Rakan is a support that is designed to be flashy rather than being a background cc/heal/peel bot

SzGamer227·Apr 5, 2017·111 votes·15,388 views

Could it be that Riot has made a support champion that would be appealing to play for someone who isn't a support main?

The big complaints about being a support is that they don't get commended for their performance even though they play a large role in actually winning a game because they usually are a background heal/shield support or a frontline tank/cc suppport. With Rakan however, his kit has been designed to be captivating, with flashy elements in his kit and an ultimate that makes lights and sounds when he's making plays.

I feel like we could end up seeing Rakan become a popular champion, even though he's locked fairly solidly in one of League's less popular roles. Anyone else think so?

149 Comments

RenownedWheat42Apr 5, 201740 votes

Pretty sure that was the focal point of his design, to make a less enticing role seem more appealing.

The problem I'm expecting to come from this, though, is Rakan's not in the bot lane.

Sp33d Zer0Apr 5, 201736 votes

When not in the bot lane, it does make one of his core abilities completely worthless.

RenownedWheat42Apr 5, 201728 votes

Pretty sure we'll see people try him jungle though. At LEAST jungle.

PureSilvrrApr 5, 20179 votes

Ive seen people go Ap rakan mid more than jungle. Xayah is played in the jg more, but I wanna try xayah support >.>

Supreme Senpai69Apr 6, 20174 votes

Oh good then I'm not the only one. I've been playing a lot of Ashe support and Xayah just screamed at me to take her into that position, giggity.

Rito StaffApr 6, 20173 votes

Ashe is a valid support! xP not meta, but vision and easy to land soft cc, and one hard cc! :D

Build liandry and her W will make you have most damage (not joking, try it)

Supreme Senpai69Apr 6, 20171 votes

That seems pretty interesting. I usually go Eye of the Watchers, Boots, Black Cleaver, Runaans, Ardent Censer, and Redemption. Basically AoE slows, armor shred, and heals for the team with the new keystone. Sightstone is pretty important too. And redemption is just flat out OP lol. I probably won't swap any of them out for Liandry but thanks for the advice anyway <3

MooooooooreDakkaApr 6, 20171 votes

Have you tried frozen mallet before? I'm pretty sure it stacks with ashe passive.

SSJTribeApr 6, 20175 votes

Slows don't stack ever. It just applies the stronger one.

MuffledGarbageApr 5, 20173 votes

TBH I was thinking top because his passive shield, CC, and heal will make him similar to a Nunu in laning phase... he'll be super hard to kill without taking a YEAR of damaging him.

I think a build for top Rakan would go like item 3027 item 3068 item 3065 item 3110 item 3001 item 3047 So he has sustain, HP, little bit of Armor and Magic resist, a decent mana pool( I think he's gonna be mana-hungry. idk yet), and have enough damage to win lane...

I mean I get first blood fairly often with Braum top

in situations where I don't get first blood I usually force a summoner 4 with an early jungle gank from like a MasterYi or XinZhao very rarely from a Quinn (holy shet that rhymes)

Glory ln DeathApr 6, 20173 votes

Throw in a bit of attack speed so you can proc his passive shield more often - at level 18, if you have 1.5 attack speed, you'll get your shield every 6 seconds. It's a pretty decent shield, too, even with just the base.

SteelflameApr 5, 20173 votes

I saw Stonewall's vid of it.

It's not possible to jungle him, he just physically can't jungle with his kit, the kill speed is among the slowest possible in the game, takes tons of damage, his heal only works on epic monsters (Baron, Dragon, Rift), and he can't kite the mobs really to try and reduce damage taken.

Xayah can jungle like a fucking god though, at least clear wise. Her raptor clear is so satisfying, and I would not be surprised at all to find out she gets played in the jungle a lot when she has a high CC team to set her up.

JarvansWARApr 5, 20177 votes

People try to jungle everything. Fucking Ryze jungle, Karthus jungle, even Ezreal jungle.

RenownedWheat42Apr 6, 20173 votes

Braum jungle 4 dayz

BLACK REALM GODApr 6, 20171 votes

janna jungle. try it. you'll like it - except for all of the people screaming at you in all chat. thank you for the mute button.

