Bard Tips * Tricks (How To Play and How To Counter) MAP AWARENESS***

has gotten a pretty bad rep since his release due to people not really knowing how to manage his roaming play-style while still being an effective and viable support for their ADC. I can't profess that even I know everything there is to know about this champion, but I have won quite a few game with and wish to point a few things out about him, whether your playing as one, with one, or against one, that I haven't really seen much elaboration on in the few guides out there.

Before I begin, I want to say that is only as effective as his team's map dominance. If your team is failing to secure objectives, chances are you're going to lose anyways, but with you want to take down objectives quickly so that you can fully scale into late game by stacking your chime / meep passive. Typically, you don't want to pick him with an ADC that has a super weak laning phase, as they will not be able to handle 1 v 2 even for a short period of time (someone like or , any champ without escapes etc.) and ESPECIALLY not against a , or

1. MAP AWARENESS IS A MUST If you're not someone who is looking over at the mini map every few seconds, I don't suggest even picking up until you train yourself to be better at knowing what is going on around the Rift and who is where. Not only will this information improve your roams and help you collect chimes, it will also benefit your gameplay as a support overall. This is imperative with more so than any other support, however, as you will be going into enemy territory to get those chimes when you can and knowing where the enemy jungler is, having wards on hand to plop down, as well as keeping an eye on bot lane (is it pushed? are they about to take tower? Are they MIA? etc.) is really going to enhance your effectiveness with this champion overall.

**2. AUTO ATTACKS > Q ** I see too many players not using their enhanced auto-attacks with Meeps in favor of spamming Q. This will typically cause you to have mana issues. Keep in mind, Q doesn't do enough damage to be an effective way of harassing unless you absolutely KNOW you'll be able to stun someone (or two people) with it rather than a measly slow, which you're eventually able to do once you've collected around 50 chimes with simple auto-attacks + Meeps. With recent buffs to Bard, his Q-stun is actually a bit easier to land, so don't be afraid to use it if you do think you'll get it.

**3. CHIMES GIVE YOU BACK MANA ** Collecting chimes isn't just great because of the auto-attack bonuses and movement speed, they also give you XP and mana. This means if you run out of mana in lane, you can always quickly roam to chimes that have spawned nearby and regain some of that while stacking your passive. Don't pass up a chime if you already have full mana though, _they will eventually despawn after 10 minutes and new ones spawn every two seconds. _

**4. W > Q ** As said before, doesn't do enough damage with Q and the cooldown isn't reduced as much from leveling. You're better off maxing W (Caretaker's Shrine) which is your heal, for the obvious heal benefits that are guaranteed, where the damage of your Q and possible stun are NOT guaranteed. At the same time, I don't recommend building full AP on either, items like serve him a bit better, but in a position other than support, where you generally want to build tanky.

5. SAVE THAT ULTI doesn't have an ult that you just can't wait to use. His ulti is very situational and can be easily misused so it's better to hold off and calculate when the best time to ult would be. You can use it to ult turrets if your team wants to dive the enemy, ult the enemy back line to single out the tanks, an assassin if they're going after your ADC, or even your whole team to protect them from something like a or ultimate. Remember that this has a short delay before taking effect, so plan around your enemies trajectory and cooldowns. Work out a system with your team where you can ping a target before you ult if you're using it defensively, so any allies can move out of the Area of Effect.

**VS Bard? ** Playing against a that has a good idea of what he's doing can be kind of difficult. You can expect him to be up in your jungle, and he'll probably be warding buffs constantly. Keep an eye on where his chimes are on your side, as he will eventually have the urge to pick them up, and ward in the area so you can pick him off. You can also use his health packs as baits against him, so that when someone goes to grab a health pack, you can catch them off guard, knowing where they step. You can also avoid his stun much like you can avoid Condemn or somebody like with his space aids. by not standing clustered or close to walls. This will prevent him from stunning two people or one into a wall. is super squishy start game and will stay that way unless he builds tanky, so you can easily take advantage of this. ALSO - REMEMBER YOU CAN CC / HOOK / GRAB HIM OUT OF HIS PORTALS - HIS ALLIES TOO!