We have "marksmen", so why do we still have "supports"?

Talith PA·10/20/2015, 3:52:51 PM·36 votes·2,474 views

I hate the term "support". Just like how "marksman" is a more fitting term than ADC, I want to see "tactician" or something similar take it's place.

The best "supports" hate everyone. The enemy team's attempts at having fun is a crime and your vengeance is doled out slowly over the course of a match. Often times it means saving your teammates from themselves; occasionally you have to claim the bounty from their murderers; primarily you personally shepherd your enemies onto the path of ruin.

Ultimately your machinations culminate into a creditless victory that merely serves to fan the flames that fuel the war on their enjoyment.

"Support" is just one of many tools a successful tactician employs. You wouldn't call a carpenter a "hammer" or an artist a "pencil", so I hope Riot does the right thing and drops the "support" label and replaces it with something better.

44 Comments

DeBeers Only10/20/2015, 6:49:04 PM27 votes

Is it just me or does tactician....make no sense for what it is replacing? Tactician, according to Merriam-Webster, is someone who is good at making plans in order to achieve particular goals. Does this describe the job of a "support"? Essentially not since a number of supports arent reliant on being the team leader or lead the fight.

The problem with support comes from the idea is too "broad".

League has different types of supports:

Tank supports. (Leona, Braum)
Healer/utility based supports (Soraka, Sona, Janna)
Mage supports. (Annie, Zyra, Brand, Veigar)
Hybrid supports. (Taric is a mix between 1 and 2. Kayle would be a mix between 2 and 3)
Off-supports. (Nunu is essentially a support jungler who provides to help his team)

The word support is just too broad to be isolated into another one word. If support goes away, there has to be a comprehensive re-classification of the multiple different supports out there in the game.

BlunterMonk10/20/2015, 6:06:53 PM13 votes

over 5 years with that title. Won't change. Tactician is cool and all but... no one really cares?

BakedLotion10/20/2015, 6:10:39 PM12 votes

You don't call an artist a pencil or a carpenter a hammer because those are objects. Support defines a specific task/goal/role. Which is correct in this game.

However, a pencil and hammer are objects, what they use. Not what they do.

Rossendale10/20/2015, 4:52:44 PM10 votes

[{quoted}](name=Talith PA,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=APBvt5T9,comment-id=,timestamp=2015-10-20T15:52:51.537+0000)

I want to see "tactician" or something similar take it's place.

Does that mean ~~Support~~ Tactician Swain will become meta?

IcyPepper10/20/2015, 4:55:41 PM7 votes

At first I thought this was a complaint against supports, then I actually read it.

Player: Wtf noob it's the support's job to ward Me: I'm a tactician. Also you've put down a grand total of three wards in the past fifteen minutes, soldier! I expect a pink on the field on the double!

Dextix LT10/20/2015, 8:22:10 PM6 votes

Well, with the way adc's treat us, we should be renamed to "Slaves".

LVL 5 PORO10/20/2015, 5:50:16 PM6 votes

The problem with calling supports "tacticians" is that 99.99% of people that play this game arent smart enough to be a tactician or even deserve that title. Its mostly, "hurr durr, i can only play blitzcrank because he's ez." And even then, they miss all their hooks, and itemize incorrectly.

A Superb Villain10/20/2015, 6:23:54 PM3 votes

The maliciousness of your post is incredibly arousing.

Also, now that ADCs are labeled Marksmen, we should call all Supports "Carries" because that is exactly what they do for their CS boated teammates.

Sweetiex10/20/2015, 6:02:17 PM3 votes

just call them haters. "hater bot pls"

because these days, it's the support bitching about the adc all the fucking time. used to be the other way around.

brad10/20/2015, 8:16:00 PM3 votes

as sky williams put it once, they are called the "marksman aid"

SoMNia10/20/2015, 10:04:52 PM3 votes

Agreed. I'm not sure about "Tactician" specifically, but even the name "Support" seems to encourage undervaluing the role and that player's contributions.

Ariel the Cruel10/20/2015, 9:19:12 PM2 votes

If we're relabeling roles to reflect what they actually are. . .

