The best ADCs are always a symptom of the meta

Khristophoros·Sep 13, 2017·82 votes·4,193 views

Right now the meta is protect the ADC, so ofc it's Trist, Twitch, Kog. Champions who can destroy the enemy team and all you need to do is keep them alive.

It's disappointing to see so many people crying about the ADCs and saying they're overpowered every single time no matter what the meta is. Just whichever ADCs are picked, people bitch about. It doesn't matter which ADC it is. You guys are impossible to please.

Why is the meta like it is?

Because tanks can stoneplate + locket for like 2k shields late game.
Because Knight's Vow lets you give the ADC 12% damage reduction.
Because these items synergize well with tanks who are already good at peeling.

The meta is what it is because multiple factors come together to make a strategy dominant. The success of damage dealers like ADCs depend heavily on the meta.

If you get what you want and they nerf the current ADCs and also nerf defensive support items (which they already are) you can expect a big meta shift and other ADCs to start dominating. You will be just as outraged about the dominant ADCs in the next meta as well.

This community fixates way too hard on ADCs.

146 Comments

MalzaSep 13, 201721 votes

I've compiled a full list of metas from the last seven years that adcs weren't the strongest role:

KhristophorosSep 13, 201716 votes

{quoted}

I've compiled a full list of metas from the last seven years that adcs weren't the strongest role:

They have never been the strongest role. Just the best at 2 things: farming bot lane reliably and scaling as a damage dealer.

But this is beside the point. Riot will never nerf them to the point that they are "optional" because at that point they won't even be viable. There is no middle ground available when it comes to ADCs, sorry. Either they're viable and that makes them automatically the best choice as the carry for the 2v2 lane, or they're not.

So whenever they nerf currently dominant ADCs it doesn't really change anything. It only changes which ADCs are the best.

One of the dumbest things the playerbase does is, people will argue that "<current ADC> is the most cancer thing ever! Of course it should be nerfed!" and they will repeat the very same argument next meta about another ADC.

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20177 votes

Riot will never nerf them to the point that they are "optional" because at that point they won't even be viable

sounds like pretty poor design, then

KhristophorosSep 13, 20174 votes

[{quoted}](name=Mens Hair Club,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=VqQee7Nz,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2017-09-13T17:34:59.345+0000)

sounds like pretty poor design, then

Or maybe there just isn't another archetype that reliably works as a carry in a 2v2 lane? Hello?

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20174 votes

i don't see how that makes them any less poorly designed if they're the only ones who can 2v2

Chembaron YamadaSep 13, 20172 votes

Not necessarily. It's not like Riot never tried to inject other classes in the bot lane carry role.

Mordekaiser says hello. But that didn't really turn out well, did it? It's not that easy to inject other classes in the bot lane carry role without making marksmen completely disappear from the game.

I would like to hear your suggestion to achieve this.

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20173 votes

remove XP split when 2 people are in a lane so bruisers and mages don't lose out on much needed levels

nerf ADC base stats because them having higher bases early game than TANKS and JUGGERNAUTS is completely retarded (you could also buff theirs but that'd have other ramifications in solo lanes, probably)

return Doran shield to the way it used to be and make it block extra damage from ranged autos if you're melee

Chembaron YamadaSep 13, 20171 votes

I am not sure that removing the XP sharing would be a good idea. Sounds like it could have some bad side effects.

Nerfing ADC stats across the board doesn't make sense, it could be done if a specific marksmen turns out to be too strong, but nerfing them all into unviability just to get oher carry roles doesn't seem fair.

And Doran Shield is supposed to be a start item for everyone. Believe it or not, but ranged champions can have tough lanes as well. If you need that, suggest a new start item and don't take one away from ranged champions.

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20174 votes

you can still take doran's shield if you're ranged, melee justbenefits more. and they should, because ranged champs are inherently much less risky in lane and should not have the same safety net in a start item that melee carries would need.

then you can buff melee stats. either way, ADs do way too much damage early on through poke for melees that aren't mordekaiser to handle. wouldn't be as big of an issue if they got their levels faster

KhristophorosSep 13, 20172 votes

[{quoted}](name=Mens Hair Club,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=VqQee7Nz,comment-id=0000000000000000000000010001,timestamp=2017-09-13T19:33:09.547+0000)

remove XP split when 2 people are in a lane so bruisers and mages don't lose out on much needed levels

nerf ADC base stats because them having higher bases early game than TANKS and JUGGERNAUTS is completely retarded (you could also buff theirs but that'd have other ramifications in solo lanes, probably)

return Doran shield to the way it used to be and make it block extra damage from ranged autos if you're melee

Removing the XP split would probably make support mages like Annie Velkoz way too strong but I don't think it would change which champs are played as the bot lane carry. It would still favor champs with ranged attacks building AD as the farmer of the lane.

