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The Dos and Don'ts of a supporter

eztarg3t·9/27/2014, 3:30:53 AM·8 votes·6,723 views

[I got bored and decided to make this. Hope those pictures pop up.] [This is on GD but I decided to drop this here as well because GD is separated from the rest of the boards.] [I guess I will say this is also a thank you present to both Vesh and Morello for looking into Soraka and trying to make her viable again.] Hello there everyone! Do you want to support? Do you know how? Well, don't worry, I may be a scrub but I know how the lane works (sort of...kinda). So I'm gonna give the basic Dos and Don'ts and Soraka here will be helping us with some visual aids. http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/110/e/1/soraka_by_fbende-d62fse8.png

Do: Take care of your adc. http://24.media.tumblr.com/d5dc48a5df6e987475905f14188395c1/tumblr_mhj8upzU9j1rl88vto1_1280.png They may appear weak at first but they will get a lot stronger later on in the game. That's why you are there, to help them get to late game.

Don't: Take the center stage. http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1411797407573/sorakabuffcart.png The support role is for those who want to support their allies. If you're looking for fame, supporting is not for you.

Do: Place your pink wards nearby. http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/283/6/a/soraka_and_sona_by_refel_salala-d6lzpe7.png Make sure your pink wards are close enough so that the enemy can't destroy them without getting harassed themselves either by you or your ADC.

Don't: Place pink wards too deep in enemy territory. http://s1049.photobucket.com/user/leagueoflosers/media/need%20more%20space/tumblr_mamhxkyRQK1qkjfsyo1_500.png.html?t=1349284684 It'll be hard for you to protect them if it's too far away and you might grab the attention of the enemy jungler or worse. You can, however place regular wards deep, just make sure you have someone tagging along or you know where the enemy is at currently.

Do: Provide Pressure http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XjhdwsacUSE/TT8OCCttYMI/AAAAAAAAABE/NJvnR8Q3tbY/s1600/soraka05.png If you want to destroy your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women you need to help your ADC and the best way to do that is hurting the enemy champions. Your ADC will either capitalize on your damage and try to secure kills or get more CS because they aren't being harassed.

Don't: Take the kills http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1411797443118/sorakadoublekill.jpg You can get a lot of gold for yourself if you last hit the enemy champions and minions. Plus there's no doubt your lane partner would compliment you on your skills to secure. But that gold would be far better utilized on your ADC. So make sure when you are attacking the enemy, you are setting them up to get killed by your lane partner.

Do: Protect your ADC http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/attachment.php?attachmentid=1061804&d=1409717358 Even if you have to take a fatal skillshot to the face, you must protect them by all means. By a practical standpoint, your ADC is worth more than you.

Don't: Use your ADC as a meatshield http://apollo-na-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1411797420667/nosorakawhtrudoing.jpg Don't be that guy. That ain't cool.

There is still plenty more to learn as a support. Like properly warding areas and considering your position whether you are a tank support or a sustain. But like I said, I'm a scrub and this is only the basics. The best way to learn, though, is first hand experience. So take what you learned and carry your ADC to victory. http://www.fullgameszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/tumblr_mnc7egPkI81rqtn57o1_1280.png That or get carried to victory.

Edit: hang on folks, haven't gotten this posting pictures down yet. Edit 2: Ok, think I got it. Not gonna lie, this attachment system is silly. Edit 3: Apparently you need the attachments there permanently.

23 Comments

Plus50g9/27/2014, 4:00:11 AM4 votes

Nice guide and good job with the pictures! (The Raka pictures are awesome)

IAmNeverViable9/27/2014, 4:31:52 AM4 votes

entertaining and informative. gj

Ragulus De Jun9/27/2014, 4:58:18 AM3 votes

Ok advance Do's And Dont's ( wish i had pictures)

  1. always be a hero, even if you think you cant make it try too
  2. dont get caught even if you trying to saved someone this skill do come with experience
  3. warding baron knowing the enemy might be at baron (here is a tip go all the way around to the opposite side they never have baron warded in a 360 degree matter) so there is no way for you to get caught dropping sight always avoid the obvious.
  4. please auto attack the enemy it works it can change the whole fight just dont take the kill unless you need to and only if you need to.
TheTyeGuy9/27/2014, 5:31:49 PM3 votes

Something about being a support that AD Carries need to learn.