ADC: Winny over-privileged brat. Support: Slave. Assassin: I didn't want to play anyways. Tank: Late game Cannon Minion. Fighter: The other Carry. Mage: The other bot lane type. Juggernaut: The role Riot can't seem to balance. Draven: Draven LCS: <added to list> CertainlyT: The champions that got through when nobody was looking.

Shield Villain10/20/2015, 9:40:32 PM2 votes

I'm sorry, but I missed the part where the support tells everyone in All Chat what to do, or formulates some extensive plan, that wins them the game. If this happens, it's easily something anyone in any lane can do.

The Title support comes from the fact that you're literally there to support the marksmen. The role of you being in that duo lane is to help your lane partner farm more easily. Either by healing them, tanking for them, getting them kills, keeping vision, and on very specific champions, making twitch calls based on the situation.

Supports in general are supposed to support the team. Why try and deny it? It would be like trying to argue that Junglers aren't supposed to farm jungle, secure objectives, and gank lanes.

A Tactician can literally be anyone. Jungle deciding what lanes to get fed, watching the enemy jungler, and counter-ganking with Mid to get a double. Mid laner asking for bot lane and jungle to bait out the dragon so that Top and Mid can go in and sweep up the enemy bot and jungle. Top seeing that his enemy is down a teleport, and calling assist on the dragon so he can tp to it and help secure it, then take bot or mid turret.

Hyrum Graff10/21/2015, 12:05:33 AM2 votes

"Support" is a name for a role where you go to lane and do not cs.

"Support" style champions, I like to call Utility Carries.

lofi n chillhop10/20/2015, 4:20:51 PM2 votes

ily

FutTheWuk10/20/2015, 6:11:01 PM2 votes

This is possibly the most accurate definition of the "support" role I have ever read. Kuddos to you, I agree whole heartedly

Achmore10/20/2015, 4:54:45 PM2 votes

I have to agree.

Aspynn10/20/2015, 9:29:20 PM2 votes

Coming from a support main... No. Don't change our name. Just don't.

Lugg10/21/2015, 6:08:58 AM1 votes

A good comparison is a real life sniper. He is a marksman who has a spotter who supports him. Make sense now?

Teslablade10/20/2015, 7:24:23 PM1 votes

'Support' has a thematic element as well. Janna seems more like a 'support' than 'tactician.'

kaltenashes10/20/2015, 7:47:20 PM1 votes

ok, you can urself White Mage =D

Remlap122310/20/2015, 8:06:15 PM1 votes

TBH, the term "fighter" is outdated, not "support." Fighters range from all different types of champions, from bruisers like Vi, to melee carries like Yi, to burst AD casters like Pantheon. That could use an update. Everyone is pretty much in agreement of what a support is.

TurquoiseYoshi10/20/2015, 8:19:22 PM1 votes

I don't mind the "support" role being renamed, but not to "tactician". Tactician implies that the person is in charge of the whole game and the battle strategy, which just isn't true for all teams.

Marinaras Trench10/20/2015, 10:33:47 PM1 votes

Tactition doesn't seem like a fitting name at all, support has been in many games before it, such as mmo, as has marksman but adc is a new term, which is why they changed it.

Hatless Casual10/21/2015, 12:26:05 AM1 votes

Have to agree, the term support ensues you someone's b%@#$ the whole time. Played over 700 hours of TF2 mostly as medic and either your useless or your the playmaker of the team and it's acknowledged, here it's always your fault things go south.... unless the jungle is blamed first.

The Loveless10/21/2015, 12:49:49 AM1 votes

I like Tactician. It's what they used in this moba Tome to describe those who have ally-targeted abilities as well as tank-killers (meaning they had %hp damage).

I don't understand why we still need to follow Dota and can't have a game where sharing some cs is viable (meaning not having someone in a duo lane as the designated b^#%*) or have more items like targons/coin/fang to help me buy non-support items.

And yeah, the term support often denotes that you won't get credit, and you won't be the star MVP player because you're helping someone else get the glory. I come from FPS, and in something like Gears of War, I could be in a party/chat and people would devalue my contributions for having more assists than kills. It's a universal mentality.

HotS bores me to death but I give it credit for showing scores of things like siege damage and healing done. It properly relays to everyone a certain player's contributions and threat level.