why role of "Support" is hated so much

Tabinho·Jan 21, 2016·4 votes·2,162 views

I've red multiple posts about how Support secondaries are always forced into it, because Support primaries aren't as much as any other. We all know Support is the most hated role in the game and it has been so from the beginning. But why?

Here's what I think of it:

Top, Mid and ADC Tho Mid and Top are solo lanes while ADCs have Supports beside them, these 3 share a lot of mechanics, such as farming the minions, trading with the opposing laners, making sure they aren't vulnerable to ganks and so on. Fun part is: you get to kill stuff and brag about you're KDA and that's what everyone expects from Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, right? Solo laners have a chance to outplay enemies, make some cool looking plays with all the CC and mobility in their kits, while ADCs usually are stronger than anyone else Late-game and have the power to deal crap ton of damage to enemies that have annoyed them early on #payback.

Jungle Junglers vary between running around between camps, farming and recalling non-stop and ganking the lanes over and over again, not even touching jungle camps aside from buffs, making it, role with the most action involved. It's much harder to master this role (let's be real here, these guys have so much to think of ingame) but once you've done it, there's so much fun stuff you can do with it, from coutnerjungling and ruining enemy junglers' days to ganking the lanes weird and unpredictable ways, while also having the choice to farm safely and after reaching champions power spike, coming out of the jungle and killing everyone you see #justRengarthings #justMasterYithings.

And at last... Support These guys are typical babysitters. They have to do whatever 3-years-old-crying-baby-ADCs ask them to, from placing wards and buying items what power them up, to applying pressure on enemy lanes so that they can farm more easily. Top laners (father) don't care what you and ADC (child) are going through, Mid laners (mother) sometimes feel obligated to check to see what's going on with you and those Junglers (Uncle, Aunt) sometimes comes around to see the ADC and make his future brighter by giving him some kills (and making them cry by tickling (stealing some CS) too much) and you know, you're there too, so you usually get involved in all that. For real tho, these guys don't get to kill stuff and even if they do someone's gonna get mad, they just get to annoy people, but if you do it too much, you might become killed since you don't have enough money or freedom to buy items you want.

Video games (in most cases at least) are made to let you do something you've dreamed of but aren't able to do in real life, like blowing everything up, stealing money and stuff from others, killing people you don't like, seeing some big bo... (you know what) and Support role is something that offers least of these stuff (you've got plenty of time to check out those hotties tho #percsofbeingSupport), so naturally this role has smallest player base of them all.

Riot sure has done great job making Supports' lives a bit more exciting by adding some cool items and abilities to their kit, but it will never be enough, I guess. My intentions writing this were to show you guys why Support role is hated by people and why other roles are more enjoyable to most of the players. I have no idea how to solve all the issues I've mentioned, but I hope you guys now have better understanding of what Riot is being asked for when players are whining about Supporting not being popular.

P.S. I used to hate this role too, but after playing the game for couple of years I realized, that Support role actually bgins a lot of joy, just because you have less job to do (resulting in less "stressful" gameplay) : you don't have to kite people around, dive enemy back-line, deal damage to high priority targets, do damage to towers at sieges and clear waves at defenses. But still, I'm that whiny-kiddo-ADC main after all having Support as my secondary role :P

21 Comments

Deep Terror NamiJan 21, 20166 votes

If Support were any different just to appease the people that like the other roles, it wouldn't be Support anymore. Trying to change it is like going to the opera just to try and convince the people there that your music genre is much better.

KrigjerJan 21, 20162 votes

If Support were any different just to appease the people that like the other roles, it wouldn't be Support anymore. Trying to change it is like going to the opera just to try and convince the people there that your music genre is much better.

Bingo.

Talk to ze handJan 21, 20161 votes

sure then why do i have to play for 50 mins a role i dont like?many times you are placed 4th-5th on pick and you have to support.now you come to tell us that we shouldnt ask for more fun support role.so joining a game is really chance you gona have fun because you might stuck with a useless role that you dislike or even hate.WERE IS MY TEAMBUILDER....

KrigjerJan 21, 20162 votes

sure then why do i have to play for 50 mins a role i dont like?many times you are placed 4th-5th on pick and you have to support.now you come to tell us that we shouldnt ask for more fun support role.so joining a game is really chance you gona have fun because you might stuck with a useless role that you dislike or even hate.WERE IS MY TEAMBUILDER....

Some people find the support role enjoyable and fun just as it is right now.

You want the role to be changed to suit YOUR needs and ruin the enjoyment of actual support players? How would you feel if I asked for the top lane experience to be changed to fit my preferences?

