Supports are often overlooked in League of Legends, their ADCs receiving most of the recognition. While being the carry is important, they cannot do it alone, and they depend on their support to give them the advantage in lane.

So, what exactly is a support's job? As the name implies, they 'support' their carry and their team as a whole, whether it is through shielding and healing, crowd control and peeling, setting up engages, or keeping up with vision. A good support is someone who can manage all or close to all of the above, with healing and shielding sometimes being replaced by burst damage. High damage over protection is not a bad thing, as it can still be the difference between winning or losing the fight.


Starting Items

One of the main differences between a support and their teammates is their Support Item. Supports should not be taking minions from the lanes unless they need to prevent them from crashing into a tower, meaning their Support Items will allow them to earn enough Gold throughout the game.

Spellthief's Edge is the first item we will take a look at, which has higher Ability Power (AP) and lower Health than the other items. Champions like Lulu, Nami, and Sona will want to choose this item, as they will spend most of their time in lane poking and trading with the enemy botlane.

Spectral Sickle has a higher Attack Damage (AD) than other items, and the same amount of Health as Spellthief's Edge. Not very many champions will be taking this item, but it is a key choice on Senna and even Ashe support, since they primarily scale with AD and will be focusing on poking out the enemy botlane.

The Steel Shoulderguards have higher Health than the previous items 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 Pyke support, since they primarily scale with AD and want high health pools to engage with.

Relic Shield has the same amount of Health as Steel Shoulderguards and has 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 Rakan and Blitzcrank, since they primarily scale with AP and require high health pools to engage with. This item can also be beneficial to Soraka, since she uses her Health as a resource, and even Sona, since she has one of the lowest starting Health pools in the game, especially if you want to have more survivability against a difficult lane match up.

Once a starting item is chosen, grab two Health Potions with the remaining gold. Starting items no longer need to be upgraded through the shop and will upgrade by themselves as their quests are completed. You will want to stay on top of your quest so that you finish your item and benefit from it's upgraded stats. You will also start to gain ward charges, so that you can replace your Trinket with Oracle's Lens and increase your vision control.

Laning Phase

The advantage in lane can start as early as level 1 to 2, depending on your pressure and trading. All-in champions like Leona and Rakan excel at this early stage, especially when they hit level 2 before the enemy botlane.

Refer to the image above for the following paragraph. The blue team's support can engage on the red team's ADC here, after getting their level 2 advantage. Keep in mind that if the enemy reaches 2 before you, engaging will not end well. If the enemy reaches 2 during the engage, it is possible that you could still lose this fight. Two of the best champions for this overall is Rakan and Pyke, since they have a quick engage, as well as a quick disengage in case the fight does not go as planned. Two of the weakest champions for this overall is Yuumi and Soraka, since they rely on heavy amounts of poke and sustain to gain the advantage in lane. While it is possible for a level 2 engage to work with these champions, it may require assistance from your jungler, or for your enemy laners to have been extremely pressured off of their minions.

Champions that can counter a level 2 engage are the same champions that excel at these engages. Leona, Thresh, Rakan, and even Nami have the potential to counter the engage with their abilities. Of course, this also depends on what abilities they decided to level first and second; if they do not have a way to disable you, your engage should be successful and you should at least rob them of their Summoner Spells, which can make your next engage result in kills.

One thing that can throw off your engage is the enemy jungler coming down for an early gank. Always be sure to keep the river warded before overextending into the enemy's side of the lane. If you are playing champions like Sona, Lulu, or Soraka, your level 1 and level 2 will mostly consist of poking and trading. Watch out for the enemy laners if they get level 2 first, as they might try and engage. Your early advantage depends on how much you can damage the enemy with your trades, and how much you can avoid them damaging you with theirs.

Basically, the key to winning a level 2 engage is a combination of having good lockdown, good escape, and good vision. If your enemy reaches level 2 first, you will want to back off towards your turret until you catch up, especially if your enemy has strong engage. If you are playing against these kinds of champions, you might want to start off with an ability that can help you survive (like Nami's Bubble or Morgana's Dark Binding) in the event they engage on you before you are level 2. Always keep in mind that the engage can still go wrong, so be aware of what Summoner Spells they have, what abilities they could use against you, and whether or not their jungler is nearby. If you do not gain a kill here, do not chase the enemy too close to their turret, as they could easily turn around the fight in their favor. The engage is still successful if they use their Summoner Spells or get threatened off of the minion wave.

