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Strategy is highly subjective and may become outdated without any notice. Because of this, the League of Legends Wiki has decided to retire strategy pages and would recommend using other platforms (such as YouTube) to find guides. For more information visit this thread.
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Gameplay[]
By NeeksNaman[1]
In addition to 
Rengar, we'll have another upcoming champion available for play at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. After the Pridestalker joins the League, 
Syndra, the Dark Sovereign, will descend upon the Fields of Justice in the following patch. A magical prodigy, Syndra conjures powerful 
Dark Spheres, and even 
wields enemy minions and monsters as weapons. Here's the full rundown of her abilities.
- Transcendent
Each of Syndra's normal abilities gain an extra effect at max rank.
- Dark Sphere: Spheres deal bonus damage to champions.
- Force of Will: Increases the slowing duration. (*)
Scatter the Weak: Cone width increases.
- Dark Sphere
- Force of Will
- First Cast: Grabs a target dark sphere, enemy minion or neutral monster.
- Second Cast: Throw a grasped dark sphere or enemy at a target area. Enemies struck by the projectile take magic damage and are slowed.
- Scatter the Weak
Dark Spheres within the area-of-effect are also knocked back, dealing magic damage and stunning enemies in their path.
- Unleashed Power
Dark Spheres to deal additional magic damage to an enemy champion.Syndra's kit revolves around the manipulation of short-duration globes left behind by Dark Sphere. While the function of Dark Sphere is very simple on the surface, proper sphere management can be the difference between success and failure with Syndra. Each of her abilities can be used on its own in a pinch, but good sphere placement ensures that Syndra always has the ammunition she needs to throw projectiles with Force of Will, and creates new firing angles for globes launched with 
Scatter the Weak.
While it might be tempting to snatch up a defenseless minion and use it as a projectile, Syndra's Force of Will ability really shines when it's used in conjunction with Dark Spheres. Syndra can use Force of Will to reposition these globes for a successful shot with Scatter the Weak while Dark Sphere is on cooldown, or to extend the duration of a sphere that's about to expire in order to build up ammunition on the battlefield. Ultimately, keeping your sphere count high in this manner will allow you to dictate the course of a battle by threatening a large area.
The importance of managing your Dark Spheres is most keenly illustrated by Syndra's ultimate ability, 
Unleashed Power. The increased damage granted by each active sphere can transform this ability from high-damage nuke into a cataclysmic attack. Good planning and strategic Dark Sphere placement can make Syndra an intimidating opponent to face in mid lane.
(*) Syndra's ability to clear minion waves from long range and put out a ton of burst damage got to be a bit much when combined with her substantial complement of crowd control abilities. Ultimately, we decided that the slow from Force of Will combined with the stun and knockback of Scatter the Weak gave her a problematic amount of disruption potential for the amount of damage she was doing. To solve this, we lowered the base slow on Force of Will and tweaked the added effect from her 
passive. Instead of knocking opponents into the air, you'll now get an increase in your slow's duration when Force of Will reaches Rank 5.
Champion Spotlight[]
Recommended Items[]
Tips[]
- Playing As Syndra
- To maximize your ultimate's damage use it when there are many spheres on the battlefield.
- After you hit an enemy champion with Force of Will follow up with Dark Sphere, they'll be slowed and have a hard time avoiding it.
- Get one of your spells to rank 5 as quickly as possible, they gain powerful bonus effects at max rank.
- Playing Against Syndra
- Get boots early when playing against Syndra, they'll help you avoid many of her spells.
- Attack Syndra after she's used Scatter the Weak, it has a long cooldown so she'll be vulnerable.
- At max rank Syndra's spells gain bonus effects and change in appearance.
Tricks[]
- Ability Usage
- It is recommended to get one of your spells to rank 5 as quickly as possible to benefit from its Transcendent bonus.
- Maxing Dark Sphere first is highly recommended. This will increase the damage versus champions, while the other Transcendent bonuses offer improved utility but no extra damage.
- Maxing
- It is also recommended that smart casting is used on all of Syndra's abilities except her ultimate. This allows for seamless transition between her abilities and faster combos, which is critical in team fights.
- However, while Dark Sphere and Scatter the Weak are musts for smart casting, you may not want to smartcast Force of Will as you could end up grabbing a minion instead of a sphere or grabbing the wrong sphere. This problem disappears as you get used to Syndra.
- However, while
- To get out 4 bonus Dark Spheres (the maximum possible) you need more than 30% cooldown reduction and you can do this by using the following combo: Q > Q > W (targeting the first sphere) > Q > Q > R right after.
- However, the delay on her ultimate and the increased micromanagement requires a higher level of skill on an already difficult champion. For most players, it may be more efficient to try using Q > E > Q > and W on the first sphere > R right after - this sacrifices one or two dark spheres on her ultimate for a quicker, more reliable combo.
