10 Tips for Support Players

[Matthew]

This is long, but I added a TL;DR at the bottom. However, I feel that the tips are quite rewarding, so I encourage you to read through it if you have time. These are just a few tips that I think everyone could benefit from, that can give your entire team a leg up if you're playing support (or any role really, but especially support).

 

1) Take note of your laning opponent at the beginning of the match. If you're blue side, do the golems. If you're purple side, consider asking your team to go with you to stop the enemy bot lane from doing golems by doing a quick check of the tribrush. Encourage your jungler to do wolves if they're starting blue, and wraiths if they're starting red. If you're purple side and starting at blue buff, since you and the ADC can leash for the jungler, encourage your mid and top to share wraiths. Clearing out early jungle camps doesn't set the jungler behind, and can give your team an advantage to start the game. Simple things like your top hitting level 2 first unexpectedly can just win an entire game, if they snowball off that advantage. Also, just know how bot lane pairings work. If the opponent is playing Alistar/Tristana, the lane will automatically push because of Tristana's AoE and Alistar's AoE Heal, so try to counteract that with early auto attacks. If you're playing Leona/Draven, make sure you're zoning their ADC, and keep track of experience points so that you can burst them as soon as you level up, and before your opponent gets a chance to.

 

2) If your mid isn't warding, ward for your mid. Even if it's a headache. This increased awareness helps relieve pressure on bot. If your mid doesn't die to a gank, it makes your entire team's life much easier. It also let's the entire team position better and make plays each time the jungler gets spotted on the ward. Your top can play aggressively if the jungler gets seen at wraiths if you're playing blue side. Don't do this if it'll cost too much experience, but if encouraging your mid to ward doesn't work, just go ahead and ward for them. Ward the entrance to the enemy jungle, so you can see the location of the jungler when they're coming into the River.

 

3) Don't risk making an aggressive play if it has a chance of backfiring to the point where you will fall behind in exp before level 6. If you get a kill, take it, but make sure you make it to that precious level 6 before you die or you're forced out of lane. Remember that as a support, you won't get power from items, and you have to share experience anyway, so it is completely imperative that you do not fall behind in exp. If you don't have ult, the fight is most likely lost. If you're 3 levels behind, you don't have the stats to compete. Treasure EXP.

 

4) Always buy a pink after every back. That map control is very strong. If your jungler is coming, ward the gank path. Else, hold it for lane. A pink ward can alleviate a lot of lane pressure, and also create lane pressure as well. It forces the enemy to play passively, and suggests a gank even if it isn't coming, and it also gives you the advantage in a fight because you can kite into a bush you are sure is not warded. Even if you already have a sightstone, having more vision for your team, and denying the enemy team vision is your best way to help your team win the game. Also, encourage your team to buy wards as well. Sometimes asking your team in general to pick up a ward does nothing, so specifically ask a player on your team to pick up a ward when you see them backing. If you see top is going to base, you know they should buy a ward when they back, and sometimes people just forget. Simply saying, "Hey, top, you might want to consider picking up a ward" might be the reminder or encouragement they need.

 

5) Be aware of the enemy team. If they enemy has a jungler with a wall jump like J4, Shaco, or Vi, and you are blue side, be sure to have vision so you can see a gank from either a blink from inside the dragon pit, or a blink over the wall into the River entry brush. If you see someone pop up on the map, look immediately. Try to take notes on what buffs the jungler has, and how much time is left on them. If you're truly practiced at observing, you can start predicting your opponent's jungle route. If the enemy team has Evelynn or Twitch, make sure you have a pink on hand or at the Dragon, so you don't get roamed on. If the enemy team has Akali, once you hit mid game make sure you always keep that pink ready for the team fight. Know before the fight starts who you'll be trying to lock down with your CC, or if instead you'll be using the CC to peel for the ADC. Don't enter situations without a plan. If you don't have a plan, just disengage.

 

6) Have player awareness. Be keeping track of your entire team's CS compared to their laning opponent at all times. You cannot be surprised in the mid game when your ally is too weak to protect you. This also helps you realize flaws in the build path of your allies so you can help them, or flaws in your enemy build paths so you can exploit them. You don't need to focus that Vi if she build full tank. If you die, check your death recap every time. Make your team aware of the damage type they're receiving. If the only person fed is the 6/0 lux on the enemy team, make sure someone (maybe you) is getting Bulwark for that MR, and encourage your allies to pick up an early Negatron. Don't forget to exhaust important targets during a teamfight either. Pay attention to the wards that the enemy team buys. Maybe your top laner isn't paying attention, but you can still note that he went into lane with a ward, and therefore save your jungler the trouble of sitting in a warded brush for 30 seconds. Or maybe you notice he didn't ward, and the wave is pushing, so you can tip off your jungler to help him out. You don't always have to call the jungler to your lane. Consider which ganks will be most successful, and what's best for your team.

