What I've Learned After Supporting For A Few Weeks
There is only what stands between you and a victory screen. My time as a support player these past few weeks have been arguably the most fun and challenging games of League I've had in years. As a top main myself, I was so accustomed to being stuck on an island and mindlessly splitpushing that I forgot how to win games through what I consider the most important part of League of Legends: vision control.
I can't even count how many times I heard the announcer shout, "An ally has been slain" more times than "An enemy has been slain" through the course of my games. But I never gave up. This is low elo, I thought to myself over the course of the laning phase. These people have no idea how to end unless it snowballs out of control. And so I did what any any sensible support should do: buy Sightstone.
Some of you laugh and groan at this most incessant piece of advice but do not be fooled. This item can singlehandedly swing gold deficits back to even and ahead. How, you ask? Simple. Picture this, you're 0/2 and your mid is 1/4, the laners have vanished from the map and you feel unsafe farming up that juicy minion wave when suddenly 3 appear in the top red buff quadrant prompting your team to rush the Infernal Drake. Your top laner has been the only one managing a lead and he survives the 3 man gangbang, wasting their valuable time and resources. But what's this? Your team still has greater tempo, the bot side wave is pushing fast into the Tier 1 turret and there's no one around to stop it! Your jungler comes by to escort with the siege and the gold swings back into your pocket. From the bottom of the screen, your support rushes in, Sightstone ready to deep ward the enemy jungle and you base back to keep up the pressure with newly bought items. Meanwhile, the enemy team sends their gangbangers down bot lane to answer the giant wave but failed to remember the top laner knocking at their turret. It's too late, the pings start spamming as the second Tier 1 falls down and the gold keeps flowing in. The enemy jungler is pissed, he's been outrotated and is desperate to maintain his lead. He goes over to do Blu- **THERE HE IS ** your team exclaims! The jungler shows himself botside along with 2 other members shoving back the minion wave from their Tier 2. The pings bukkake all over the Baron pit and your team knows. The support had swept that area clean of wards just moments after the deep ward at Blue was placed. Pinks decorate the river like a goddamn Christmas tree and your top laner disappears from the enemy map. The whole topside river is blind to them. They spam ping to know if your team are starting it but it's too late. With the vision letting you know that 3 were sent botside and your mid shoved after drake forcing his opponent to recall, there is no chance of contest. Baron secured and with it, the pressure continues.
Now, you may be thinking how ludicrous this all sounds and you're right to think so. There so many unknown variables but the main point was this: vision wins games. As a support, I constantly looked to roam and keep tabs on where the enemy would path to gain an advantage. Once you rob them of a strategy, the rest is up to you. You can't win a 5 v 5? Clear an area blind and force them to facecheck. Their splitpusher won't leave their lonely island? They can't stop you advancing vision control past their side of the map in a 4 v 5. And slow but surely, the game is turning in your favor.
TLDR; Don't be a parasite all game and stay in lane with your ADC, go and be proactive with Sightstones and Pink and Sweepers, vision control is key to winning games and is what allows you to play forward without fear of retaliation.
Edit: I've decided to remove my comment on "honors, applause and such" because you're all missing the damn point of this. How you tunnel on three lines over several paragraphs of text I have no idea.
