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Do you hate support? Do you think supports are worthless and can't carry? Please read this.

AlienPrimate··9 votes·1,157 views

Most people in low elo don't understand the value of a good support. They (you) think it is just a free ride through the game and all you do is put wards down and poke a little bit. There is much more to supporting than people realize and here are some tips that can make you a great support that every ADC wants to duo with. Every game is different and situational, but learning to do these things is a good start to mastering the support role.

  1. Turn off auto attack in the settings. I shouldn't have to say this, but you should never really be hitting the minions as a support. Some exceptions to this are listed below.

  2. Get a control ward on first back and always have one both in your bag and placed somewhere it is being used. Using a control ward in either the tri-bush or river bush frees up your trinket to be used in the lane bushes making laning easier and safer and allowing for top lane teleports into the far lane bush.

  3. Get sight stone and Oracle's Alteration at level 9. You don't need sightstone first item. You just need to get it by level 9 and switch to Oracle's Alteration so you can both provide vision and deny vision.

  4. Help your ADC farm. This includes many things that you get better at with experience. Tank the enemy wave in front of your tower so it doesn't reach your tower range if you can afford to do so (you are tanky or have heals/shields and the enemy champions aren't there). If an enemy minion doesn't have aggro from your minions and is being shot by your tower, hit it a single time to lower its health enough for your ADC to kill it after being hit by the tower. Most ADC's have to shoot minions twice to kill them after a tower shot before getting an AD item. Zone the enemy champions away from the minions to make last hitting easier.

  5. Learn when to fight. Most supports have long cooldowns and are worthless without their abilities. After you use your combo, stop fighting and go back to farming. Also ping your ADC to not chase. Just getting the enemy low is enough for your ADC to easily win lane through CS. You don't need any kills to win lane. A 0/0/0 ADC with 100 CS is way ahead of a 0/0/0 ADC with 60 CS. The only time you should ever go for a kill in bottom lane is if the enemy screws up by overextending into your minion wave, they stay too close with low health and your abilities come back off cooldown, or you get a gank. NEVER CHASE FOR KILLS THROUGH THE ENEMY MINION WAVE NO MATTER HOW LOW THEY ARE.

  6. Lane control. Whenever the enemy is absent from lane, help your ADC push to the enemy tower. Every minion the enemy tower kills is one less minion they can get EXP and gold from. After it is pushed to tower either roam or go back to base until you can completely kill the tower. There is no point in staying in the lane under the enemy's tower. Once the enemy champions get back to lane, they will have missed some CS setting them back in gold and exp and the wave will be pushing towards you again making it so you and your ADC are safe from ganks. From there, your ADC should only be poking and last hitting. You should never push the lane up when enemy champions are present. In low elo, no one really know how to control the lane so communicate with your ADC so they know these things too.

  7. Look at your map often and use pings. This applies to both junglers and supports. When you don't have to worry about last hitting, you have more freedom to pay attention to your map instead of the lane. Use a ping every time you see something ping worthy like the location of the enemy jungler and missing laners from any lane.

  8. This is for tank supports only. Only use your relic shield charges on cannons or when both you and your ADC have lost health. Using them blindly when you have full health is a waste of the heal. During close fights while laning, execute enemy minions when possible. The heal you provide from executing a minion does more than the damage you do to enemies with an auto attack. Remember to look at your charges when doing this though. However, once you upgrade to Targon's brace and further, don't sit on 3-4 charges. It should always be on cooldown to get full use out of the gold sharing.

22 Comments

Silly Neeko7 votes

I like almost all of these tips and tricks.

One thing I do slightly disagree with however is "only use the relic on cannon minions and if the ADC and you have taken damage" bit.

There are cases where you will have 2-4 charges of Spoils of War, maxing out. Letting it sit like this is a waste. Same with Spelltheif's Edge line, however that falls under its own conditions lol.

If your ADC nor you have been damaged, and there is no cannon minion around.... it is still good to make sure you have 1 less than max charges. This way your not potentially wasting valuable gold gaining opportunities. For sure dont go willy nilly, and always go for cannon > melee > caster minions.

But otherwise you hit pretty much everything else spot on.

AlienPrimate1 votes

I guess I should have mentioned that too. I just figured that was common sense kind of like never sitting on 2 charges on your warding totem. I'll edit it.

Silly Neeko1 votes

Lol, well i mean, i figured a lot of other things was common sense too xD but sometimes people just dont think about it much. Just a small thing that could make a huge difference.

