Item Choices - Support
When it comes to support itemization a lot of people seem to think that you only ever buy two items. I see a lot of people purchasing the same items and they are often purchased without thought. Redemption and Locket are strong no deigning that but there are a plethora of situation where you would want to but a different item. This doesn't mean that the item is a good fit for every support champion but if you can get these items in certain situations you will often find them more rewarding. If you have some time to read, enjoy this break down of various items and when you want them.
GP 10 items are a core on any support. Without them you end up gold starved. LCS players make it look easy to play a gold starved support but here in Solo-Que we have a different situation. We need to consider how we stay strong in an environment where people cannot communicate directly and often have to rely on pings alone to communicate meaning. Picking the correct GP 10 item for the start of the game can have a huge impact for you and your team.
This is a safe item (yes, even with the changes). It is the item you want when you and your ADC will have a weak early game. ADCs with late game goals will often just need to farm up and you being aggressive trying to proc a spellthief can backfire a lot. Take into account what the enemy ADC/Support is compared to yours. If you are Vayne/Bard in bot lane against a Lucian/Leona you don't want to take chances with your poke as Bard because Leona can lock you down and Lucian will far out damage Vayne in the early stages of the game.
Aggression is the name of the game. When you feel good about trading or poking with your support this is the item to get. Some supports have very safe range to poke with and trigger the passive and you can always start with this item for them: Zyra and Karma being two very prominent choices. This is the item you want when you feel confient you can proc the passive often without too much trouble.
This is the item for those that want some extra tanky stats. This is for support champion that want to engage on the enemy. It also adds a bit of sustain for tank supports that don't have any sustain. There are situations you will want Coin over this but they are rare and involve answering this question, "Will you be passive?" The biggest example is when you are playing a tank support into a powerful AP support. Tahm Kench into Zyra or Malzahar is a situation you will not enjoy trying to proc Relic Shield. it can be done but you might find it better to get coin first.
When do you build an eye over the active item? Talisman, Frost Queen's, and Face of the mountain all have very strong actives but 9/10 times I only see supports building Eyes. I know we need vision but we don't always need it that bad. What it comes down to is "How useful is the active this game?" There have been so many games I have won because the enemy support doesn't take advantage of the powerful actives or they build the actives only to have them be fairly useless. There is a time and place for every item.
This item is amazing. If you play any support that builds Coin you will likely find a situation that this item can be used. Not always mind you but very frequently. 45 armor is really good for survivability but the real power is in the active. A 40% movement speed boost for 3 seconds, no decay. This is a mini Sivir ultimate on a 60 second CD. This can be an escape, a positioning tool, a means to engage, or you just want to run fast. The problem with the item is the gold cost, it is often worth the investment but if you are behind and struggling to get gold you will want to opt into the Eye for the extra vision because vision is the key to getting back into a game you are behind in.
You may not find as many situations for this item but there are times it's really good. First off, if you are against a pick comp, GET IT. This item will save your life when you need to place wards. Hitting enemies with the ghosts is a minor note compared to the fact you can use it to scout out enemy locations. The ghosts will always go towards the nearest enemies even if they are on the other side of the map. When warding use this item to know if you are safe or not. You can also use it to know if the enemy is doing baron or dragon because the ghosts will go that way. Also, 60AP is a good bonus for a lot of ap supports if you are ahead this is a good item to push that lead with.
This is the Anti-assassin item. If you are not having a lot of trouble with assassins you don't need this item. You can still build it and get use out of it but the time you will get the biggest use out of it is when the enemy team has a powerful assassin that is always trying to kill your carry. There is also merit in buying this when ahead as more shields is always a good way to deign the enemy kills.
These are the most common support purchased items. There are always games where you stomp face in bot lane and can buy a Deathcap but most games these are the options. Redemption and Locket are a strong pick because they have such strong synergy but all the items have times they really shine and there are a lot of games you will want some of the other items. A few of these items are corner cases with rare chances to build but they can happen. The versatility of Locket and redemption will make them safe buys but not always the best buy.
Sona. Yeah, as a first item on her this can be overpowering for the enemy team because she grants a huge amount of lifesteal for her allies. Allies will often get more healing from this then Redemption during fights if you chose Sona. This is an item that should be valued when ahead in the game and you have access to shields or heals that can apply it. It makes a great following item after Redemption and Locket as those items also allow you to apply Censor's bonus.
This is a tricky item for a support but it has real power when used correctly. The biggest thing about this item is the 20% CDR. If you are playing a support that wants a lot of CDR to be effective then this can be a good item to get before Redemption or locket. I've found that Nami is a hidden power pick with this item as her bouncing heal easily applies the extra heal from it. She also does very well with some extra CDR early. This item also gives 30 MR so an AP heavy enemy team could make this a good item as well. Lulu, Nami, and Karma are the only ones that would build this item. Get this item to get to max CDR early and maximize your utility quickly this can have huge impact when so many games end pre-30 minutes these days.
This is a niche item but in certain situations you will find this can be a strong item. The only time you would get this before Redemption and Locket is when the enemy team has all AP except ADC and your team has a 4/1 composition and your split pusher is equal/ahead. This has ridiculous synergy with your split pusher in those situations and will greatly assist them with creating pressure. You can use it to create a mini 1/4/1 as it will push for you like an extra split pusher or you can have it join with your split pusher. This only work with the enemy response being an AP champion so they have to send the ADC making them easy pickings or you just win teamfights because your team has ADC. Any other time this item is after redemption and locket and only if you need more sidelane power so pretty rare item to get.
