I'm not sure what the best approach would be, in all honesty. I placed Gold IV on this account and sort of breezed past silver on my main so I don't know exactly what the main struggle in going from silver to gold might be.
I can give you some general tips though that might help! :>
As my name might imply, I mostly play
in ranked.
are a few of my other favorite picks though.
A little rundown of how I treat a ranked game:
LANING PHASE
Directly following champ select, you should know if your lane has advantage/disadvantage or if it'll be more skill based. Also keep in mind the synergy whatever support you chose may have with your ADC.
The advantage/disadvantage might mean a little less because champions aren't being played to their full potential, but I feel is still important to note.
Acting on this knowledge, I think, is important.
For example, if you're playing a ranged support into a melee support, harass them whenever you are safely able to do so.
Don't be afraid to roam to help jungle or mid if you see a possible play either if the current situation allows you to do so.
Keeping wards up and an eye on the map is also pretty key, and this applies to the entire game, but especially early if you plan on making a play. Wouldn't want the enemy jungler popping up out of nowhere to ruin your fun just because you forgot to ward river or weren't paying attention. :p
control wards are beautiful and you should definitely buy them. A lot.
MID-LATE GAME
Depends on how the game is going, honestly. But don't feel like you need to be a babysitter for your ADC. You're supporting a whole team afterall, not just one person.
That being said, if they rotate to push a lane and aren't 100% safe doing so, sticking by them isn't a bad idea.
A big issue I see in a lot of games, including my own, is the fact that everyone wants to be the carry.
Nobody is going to carry 100% of the time, and sometimes you'll get carried. It's not fun to accept, but it's true.
And I'm not necessarily talking about you, rather your 0/8/2 Yasuo who insists on farming and dying trying to get a kill instead of helping out your 12/0/0 Irelia.
When a teammate is fed like that, you should probably play around them and try to turn that lead into a win.
What you do here also probably differs greatly depending on the type of support you play.
You seem to prefer supports that can dish out some damage if they need to.
Probably focus on bursting out priority targets and team-fighting with champs like
or
who is especially good at picking off enemies who overstep or make mistakes.
For the more enchanter types like
prioritize keeping your team alive, sticking mostly to your back line and using abilities like
Polymorph or
silence to keep enemies who want to dive on your carry or carries at bay.
Gonna emphasize the importance of wards again here;
They're super important! Like, SUPPPERR important.
Keeping vision control on important objectives like Herald/Baron and Dragons can be game changing.
This means making sure you have control wards ready and making sure you exchange your trinket for sweeper once you get you upgraded vision item.
I think denying enemy vision is just as important as having vision for your own team.
CLOSING OUT A GAME
This is something I think most people at least at gold and below struggle with, myself included.
It can be hard sometimes to end the game, but a few important things to remember:
-If you're in the lead and winning teamfights, you don't need to rush.
by this I mean ya'll don't need to rush it down mid like there's no other solution. Taking the time to rotate and break the enemy base open will probably work just fine, and be less risky. I've had teammates in ranked games suggest this themselves.
-If you're in their base taking an inhibitor or nexus towers after a teamfight, and they're all respawning, just leave.
Take the objective if you can, but don't try to fight unless you know you can win.
I've seen too many almost throws because people don't know when to back off. Just back off and reset.
-If the enemy base is open, they're all dead and won't respawn immediately, don't go baron, just go for the end.
When you see a good solid and safe opportunity to end, go for it. No need to stall the game out and give them an opportunity to come back, no matter how small.
Sorry for writing so much, but I hope something here helps you out.
If you want a simple place to start, I took a look at your ranked match history on OP.GG, make sure you exchange your trinket for sweeper when you get your ward upgrade, and try to buy more control wards.