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Hear Me Out -- The Support Role

Brain Errör 404··8 votes·956 views

There are a lot of gimmicky items being added to the support role, a lot of that in which riot is trying to do to appeal to actually playing the role more.

Here's what the support role is truly lacking:

Diversity.

Hold on, and wait for it! Not diversity in items nor whose meta and not meta. I believe the support role is the most diverse role out there! However, I believe that there is a lack of that "mini-game" feel the for the support role. What I mean is, wards are too stale. There needs to be more "umph" to the vision game in this game. Supports are the main source of vision, next being the jungler.

What you really need to focus on when looking at the support role, at this point, is the vision game. I feel like it's truly difficult to actually light up the map and wards haven't really evolved along with the game. Now, I'm not 100% sure what the "umph" is, I really wish I could give a nice detailed example of what it is that would be nice, but I simply don't know.

Throwing wards down, sweeping them clearing vision, basing, throwing more wards down. To be honest, the task is more tedious than it is fun and it becomes stale very fast. I think control wards are a nice rendition to that "umph" that needs to be added. Maybe wards with a bigger radiance/trip mines of sorts that doesn't deal damage, but slows down those pesky ganks so you have more reaction time etc etc. Add more traps and tools to be used since control wards have so much power. Make them needed. Somewhere along those lines.

That's just my take on it. What do you guys think?

33 Comments

Teridax685 votes

Supports and vision can go one of two ways: either supports get upgrades to their vision deployment that no other class can access, and have the vision game upgraded just for them so that it can be fun and engaging, or supports have their last ties to vision cut off, and everyone instead gets exactly the same amount of vision power, which could then be upgraded as needed. What you're proposing is the first option, which could turn out fantastic, but which also has some major hurdles that haven't been addressed since the start of the game.

The biggest challenge with anything related to vision is that wards are extremely powerful, but also fairly boring, and absolutely terrible at conveying their true power to newer players. To a veteran player, dropping a ward in a nearby bush can mean the difference between life and death in lane, but to someone unfamiliar with the game, when you plop a ward, that's it, nothing special happens. Setting up vision also tends to not be that fun, and as you mentioned, it doesn't feel great for the support, a member of a class designed to be the weakest when on their own, to be forced to essentially remove themselves from all the fun and action going on to go ward or counter-ward the jungle, alone.

The issue with adding more power to wards, though, is that any kind of power you'd add to them would be tied to this persistent, long-duration object that's already really powerful, meaning you might just end up diluting the strength of supports into even more low-visibility power. Traps that slow enemies could provide more strategy to ward placement, as would trip mines, but an inherent disadvantage to that is that it would also risk making supports use them in combat, which is a strength wards are absolutely not supposed to have.

Another disadvantage to tying supports to wards is that it reinforces the burden of responsibility supports have with providing vision and counter-warding, despite the fact that everyone can contribute with their trinkets. To this day, some players still blame the support when the map isn't warded enough, simply because Sightstone exists. Depending on how you implement these special wards, supports may also find themselves with yet another batch of mandatory items to pick, which would harm their build diversity and further limit their early choices (Sightstone is currently considered a mandatory rush item, for example).

Personally, I'm more in favor of removing Sightstone, and thereby removing the burden of vision specific to supports, but that isn't to say that your suggestion isn't possible. There's another player by the name of Drugs for Robots who is passionate about vision, and who made a series of very well-written threads and posts about diversifying wards and making vision more interesting on champion kits. I recommend searching them out on Boards and contacting them, as you'll likely have a lot to share with each other.

Brain Errör 4042 votes

Very well written and informative. I think I will look into Drugs for Robots and see if he's still even active.

Haven't though about using said upgraded wards in teamfights. As for the slot efficiency problem, I was thinking that all the ward diversity would be upgrades to the regular ward trinket only while having a sight stone and also sightstone branching into different ward effects -- making it much more imperative for supports to choose between sweeping -- which would disable all the wards -- or keeping their warding trinket. As I said, I haven't come up with much detail in regards to the thread as I write all of this straight from my head without any real prior thought.

But you do have a point. It just turns into an even more back and forth struggle if this would be implemented. It'd have to be given a lot of thought and throughput to effectively be put into action.

DrugsForRobots2 votes

I'm still alive, flattered I've been mentioned, glad people are thinking about the vision game!

IMHO, I think the best thing Riot could do would be to give us a selection of wards with their own unique specialty, their own pros and cons, their own reason for picking it over the other warding options. But most importantly, we need wards that are fallible. We need wards that are explicit as to what area they control and how they control it, wards that communicate information to the opposing player.

