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Support Role

Nalisai··6 votes·6,064 views

You know, I know no one likes to play support, but please, PLEASE learn to play the role. Everyone gets auto-filled to support at some point, and everyone hates having a bad support. Bad support = no Bot Carry = lost bot lane = lost game more often than not.

How to support even if you suck at it (note - subject to change when people are feeding):

  1. Pick a champ with some form of CC or sustain. Unless you're smurfing, you aren't doing anyone any favors by playing Talon support (and even then, your Carry just lost a valuable learning opportunity so you could run the other team over). Excessive damage is not going to win you points with your team or Carry unless you start to carry early, and even then, you'll most likely be accused of KS'ing a lot. It's not your job to carry it's your job to keep the carry alive. Know how the champ you pick can do this. If they can't, they shouldn't be a support.
  2. Learn to ward effectively - and just remember to drop wards period. Also, part 2 of this is to get a sweeper and CLEAR enemy wards. More vision for your team + less vision for the enemy = map control = easier mobility. Clearing wards is worth gold - and we all know supports need all the gold they can get.
  3. Don't kill minions unless your carry is back at nexus or dead, or if you are under enemy turret (so your carry can target the turret). Don't drop AoE damage on the minion wave unless your carry knows you're doing it to speed their clear. Your starting item gives you gold for either being near a minion/enemy death or hitting an opposing enemy ( item 3301 item 3302 item 3303 ). After laning phase, minions are pretty much free for all, but use your judgement. Same goes for kills - who needs the gold more? Your 1/5/2 Top laner or the 0/2/12 support?
  4. Be aware of what's going on on the map. If your jungler dies in bot side river and you aren't at least headed that way, you aren't doing your job. (Side note pertaining to #2 - visibility in Dragon pit is a biggie. Ward and sweep when possible. Same goes for Baron later in games).
  5. Your job is to zone and poke at the enemy laners. See #1. Your job is to contribute CC/sustain to teamfights.

Hope this helps people get some better supports. GL HF

5 Comments

afmghost2 votes

Here I was thinking you were an adc main about to whine, but a lot of these points are actually good. I would like to add on to these.

-If you are using item 3302, save one charge for cannon minions. You get more out of the kill, so make sure your adc knows to leave them alone. If you are melee, don't worry about attacking at the wrong time, since melee attacks are minion executes when you use a charge. -Normally, killing is not for supports. However, if the enemy is about to escape and you're the only one with the means to kill, do it. The same applies if you and/or your carry are in danger of dying. The more sensible carries would rather the support take their kill instead of nobody getting it (or worse yet, their opponent). -Obviously, your job is to help your carry get fed, and to help keep them safe. That said, it's on them not to have you be their only line of defense. If your carry is playing too suicidal, tell them to play safer. There is no need to attempt a rescue mission if it's likely to fail. As a bronze, I can safely say this has happened to me a lot, and I've (supposedly) got reported so many times for it. However, I've yet to be punished. -I cannot stress this enough: Just about any champion can support, BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE CORRECTLY. Teemo, for example, can use his traps as a built in sightstone, and can blind the enemy carry to help deny farm. He can also harass enough to force them out of lane, but this often results in more jungle ganks, so watch your back.

thoughts?

Mizuki Zahra1 votes

I hated support because I was forced to play it with the whole pick order and it wasn't until thresh was released when I was like support here I come lol

DemainaNyx1 votes

One more note.

  1. You are the carry for the first 5 minutes. You do the damage/plays of the two of you (most of the time). If you aren't trying to do something, you're the reason the lane is bad unless your ADC is literally inting. Don't pick a poke support and never use a spell. Don't pick a healing support and build damage. Don't pick an engage support and never go in. Do the job you picked.
JoeMG1 votes

I mean, a lot of those points apply to everyone. Warding, map awareness, that kind of stuff. I'd just be happy as long as someone picks an actual support champ. One of my first games after placements I got a Jarvan support. So yeah, at the very least pick someone with some form of CC.

Tahminatrix 1 votes

None of this applies to low elo where your adc is tower diving for kills when you spent all your mana to poke enemy laners down and establish lane dominance JUST SO YOUR ADC CAN FARM FREELY, support should not have to protect an adc that is int feeding, support should not have to ward when nobody else looks at minimap, support should not have to cc when nobody else is going to do dmg.

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