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Calling all Thresh Supports

Arch Mage Magnus··2 votes·1,086 views

I've recently been using Thresh, as he is pretty popular within the ranked and LCS scene. He has a lot at his fingertips, and meshes so well with good plays. However.... I've seen the problem...

When supporting I have always used more carry supports such as Vel Koz. This is good, if my ADC sucks, I am able to pick up the game, and still become a damaging menace come late game, being able to do severe damage and take people down. Since using Thresh, all I have encountered in the past 10 games have been HORRIBLE ADC's. Land hooks, but they still attack minions, go all in against their ADC when he has half half, but they sit back and farm. I do plays that are ALWAYS done to me when I am going against a Thresh, however no one ever follows up.

I'd like to know if this frustration is common with Thresh players or is it just me? Last game I had 3 kills by the end of a 40 min game, the same amount as our ADC, yet I didn't have a single AD item or rune. Again, at least with Vel, I could break away from this horrible player, and carry a team in damage, and plays. What do Thresh players do when their ADC is horrible or if the team is severely behind? Since he does no damage, it seems he doesn't have much of a lasting input late game when the enemy is far ahead. Velkoz can land a burst, + ult, and shred half a team. Fiddle can silence, ult in and zhonya and really screw up a team. Leona can tank, ult in, and soak up godly amounts of damage. What am I missing?

5 Comments

Killer X 122 votes

Some ADCs have no intention of fighting early. Some, like a twitch, won't want to fight early because if they win the farm game they'll have already won lane as long as they dont' die. Playing the passive farm game is how you take hyper carries to late game, and its how protect the carry comps work best.

I almost always act on what my support does, but that is because a bad decision that 2 people follow is usually better than a good one that no one does. If he goes in and i don't think we'll go at least 1 for 1 however, then i'm going to let the support die. I've had plenty of bad supports that think just because they land a hook they should go in. You should be watching their CDs, their pot usage, what they have for items, their hp, your own carry's CDs, their pots and their items. Those are the things i watch and if the math doesn't add up in those few seconds with at least some room to spare then i'm gonna have to let you die. Tossing the other ADC a double just because my support felt like being the hero is a waste of everyone's time.

That being said there are match ups where you ALWAYS go in on your hooks if you are at least even in hp. Not everyone is aware of these. Not everyone even plays ADC, some get forced in the role, some are just trying it out. To expect your ADC to know exactly when it is a good idea to all in is prolly not a smart thing to assume.

Also, as a thresh player i do not go in on all my hooks. I only go in when i'm certain we will win that trade, just hitting the hook doesn't mean you go in.

I'd agree that there are some ADCs that aren't new, aren't playing the scaling game, and are just bad, but if they don't follow you in it is likely because they either don't feel sure of themselves enough to fight...or they don't trust you. If my support makes a questionable call early then sure as fuck i'm not going to trust him.

BetterDravenBot1 votes

Some ADCs have no intention of fighting early. Some, like a twitch, won't want to fight early because if they win the farm game they'll have already won lane as long as they dont' die. Playing the passive farm game is how you take hyper carries to late game, and its how protect the carry comps work best.

I almost always act on what my support does, but that is because a bad decision that 2 people follow is usually better than a good one that no one does. If he goes in and i don't think we'll go at least 1 for 1 however, then i'm going to let the support die. I've had plenty of bad supports that think just because they land a hook they should go in. You should be watching their CDs, their pot usage, what they have for items, their hp, your own carry's CDs, their pots and their items. Those are the things i watch and if the math doesn't add up in those few seconds with at least some room to spare then i'm gonna have to let you die. Tossing the other ADC a double just because my support felt like being the hero is a waste of everyone's time.

That being said there are match ups where you ALWAYS go in on your hooks if you are at least even in hp. Not everyone is aware of these. Not everyone even plays ADC, some get forced in the role, some are just trying it out. To expect your ADC to know exactly when it is a good idea to all in is prolly not a smart thing to assume.

Also, as a thresh player i do not go in on all my hooks. I only go in when i'm certain we will win that trade, just hitting the hook doesn't mean you go in.

I'd agree that there are some ADCs that aren't new, aren't playing the scaling game, and are just bad, but if they don't follow you in it is likely because they either don't feel sure of themselves enough to fight...or they don't trust you. If my support makes a questionable call early then sure as fuck i'm not going to trust him.

This pretty much says everything, i can confirm his logic in not going in when he feels like its a bad idea, but letting the support die and not signalling you wont go in is also not a good idea.

I main ADC and if i have a decent support we usually win lane.

Drogeist1 votes

I think it's a legitimate point/question. As someone who plays a lot of support it's a fundamental issue for the lane. Tank/Utility/CC supports often lack the damage that a kill lane support can provide. When deciding what to play, ask what your team needs. You can always ask your adc how they play and if they know how to follow up on hooks or lanterns, or just prefer to safely farm. Either way, learn to NOT go all in when playing with an unresponsive partner. It's boring, but maybe eventually you'll have the opportunity to lantern in your jungler and get some assists.

When you're playing to learn a champion, it can be very frustrating playing a Tank/Utility/CC support because if your adc is struggling (they could also be learning the role/champion too), it feels like there's less you can do to impact the game. I suggest you use the opportunity to maximize what you learn. Try to land skill shots, get used to your combos. Maybe eventually you can find your mid lane who has a bit more money and would enjoy the benefits you can provide to their lane. Warding and helping your jungler briefly can be useful too. A surprise lantern-pull of your jungler into any lane should result in a kill or summoner spells blown. Even if it won't work in the game you're currently losing hard, at least you've practiced it now, and can see how useful it will be next game.

Champions like Thresh are designed around playing well with your team. Sometimes it doesn't work out when your team isn't coordinated or refuses to communicate, or is simply losing. However, suffering through the learning curve and learning to play them right can be incredibly rewarding when you finally do play with someone who knows how to capitalize on your plays. Even when you lose lane, a team with Thresh and still come back and win the game in the team fight phase. Use wards wisely, and you can catch their team out. Learn to lantern preemptively (for both defense and offense) and you'll deny them gold or make a huge play. You can save lives or end them with your ult. Learn to be the bottleneck. Enemies often ignore Thresh because of his low damage, but it's very hard to pass through him with his kit. Don't underestimate the damage of his single auto attacks on squishies either. If you can zone them out, or make them focus you, you're already winning.

All in all, it's about what your team needs, how your partner plays, and what you feel like playing. There are other tanky/cc champs (like Leona), but Thresh's kit is unique, and it's amazingly powerful when its full potential is realized. Anyways, good luck to you, and I hope you stick with Thresh. I'm learning him now and he's super fun.

HitsFromTheBomb1 votes

the best tip above is dont go in on all your hooks ..and if i might add , when your using the hook to poke/intimidate or scare your opponent BE READY to walk back so you can drag him in at least that little bit , maybe your adc will at least give him some poke too and you guys can be setup for your next cooldown/hook to go in with the HP advantage and a much surer kill.

if you wanna also indicate to your adc to follow up on a hook hit your lantern to him RIGHT BEFORE you activate the landed hook into them so hes knows you mean to all in them.

AloneInTheCrowd1 votes

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