The best example I can give is the idea of a ward that is visible but indestructible and has a rotating cone of vision that enemies can see. Such a ward would provide a challenge for the enemy jungler or people trying to gank to outmaneuver it, but it isn't an impossible challenge. Skilled players and certain champions with certain items or builds could potentially slip right by it without being seen. This is stealth in the true sense of the word: cautious and surreptitious action or movement; the quality or characteristic of being furtive or covert. Best of all, even new players should be able to look at the ward and deduce what it does instantly. It's something to be avoided, it's hostile, it's actively searching for enemies.

Another example would be something like the Mandrake ward Riot was working on. A ward that grants no vision and is itself invisible, that grants a visual and audible ping whenever enemies come within it's range. Ideally, enemies could hear it when it pings, so they're alerted to it's presence and can adjust their play accordingly. It would be a great counter to champions who rely on invisibility to gank, as well as just about any jungler trying to gank, but it leaves their position ambiguous. It's saved your life, but it hasn't given you as much information as a pink ward would - you have no idea where they've gone or even if they're still there, waiting.

The implication with wards of these sorts being: because they have blind spots or exploitable weaknesses, they can afford to be much more powerful in their effects AND cheaper because they're no guarantee of safety. And it doesn't have to be these exact things, there's so much Riot could do to make the vision game much more about using stealth (in the true sense of the word) and less about having item-specific hard-counters on hand and guessing where the enemies wards are located.

And yes, I agree with Teridax68 that SightStone should probably be removed. IMO, a limit of 1 ward per player plus their trinket of choice could be enough vision for everyone, and that the wards could even be free, just like the trinkets.

Edit: I also really, really want Riot to double-down on the champs with invis and vision abilities in their kits, as well as give us some new vision-centric support champions.

ZT Xperimentor2 votes

I'd say respect; support is one of the most flamed roles in the game if they aren't pro players.

Brain Errör 4042 votes

It really is. I play support from time to time so I don't rage at supports and feel the burden that they feel. When I do, I start to feel for supports a little and it helps me keep calm when they make a miss-step since it's mostly due to miscommunication anyways. It really is a hard and thankless job. Props to all the support mains on there. Literally, we'd not be able to play if not for them.

Beldair2 votes

I shall represent support mains and say TY 😊

I'm unranked but I consider myself a Support Main because that is what i primarily play and the rank I started with when I begin my League journey.

Brain Errör 4041 votes

You're welcome. ^^ I hope that you continue your journey as a support main. We can't lose any. <3

Beldair2 votes

If you listen to ppl, i'm not a support main because I am unranked and have no clue what I am talking about with supports.

I say to them, whatever.. I know my role and the champs I play in it.

Aptest1 votes

that is a myth. support player take the same amount of smack in the game as any of the other roles.

RookPusher1 votes

Yeah, and it's lacking because people don't play the role. If you saw how many ADC's rushed headlong into bad situations, only to go "[Support], wtf?" you'd stop doing that.

Having said that, when I take ADC, I often see a slew of people supporting who don't want to be there, got there because of Fill, and think "well I'll make it fun and nuke with sona/bard/brand/annie" and end up botching the whole thing.

You make support more appealing in two ways:

  1. Play support and show them what is possible
  2. Give supports more control over fights. If Supports have the ability to basically dictate the laning phase, then people will want to play them.
ZT Xperimentor1 votes

Pffhaha, it's why I prefer to play braum, thresh, and tahm.

I agree though, but it doesn't help so many players are biased against anything that isn't meta. I'm all for unconventional teams, though I rarely find anyone willing to try it let alone not complain about it.

oSEXYPLATYPUSo2 votes

listen here cupcake what do you know about the greatest role on league where you can completely carry and dominate a game and get no kills and do no damage while doing it

Brain Errör 4041 votes

Not much Sunshine, which is why I'm looking for all the smarties out there.

oSEXYPLATYPUSo1 votes

well be thankful you got me kiddo

http://imgur.com/oZqut7q

Brain Errör 4041 votes

Kay. Waiting on your input, lets hear it.

oSEXYPLATYPUSo1 votes

support is all about being ....

[zombie-brand-mindblown]

Brain Errör 4041 votes

http://orig13.deviantart.net/2a58/f/2008/298/3/f/goldenboy_by_acerotiburon.jpg

oSEXYPLATYPUSo2 votes

when was the last time you carried and dominated a game and not kill anything or do damage?

me was my game last night as nami support 2-1-20

Brain Errör 4041 votes

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2361986984/215593091?tab=overview

http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2359011354/215593091?tab=overview

What you tryna say bro?

oSEXYPLATYPUSo1 votes

lol

http://imgur.com/ApA31Ec

this is what im saying BRAH

Zen Ineth2 votes

I'd say the mini-game of "keep your carry alive while they farm" is a pretty fun one. There's a lot to be said about the mind games of support, really. Knowing when to pressure the enemy adc when they dip in to CS, or adding pressure simply by being in an unwarded brush. I don't think there needs to be a "catch" for playing support; The gameplay is all there already.