AwesomeGuyDj2 votes

something i ALWAYS DO. Is to check if theres a cannon in a upcoming wave. Feels bad to use it on current wave and not have one for the cannon

Stalinium6 votes

I appreciate the tips and it's all good advice, but telling me how to do something properly doesn't make it fun for me.

You know what I do for fun? I run. Track team, XC team, and do 5/10ks during off season. When I head off to basic I'll probably be getting a break in regard to running. I could teach you about running... if you don't like it, guess what? YOU DON'T LIKE IT!

My mother could teach you all about proper sewing and good lord is it boring (FOR ME!)

My dad doesn't enjoy Paintball. He says if he wanted to get shot he'd move to Chicago. Frankly I don't understand how anyone at all could not enjoy paintball.

When I play World of Tanks I play lights and mediums, because I enjoy the faster paced, carry playstyle. When I play an FPS I DESPISE having to use shotguns. When I play League of Legends, I don't find the support role fun. I'd much rather waste 30 minutes for que dodge penalty playing another game rather than boring my ass off as support.

AlienPrimate2 votes

I can accept that some people find it boring, but most people who say it is boring have never tried to properly play it. They either never try it and dodge when they get filled or they play something stupid that doesn't have a very high chance of success. If you are a J4 main and get filled to support and want to PROPERLY play support with the things I mentioned then by all means, play J4 support with shielding items and a sightstone. Don't go into support as a mid main and go full damage with a spellthief's edge and full AP and expect to be productive though.

Morgan le Fey1 votes

j4 support is remarkably good if you go proper tank rather than standard j4 build. I've seen a lot of people lately who have a problem with j4 support, and I don't understand it. Do you have any idea? Anything to enlighten me?

AlienPrimate1 votes

I don't have a problem playing anyone as support as long as they have something to offer in way of support be it cc, shields, heals, buffs, or debuffs. I'm not sure why anyone would be opposed to J4 support which is why I used it as an example. If you build J4 like you would Leona, Blitzcrank, or Braum, he is actually a pretty good support. Building him with lethality and hydra will only work if you get a huge lane pretty early in the game.

Morgan le Fey1 votes

Yeah, basically. His kit is actually pretty amazing for support if you build him properly. Armor shred, AoE attack speed buff, front-loaded damage output (for minimum killsteal threat), a shield + AoE slow, a lockdown ult that's fairly inescapable for most ADCs unless they burn flash, and an E-Q combo that's not entirely dissimilar from Alistar's. The Q range for relic shield proccing is a nice little boost, too, and with the new HP scaling on his shield (and the general support itemization preference for HP over resists) he seems like he'd be even better than before.

But... idk the last time I saw him anywhere else. Lethality and Hydra are the damage j4 things, yeah, but does anyone even play damage j4? >.>

Hinagiku333 votes

{quoted}

I can accept that some people find it boring, but most people who say it is boring have never tried to properly play it.

[citation needed]

I play Support just fine. I often pick Support intentionally when I'm on a losing streak and really want to just win. I am aware how powerful and influential Supports can be.

But I am also perfectly aware that Support is godawful boring. Literally the most boring thing in this entire game.

This really shouldn't be a surprise though, because utility/supportive roles are almost always the least popular role in every game that has them. Everything the OP mentioned above is incredibly boring.

Turn off auto-attack. Because we wouldn't want to do something engaging like last-hitting minions for rewards. It's better to just watch the ADC have fun instead.

Get Control Wards. Because we should use our very limited income on consumable items that will be destroyed within 2 minutes of placing them. It's better than buying items that will be with us all game and make us stronger and better at our jobs.

Get Sightstone. Because when you do buy items you actually get to keep they should provide almost no stats and have 0 use in battle.

Help your ADC farm. Because it is your job to ensure that your ADC's playing experience is better than your own. And your ADC will never ever misunderstand what you are doing and flame your for interrupting his farming.

Learn when to fight. Because you will always have a choice in the matter. Your ADC will never be a hyper-aggro monkey that constantly goes in when you are worthless because your abilities are on cooldown and then flame you for not saving him.

Lane control. Because your lack of items, levels, and offensive abilities makes you uniquely suited to roaming mid to help your laner while your ADC stays behind to farm. You will never be jumped and murdered by the enemy jungler in 0.01 seconds just because you were alone and in the same area code as an enemy champion.

Look at your minimap. Because you have so little gameplay to worry about that you can spend much of your time staring at a smaller version of the game you could be playing right now instead of actually playing that game right now. Then you can ping your allies when you finally see something interesting happen. And they will always heed your keen insight and definitely never die to ganks you warned them about or flame you for dying to ganks you did in fact warn them about.

