Sion is a straightforward scaling tank who Q charges for 2+ second stuns and R charges for unstoppable engage. His W passive gives permanent HP for every minion kill — farm aggressively and become unkillable. His R is one of the most impactful engages in the game.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Glory in Death
Passive
After being killed, Sion will temporarily reanimate with rapidly decaying Health. His attacks become very rapid, heal him, and deal bonus damage based on his target's maximum Health.
Q
Decimating Smash
Decimating Smash — Charge up AoE ground smash that stuns, more charge = more damage
Sion charges a powerful swing in an area in front of himself that will deal damage to enemies when released. If he charges for enough time, enemies hit by the swing will also be knocked up and stunned.
CD: 10/9/8/7/6 · Cost: 45
Max charge Q deals 300% damage and a 2.25 second stun — always charge to max before releasing.
W
Soul Furnace
Soul Furnace — HP shield that explodes for AoE damage; passive grants HP per minion kill
Sion shields himself and can reactivate after 3 seconds to deal Magic Damage to enemies nearby. When Sion kills enemies, he passively gains maximum Health.
CD: 15/14/13/12/11 · Cost: 65/70/75/80/85
Activate W shield before trades, then explode it manually for AoE damage or let HP trigger auto-burst.
E
Roar of the Slayer
Roar of the Slayer — Ranged slow cone that applies to all enemies hit and reduces armor
Sion fires a short range shockwave that damages and slows and reduces the Armor of the first enemy hit. If the shockwave hits a minion or monster, it will be knocked back, damaging, slowing, and reducing the Armor of all enemies that it passes through.
CD: 12/11/10/9/8 · Cost: 35/40/45/50/55
E reduces armor 20% on all enemies hit — use it before Q smash for maximum combo damage.
R
Unstoppable Onslaught
Unstoppable Onslaught — Unstoppable charge that deals massive damage and knockup on collision
Sion charges in a direction, ramping up speed over time. He can steer his charge slightly with the mouse cursor location. When he collides with an enemy he deals damage and knocks them up based on the distance he has charged.
CD: 140/100/60 · Cost: 100
R from long distance for maximum speed — the further you charge, the more damage the collision deals.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q for maximum stun duration and damage. Then W for shield power and passive HP, last E.
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| 11 | |||||
| 12 | |||||
| 13 | |||||
| 14 | |||||
| 15 | |||||
| 16 | |||||
| 17 | |||||
| 18 |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter
Doran's Shield
HP sustain for early laning — Sion wants to reach his passive HP stacking mid-game phase.
450g
Core
Sunfire Aegis
Burns nearby enemies during Q charge and W shield window. HP amplifies W passive stacking.
2700g
Dead Man's Plate
Move speed to close gap for Q charge. Momentum damage when ending R charge.
2900g
Spirit Visage
MR and HP. W passive HP stacking is amplified by all HP items.
2900g
Situational
Thornmail
Grievous Wounds and reflect vs healing comps. Armor for sustained tanking.
2700g
Warmog's Armor
Enormous HP pool for W passive scaling. Warmog's regen between fights.
3000g
Force of Nature
MR and move speed vs AP-heavy comps. Essential for surviving AP burst in the Q charge window.
2900g
W passive stacks HP from every minion kill — every HP item also amplifies the W passive HP gain rate. Stack HP constantly.
Runes
Resolve Primary
Grasp of the Undying
Free HP every 4 seconds — combined with W passive HP stacking, Grasp makes Sion's HP growth enormous.
Demolish
Tower damage with massive HP pool — Sion's HP at full scaling makes Demolish deal enormous damage.
Conditioning
Free armor/MR at 12 minutes — amplifies W shield effectiveness and overall durability.
Overgrowth
Permanent HP from minions — stacks with W passive HP gain for double HP scaling.
Sorcery Secondary
Nimbus Cloak
Move speed after Flash — Flash+R or Flash+Q engage gets Nimbus Cloak speed for maximum approach.
Gathering Storm
Late-game AP scaling amplifies Q smash damage and W shield burst for extended fights.
Shards
Health · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Sion
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- E slow → max charge Q stun is your core trade pattern.
- The 2.25 second stun gives your jungler enormous gank time.
