• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 04:19
CEST 10:19
KST 17:19
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Serral wins EWC 202538Tournament Spotlight: FEL Cracow 202510Power Rank - Esports World Cup 202580RSL Season 1 - Final Week9[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall15
Community News
Weekly Cups (Jul 28-Aug 3): herO doubles up3LiuLi Cup - August 2025 Tournaments3[BSL 2025] H2 - Team Wars, Weeklies & SB Ladder10EWC 2025 - Replay Pack4Google Play ASL (Season 20) Announced55
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (Jul 28-Aug 3): herO doubles up How to leave Master league - bug fix? Serral wins EWC 2025 The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings Interview with Chris "ChanmanV" Chan
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament LiuLi Cup - August 2025 Tournaments Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) TaeJa vs Creator Bo7 SC Evo Showmatch FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $10,000 live event
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 485 Death from Below Mutation # 484 Magnetic Pull Mutation #239 Bad Weather Mutation # 483 Kill Bot Wars
Brood War
General
How do the new Battle.net ranks translate? Nobody gona talk about this year crazy qualifiers? [BSL 2025] H2 - Team Wars, Weeklies & SB Ladder BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL20] Online Qualifiers Day 2 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Cosmonarchy Pro Showmatches [ASL20] Online Qualifiers Day 1
Strategy
[G] Mineral Boosting Muta micro map competition Does 1 second matter in StarCraft? Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Total Annihilation Server - TAForever Nintendo Switch Thread Beyond All Reason [MMORPG] Tree of Savior (Successor of Ragnarok)
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread 9/11 Anniversary Possible Al Qaeda Attack on 9/11 Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
INnoVation Fan Club SKT1 Classic Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread Movie Discussion! Korean Music Discussion
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2025 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Gtx660 graphics card replacement Installation of Windows 10 suck at "just a moment" Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Sharpening the Filtration…
frozenclaw
ASL S20 English Commentary…
namkraft
The Link Between Fitness and…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 621 users

[Guide] Supporting for Beginners - Page 2

Forum Index > LoL General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
rwrzr
Profile Joined February 2010
United States1980 Posts
October 26 2011 07:13 GMT
#21
Ironically one of the more involved roles in HoN/DotA/LoL is often left to the beginners. That being said I guess it it relatively less complicated than any other role. (Arguably AP solo mid needs less thinking)

As to your guide communication early on with your lane-mate is probably good to see clarify pinging and levels of aggression.
FADC
Ente
Profile Joined October 2010
Germany1795 Posts
October 26 2011 09:44 GMT
#22
I think support is by far the easiest to learn, so you can play a decent support without actually knowing how to play it but really good supports are at least as hard as any other roles (but they are freaking rare ) : )
lol acc: Entenzwerg EUW http://www.twitch.tv/Entenzwerg league of legends stream (challenger EuW)
Agnosthar
Profile Joined August 2010
631 Posts
October 26 2011 10:02 GMT
#23
Thanks very much for writing this guide, I found it very informative.

Can anyone explain why it's so rare to see Karma picked, either at the pro level or generally?
Ente
Profile Joined October 2010
Germany1795 Posts
October 26 2011 10:27 GMT
#24
because karma isnt as good as other aps like brand, cassio, karthus ... because she doesnt have that much dmg, no CC (besides the slow) and has basically two nukes in the whole fight (the close q and the enhanced e) after those two bursts shes basically useless.

She doesnt work as a support, or just not as well as others. Her heal is on a crazy high cd (due to the Mantra cd. She can heal and put out dmg at the same time (mantra cd again). She has no ultimate. So nothing like tibbers aoe cassio stun which can turn the fight around. She has no gank protection, like taric stun sona ultimate... just the pretty bad slow which you cant skill up too much, because the other two spells are more needed.

So she isnt picked because others are simply better at everything. Even for offensive supports I like leona/lux more because they can hold the enemy in place so your ad carry can jump on them and do sth. In addition she needs items too much to be really played as a support imho (the cdr and ap is needed!)
lol acc: Entenzwerg EUW http://www.twitch.tv/Entenzwerg league of legends stream (challenger EuW)
Gooey
Profile Joined September 2010
United States944 Posts
October 26 2011 10:41 GMT
#25
On October 26 2011 19:02 Agnosthar wrote:
Thanks very much for writing this guide, I found it very informative.