KieferrApr 7, 20172 votes

Except the enemy jungler will have double buffs, a double kill at bot and dragon by the time you finish your first clear.

Smitty ManjensenApr 6, 20172 votes

[{quoted}](name=Sp33d Zer0,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EKB5VlwE,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2017-04-05T18:48:36.393+0000)

When not in the bot lane, it does make one of his core abilities completely worthless.

Galio can't use his ult alone, still played mid and top.

Glory ln DeathApr 6, 20172 votes

That's because it has huge range and can basically get him from one lane to another. Rakan's shield dash is much more limited than Galio's ult. He could definitely still work solo, but he basically only has 2 basic abilities without jungle presence.

YokoNomiApr 5, 20173 votes

{quoted}

Pretty sure that was the focal point of his design, to make a less enticing role seem more appealing.

The problem I'm expecting to come from this, though, is Rakan's not in the bot lane.

I'm sure people'll learn from that faults of that habit sooner rather than later.

...I'm sure of it...

...maybe.

what you deserveApr 5, 20171 votes

{quoted}

I'm sure people'll learn from that faults of that habit sooner rather than later.

...I'm sure of it...

...maybe.

Lulu was run as a full AP mid in pro play for like the first entire year after her release

Kitty PixApr 6, 20172 votes

{quoted}

Lulu was run as a full AP mid in pro play for like the first entire year after her release

Except Lulu has a very specific style of ranged auto attack, as well as an entirely unique kit to League that essentially allows her to put an ability (E) on ally, enemy, or minion leading her to have multiple ways of ranged harass in-lane (E minion, Q wave + enemy) as well as tons of cc (Q slow, W poly, R knockup). Only thing she lacks really is sustain in lane (despite the most of the time negligible heal you get from coming out of R, but that's only noticeable if you took no damage at all during the R) which honestly would just make her busted, so I'm definitely not asking for that to happen lol.

Rakan on the other hand works nothing like Lulu and has maybe a third of her auto attack range on top of the fact that his E would only be of use to him when a jungler shows up. And if your argument is that he would be in the jungle, his cooldowns and costs are too high early for anyone to really want to reasonably play him in the jungle without getting counter jungled out of their mind.

I just wish Riot could release an "ADC/Supp" duo and have people leave it at that, nothing weird. Especially considering there's very specific things that ADC's and Supp's are meant to possess and lack that make them very strong in their lane and very weak in any other lane because 99% of the opponents they go up against are going to have different (note: better) tools at their disposal to either get off the damage faster, easier, and in a more mobile way or just sustain through anything you throw at them.

Tribbles FoxfolkApr 5, 20179 votes

I'm a support main and I'm still gonna play the hell out of him. Really looking forward to it, actually. Kind of a mixture of Braum, Rammus, and Ahri with some fun playmaking thrown in. I can totally dig it.

Hinu HyugaApr 6, 20173 votes

I'm the same way. As a support main I can't wait to play him.

SukishooApr 5, 20173 votes

I feel he is kind of like a fighter type but with the enchanter abilities, so it makes a really interesting character.

Chembaron YamadaApr 5, 201716 votes

I got the feeling it was riots attempt to create the "assassin support", giving you the playstyle of an assassin going in, doing fancy stuff and then escaping from the middle of the enemy team.

They tried to pull that with Bards early concepts, if I remember correctly, trying to give him stealth and mobility, but it didn't work out. Seems like they finally found a way to realise that. :)

Velzard of KozApr 5, 20173 votes

I thought he's supposed to be Warden/Enchanter, as he can jump to aid his ally, has shield/heal and has initiating tool, just the fact he didn't seem tanky enough was confusing. Additionaly with mobility, shield and CC by endangering himself, he'd be like Battle Mage, except for those have usually DPS rather than burst.

YoungSirJ0eyApr 6, 20172 votes

He's literally Lee Sin but without AD scaling and with a heal. Sort of. Not really. Still, he's basically support Lee Sin.

