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How do we make supports more viable and fun to play?

0bsidian AJ·12/15/2016, 9:20:54 PM·7 votes·925 views

Right now Riot is doing their best to make supports actually fun to use and I have a few ideas.

have a special summoner spell only supports would use and have items only characters with that spell can use that have the properties of the items I listed before. This spell could be a shield spell that shields the most wounded nearby ally(combine these and make it work like I said before
have this spell (or another new spell that only supports would use like is for jungles only) and have items only characters with that spell can use that have the properties of the items be for supports (like but for supports instead of junglers)
These "support items" can: -- buff your buffs, heals, and shields (making them longer and/or more potent -- if you heal, buff, shield someone else you get gold for how little health they had, how potent your buff/heal/shield is, when they last took damage, etc. but if you do it to yourself that buff/gold is halved or you don't get any maybe.
and if you heal/shield someone at 1%-5% health you get a "save" which counts as an assist and (this maybe be harder to implement) if you take damage instead or heal someone who was going to take lethal damage you get a "kill denied" I listed before. This spell could be a shield spell that shields the most wounded nearby ally. Thoughts?

There aren't enough supports out there and I'm just thinking of how being support can be more fun and viable. Add any ideas you guys think might help

18 Comments

Maximum Morde12/16/2016, 2:49:22 PM6 votes

They could start with not nerfing them every time one goes to a solo lane.

You probably meant the role, not the champions though. It isn't the champions that are boring, it's the role. Playing the team bitch is bullshit.

Risk of Fate12/15/2016, 10:13:23 PM4 votes

Support is kind of dull because you're kind of this expected CC/heal bot that should always be bot lane to get your carry kills. At least when I learned of them after being a Lux Support main ~7 months or so. Playing her led to me picking up Ahri not because they're OP or whatever anime weeb you all call it, but more because I felt like I was playing and not just sitting in lane watching my carry farm. I could poke and harass and run around on the lookout for ganks.

Anyway, this is just me, but here's a breakdown of the supports or "supports" I play for the most part and why.

Lux Extreme utility, poke, shield, lots of self-peel and peel Nami Great at disengage, can easily engage/re-engage, heals have a nice bounce mechanic that can turn a fight Leona Amazing engage, amazing peel, late game becomes this impossible obstacle to the enemy Janna Shield, peel, heal, lots of mechanical outplay potential. An amazing Janna can turn a fight completely on its head if you can manage where to toss a tornado and kite. Only time I really pick her up is if I'm second-to-last or the last pick and the enemy team is building a full engage comp.

Now here's a list of enjoyable picks, but why I may not always pick them up.

Sona Heals, bonus damage, MS, game-changing ult. Super binary and simple, kills don't feel rewarding and more just the enemy was dumb enough to get in range of a Q and auto. High expectations that you can keep everyone's health topped off at all times. Morgana Three year stun, pool of pain, shield that blocks magic damage and one hard CC ability, ult that slows and stuns. While nice to get that shield off on your carries, stuns don't really feel rewarding enough and half of the time people just walk out of your ult (realize that this is a common problem, point still stands that it doesn't feel like I'm doing much unless they're dumb enough to stay even if they have no flashes as they'll just knock me away) Nautilus Recently started playing him when we have a Jhin just because of the amazing Synergy. Whenever I'm playing him, I'm kind of going "La di do dee day" as, for some reason, I find playing him absolutely charming. He's amazing at picking out that one target and staying on him, but from experience his peel is alright and his stun is somewhat odd to use because the stun doesn't feel like it lasts the second/second and a half. It feels more like they're moving as soon as my anchor is lifted, but I could be wrong. In addition, he has sever mana issues. Ahri "AHRI ISN'T A--" SHUT UP! I want to put this on here because I've started to play her as a support a bit more often for a change of pace and I want to feel like I'm making an impact on what people consider is meta. Anyway, she's got True damage on return of Q, Charm is easily the most free damage you'll ever get. Only issue is she's extremely mana hungry so any you land you better be getting the most out of it. Only times I'll ever pick up her is if I'm having a shit day and want to have stupid fun.

On to the champs I want to play, but inherent problems coming from the team itself.

Bard He's super fun, but I can't trust my ADC enough to not die when I go to collect chimes. It's a shame I'd rather just pick up Lux or Janna instead because this guy is just tons of fun with his abilities. Heal seems really weak early game as compared to Soraka, Sona, and Nami Taric I really loved him before the rework mostly because he was a flipping Gem Knight and the theme of him was pretty cool. Now I want to pick him up and I never can get proper stuns off. Half of the time my carry feels absolutely afraid when I'm a bit forward just trying to get the stun off and harass. Thresh Really, really, really, really, really shitty luck with this guy and I'm sad that I don't ever want to pick him up at all. Bought him with RP but cannot try to learn him at all in a real game as if I miss a hook, team instantly rolls over and dies. Whenever I engage, team books it out to leave me to die, and I know the lantern joke already but honestly that's the least of my worries. I want to make plays, yet team is either never there or will immediately abandon when I get the perfect hook/ult combo.

Finally, champs I DESPISE playing unless I feel a need to.

