• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 00:12
CEST 06:12
KST 13:12
  • 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 Maestros of the Game 226ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection7
Community News
MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon355.0.16 Hotfix (June 30) - Balance + Bug Fixes38Weekly Cups (June 22-28): Zergs thrive in new patch5[TLMC] Summer 2026 Ladder Map Rotation05.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start)102
StarCraft 2
General
MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon 5.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start) Weekly Cups (June 29-July 5): Solar Doubles Serral wins Maestros of the Game 2 ZOWIE DIVINA preview
Tourneys
HomeStory Cup 29 GSL CK #5 race war RSL Revival: Season 6 - Qualifiers and Main Event Vespene Cup #1 — $300+ USD, July 10 Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28)
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
New Map Maker - Looking for Advice - Love or Hate Work In Progress Melee Maps [D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
Mutation # 533 Die Together The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 532 Nuclear Family Mutation # 531 Experimental Artillery
Brood War
General
Snow On New ASL S22 Map, Zerg Nerf BW General Discussion ASL 22 Proposed Map Pool Farewell Beloved Starcraft (Youtube Videos) BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
CSLAN 4 is Coming! Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 The Casual Games of the Week Thread [Megathread] Daily Proleagues
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Creating a full chart of Zerg builds Relatively freeroll strategies Why doesn't anyone use restoration?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Dawn of War IV Summer Games Done Quick 2026! Nintendo Switch Thread ZeroSpace at Steam NextFest - Last free demo
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
Five o'clock TL Mafia NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance TL Mafia Community Thread TL Mafia Power Rank Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread YouTube Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI
Fan Clubs
The HerO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Series you have seen recently... [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [TV/BOOK] *SPOILERS* Game of Thrones Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Cricket [SPORT]
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
How to clean a TTe Thermaltake keyboard? Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Major Shifts in the Gaming I…
TrAiDoS
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 8995 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
Sweden2795 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
Replay Cast
00:00
GSL CK #5 - Day 1
CranKy Ducklings135
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
JimRising 803
RuFF_SC2 149
ProTech111
FoxeR 58
ROOTCatZ 40
StarCraft: Brood War
GuemChi 4348
Rain 3691
Leta 138
NaDa 49
Bale 29
Noble 20
ZergMaN 17
Icarus 5
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm198
League of Legends
Doublelift4516
Counter-Strike
m0e_tv463
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King158
Other Games
summit1g8928
C9.Mang0478
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick30967
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 83
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Scarra1562
• Lourlo1300
• Rush1082
• Stunt276
Upcoming Events
WardiTV Weekly
6h 48m
PiGosaur Cup
19h 48m
The PondCast
1d 5h
Replay Cast
2 days
CrankTV Team League
2 days
OSC
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
CrankTV Team League
3 days
OSC
3 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
4 days
Serral vs Bunny
ByuN vs GgMaChine
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
Snow vs Jaedong
YSC vs hero
RSL Revival
5 days
Solar vs Rogue
Maru vs NightMare
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
GSL
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Season 21: Qualifier 2
HSC XXIX
Eternal Conflict S2 E1

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
Acropolis #4
YSL S3
CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
SCTL 2026 Spring
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S3: W2
ASL Season 22: Wild Card Qualifier
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Light Tournament 2026
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale
Eternal Conflict S2 E3
Eternal Conflict S2 E2
Heroes Pulsing #3
Logitech G Connect 2026
StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
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 © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.