Vision Control

Once you gain the advantage in lane, ensure that your vision is always kept up with, as the enemy jungler can easily punish you for being overextended. The river and the entrance to the enemy jungle are going to be your main points of lookout. Wards in the river can catch the jungler or the midlaner when they try to rotate down and gank the lane. Wards in the entrances of the enemy's jungle can catch the jungler as they finish camps and make their way down to your lane. Champions like Nocturne, Kayn, and Zac, who can engage on you over and through the walls, will pose a dangerous threat to you. Having a ward in their jungle entrance, as shown in the image above, can help you catch them before it is too late.

On the other hand, your enemy will try to keep vision in these areas as well, so you will want to use Control Wards as well as Oracle Lens to shut down their vision so that your jungler can come down and gank for you. Preventing your enemy from having vision is just as important as having vision for your own team, whether it is around the botlane, or around important objectives. Always have a Control Ward in your inventory to use on the Dragon Pit as well as in the Baron Pit.

When using Oracle's Lens, prioritize on clearing regular wards before clearing Control Wards, so your Lens does not expire before you can clear all the invisible wards. Be careful when placing and clearing vision in enemy territory, as it could lead to the enemy showing up to stop you, and you do not want to give them an easy kill. Be sure to use the Scryer's Bloom to further clear the vision around objectives, especially if you do not have Oracle's Lens available. Using the Scryer's Bloom can also prevent your enemy from being able to use it to their advantage. Using Blast Cones can also keep your enemy from gaining quick access to objectives or ganking a lane.

Control Wards can be especially useful against champions who use Stealth, like Twitch, Evelynn, and Shaco. Placing these in the river or in the lane's bushes can catch them out of Stealth when they attempt to engage on you and your team. This can cause them to have an unsuccessful gank and can either lead to you being able to engage on them, or simply scare them away from the lane.

Support Types and Their Roles

There are two main types of supports that come to mind, enchanters and tanks, but what exactly separates them from each other? Enchanters use their abilities to poke and trade with the enemy lane, while Tanks can engage on the enemy and protect their teammates. Other types of supports include assassins and marksmen, like Pyke and Senna. All of these types may have abilities that also heal or shield their teammates, like Alistar, Rakan, and Taric for tanks, as well as Sona, Lulu, and Karma for enchanters, among others.

As an enchanter, your main role is to damage the enemy, as well as protect your ADC with your abilities. Using shields to block incoming damage, funneling your team with items like Ardent Censer and Redemption, bursting down key targets so that your team can finish them off, or even a combination of all three. When playing champions like Karma and Lux, the course of the game will influence what route you might prioritize, either damage or protection. If you find that your ADC is performing well and is able to secure kills, funneling them with more standard support items will have a huge impact on team fights. If your ADC is not able to secure kills, but perhaps you were able to, building a combination of support items as well as damaging items can ensure that your team still has enough damage in fights.

As a tank, your main role is to engage on the enemy, as well as peel and block for your teammates. This will help secure kills and prevent the enemy from getting to key members of your team. Tanks are the frontline of the team but should also be paying attention to the backline in the event that they need to come to the rescue of their carries. Tanks can position themselves in lane or during fights to separate the enemy from their teammates and keep them away from objectives or lane minions.

Enchanters can also have this level of threat against the enemy, especially if they can lock down key targets with their abilities, like Morgana or Zyra. Keep in mind, however, that enchanters are more susceptible to being shut down by the enemy than tanks are due to their lower Health pools, and you shouldn't stray too far away from the protection of your team.

Tanks should almost always go with Ignite as their Summoner Spell, unless the enemy botlane is exceptionally mobile, then Exhaust is a good choice. Enchanters usually go Ignite as well, thought Barrier is a good idea on Soraka, Senna, and Sona to help protect them from heavy engage. If you find that your ADC does not take Heal, and they took something like Teleport or Cleanse, then you can pick up Heal here to help sustain during an engage. Flash is important to take on every support unless Yuumi; Yuumi is almost always attached to an ally, and can do so pretty easily, so taking a combination of both Ignite and Exhaust can be very powerful.

