Support mains...how and why do you do it?

Rikari·Feb 21, 2016·1 votes·869 views

How? Why specialise in a role everyone hates? How can you walk into a fight knowing that you may not affect anything at all? How can you watch your team make idiotic decisions and decide to do it again? How are you satisfied with the lowest damage and lowest gold every game? How can you give it all up for a "team"? How can you take "gj lucian" every game without losing your mind?Are you satisfied with picking up the team's slack? Is it because you think you aren't strong? Are you afraid to lead,to carry? Too much responsibility? Is enough never enough?

Why? Is it because there's a 95% chance you get your role? Because no ones gonna counter you? Because you like certain champions? Are you preparing to raise a child or something? I simply cannot understand why people choose to do this to themselves.

15 Comments

HEAljvLykdFeb 21, 20164 votes

Supports are the playmakers of the game. I played Nami support from silver 3 to plat 5. They make the largest impact on the game if played correctly.

Deep Terror NamiFeb 21, 20164 votes

Why specialise in a role everyone hates?

Because everyone hates it. I'm good at it and I don't feel any particular need to do tons of damage and take all the kills playing a carry role.

How can you walk into a fight knowing that you may not affect anything at all?

If I know I can't affect anything then I stay back and don't feed, or just pick up assists. Typically there is always something I can do, though.

How are you satisfied with the lowest damage and lowest gold every game?

I'm not always getting the lowest damage and gold. Even when I am, it's not something I see until the match is over. It's not the numbers at the end of the match that I enjoy, it's the match.

How can you take "gj lucian" every game without losing your mind?

I already mentioned I'm good at it. I'm praised just as frequently as the carry.

Is it because there's a 95% chance you get your role? Because no ones gonna counter you? Because you like certain champions?

That is certainly a big factor. I'm able to play the champion I enjoy the most with almost no fear of not getting it.

Aeolian MelodiesFeb 21, 20164 votes

I've always been attracted to the healer/support/buffer/white mage archetype, so ever since I started in November 2010, support has been my go-to role. I like the control this role offers, I like a role that promotes and rewards team play, and I love saving asses. I love being responsible for creating opportunities, and keeping our most valuable players alive and strong.

Not everyone's fun is measured in gold, or kills. You take that pentakill - I'll gladly accept the pentassist.

Johnny JewstarFeb 21, 20164 votes

From the days of Dota, a support's role was about being useful without items. It's more about strategy and your own personal skill rather than being able to farm items for strength. It's all about using your abilities at the right time and on the right person. For the longest time, I played WC3 Dota being a support at 45 mins into the game with only brown boots and two wards while still being as useful as the six-slotted hard carry on my team.

A carry has to focus on farming and to focus on getting themselves stronger. As a support, I roam, look around the map and decide how my team is going to win.

I love to be useful to my teammates, I am a selfless person and I feel more satisfaction knowing that I helped my teammates win than seeing myself come out on top. I have been playing video games for over 20 years and I always play the Support/Healer in a team.

EmittingXsFeb 21, 20163 votes

Numbered to address every question...

By clicking "Support" as our primary role.
Not "everyone" hates supports.
Wrong. We affect more than a lot of people seem to understand.
If our teams make idiotic decisions then we self carry. We can only be blamed for the mistakes we make as individuals.
The damage we deal is not important. The gold we generate isn't important either. We build our essential "support items" and from there either find ways to generate more gold or stick by our team and win the game.
We trust them. When they break that trust then we find ways to make their game difficult by not shielding or healing them.
We know what we did in order to ensure Lucian that kill. If he gets a kill and praise for it, then we know we did a good job as well. We don't need to be told.
Yes. We are more than capable of carrying our own weight and that of others.
We are a force to be reckoned with.
We can carry an ADC and a team to victory. What is there to fear?
We all have equal responsibilities on the fields of justice.
We shall continue to support till the day we die.
Why not? Not everyone has the potential to do it.
Primary or secondary roles aside, we will play to the best of our ability.
We have our enemies to worry about as well. Leona, Thresh, Blitzcrank, Sona, Karma, everyone has a counter.
Yes.
I personally am actually.

Aeolian MelodiesFeb 21, 20162 votes

{quoted}

Numbered to address every question...

By clicking "Support" as our primary role.

Not "everyone" hates supports.

Wrong. We affect more than a lot of people seem to understand.

If our teams make idiotic decisions then we self carry. We can only be blamed for the mistakes we make as individuals.

The damage we deal is not important. The gold we generate isn't important either. We build our essential "support items" and from there either find ways to generate more gold or stick by our team and win the game.

We trust them. When they break that trust then we find ways to make their game difficult by not shielding or healing them.

We know what we did in order to ensure Lucian that kill. If he gets a kill and praise for it, then we know we did a good job as well. We don't need to be told.

Yes. We are more than capable of carrying our own weight and that of others.

We are a force to be reckoned with.

We can carry an ADC and a team to victory. What is there to fear?

We all have equal responsibilities on the fields of justice.

We shall continue to support till the day we die.

Why not? Not everyone has the potential to do it.

Primary or secondary roles aside, we will play to the best of our ability.

We have our enemies to worry about as well. Leona, Thresh, Blitzcrank, Sona, Karma, everyone has a counter.