 

7) Have strong map awareness and ward safely. If you're going to ward River but the jungler might be there, bring your ADC. If you're going to clear with Oracles, bring your jungler. The best time to buy an oracles is after all of the outer towers on the enemy team drops, because then the jungle is open, and you can start clearing it out to gain map control, and baiting objectives with ambushes. If you're going to put wards, bring your team. Don't be alone and die for no reason. If you're going to ward the brush behind the enemy wraith camp, ask Lux to throw a ball, or J4 to toss his flag, to make sure it's okay. Let your team know that you aren't going to risk dying just to put down a ward. If you see people keep getting picked off, if the enemy team has teleport, Shen, or especially Twisted Fate, encourage your team to group as soon as possible. Don't allow the enemy to create situations where you or your team get picked off over and over. If someone is going to split push a lane (your Shen is pushing top while your team pushes mid) ward the path leading to Shen, so that if the enemy tries to collapse on him, he can escape safely without running into an ambush. You can set your teammates up for success in subtle ways.

 

8 ) Remind your team you don't have boots AS SOON AS you enter the group stage. If you're tanky CC, pick up Boots of Mobility immediately after Ruby Sightstone. You do want Locket or Aegis to win team fights, but you'll be at a bigger advantage if one of your allies is fed because you can make a play. During a team fight, start to back out early if you know a dangerous opponent that can chase you down is still alive.

 

9) Keep track of ALL objective timers. Be responsible, and make sure your team is ready to make plays on Dragon. Dragons win games. If are losing lane, get a pink, and make sure that jungler gets his ass in there. Even if you can't secure a kill, if you force the enemy bot to back, you can pick up a Dragon. 190 gold bonus to your top and mid means they'll have an easier time helping your AD get back into the game. Make sure you coordinate this play with your midlaner. Blue buff and Red Buff are 5 minute Respawns. Dragon is 6 minutes, and Baron is 7 minutes. Always time every buff in chat.

 

10) Keep track of cooldowns. If the enemy flashes, time their flash. Without being exactly precise due to masteries, you can roughly estimate that Flash, Heal, and Teleport have 5 minute cooldowns. A support's flash is roughly 4:20. Ignite, Exhaust, and Cleanse are 3:30. A great support main should constantly learn the timers for all the ultimates in bot lane, so they can have a rough estimate of when their opponent's have ults available again. You shouldn't get caught offguard because "I didn't know that Ashe Arrow was back up already". Make sure you're constantly communicating your own cooldowns with your ADC, and keep asking them for their CDs. Don't forget your activatable items. It's easy to forget to Shurelya's or Locket, so keep annoucing those CDs as well. Reminding yourself and your team that you have abilities ready is a great way to remember to use them. Use Locket at the beginning of the teamfight, so it can absorb the most AoE and burst from the enemy.

 

Mastering these 10 things alone can easily turn you into a stellar support player. You will find that even if your mechanics are bad, anyone can do these things, and it will have a significant impact on the game. Maybe you don't have the absolute best positioning, so you can't poke like a pro, or force your lane to win every time, but with these fundamental (and intermediate) tips, anyone can be a very meaningful support, and create a great advantage for their team. The best part is, these things apply and give you a way to contribute and keep your team's morale up even if you get outplayed and lose lane. As long as you don't feed, if you're doing all of these things properly, you can create a lot of opportunities for your team to dominate the group stage of the game, after laning. People don't really acknowledge it, but if the enemy blue is warded, and your team manages to kill the mid or jungler going to get it, and steal it away, plays like this can lead to a free tower or dragon, and these types of things win games. No one really realizes that it was the support's ward that created that play, but you can be a silent hero, just by paying attention, feeding your team information, and keeping your cool, you can win the game without killing all the enemy champions.

 

TL;DR Know your lane match-ups and how the lanes work. Ward the river entrance at mid when you can. Make sure you don't miss exp. Buy pink wards to deny the enemy vision. Understand the capabilities of the enemy jungler. Pay attention to the items that all players have. Bring your allies with you to ward a hazardous area. Remind your team that you don't have boots like they do so you don't get caught. Time all the buffs and global objectives. Keep track of cooldowns and activatable items.

 

Good luck out there on the fields of Justice!

 

EDIT:

 

I realized that there's actually not a lot in here regarding how to win lane as a support player. This is because different support champions apply pressure in different ways, and have to position differently depending on the match-up. For example, if I'm Sona, I can heavily poke the ADC, but if the enemy is Leona, I have to be very wary not to get hit by E under any circumstance. Conversely, if I'm Taric, I should aim to minimize the a-beep-t of poke I get hit by from an enemy Lulu, but also try to zone the enemy ADC from being able to safely CS without the threat of a stun. Since these things vary so heavily from match-up to match-up, I excluded them from this guide, and tried only to give universal and generic advice. Perhaps sometime in the future I'll write a new guide pertaining to laning as a support.

 

Credits: Pierce7d

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/19bjw3/10_tips_for_support_players/

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