Taric q is a bit awkward

TheWizardM··3 votes·1,376 views

It's not the spell itself that is awkward, it's fine, it's just that it gets worse when you put 5 ranks in it, which seems a bit odd to me.

Lemme explain, on Taric, your main goal is to chain your spells with passive to maximize q healing, and on a tier 2 q it goes like this:

q - p - p - q - p - p so q, then proc passive twice, then repeat

on a tier 4 q it goes like this:

q - p - p - e - p - p - q - p - p - w - p - p so q, then proc passive twice, then cast another spell and proc twice, then repeat.

Thing is, you can't effectively proc your passive 5 times in between each q (same goes for 3 times), so putting a 5th point in your q effectively justy makes it cost more mana, which just makes it worse as taric has huge mana problems, even after building mana.

I suggest that Riot changes his q leveling so it gives 1 extra charge on the second rank, then buffs the heal per charge on the third, then gives 2 extra charges on the 4th rank (putting it back on 4 charges, same as current), then buffs the heal per chage again (so now the third rank only gives 2 charges, and the 5th 4, making it less awkward with passive).

14 Comments

AlienPrimate2 votes

I see you play him top. Here are some suggestions that I highly suggest you try because you are gimping yourself with your runes and lack of tear. This is just a copy and paste from my post on the reddit Taric mains page.

This is runes and one possible build.

https://i.imgur.com/f4MnIar.png

##Items and reasons:

Start - sapphire crystal and faerie charm for easy tear rush and some early mana

Early - pretty much always rush tear and sheen no matter who you are against

Iceborn gauntlet - pretty standard core item that gives every stat he wants as well as spellblade which he makes great use of

Abyssal Mask - standard MR item. The only time I take spirit visage over it is if I am purely there for tanking and my team is full AD.

Manamune or Archangels - I like to upgrade tear after I have one item that has health on it unless I get fed in which case I rush it after IBG. Which one I get depends on the enemy comp. I will generally only get Manamune if the entire enemy team is squishy. Archangel's staff offers so much more mana sustain that it just feels bad not getting it if you can't burst your enemy down quickly.

Sunfire cape - Great second armor item that helps you push. This is generally what I get for more armor if there is no AP threat.

Thornmail - Replace Sunfire for this if you need grievous wounds for someone like Aatrox, Fiora, or a Death's Dance user.

Randuin's Omen - It is a very rare occurrence that I build this. Basically the only time that I will is if the enemy has a Yasuo mid and an ADC who are both getting fed.

Wits end - you need more magic resist and damage. This caps your attack speed and significantly increases your magic damage on hit. It pairs extremely well with abyssal mask.

Righteous glory - this is for when the enemy has slippery champions that I need to stun but am having trouble doing so. Examples would be Vayne, Ezreal, and Quinn.

Titanic hydra - great damage item if you are fed. I basically only get it when I'm way ahead though.

Boots:

Merc treads - the enemy has a fair amount of CC

Ninja Tabi - pretty standard and will be used in most games unless you are needed for damage

Swiftness - these are the go to boots if you need to carry. The extra movement speed is valuable for landing stuns and hitting people who are running away. There are also specific matchups that I always take these in such as Darius, Nasus, Singed, and anyone ranged.

##Level order:

Q, E, Q, W, E, R, E max, 4 points in Q, W max, Q

The first 3 levels can vary slightly. I wait until I get to lane to pick at level 1. If the enemy invades I will grab E at level 1. For level 3, I will take W instead of the second Q point if I know I am getting a gank.

##Summoner spells

I generally like to take ignite and get an early cheese lead. Teleport is also a good choice if that is more your style but I generally don't take it because Taric struggles pushing the wave early game to actually make use of it outside of just going back to top with it.

##Matchups

Easy - Tryndamere, Rumble, Dariius, Trundle, Poppy, Shen, Renekton, Nasus, Riven, Camille, Wukong, Dr. Mundo, Ornn, Malphite, Irelia, Singed, Pantheon, Mordekaiser, Akali

Medium - Yorick, Fiora, Yasuo, Illaoi, Maokai, Nautilus, Urgot, Volibear, Jax, Cho' Gath, Swain, Olaf, Tahm Kench, Garen, Kled, Gangplank, Aatrox, Sion

Hard - Kennen, Teemo, Heimerdinger, Quinn, Vayne, Vladimir, Kayle

Notes on some matchups

Singed - build tear, sheen, catalyst, tiamat, archangel's staff. If he goes to proxy, just ignore him completely and tank the minions in front of your tower.

Fiora - Skill level order is different here. You will never stun Fiora unless you can get her to panic riposte. That said, leveling your stun is kind of pointless. I go this against her Q,E,Q, W max, 4 points Q, E max, Q. Just spam Q and W when fighting her and never use your stun unless she has already used riposte for some reason.

Yasuo - It is usually pretty easy to tell how good a Yasuo is within the first 3 levels. If he is good and you will struggle hitting him with stun, use the same level order as with Fiora. If he is bad and is not dodging your stuns, just go the standard level order.

Jax - Jax is one of, if not the only champion you can't cheese early game. The only way you can is if he engages on you with counter strike. Never go in on him with your stun unless you get a lead early game. Use your stun when he uses counter strike to walk out of its range.