Can anyone explain why it's so rare to see Karma picked, either at the pro level or generally?

Karma. Oh boy, where to start with karma. She is kinda like a shitty morgana without an ultimate. Her 3 abilities are a bit odd for a 'support' champion. Not only is she limited to 3, She is labled as a support, but the support she offers is weak compared to the others. Her shield just absorbs damage, and that's it. Janna's will add attack damage to the target for the same cost. Her W is like zilian's time lapse, but with a tether on it. I guess you can speed up your whole team with it, but the whole mechanic behind her W is just... bad... As a support, she doesn't offer much to your team. I think the only way to play her is AP solo carry, like you would morgana or zilian. But she is weaker than those two champs due to her lack of an ultimate. Her Q's damage is mediocre, as well as the heal it provides. You basically have to dump every karma charge into Q early game to sustain yourself, which is sorta cool I guess. If you use your Karma charges on your Q, then you are losing a ton of damage from your shield. Not so much of a problem in lane, but it is in team fights. To not die, you have to be shielding yourself in team fights, and to do enough damage to be worth having as your AP carry, you have to be dealing damage with your shield, putting you right up close and personal with the enemy team. She is like a poorly constructed AoE spellcaster. Her W is listed as "her most powerful damaging spell", but to get it to hit the whole team, you have to play ring around the rosey and get everyone to pass through the tether. How exactly are you supposed to accomplish that, just to do like 400 dmg? The whole hero concept is just weird. I would much rather have a Zilian or Morgana running AP carry, if you are looking for some extra support. I played about 20 games on Karma when she came out, and never liked her. With no ultimate, she is not a viable support champion. She doesn't have the aggression of an alistar, who's ulti is purely defensive, nor the proper sustain of a sona or soraka, her shielding/babysitting abilities are poor compared to janna. Without a companion, she cannot speed boost, so she gets stranded on the map quite easily. Other supports with speed buffs are able to use them at will (i.e. janna passive/Wpassive, sona E, zilian E).
www.twitch.tv/Thatgooey
clickrush
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Switzerland3257 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 12:00:50
October 26 2011 11:58 GMT
#26
I believe if you want to make karma work as a support then you'd have to try out an aggressive lane with a fast gapclosing bruiser to make use of her mantra shield the most. Her laneing phase is probably the best thing about her (and arguably the only thing that is really good/better on her as well). If you cannot maintain aggressivity though then you'd rather have one of the standard supports.

@gooey

I very appreciate your detailed posts. Will make sure to mention them and any upcomming post like this to the OP if the thread gets bigger. Mb in a section like "In-depth thoughts and strategies" or sth along that line.
oGsMC: Zealot defense, Stalker attack, Sentry forcefieldu forcefieldu, Marauder die die
Dgiese
Profile Joined July 2010
United States2687 Posts
October 26 2011 21:36 GMT
#27
Dunno if someone lse has mentinoed this, but add in that supports should typically hit ranged creeps once when pushed to tower. So that your carry can last hit them after 1 tower shot.
Gooey
Profile Joined September 2010
United States944 Posts
October 27 2011 00:17 GMT
#28
On October 27 2011 06:36 Dgiese wrote:
Dunno if someone lse has mentinoed this, but add in that supports should typically hit ranged creeps once when pushed to tower. So that your carry can last hit them after 1 tower shot.

Ah, good tip! It took me awhile to put this into my play, but I started doing it only like a month or two ago. Something so simple and easy to do that makes the difference of your carry getting 100 gold or 0 gold.
www.twitch.tv/Thatgooey
Abenson
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Canada4122 Posts
November 04 2011 05:45 GMT
#29
This thread needs to be stickied
Sad[Panda]
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States458 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-04 11:28:17
November 04 2011 11:25 GMT
#30
You should really mention Synergy with your AD, alot of people play Soraka with any real AD which imo isn't a great Idea.

