Boards›Gameplay

Question about Soraka's items: Ancient Coin vs. Spellthief's Edge

MagicalGirlRosel·5/14/2015, 3:42:39 AM·3 votes·5,309 views

I'm really new to this and honestly have no idea where to post this, so if this is the wrong place, just redirect me and I'll take it down. Or take it down yourself if you're a mod. Whatever works.

I'm new to League (and RTS as a whole), and have been really enjoying playing as Soraka. I read up on a couple of guides, and those plus the recommended items list the Ancient Coin series, all the way up to Talisman of Ascension, as important to start with and build up. A much more experienced friend than I (the one who got me into the game) told me to avoid Ancient Coin entirely and instead use the Spellthief's Edge series and build towards Frost Queen's Claim, focusing on more powerful items later to build her Health Regen. Looking back at the wiki for each item and popular builds (at least according to MOBAFire, which is where Google pointed me), they both look like they could be effective.

Specifically, what are the pros and cons of the Ancient Coin series vs. the Spellthief's Edge series for Soraka? Which should I use when? I can see myself being more inclined to Ancient Coin because I've had way more problems with running out of health than mana for her E. On the other hand, Spellthief's Edge can generate more maximum gold as well as extra AP. Which situations can each be used for that the other can't?

5 Comments

Deep Terror Nami5/14/2015, 4:07:47 AM3 votes

Spellthief's Edge has a higher possible gold generation than Ancient Coin, because there is more risk to proc it (attacking enemy champions or towers). A passive person who is not going to poke the opponent often enough will usually get more gold out of Ancient Coin though, because you simply have to be near minions when they die.

All of the gold generation support items will net more gold the sooner you upgrade them to tier 2 (though as a Support your first buy is usually Sightstone, so, after that), but there's no increase to the tier 3 item (Frost Queen's Claim, Talisman of Ascension) so unless you want the stats/active don't rush that.

For the active portion, Talisman of Ascension has the most utility. Because of that, you might actually start with the Spellthief's line, and trade it for the Talisman late game.

TL;DR - If you can make the most out of Spellthief's, get that and you can decide which upgrade you want later after Spellthief's has paid for it. The earlier you upgrade to the tier 2, the better though.

Windfallen5/14/2015, 4:11:27 AM2 votes

Start spellthief. It gives you much more gold since it starts with passive gold regen as well as the procced effect (You need to be active about getting those procs off on enemy champs/towers to make the most of it) and better stats. It gives you the same Mp5 as coin, so the same amount of mana to harass with Q and get lots of HP back!

HP Regen is super valuable to you though as the game progresses, so ancient coins upgrades are more valuable to you as soraka! A lot of times Raka should be prioritizing a sightstone before upgrading the support item. So you're gonna have that spellthief's edge for awhile. It's gonna reimburse you all of the gold you spent on it pretty much when you sell it. This is when tier two of the coin is a better option for you if you think Hp5 is the best option for you.

Finishing the support item all together as soraka is somewhat pointless.

A lot of times tier two will do just fine until you fill up other slots with items like

item 3105 > item 3190 or possibly item 3060 (the ladder being situational)

item 3024 >item 3110

item 3075 item 3211 item 3082 item 3269 item 3274

Rarely, if there is some heavy cc item 3222 since you don't have many mana issues, just for the active effect.

If you're doing really well and are becoming ridiculously good with raka.... then items like item 3089 item 3157 item 3041 item 3023 Are reserved for the 'elite' risk taking, bursthealing raka's ;)

Zhonyas is actually just plain great... and if you can get it then for sure go for it!

Some HP is nice, but resistances and Hp5 are most valuable.

TL;DR: Your support item, no matter what it is... just needs to give you the income you need to buy the other stuff you need while giving you the stats you wanted to start with.

Unless you find the active effect of one to be super helpful, the stats don't compare to other items once your inventory is full. So focus on filling your inventory with the other items! If a game is going on long enough, after the laning phase is over... by all means, steal a minion or two from the nearest ally.

UPfreely5/14/2015, 6:21:05 AM2 votes

either one is nice, just don't waste gold upgrading item 3303

if you're in a lane matchup where u can get alot of autos off on lane opponents get item 3303 if you're in somewhat of a passive lane where you can't or value the sustain higher, get item 3301

in either case make sure to stock up on plenty of item 2010 for sustaining your lane!