Yes.

I personally am actually.

slow clap

BRBGTGBOWFLEXFeb 21, 20161 votes

Let me hit you with some knowledge.

I've climbed from Bronze/Silver to Gold about 3 times. Every time I climbed as support. I achieved a much higher rank than your alleged "carry" position all by playing support. Here's some observations.

25%/25%/50%

About 25% of your games are free wins. No matter what you do, you're gonna get carried. About 25% of your games are free losses. Doesn't matter what you do, you cannot carry. About 50% of your games are on an even footing where all that really matters is your individual performance compared to others.

You gotta focus on that 50% where how well you perform your role matters. If you win the majority of those 50%, you will climb regardless of the other types of games.

90%+

That's how often I get my main when I queue for it. I get Leona nearly every game. Other roles might not get their lane, they may not get their champion, etc. So they need to work on multiple things. All I have to work on is my role and mostly my main champion. That's it. Odds are I'm not going to get anything else so I don't have my winrate split between what I do amazing and what I do "okay" or "second best". In low Elo I get my role 90%+ of the time.

Potatos.

Other supports are usually people who want to be carried and are useless. Or people who stupidly put it second choice and got it because they did that. They are potatos who do not know their champions, their role, how to ward, gank, roam, etc.

Egocentric idiots who never gain elo fantasize that they are being held down by their own team, or that they need to "be" the carry and that's the only way to rise. These people sell their teams short and sell themselves too high. They aren't that good.

Meanwhile, I quietly support and rise with a 60%+ winrate. Because for all the stupid cowardice and pretending that the reason for your failures is "bad teams"-- the truth is, everything balances out. If you're a good support it's easy to climb.

FrankerXFeb 21, 20161 votes

as an adc main i can only say how much support affects me and the game. sure sometimes he sucks but sometimes I SUCK and he carries my ass. having a support by your side that knows how to do his job is just a great feeling and you dont even have to be the best adc to win your lane then.

always remember... an ad carry, doesnt carry shit in lane.

Aeolian MelodiesFeb 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

as an adc main i can only say how much support affects me and the game. sure sometimes he sucks but sometimes I SUCK and he carries my ass. having a support by your side that knows how to do his job is just a great feeling and you dont even have to be the best adc to win your lane then.

always remember... an ad carry, doesnt carry shit in lane.

ADBULGIG.

Diver of MuffsFeb 21, 20161 votes

I'm a support main myself. All of you wrote excellent replies. Does everyone who commented mind if I add you? I'd like to exchange info & tips about different champs, strats and tactics in order to improve

Sky of SmilesFeb 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

How?

I want to do well when playing Leona and Support was identified as the best role for her when I started. I also enjoyed helping my friends when I play normal games, taking up the role no one else wanted.

Why specialize in a role everyone hates?

Not everyone hates it. Those who truly want to succeed and are willing to work on it will notice the finer details of your play and decision making. For men the only truth that matters is hard work.

How can you walk into a fight knowing that you may not affect anything at all?

The difference I make aren't noticeable and therefore whats needed to win as a Support is hard to pick up for it. It is also something the enemy team may fail to notice as well and are caught off guard by it. That is their fault.

How can you watch your team make idiotic decisions and decide to do it again?

You get tough skin.

How are you satisfied with the lowest damage and lowest gold every game?

I like the challenge of making sure every single damage I do do is effective and to be able to read the flow of the game at a level not many people in my ELO bracket can do so that I can make good item choices.

How can you give it all up for a "team"?

I like to think that my team wants to win the game and that concerns me because I also want to win the game. Everything I do, is for me. Be it improving my game decision making or my understanding of the game. I always try to take something from it because each game is taking time from me.

How can you take "gj lucian" every game without losing your mind?

What's a Lucian?

Are you satisfied with picking up the team's slack?

Have you ever done group work? It's not that different. You end up doing everything yourself and share the credit.

Is it because you think you aren't strong?

Its because I am strong that I have faith in my skill as a Support Leona or Janna.

Are you afraid to lead,to carry?

Many people will claim to be a team player. Few actually are. They know not the meaning of sacrifice.

Too much responsibility? Is enough never enough?

I've always had more responsibility than the average person my age for as long as I could remember. You have to understand why you even press the play button. If you don't know why, if you don't have the passion, you're not gonna win vs someone of equal skill, but more drive.

Why? Is it because there's a 95% chance you get your role? Because no ones gonna counter you? Because you like certain champions? Are you preparing to raise a child or something? I simply cannot understand why people choose to do this to themselves.

There's someone I really look up to. I remember this person was able to climb to an ELO higher than me. This person never made any excuses. Although this person didn't play Leona Support when she was out of meta, their drive was admirable. I hope to be able to climb to the same ELO this person once had.

X8ViEhkPS0Feb 21, 20161 votes

Way back when I was always drafted to support when I'd play in 5 man was because I enjoyed it. Support is like playing chess and you are the pawn. Yes while you might be considered fodder and weak. When properly playing the board they can easily become one of you most powerful champs.

The only problem with supporting is that there isn't any stats to show what you are doing in the match.

Aeolian MelodiesFeb 21, 20161 votes