Soraka should really only be played with hyper carries, people who can deal insane amount of damage extremely quick like Graves and kog'maw and vayne(ish), just because of how strong aggressive supports are right now in soloqueue.

How other supports like Sona really synergize with someone like Ezreal because they both have great pokes and sona is just really versatile. How caitlyn(moreso) and vayne both really excell with utiity heroes like Alistar and Taric for crazy combos like stun trap, knock up trap and stun wallsmash etc. too tired to really make any more coherent thoughts I may come back and edit this in the morning lol.
( O.O) ("\(t.t )/") ~ I'm just looking for someone to hug
Sponkz
Profile Joined May 2011
Denmark4564 Posts
November 04 2011 12:10 GMT
#31
Taking a support purely for your lane, is a somewhat bad idea if you're playing arranged. If you and/or your ranged AD has a very good feeling they will be able to farm well against a particular good lane-setup then you shouldn't hesitate to pick whatever support that might fit you better in team fights. Kinda the reason, i don't play taric that much anymore..
hi
clickrush
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Switzerland3257 Posts
November 04 2011 12:34 GMT
#32
Sadpanda I think I mentioned most of your examples in the OP. And I dont want the guide to be too specific/concrete tbh. I rather say: "think about this aspect and here is an example" than: "in this situation you should do exactly this". That's just how I feel should LoL should be played and looked at.

sponkz I agree 100% with your observation. In arranged teams you look at your comp more than on the lanes in general. This is also somewhat true for soloq though! Especially if your one of the lastpicks you can adapt your support pick very well according to the comps. But I did not mention alot of teamcomp stuff here aside from "counterin assassins" and "pokeing or initiating". If there is more to consider when trying to pick the fitting support for your teamcomp then pls mention it in this thread and we can see if it fits in the OP.
oGsMC: Zealot defense, Stalker attack, Sentry forcefieldu forcefieldu, Marauder die die
Sponkz
Profile Joined May 2011
Denmark4564 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-04 13:46:12
November 04 2011 13:40 GMT
#33
I usually pick whatever is needed for the carries, let it be peeling (janna and alistar excels at this) sustainability (say soraka), or just generally being an ass to the oppossing carries (taric and alistar, but also janna pops into my head here) because you have vayne/cait and something like akali/irelia/kassa which makes your comp agressive as fuck.

I don't know what could be added, because it comes down to how you manage to play your support. Janna can be played as an agressive CC wrecking machine or a passive gandalf (YOU SHALL NOT PASS!). Sona is like all-round, you can be agressive abit, defensive abit and just run around providing auras and nessecary chords for your team in fights.


On October 26 2011 18:44 Ente wrote:
I think support is by far the easiest to learn, so you can play a decent support without actually knowing how to play it but really good supports are at least as hard as any other roles (but they are freaking rare ) : )



What people have been telling me, is that you need a certain mentality to be able to play support. It's not about whether you excel at last hitting or killing the enemy, but generally how well you know the game as a whole. Support is, along with jungle (in my opinion), the hardest role to understand in this game, because you have to factor for so many things, where as mid or top, you generally need another kind of mentality (how much farm does my opponent have, when should be a good time to gank him etc.). As support the general idea is that you want to play abit more strategic and come up with different solutions (dragon is spawning in 3 minutes, time to ward up needed spots so we can prepare for fights, and be in a better position than them).
hi
Sad[Panda]
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States458 Posts
November 05 2011 14:57 GMT
#34
On November 04 2011 21:10 Sponkz wrote:
Taking a support purely for your lane, is a somewhat bad idea if you're playing arranged. If you and/or your ranged AD has a very good feeling they will be able to farm well against a particular good lane-setup then you shouldn't hesitate to pick whatever support that might fit you better in team fights. Kinda the reason, i don't play taric that much anymore..


