League of Legends is now home to over 150 champions, and with the changes brought by Season 12, many of the less common picks have experienced a surge in popularity, with Diana, Scorn of the Moon, being no exception.
Although she was a solid pick at virtually every time since her release back in 2012, players would soon get bored of her sometimes linear kit, which led to her small rework a few years ago. Still, to this very day Diana can out-scale and straight-up 1v5 her enemies, given the massive AOE damage she bears on nearly all of her abilities.
Besides her enormous burst, Diana also holds plenty of utility in her kit, given the resetting dashes, crowd control, shield, and auto-attack damage in her kit.
The current meta has opened up the way for new, refreshing gameplay, being most exciting for Assassin players, be it AP or AD. Most notably, Diana synergizes perfectly with the new Mythic item, Crown of the Shattered Queen, providing plenty of ability power, haste, flat resources, and the passive Safeguard, meaning that players are no longer forced into buying Banshee’s Veil when looking for more defensive items.
These being said, the main topic of this guide is centered around Jungle pathing with Diana, the Scorn of the Moon, with additional tips and tricks so you can more effectively destroy the enemy team, even in close games!
Summoner Spells
Flash + Smite
As the largest disadvantage of Junglers, Smite will automatically fill up one of your Summoner Spell slots, leaving you with only one option left. Flash is the obvious pick, as it doesn’t only provide escape potential, which Diana lacks by default, but is also useful when trying to find that large 5 men Ultimate, allowing you to reposition yourself accordingly.
Nonetheless, players with plenty of experience with Assassins can still get away with substituting Flash with Ignite, at the expense of your Mythic, as in order to compensate for the lost mobility, the ideal Mythic item would then be the classic Hextech Rocketbelt, but more on that later.
Best Diana Runes
Diana has been played with a wide variety of Runes, starting from Glacial Augment to Conqueror and the standard Electrocute, depending largely on each player’s personal style and objective with the champion.
For the standard Runes, you are going to be running Electrocute, Sudden Impact, Eyeball Collection, and Ultimate Hunter, as your kit synergizes especially well with the staple Assassin path. Subsequently, you will be taking Legend: Alacrity, to boost your damage output from your Passive, with Coup de Grace, to further amplify the raw damage output against squishy targets.
(Off Meta)
For the alternative options, players can choose to go with a tanky approach, turning Diana into an AP Bruiser with decent damage and resistances, sporting Conqueror, Presence of Mind, Legend: Alacrity, Coup de Grace / Last Stand with Shield Bash, and a flexible last option for the secondary Runes.
Still, we recommend going with the standard keystone, Electrocute, as the current meta requires Assassin champions to swiftly delete the enemy carries, in order for the rest of their team to clean up.
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Best Diana Items
Start: Hailblade + Refillable Potion
Mythic: Crown of the Shattered Queen / Hextech Rocketbelt
As mentioned, Crown of the Shattered Queen is an amazing Mythic for Diana, given the raw stats, passive and Mythic passive on this item. Still, players can still go with the old-school approach, building Rocketbelt as their Mythic, which further boosts their damage output and playmaking potential, given the added mobility.
Core: Sorcerer’s Shoes, Lich Bane, Nashor’s Tooth
Finishing options: Void Staff, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Cosmic Drive, Zhonya’s Hourglass
With the introduction of the Mythic mechanic roughly a year ago, Riot also changed many of the previous items, adapting them to the meta. That’s when Nashor’s Tooth became a standard pick for Diana, alongside the timeless Lichbane, both items, providing not only raw stats, but also a massive spike in on-hit damage.
Skill Order
Q > W > E > R
However, it’s worth mentioning that at LVL 1, players should be taking W first, as it enables them to clear the Jungle camps without losing too much HP. From that LVL 3 and onwards, all of your skill points should go towards maxing Q, followed by W and lastly E, despite many still thinking that W should be left for last.
The Best Jungle Paths for Diana
Heading for the main topic of this guide, Jungle pathing and ganking with Diana, alongside some bonus tips. We are going to cover the possible starts from each side, but players should keep a few factors in mind when deciding upon where their Jungle pathing should start. These are:
- Which laners are going to provide more help in clearing the first camp?
- Counter-jungle opportunities, based on where the enemy Jungler is likely to start.
- Which lane would you like to gank first, depending on both the allied and enemy champions.
Remember that despite playing her in the Jungle, Diana is still an Assassin at her core, meaning that in an ideal game, you will be spending more time ganking and getting takedowns than with most regular Junglers.
Red Side, Red Clear
Starting on the weaker side, Diana won’t have the support of two allies, as only the Top laner is likely to assist in taking down the Red Buff. This process may be slower than with other Junglers, as the cooldown on her W is not the shortest. Regardless of that, given the ability’s shielding and passive regeneration from your Jungling item, you can expect to be left with more than sufficient HP.
Second are the Krugs, where the W and Q damage, in combination with your first Smite charge will clear the camp very easily, allowing you to move rapidly towards the Raptors and Wolves. Given your AOE damage, E resets and W shielding, these multi-mob camps are going to be a walk in the park.