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20172 votes

and now because there's no XP split you can take their counters into bot lane to handle them because assassins and certain anti-mage bruisers aren't cucked by losing levels

KaeblenSep 13, 20173 votes

But this is beside the point. Riot will never nerf them to the point that they are "optional" because at that point they won't even be viable. There is no middle ground available when it comes to ADCs, sorry. Either they're viable and that makes them automatically the best choice as the carry for the 2v2 lane, or they're not.

please, make your case for this. I suspect you may be right, but I'm not convinced. show me your evidence.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20177 votes

{quoted}

please, make your case for this. I suspect you may be right, but I'm not convinced. show me your evidence.

Other botlane strategies I've seen focus on winning early game so if those are considered reliable enough to play against support + ADC that would mean they win so often and shut down the ADC so consistently that those strategies become dominant. In that scenario would you ever want to play ADC?

If this scenario is achieved by nerfing ADCs it would be especially hard to find any viable niche for an ADC because they're already not favored in any other position.

makkiiSep 13, 20172 votes

{quoted}

Other botlane strategies I've seen focus on winning early game so if those are considered reliable enough to play against support + ADC that would mean they win so often and shut down the ADC so consistently that those strategies become dominant. In that scenario would you ever want to play ADC?

If this scenario is achieved by nerfing ADCs it would be especially hard to find any viable niche for an ADC because they're already not favored in any other position.

Did you ever consider that once this happens some other subclass pairing will come in and counter the counter? Effectively jump starting wholesale Bot lane diversity inside which adc's are "viable" again but not broken? No of course not.

As for your argument that there are different subtypes to adc's, while that is true, it's not comparable to other lanes. The reason being, each class of champion brought to other lanes have different core functions and identities, you don't bring a toplane jax/fiora for the same reason you bring a Darius, or a Quinn, you don't bring mid lane Xewrath the same reason you bring talon or fizz. Bot lane on the other hand every adc has the same two core functions 1.ranged seiging of towers 2. Consistent single target dps in team fights, this doesn't change from adc to adc, and as such adc hold a monopoly on bot lane.

This idea that adc's need to be strong otherwise they are unviable is just a cop out adc's use to avoid being balanced properly. Adc have always been strong, maybe not OP but strong enough to be mandatory, the difference between s1-4 and now is that every weakness adc's use to have, have been circumvented.

Getting blown up? GA was changed to an AD item and cheapened, we have DD now and PD reduces damage now, and if you're really desperate pick up a schim or hexdrinker.

Adc's are good at seiging towers but not waveclearing and pushing? We've added ruunaan and statikk shiv and have morphed them over time to be stronger and stronger picks for adc's

Adc's are strong lategame but not early/mid? Well we're gunna ease that up, make it real easy and safe to farm waves with ruunaan/shiv and disappear back into jungle or base, oh and we're gunna cheapen all adc items so they spike faster.

Solo laners fucking you up while trying to farm, superior base damage/stats from higher levels hard to fight against? Say hi to catch-up kill and catch-up jungle xp, so you can disappear that level gap away!

You can make the argument that adc's were strong but balanced in early seasons, but not now, they have kept all their scaling but lost most of their weaknesses.

SkorchSep 13, 20174 votes

So in other words... Whenever ADCs are struggling they do something to buff them? That sounds like... EVERYTHING ELSE. Sure sometimes people stay on the backburner (same goes for ADCs though.)

Also if you want botlane diversity the community has to agree with Marksman diversity too. I just saw a post almost on the top of the front page bitching about marksman being played in other lanes.

It goes multiple ways.

makkiiSep 13, 20171 votes

{quoted}

So in other words... Whenever ADCs are struggling they do something to buff them? That sounds like... EVERYTHING ELSE. Sure sometimes people stay on the backburner (same goes for ADCs though.)

Also if you want botlane diversity the community has to agree with Marksman diversity too. I just saw a post almost on the top of the front page bitching about marksman being played in other lanes.

It goes multiple ways.

No, that's not what I was saying at all.

What I'm saying is different classes have multiple strengths, and multiple weaknesses, which balances them out. What I was getting at with adc's is that the weaknesses that balance out and adc's strengths have consistently been shored up over time while they retain all the strengths they had in the past.