- Four spheres are mostly used to kill a very tanky champion, like a fighter.
- Two spheres (assuming you actually hit the damage of the sphere summoning itself) is usually enough to smash a squishy target (Syndra decimates squishies) like a Marksman or Mage.
- One sphere or no spheres is only used if you have everything else on cooldown and need to kill someone immediately, the damage is actually quite respectable with only one bonus sphere.
- However, the delay on her ultimate and the increased micromanagement requires a higher level of skill on an already difficult champion. For most players, it may be more efficient to try using
- For a basic combo, try Q > Q > W > E to damage, slow and stun your target in quick succession.
- If you notice your opponent is easily avoiding all your Dark Spheres, try to be more conservative about it, the low cooldown makes it tempting to use continuously, but pushes the lane if you hit minions (and invites junglers) and drains your mana quickly at higher ranks.
- Dark Sphere has no channel upon cast, which means you can cast it without interrupting your movement. Take this into consideration when playing Syndra, since it allows you to kite and chase enemy champions easily.
- During laning, keep Syndra always on the move, only stopping to last hit or kill someone. This way Syndra will be more safe from skillshots and delayed abilities and she will be free to poke with Dark Sphere while still moving.
- During laning, keep Syndra always on the move, only stopping to last hit or kill someone. This way Syndra will be more safe from skillshots and delayed abilities and she will be free to poke with
- To maximize your chances of hitting the enemy champion with Dark Sphere, use it right when they last-hit.
- After you hit an enemy champion with Force of Will, follow up with Dark Sphere; they'll be slowed and have a hard time avoiding it. If you are confident enough in your own aiming, casting Dark Sphere right after Force of Will will cause them to hit at the same time; this can save a few seconds if you are considering a combo for Unleashed Power.
- When being chased in the jungle, use Force of Will on a nearby neutral monster to slow the enemy champion.
- Thin choke points like most of the jungle will make it easier to use Scatter the Weak when an opponent gets too close.
- Thin choke points like most of the jungle will make it easier to use
- Force of Will can be used to throw enemy player pets such as Annie's Tibbers to get them away from allies or yourself.
- Be careful about grabbing Tibbers as his damaging aura is still active while held by Force of Will.
- Be careful about grabbing
- Even though it is possible to teleport while carrying a minion or buff with Force of Will the link will break and it will be released from where you teleported from.
- Placing a Dark Sphere directly in front of yourself and then follow it up with a quick and well-aimed Scatter the Weak gives you a long range stun.
- Try using Scatter the Weak right after using Unleashed Power for an increased chance on stunning enemies for a quick follow up of Force of Will and Dark Sphere.
- Scatter the Weak will still stun a champion if they get between a Dark Sphere and yourself, if they are in-line with the abilities knockback. Note that the stun occurs when the sphere and the enemy collide, therefore you do get a fraction of a second's length longer on your knockback-stun chain if you hit a nearby enemy into a farther away sphere.
- When fleeing, creating a Dark Sphere and/or using Force of Will won't halt or slow your movement at all, making these good options for deterring chase or making it impossible to catch up to you, particularly if you have Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Scatter the Weak's cast animation may allow pursuers to gain ground necessary to use a targeted ability on you, therefore you should consider if this might be the case before using it to secure an escape.
- Try to stay back in teamfights since Syndra is pretty fragile.
- Her main damage abilities, Dark Sphere and Force of Will have good range so she can stay back.
- You should only get close to use Unleashed Power (before rank 3 the range is quite short) after you have summoned about two spheres.
- If someone gets too close punish them with a Dark Sphere into a stun with Scatter the Weak. If the enemy is relentless drop another sphere, a Force of Will and a finishing ultimate.
- Unleashed Power has the potential to be one of the most damaging single target spells in the game. If you get hugely ahead during a certain phase, it has the potential to one-shot. You should consider carefully when and where you are going to use it during important team fights however, as you should only be able to have it up once per fight.
- Her main damage abilities,
- Mastery Usage
- Item Usage
- Syndra's damage output is reliant on a high CDR build - it will provide stronger harass with Q and W combos, and being able to maintain more Dark Spheres on the battlefield will potentially increase the damage of Unleashed Power.
- She is extremely mana hungry. Athene's Unholy Grail provides every stat she needs; AP, CDR, and mana regen.
- She is extremely mana hungry.
- The passive on Rylai's Crystal Scepter synergizes with all of her spells to varying degrees; however the bonus mana on Rod of Ages will help with Syndra's high mana costs and may be a preferable option depending on your runes and masteries.
- Due to Syndra's low cooldowns on Dark Sphere, an early Tear of the Goddess, and then Archangel's Staff, can be charged quickly and is therefore a viable item to have.