AptestApr 5, 20172 votes

While I think RIOT has done very well by making a "duo" of champions, Rakan has two major design flaws that will considerably making him a less interesting support pick:

1 he synergies specifically with the adc. or more correct to say specifically with a single adc. For support to be popular support champions need synergy with mid lane and jungler (role that can support and participate in plays) at the expense of adc (a role that wants to not make plays and for the support to stay as a defensive element).

2 he has a heal / shield for allies. The heal/shield/buff play pattern is sucky.

The Last BalladApr 5, 201710 votes

The synergies are rather occasional boons, not make or break. More of incentives to play with her, but he synergizes with mobile adc's playstyles more(the extra dash range on e is nice, but not something to prioritize. The recall syncing is great, but only occasionally useful. And the her w applying to him might be useful if it applied her onhit/damage, or you built on hit/damage, but neither is true so it is not very impactful). And because he synergizes with mobile people, that means he will synergize with Lee Sin, a popular jungle, Yasuo, a popular mid/top, and Ahri, a semi-popular mid(those are the first that popped into my head, not the complete list)
Speak for yourself. If you want a support that doesn't heal or shield others, you may play any of the supports released into the pool since Nami(Bard and Thresh's w's shield/heal are not really core parts of their kits, they are there more for the yoink/speedboost). I love mobile people, but I love the enchanting playstyle more. Up to this point, I was lamenting the fact that: a) we didn't have a male, non-tanky enchanter b) we didn't have a mobile support(So far the most mobile we have is a top laner that converted to support who could drag himself to walls, Soraka's speedboost, Janna's natural speed, a few "drag yourself to them" hooks, and Bard's ms chime boost and e. Many out of combat speediness, but no in combat dashes.) and c) we haven't had an enchanter in nearly 5 years(Nami by the way, so you have 4-5 years of supports that you could pick from)

And finally I get to have all! [slayer-jinx-catface] BRING IT ON!

VerdadeApr 5, 20172 votes

Yeah, let's fuck up the only lane not fucked up by mobility creep, just so that Yasuo and Lee Sin mains can pick up their flashy champion. Seriously, fuck off riot. He will invalidate majority of immobile and skillshot-reliant supports.

ChaddyFantomeApr 5, 201712 votes

{quoted}

Yeah, let's fuck up the only lane not fucked up by mobility creep,

Leona Braum Thresh Alistar ???

just so that Yasuo and Lee Sin mains can pick up their flashy champion. Seriously, fuck off riot. He will invalidate majority of immobile and skillshot-reliant supports.

How? Tanky supports will steamrole his ass and enchanters are at less risk of getting blown up than he is since they stay behind. Unlike an actual assassin that lives by killing the damage, he has to jump ontop of his allies that are in danger to save them.

The senseless fear mongering is real.

VerdadeApr 5, 20172 votes

None of these have ground targeted dashes, nor massive MS boosts.

Leona has to land a skillshot to dash Braum can only dash to his ally Thresh has to land Hook Alistar has to dash to minion/champion.

Rakan can dash anywhere, he can dash to his ally TWICE, and he can get 50% movement speed boost on demand. On top of healing and shielding.

ChaddyFantomeApr 5, 201719 votes

{quoted}

None of these have ground targeted dashes, nor massive MS boosts.

Leona has to land a skillshot to dash Braum can only dash to his ally Thresh has to land Hook Alistar has to dash to minion/champion.

Rakan can dash anywhere,

he has 1 short ranged 15 second CD delayed knock up dash... thats it.

I mean by that logic, why not add Jarvan Support to your list of complaints <_>

he can dash to his ally TWICE,

Why does it matter tho? He is a support. Not a damage threat. The main purpose of his E is the Shield it provides which means he has to jump on top of his ally to shield them, putting him in harms way.

and he can get 50% movement speed boost on demand.

his ultimate
on demand

pick one

On top of healing and shielding.

His heal is abysmal and gated by having to land a very small and moderately slow skillshot, then having to touch an ally within 3 seconds or he doesn't even give them the heal, whereas Soraka, Nami, Bard and Sona just press W near or on an ally. And again, his shields are tied to his Ally dash, meaning he cant use them as freely as other enchanters because it puts him at immediate risk and danger by flinging himself on top of his endangered ally.

