Game-breaking League exploit gives DJ Sona skin “pay-to-win” buff

League players have always joked about the free-to-play MOBA actually being pay-to-win. Once upon a time, that was true to a certain extent. However, this DJ Sona exploit takes it to a whole new level, making the virtuoso immune to certain types of crowd-control.

League is a free game, however that doesn’t stop people from calling it pay-to-win sometimes. If you load into a game against a full stack of players with skins, the easiest joke out there is to say “skins equals wins.”

Some skins do actually have an advantage though. Cosmetics like Marquis Vladimir were once smaller than the base champion model, even though the hitbox was the same. Others, like iBlitzcrank, make it hard to see some animations, giving your opponents less time to dodge.

However, there’s been nothing that’s actually altered gameplay significantly. That’s until this weird interaction uncovered on League Patch 10.15 involving DJ Sona, giving her the ability to cleanse crowd control.

The exploit was shared by Vandiril on August 2, showing just how DJ Sona can dodge certain types of CC. If the player controlling DJ Sona spams her song toggle “Drop The Beat,” she will not be affected by the CC.

• Read more: Sona-Lux bot lane is taking over League of Legends

The debuffs Sona can dodge includes charms, fears, and taunts. She can’t, however, dodge stuns, snares, silences, slows, or any other kind of CC. All this glitch stops is Sona walking towards an enemy involuntarily by forcibly keeping her in the same spot.

This exploit could have a drastic impact on how you play Sona. Got a Galio running at you with taunt? Just spam your toggle. Evelynn charm on your head? Hit toggle. While you won’t negate the damage, it could just save your life by not putting you out of position.

In a teamfight setting, this could be pretty hard to pull off properly. With abilities flying everywhere, it can be tricky to figure out what needs dodging with the toggle. However, it’s completely doable.

There is one thing you need to watch out for if you do abuse this exploit ⁠— and that’s a ban. Riot have been swinging the ban hammer at players who have abused exploits recently, including an Ornn W exploit which saw 3,000 players suspended in China. A similar exploit for Poppy and Kayn also got players permanently banned.

• Read more: Nifty trick gives Rek’Sai “hypermobility” on the Rift

Given Sona’s seeing a rise in play thanks to a new bot lane duo with Lux, you might come across this more regularly in solo queue. If you do, you can just pray that the Sona you are up against doesn’t know about the exploit yet. Else, maybe find another target to lock down until Riot fixes the glitch.