Botlane Synergies

Working together in the botlane is exceptionally important, and some duos are more impactful than others. Popular combinations are Rakan and Xayah for their passive synergies, but Rakan also does well with anyone who can follow-up on his engages, like Vayne, Caitlyn, or Lucian. Other tanks like Nautilus, Thresh, and Blitzcrank also synergize with these ADCs, since they too rely on someone who can follow-up when they engage on the enemy. Tanks are also the preferred support for Kalista, since their higher health pools work well with her Ultimate. In most situations, tanks are going to be one of best options, since they are not particularly weak with anyone.

Champions like Nami, Xerath, and Zyra synergize well with Jhin, since he relies on champions with consistent poking potential who also have a way to disable their enemies. Nami also does well with most other ADCs, since she offers healing, poke, mobility, as well as crowd control. Nami specifically is a good choice for APCs, like Cassiopeia and Syndra, since her E offers them increased damage for their abilities. Janna on the other hand does not have much synergy with APCs, since her E only grants bonus Attack Damage. Janna does well with the occasional Yasuo ADC, or other ADCs who lack general mobility, like Ashe and Kog'maw, since she can help speed them up.

Champions who build Ardent Censer as their first of second item, like Lulu, Karma, or Nami, synergize well with Jinx, Kog'maw, and Xayah, or anyone who is playing with the rune Lethal Tempo, as the increased Attack Speed can help make them unstoppable. Ardent Censer is impactful on anyone who relies on auto attacking, especially during the early game. If you are playing with an APC, this item will not be viable as a first choice but can still be helpful as a second choice to help someone else on your team.

First Picking, Counterpicking, and Filling in the Gaps

When you are first pick, it can be hard to decide what champion to choose, since you have no idea what your enemy is going to go. In this case, enchanters like Morgana, Nami, and Lulu, or tanks like Rakan, Thresh, and Leona do not have too many hard counters, and work well with most team compositions. If you plan on playing a tank, Morgana may be a preferred ban since she can prevent you from engaging on the enemy ADC. You do not want to first pick Sona, since she can easily be destroyed by a tank who can engage on her, and Yuumi can be punished by consistent crowd control.

If the enemy starts locking in champions with a lot of crowd control, Morgana, Taric, and Alistar are good choices to help counter their abilities. Anyone who can protect your team are good options against heavy engagers, as well as assassins who aim for the backline, like Talon, Kha'zix, and Zed.

Champions like Soraka, Yuumi, and Sona can offer their team burst healing, so it is a good idea to choose someone who can lock them down like Lulu or Leona, or who can out-burst their healing, like Pyke or Brand. Those champions can also offer a lot of poking damage, so you could also choose another healing and shielding champion to try and out sustain them.

Your team should consist of not only AD, but a mix of AD and AP. If your team has been consistently AD picks, you should pick an enchanter like Sona, Karma, or Lux to help do strong burst damage, since the enemy team will mostly build Armor and not Magic Resistance. The same goes for having a lot of AP and no AD, you can then go Senna or Pyke to help balance out the damage types.

Another issue you might run into is not having a tank, or not having someone who can engage for your team. You then have the opportunity to fill in for your team, and can choose Rakan or Leona, who can instantly engage and lock down the enemy. If you do not prefer to play tanks, Rakan is a good balance between an enchanter and a tank and can help widen your champion pool. Lulu is also a good option, since her Ultimate can help make someone else tanky enough to engage on the opposing team.

As the game goes on, keep track of the items your enemy will build, so that you can help counter them, especially if you are a tank. You will want to make note of whether you should focus on Armor or Magic Resistance. Countering your enemy with not only picks but also with items will help secure the win for you and your team.

Conclusion

Every game and every team composition will result in different outcomes and different ways to deal with them, so always keep an eye out for this. Win conditions will change, and you will need to be there to support your team throughout the course of the game. Your abilities are not the only thing you can support with; keeping the positivity up in your team is just as important and can be the difference in a teammate doing their part, or quitting the match.

If you can not gain the advantage in lane, be there to protect your ADC and make smart decisions when engaging. You can still come back from an early disadvantage if you play safe, keep vision up, and be there to assist your teammates. If you have such a strong lead in lane, look for opportunities to roam up to help other lanes or get wards deeper in the enemy's jungle. Communication is key, and you should communicate with your ADC and your team as a whole to help organize team fights and objectives. At the end of the day, your team relies on you to be there for them, whether it's with your abilities, your vision, or your supportive words.