Starting Items

There are four different options to choose from, and it varies from champion to champion. Spellthief's Edge is one of the most common items, focusing on high Ability Power (AP) and low Health, Enchanter-type supports (like Nami, Yuumi, and Lulu) will build this item, since they primarily scale with AP and aren't too concerned with getting large health pools. Upgrading Spellthief's is fairly easy on these champions, since they poke the enemy laner very efficiently.

Spectral Sickle focuses on high Attack Damage (AD) and low Health. Not very many champions will be taking this item, but it is a key choice for Pyke, Senna, and even Ashe support, since they primarily scale with AD and do not benefit as much from a high health pool. This item upgrades the same way as Spellthief's Edge does, through abilities used on enemy champions.

The Steel Shoulderguards focus on high Health and low AD. This item is one of the tankier options, and upgrades based on minion executions. In order to upgrade it, you will need to attack low-health minions whenever a charge is active, displayed by small glowing orbs around your champion. For an optimal pace, the best method is to use the execution on melee and cannon minions. Champions that should use this item include Thresh, Nautilus, and even Poppy support, since they primarily scale with AD and want high health pools.

Relic Shield focuses on high Health and low AP. This item is the second tanky option and upgrades the same way as the Steel Shoulderguards do. It is best to use this item on Leona, Rakan, and Blitzcrank, since they primarily scale with AP and benefit from a high health pool. This item is also a good choice on champions who would normally build Spellthief's Edge, but you want to have a higher health pool to deal with a tough lane match up.

Once a starting item is chosen, grab two Health Potions with your remaining gold. Starting items no longer need to be upgraded through the shop, and will upgrade by themselves as their quests are completed. When these quests are completed, you will receive charges of Wards to use around the map, so be sure to use these whenever you need to place vision, as your team will rely on you for the most of the team's vision control. If you are playing Yuumi, you may decide you do not want Health Potions, and can opt for a Control Ward instead.

Boots

Boots are often overlooked in low ranked matches, but one should never forget their importance. There are a lot of options here, so we will break down what is the best in which situations. For a support, the most common options will be Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Boots of Mobility, and Sorcerer's Shoes. Enchanter-type supports can go either way here, depending on the champion and the pace of the game. The more tank-based champions may stick to Boots of Mobility or even Boots of Swiftness.

For example, when playing Zyra or Vel'koz, you usually go a route that depends on high AP damage rather than the usual shielding and healing items. Sorcerer's Shoes are a good option here since they provide Magic Penetration, which is effective against Magic Resistance (MR). If there is another AP user on your team, like a Viktor or Fizz in the midlane, it is more likely the enemy team will start to build MR, not to mention champions have a baseline percentage of MR, so your Magic Penetration will not go to waste.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity are a more common option than Sorcerer's Shoes, since they will grant you Ability Haste (previously known as Cooldown Reduction), which will enable you to get your abilities off in a faster pace. These boots will also grant you increased Summoner Spell Haste, which will reduce the cooldown on your Summoner Spells.

If you do not plan on optimizing your Ability Haste, Boots of Mobility might be your go-to. These boots are especially effective on Janna, since the damage on her W ability also scales with Movement Speed. It is also effective to choose these boots on champions like Leona, Thresh, and Rakan, since early Movement Speed in the laning phase can be extremely oppressive, especially on supports who can engage. It also gives you an advantage when roaming to help other lanes or catching up in a team fight. Building these boots on Morgana and Lux can also be useful, since it will allow you to outpace your enemy and throw roots at them that they will not be able to outrun.

While Boots of Mobility are a powerful option on the tankier supports, due to the fact that they have heavy engage, one can go Mercury Treads or Boots of Swiftness to help negate disabling effects like roots and stuns. This is a good option to take in preparation for late game if the enemy team has heavy crowd control, so that you are still active in teamfights to help peel for your carries. Usually, if you are struggling in your lane, it is better to start building defensively; alternatively, if you are doing well in lane and have the advantage, building items that will maintain your power will make it harder and harder for your enemy to catch up.

A great first back purchase are some baseline Boots, a Control Ward, and hopefully the first item that builds into your Mythic Item. Grabbing a Refillable Potion can be useful on Soraka, since she loses a lot of Health in lane to her healing, or even for tank supports who are constantly engaging and taking damage for their carry. You can always sell the Refillable Potion to get some Gold back later on to help you finish your Mythic Item. When playing Yuumi, since you will not need to build Boots, it can be a good idea to grab a Dark Seal, or get an extra lead on your Mythic Item.

Mythic Items for Enchanters

Since the shop has been completely overhauled, we have been learning the ins and outs of Mythic Items, and you have probably gotten more comfortable with which ones your champion tends to use. Mythic Items grant big bonuses to you (and your team) and should be built before any other item, especially as a support. When playing a support, it can be a lot harder to gain Gold, so building your items is a lot slower than your allies building theirs. This means prioritizing what to upgrade is very important, and you should be careful not to make unnecessary purchases.

