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How to make supports more fun while better telling the bad ones from the good.

nfzeta·11/25/2016, 9:29:59 PM·1 votes·592 views

This is based off a comment I made elsewhere and i'm rewriting it for this discussion as I believed the original post of that discussion really opened my eyes and could do the same for many others. Link : http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/el7bWsTX-theres-nothing-wrong-with-supports

**First ** Gameplay upgrades to items rather than gold upgrades; OR gameplay upgrades mixed with gold upgrades.

By having support items upgrade through gameplay, at least through the first steps of the item when they are in lane and would make a real gate to other champions using them while they can still be strong support items.

For example, even with the current support items, a good change could be made to the item 3303; By adding on a passive to it akin to Gangplank 's ult upgrade system you can help good supports snowball when a mage support keeps on the pressure or at least keeps the damage up by having the item upgrade faster the more you poke in lane. This could be just working toward a discount or a true upgrade of the item to item 3098 similar to item 3004. This could also be tuned to require a back if necessary but I doubt it would need it.

Another example would be item 2049 , this could be tied to either your support item or your trinkets. By simply spotting a jg within a certain amount of units to your position with wards you could speed up or gain your SS, or even just be discounted by a certain amount each sighting with a CD akin to item 3252.

Second Variety at the initial level for vision

item 2049 in its current form is too limiting, heck at this point rather than the option of fusing with your support item I think it should be linked from the get go. This would especially be okay with the changes suggested above. Basically instead of making the sightstone a health item, you can have it conform to your choice of support item.

You picked item 3303 , then get an AP SS, maybe it has mana regen or grants some mana back for each sucessful proc of the gold passive on enemy champions. Picked item 3301 , get a regen/cdr SS. This one might even have faster CD on wards. These sightstones could have a CD to wards instead of only a refresh on back.

Supports are a role where because of your low gold (not getting items that quickly), low exp gain and the necessity to roam and ward you like to almost always be on the map and not back in base just to reset your SS. ETC with each having passive or gameplay upgrade requirements that fit.

2 Comments

nfzeta11/25/2016, 9:52:23 PM1 votes

This last point ended up being too long and I'm not sure if its okay to do this so i'll just copy the whole thing and save it for maybe a re-post but i'll split the points into two posts including the original post.

Third Gives supports threat, in this case not active but more passive threat

Though this one is a bit unrealistic for the game as is you could make them impactful in the game by means similar to what Nasus has. In that they have a threat of scaling. For example: All those failed ganks or vision taken objectives - by both sides - can result in further scaling of their items or abilities (the ability part would require major reworks). That way not only is the support potentially rewarded but the reward comes from supporting their team to the point it actually poses a threat to the outcome of the game when a jg or any other roamer constantly comes bot and fails or is constantly taking objectives without clearing vision (this can even apply to buffs taken under vision in jg). This way even if the team fails to react or are not just able to react the support can be rewarded without total reliance on their team.

This can be taken further into laning itself where constant good trades play as much into the supports hands as the ADCs and can even be used to punish bad supports. Say for example the classic Soraka support who only stays back and heals, by healing and just dropping out of combat constantly scaling can be prevented or in situations where healing and shielding is done but less effective damage is traded, scaling can be slowed but still be effective for 'farm lanes'.

Now, as a look at other lanes, look at Shyvana , she now has a similar threat of letting a farm jungler farm, not only their jg, but objectives, and that gives a harsher punishment.

The same things can be true for supports, whether built within individual champions or within items. A Bard roaming for chimes without too much dmg taken by ADC. This could maybe be done using comparison between dmg taken by ADC or exp lost and chimes collected which gives a buff on return to lane, whether that be an exp buff, a gold buff or even a temporary stat buff.

In instances like Karma or Lulu where the dmg taken or given while their shields are on the champion build something similar to retaliation/aggression stacks for the supports to use, giving slightly more CC duration or a slightly heavier slow or heal here or there. Basically having a support accurately catch damage or support well in a trade actually benefits the lane somewhat even on the side of a losing trade. This is already seen somewhat with Alistar's rework.

A champ like Braum is a great case for this kind of experiment. Instead of making his shield so inherently tanky, you could even remove the full block on the first hit and rather reward him for actually blocking dmg with maybe a scaling armour/MR buff - like Camile it would depend on the damage the shield is taking - with the more dmg you absorb and apply that buff directly after the shield.

These sort of buffs may, in some cases, make the supports less useful in roles other than support but it would make them MUCH more useful as supports and more fun to play, especially if all these rewards for good play are more visual. Things like a slow change in colour while Braum blocks more dmg, or something a simple as a small glow akin to sheen on champions with a healing power power buff granted after a good trade with a shield. These also help with coordination in soloq and as there is no voice chat. A nice sound effect on damage granted by retaliation stacks would also be nice.

Well just let me know what you think folks, however I think most of these things are possible now within the LoL engine.