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Tanky Supports VS Healers

froggos·8/13/2014, 6:38:52 PM·2 votes·1,210 views

So, I prefer to use healing supports, ( ) instead of the tankier supports, ( ) And my friends still think that I should tank most of the damage for my ADC. I myself don't think that's the case, because since healers are usually pretty squishy, (With the exception of , except his heal doesn't have as big an impact as say, or . I don't think that the support always has to tank for them if they can make it up by healing them.

What are your guys's thoughts? I'm getting tired of my friends getting angry at me for not tanking when I'll surely die and give the enemy team a kill. I run into this on a daily basis, and my friends always tell me to play tankier supports, and then they expect me to burn my if I bring it instead of .

Anywho leave a comment on your opinion, and if you guys agree with me I can show this to my friends and say "IN YOUR FACE"

Haha, but yeah correct me if I'm wrong on any of this. I really like supporting either way.

TL:DR: Should healers tank when they can make up for not tanking by healing?

6 Comments

Blueharlequin8/13/2014, 6:51:51 PM2 votes

Personally I don't think so. If I'm playing someone like Soraka , Sona , or Nami I'm going to stay behind the adc. If my adc gets caught out or if we want to engage my job becomes back them up. People like Soraka and Sona are great for counter engaging a fight. Sona can harass but she shouldn't stay on the front lines. Nami has so much range that she can safely stay behind a carry and still land bubbles. To add on to this, mana is finite at early levels and saving the mana for proper engages and not wasting it on healing unneeded harass is prefered.

The caster/healer supports are all about positioning and 9/10 that position is behind the carry. That doesn't make our role any less dynamic or impactful but don't expect them to take a full combo for you.

In regard to your friends, if they have one of the healers as a support they need to play a bit safer or be more reactive. Just because Thresh and Leona set up plays by being on the front line doesn't mean that Nami has to. They may have the ability to do so but that's a quick way to either make a great play, or feed off a double kill. I'd rather above the latter at all cost personally.

TL:DR Heal supports should stay behind or beside their carry. Never should they be tanking the damage. If you have a heal support both of you should stay mobile and aware so as to not take too much poke period.

samoyed8/13/2014, 8:36:13 PM2 votes

I play a lot of Janna, and she is neither a tank nor a healer. However, she does offer SUPPORT.

Should healers tank when they can make up for not tanking by healing?

Most heals nowadays come with something more than just a heal. (Sona's has a shield. Nami's has a bounce + passive. And Soraka's has an extremely large armor buff.)

The mana costs reflect these extra bonuses and it's really a waste if they are solely used as heals.

I want to make some other point to actually reply to the thread but wow am I tired

Shrikesnest8/13/2014, 6:52:06 PM1 votes

Tanky supports are in vogue right now, and for good reason. Leona, Thresh and Braum are the holy freaking trinity, whereas Sona's rework basically killed her during the laning phase, and Soraka has been in a rocky place for a long time, which is why she has her own rework incoming.

It's definitely true that sustain supports have different play patterns than tanky supports, though. Good players should adapt their play style to the type of support they have, and that means adjusting your expectation. A Sona is not going to take a hit near as well as a Leona, that's for sure. I'm not sure showing your friends the opinions of a bunch of strangers on the internet is going to do the trick, though. Either they'll work with you and learn to adapt, or they won't.

MrBuffington8/13/2014, 8:24:32 PM1 votes

I personally play tanky supports, not so I can tank damage for my ADC, but so I can zone without worrying that I'm going to get popped instantly. I think if either player is tanking damage in bot lane, you should probably back up a bit since you're probably playing too forward (or the other team is super aggro and just being silly). Short trades are fine, but even tanky supports can't tank autos/targeted abilities when your ADC is playing too risky.

One line of reasoning is if you can heal yourself adequately enough, and the enemy is constantly harassing you, it's pretty good since it takes pressure off your ADC and can distract the enemy from farming, but at the same time, you should always avoid taking free harass. Taric would probably be a good example of this, since he can tank harass for his ADC and heal himself for more than if he just healed his ADC.

Angry Monster8/13/2014, 8:55:21 PM1 votes

So i am going to come from this another direction. though if you have summoner heal damn straight you burn that spell for the ADC.

What is the rest of your team doing? I am guessing everyone wants to be the star and taking assassins or fighters and leaving the ADC support combo to fend for themselves? This style of comp requires the support to play a peel cause of the greedy nature of the rest of the team. I am not telling you to change but you may need to address team comp with your friends, all in comps tend to leave the back line very defenseless. In pure premades comp matters more than in solo Q.

So do not play sona sorka. They have not way of actually peeling and are more about saving them selves than helping the adc. Nami is a good choice with her CC to help the adc without actually tanking. The problem with the heal class is that most of them can not actually protect. You may want to dive into the shielding class to boost your pool. Lulu, Morg, Janna. These 3 have peel and shield.

Kamai8/13/2014, 11:31:36 PM1 votes

I'm going to comment a little differently, here. First off, if you consider yourself merely ok at these supports, what I'm going to say is probably higher risk than reward. You really do need to be comfortable with just how much damage you're going to take, but if you are, being bait (aka tanking) can throw off a lot of people and get your ADC kills that he rightly shouldn't have had. You absolutely should not be eating skillshots for them unless it's the difference between their life and death. I can't count the number of crazy plays I've pulled off by putting a Sona , Soraka , or Janna in apparent harms way to make an enemy bot lane commit too hard to a fight. In fact, getting caught by a Blitzcrank or Thresh , especially as Soraka , can really set up jungle ganks if you're sure you can survive it.

Everything that you have is a resource to keep your team safe/get them kills, whether it's your abilities, summoners, active items, wards, or even your health bar at times. Keep that in mind, and you'll do awesome things.