Think of it as adc's on one side of a scale and everybody on the other, and riot keeps tossing another rock on the adc side each year that passes.

Having played since beta, the difference in how people play around adc between then and now is night and day.

Also the reason people are pissed about marksman in other lanes is because they already have a monopoly on bot, no other class has that, so it's not really fair if adc's start dominating other lanes because then they have nowhere to go.

SkorchSep 13, 20173 votes

But they also throw rocks into other side (except mages. Mages get nothing.) Tanks have got things to help them. Junglers have.

makkiiSep 13, 20173 votes

{quoted}

But they also throw rocks into other side (except mages. Mages get nothing.) Tanks have got things to help them. Junglers have.

The difference is that they only do it for others when they are weak, whereas they just keep making adc stronger and stronger.

Secondly riots balance philosophy according to them revolves around giving each class a clear identity through strengths and weaknesses, which means when they buff these champions, they buff already established strong points, rarely buffing them where they are weak, and when they do it's very small. whereas with adc's most of the changes that positively affected them, were changes that almost completely or completely neutralized a weakness, which has happened multiple times.

IMO adc's have only one really clearly defined weakness left, and that is total kit utility, but that simply isn't enough to justify all the strengths they've accrued.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20171 votes

Actually ADCs have lost things. The biggest thing that comes to mind is Wriggle's Lantern. Another noteworthy thing is that ADCs have had their numbers chipped away slowly by nerfs over the years. They used to have better base attack speed and more overloaded kits.

makkiiSep 13, 20175 votes

{quoted}

Actually ADCs have lost things. The biggest thing that comes to mind is Wriggle's Lantern. Another noteworthy thing is that ADCs have had their numbers chipped away slowly by nerfs over the years. They used to have better base attack speed and more overloaded kits.

Wriggles lantern? Adc's? What in the actual fuck?

And I dunno about the Aspd but every bodies kits to include the adc's are more overloaded than the past by far, we started out with the likes of trist, kog, ez, pre rework Ashe and sivir, then we got adc's like vayne, Lucian, xayah, Kalista, and you try to claim that adc kits are LESS loaded?

Spank the FoxSep 14, 20172 votes

Wriggle's Lantern was legit on most champs, ADC and Top.

A free ward, AD, Lifesteal and Armor for cheap.

I wouldn't say that was a big thing ADCs lost, though (compared to like when Olaf was good, he loved that item)

VectrosSep 14, 20173 votes

{quoted}

They have never been the strongest role. Just the best at 2 things: farming bot lane reliably and scaling as a damage dealer.

But this is beside the point. Riot will never nerf them to the point that they are "optional" because at that point they won't even be viable. There is no middle ground available when it comes to ADCs, sorry. Either they're viable and that makes them automatically the best choice as the carry for the 2v2 lane, or they're not.

So whenever they nerf currently dominant ADCs it doesn't really change anything. It only changes which ADCs are the best.

One of the dumbest things the playerbase does is, people will argue that "<current ADC> is the most cancer thing ever! Of course it should be nerfed!" and they will repeat the very same argument next meta about another ADC.

I disagree. Other moba's have pulled it off-their ADC equivalent isn't 100% mandatory, but aren't useless either.

While ADC's haven't necessarily been the front and center strongest role, they've always been a key role, and a mandatory role. Even during ADC 2k17, they still saw plenty of play-not just in bot lane either, but jungle as well. No other role in League can make the claim that ADC's do; they literally own bottom lane-they have since near the beginning of the game (there was a period of time they went mid instead).

Given that it's been done before, it's not impossible to make ADC's not mandatory, yet still viable. It should be a choice, not a must. They should have weaker early games and take longer to hit their point of power...and honestly, I'd be ok with seeing them stronger late game than they are now, if their early game was turned to something truly bad.

Bot lane shouldn't be "which support+adc combo do I want", it should be "what kind of combo should we go for? A kill lane? ADC/supp to farm for late?" Etc. No reason ADC's should get bot as their own-it only shows the bias Riot has towards them.

KyunseiSep 13, 201725 votes

{quoted}

I've compiled a full list of metas from the last seven years that adcs weren't the strongest role:

They were plenty of metas where Marksman wasn't the strongest role. But I agree ADC are used since the age of stone.

Chembaron YamadaSep 13, 201724 votes

Seems like one of these cases when people are confusing "being mandatory" with "being the strongest"... Just because every team has a marksman does not mean that marksmen are the strongest class there is.

