna.