Question on supporting other lanes

FLY Redstar·Feb 11, 2017·1 votes·553 views

So I've decided to try out being a support main. That being said I would like to get some input on whether or not a support "Has" to go bot. The reason I ask is, is because every now and then I will get a troll adc and if I've already dodged once that day I normally don't want to dodge a second time. So when that happens I prefer to pick a ranged support and go top. Usually this actually works out pretty well because if the enemy top laner is a melee champ I can keep them poked back and snowball our top lane. Usually we either take first turret top of the enemy support comes top as well and all is equal again. That being said the ADC always flames me and threatens to report me for not going bot with them. Can I actually get in trouble for this?

Edit: I might just submit a ticket and ask

7 Comments

Deep Terror NamiFeb 11, 20174 votes

The short answer is "Yes, you need to be going bot lane to support", but it's a bit complicated as to why.

The meta which almost every other player follows puts two players in the bot lane. When you decide to play counter to what the rest of the team wants and expects it tends to have a pretty negative impact on your team's ability to work together. While playing outside the meta is itself not punishable, when you're playing against your own team it's a problem.

If you want to play something that conflicts with the vast majority of other player's expectations I recommend getting their permission before doing it, or just playing with a premade that's ok with it.

Here is a case of a player that was banned for consistently playing against his team by essentially playing a second jungler instead of supporting bot lane; http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/player-behavior-moderation/79aGu3wR-support-singed-isnt-banable-but-thats-not-the-point?comment=006b

FLY RedstarFeb 11, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Deep Terror Nami,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=2ufuGn9g,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2017-02-11T16:47:28.514+0000)

The short answer is "Yes, you need to be going bot lane to support", but it's a bit complicated as to why.

The meta which almost every other player follows puts two players in the bot lane. When you decide to play counter to what the rest of the team wants and expects it tends to have a pretty negative impact on your team's ability to work together. While playing outside the meta is itself not punishable, when you're playing against your own team it's a problem.

If you want to play something that conflicts with the vast majority of other player's expectations I recommend getting their permission before doing it, or just playing with a premade that's ok with it.

Here is a case of a player that was banned for consistently playing against his team by essentially playing a second jungler instead of supporting bot lane; http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/player-behavior-moderation/79aGu3wR-support-singed-isnt-banable-but-thats-not-the-point?comment=006b

So here is the thing, I don't do it often. Like I said it's only when I get an ADC who is clearly trolling. In those situations, when I know bot lane is already gonna be a loss. I go to another lane and support there. The question I'm asking is, is there any rule that says support has to go bot? I know you have to play your role and roles are defined as where you get your farm. So as long as I'm not stealing farm from other players I should be able to go where I want. I know going against the meta is not against the rules, which is what I would call this. Also most of the time my team is cool with me doing this. It's just the ADC tryn that's upset I'm not bot with him.

Deep Terror NamiFeb 11, 20171 votes

If your ADC is trolling you don't have to support him, that's a different situation.

FLY RedstarFeb 11, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Deep Terror Nami,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=2ufuGn9g,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2017-02-11T17:51:51.810+0000)

If your ADC is trolling you don't have to support him, that's a different situation.

So I read that link you posted and it didn't clear anything up. Basically what I got from it is you can only play off-meta if your team agrees to it. Then in another part they say as log as you are trying your best it doesn't matter. I just want to know of anywhere in the rules it says a support is expected to go bot. From my understanding the roles are defined as where you bet your farm. Top gets farm from top, mid from mid, bot from bot and jungle from jungle. Support is expected to not farm, that being said I'm still playing my role whether I support top or bot unless there is a rule saying that the support position is supposed to play in the bot lane.

OurLestradeFeb 11, 20171 votes

Support roams always catch people off guard for some reason which is great for getting the snowball rolling, but the issue is timing it. Putting it painfully simply without considering the way the game is going, you should only roam when your ADC's recalled and you don't need to recall yourself. There's a lot of finer print to it, but that's a decent logic to start with. Oh, and make sure you're playing someone with good CC on them. No Soraka roams :P

FLY RedstarFeb 11, 20171 votes

I went ahead and submitted a ticket, I'll post the response if anyone is interested.