It Hertz When IPSep 13, 20179 votes

I remember when assassins dominated the game and ADCs couldn't go anywhere without a full escort.

Remlap1223Sep 13, 20174 votes

Season 4, never forghetti.

chipndip1Sep 13, 201715 votes

I mean, no one's gonna listen regardless of how right you are.

Meta sees tanks weak, so everyone's going for quick kills? "WOW LUCIAN AND DRAVEN ARE SO OP"
Meta sees tanks strong, so people need tank-crushing hyper carries? "WOW TRISTANA META SO FUN ZZZZZZZZZ"

Adcs are ALWAYS going to happen in one way or another unless Riot really dug in there and changed shit up. Why people don't get this I don't know.

It Hertz When IPSep 13, 20174 votes

I believe the annoyance is less that "ADCs Are Strong" and more that no matter what the meta is, there's rarely more than 3-4 viable ADCs, and they all build identically. It's the lack of variety that rankles people a bit, particularly when their personal favorite ADC falls out of meta, but they don't realize the nature of a meta environment, so they complain that the strong ADCs are "broken" or "OP".

Chembaron YamadaSep 13, 20172 votes

Lack of choices is the only thing about marksmen bot that I dislike. I am totally fine seeing just marksmen at bot lane. But Riot could focus a bit more on releasing new marksmen so the champion pool is bigger.

It Hertz When IPSep 14, 20171 votes

Except here's the issue: what do you do to make a NEW marksman? The challenge would be to find a new, innovative mechanic for a marksman to make creating another one worthwhile, without resulting in a kit that's broken unless you nerf it into the ground (cough Kalista cough Kindred). Jhin and Graves are about as far as I see Riot going with an AA reload mechanic, and most of the rest cover just about every variation there is on "right click to win", with Ezreal and Corki being walking (flying?) reminders of why ranged AD casters are a nightmare to balance.

Currently there are 18 champions that I'd consider to be bot lane marksman ADCs, 20 if you count Kindred and Teemo (I wish I could make him work bot lane, I really do). Honestly, if Riot could just balance such that as few as HALF of them are viable at any given time, that'd be awesome. Ashe Caitlyn Corki Draven Ezreal Jhin Jinx Kalista Xayah Varus Twitch Tristana Sivir Quinn Lucian KogMaw MissFortune Vayne

OHminusSep 14, 20173 votes

The problem is that all of these champs fall into some archetype (caster ADCs = Ez, Corki, Varus, sieging ADCs = Trist, Cait, wrecks teamfights - Twitch, Jinx, etc). ADCs are just way too similar because their strength (for most of them) comes from right clicks, so balancing them is a nightmare.

Buff tear and triforce? Ez, Varus, Corki become oppressive.

Buff crit? Trist, Jinx, Cait become oppressive.

Buff lifesteal? Draven becomes oppressive.

Buff lethality? Draven, Jhin, and Lucian become oppressive.

Buff %HP damage and last whisper? Ashe, Vayne, Kog, Kalista become oppressive.

This is basically the cycle we're in atm.

EedatSep 13, 201712 votes

EXCUSE ME? Did you just imply there are other factors outside of the ADC role? Heresy! The community demands a minimum of 5 nerf Lee Sin threads as penance!

i cant move wtfSep 13, 20179 votes

Everyone needs something to blame other than themselves. Except Fiora getting completely reverted. Play her while you can.

AhrisSep 13, 20179 votes

Adc as a role is problematic. They need to remove this idea about ADC being the lategamers as that ruins the game. A rightclicking role should not have the best lategame.

Adcs are always a problem in any meta. It just changes from protect the adc to kill the adc. It just goes back and forth.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20178 votes

{quoted}

Adc as a role is problematic. They need to remove this idea about ADC being the lategamers as that ruins the game. A rightclicking role should not have the best lategame.

Adcs are always a problem in any meta. It just changes from protect the adc to kill the adc. It just goes back and forth.

What should have the best lategame damage?

Mages? What does it look like when mages are absolutely dominant late game? From what I've seen, especially back in the day when mages would regularly run away with the game with mejai's, it was pretty hilarious. You just bursted everyone and they couldn't do anything about it. Or look at season 3 Kassadin. Did you ever see a tryhard team playing entirely to get him fed? It was pretty disgusting.

Bruisers? Remember Irelia? How about equipment mastery Jax? Release Xin? NO THANKS!

Melee carries? Also a right click class.

Assassins? Same thing as mages tbh.

I don't know, I can't imagine it being particularly better.

BobaFlautistSep 13, 20175 votes

What if - I know, this is a crazy idea, but just go with me on it - what if every class had a contribution to late game team fights in line with their gameplay fantasy.

Divers would jump into the fight, punish poor positioning, and take a big chunk of damage to kill.

Juggernauts would tank CC until the damage got picked off and they could be safely focused down - if you blew your load on them, you'd get punished for not having cooldowns, and if you lost track of controlling them they'd tear you apart.

Mages would be a hybrid between divers and supports - they would dictate the flow of the fight by controlling Juggernaut and divers, threatening damage on other squishies that got overconfident, and softening the enemy team up for a well-played carry to sweep them. If this looks like a lot of roles, that's because the hallmark of a good mage is flexibility - they build and play to fill whichever role best meets their team's win condition.

Skirmishers would be like alternate adcs. You empower them with a support, cc and softening the enemy team, and try to set them up to sweep them. My vision is that they would be more powerful but more risky than adcs.

Tanks would be disrupters. Their cc would threaten death to an out-of-position squishy, keep divers from sticking too easily to their allies, and in general be a huge pain in the ass to deal with. Like juggernauts, dumping your combo into a tank should make you lose.

Assassins - assassins are tricky. I don't actually think they should one-shot enemies unless they misplay hard. My personal vision is of hyper-mobile anti-supports, a lot like Rakan but with more debuff than hard CC, and with a decent amount of damage in their kit. They would blast shields, reduce attack speed, lengthen cooldowns, remove buffs - that sort of thing. Imagine if Talon Q applied a blind (or vision reduction), or Katarina spins applied a stacking debuff that reduced damage or slower attackspeed (for a proportionate cost if damage on the ability, of course). Obviously this would need a ton of thought and balancing, but I like the idea of picking an assassin with the plan to outplay that one devastating enemy and remove them from the fight - even if you don't kill them. It feels a lot healthier.

But no, Riot wants games to be decided by one 10-15 minute 5v3 under tower instead of 3 5v5s at 30-40 minutes.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20171 votes

I mean, the thing I was responding to was basically the idea that a rightclick role shouldn't have the best DPS late game (that's how I interpret "best lategame") because the game kinda works how you're describing except certain imbalances lead to certain team strategies dominating at least in organized play.

BobaFlautistSep 13, 20172 votes

That's fair. To respond to your actual point, then, all else being equal (gold, counterbuilding) and in general (all classes having ranges of damage output that sometimes overlap): Slayers should have better dps than adcs, mages, divers, and assassin's as they currently function should have dramatically higher 1-3s burst (depending on their combo length) then start falling behind past that, and a tank/juggernaut should hurt an adc in melee range more than the adc is hurting them -adcs should be punished for not kiting.

But in terms of raw dps over 10s against the same target, yes, adcs should fall just behind slayers.

Mens Hair ClubSep 13, 20177 votes

the best anyone is a factor of the meta

KhristophorosSep 13, 20177 votes

[{quoted}](name=Mens Hair Club,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=VqQee7Nz,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2017-09-13T17:34:29.878+0000)

the best anyone is a factor of the meta

And yet people constantly ask for direct nerfs on ADCs, like asking for a mechanic that a champ has had for 8 years to be outright removed. lmao

KaeblenSep 13, 20177 votes

your entire argument assumes that adc's will be present and dominant...

no other role receives that treatment. there is no other role you cannot build a team without.

SpoofghoulSep 13, 20176 votes

You are wrong

We have been in an adc meta since forever

whatever type of adc is strong dictates the meta not the other way around

Not xPekeSep 13, 201714 votes

Wrong.

It's a cycle in which all the different roles and classes interact with eachother and shape the meta.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20176 votes

{quoted}

You are wrong

We have been in an adc meta since forever

whatever type of adc is strong dictates the meta not the other way around

Kog's only recent buff was the addition of 0.5 MR per level. Wow you think that's more significant than stoneplate + locket + knight's vow? lmao Wow dude 9 more MR a level 18! SO BROKEN

CyberBaltSep 13, 20174 votes

It's disappointing to see so many people crying about the ADCs and saying they're overpowered every single time no matter what the meta is.

ADC is always the meta. There is never not an adc meta, at least not recently. I want other classes to be in bot lane too.

KhristophorosSep 13, 20171 votes

{quoted}

ADC is always the meta. There is never not an adc meta, at least not recently. I want other classes to be in bot lane too.