The first item we will take a look at is Moonstone Renewer, probably the most commonly built item for supports these days. Moonstone Renewer works similarly to the old Athene's Unholy Grail, as it turns the damage you deal into Health for your allies, with a bit of a twist. Any ability or attack you use on champions (allies or enemies) during combat will grant 50-100 Health to the most wounded ally nearby. This has a two second cooldown and the healing will increase by 12.5% for each second spent in champion combat, up to a maximum of 50%. This will give your allies a lot of extra Health, even if your champion does not have healing or shielding abilities. This item is a great build for Lulu, Yuumi, Seraphine, and really any enchanter that can constantly spam abilities during team fights. When you complete your Legendary items, this item grants you 5 Ability Haste for each one built.

Another commonly built enchanter item is Imperial Mandate. While it has been changed a bit since release, it is still a viable option when you want to optimize the damage done to your enemy laners. Abilities that Slow or Immobilize an enemy champion deals bonus magic damage and marks them for four seconds. When an ally damages any enemy with this mark, it will detonate, causing additional magic damage and granting you both 20% Movement Speed for two seconds. Zyra, Morgana, and even Nami can build this item to help increase how fast you can burst down your target, since they offer a lot of constant Slows or Immobilizations. If you find yourself getting really ahead in lane with your carry, building this item can help keep your enemy shut down and prevent them from catching up. When you complete your Legendary items, this item grants you 15 Ability Power for each one built.

You may occasionally build Liandry's Anguish or Luden's Tempest if you are playing the more damage heavy supports, since these items offer a lot of increased damage. However, they offer little in terms of support, and are usually best to build only if your team does not have any other AP damage.

Mythic Items for Tanks

When playing a tank support, your items are going to be pretty different from the usual enchanter items, since they focus on extra Health and bonuses that are more useful for an engaging champion. The first item we will cover is Locket of the Iron Solari, which will be your more common tank item. This item has an active ability that grants a 230-385 Shield that decays over 2.5 seconds. Its other bonus is called Consecrate, which will passively grant nearby allies 5 Armor and Magic Resist. When you complete your Legendary items, Consecrate gains an additional 2 Armor and Magic Resist with each item built. This item is great to build on really any tank support, since it will grant so much increased protection for you and your team, but it can also be viable to build on Soraka, since she relies on a larger Health pool.

The other commonly built tank support item is Shurelya's Battlesong, which has an active ability that will grant you and your nearby allies 60% decaying Movement Speed for four seconds. It will also grant an additional 35-55 magic damage on the next three attacks or abilities against champions. When you complete your Legendary items, this item grants you 2.5% Movement Speed for each one built. This is a great build for Rakan, since he relies on extra Movement Speed to easily jump between allies and enemies when engaging. This can also be viable on Janna, since her damage relies on a higher Movement Speed output and she constantly grants her nearby allies extra Movement Speed.

Legendary Items for Enchanters

After building your Mythic Item and your Boots, you will want to start obtaining all your desired Legendary Items. Champions like Lulu, Nami, and Yuumi will want to grab Staff of Flowing Water as their first Legendary Item, as its increase to Movement Speed and Ability Power based on your shields and heals are exceptionally powerful throughout the course of the game. You can then grab Ardent Censer to increase your allies' Attack Speed, and even Redemption, to apply an area of healing for you and your team. These items also offer a base increase to your healing and shielding power, including Mana Regen and Ability Power. Redemption also grants Health and Ability Haste, in addition to the bonuses mentioned in the previous sentence.

Another Legendary Item that functions based on healing or shielding is Chemtech Putrifier. While it is a more niche item, it is not useless by any means, as it will apply Grievous Wounds to enemies damaged by any ally you shielded or healed. It is great to build against a team with multiple methods of healing, whether you are against a bruiser champion with passive healing, or simply a fed enemy being enabled by a support. Keep in mind this item does not grant any increase to your shields or healing through stats, and only grants Ability Power, Ability Haste, and Mana Regen, in addition to its Grievous Wounds application.

Morgana will usually want to build Zhonya's Hourglass as her first Legendary since her Ultimate ability is optimized by its usage, this is also a great first Legendary if you happen to be playing Neeko support. Morgana can still grab healing and shielding items, but she will not benefit as easily from them as other supports do, since she only has one shield that is a single-target ability. She can pick up more Ability Power focused items like Demonic Embrace or Rylai's Crystal Scepter, which will also be good choices for Zyra or Shaco support.

Legendary Items for Tanks

As a tank, you can still grab Redemption since it will give you increased Health and still allow you to heal your allies with its active ability, and it can be a great second or third item in your build. Other great options are Knight's Vow, which will redirect damage away from your chosen ally and onto you, or even Mikael's Blessing, which can be used to remove all forms of crowd control from your targeted ally. As the game goes on, you may need to build tankier and tankier to survive big engages, so you can build items like Gargoyle Stoneplate or even Thornmail. Be sure to build according to the type of damage your enemy is using against you, whether you need Magic Resistance or Armor.

Another great item is Zeke's Convergence, which will grant additional damage to your chosen ally when you Immobilize an enemy champion. This is a great first Legendary Item for tanks, since you are constantly Immobilizing enemies and engaging on them, but it can also be beneficial on Lulu, who can utilize her Q and W to constantly keep enemies locked down.

To Summarize

There are many different items to build and many different ways you can build them. Knowing what to prioritize and when to build certain items is a very important skill in League of Legends, as it will help you maintain the upper hand against your enemies, even if you start to fall behind. It is good to balance what builds work specifically for you, and what builds are more commonly used on the champions you decide to play.