- It has been debated that Manamune is a better purchase on Syndra due to Shock, which procs per sphere during Unleashed Power. With only Muramana for mana, the bonus damage per sphere at full mana is between 93-129 (level 6-18). This is the single most damage attainable from only a single item, and is the equivalent of having 465-645 bonus ability power. This is 279-387 bonus damage with only the minimum 3 spheres.
- It has been debated that
- It's sub-optimal to grab a Rabadon's Deathcap early in the game. Even with the AP boost, it is likely better to buy a Void Staff first.
- Zhonya's Hourglass is a great pickup on Syndra. The invulnerability is such a strong mechanic in late-game that it may provide exactly what you need to win even a fight that seems hopeless. The stats on this are good as well, so there's no reason not to buy this at some point in the game.
- Luden's Echo will increase your burst damage by quite a bit, and provide certain flexibility to your gameplay. This is because although Lich Bane provides fairly similar stats (and potentially a lot more damage) it requires you to get closer than you really would want to be in order to proc the autoattack effect. Movement speed is actually something Syndra might sorely need in order to land multiple abilities more easily in mobile teamfights.
- Since Syndra's kit relies on frequent use of low cooldown spells, mana regeneration is a mandatory stat.
- If you use two flat cooldown reduction quintessences, alongside masteries, you can start the game with 10% cooldown reduction. This opens your build path to get less cooldown and more damage, or simply strengthens your build if you wouldn't have itemized CDR beyond your mana item.
- You can otherwise opt for just your masteries, Ionian Boots of Lucidity and a Athene's Unholy Grail or Morellonomicon for max cooldown reduction.
- If your team has a lot of magic damage, consider asking someone who will be nearer to the enemies than you to buy an Abyssal Mask, this will most likely help your team overall. Building Abyssal Mask yourself isn't a bad idea if you need the magic resistance and your team needs the damage, but this is out-scaled later on in the game by other options since you will need to stay further from enemies to beat them.
- Banshee's Veil can be a great solution versus 'catch' and 'hard engage' compositions. It also effectively helps prevent yourself from getting burst down by other AP mages. This item isn't a solution to heavy poke, but it may help some.
- Guardian Angel is best used when the enemy marksman is practically the only enemy that is a threat. You are likely able to kill them as they proc this item, but if not then your team may finish them while you're in stasis. Even if that doesn't happen, you have another shot at them when you 'resurrect' from this item. It's best to get Zhonya's Hourglass before getting this item in almost any situation, however.
- The notorious combination of Liandry's Torment and Rylai's Crystal Scepter can be a good option if you are planning to survive a long time throughout fights. The bonus slow and DPS passive alongside with magic penetration can be surprisingly powerful.
- Countering
- Get boots early when playing against Syndra, they'll help you avoid many of her spells.
- Constantly moving or strafing unpredictably will make it much harder for Syndra to harass you with her Dark Spheres.
- Attack Syndra after she's used Scatter the Weak, it has a long cooldown, so she will be vulnerable.
- With no reliable escape tool she is also easily ganked and weak against champions with gap closers and crowd control.
- When ganking her, split up so she can't use Force of Will and Scatter the Weak to disable both you and your ally. If she manages to stun she will also easily get to slow you, and will likely escape if both you and your ally are affected by this.
- When ganking her, split up so she can't use
- If Syndra keeps creating Dark Spheres in a situation where she would be better off doing something else (like re-positioning or knocking back enemies), then she is likely preparing to use her ultimate.
- Syndra is a bursty mage, try to focus her down first if you are having problems with her damage.
- In late game she can be very powerful with her spammable nuke. Try to deny her farming early game to cut down on her damage potential later on.
- Be wary when dueling in a 1v1 with Syndra. If her ultimate Unleashed Power is available she can instantly burst you down before you are able to kill her.
- The Scatter the Weak and Dark Sphere stun combo can be very hard to land if enemy is too close to her, which can give you an opportunity to burst her down.
- If using this method, beware her ultimate Unleashed Power since it has relatively short range, meaning she might use it on you, being the closest person. Consider trying this plan when her ultimate goes on cooldown (warning: at rank 3 Unleashed Power's range is increased by 75 units)
- If using this method, beware her ultimate
- Purchasing a Zhonya's Hourglass is recommended when facing Syndra. Although the armor is useless against her, the active is very useful as it is able to negate the damage from her ultimate, by making you untargetable while all the spheres try to go into you.
- Fizz is the hardest counter to Syndra. He can quickly close the gap against her, and burst her down before she is able to kill him. With his huge mobility, Fizz is able to dodge all of Syndra's abilities, including the stun on Scatter the Weak. Fizz is even able to completely negate the damage from Unleashed Power just with Playful/ Trickster.
- Ekko is also a reasonably good counter. He can match her harass with his Timewinder, use Parallel Convergence to shield his way through her burst, dodge her abilities with Phase Dive, and negate her own ultimate with a well-timed Chronobreak.