- W shield before trading then detonate manually for AoE.
- Farm every minion with W passive for permanent HP.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- R into teamfights as an engage — charge from outside the fight for maximum speed and damage.
- E to slow the target before Q charge.
- Your W passive HP stacking makes you increasingly unkillable as the game goes longer.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- R is a global engage — charge from blue side to dragon pit or across an entire lane.
- The maximum speed collision deals enormous knockup damage and stuns the collision target.
- Q stun for 2+ seconds leaves enemies helpless for your team.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Sion
Sion's teamfight opener is R charge from distance for maximum damage, then Q stun the grouped enemies. E armor shred amplifies the combo, and W shield explodes for AoE damage.
1
Engage — R Unstoppable Charge
Fight opener
01
R from maximum distance toward the enemy carry cluster — speed builds the further you travel.
02
R is unstoppable — no CC, no wall, nothing stops the charge. Go through everything.
03
Collision damage and knockup on anyone in your path — position for maximum multi-target collision.
Never R into a wall behind the enemy — you want to collide INTO the enemy, not wall out. Aim R so the first solid obstacle is their cluster.
2
Q Stun — Max Charge
CC chain
01
E first immediately after R — armor shred on the cluster before Q hits.
02
Max charge Q smash in the cluster — 2.25 second stun on all enemies hit.
03
W shield detonation on the stunned cluster for AoE burst damage.
3
Unkillable — Passive Death
Even after death
01
Sion becomes Unstoppable upon dying — his passive gives 10 seconds of reduced power fight.
02
Continue Q and E during passive — even dead Sion deals damage and slows enemies.
03
W passive HP at full stacking makes dying much harder than expected — you survive much longer.
When Sion dies, his passive activates — he continues fighting with constant HP drain. Use passive time to Q stun or E slow remaining enemies for your team's cleanup.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Sion.
Basic
Max charge Q always
the 2.25 second stun at max charge vs 0.75 second at min charge is a massive difference.
Intermediate
W passive stacks HP every minion kill
farm every wave aggressively for permanent HP gain.
Intermediate
R charges faster the longer you travel
R from maximum distance for maximum damage and speed.
Advanced
R is truly unstoppable
it ignores Malphite R, Amumu R, all CC. Just charge through everything.
Basic
E armor shred before Q
the 20% armor reduction amplifies Q smash damage significantly.
Intermediate
Your passive death form still fights
Q and E during passive time for additional CC and slow.
Advanced
Demolish with massive HP deals enormous tower damage
R into their base after R kills the support.
Advanced
Grasp + Overgrowth + W passive = 7000+ HP at full
Grasp + Overgrowth + W passive = 7000+ HP at full build. You cannot be killed in extended fights.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Sion is countered by mobile champions who can dodge his Q charge and R collision and ranged poke who can interrupt his Q charging animation.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Vayne's Condemn pushes Sion away mid-Q charge cancelling it. True damage scales with his massive HP stacking.
Bait Vayne's Condemn before starting Q charge. Build Force of Nature — true damage scaling with HP is countered by MR reduction.
Fiora's W Parry blocks Sion's Q smash. Her Vitals deal true damage that bypasses his armor stacking.
Bait Fiora's W then immediately Q charge. Without Parry the 2.25 second stun is free and unavoidable.
Quinn's Vault knockback prevents Sion from closing the gap for Q charge. Her range keeps her outside R collision range.
R from outside Quinn's Vault range — she can't stop an R charge in progress. Bait her Vault before R.
Wins Against
E armor shred counters Darius's armor-based trading. Q max charge stun leaves Darius helpless for 2.25 seconds.
E into Q max charge every time Darius walks up. His E pull is avoidable by Q charging before he can react.
Sion's Q stun is longer than Garen's silence. W shield absorbs his E spin damage. Garen has no answer to max Q.
Q charge when Garen tries to spin — the stun is 2.25 seconds vs his 1.5 second spin. You win the CC duel.
Sion's Q stun interrupts all Q stacking attempts. His W passive HP scaling outpaces Nasus's Wither slow.
Q when Nasus walks up to stack. His Wither doesn't slow you enough to avoid max Q smash.