There are many different ways you can apply pressure as a Support during lane, and the exact approach you take will depend on the game state, the matchup, and your Champion. However, there are some tips and tricks that you can leverage to apply pressure in virtually any match.
The Support role may not be as flashy as other roles, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less impactful. They save their allies from game-ending misplays, ward up the map to reveal critical information, and help their ADC to reach their full potential.
…And by full potential, we’re not just talking about empowering their attacks or peeling them in a fight. They can also create pressure from the very first level and turn the lane into the perfect grounds for their ADC to thrive.
Considering you clicked on this post, it’s safe to assume that you’re wondering how exactly to apply pressure as a Support during lane. There are many different ways you can apply pressure, and the exact approach you take will depend on the game state, the matchup, and your Champion.
However, there are some tips and tricks that you can leverage to apply pressure during lane in practically any match.
Think of the lane like a chessboard. Position in the right place at the right time, and you can open up new opportunities for your ADC, while forcing your enemies to play defensively. But make the wrong move? Your opponents gain the power. They’ll have every chance to capitalize on your misstep and turn the lane tempo in their favor.
It’s best to binge-watch pro streams of your main Champions to get a feel of how to position. However, if you’re playing a Tank Support, you’ll typically want to position more offensively, either in line with your ADC or slightly in front.
This positioning ensures you aren’t far up enough to be poked for free, but will always be ready to retaliate if your opponents try to harass your carry. It’ll also give your ADC more confidence to farm and play aggressively in the lane.
If you’re a Mage Support, you ideally want to stand near your ADC, but continuously path back and forth in a way that gives you a chance to land your abilities and remain a threat.
If you’re playing a more utility-oriented Support, you’ll need to play slightly more defensively, though still generally parallel to your ADC. You should make use of bushes to keep out of view, and play more aggressively if the enemy tries to poke your ADC to redirect their attention.
Finding the balance of when to position aggressively or fall back will take practice. As a rough guideline, look to play more aggressively if you have minion priority, have your jungler nearby, or know your enemy is at a disadvantage (e.g., blown summoner spells or a weaker matchup).
Keep tabs on the enemy jungler as well. You’ll need to play defensively if they’re bot side, even if your opponents try to “lure” you in with overextended positioning.
You will also need to take every measure to keep both you and your ADC at a reasonable health in the lane. This means there will be times when you’ll need to tank the enemy’s attacks for your ADC.
Don’t forget to consider your ADC’s intentions and the wave state. For instance, if your opponents are pushing the wave and your ADC is trying to deny this, you’ll want to help them achieve this goal and position with zoning in mind.
As a final tip for engage/tank Supports, only engage with hard CC if your ADC is within range to follow up. If you’re not within their attack range, they will have to walk up to reach you before they can help with the fight — time that the enemy can quickly capitalize on to turn it in their favor.
This technically relates to positioning, though it’s so important that we feel it deserves its own section.
You want your movements to mislead your enemies rather than give away your intentions. This adds phenomenal pressure, as it means the enemy has less time to react when you do decide to poke or engage on them.
Make smaller, more frequent clicks near your character model throughout the laning phase, and be conscious of any bad habits. For instance, if you tend to always dodge left, it’s important to change this up. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to accurately predict where they should aim their skillshots.
One of the best ways to apply pressure as a Support is to punish the enemy ADC whenever they try to CS. You don’t want their laning phase to feel like a peaceful farming simulator; you want to transform it into a battlefield where every minion they secure comes at a price.
Every time the enemy ADC last hits a minion, punish them with an ability or an auto attack. They won’t be able to contest due to the attack animation. Over time, this will whittle down their health bar and force them to either recall or miss out on farm.
As a Support, it’s crucial to keep track of critical game information like your enemies’ cooldowns, particularly their “win condition” abilities (i.e., hard CC or high damage attacks).
Once your enemy wastes an important ability, it’ll give you a window where they’ll be vulnerable and won’t be able to retaliate effectively. Use this to your advantage. Position more aggressively to create pressure, poke them, or even collapse on them if the opportunity presents itself. You’ll also want to keep note of blown summoner spells for the same reasons.
During the match, don’t forget to ping cooldowns in the chat for a visual reminder (and to keep your ADC up to speed too).
Tracking ability cooldowns can be challenging if you’re not familiar with your opponents’ Champions. In champ select, be sure to read up on their abilities to refresh your memory. This will also give you a chance to familiarize yourself with their attack ranges, ability hit boxes, and power spikes.
Many Support Champions have abilities that generate pressure simply by being available. As a classic example, think of Blitzcrank’s hook. The threat of it alone is often enough to force you to adjust your positioning and play defensively.
Rather than carelessly spamming these abilities, and showing your enemies that they have nothing to fear, use them to create pressure. Play aggressively and act like you’re going to use them to force your opponents back. Ideally, you'll want to time this with when the enemy ADC is looking to take minions to throw them off their farm.
Being restrained with your key abilities will also mean you’ll always have them ready for when there is a clear opening (or when your Jungler is ganking). Plus, it can save you a lot of mana if you’re playing a mage Champion like Lulu, allowing you to stay in the lane for longer.
Vision control is now more important than ever during the laning phase, especially with the introduction of the Faelight vision mechanic. By establishing effective vision and denying your enemy eyes on the map, you’ll create a phenomenal amount of pressure without having to even land an ability.
You can track the enemy Jungler’s position with ease, prevent ganks, and give your ADC (and other allies) the confidence to make plays. The enemy, in contrast, will lack critical game information and be forced to play more cautiously. They will also have less time to react to ganks from your jungler.
Vision control does take time to master, and where you place your wards (and when to deny vision) will vary in every match. However, our blog has plenty of in-depth vision guides that can help you get to grips with the fundamentals.
From strategic positioning to keeping track of ability cool downs, there are plenty of tricks you can implement during lane to create pressure as a Support. Some will take more mechanical skill and game sense than others. It’s important to practice these techniques as much as you can and experiment in Normals before you try things out in Ranked.
As we briefly touched on earlier, you should also try to allocate time each week to watching pro streams of Support players. Pay close attention to how they play out their laning phases, and crucially, look out for how they implement the tricks above (and any new tips they provide).
Once you’ve mastered the art of applying pressure in lane? You’ll quickly see those LP gains and be climbing up the Ranked ladder in no time.
