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Some advice for a bronzie Support trying to climb

Serket8reaker·11/30/2016, 3:29:55 AM·1 votes·668 views

http://i.imgur.com/qH9r7qe.gif

TLDR; LOLOL WHY TRAPPED IN BRONZE PLAYING WITH SILVERS MMR TOO GOOD PLS HALP

Please keep in mind I am pretty new to the game and don't even like pvp at all. I am Bronze 2 however, most of the time I play with Silvers (which I don't like, not even slightly). I ward A LOT, perhaps too much, almost 30+ wards placed every game as support. When I see the enemy jungler top or when they die, I book it to the enemy jungle to light that baby up. And my wards do help! I get a Sweeper but I've noticed it isn't necessarily useful when I notice the enemy team placed 5 wards in total, and those were probably from anyways I am decent at keeping my ADC alive however, when I sacrifice myself so they can get away and they try to avenge me it gets a bit tiliting is blessing in disguise when this happens. Usually the first to die in fights but death before i subscribe to this unholy tank meta HOW CAN I GET OUT OF ELO HELL. i know that hey if I'm playing with silvers, and with the way I'm warding I'll move up eventually But WHEN. Please please, I tend to play passive support, and I'm uncertain whether I'll do even slightly well with a tanky or ultility support. Because when I do I get a bit too aggressive or initiate at the wrong times. I can keep my ADC alive I can keep my team alive usually, we win team fights even if I die first <3 HOWEVER OBJECTIVES WE GET DRAGON, BUT THEY GET BARON 9/10 TIMES I CAN HELP KEEP MY TEAM ALIVE BUT CAN'T PROTECT TOWERS The jungler doesn't listen to me The ADC loves these champions like they have a fetish (I am trying to get Braum soon) The mid laner wants me to go away, and never likes it when I roam (which is never, anymore) Top lanes fine, Hell I've been thinking of dropping support completely and going top lane Maybe even mid I know that I'm better than this and want out of Bronze if I can't even play with Bronzies and get to play with Silver who throw constantly Hell I'm probably playing with them because they are about to drop into Bronze.

9 Comments

LordofEntropy11/30/2016, 4:23:10 AM3 votes

Warding: Obviously this is a great thing to do as anyone and support in particular, practice it, and get used to doing it as a matter of routine. The problem is that in bronze especially, people are rarely looking at the mini-map. Obviously if they were, they themselves would have more than 3 or so wards placed in an entire game, so it doesn't help as much as it will as one goes up in ranking. But you still want to make it habit and part of your routine, even if it doesn't really accomplish as much.

Climbing: As a support, the role is sort of like warding, low elo has a hard time making use of it since there is rarely much cohesion or a solidified game plan. Games tend to by like that dog in Up or whatever, wandering around...."Squirrel!!" and run off blindly into the jungle chasing an enemy. Basically everyone chasing the first thing, thing being a possible kill, they see. Sometimes as support you're ability to assist someone and help get a kill, but then they try to stick around at 30% health when 3 enemies come in, and then you die still trying to help.

So how do you mitigate that as a support?

Well there is the just play a APC type, "I'm actually going to be straight damage but call me support" and attempt to hard carry option with like Annie, Brand, Vel'Koz, or Zyra types. If you get good and truly are better than bronze, this might be the "easiest" way, but you really do need to be much better so you can carry your team.

There is also the initiator type, "I'll be the squirrel" and attempt to direct/lead your team into good fights by initiating/diving with the likes of Leona, Alistair, Nautilus, Sion. Since you're jumping in and people are normally milling around looking for the first thing to do, they'll follow. With the tankier types hopefully you live long enough for them to jump in and do something.

And then there is the play-maker type, similar to the initiator support though not necessarily as tanky/diver, like a Thresh or Bard. You're trying to focus the disorganized team into a good fight by putting a good situation right in their face. However it is usually done not by diving in, but by getting a good hook, root, stun, or whatever off, and then hoping your team follows up.

What doesn't work as well at the lower ranks are the utility types, for the reasons mentioned above, your team just simply doesn't know how to make use of them, just like the wards. Supports like Janna and Soraka can't do much to help someone that's just getting bursted down because of mispositioning. Soraka excels at allowing her ADC to trade by healing up poke and trade damage. Janna's shields also help with her ADC winning trades and smart 1v1s, but can only do so much when someone runs YOLO into 1v4s constantly.

RisenDarkKnight11/30/2016, 4:41:54 AM2 votes

So about the wards placed thing, it's not worth dying to get a ward in. The main point of warding is getting information so you don't die. So be more careful about when you go to ward (IE don't ward in the enemy jungle unless the enemy jungler is dead or ganking top, don't ward the river when the enemy mid is missing and your jungler isn't nearby, don't go ward baron area if it's all dark unless a teammate is with you, etc). Ask for teammates to come with you if you get picked off while warding.