Talk to ze handJan 21, 20162 votes

its not what i like or you dont get me wrong.its what makes the game fun and enjoyable for the most people.i understand we may have different preferences and we both must be satisfied.but you liking a role as it is now that at certain point EVERYONE has to play.so if ppl that like as it is now are minority i dont know if it serves its purpose anymore.and im sure you dont like support only.

i surely dont want you to lose what you like to play but when i HAVE to play this role over and over then dont you feel sorry for me too?thats why teambuilder was such huge success and im speechless they got rid of it instead of blind pick.

at least to me support role shouldnt exist.utility should have been given to tanky champions to compensate for their extreme luck or dmg.the whole consept that some champions need babysit and some champions serve no other purpose than babysiting(the reason why bot lane is being played like that)sucks and i believe many ppl agree with me.there are other ways to create dual lane for ppl to play with their friends on the same lane.

i dont want any role destroyed or changed as long as there are others enjoying it.what i dont want is to HAVE to play it myself given no other choice.fairness and respect goes both ways doesnt it?

KrigjerJan 21, 20162 votes

i surely dont want you to lose what you like to play but when i HAVE to play this role over and over then dont you feel sorry for me too?thats why teambuilder was such huge success and im speechless they got rid of it instead of blind pick.

i dont want any role destroyed or changed as long as there are others enjoying it.what i dont want is to HAVE to play it myself given no other choice.

Dynamic queue lets you play your preferred TWO roles.

Choose anything but support and fill and bam, you never have to play support again.

And if you REALLY have to support, play Annie or Brand support, build ap and wrack up kills by yourself. The role is only 'unfun' if you make it that way. And I don't consider HELPING my team 'babysitting'.

MIXTERIAKJan 21, 20163 votes

Yea I was wondering this question for a long time... But I think the answer is simple as "everyone want kills" This role is the easiest and the hardest in the game and I love it. I don't think that as support you have to be a babysitter. Supports are the "new" jungler - you have to roam, to give kills and do most of the playmaker stuff. The other 1d1ots have to stay on the right place and keep dealing damage - easy beasy :D

alasarcherJan 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Yea I was wondering this question for a long time... But I think the answer is simple as "everyone want kills" This role is the easiest and the hardest in the game and I love it. I don't think that as support you have to be a babysitter. Supports are the "new" jungler - you have to roam, to give kills and do most of the playmaker stuff. The other 1d1ots have to stay on the right place and keep dealing damage - easy beasy :D

Its not about kills, support is easy to get kills with. Its about abuse when u take kills

Talk to ze handJan 21, 20162 votes

try roam even when you fed the adc and has no problem to stand vs 2.the moment you leave lane(warning him even)he gona extend and die.heck nowdays even a fed adc will die under his tower vs a well organized dive.you are stuck in bot lane my friend like it or not

hi im mintyJan 21, 20162 votes

I love support. Yeah, it does suck when an ADC gets whiney but support is my favorite role.

I pretty much get to control the map (because let's face it, those wards look better sitting in the ADCs inventory than they do in tribush)
I get to roam the map and secure kills, while not CSing like my life depends on it.

The only thing I hate about the support role is that when your team is losing by a large margin, there's not much you can do to carry the game since you have support/utility items.

St0rmlnJan 21, 20162 votes

I am a support main and I actually find it the most enjoyable Before you think I'm being a troll I have had a few friends consider switching because they also see how fun it can be. My only issue with the support role is that its starting to get played by champions that aren't supports. Because players are looking for that same action you are describing (even pros) they will play annie or brand support. This frustrates me to no end because I don't believe these champs play "support" well at all, no heals or shields, no peeling or protecting, they just turn into mages. I agree with this post in the sense that support needs to be more enjoyable or have a stronger impact, but only because I want to see players playing supports more. My only suggestion would be to implement a stat that is earned by saving your allies. that should fade out those "wanna bee" supports while making supports more enjoyable. We should feel like we are getting "DOUBLE SAVE"s when we actually are.

The Voids CallJan 21, 20161 votes

Honestly if we just called it duo bot lane, people probably would be more willing to play the position.

Sir YamazukiJan 21, 20161 votes

There isn't a small player base of supports... They simply aren't going to come on boards yelling about how much they enjoy supporting and people mostly post to complain. So of course if you want to go by the vocal group it will seem as if everyone hates support when that isn't even true. Sure, support isn't as popular as Mid or ADC, but neither is Jungle either. I've run into more people unwilling to Jungle than Support and even got to Jungle majority of the time before and after this new champion select.

