Is Being A Support Main Bad?

cjCHOMP·Jun 9, 2016·2 votes·11,517 views

Hi, i'm a relatively new player starting around the release of Aurelion Sol. I really like playing the support role in a game and i was wondering, is that bad? Am I limiting myself by not spreading myself out? Am I missing out? I really like champs like Sona ( My Main ) and Braum and I have gone Top a little and I like it some and I really don't like jungle. So should I make myself try more roles or is being a support main a good thing? Thanks for reading and hopefully commenting!

                                                                          - C.J. (cjCHOMP)

31 Comments

ErockandrollJun 9, 20165 votes

If you Enjoy playing support, that's a good thing, as this game is lacking support mains, and you will get that role more often. It's also a good starting role as you less reliant on the CS game.

That said, playing a breadth of roles will give you better understanding on how each role performs, as well as how each champ within that roles plays out. Which can help you over all, as you advance.

As a support main, I might recommend ADC as you secondary role. Since they both work in the bot lane, it will help your understanding of the bot lane.

DeathBurstJun 9, 20163 votes

^ That guy pretty much nailed it. Very good advice here.

I'll add a last point: maining a role is definitely good, it allows you to go more in depth and understand it better. But you should try a bit of everything to be sure you're really maining the role that fits you.

Reaper SorakaJun 9, 20162 votes

Bad? no.

It's really up to you if you want to try new champions in new roles or if you want to just stick to support. I'd at least learn a second role relatively well because you won't always get your primary role.

I like to have one champion for each role, just in case someone convinces me they can carry in support better than I.

Spice POWAHJun 9, 20162 votes

Being a support main isn't bad, I think it'll teach you to actually pay attention to the map lol. you should still try out other roles though

Lovely PantsJun 9, 20162 votes

It partially depends on your own goals.

Short answer I would give you is: Yes. You are limiting yourself by only playing one role. One of the fastest ways to boost your ability to apply knowledge in the game is to have a good understanding of the fundamental skills required to play and needs required to succeed in all roles in the game. (And you actually really, really want to learn how to jungle to fully appreciate objective-based gameplay in league. It's the most important role any other main needs to understand.)

However...

To what extent this is useful to you to keep sharp on really depends on how much time and effort you want to put into the game. It's hard to keep up on the knowledge advantage for all roles if you only put in 2 or 3 games a week, for example. Support is also currently the easiest role you can get away with only playing right now because you will almost never be forced to play a different role if you don't want to.

Personally, I've been playing nothing but support this season as kind of a personal challenge (not for the last month+ cause of computer issues I'm hoping to fix soon), but I do think from just the simple metric of "how enjoyable is the game" it prevents things from getting overly tedious if you branch out into different territory now and again. There are a lot of fun champions to play in every role and you miss out on the different experiences available if you're stuck in a rut of your own making.

Really, I tend to think you should just boil down your decision making to this basic flowchart in regards to the game:

Q: Is the thing fun to do? --> Yes --> Do the thing -->No --> Try a different thing

If you just don't want to branch out because you're scared or uncomfortable with your performance elsewhere, it's okay to take your time, but don't let be the thing that limits your experiences.

TheEvilQueen135Jun 9, 20162 votes

don't feel bad, be proud! i'm a support main (braum and sona as well actually). it is hard to carry and climb up the ranked ladder because they are pretty dependent. lux and morgana are good supports that have power and can carry if need be(also a way to branch into mid)

if you struggled with adc champs maybe jinx or ashe? they(to me) feel the most similar to support champs out of the adcs. poppy is a good top/sup/jungle(if you ever want to try that again)

i personally would say if you ever plan to do ranked yes support is almost guarenteed rn but it's not 100% so maybe learn champs that are good in other roles as well (lux, morg, poppy, karma,voli, alistar)

cjCHOMPJun 9, 20162 votes

I actually love playing poppy. She was the first champ I found and stuck with until Sona lol

TLS BrotatochipJun 9, 20161 votes

Its great for getting into games lol

KozLiiTJun 9, 20161 votes

Join my club, "Kings of Support" we're new but focus on teaching and learning in the support role, i was Plat 5 last season and my co leader is a diamond support. ^_^ just give me an add if you're interested

PDistyJun 9, 20161 votes

I have been told to get good with one (or two) champ(s) and stick with it. I recommend continuing to build your skill-set with Sona Sona and/or Braum Braum . Support mains are lacking and you would fit a need just about anytime anywhere. Keep it up.

GigglesOJun 11, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I have been told to get good with one (or two) champ(s) and stick with it. I recommend continuing to build your skill-set with Sona and/or Braum . Support mains are lacking and you would fit a need just about anytime anywhere. Keep it up.

I'd actually suggest something a little unconventional to top it off though. Just letting you know, something that works in high gold and plat (as support) is to place a zz'rot behind the lane that is losing the hardest.

It will keep the lane from getting shoved in as fast, and if the enemy leaves lane it gets pushed in. I've won a few support games with just a zz'rot and banner of command.

KVbqbFsC8eJun 9, 20161 votes

If you enjoy getting carried then go for it. You'll get instant que times as a bonus.

cjCHOMPJun 9, 20161 votes

That's one thing i think is funny is i'm guaranteed my role in draft XD

DemainaNyxJun 9, 20161 votes

Since you are new to the game, that's a good place to start. Personally I've found it hard to carry a game from support though. If you have good teammates, being support can be really easy. But if you have teammates that keep getting caught or messing up, you feel sorta useless.