Soraka Heal bot, nothing more. Lane becomes extremely dull, nobody wants to protect me and I'm constantly yelled at when I'm apparently not healing 24/7 because she has her W on a 0 second cooldown amIright? Seriously, though, silence doesn't feel rewarding and never works, ult is a waste half of the time as my team gets burst down, and q doesn't do any real, noticeable damage even stacking 6 item 3089

Blitzcrank Hook, knockup, ult instant kill....hook, knockup, ult, instant kill. Same issue as Sona in that he's so braindead boring to play, his ult does a crapton of damage and that's about it. I want to kind of work for the kill, not be able to 1 shot and then go "...what do I do now?"

Braum Braum is UGGGHHHH -an ally has been slain- which is a common thing. I like him, but I go to save someone only to get killed instantly because everyone backed off. Perfect knock ups annnnnnd team stares at me. Feel like I'm always trying to proc the stacks myself half of the time.

Hopefully sheds some light into my playstyle when in the support lane.

swordofsun12/16/2016, 5:11:50 PM2 votes

How about turn sightstone into a summoner spell? Then tie the gold generating items to the sightstone spell, like jungler items and smite.

Then the gold generating items can be buffed to give more gold and xp. Worse case scenario someone takes the sightstone spell to get the gold item and now the team has more vision.

That's probably an over simplification, tbh.

Gravy Traín12/15/2016, 9:43:53 PM2 votes

You keep talking about this spell that combines other spells but only supports can use it. How does it know who is a support and who isn't? If it doesn't actively do anything so only supports can use it, wouldn't it just replace barrier and cleanse if it combined the two? Supports already have a spell, Exhaust, and they already have items, Spellthief's Edge-Frost Queen's Claim, Relic Shield-Face of the Mountain, and Ancient Coin-Ancient Talisman; and don't forget sightstone and all the ways it combines with those other items I said before.

Kitty Pix12/17/2016, 2:03:36 AM1 votes

Supports are already viable and fun to play if you HAVE A TEAM WORTH SUPPORTING. I've played excessive amounts of Sona and Braum and from my many many many games on them I've seen that the level of enjoyment is determined purely by the team that you're on and if they even know what you're job is as a support, let alone know what their job is once you're job has started and you're trying to finish it off. I have had so many fun games as them with ADC's that knew when to GO GO GO and when to back off, but I've also had games where my adc apparently doesn't know what a concussive blow is OR what my W range is for me to escape (or know the potential of what could happen once the enemy is stunned if I'm level 6) or doesn't know the true power of a Sona Q+P+R combo (which NORMALLY leaves them in perfect last hit health range, like cmon I couldn't set it up any more perfect.)

So I don't think the problem lies in the champions, their abilites, or the items, I think it lies in our communities collective knowledge of the game and the champions that we're playing with and against (but most importantly with).

It would also be nice if Riot made the value of supports better known to the community so people didn't feel as though support as so disposable when they normally contribute a TON to the team (hence: support).

AssistsForLyfe

The Manly Fairy12/16/2016, 2:46:59 PM1 votes

I get what you're saying. I main support and it's a very lackluster job, especially in Solo Queue where you have no coordination with your ADC, you're liable to die a lot if you're not a tank support and tried to make an offensive play. With the new Heal & Shield buffs you get from Forbidden Idol items, support items are definitely becoming standardized and more popular, I can heal much more by simply picking up one Athene's Holy Grail and then build up more healing from AP scaling. The secondary utility support items give just doesn't seem game changing enough, even if you have them all.

Bobo11312/16/2016, 4:25:27 PM1 votes

Being a bard main, I think some of the frustration comes from The fact that certain mages can support better than the actual supports can (while also having the utility and damage to solo lane). There has also been a drastic increase in the amount of ADCs who have enouch CC and utility to do a lot of the work themselves. (IE: Jinx, Jhin, Kalista, somewhat enforcing a new trend) It seems to me like there is an imbalance there - in which the support specific champions have become less necessary in favor of kits for other champions that have more universal potential.

The solution might be to give traditional supports more solo lane strength. Even if it might bean that they cur back on heal strength, they might feel like their champion has an impact while not jeapordizing balance. Sure, Zyra and Brand can support, sure, and Sona, Braum, Threah, and Leona have solo lane potential, but it just doesn't seem healthy that champions like Janna, Taric, Soraka and Bard cannot solo lane while those other champs can still do their jobs just as well. And no, it is not because they are healers - there are plenty of other decent healers out there (Nidalee, Kayle, technically Fiora). While ising traditional supports, you feel like 0.5 of a champion, since your kit is strictly pigeonholed to that role, and other champs can still fulfill the support niche while being capable of other things. . .

The role, no matter what champion you pack, is still a bit boring. No matter chat champ you are, you still feel marginalized, and not as integral to the team's success. Even if you were to make a dank mlg clutch 420 kush mountain dew play, it is the carry that will take your credit. If your carry dies, it becomes your fault - no matter how bad their choices are.

SmileInABox12/16/2016, 4:40:22 PM1 votes

I don't think the Summ spell is a good idea, it'd be abused like Exhaust. I think that giving some more end screen stats and changin Support parameters for an S would do the trick in all honesty.