Question for Support mains

The Names Zero·2/12/2016, 3:18:01 PM·3 votes·1,756 views

Hello, I am a diamond player. I like to play adc, jungle, mid, and top, and I do fairly well at all those. Now the thing is i hate support. Absolutely hate it. My question is that, I want to know if there a skill based support that i can play because i have the most fun playing a skillful champion. Not only am i looking to just play this champ, but i am also looking to master it. I have a small champ pool that i use in every game i want to integrate a support into it. Thank you.

Edit: Reason for this being that i have played 50% support games as my secondary is fill.

Edit: I think this thread has helped me lean towards bard. He seems very rewarding for the skill involved also seems pretty fun. Thanks guys.

26 Comments

VesperNadal2/12/2016, 5:10:41 PM3 votes

I don't main support but my brother does. I main top lane.

The ones he told me were the hardest to master were Thresh Thresh and Alistar Alistar . Nami is my preferred support and she is anything but skillful. She does not have many bad match ups which is why I like her. Janna is boring but requires some skill.

As far as the least skillful supports Sona reigns supreme and Soraka is up there too. Oh and Annie, can't forget to mention the least skillful champ in the game because sometimes she goes support.

alfavhunter2/12/2016, 3:52:12 PM2 votes

The things you can do with Janna are amazing

I once went 1v1 vs a very fed lee sin who was full HP, I was at 60% and alone

He tried to tower dive me

I made him take 6 tower shots and he died (he was 2 complete damage items at 9 min in and boots, handnt built tank yet) he was lvl 9, I was 6, he died and it was gloriuse

Outplaying as a support it taking every aspect into the game

I've "agrod" the rift herald as Janna when being chased by the enemy team and used my slows and CC to force an enemy usurp to take 5 hits from it till at 20% then chased him down and killed him

Using your surroundings to your advantage is one of the skill curves of supports, because we lack damage but have CC and utility, using that and "damage" aspects on the map can give you a deadly lead

NazZomLord2/12/2016, 3:37:24 PM1 votes

Thresh Is your best option for "skillful" he takes time and patience to master and when someone does he becomes a god. Personally i love playing Braum He is a high skill base champion but really does need a commitment to learn everything and make the most out of every situation. As for AP caster Supports try out Lulu She is a TON of fun

Itadaki Seieki2/12/2016, 3:40:17 PM1 votes

If you're looking for a skill-based support I'd say Bard.

Max Q -> W -> E grab R whenever.

Go Frostqueens -> Swiftness -> Sightstone -> Frozen -> Spirit/Locket/Veil -> Zeke's.

He's very skill-dependent and requires timing to be effective.

RookPusher2/12/2016, 3:43:02 PM1 votes

The skill in support isn't in the kit, it's in the movements. Here's how support should be played (an usually isn't)

Harass the enemies, if they go in on your, your ADC should come off CS and start shooting the most likely to die. The goal here is to scare them.
Ward. Unfortunately, this is a high benefit, low reward skill but it's big. You can prevent about 6 deaths in the laning phase because of wards. You prevent deaths as Zilean, you're a hero. You do it warding, "i'm not going to congratulate you for doing your job, newb"
Towers. Your ADC is a KDA loving rockhead who thinks they either get fed or it's GG. They hit things for a reason. They aren't brain-people.
You're the ADC's lobbiest for the jungle. The ADC says "THIS JUNGLE SUCKS. WTF ARE THE GANKS??!?!" Not you. No, as support, you want to get the jungle kills. If you don't play support a lot, you might think you should get the ADC kills. Wrong. You get the ADC CS an if a kill falls in his lap, fine. When the jungle gets kills, he ganks for you more and the enemy laners have PTSD for crossing the river.
When you're learning support, know that it's two roles. meaning you need a 6 champ pool. 3 mage supports. 3 tanks. Countering is really helpful. They have a Caitlin? I'm going Braum and ruining lives. They take Siv? I'm going Zilean. And if they take Trist, I'm going all in on their support.

A good example of why the support lane is mastered by the player, not the champ is knowing who to attack. You want to punish the enemy laners most effectively for what they do. If the ADC runs, punish them for leaving the support behind. If they're aggressive, either bring the CC, negate with exhaust, or bait when the jungle is en route. There's a push/pull to it that you'll get the hang of as you go.

Tyrone Lannister2/12/2016, 3:49:33 PM1 votes

Learn bard. Hes pretty hard tbh

Lauchmelder2/12/2016, 3:53:12 PM1 votes

Bard is the hardest to play well and master imo. A bad ult can win or lose a teamfight.