I haven't played this myself but I have seen it in action as a prime Leona item. It gives her insane ability to survive when she engages which was something she really needed. Currently she is the only support champion I have seen that wants this item before Redemption and Locket but time may reveal others.
Pick for melee supports only as it loses a lot of effectiveness with ranged supports. This is an item you want when you are the front line for your carries. This is because you not only reduce the damage on your carry but you heal for 12% of the damage they deal giving you amazing sustain to survive in the front line. This doesn't have to be your ADC it can be anyone on your team. Magic, true and physical damage are all added to your healing. 12% of all damage they deal. Mages will give you a big burst of healing, ADCs will give you sustained healing. This is an item most tank supports should consider early if they can hold the front line and peel enough for their carries. Consider this a first item if you are against a team that can be kited and cannot dive super deep after your carry or if you are Taric or Braum.
This is a well rounded item that grants 60 MR and 30 armor with a huge active that grants a shield to allies. This is always a good item but not always needed as the first item. It protects allies against burst damage and no one ever got worse for having an AoE shield. This is a great first buy when the enemy has multiple AP champions and a must buy first if the enemy team has multiple AP assassins. If you get this item you should buy Redemption next as the synergy between the two is too powerful at this time. This isn't the best item on AP supports but again the combination of Locket with Redemption is really strong at this time and after buying Redemption this is often a super powerful next buy.
If you are a shielding/healing support and against a team with a lot of CC you need to get this item first. Do not underestimate the power of negating CC that just happened. The problem comes with what support are you? This is because the stats on Mikael's really only favor a few champions. Janna and Soraka are the biggest benefactors because their ultimates have heals built in and 20% extra heal and shield is a big boost to their power. Lulu, Nami and Karma on the other hand do not gain much from this item and you might not want this item even against heavy CC. If against a CC heavy AP heavy team tank supports can build this as well because it grants 40 MR but if you are not getting a lot of value out of the MR the tank stat can be easily wasted.
Honestly, there is never a time this is a bad item except when behind and your allies are dying before it's active can land. This gives health, CDR, healing/shielding power and a super powerful AoE heal/nuke. It's also the item with the most mana regen now. This is always a safe buy for any support but not always the best buy for a support. You can always be sure it will be useful but you still might want to consider other items for certain situations.
This item I don't see as often as I would like. I rarely find times to buy it because you only need it when you need engaging power for you team. Its a rare game that the support wants to be the primary engager because they often lack exp/gold to survive but on those games that you can survive and engage this item is great. I don't think i would ever recommend it as a first item after sightstone but a 2nd or 3rd it could surely be if your team is having trouble sticking to the enemies to secure kills.
This item is another super strong item but you need to understand when to get it. First off, you need to communicate with your ADC that you are going to make it. This isn't always a great first item and you often want it as a second or third but there are situations where you want it first. This is a huge damage boost for your ADC as it grants 50% critical strike chance. The only time I have wanted this as a first buy after sightstone is with a twitch ADC because the 50% crit with his ult and stealth really improves his damage a lot and by the time you can buy it he will often have Hurricane and a BF. Get this item when your team needs more damage and your ADC is half decent. If your ADC is constantly split pushing or out of position don't waste the gold on this item.
: These two items with the right AP mage supports is all you need to be relevant as an AP threat. If your team needs magic damage or they just need more damage get these items on the right supports. Zyra, Malzahar and Brand are the current AP support mages that have success in as supports. You will have a weak mid game after you get out of laning if you don't get a lead but you get back into the game late once you complete these two items. You get these for damage not utility so keep it in mind that you need to maximize your damage.
We covered the items and I would like to go over what would be ideal builds for various supports. This doesn't mean you will build supports this way but rather these items would bring out the full potential of those champions from the support role. These are items picked to enhance and promote their abilities and power and help them realize their fantasy, not a min/max of stats. Some of these builds are very hard to reach due to early game snowballing but lets just assume everything went even up to late game and this is what you end up with.
This is all about maximizing Alistar's ability to engage and start a fight. It perfects what he is and what he wants to do. Obviously there are flaws with the build (a lack of CDR for one) but it isn't about that, its about maximizing what Alistar is and does.
Bard is an odd duck. He's so good at making plays and maneuvering the map that this build I see as one that abuses his ability to roam around quickly creating side lane pressure while maxing his CDR. Zeke is a cool item on him because that 50% crit also goes for him when triggered so...empowered meeps baby!
Pull and punch with a huge AoE slow slow to follow up. Get some more movement speed from Talisman to catch people and just have fun. This help with Blitz finding catches and keeping them stuck.
Deal a ton of damage. You really don't need to do more then that. You might have a rough early midgame but your late game makes you a scary champion.
You're all about protection and enduring. The combination of items will really add to your ability to survive as a wall taking hits.
You not only protect your ADC super well you grant them a great damage boost with Zeke.
You max CDR fast then proceed to excel in protecting your ADC with extra healing and shields + granting them even more damage with Zeke.
you deal a lot of damage to one target but you can also combine your ult burst with Zeke power-up granting a 20% bonus to AP. (enjoy while you can till his nerf)
A lot of CDR which you max early then you can chase down any enemy while buffing your ADC's damage to absurd proportions.
Dart aroudn the battle while giving bigger shields.
so many shields and you spam QWE so fast Zeke is always up a Passive Zeke Q AA from Sona that crits is just disgusting. You never run out of mana with this build and you deal good damage with many many many shields.
Survivability with more healing and shields then the enemy team can handle....really...its insane. You don't want to see this on the enemy team.
Don't have a tank? Who cares, lets make one.
Deal a ton of damage and watch as your damage is higher then your allies.
