How to Carry as a Support

It is the lament of every support main: “I can’t move up the ladder because supports can’t carry.” Can a support carry like a fed midlaner can? Probably not, but a support can still have a HUGE impact on the game. Here are some quick and easy tips on how to carry games as a support.

Image credited to: peterbaumann on Deviantart.com

Wards:

Thanks to the introduction of warding trinkets, all members of the team now play a role in warding the map-but only to an extent. It is the support’s role to ward, and having good vision can win or lose games. As a support it is absolutely critical to keep main objectives like dragon and Baron warded, as they are highly contested by both teams unlike smaller jungle camps.

In the early game, rush Sightstone and keep tribush and river lit up. Because players can place up to three wards at a time, this allows the support to keep one of the lane bushes warded as well. This is especially important when laning against a champion with hooks or stuns so they can’t just camp in a bush and snare your carry. If you have the disposable gold, make sure to pick up a pink ward and place it in the dragon pit, in river, or in tribush. Pink wards allow players to place a 4th ward down, something that is not possible with green wards or trinkets. Only one pink can be placed at a time per player, so prioritize using them to ward important objectives like dragon in the early game.

In the mid game, it is still important to keep a pink ward on dragon. However, it may also be a good idea to have baron warded around 20 minutes. Keep the river bushes around midlane warded and encourage your teammates to use their trinkets when they invade the enemy team’s jungle or near their own red/blue buffs. Control over objectives is crucial and should be your first priority.

During late game, the objective you should focus the most on warding is Baron, as it is usually the most contested and can have the biggest effect on the outcome of the game. Make sure to not only ward the Baron pit, but to also ward the bush behind Baron and the ones in river surrounding it. It only takes one ambush near a baited Baron to win or lose the game.

Don’t forget, pink wards can also be used to see stealthed champions like Akali, Vayne, or Teemo. Pink wards can be used to clear Teemo mushrooms in the jungle. They are very important, and you should always have one on the map or in your inventory.

 

Sweeping:

The enemy team will be fighting with you for vision control, so get a Sweeper (red trinket) as soon as you can afford Sightstone and make sure to clear their wards. Keeping objectives like Baron and dragon clean of wards can swing the odds of acquiring them greatly in your team’s favor. It is also important to have Sweeper so your jungler can gank your lane, which may have enemy wards in it.

 

Play a Champion with Good Initiate:

When playing in solo queue, it is easiest to climb playing champions with good initiate. Some great examples are Leona, Blitzcrank, or Thresh. All of them have great playmaking potential that can turn games around. Blitzcrank and Thresh can allow your team to get picks off of the enemy team that can quickly turn teamfights into a 5v4. Leona can pick champions off with her Zenith Blade/stun combo, and her ultimate can stun the entire enemy team if they are clustered together. Tanky initiators with CC and grabs puts the support in control, and allows you to have a greater impact than tossing heals or giving speed boosts. While healing is important, it is not as easy to carry with support champions like Sona or Lulu.

Using Active Items:

Most support builds include active items. They all have useful passives, but DO NOT FORGET to utilize their active abilities as well! These items can provide your team with heals, speed boosts, and more. Talisman of Ascension is the final upgrade of the ancient coin and gives everyone around you a short speed boost. Face of the Mountain is the final upgrade of Relic shield and when activated places a quick shield on whomever you target. Frost Queens Claim, when activated, fires a skill shot that blows up when it lands and massively slows anyone that is hit.

One of the most important support items, however, is Mikael’s crucible. Passively, it gives +40 Magic Resist, +20 Mana Regen per 5 seconds, and +10% Cooldown Reduction. It has a unique passive that increases Mana Regen by 1% for every 1% of missing Mana. Its active, however, makes this item very strong. When activated, it removes all stuns, roots, taunts, fears, silences, and slows on an allied champion and heals that champion for 150 (+10% of maximum Health.) Using Mikael’s on a stunned carry can allow them to get back into the teamfight and possibly save their life while healing them.

Map Awareness:

As the support, you don’t need to worry about CSing. This means that during lane phase you should focus on poking down the enemy botlane, but also keeping an eye on river and using pings to communicate with your team. Your ADC will be busy focusing on killing creeps and champions, and it is much easier for you to watch the map than it is for them. This goes hand-in-hand with having the map warded. Like the jungler, you should try your best to know where the members of the enemy team are at all times.

Peeling for Carries:

In teamfights, it is important that you are peeling for your carries. It is your job to use stuns and bindings on anyone who gets near them, as well as healing your carry and giving them any buffs that your champion’s abilities may offer. Your positioning in a teamfight is just as important as everyone else’s. If you are playing a squishy support, stay far back and CC anyone who gets near while tossing out heals. If you are playing a tanky support, dive right in and get in the way of anyone who tries to approach your carry.

Carrying as a support isn’t the easiest, but it is certainly possible. If you follow these simple tips and tricks, you can do your part to lead your team to victory.