If we are in lane, we are outnumbered, out healthed, and I go in to draw aggro and cc them, that is NOT a signal to Re engage. . . I am trying to save your life, not give up a double kill.

MystVearn9/27/2014, 6:37:58 PM2 votes

Do: -Check where the enemy jungler started, if your counter lane showed up after you that usually means they started on the bot side of the jungle, this means you should ward earlier about the 2 minutes mark in case he tries to get an early gank on you, if you see he started on the opposite side this mean you can save your river ward until about the 3 minute mark

-Ward the lane bushes, this might sound obvious but there is people who don't play bot lane at all, bot lane has a lot of bush action(sounds dirty) and it's very common to fight from inside the bush or juke damage going into them, you need to cover those bushes if you want your ADC to hit that very important 1 auto that makes the difference

-More often than not, you should ward near dragon, instead of the river bush, specially vs Nunu(who can solo dragon around level 6-8), Hecarim(who wont give you enough time to react if you place it in the bush) or khazix who can stealth before reaching the river bush, this also forces you to pay closer attention to the map which is good.

-Check for jungle patterns, regarding that river bush, if you see that pesky lee seen ward jumping from the other try bush to that bush, ward the hell out of it or even the enemy try bush, take into account if the jungler persistently tries to gank you the same way and adjust your warding accordingly, this sounds simple but you will tend to forget to check this if the counter lane is giving you a lot of work.

-Always stay near your ADC, one of your jobs is to harass the enemy and keep them from both harassing your ADC and getting CS so your ADC can get ahead, but you should always be in distance of your partner so he can back you up and help you with the harass, harassing is useless if you get too far and get picked on and die, or even worse get him killed, respect your enemy range and your adc's range, he might be getting a CS and not notice in time when you get harassed if you are too far he wont get to you in time to do something and best case scenario you get both harassed out of lane, so its a lose/lose.

-Pay attention to the map, always check where the jungler is or might be, also the mid or even top, that way you can ward when you need to ward, if you have no wards but the enemy mid is mid, and the enemy jungler is ganking top, you can save those wards for a little longer, this is hard but try to imagine where the jungler is based on what you see in the map, did he just died ganking mid or top? then he is not a treat until he respawns and reaches a position near your lane

-Constantly check TAB to see what everyone, but let's start small, what the enemy ADC and support are carrying/building, sometimes you will be winning, but maybe you haven't had the need to go back to base yet, there will be instances in which the enemy adc will have better items even if you are winning the lane, check for this and avoid confrontation until your ADC can exange his gold and stomp on the enemy, for the support check if it's buying pink wards and sweeping lens, the vision war is still your job during the lane phase, if the enemy support is prioritizing damage, then it means they will have poor vision and you can coordinate a gank better.

-Very Important, also learn the ADC matchups, even if you never intend to play the role yourself, you are the one who makes the plays in bot lane, you have to know vs which ADC's yours has advantage and with which ones you should try to outplay and how, its important to know your partner weaknesses so you can carry him into the mid and late game.

Don't:

-Don't be greedy, you can literally throw away all the advantage you build against your enemy lane if you chase too far or dive to get another kill, there is no need to prove your superiority, your only concern should be to win the game, many times this will lose you a lane you had been dominating up until that point if you get 4 man ganked or only the enemy jungler happened to be near to help them.

PS: Ran out of characters =/

Grimraust9/27/2014, 8:33:56 AM2 votes

My Do's

  • item 3303 item 3302 item 3301 Start with one of these + item 2044 and item 2003 /item 2010 .

  • If you're ranged like a mage, try to harass your opponent. If you're playing a champion you're comfortable with i'd suggest going with Spellthief. If you're comfortable as playing a melee support then go with a Relic Shield.

  • item 3340 item 3341 These trinkets are pending, usually if you rather be safe then sorry you'll get the ward. If you are an aggressive support like Blitz/Leona/Thresh or etc then you might get sweeper. I personally like the ward better because if you upgrade it, you can place pinks down and that way i don't have to buy pinks later on or they don't take up a bag slot.

  • The reason you use spellthief over coin is because you get a better payout if you are able to harass WITHOUT killing minions. Repeat, if you kil minions you'll be penalized for a brief duration where you can't get gold for harassing. For Relic Shield you don't have to be at the front line of creeps just waiting to kill minions but if you're adc is hit and taken down a quarter it's helpful to them to use the execute to heal you both. Also, most supports with brace will wait until the siege minion appears because the gold payout is bigger and benefits both you and your adc.