Jyoeru1 votes

Did I miss something, or did they take 4 wards away from us? I seem to remember being able to have 4 wards out with a full-build sight item, but now when I have said item and drop a 4th ward, the first ward dropped is removed. Maybe I missed some detail here?

Beldair1 votes

With Sightstone, you can only have 3 of the wards out.. You can techinally have a fourth with a control ward and then a fifth with yellow.

Jyoeru1 votes

Yes, sightstone is 3. I know that. I am talking about the final build sight items that give you a 4th ward on the stone. I am pretty sure we were able to drop a 4th ward as a result and not compromise the first. I did spend the last few months of end-season not playing, and the few before that going against the SS meta, so my memory might be off.

Beldair1 votes

Mine might be off too XD..haven't played for a while due to real life stuff.

Brain Errör 4041 votes

Nope, you always were only able to have, at max (from I joined in S5 anyways), 3 yellow wards out at once + 1 pink/control ward.

kamikazephyr1 votes

What even are you people talking about? Knowing when the enemies are doing drake and baron and being able to steal makes for lots of suspense. And dropping a ward, seeing their jungler come from far and not be able to do anything gives a satisfactory feeling. CSing isn't something amazing either.

People have been highly exaggerating with how boring the supporting role supposedly is. If anything, supporting is the most vital role in the game next to jungling. Together they provide peel, heals, jungle control, vision and make their team win. The best DuoQ positions are probably support and jungle if you know what the hell you're actually doing. The way this game is won best is by having everyone fed over the enemy team and seizing objectives.

Just because some people think it's boring and stale doesn't mean it actually is.

Brain Errör 4041 votes

I'm only talking about the vision game for supports being too stale, not the fact that it's "boring" or anti-fun -- however, it is more tedious than anything -- especially coming down to the late game, it's all about removing and gaining vision -- which, in turn, turns into a huge back and forth that gets very tiring. You don't see people fighting for vision often, though, in the lower elos.

The support role isn't necessarily boring. There is enough diversity that goes on to keep it up beat and interesting, but there is that lacking factor for the support role -- mostly, when you have a team comp not build around teamfighting, supports struggle to find their place in all the little skirmishes that happens. At least from my experience anyways.

MatthewRT21 votes

If i am playing support and i am the only person warding and no one uses trinket or gets an upgrade i just sell sight stone for damage

6Sfool1 votes

I do think the vision game needs to be more than 8-bit. I'm thinking something along the lines of a double-trinket. Keep regular wards, but add another utility that is more dynamic. Right now it's just a guessing game of "did they see me?" You mentioned something along the lines of a mine. That would be nice, since it would be less of a question of if they saw you and more of what they do about it.

Kubox1 votes

I don't know, making wards stronger doesn't seem like the best fix for supports.

  • People who don't like supporting are, more often than not, not the kinda peeps that like spending half the game managing vision. They want action. Would probably be even more of a turn off to them
  • Said before, but I'll repeat it : Support is probably the worst role to take care of vision. It's literally the only role who cannot fight back if spotted.
  • For a role who often has the duty of warding objectives, it is also the least likely to stop the enemy from taking said objective. "Uhm guys they're doing dragon look I just warded. What do you mean stop them, I'll get killed instantly. And no, I can't steal it, my highest damage ability is about 200 before resists".

Honestly, the support role is not that far from being fixed (that is, as close as it can possibly be considered so). You can't give them more gold otherwise you'll reach a state where people will just play mages and get as rich as a mid laner. It's even possible to get fed as a support as long as you get kills and/or many assists.

The issue with supporting is that their power is gated by a strange rule :

Supports are always the lowest level on the team. For a role that also gets no farm, also being the lowest level is quite frankly unfair. Forget having the the mechanics or strength to fight back, you're not beating that 4 lvl over you top laner, or even 3 lvl over you jungler. Maybe add bonus XP to support items, let them earn close to full solo xp in a lane even. They don't have to be even-leveled with the ADC, their job is to protect them anyway, what kind of protector is weaker than his protégé? It'S even weirder when you take into account that Supports actually get a lot of power through levels (longer snares, bigger shields, etc), potentially even more than mages (who are still mostly item reliant) yet are the role that gets the less amount of experience in the game.

JedenVojak1 votes

The problem with support, specifically support champions is that they have no agency.

They don't get to do damage, or function or survive on their own, and they can't do anything on their own. It's not fun playing a champion that has 0 agency.

When Riot fixes the supports to be solo lane viable, supports will be fun again.

Athenes Lulu1 votes

So, trying to light up the whole map and play the race of buying as many wards as possible is "diversity in warding", while the current changes on warding (control wards, lots of red trinkets, and the new anti-vision assassin stuff) is not?

Are you sure about that?

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