You are just spouting of things he has without context while asserting it to be problematic by virtue of you claiming it so. Its really dumb.

YoungSirJ0eyApr 6, 20171 votes

his heal is abysmal

I'm not arguing, but it does have the highest scaling of any non-ultimate heal that can target other champions.

ChaddyFantomeApr 7, 20172 votes

{quoted}

I'm not arguing, but it does have the highest scaling of any non-ultimate heal that can target other champions.

Of which he wont be making much use of since his solo lane and waveclear is weak. Hardcore AP build on him isnt realistic on him imho.

Abysmal was a bit of an exaggeration but it is easily the weakest part of his kit imo. Maybe his passive competes in a situational sense.

DryditchApr 5, 201721 votes

Actually, I've been waiting for a more engaged support for a while. I'm getting really tired of bot lane's mage vs mage matchups from support.

VerdadeApr 5, 20172 votes

mage vs mage support matchups were never a thing, just look at the playrates...

DryditchApr 5, 20178 votes

Aside from the occasional Nautilus, I've been up against enchanters and mages every time I play support.

VerdadeApr 5, 20175 votes

So, you're counting enchanters into the same group as mages? Wth man

http://i.imgur.com/hjiKFb9.png

Karma and Morgana can't be counted as support mages, only Zyra, Brand, Malz and VK are true support mages. Look at the playrates, Zyra with highest %playrate amongst all support mages is 10th most played support...

DryditchApr 5, 20173 votes

... They have pretty much the exact same playstyle.

Sit back, throw the occasional damage spell or shield to block poke, and just focus on letting your ADC farm until someone steps out of position.

Melee supports encourage interaction by actually putting themselves at risk to be functional.

I dunno... Bot lane's kind of getting boring unless you have five man dives, at which point it's just bullshit for the team getting dove.

VerdadeApr 5, 20177 votes

No they don't.

Enchanters with ability to poke do what you described. Support mages try to land their combo and blow you up in one short engagement.

Vel'koz fishes for E into WR Brand for Q stun into full combo Zyra wants to land E while having as much plants as possible to lock you down and buff her plants with R Malz wants to lock you down with Q/R until his voidlings ramp up

Sure, they do poke to soften enemies/quell aggression, but it's not why they are picked. These support mages are very punishable, all of them are immobile and rely on skillshot, and they have significant downtimes on their most dangerous abilities.

I dunno, but it seems they are much healthier than "engage support meta" when Leona/Blitz/Thresh just want to hit that one skillshot, and when it connects it always ends up in brawl and dead champions. Really boring when lane gets decided by single hook...

Velzard of KozApr 5, 20171 votes

You're getting tired of mage vs mage... But you're glad for Rakan [being more engaged] who's basically... A Mage... or Enchanter which you below count as Mage... Wut?

Also you like melees botlane. Rakan is ranged and when with his girl, has basic attack harass, lol.

Faceroll TacticsApr 6, 20175 votes

He is hardly ranged, it's like slightly longer than trundles autos

RoranaApr 6, 20175 votes

I've been wanting an actual mobile support forever, I actually come back to the game again after having the same champs for the longest time

ChaddyFantomeApr 5, 20171 votes

Indeed. Without a doubt, it was what they were going for, and might i say i think they just might have succeeded.

VerdadeApr 5, 20171 votes

I hope he'll be shit OR he will go to other lanes. If he gets popular im quitting with playing supports altogether.

ChaddyFantomeApr 5, 20178 votes

{quoted}

I hope he'll be shit OR he will go to other lanes. If he gets popular im quitting with playing supports altogether.

...why?

VerdadeApr 5, 20172 votes

He inherently shits on anything that relies on skillshots, positioning or channeled abilities.

RavenKouhaiApr 5, 20172 votes

How so?

VerdadeApr 5, 20172 votes

He has 3 abilities with mobility, 2 hard AOE ccs, has very strong initiation potential, healing AND shielding. He's made to satisfy these disgusting Yasuo/LeeSin/Vayne/Riven mains who need their flashy plays to make them feel skillful and awesome.