Are support starting items Good?

Angry Monster·Sep 21, 2014·2 votes·1,205 views

Today on 9-21-2014 Phreak said on the worlds stream that the spell thief- line is gold generation and damage is never efficient/pay for itself. The original supposedly is but beyond that you are wasting your gold. Plus the whole panel made fun of Star Horn Royal Club for rushing Queens and using the active to team fight with.

So if the the theif line is a joke what about the others? IF all three lines have supposedly been balanced to each other then are the support items actually a joke? Are they actually gold dumps that do not pay for themselves? Has Riot been lying to the player base again? ( YES I SAID LYING).

So what do you guys think?

3 Comments

Deep Terror NamiSep 21, 20146 votes

Their efficiency all depends on the player. The longer you wait to buy it or upgrade further, the less gold you'll generate in total; the earlier you buy it, the longer you'll have to wait for early staple items like Sightstone and Mikael's. If you upgrade to the final tier but forget to utilize the active, that is waste too. If you feel comfortable without the mana, health, and gold provided early game and you also don't want their upgrades at any point, feel free to start with something else (tanky supports occasionally get Doran's Shield instead).

But seriously, they are basically Doran's starter items that are way better for support than the actual Doran's items, and you can upgrade them too.

The reason they were knocking on Zero for rushing FQC was that he had no opportunity to utilize it in that particular match, not that it's bad in general. Basically like getting GA and you play a back line champion.

RithensoulSep 22, 20141 votes

Personally (and im only b2 so feel free to disregard) i feel like they are worth getting and upgrading. they arent very expensive and generate gold that someone who cant farm( like a supp) desperately needs. i usually dont build normal supports beyond the gold item though. for example my favorite champ to supp as is Zyra and i always get FQC maxed first (usually by 6th level or so) and after that i go full APC. i feel like support as a role is really only good to get the adc started on a roll but i really dont see the point in using subpar items for the entire game. would you buy those supp items if you were doing any other role(like mikaels) no. most champs never utilize them. i dont buy sightstones i just buy wards and so should every other champ. warding is always important for everyone to do but there are better tank items im not wasting a spot. the gold item is great for supps however because it does something meaningful and lasting and you can use it until you need that last spot and sell it for a nice chunk of gold to finish out your build which i recommend being more true to the role(apc, tank etc etc) that way you can be a fully built champion and not underpowered because of some stupid role stigma. that being said it is your job as support to help get your adc fed and generally support him and the rest of your team until youve hit the point where you are ready to stop playing the support role.

12talesSep 22, 20141 votes

FQC is still pretty great on champs that have utility scaling on AP and/or can proc it easily (Morg is a good example, especially since the nerf to the base values on her E). CDR, AP and Mana/5 are all pretty effective stats on mage supports, and there isn't really another item that offers that combination that simultaneously caters so well to the needs of a support (gold income sans farm and playmaking ability/peel for your carries).

Whether or not it's a good idea to rush it immediately or just sit on the T2 upgrade is a debate, tho.