  • If you're ahead in lane and have just either got a kill or got to 800g, it's cost effective to get item 2049 because then you won't need to buy wards every time you need to B at fountain. The places i most commonly ward are tribush and somewhere along river that gives me vision on that jungle's exit. I then usually use my trinket ward to have one in a bush if we aren't pushing beyond river.

  • You can build damage items but they should benefit your adc in lane. Like if i play Morgana bot i usually build a Rylai's as my first major item for the slow. I'm not sure if any of her abiltiies have a slow but it makes my puddle + snare more oppressive.

My Don'ts

  • Never leave your ADC stranded, if you lose a turret it's best that you be with them in case of a worst case scenario. Also if you roam too much you're losing out on experience. it's also important to defensively ward such as certain cut off points in your jungle as if you lose vision on the map you lose control.

  • If your adc is hooked it's important that you don't leave them. One alternative tactics is that if you have a brain dead adc that doesn't pay attention to enemy positioning then you stay in between them and the enemy support.

  • Even if you're mad at your adc try to help them out by explaining what they need to do or how they can improve. if all else fails then S@20.

  • Never stop warding. A support that wards puts their team in control, remember if your teammates have summoner 12 they can summoner 12 to wards.

cshakes9/27/2014, 12:21:36 PM2 votes

My Do's and Don'ts:

DO:

  • start with item 3303 item 3301 or item 3302 (+ item 2044 of you're x/x/21) in masteries and a combination of item 2003 item 2010 item 2004 + item 3340 .
  • rush sightstone item 2049 and swap to item 3341 so you can participate in the vision war
  • sell your item 3302 in favor of item 3069 - unless you're playing in a full premade, good luck getting the execute on anything lategame. Also, the speed buff (and flat MS) is much, much more useful for engage/disengage than a shield.
  • place deep wards, especially if their jungler has many gapclosers or is otherwise problematic (JarvanIV Vi Evelynn)
  • pink the bush behind their red if you're red side
  • dodge skillshots like a ninja

DON'T:

  • catch anything for your adc, unless you can deny the enemies a kill. You're worth just as much gold as your ADC, who should learn to dodge already.
  • die
  • get too far behind on exp

General builds: Tanky: item 3069 item 2049 item 3190 item 3143 item 2043 item 3117 item 3364 Alternative items: item 3401 item 3075 item 3065 item 3158 item 3111

AP: item 3092 item 2049 item 3023 item 3158 item 3089 item 2043 item 3364 Alternative items: item 3069 item 3157 item 3020 (and other AP items)

Utility: item 3069 item 2049 item 2043 item 3364

  • 3 of item 3023 item 3050 item 3222 item 3504 item 3190 item 3158 item 3117 Alternative items: item 3089 and other flat AP items (if your utility scales off AP, eg. Janna)
12tales9/27/2014, 1:55:00 PM2 votes

You can get a lot of gold for yourself if you last hit the enemy champions and minions. Plus there's no doubt your lane partner would compliment you on your skills to secure. But that gold would be far better utilized on your ADC. So make sure when you are attacking the enemy, you are setting them up to get killed by your lane partner.

  • Situation 1: ADC gets kill, Support gets assist. ADC buys two wards later in the game.

  • Result 1: Support and ADC get 150 discretionary gold, and there are two wards on the map.

  • Situation 2: Support gets kill, ADC gets assist. Support buys two wards later in the game.

  • Result 2: Support and ADC get 150 discretionary gold, and there are two wards on the map.

Can you see the difference? Because I sure can't.

The idea that supports taking kills is at all problematic is one of the most ridiculous ones to exist in the community. If anything, it's worth feeding your support two kills when you're ahead to deny killing sprees and make it more difficult for the enemy team to get back by picking the ADC.

PhoenixOfHeaven9/27/2014, 3:50:46 PM1 votes

this is a cool thread, but what if u r playing a more offensive support such as Kayle or Anivia? wouldn't u want to be more In combat then?

Sunfield9/27/2014, 3:12:29 PM1 votes

Cuuuute!

Worgslarg9/27/2014, 12:46:39 PM1 votes

B-But .... wat do if ADC cannot posisition/cs/dodge skillshots.

That is why I hate supporting.

Also, I disagree with ever starting item 3301 It provides no combat stats for lane, just some measly mp5. start item 1028 or item 1001 and get item 3096 later.