Wait so whichever class is the guy who farms bot lane is what the meta is all about? I disagree. The jungler's performance can make or break early game for the whole team. And this means that whenever a lane is able to help shut down the enemy jungler that's one of the highest impact things a laner can do for the whole game.

CyberBaltSep 13, 20174 votes

Wait so whichever class is the guy who farms bot lane is what the meta is all about?

Well, kinda. And I agree about junglers, but I think that's really just a symptom of bot lane being so vital to a teams success -- the better jungler is the one who can get their ADC the most fed.

Ironically, I think the actual adc player has little influence on the outcome of the game, it's moreso whether their team can get them fed. And I don't think that's fun, not for the adc, and not for the rest of the team, for the game being so adc-centric.

Ariel the CruelSep 13, 20174 votes

Personally, I agree that ADC's present an issue. But they're ultimately a symptom of larger problems.

range > melee. Riot doesn't do much to mitigate this at a macro level; and often band-aids melees to mitigate at a micro level.
AA damage > spell damage. Again, at a macro level and in a vacuum. AA's have high scaling 1.0 AD (up to 2.5 with crit), the lowest max (and average) cooldown in the game, and are resourceless.
Structures. Excluding Ziggs, there is no way to kill structures with abilities. Very few champions (and sheen) have abilities that can even affect structures.

~~ADC's~~ "Marksman" benefit from all three of these core game mechanics. That's why they will always be necessary. Before we even begin looking at individual stats and kits, ADC's have macro-level advantage.

And before "that guy" posts, supports aren't a core problem. Their state (role, class, champion, and itemization) are also symptoms of their own problems. But, for the most part, their influence applies equally to every one (regardless of game state). That's why they tend to vanish when ever the meta even remotely allows it.

Wildlife1Sep 14, 20172 votes

Supports being catered towards ADC's are another symptom of the problem. No support is aimed for ap buffs, nor tank buffs, not even bruisers or assasins get them. Only ADC's. I agree that supports have a problem of their own, but their design and items add to the problem.

Ariel the CruelSep 14, 20172 votes

Support (role) aids the team just as much as any individual. Their job is to not be awesome so everyone else can soak up as much glory as possible. It's a result of insufficient income streams. That's why they buy all the team utility items and get no CS. The only reason they go with ADC is for income optimization. ADC's are the least level dependent, so they get the support. ADC's are more than capable of surviving in a solo lane though.

Support itemization is the same way.

Doesn't interact with allies Effect doesn't discriminate. Best on ADC's (as opposed to other squishies) because they have the game's highest damage out-put (more healing for the builder). Shields everyone equally based on the user's bonus health. The CC removal benefit everyone equally. Except maybe Olaf. Doesn't get built. Heals everyone equally. Doesn't interact with allies. "Allied basic attack burns" don't stack; the duration refreshes. So attacking more than once every 2 seconds accomplishes nothing. Meaning that Raw AD is the only important factor on that part; crit and AS don't help (if I interpret it correctly; Riot is a tad ambiguous on this one). Like Zeke's, the healing doesn't stack; so high AS doesn't matter. This is the only item that does disproportionately favor ADC though, because the bonus AS benefits their raw AD and Crit. Except for Yasuo and Trynd, no one else really builds crit. MS bonus doesn't discriminate. Shield active benefit everyone equally. Doesn't interact with allies. (I'm probably missing something.)

Support champions also have mostly agnostic kits.

CC doesn't interact with allies, heals/Shields benefit everyone equally. (Can even us abilities on the front and back line simultaneously!) (Q favors ranged champions for ease of application) (E favors ranged champions for ease of application) (Biased towards Xayah by design) Passive favors ranged champions for ease of stacking. But allies don't directly benefit from anything in his kit.

Only two support champions specifically favor ADC's over any other potential category. Shield favors ADC's because it benefit their high AS and crit. W AS bonus favors ADC's because it benefits their AD and crit. Interestingly, release Lulu also gave out bonus AP. But the AS and AP buffs were lost in the war against top lane Lulu. The AS came back as an effort to incentivize her to go back there.

The only reason supports get lumped into the mix is because people fail to distinguish between "core" and "meta" problems. Meta dictates that supports build items to benefit allies. Meta dictates that supports lane with ADC. Meta dictates that ADC's build glass cannon. Meta dictates that supports use their items/abilities so their lane partner can go glass cannon.

When you look at things in a vacuum, there's very little supporting that disproportionately favors ADC's over anyone else.