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Looking for help on creating item build

Spacewalrus2010·3/12/2015, 11:53:37 PM·1 votes·728 views

Hello! To start off, I should say I played LoL awhile back during college just for fun, but I kind of want to try do some ranked matches and what not because I literally have fallen in love with the new champion Bard. I am aware that I should not focus on just one champion by the way - I have other champions/roles under my belt that I feel comfortable with if necessary.

Anyways! I also understand there are build sites out there which give decent guides to champions, but I'm looking for a more broad approach. Obviously someone had to build the first guide right? So I kind of want to know what kind of thought process goes in picking items (as a support in particular).

For example, I tried the item Banner of Command (often people choose solace as far as I can determine), because I thought the extra "stealth" pressure from other lanes might be unexpected while my team and I push another lane. In all honesty I forgot to use it, but I felt it was a valid thought I guess? I have not seen this item in any support build I've come across and I don't know why 3:

Obviously a lot of thought can go into this, and while I would heavily appreciate a reason that actually goes well in-depth to item choices, any quick sage advice will make me happy as well :D

Thanks guys! And happy gaming!

Side question: how do pro players so quickly determine what item is best by just looking at the enemy team's items for a couple seconds? Is it just memory of what the item's picture is after doing so many matches? That seems....daunting ._.

5 Comments

LordDarkshayde3/13/2015, 12:15:22 AM2 votes

My Bard build is generally item 2049 item 3117 item 3092 item 3027 item 3116 item 3083

Matthias91193/13/2015, 12:27:24 AM2 votes

At a really, really broad level, you end up looking at things like gold efficiency (which item gets you the most effective stats for a given amount of gold) and slot efficiency (since you can only have 6 items, ideally you want ones that pack the most effective stats into a single slot). Also you need to look at build paths and when in a match you can afford certain items. For instance, unless you're an ADC that plans on farming for a while with a Support bodyguard, you probably don't want to rush an IE.

Supports tend to be gold-constrained, so items that make your other teammates stronger tend to be really good. (Although if you play something like support Vel'Koz or Zyra, you can also build as a carry yourself.) Aura items also tend to be cost-effective when you're constantly around other champions.

Banner of Command specifically is just generally not that great. It's better if you are there escorting the minions, or for partially countering a champ that can only waveclear effectively with abilities.

Side question: how do pro players so quickly determine what item is best by just looking at the enemy team's items for a couple seconds? Is it just memory of what the item's picture is after doing so many matches? That seems....daunting ._.

I mean... yes, but you generally just need a vague idea of how the enemy is building (AP vs. AD, tanky vs. glass cannon). Also many champs don't have much variation in their builds, especially early on.

Kiharon3/13/2015, 5:11:05 AM2 votes

At the highest level, find items that let you do what you need to do better.

Since you are trying to play support, and specifically Bard, that will be a good first example. So, what does Bard want to do?

(Note that the order I'm talking about these is not necessarily the order in which you will build them)

  1. Bard wants to collect chimes for his passive. To do so, he needs to be able to move around the map quickly. Hopefully, this will get you looking at boots. The best boots for roaming the map are: Boots of mobility item 3117
  2. As a support (any support, not just Bard), one of your primary responsibilities is to establish vision control. Trinkets help, but are not sufficient. To get vision control, you will want to aim for a Sightstone item 2049. Also, once you have a Sightstone, the ward limit makes keeping a ward trinket less useful, so you should switch to a Sweeping lens item 3341 to deny enemy vision. In the same vein, Vision (aka pink) wards item 2043 are an important part of vision control.
  3. Supports generally want to not get CS, so as to allow the marksman to get more gold. To improve gold income, you should look at the gold income item lines item 3301 item 3303 item 3302 (you can only get one). I have yet to play Bard, but I would guess that Ancient Coin will be his best pickup since he is not melee and his skills do not lend to being tanky (which would suggest Relic Shield) and he doesn't have a lot of poke (to make Spelltheif's Edge easy to get money from). Also, you should consider the final versions of the items and what they will let you do.
  4. Bard needs to cast his spells a lot. To do so, look for items with cooldown reduction (up to the 40% cap, of course). The gold income lines pick up some CDR as they get upgraded and many of the other items are natural choices for supports.
  5. Look at what types of damage the enemy is doing and buy items that will help against that. Frozen Heart item 3110 is excellent against marksmen (if you are in range for the aura to apply) and provides CDR and mana as a bonus. Locket of the Iron Solari item 3190 provides team-wide magic resist and an active shield (and CDR).

To change directions, let's look at the other common bottom laner, the marksman. What does a marksman want to do?

  1. Damage
  2. More Damage
  3. Tons of Damage

There is some variation based on the kit of the champion, but in general you will see items that increase four stats: Attack Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Chance, and Armor Penetration. These status all stack multiplicatively to enable tons of damage and require the marksman to avoid retaliatory damage via positioning out of harm's way.

  • The premiere item here, because its passive is the only way to increase critical damage will still provided two of the four desired stats is Infinity Edge item 3031.
  • Common picks ups for for Attack Speed and Critical Chance are Phantom Dancer item 3046 and Static Shiv item 3087.
  • Moving around the map is still important, so boots are good, and boots that make you attack faster are great, so Berserker's Greaves item 3006.
  • Vision is important, and each champion has a limit to the number of simultaneous wards on the map at a time. Upgrade your trinket and buy vision wards. In more coordinated play, the blue trinket is common for the marksmen, but an upgraded yellow is as good or better in solo queue.
  • Armor is your enemy, so getting items to reduce its effects is key. Due to its percent armor penetration, the premiere item here is Last Whisper item 3035.
  • You will probably need some defense for the inevitable time when you will be attacked. Pick something that fits your situation. Common options for a marksman are Guardian Angel item 3026 and Banshee's Veil item 3102.

How to round out a build for these roles and customize for the situation of each game and itemize in the other roles is left as an exercise for the reader.

Remember, find items that let you do what your team needs you to do better.