I wasn't saying "Pick support for this champ and this champ only" but merely saying to explain a few synergies between heroes because they do well with each other. I also put solo queue into my post because most people will generally be playing soloqueue because thats just what the general public is "in" to and hoped people would gather by inference that's what I was talking about.
( O.O) ("\(t.t )/") ~ I'm just looking for someone to hug
Sponkz
Profile Joined May 2011
Denmark4564 Posts
November 05 2011 15:11 GMT
#35
On November 05 2011 23:57 Sad[Panda] wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 04 2011 21:10 Sponkz wrote:
Taking a support purely for your lane, is a somewhat bad idea if you're playing arranged. If you and/or your ranged AD has a very good feeling they will be able to farm well against a particular good lane-setup then you shouldn't hesitate to pick whatever support that might fit you better in team fights. Kinda the reason, i don't play taric that much anymore..


I wasn't saying "Pick support for this champ and this champ only" but merely saying to explain a few synergies between heroes because they do well with each other. I also put solo queue into my post because most people will generally be playing soloqueue because thats just what the general public is "in" to and hoped people would gather by inference that's what I was talking about.



I didn't say that was what you're saying (getting confusing now), i'm just explaining a solid point about the difference between solo queue and arranged


Good synergy is something like:

Sona ashe/cait/trist/ez/kog
Soraka graves/ashe
Taric vayne/trist/ez/cait/mf
Alistar ez/ashe/kog
Janna vayne/cait
hi
Abenson
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Canada4122 Posts
November 13 2011 02:58 GMT
#36
Bumpity bump.

This is one of the best guides I read on supporting - it deserves to be on the front page.
R11
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
Canada213 Posts
November 13 2011 19:55 GMT
#37
Can the OP or anyone with insight expand on other possible items a support hero should go for perhaps with an advantage in lane or equal lane over getting gp/10 items?

I usually get gp/10 on supports and wonder if they are alternatives I could try. I noticed doran's but I feel that the benefits isn't as good in the long run because if it becomes a passive farming lane or you start losing a lane, you lose out a bit of money to buy wards and other items.

Personally for me I always feel uncomfortable as a support when the lane isn't going too well and I am unable to get a quick gp/10 item. It feels like you will have to make a choice of purchasing wards or getting more gp/10 (I usually get 2) and that you are behind.

On the topic, I know it really hasn't been done in LoL but the more I play, I really feel like getting a quick gp/10 goes a long way for supports and wanna know the viability of giving some farm to the support early game for the gp/10.
Sponkz
Profile Joined May 2011
Denmark4564 Posts
November 13 2011 20:15 GMT
#38
Drings are usually good. Get 1-2 if you're doing good, get gp/10 if it's passive.
hi
Terranasaur
Profile Joined May 2011
United States2085 Posts
November 13 2011 22:29 GMT
#39
What about Aura items? Useful for supports?
Decisions Determine Destiny - Terranasaur#1719 D3 #557 SC2 3DS FC: 2423-3623-8068
gulii
Profile Joined November 2004
Sweden2791 Posts
November 23 2011 06:39 GMT
#40
Thanks! Maybe now I wont be flamed anymore for sucking at support.
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 2h 41m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ProTech75
-ZergGirl 63
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 1318
ggaemo 1152
actioN 542
Nal_rA 236
Leta 180
Aegong 155
Killer 138
Noble 64
Backho 57
Sharp 37
[ Show more ]
EffOrt 32
Pusan 3
Dota 2
XaKoH 568
BananaSlamJamma264
XcaliburYe174
Fuzer 157
ODPixel127
League of Legends
JimRising 674
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K1201
olofmeister925
shoxiejesuss569
Other Games
summit1g7398
ceh9714
WinterStarcraft525
Pyrionflax115
SortOf89
NeuroSwarm72
JuggernautJason42
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1177
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH236
• davetesta34
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Upcoming Events
Wardi Open
2h 41m
OSC
15h 41m
Stormgate Nexus
2 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
LiuLi Cup
4 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
RSL Revival
5 days
[ Show More ]
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 20: Qualifier #2
FEL Cracow 2025
CC Div. A S7

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL 20 Team Wars
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 3
BSL 21 Qualifiers
HCC Europe
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025

Upcoming

ASL Season 20
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
SEL Season 2 Championship
WardiTV Summer 2025
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
Thunderpick World Champ.
MESA Nomadic Masters Fall
CS Asia Championships 2025
Roobet Cup 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.