Riot I think it's time to take a look at the way you handle the Support role.

Leafie·9/30/2016, 5:13:22 PM·2 votes·292 views

The problem isn't with new Auto-Fill Dynamic Queue, or regular Dynamic queue before that, Team Builder before that, or blind pick before that.

The problem is that no one wants to play Support. You have people never queuing up for it, causing increased queue times and players playing things they don't want to because now they're getting auto-filled. When you implement this new "Exclusion" role, you're going to see the exact same queue timers you saw before in Team Builder and Dynamic Queue before you put in Auto-Fill.

Don't you think that when everyone is telling you they don't want to support, it's time to take a look at the way Supporting works?

6 Comments

OurLestrade9/30/2016, 5:16:50 PM1 votes

They need to give supports more satisfying mechanics in terms of skill sets. I mean just look at the Taric rework: A single skillshot, a mega delayed ult which makes you feel crap more often than not, a targeted shield and an AOE tiny heal. Tahm? Just a walking W. Whenever I play them I feel my contribution to team fights is to press a button then occasionally press exhaust, in contrast to all the flashy mid champions and junk that have a billion moves they can pull off for their dubstep montages.

Radnar the bold9/30/2016, 5:17:17 PM1 votes

The only reason I do not like support, is that you feel useless sometimes. I mean if the adc is fed, great, but you will not always get a thanks. If you're adc is underfed, then you are always waaaaay inderfed.

Desolas Arterius9/30/2016, 5:19:49 PM1 votes

Eh. I don't run into that issue. If anything I've been wanting to play support, but I never get it when I fill :( I'm stuck jungle a lot so yeah, feels bad.

And when I play with my friends 3 of them fight over support. So that generally puts me in Jungle or mid haha.

There's plenty of supports out there. If there weren't then queue times would be at least 10-15 minutes. I think the issue is more so people dodging or not selecting ready.

As for the exclusion role, I don't think it's that bad really. I myself don't think I'm a great ADC, but I generally enjoy playing all roles. So being able to not have to worry about ADC is pretty nice when filling. I don't think it's going to be as bad as Teambuilder, considering another big issue Teambuilder had was people kicking anyone in the group that were playing champions they didn't like, or playing off-meta. TB was kind of toxic in all respect. It didn't allow for others to really play what they wanted considering if you got into a group that didn't like you playing Blitz Jungle, you'd get kicked instantly.

But we'll see for now. It's in testing so depending on how the queue times flux will determine if it gets implemented.

Dêcoy9/30/2016, 5:20:54 PM1 votes

And...how exactly are they suppose to do it?

I'm support main and I looooooove how supporting works right. Because you SUPPORT. It means you heal, you shield, you buff, you slow and you do everything besides killing enemy. When people see flashy LeBlanc plays, or InSec kicks or whatever else there is that look flashy, they will be attracted to it. On top of that, people love to CARRY games. Most people want to carry games and just do damage. Its how it works. Supporting isn't flashy for most time, you won't kill many players and you will get shit on if you don't place ward down. That's how it is and that's how its gonna be. What you want to "fix" in this? Give support champions more damage and take their utility? I don't really know what you mean by your post. It's not Riot's fault people don't want to help role that is focused on helping others.

Besides, Diamond+ is like 3% of community, right? Don't blame majority of players that are in lower ELO (Yes, Im looking at you all, Velkoz Support "mains") that they don't know how to support. When you start playing mid you ain't good at it as well. Same goes for top, jungle or ADC. You climb, you learn and you become better. And of course, people don't want to support because community is toxic. No matter what happens, 99% of time Support is being blamed for whatever bad just happened.

EndlessSorcerer9/30/2016, 5:24:28 PM1 votes

Eh, it will probably be a little quicker than it currently is.

Support may not be very popular, but it isn't always the least popular role for a player.

Personally, I much prefer support to ADC.

Oleandervine9/30/2016, 5:37:19 PM1 votes

Support Itemization is fairly bland, especially when compared to other roles. The majority of the items designed for Support don't typically flow terribly well with your kit. Most supports are expected to take Locket - yet only tanky supports actually mesh well the stats it offers, while supports like Nami and Lulu just kind of have to deal with stats that they don't directly use to fuel their kits. Additionally, the Sightstone upgrades just are lackluster. The only time they're taken is if you want to clear up space in your inventory. The Eyes need to have different build paths beyond the Gold items because there are very few games where I don't want FQC, FotM, or ToA for their amazing passives. The Ruby SS needs to get nixed, and the Eyes need different builds so you can have a corresponding SS to compliment the gold item you have. As for the other support items, very few of them are engaging and a lot of them are passive balls of stats. Zeke's Herald is just ... awkward ... and Ohmwrecker could be an amazing pick for supports, except that it's just not. Then there's things like Frozen Heart which seem to do things, but the passive is so weak that it's almost inconsequential. There needs to be a lot of item work done to make Support items appealing and less clunky.