For the Blue Buff, use your second Smite charge to keep up your tempo. For your sixth camp, we have the Gromp, enabling you to walk into the River and contest the Scuttler with full Health and Mana, to complete your full clear.
After the full clear, it is important to seek some action, forcing a gank on either Mid or Bot, depending on the state of both lanes and all individual champions. Since it is imperative to land your first Q, in order to reset E, your ideal ganks will happen on lanes where your allies can also provide some crowd control, assuring that you can consistently land your Q.
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Red Side, Blue Clear
The Blue Clear is often more favorable for champions such as Diana, as the bonus Mana regeneration and help provided by the duo Bot lane can accelerate her way to LVL 6, when the game starts getting more interesting.
Clearing Blue is going to be safe and slow. Do not mind losing HP, as your first Smite is going to go onto the Gromp, which also gives you plenty of healing by default.
From there, head towards the Wolves and Raptors and clean them rapidly with your AOE damage, saving Smite for the Red Buff. You can once again expect to be quite healthy when the Scuttler is about to spawn, allowing you to fight for it in the River.
Still, if your tempo was right and the enemy Jungler is likely to end up on the opposite side of the map, you can first clear the Krugs, only stepping into the River afterward.
At all times though, you should be on the lookout for ganks or counter-ganks, making the most out of your fast-paced kit and extreme kill potential.
Blue Side, Red Clear
Switching into the Blue Side, one of the strongest clears for Diana begins with the Red Buff, through the assistance provided by your Bot laners. This enables you to finish the Krugs using Smite, being left with near full Health.
The obvious path leads to the Raptors and Wolves, but if your Mid is in a favorable position, you can force a gank as soon as you hit LVL 3, making the best use of the slow provided by the Red Buff.
Otherwise, move on to clear the Blue with Smite, into the Gromp, and finally into the River, where your Health bar will be full enough to contest the Scuttler if needed.
Now, with your core abilities unlocked and the full clear completed, do not hesitate to force ganks on Top or Mid, hoping that you manage to at least burn the enemy’s Flash, setting yourself up for a follow-up gank afterward.
Blue Side, Blue Clear
Lastly for the Blue Side Blue Buff start, slay Blue and regain your Health by using Smite to clear Gromp, allowing you to head towards the Raptors and Wolves with confidence.
Finish the Wolves and Raptors with Q, W, and Passive, to then rush the Red Buff using Smite. As with most Jungler Assassins, you can choose to skip the Krugs and head straight into the River to secure the Scuttler, or you could just as well force a gank Bot or Mid, taking the Scuttler after that.
Do not hesitate to rush counter-ganks if available, as your AOE damage in combination with the potential for burst will almost always result in your team winning the trade, despite the perhaps unfavorable positions.
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The Best Tips and Tricks for Diana Jungle
- Once Diana hits LVL 6, ganking lanes with multiple enemies on them is going to be the main focus, as a well-timed R can turn the tides of nearly all combat.
- Do not hesitate to use Smite to simply slow down your targets, improving your odds of landing Q.
- Try shutting down the enemy Jungler as often as possible through repeated counter-ganks and invades. Given the dash on Diana’s E, you can escape rather consistently by using it on enemy Jungle camps, but make sure those are up and available before adventuring too deep into enemy territory.
- The more enemies you hit with your Ultimate, the larger your damage output. In the mid to late phases, take the risks of going deep into the enemy team in order to land a massive 4 or 5 man Ulti. The shield granted by your W and Crown of the Shattered Queen, in combination with a Zhonya’s Hourglass, will allow you to survive long enough for your team to catch up to you.
- If playing with Rocketbelt, always account for its short-range dash, which is an ideal tool to reposition yourself with, closing in the angle for max-range Qs or multi-man Rs.
- Lastly, although it feels natural to rely solely on your abilities, Diana’s Passive combined with Lich Bane grant the Scorn of the Moon a considerable amount of extra damage, which many players neglect to this day. Always try getting a few auto-attacks down on your enemy, as it can really make the difference between a successful and failed Assassination attempt.
Finalizing Thoughts
Diana’s entire kit and game style is made up of high mobility and AOE burst damage, making her the ideal champion when it comes to shutting down enemies starting with the early game.
Try dropping Vision or Control Wards across the enemy Jungle, as that information is going to enable Diana to successfully counter-gank and solo kill roaming enemies, creating devastating discrepancies between the teams’ gold and tempo.
In teamfights, Diana can be played both as an Assassin and as an engage tool, but ideally you are looking for a position from which you can achieve both. Remembering that your Q and E can reach beyond many walls, hiding in the shadows and waiting for that perfect window of grouped-up enemies can be your best call.
As tempting as it is to use Zhonya’s Hourglass as soon as you cast your Ultimate, patience is key to executing that ability correctly. Let your Crown of the Shattered Queen and W shield absorb most of the damage, but also allow the enemies to drop you below 20% Health before using Zhonya’s active, gaining more time to position yourself properly after your enemies have already used their dashes.
Adapt your style to each game, as it can be hard to tell if your team will require an Assassin or engage tool later into the game, so make sure to practice both strategies in order to fully enjoy Diana’s power!
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