Table of Contents

Is Senna a Good Support? A Comprehensive Guide

Yes, Senna is a good support, but her effectiveness is highly dependent on the player’s skill and understanding of her unique playstyle. She’s a marksman/support hybrid unlike any other in League of Legends, capable of dealing significant damage while providing utility and healing to her team. However, mastering Senna requires careful attention to positioning, soul collection, and itemization. A poorly played Senna will quickly fall behind and become a liability.

Understanding Senna’s Unique Strengths and Weaknesses

Senna deviates from the traditional support archetype. She’s not a tanky engager like Leona, nor is she a pure healer like Soraka. Her kit revolves around collecting Mist Wraiths (souls) that drop from slain minions and monsters near her, as well as from enemy champions she damages. These souls grant her increased attack range, attack damage, and critical strike chance. This unique scaling mechanic allows Senna to transition into a late-game carry, something unheard of for most supports.

Strengths:

Exceptional Scaling: Senna’s passive, Absolution, allows her to infinitely scale her AD and range, making her a formidable late-game damage dealer.
Global Utility: Her ultimate, Dawning Shadow, is a global shield and damage ability, capable of turning the tide of fights across the map.
Versatile Build Options: Senna can be built with a variety of items depending on the game’s needs, from damage-focused builds to more supportive builds.
Strong Lane Presence: Her long range and Q ability, Piercing Darkness, allow her to poke enemies and heal allies simultaneously.
Unique Vision Control: Her E ability, Curse of the Black Mist, grants camouflage to herself and allies, allowing for strategic ambushes and vision control.

Weaknesses:

Low Base Stats: Senna has poor base health and armor, making her vulnerable to burst damage.
Reliant on Soul Collection: Falling behind on soul collection severely impacts her scaling and damage output.
Positioning is Crucial: Due to her squishiness and reliance on auto-attacks, Senna requires impeccable positioning to survive team fights.
Easily Punished in Melee Range: She struggles against assassins and bruisers who can easily close the gap and lock her down.
Dependent on Auto-Attacking: Much of her damage relies on auto-attacking. If you are forced to stay back, your contribution diminishes.

How to Maximize Senna’s Potential as Support

To effectively play Senna support, you must prioritize soul collection without jeopardizing your safety or your ADC’s farm. Focus on poking enemies with your Q and auto-attacks to harass them and increase the chance of souls dropping. Utilize bushes to gain a positional advantage and surprise enemies.

Mastering Soul Collection

Prioritize Souls from Champions: Focus on hitting enemy champions with abilities and auto-attacks to generate souls.
Position Aggressively (But Safely): Position yourself slightly ahead of your ADC to zone enemies and collect souls that drop from minions.
Utilize Bushes: Use bushes to hide and ambush enemies, making it easier to secure souls.
Don’t Sacrifice Your ADC’s Farm: Avoid taking last hits on minions unless absolutely necessary. Your priority is soul collection, not CS.
Consider Relic Shield: Start with Relic Shield as your support item. The ability to execute minions helps with soul acquisition and provides gold for both you and your ADC.

Effective Itemization and Runes

Senna’s itemization is flexible but generally leans towards damage and utility. Popular items include:

Umbral Glaive: Provides vision control and lethality.
Black Mist Scythe (Support Item): Offers gold generation and vision.
Rapid Firecannon: Increases attack range and provides a burst of movement speed.
Infinity Edge: Significantly boosts her critical strike damage.
Guinsoo’s Rageblade: Converts critical strike chance into on-hit damage.

Common rune choices include:

Fleet Footwork: Provides sustain and movement speed.
Glacial Augment: Offers crowd control and utility.
Presence of Mind: Helps with mana sustain.
Cut Down: Increases damage against tanky enemies.

Team Composition Synergies

Senna synergizes well with ADCs who can provide peel or engage, such as:

Jhin: His long-range poke and crowd control complement Senna’s playstyle.
Caitlyn: Her superior range allows her to capitalize on Senna’s poke.
Ashe: Her slows and global ultimate can set up kills for Senna.

She struggles against aggressive all-in supports like Leona or Nautilus, who can easily lock her down and burst her.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Senna Support

1. Is Senna better as ADC or Support?

While Senna can be played as ADC, she generally excels as a support due to her utility and passive soul collection mechanic. Her ability to scale into the late game without needing traditional farm makes her a powerful support option.

2. What starting items should I build on Senna support?

The most common starting item is Relic Shield for the execute passive that helps with soul collection and grants gold to both you and your ADC. Health potions are also crucial for sustain in lane.

3. How do I effectively collect souls as Senna support?

Focus on poking enemy champions with your Q and auto-attacks. Position yourself aggressively (but safely) to collect souls that drop from dying minions. Use bushes to your advantage.

4. What is the best build for Senna support in season 14?

A popular build path includes Black Mist Scythe, Umbral Glaive, Rapid Firecannon, and Infinity Edge. However, itemization should adapt to the specific game and enemy team composition.

5. What are the best runes for Senna support?

Fleet Footwork is a strong choice for sustain and mobility. Glacial Augment can also be effective for crowd control. Consider Presence of Mind for mana sustain and Cut Down for increased damage against tanks.

6. How do I counter Senna as a support?

Pick aggressive engage supports like Leona, Nautilus, or Alistar to punish her squishiness. Prioritize vision control to deny her soul collection.

7. What ADC champions synergize well with Senna support?

Jhin, Caitlyn, and Ashe are excellent choices due to their range, poke, and crowd control abilities. These champions can capitalize on Senna’s poke and utility.

8. How do I use Senna’s ultimate effectively?

Senna’s ultimate, Dawning Shadow, is a global ability that can be used to shield allies and damage enemies across the map. Use it proactively to help allies in need or reactively to secure kills.

9. How do I position myself in lane as Senna support?

Position yourself slightly ahead of your ADC to zone enemies and collect souls. Use bushes to your advantage and be mindful of your positioning to avoid being caught out.

10. When should I pick Senna support?

Pick Senna when you need a scaling support that can provide both damage and utility. She’s a good choice against poke-heavy lanes or when your team lacks damage.

11. Is Senna a good support for climbing ranked?

Yes, Senna can be a good support for climbing ranked, provided you understand her strengths and weaknesses and can effectively execute her playstyle. Mastering her soul collection and positioning is crucial.

12. How do I deal with assassins as Senna support?

Maintain good vision control to track assassin movements. Position yourself carefully and rely on your team to peel for you. Consider building defensive items like Guardian Angel if necessary.

13. What is the best way to use Senna’s E ability, Curse of the Black Mist?

Use Senna’s E to camouflage yourself and allies, allowing for strategic ambushes and vision control. It can also be used to escape ganks or reposition in team fights.

14. How does Senna’s scaling work with souls?

Each soul grants Senna increased attack range, attack damage, and critical strike chance. This allows her to scale into a powerful late-game damage dealer, unlike most supports.

15. What are some common mistakes to avoid when playing Senna support?

Ignoring soul collection: Failing to prioritize soul collection will severely impact her scaling.
Poor positioning: Getting caught out due to poor positioning will lead to easy deaths.
Greeding for farm: Sacrificing your ADC’s farm to collect souls is detrimental.
Not utilizing her utility: Forgetting to use your W and E to support your team.
Ignoring vision control: Neglecting to ward and provide vision for your team.

In conclusion, Senna is a complex and rewarding support champion that requires dedication and practice to master. By understanding her strengths, weaknesses, and unique mechanics, you can effectively utilize her to carry games and climb the ranked ladder. She is a good support, just one with a high skill ceiling.

Is Senna a good support?