How does one fix the issue that come from being a support?

only zhule··1 votes·391 views

I'm honestly looking for ideas on how to fix the issues that come from playing the role. These issues being that you are basically always behind in experience, gold, and general solo power.

Some suggest making the support items better/cheaper, which sounds great until other classes start using the super strong super low costed item (why should the ADC buy item 3031 when item X costs 600-800 less and trades 15 AD for 20 armor and 20 MR).

Others suggest giving supports ways to keep up gold wise. Again sounds great but if i can stay within 100 gold of my ADC despite barely last hitting, then why wouldn't i just play a second ADC? if it's a rune of some kind... lets say "minions killed by allies grant 50% gold to player" you risk a meta where 4 people get the rune and everyone crowds a lane. lane generates 300% gold and the game is more or less decided by which team can snowball faster/ win 1-2 team fights in the early to mid game.

You could make support runes powerful, but again if they are too strong you get cases like Ezreal and Gangplank abusing klepto. Or Teemo / Malzahar getting to proc Aery multiple times per DoT duration. I know there will always be champions who happen to have synergy with rune/items/etc... that were not "meant" for them, i just wish that there was a better track record of dealing that that champion rather then making the thing they abuse, but another character needs to function, weaker.

Finally there is the issue of champions getting nerfs because an item they synergize with, that others basically never got, finally ends up being meta. I like to use Sona and item 3504 as a great example for this. Sona was totally able to build the item and buff her whole team, and no one really batted an eye. Janna comes along and starts using it in the LCS and all of a sudden the item is meta, it's busted, everyone is rushing it, got to pull out the nerf bat for it and/or champions who use it. It has always kind of bothered me that certain champions are considered "healthy and fine" for months if not years at a time, and then the meta changes and all of a sudden the champion is "toxic, unhealthy, and abusing game mechanics". Nothing about the champion changed, nothing about the items they build changed, sometimes nothing about their bad match-ups changed.

So how do you go about making supports more viable/ fun without risking other champions abusing the tools, which then leads to the tools being nerfed and supports being in a worst spot then before, because why punish the people abusing a loophole when you can bomb the whole thing from orbit?

9 Comments

Anastaecia1 votes

Did you read about the item 2049 changes?

only zhule1 votes

{quoted}

Did you read about the item 2049 changes?

heard about but haven't seen anything from Riot that lets me read what the changes are without someone shoving "this is bad, and if you disagree you are bad" down my throat.

Hethalean1 votes

Sightstone will be removed entirely. All the activated item forms of the support gold items are going to go away. ONce you complete the gold income quest and upgrade to at least tier 2. The quest reward has sightstone stapled onto it. The quest reward completion will be lowered from 750g to 500g (aka just as much as upgrading the item to tier 2 costs and thus sightstone will be about that)

To answer your question, that it is hard to remove some of those aspects because that is sort of what you get for roaming, and being the 'i have no income stream' role. You're a play maker more or less. Or a guard the ADC. IT's not a traditional 'I carry through damage' role. ... Ignoring uh... Xerath, Brand, Velkoz, and Zyra.

The main requirement a support champion needs to have is to be gold efficient. You can't give that role all the gold otherwise other champions that would be unhealthy in the role will spring up in there.

only zhule1 votes

{quoted}

Sightstone will be removed entirely. All the activated item forms of the support gold items are going to go away. ONce you complete the gold income quest and upgrade to at least tier 2. The quest reward has sightstone stapled onto it. The quest reward completion will be lowered from 750g to 500g (aka just as much as upgrading the item to tier 2 costs and thus sightstone will be about that)

To answer your question, that it is hard to remove some of those aspects because that is sort of what you get for roaming, and being the 'i have no income stream' role. You're a play maker more or less. Or a guard the ADC. IT's not a traditional 'I carry through damage' role. ... Ignoring uh... Xerath, Brand, Velkoz, and Zyra.

The main requirement a support champion needs to have is to be gold efficient. You can't give that role all the gold otherwise other champions that would be unhealthy in the role will spring up in there.

This is kind of the issue though. support being "gold efficient" is only acceptable for most people when they can't do anything beyond help their team. Leona should be, and is, every gold efficient with her abilities, but i'm never really worried about her going top and wrecking face with her 2-3 hard CC's and aoe that is also a defensive stat boost. I'm never worried about Sona being the APC despite having good on hit damage, healing, and a movement speed boost. And if these champions ever did manage to see main stream play outside of the support role, you know damn well the community would flip its collective shit.

Whisper871 votes

Essentially they are replacing the Quest Path from support starting items and instead for the quest reward you get the Sightstone - Support item combine.

The idea is that instead of dumping 800g into that you can get to your impactful, but support oriented items earlier. You may still be gimped in XP, but you may be able to roll into that first big team fight with something like a Locket or Ardent censor already built wthout having to sacrifice vision.

And that way they don't have to boost your income to let you do it. (I don't want to see double carry bottom lanes either).

IBgarbo1 votes

This post is retarded. The entire point of it is that you invest gold in the team. Of course you're behind in gold and xp. You roam and help people and get vision.

VeganScout1 votes

Couldnt read it all, a lot of confusion in your head regarding the role of support.

only zhule1 votes

{quoted}

Couldnt read it all, a lot of confusion in your head regarding the role of support.

I disagree, you are their to help your team. just really wish that didn't mean 9/10 that you are only useful with at least one teammate in toe, and as a ward dispenser.

I just want a support that can, if played right, actually stand their ground against the enemy.

DuskDaUmbreon1 votes

It's fixed by support items being cheaper than regular items, and being unattractive options for non-supports (either because lower stats, actives/passives that only really help others, or just stats they don't really want or need).

This also creates the ability to disincentivise supports from going with midlaner items, because they're just more expensive than they can afford (which is why you only see one heavy AP item on enchanters - generally Rabadon's or Lich Bane, depending on the champion).

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