FioraWillCarryJan 21, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Lord Yamazuki,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=7OtvKt0x,comment-id=0005,timestamp=2016-01-21T20:21:17.169+0000)

I've run into more people unwilling to Jungle than Support and even got to Jungle majority of the time before and after this new champion select.

Yes that might seem strange as Jungle has even more carry potential than Mid. But I think the reason Jungle is as unpopular as support of because of the pressure.

For example, yesterday I played a Jungle Vi and our top lane Voli actually had to audacity to blame me for dying to a Vlad top lane. I was ganking bot lane at the time because they were being pushed very aggressively. I tried to explain to him that I was way down at the bottom of the map and I don't have teleport. He didn't want to hear it. He called me every kind of nasty name under the sun for the next 20 to 30 minutes until the game was over. I even had to give him the jungle and take top as he kept dying over and over to Vlad. Of course there was little I could do now that he fed Vlad. He let the other lanes snowball out of control due to not ganking when needed and we lost badly.

And guess what.....This experience is common for junglers. I think this is why Jungle is so unpopular. No one blames the Mid laner if they lose their lane. It's always the jungler's fault.

ModKnightsKemplarJan 21, 20161 votes

Supports need better ways to get gold, and should be defined as supports based on having supportive/utility abilities.

The problem with the role now is that they get less gold than everyone else, so anyone who has high base numbers and relatively low scaling is used in bot lane. Eventually, it would be nice for support to be about something else, but until Riot figures out how to give them more gold without them needing to cs, it will be difficult.

The "extra gold when a minion dies near you" effect is the closest they have gotten, but I think there's room to improve. Specifically, I think sightstone ought to be removed, and we should get a buffed yellow trink instead. Then, just like Riot wanted, responsibility for vision is spread out over more of the team, and supports get more gold to get items. I have yet to see a good argument for keeping sightstone, and I eagerly await the day that Riot will act on it.

alfavhunterJan 21, 20161 votes

Supporting as AP shaco is fun

So very much fun

Lol

L Psy KongrooJan 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Supporting as AP shaco is fun

So very much fun

Lol

Sure, until you go up against poke/sustain supports that never have to go into the bushes. Or you get stuck with an ADC who doesn't know how to manage the wave and lets minions walk into your boxes.

alfavhunterJan 21, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=L Psy Congroo,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=7OtvKt0x,comment-id=00070000,timestamp=2016-01-21T20:33:46.627+0000)

Sure, until you go up against poke/sustain supports that never have to go into the bushes. Or you get stuck with an ADC who doesn't know how to manage the wave and lets minions walk into your boxes.

I don't put more than 1-2 boxes in brush, usually to just prevent them from using the brush

And I run a lot of mana regen runes so I can spam spells, I treat shaco support similar to Janna as a peeler, but with more poke and zoning at the cost of sustain/shielding

His ult also works wonders for a skill shot blocker and to confuse them when they think I left lane and didn't, just to have my clone reappear in the brush with me and they think I'm gone and AdC is alone (this requires paying attention to what they have vision on)

So they try to all in into the sea of boxes and I join in cutting off thier escape, exhausting, and dealing my damage and CC from more boxes and slows

It works well depending on comps, but yes there are things he is weak vs and strong vs

I've gotten a trist to tower dive me and my adc with her Leona support just to find they take 2-3 tower shots. And have to flash out or die

I am PewdiePieJan 21, 20161 votes

Support sucks because you have almost no control if you're losing the game.

You can ward, peel, shotcall (if they'll listen), but you can't position your teammates for them. So if you have an AD carry who thinks they need to flank like they're gonna malph ult every team fight and immediately gets blown up, what do you do about that? What do you do about someone not hitting the right target? You can ping and say, but once again, will they listen?

You can't move and deal the damage for them. For that stuff you just have to try to be the best cheerleader in all of history.

I main support and AD carry equally. I know how it feels coming from both sides.

RalanrJan 21, 20161 votes

My only gripe with the support role is that I feel like I'm forced to hold back. I don't really care about having a lot of kills (I don't like to carry) but getting a few is nice. As a support I feel like I'm not suppose to get kills without getting flamed and that I'm effectively useless when alone.

Plus a lot of champions I like to play are not really champions I can play as supports. I enjoy playing champions like Nautilus because I enjoy being able to set things up and potentially killing things (it's also why I like to play Sion support and one of the big reasons I like playing Shen top now). But I can't play Gangplank support or Diana support since it's not really helpful.

Some people like supports and some don't. Me? I prefer to lend a helping hand when I want to, not to be expected to hold someone else's hand for the first 15 minutes. I want to help you, but don't force me to help you.