I would recommend trying some other roles just as a backup. ADC can be good to know cause then you'll have a better idea of what your ADC will want from you. You should also learn things like CSing, pushing a wave, freezing a wave, which you generally don't learn while playing support. It is important though to be able to know this kind of mechanic so you don't mess up the wave for your ADC and so when they aren't in lane you can take advantage of the free gold without annoying them too much.

cjCHOMPJun 9, 20161 votes

I know how to CS and everything (luckily) and I have played ADC a little with Kalista and Twitch, but it doesn't go over to well. I have picked up most things with the help of friends and just playing. I enjoy some top champs like Zac Zac, Gnar Gnar, and Ziggs Ziggs ( i'm weird and play him top sometimes), but I absolutely cannot do jungle. It just seems if things go wrong everyone blames them. Support is fun, but your right when you feel useless if the ADC or mid isn't pulling their weight. It sure is nice getting help from other players who aren't toxic, negative, or rude.

spombjopJun 9, 20161 votes

Support main is actually the best currently. I hope that riot will remove this trash champ select soon.

EndlessSorcererJun 9, 20161 votes

Play whatever you enjoy. There is nothing wrong with that.

My only suggestion would be to make sure you understand how other roles play. If you do (through playing them or through watching gameplay videos from streamers), then you will better understand their priorities and decisions which will let you better predict what both your allies and enemies want to do.

Cursed AegisJun 9, 20161 votes

I play Lux support main, just play like you're mid if your ADC is garbage. I've been doing that, in the matches where the rest of my team hasn't already fed and destroyed our chances of a win....

PapaGreg21Jun 9, 20163 votes

Almost every lux support I play with refuses to build sightstone

Chimp JokerJun 9, 20161 votes

Lux should build sightstone, but the problem is that as a lux support, it's in their best interest to poke the hell out of the enemy adc. They would have to rush for item 1058 just to build item 3285 as quickly as possible. Especially if their adc is behind, then Lux would have to pick up the slack and carry (of course they wont ks their adc, hopefully).

boosted frogJun 9, 20161 votes

Being a support main is NOT BAD AT ALL. In fact, we need more support mains imo but you should try out all roles: there are things you can't learn just from doing one role

But like others said, be proud that you are a support main

Riot didn't establish 5 roles for nothing lol pick the role that suits you the most and best of luck in the rift

Sona PingJun 9, 20161 votes

I really like playing the support role in a game and i was wondering, is that bad? Define "bad".

League of Legends is a video game, a toy, it is here for your enjoyment. Do whatever you would have fun with. You would only be missing out if playing other positions was something that you wanted to do and would like to do but you aren't. Being a support main is neither good nor bad. If you just want to have fun playing support, that's perfectly fine.

"cj_CHOMP_ "

However, you may be missing out if you are not playing Trundle .

PapaGreg21Jun 9, 20161 votes

The hardest part of league is not being good at your position, but understanding what other positions and champions can do. You will find yourself improving by forcing yourself to play other champs and roles, even if it isn't what you want to do long term. By playing adc, you can improve your support play a lot by understanding farming under tower, positioning, power spikes, etc.

GaleWinUnleashedJun 9, 20161 votes

Nothing wrong with playing only support (I'm also a support main), but it's a good idea to be at least somewhat competent at one or more additional roles (I play jungle if for some reason I don't get support). At the very least try to learn various supports so you can adapt to different team compositions.

The biggest issue with support is that you're highly dependent on your lane partner not doing badly. If they start making poor decisions and fall behind you become less and less impactful, and it feels like there's nothing you could've done to win.

RevaliJun 9, 20161 votes

Support/top is probably best if you play tankier champs like Braum etc.

Chimp JokerJun 9, 20161 votes

Maining any specific role or lane is not bad at all. If you want to go ahead and play other champs for other roles and learn, then just do it. If not, no worries. If you want, just try out other (viable) champions that can fill in the support role. Have you ever tried Syndra support or even LeeSin support? That shit is so much fun. Even Poppy is another good one. It's up to you to decide. Me? I chose to learn how to play all the roles, but I'm more efficient in mid laning. There's nothing wrong with being good at a specific role. (Jack of all trades but a master of none)

Cursed AegisJun 9, 20161 votes

I buy sightstone when my ADC isn't a dumpster... which is pretty infrequently. I play like I play Lux mid and end up being able to split push for the win when the rest of the team hasn't fed the enemy.

AmelieJun 9, 20161 votes

It's not "bad", but I can pretty much guarantee that you will never be a great support unless you have played the other roles at least once. Support requires so much knowledge not only of bot lane, but of ALL the lanes and champions. You support the entire team. You will need to know how to fight every single champion, know who is a threat, know cooldowns of everyone's abilities, including the enemy's.

If you play support exclusively, it will take years to build the knowledge you need to be really good. If that doesn't matter to you, and you only enjoy playing support, then by all means carry on.

Teridax68Jun 9, 20161 votes

It's never bad to main a role, but as mentioned by several others here, trying out other positions can only work to your advantage. From experience (I main jungle), jungle and support tend to benefit the most from playing other team positions, because those two require you to work the most closely with others. For example, playing a marksman can tell you a lot about when to farm, when to go aggressive, etc., as well as give you a feel of how it is to play the other partner in a duo lane. There really isn't/shouldn't be a contradiction between maining a role and playing different positions (maining a position just means you favor it over the others), and you fill likely find yourself trying out a lot of non-supports as you get more comfortable with the game and your own preferences.