Do you roam as supports?

Braum Mechanics·Mar 30, 2016·2 votes·1,535 views

Title.

I did it for the first time today and both times our Ahri managed to kill enemy Lux. Our jungler disconnected after dying 3 times to enemy jungler and being a man short I wanted SOMETHING to go our way.

Any tips on how to manage successful roams? What would be good times to roam?

I'm B2 so I think it is a good strategy as there is a lack of wards and miscalls. Also I was on Braum but I guess any support with any sort of CC would be appropriate.

7 Comments

D3m37r1Mar 30, 20162 votes

I usually roam if i have nothing better to do. In low elo (where i am) supports just stay botlane because u have to assume that the adc is bad and will try to 2v1 the moment u leave.

Zane ZephyrMar 30, 20161 votes

Thresh, braum, alistar, leona, and blitz are great roamers

And yeah in lower elos most supports don't roam because they can't rely on their ADC to play safe and not get killed

FurriesAreHotMar 30, 20162 votes

Don't forget Nauty

Mysticman89Mar 30, 20161 votes

Depends on the support. I tend to prefer sustainy champs rather than playmaking/engage ones, so I don't roam much. Depends on my faith in my adc as well as the opposing bot lane as well when I do.

The best time to roam is probably right after pushing the wave up to their tower and your adc is backing. If you don't need to back at that point, roam mid and see if you can make something happen, since sticking around to poke the turret probably won't get very far on most supports, plus it makes you a ripe target for their bot lane/jg.

You can also sometimes pay mid a visit immediately after backing alongside your adc, as it's a shorter walk to mid and if you're into roaming you probably have mobi boots anyway, and hence you can visit mid, maybe make something happen, and then get back to bot lane just as the adc is finishing clearing up the stuff under his tower (assuming you backed after pushing the wave up).

VincenttnecnivMar 30, 20161 votes

I roam all the time on every support i play, and even while playing with friends my adc will die and blame me for not being there. Why is it so hard for them to understand what roaming is. When you leave lane the adc should play passive and farm while you help the mid get a kill. But noooooooooo every time and i mean EVERY time i roam BOOM! Adc dead. Then i get blamed in skype for "letting" him die while he farms at the enemy tower. The concept really isnt that hard, but some people just can not be taught.[zombie-brand-mindblown]

Athenes LuluMar 30, 20161 votes

Whether if it's a good time to roam, things to consider:

Your champion. Some sucks at roaming, some won't have much output if roaming is successful, some are great roamers. Not all supports are created equal. If you are someone who sucks at roaming and is better off designed to create lane pressure, you're usually much better off staying in lane and just do something there.
Matchup. This is very important. Some champs can make any 1v2 situation a living hell, while some others will do almost nothing. For instance, if you ever left any lane that has an enemy Draaaven, you're gonna end up doing for his favor. Things like Leona, Lulu, and maybe Sona are things that you have to think at least twice before roaming. Yes, I have won my lane so often simply because the enemy support isn't smart and left the lane, even for 5 seconds.
Experience. You already don't farm, so leaving lane also means you will be at least one more level behind than your ADC if you leave lane while he's farming. Nothing wrong if you want to roam, but remember that you are sacrificing some experience as the trade-off, which is something many support players don't take account into, and wonders why they are 3+ levels behind... it's not rocket science. However, if you want to stay on levels with EXP, and roam at the same time, you can always roam whenever your ADC is absent from lane and that there's no need to control the wave botlane.
Your ADC. Not all of them are smart enough to play safer even when they obviously know you're leaving botlane for a little trip... to anywhere. And some... just suck at staying safe. Though usually, in low elo... don't expect too much from them.

And because of the things I play, I hardly ever roam. It's more of a high risk/high reward thing, because if you do a fail roam, shit's going to go bad, and if you do it correctly, possible massive snowball. If you don't like extremely risky stuff and/or are still confused, starter advice: don't roam, it's not worth the risk.

I could go a little deeper into that, but this is probably enough information as starter advice.

FurriesAreHotMar 30, 20161 votes

During a tournament I played support bait an was reading a diamond guide out loud. When I said should I build "TANK GOD" or "ROAM GOD" they cracked up like an egg shell and said tank. But yes, roamin supports tilt the fuck out of mid enemies.