Other than that I can just suggest Thresh. He is fairly easy to pick up but his kit is so loaded he can do everything a Support wants to do (except healing ofc). And a lot of his Plays actually Need a lot of practice (just look at BunnyFuFus Thresh while he played with Gosu: Hook Flash a wall, lantern and go in)

Restless Slumber2/12/2016, 4:58:15 PM1 votes

Don't main support but the ones that I like to play are Thresh, Trundle, Janna, Volibear, and Alistar. All of them have fun aspects to them and if you want to play a support that has a high skill cap and can carry I'd go with thresh. Just watch any bunnyfufuu montage and you might find him to be what you want.

Tyren2/12/2016, 5:21:46 PM1 votes

Bard His q and r have to be timed and aimed correctly to get the best uses of them. Thresh His q and e are both skill shots, all his skills can be used to engage or disengage Nami This is just opinion, her bubble is the hardest skill shot to land, except Bard's ulti.

Kaosz2/12/2016, 5:58:12 PM1 votes

If you want to have fun, I've been playing sona and hell it's awesome.

DeloricVI2/12/2016, 6:06:06 PM1 votes

I personally recommend lulu if you're looking for somewhat complex, yet fun and effective support. Her poke is ridiculous, and she synergizes very well with Frost Queen's claim. She does a surprising amount of damage when you start building AP, but still has a lot of utility. Her kit also has a lot of tools to save even the least competent adc, or up their damage.

A lot of people don't realize that shielding them with Pix ups their damage as well, as lulu's passive is applied to them instead of her, and it counts as their damage (i.e. Pix won't steal a kill from an ADC if he's attached to them). They also don't realize just how useful a good Lulu can be.

That's also not to mention that Pix positioning is not only essential to mastering her, but is both skillful and rewarding... might be a support for you to try, even if you have your heart set on Bard.

Lugg2/12/2016, 6:25:54 PM1 votes

It sounds like you should master the "carry" supports. Champs like Lulu Sona Morgana Zyra Zilean etc. have the ability to carry games if your ADC is weak.

Taric the Gay2/12/2016, 7:23:01 PM1 votes

My opinion is going to be pretty biased. Do you want it anyway?

DevilishMetal2/12/2016, 3:23:05 PM1 votes

A lot of skill for support revolves around cooperating with your carry and making sure trades go in your favor. Bard and Janna are two of my faves.

TallyZrg2/12/2016, 9:00:58 PM1 votes

Sounds like you understand the basics for support and are just looking for some high skill ceiling champions yes?

I would recommend this list to you: Thresh Bard Zilean Lissandra (she works well as an all in CC support with decent dmg given her base values. Also most players don't know how to deal with her bot lane) Nautilus (very strong pick, unsynced spell visuals also likely to give you an edge)

If you have any questions about any of my suggestions please feel free to ask.

Damagefox2/12/2016, 3:33:08 PM1 votes

As a support main as far as I have seen there are many off meta options. I mean why limit support to only what is defined by what everyone else says IS a support. To me a Support can be a mix of any of these components: A) Helping to keep your teammates alive through Buffs and heals B) Providing efficient map vision and 'warding' and C) Helping Your Adc secure Kills and thus carry by providing Crowd Control, Damage supplement, and efficient Harrassment.

Being a support doesnt mean you are limited to just sitting behind your adc and waiting to throw a heal at them now and then. An effective support can also be one that Provides ample stuns or slows which keeps the enemy adc from being able to farm effectively. For example I play a support Velkoz. Velkoz's Q serves as a way to slow, as well as damage supplement. I can use Q to bank around the minions and poke at the enemy Adc directly, slowly wittleing them down while my adc can Farm. His W can serve as a visual "do not cross" line. You are literally drawing a line and if they cross it they risk taking damage, as well as procing other effects. This allows the ADC to farm with less interuption. E serves as an Interrupt. Support Velkoz can wittle the enemy down and if they try and run to safety, drop an E infront of them to keep them from escaping, or if they are using an ability on your adc, It can disrupt them. and His Ult R serves as Damage supplement and leashing. Allowing you to effectively tear chunks out of thier health with the ADC on standby to come in for the last hit kill (just remember to cancel the ult early to avoid taking the kill....unless the adc likes to run away from last hits like mine seem to do...)

But yeah, thats just one example. Support isnt limited to heals or buffs, you are litterally doing what you can to SUPPORT your team. This is just a different method of support. Hopefully that helps maybe allow you to take other champions into consideration as far as potential for support role. There is No real defined rule as "This champ CAN support and This Champ CANT". Its more of "What can This champ do and how can it be used from a support PERSPECTIVE.