Ration your Relic Shield charges. Because even though you actually have an item that allows you to justify interacting with minions and gives you desperately needed gold you should hold off on actually doing that thing. But it's okay because your ADC will always let you take the cannon minions and will never flame you for taking them even though they get the same gold and a heal for it.

(Truly, Hell is other people)

The OP's tips are all good. It's not their fault that Support is mind-numbingly boring. And playing Support well doesn't make it more fun...it might even make it less fun since being good at Support is like being good at doing chores.

Silly Neeko4 votes

Then do not play it. They are not forcing you to play support, nor did they force you to read their post.

They posted to try and help those that wanted to learn about support, but just never want to play it.

Or to help those that are forced into the support role to perform better, thus resulting in a better experience for everyone.

Feel free to make a post about running, some will read it some will not.

Your mother can make a post about sewing, some will read it some will not.

You coming in to complain that you still find support boring and trying to imply that posts like these are worthless, is your choice.

There may be people who agree, and there may be those who disagree. It happens.

Hallbuster2 votes

What do you mean you aren't forced to play support! Unless it's ARAM or a 5 man queue, you will have to play support one time or another unless you're willing to dodge 100 times! The same applies to Blind pick, ranked, and flex.

Bwuceleeroy1 votes

well while we're on the topic of shit that don't matter, can't wait to see your whipped little puppy face after showing up to basic with an attitude like that kid. GL cuz we love shitbags like you.

Stalinium1 votes

Haha thanks man. What's your branch and MOS (and out of curiousity, rank if you don't mind saying so)?

Just Blame Jenny1 votes

I actually prefer to keep two control wards in my inventory at all times. Not only does this offer me a single replacement ward (in the event that one is cleared), but it also allows me to keep one on-hand for objective control (e.g. dragon pit, outside the wall during sieges, etc.)

Bwuceleeroy1 votes

Solid stuff, although you should really rework #8. Relic only heals for 15 now, so practically worthless in terms of healing per proc. Also, telling them it should be on cd all the time is bs, only thing thats gonna do is cause a bunch of autofills to clear wave freezes simply because they have procs up.

First rule of relic shield is you push first wave with it, then save charges for cannons and straggler cs that the adc is gonna miss for one reason or another ie. under turret, or out of range and about to die. DO NOT upgrade the relic until you've hit or are about to hit the gold bonus. Reason for this is simply so mindless monkeys dont show up to lane with 3 to 4 procs clearing out an adc's lane freeze just cuz they think they need the gold. The adc being able to control their wave is worth way more than you getting a few xtra gold in YOUR pocket. There is nothing more annoying to an adc than to have their wave control and cs rhythm repeatedly screwed with by a sup mindlessly banging out procs. Also, when using the relic procs, be mindful of your hp bar blocking out other minions, and especially ones that your adc is already working on.

If you wait for the gold bonus to upgrade relic, lane phase should be over or ending, giving you free reign to proc away at will without causing any issues with teamates. If you're aiming for FoTM you can always hold the kindle gem, although going for a straightup ruby sighstone is the most efficient path for a tank support hands down.

2Charmnot2Charm1 votes

Turn off auto attack in the settings. I shouldn't have to say this, but you should never really be hitting the minions as a support. Some exceptions to this are listed below.

No need to do this just move constantly like everyone else does in the solo lanes.

This is for tank supports only. Only use your relic shield charges on cannons or when both you and your ADC have lost health.

People use the execute level one to push for level 2 faster.

Dreadlocks1 votes

I don't "hate support" i kinda hate adc though.. My issue with bot lane is 1 of 2 things.. working with someone in lane is difficult because we have zero experience together so its hard to be on the same page. ESP since voice isn't a thing. and 2.. if you lose bot lane you generally lose HARD and if you are on support, you do nothing.. u just sit under ur turret and hope ur team blows open a window for you to actually play again.

Officially1 votes

It doesn't really address the issue of supports being "worthless and can't carry". I don't mind playing support in platinum right now, but in gold, I dreaded support. Regardless of how well I played, if my adc can't dodge hooks, doesn't know how to trade, or can't farm, there isn't much I can do.

AlienPrimate1 votes

If supports can't carry I wouldn't have had 74% win rate through silver playing only Taric.

FourVsFive1 votes

I main Support and it is a free ride. Went from silver to Gold 1 using mainly 1 support champ not using flash or sightstone. Unless you gonna steal kills you lack the gold to carry.

AlienPrimate1 votes

How does an ADC carry? They get good support. You don't carry by tanking or damaging on support. You carry by making someone else invincible.

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