PSA: Stop stacking health as a support

Archon X·Sep 29, 2015·1 votes·243 views

I'm glad you want a full and and but be advised that stacking health is sub the fuck optimal if you're a tank. You need some armor and mr so you can reduce the damage taken, otherwise you're just a squishy with a lot of hp.

Pro support?

Selfish SOB?

really don't care who you are, oh Leona and you get mr and armor from your W? Well it scales to bonus. You're Braum and same shit? Still scales.

You're Thresh? Well play a better champ and still build some armor and mr, those little crappy souls aren't going to cut it.

Alistar? Want an OP ult? How about the other 85.5% of your existence when you're not ulting?

Not saying you have to play tank, but if you do stop stacking health thinking it will protect you. Get armor and mr, THEN get some health.

9 Comments

TrylobyteSep 29, 20154 votes

Guess you didn't want those wards item 2045 that speed-boost item 3800 or that healing and gold item 3401 either, then.

Maybe they're not stacking health to stack health. Maybe they're doing it because the really good items they want and need to, you know, support, happen to give health.

Archon XSep 29, 20151 votes

Yeah I'm a support main I know what supports do. In the rare cases I am relegated to another role, it bothers me when the support underperforms due to a lackluster build.

item 2045 is a last build every single time. Literally anything else is a better use of 800 gold.

Not opposed to the speed boost of item 3800 but it lacks the utility of item 3110 which is more impactful and provides a great amount of cdr, which is essential on any support period, particularly tank supports who need to spam their cc skills several times in a fight to be useful.

item 3401 is ok but by the time you get it you're probably not needing to proc it as much as it provides, most likely you're too busy in teamfights and I'd prefer an aoe shield item 3190 that also provides aoe mr than a single-target shield.

TrylobyteSep 29, 20153 votes

[{quoted}](name=Archon X,realm=NA,application-id=WEuoGbmp,discussion-id=QEeOqlrE,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2015-09-29T18:45:30.787+0000)

Yeah I'm a support main I know what supports do. In the rare cases I am relegated to another role, it bothers me when the support underperforms due to a lackluster build.

is a last build every single time. Literally anything else is a better use of 800 gold.

Not opposed to the speed boost of but it lacks the utility of which is more impactful and provides a great amount of cdr, which is essential on any support period, particularly tank supports who need to spam their cc skills several times in a fight to be useful.

is ok but by the time you get it you're probably not needing to proc it as much as it provides, most likely you're too busy in teamfights and I'd prefer an aoe shield that also provides aoe mr than a single-target shield.

That does, however, clutter up your item slots since as a support you probably want item 2049 . While item 3110 is a good item, it's hampered by the fact that its component parts item 3082 item 3024 are useless to a support whereas item 3097 is not (and it's also much cheaper) so it's a brick until it's complete (and your top-laner is probably getting one anyway). item 3800 isn't always optimal, true, but it builds out of the very sustain-friendly item 3010 which is nice for staying in lane and making sure your ADC can stay in lane too. item 3190 is a great item too, though an expensive one, and its components offer no armor and little health to counter the most likely damage a support will face early (the enemy jungler and ADC). Another great item if you can finish it, but it provides no assistance in finishing itself and it's on a very gold-starved role.

What you've proposed is pretty much 'The Wealthy Support's Wishlist.' They're great, if you can afford them quickly enough to make a difference since until they're fully-built they're not helping much.

Archon XSep 29, 20151 votes

I'm sorry, in what way are Warden's Mail and Glacial Shroud useless to a support? Armor, more armor, mana, and cdr. Pretty useful to a tank support, which is what this thread is addressed to. I'm fine with a targon's, it's cheap and has more charges with a faster recharge than relic shield. Catalyst is complete trash on a tank support, you can take it on Morgana if you must but it provides no resistances. I have sustain from health pots and sustain from not taking so much damage from attacks because I actually have armor.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=ocp3q&s=8#.VgrgSflVhBc

TrylobyteSep 29, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Archon X,realm=NA,application-id=WEuoGbmp,discussion-id=QEeOqlrE,comment-id=0000000000000000,timestamp=2015-09-29T19:03:37.744+0000)

I'm sorry, in what way are Warden's Mail and Glacial Shroud useless to a support? Armor, more armor, mana, and cdr. Pretty useful to a tank support, which is what this thread is addressed to. I'm fine with a targon's, it's cheap and has more charges with a faster recharge than relic shield. Catalyst is complete trash on a tank support, you can take it on Morgana if you must but it provides no resistances. I have sustain from health pots and sustain from not taking so much damage from attacks because I actually have armor.

Well, yeah, if you're playing only Braum that makes sense because taking shots to the face is what you do and you have an ability that helps your ADC based on how much armor you have. But that doesn't apply to all supports, or even to all tanky supports. Most supports simply prefer to reduce their damage by not being shot (even tanky ones like Leona, Thresh, and Blitz) so they can offer more utility, relying on a health buffer for when they do have to engage and mix it up, but as Braum you don't get that choice since you defend your ADC by jumping in front of them and getting poked all the time while giving your ADC armor. What you should have posted is 'PSA to Braum supports' instead of 'PSA to all supports.'

My earlier points about Face of the Mountain and Ruby Sightstone also stand because you do have their components in almost all of your games, just like I said. I wouldn't max them out myself unless I have nothing better to do, but they're not bad choices by any means - Ruby Sightstone gives an extra ward (potentially saving an item slot) and some health and Face of the Mountain gives a lovely shield that gets better the more HP you have.

Archon XSep 29, 20151 votes

Leona's W shield scales to bonus armor and mr. Thresh and Blitzcrank are tanky supports, they are supposed to want to get shot so everyone else who outdamages them can apply damage. They need to survive long enough to apply their cc because going pure health is not going to keep them alive.

TrylobyteSep 29, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Archon X,realm=NA,application-id=WEuoGbmp,discussion-id=QEeOqlrE,comment-id=000000000000000000000000,timestamp=2015-09-29T19:11:35.388+0000)

Leona's W shield scales to bonus armor and mr. Thresh and Blitzcrank are tanky supports, they are supposed to want to get shot so everyone else who outdamages them can apply damage. They need to survive long enough to apply their cc because going pure health is not going to keep them alive.

Leona's W shield also only applies to herself. Braum can shield his ADC too. And Thresh and Blitz are tanky supports, but they don't want to get shot, they want to get a pick so their ADC can inflict damage on someone who'll have a hard time fighting back. What ADC sits there and shoots Blitz after he Rocket Grabs them into a Power Fist? What ADC shoots Thresh when he Death Sentences them and Flays them into The Box? What ADC shoots Leona after she Zenith Blades into a Shield of Daybreak into a Solar Flare? That's how they avoid taking damage, my friend, not by hoping the enemy ADC attacks them (Braum doesn't give them a choice) then taking hits, but by making sure the enemy ADC can't attack at all.

Archon XSep 29, 20151 votes

that's nice in theory but the higher you go in elo the less picks there are to be had. Fights after the 10 minute mark are at least 3v3s, usually around objectives. Tank supports want to be up in the face of whoever is threatening their carries so they can peel and zone. If a tank support pulls then has to run away because they're squishy, they lose a huge amount of their utility and you might as well have a Thresh with a Talisman which is essentially freelo for the other team.