If you have games where you play well and still lose, I recommend playing a damage support like Zyra (my main), Brand, or Vel'koz. You won't be able to help your adc as much as other supports after laning phase, but you will be able to carry teamfights with your damage (which is more important in bronze since the average bronze adc isn't very good).

If you do want to play more defensive supports, try to find a good adc to duo with, as that will make climbing as a support much easier.

Athenes Lulu11/30/2016, 4:52:38 AM2 votes

Hm... I really wish you make your original post a little more readable so you can get more people to help you, but I'll throw in a couple things.

#how to be a better support in general:

DIE LESS. I know this is bronze where people die like madmen, but it's not that hard to not die, especially as support. You got plenty of self-peel, and even lots of actives to build to save lives. A good way to get started is to not die without the usage of important items and ults. Try to have no more than 3 deaths for every 10 assists you have; that's a good standard to also get started.
Have map awareness. Fine, your team doesn't because they most likely suck shit at the game, but you don't have to. This ties very closely with the point above, but also gives you advantage so you know what to take down.
Shotcall. If they somehow don't listen to you, force it, but don't do it at your own expense. Most likely they won't listen to you, but you can subtly force things, such as walking to objectives that should be taken down, but not so far away that you can't peel for anyone. This is also applicable and probably THE key to working with ADCs botlane, as you have to communicate if your ADC should back the fuck off, or start poking. For this case, if you want your chicken ADC to play more aggressively, poke a little more but don't kill yourself or burn up your important spells in the process. If you want him to back the fuck off, play a little more passively, but don't go so far away that he's out of your supporting range.
Know when or when not to roam. Roaming is the number one cause of falling vastly behind in EXP, but if you know when or when not to roam, this will not be a problem. Just because you are falling asleep in lane because that enemy Raka is a bitch, that doesn't mean you should just go willy-nilly to midlane and suck up HIS experience for no reason. Instead, look at the matchup. If it's a Leona, Thresh, or even Lulu, leaving... probably will get your ADC mauled to death even if you tell him to "stay safe! I'm going to roam!". If the enemy ADC is Draaaaaven, Tristana, or even just anyone that can get your ADC easily killed is something you might not want to leave in a 1v2. Also know what you will earn and lose, and if roaming is worth it. If your jungler is dying and is running to bot so you can save him, go help him! If you are some tank and this looks like a safe lane to leave, let your whole team know that you are roaming, and do what you want. If you are going to sit there because you missed a skillshot or because they know you are coming, just go back, don't bother wasting time. As starter advice, you're better off not roaming at all.
Know when or when not to back. Did you know that botlane towers are more fragile than the others? Because towers don't respawn and does a lot of good (and hilariously bad) things, you want to defend it. Because it takes almost forever to walk all the way back to lane after recalling, you also need to find a good timing to leave. This a bit matchup dependent, but the general advice is to leave when the wave is near/at the enemy tower, though for bad waveclear comps you can leave in the middle. If the enemy ADC or even support (Lulu/Morg/Zyra) has a very good waveclear (Cait/Sivir) or tower-busting skills (Jinx/Trist), you want to back when the wave is AT THEIR tower. Also, if your ADC is low but not you, and they are close to towers, tell him to leave and you can defend, as many supports can defend towers. If YOU are low but he is not, back on your own and tell him to stay. If the tower is dying, just back. If both parties are low, back.
Learn what your ADC's playstyle is like. You have like half a minute to figure this out, but watching what he does is important. If he's more of a farmer, you probably will not expect much action. If he's very adventurous, don't be surprised if he goes in without letting you know beforehand. There's also a third type that just loves to poke, take towers, but don't give a shit about kills. He just wants towers. Of course, his playstyle is probably not going to be anything you like and you playstyle isn't what he likes either, but learn to work with him. The very staple of botlane and prevents 50% of toxicity generated from there.

#how to climb in bronze/low elo

Pick heavy engage or high damage things. Because supportive backliners requires their teammates to be half-decent at the game, picking them will only get you nowhere. High damage things and heavy engage makes "shotcalling" so much more obvious and therefore gives stupid teammates an "easy mode" to play. Recommended if you are soloing. Janna is an exception, though, her peels are so tough that even the stupidest teammates know what to do with them.
Force things. Like I said, because people are stupid so subtle messages probably won't help, you're gonna have to find a way to force them. Still works higher up, but that's an almost required skill in lower divisions.
Try to play in parties of more than one. You're a support who let his teammates do the damage work for you after all, so don't feel bad if you feel like you NEED to rely on others. Hell, a lot of ADCs are just as reliant as you are, if not, more reliant, so don't feel too bad. If anyone is telling you that you "suck" at the game because you do that, laugh at them because at least you are getting something done on your behalf. Who cares about what others say?

Sorry for the wall of text, but hope this helps. As far as builds go, it actually doesn't matter as long as you are doing your job: anything that's not damage and so your teammates can do their jobs.

Eedat11/30/2016, 3:42:40 AM1 votes

First thing I noticed glancing at your match history is you die a lot. You should work on your positioning and maybe work on figuring out when and where its safe to ward without getting caught