##Early ignite cheese

Most people really underestimate your damage early game. This is why I start Q and take ignite. Just farm as you would normally and try to get level 2 for your stun. Take a level 1 all in if they try to fight you in your minions though. It will only take about 6 autos and an ignite to kill almost anyone in the game at level 1. If they are just farming, engage on them with your stun the moment you are level 2 and do the same thing.

##Random Tips

After you get Iceborn Gauntlet, a stun onto the caster minions then auto on the middle one will kill all 3.

When taking towers, use 3 autos between spell casts. This will give you a sheen proc on every spell cast and not burn your mana so fast. This is only if you aren't trying to rush it when you don't know where the enemy is though. If the top laner is dead and you know where the jungler and middle laner is, feel free to burn all your mana on the tower.

Be careful hitting the tower once you have IBG. The aoe can hit the enemy if they are there causing you to take aggro.

TheWizardM1 votes

I was not asking for advice, I was just mentioning that it is weird that the 5th point in taric q makes it weaker.

AlienPrimate2 votes

I actually agree on the 5th point of Q being awkward and don't take it until level 18. If it were up to me, I would make Taric similar to Ryze. Riot has already proven that they are willing to make different numbers of skill points available for one champion so why not make Taric have 4 points max Q and 6 in his W.

TheWizardM1 votes

that would be a good fix, too.

TheWizardM1 votes

as for your actual advice, you are suggesting I play tank taric, and the last few games I played were fighter taric, which is an entirely different build ^^

I already rush mana and already know how to clear waves with taric ;)

AlienPrimate1 votes

Well I was giving advice to you because I don't like to see those scores in your match history as someone who has 700k mastery on Taric. Also, did you look at some of the items I recommend like item 3042 item 3748 item 3091 ? I also play him as a fighter. The biggest things I would suggest trying out are my runes, start sapphire crystal and faerie charm, rush tear and sheen, and my skill order. The rest of the item section was just a copy/paste guide I took from one of my reddit posts.

The reason for my starting items is that you can cheese so easy early game if you have the mana for it. You said it yourself, Taric is useless without mana. A sapphire crystal increases his level 1 mana from 300 to 550 which means he goes from 4 q casts and 8 bravado attacks to 8 q casts (after regen over the time it takes to cast 7) and 16 bravado attacks. Congratulations, you literally just doubled your healing and damage at level 1. I put Talon to shame with the number of first bloods I get on Taric.

2:24 against singed https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2842959897/209287161?tab=overview

2:29 against yorick https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2839926712/209287161?tab=overview

2:33 against gangplank https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2834251555/209287161?tab=overview

2:34 against aatrox https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2829098254/209287161?tab=overview

1:28 against shaco https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2831549829/209287161?tab=overview

1:51 against garen https://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/2831485464/209287161?tab=overview

TheWizardM1 votes

I played 2 games Taric top if I remember correctly. One was against Ryze, which is a hard counter, the other I missed 13 min of the game due to bugsplat.

DuskDaUmbreon1 votes

Doesn't it also increase the heal per charge, though?

meowwow71 votes

nah just lets you hold more charges rip

Oleandervine1 votes

This is interesting, but not really necessary. Just simply don't put a point past 4 until it's necessary. Problem solved.

Furthermore, if you're casting other abilities and tripping your passive, when you do rotate back to Q, you'll have stronger heals available if you have 5 marks in it. The purpose of this is that you're not necessarily supposed to be constantly spamming Q, you're intended to weave W, E, and R into your rotation as well, to build up to a large heal when you get back to Q. Also, if you're weaving in W and E, it's easier on your mana, since his heal has a huge cost at every rank. For example:

**Q **- A, A, W - A, A, E - A, A, Q - A, A With this rotation, you're spending a hell of a lot less mana, because both W and E cost a locked 60 mana at all ranks, where Q starts at 70, then goes to 80, 90, 100, 110 as you rank up. Once you rotate back around to Q, you'll have a 5 point heal to land. Furthermore, your passive also ticks off a little CD from all your basic abilities, which means while it's not as instant as Q's immediate refresh, it's still going to be shortening your W and E CDs while you're weaving.

So in terms of just spamming Q, then yes, it's awkward. But you can't play Q and ignore his other abilities and their capability to trigger his passive as well.

meowwow71 votes

i usually put my 2nd point into q at lvl8 due to how effective it is before you get much cdr for other abilities

Oleandervine1 votes

{quoted}

i usually put my 2nd point into q at lvl8 due to how effective it is before you get much cdr for other abilities

No, this is not how to do it. You generally max Q first, since you'll need stronger heals in lane (and won't be spamming as hard in lane). You start E, then take Q or W at level 2 depending on needs. Then at level 4, you pump your points into Q, since W and E don't have as many benefits as a fully stacked Q does in lane. Their CDR is already being lowered by triggering your passive, so CDR isn't a concern, but having a stronger heal is definitely more benefitting in ganks and protecting your allies.

meowwow71 votes

the reason i don't max it out is due to just about every lane i go into had ignite

TheWizardM1 votes
  1. I know not to put the 5th point in. My point is that it is weird to have to not do that.
  2. Like I mentioned in my post, I already do that rotation.

More from Gameplay

More by TheWizardM