The Ins and Outs of Supporting in Lower Leagues

Supporting is a fascinating role, and deciding on being a support main is a somewhat complex decision in regards to the whole League mentality and ecosystem. It isn’t if you’re being forced into playing it, but it's a fantastic role if you gravitate towards it naturally. As with any other multiplayer game that has a supporting role, there is always a certain number of people who enjoy supporting duty.

The thing is — rarely will you play with someone who will acknowledge that godlike hook you just pulled after flashing, or the five man Taric ultimate you just did to save your whole team and take Baron. They probably won’t notice the insane combo you pulled to CC their main damage dealer and enable your teammates to dish out the necessary damage to win the game deciding team fight — and that’s OK. Most of the time everyone is so focused on doing their part that they fail to see how the fight played out and what was the deciding factor. After all,  everyone is trying to deal as much damage as possible.

Being a support means that you will rarely get the “fame” or recognition you deserve. If you have an amazing game, people probably won’t mention you, and if it’s one of those bad games that everyone has from time to time, you will get all the flack. It doesn't matter if that mistake is a missed hook, missed ulti, not engaging soon enough or being overaggressive. In reality, it’s a “high risk, low reward” no matter how you put it. 

For me, it was all about the 2v2 matchup that got me interested. Without the need for farm, taking a “backseat” role felt really good. I could focus on making the best play I could, catching the enemy off-guard, while also protecting my carry and focusing more on what is happening on the whole map rather than just being fixated on my own lane, trying to CS and outplay my opponent. 

There is something really satisfying when playing with someone with whom you already have good synergy. You understand the way they think, their strengths and shortcomings. You have to play a certain way with a certain champion in order to accommodate your ally. I’ve been playing botlane with the same friend for 3 years now and even though we are always on Skype, we mostly talk about other things while engaging — our playstyle has become second-nature. That is something that is to me   more interesting that anything else I can experience playing other roles. 

And with any other role, supporting comes with a list of tasks.

One of the biggest factors in winning every game is vision (which is something players in lower leagues fail to realize), and, by default, vision denial. Knowing where to ward is key. Knowing when is another level. Just placing wards without any logic behind it is mechanical, and other than boosting your Ward Score statistic doesn’t do as much as it could or should. Warding to save lives is the main thing you should be concerned with. When playing support, you have free time to analyse the enemy team, where they place pinks, what side of the map they are favoring, and without the burden of farming, you can play a big role in the team decision-making, maybe even assuming the role of a sole shotcaller.

When supporting in lower leagues — composure and communication is key. Depending on the botlane combo you end up with, your win conditions can wary. Some supports have to be played aggressively in order to get their full potential. Others have to be passive and wait for mid or late game. Knowing how to play under those conditions is of utmost importance. Now, vision control in lower leagues is abysmal in general, but that doesn’t mean that you should be a part of this sad statistic! Rush your Sightstone and ward as much as possible — within reason of course. If your AD is staying on lane farming and you’re roaming, leave enough vision coverage so that they can see if the enemy jungler is coming bottom lane.

When going to ward the river, always tell your carry, either through text or pings. Most carries ignore the amount of CC the enemy duo can dish out so they get careless, and your enemies can notice your absence and go all in. 

Don’t just ward your own lane. Ward for every objective when you can a minute or two before it spawns. A ward in the enemy jungle can be really useful for determining on which side the enemy jungler is currently clearing. Buying pink wards (75 gold a piece) is also important. Place them logically depending on how your lane is going, and placing one near mid lane can also help out your allies.

Don’t be overaggressive! Know your limits, and know that your carry is weak in the early game. The lane isn’t long enough for you to get a kill if the enemy is playing smart. Wait for your jungler, or just chop off their HP piece by piece and then if an opportunity presents itself, go all in with your AD Carry. You shouldn’t be making flashy plays early on, with the exception of poking and zoning, but those two things can go farther in a blink of an eye if you aren’t careful. 

When getting ganked, you should always use Flash or Exhaust as soon as possible (in low Elo). Saving it for the last second almost always ends catastrophically.

The game we play as supports is always against us. We get none of the farm, none of the kills (if you’re supporting the way you should, of course), and yet we are expected to supply sufficient vision coverage, have enough items to sometimes be the frontline and otherwise not die immediately (among other things). It’s tough sometimes, more so when you’re behind, yet it’s often so satisfying that we play anyway. 

A friend of mine once asked me — “Why would anyone sane opt to play support?” It isn’t a bad role by any stretch of the imagination, but it can be the least satisfying at times, and the least rewarding   in comparison to other roles. I personally didn’t have an answer at the time, and I sure don’t have it now three seasons later. For me, it was always the pleasure of playing with someone on the same lane, and helping others carry. I lost some of the pressures and downfalls of other roles, but signed up for different ones that were more adequate for my personality and the way I feel about the game. Being a good teammate and at times shotcaller was far more satisfying to me than carrying the game on my shoulders when I got fed, and when playing a premade game that is what made all the difference. 

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