Hey everyone,

I've recently switched my main to Support after realizing a few things:

1. It's actually my best position. I realized that i'm better with the "big picture" things(objectives, warding, etc), than i am with the small details. Support, in my opinion, is the role that can really take it upon themselves to keep an eye on the game's flow. They might not make the big plays- but they frequently can set them up with smart playing, and their abilities are extremely under rated imo.

2. It's a very under-played role at my current ELO (roughly 1600). It's rather surprising actually how few people are willing to play it. Everyone's stuck in the "i'm better than everyone else- let me carry" mindset. It's not that every game, the last pick doesn't support and trolls instead (though that happens more frequently than i'd like to admit), but it's an important role that needs to be filled. I almost always get to do it too, which means i get good at it!

3. Being forced to support makes you support worse. I can't stress how important this is to players around my ELO. I see a lot of supports bot who don't understand: their job is keep their ad alive! They often get tunnel visioned, and play it like a solo lane instead. -------->What really made me start maining support was that every game i played, the FIRST person to start raging was almost always the support. Remember: support is both mental and mechanical. Don't just give wards- give compliments! Your there to help at all times, and raging about how you should have carried isn't helpful.

I hope that people who read this start to take supports a little more seriously! It's a very important position to fill, and doesn't really get the love (or skill level) that other roles do.

Definitely good to have more dedicated support players, as opposed to fillers, or worse, last picks forced into it.

I used to main support, for similar reasons to the ones you've listed, and have since transitioned to jungle, where I also feel like I have control of the game's flow. I still fall back on support occasionally when I need to fill, but unfortunately, I've gotten a bit out of practice with it. Luckily, it's still superior to my solo laning.

Fellow support main. You're right about how it's underplayed and how bad supports can drag down the team. It's really not that hard, but you do have to be prepared for it, so people without GP10 quints are going to have a rough time (though not so bad as last season...).

That said, I've actually seen several people calling for support lately. So maybe things are changing. Or maybe that's something only we support mains ever see

I love playing support, and consider it my best role, and you're right, a good support can make or break a teamfight.
Here's the thing; they're not a carry. "Well, duh, they're a support, moron." The thing of it, you can be playing perfect as a support, nailing every skillshot, tossing exhaust and shields and taunts at the right time, but without pretty much the whole rest of your team, you're just a pesky fly. If you're a carry and playing perfect, your support or jungle can be doing not so great, and you can still break the enemy team into bloody smithereens.
Supports win close games, carries are there to make the game not close. If I had a perfectly evenly skill matched team and had to pick one role to be just a little better, support is one or two (jungle?) on that list, but they're not going to break the enemy team. Probably.
Just my mused late night thoughts.

If your ADC is underfed and useless, you roam & support whoever on your team is fed, trying to get them from fed to superfed while keeping them alive, even at the cost of your own life. Even when everything is on CD, you can physically stand in someone's way or block skillshots with your own body if you have to. Sometimes this even works as bait, where you try to get them to kill you instead of (and hopefully not in addition to) your carry.

Note, however, that you probably don't want to sit in one of the solo lanes and leech all their XP or they will fall behind in levels. Mostly you want to show up, try to gank, zone or harass the enemy laner for a little while, then leave. If you can bully their opponent out of lane that's even better. Just remember that you're going to attract company: the enemy support (and possibly their jungler as well) is likely to show up. All the more reason not to stick around for very long.

I think I have mixed views on this.

I ran support as my main role for a substantial amount of time, but I found that my problem with that was that you were nearly completely at the mercy of your team and although there are smaller things that you can do, it's hard to really turn the tide. (And I say this as quite a positive, supportive player, I hate going GG WE LOSE. Absolute hate it.) Which is where ALOT of people lose interest in support, that and that it can potentially be quite boring depending on who you lane with, their play style, etc.

It was because of this that I changed to Mid unless I que with a friend who plays ADC. There's only so much a support can carry their carry.

But on that note, Support does deserve more credit than it gets, and more people who actually consider it as a legitimate role rather than a 'Last call' or 'Easy way to get carried'.

I <3 support.

-Support is currently the only role that can't carry.

-Support still is the role with the least amount of viable choices(Riot is thankfully changing that)

-Support is the role that's least needed. (Proved numerous times by a lot of people who have carried themselves out of "elo hell", winning matches without a support on their team.)

-An utility jungler like Maokai, or Nautilus can take over warding and CC from a support.

-A support is usually only needed to babysit a carry, meaning yes, you are at the mercy of a complete stranger to win the game for you (unless you go premade, like every smart person ever).

-At the end of the day : A competent carry with a garbage support, still winnable. A competent support with a garbage carry.... Impossible to win. That's why it's called a carry. That's how it is.

In reality, you're playing the role least necessary in a team (as season 2's Solo top Vayne has clearly shown), the role least likely to have an impact on a game.
Play it with a close friend who you know can carry, but otherwise please learn how to play Maokai or Nautilus so you actually win in solo q.
Remember, Taric wouldn't have a high winrate if it not for Graves, Corki or Ezreal. ....

Hello

I already made my team winning with Sona. Even if my favorite roll is mid, I'm actually very often support (my most played champ is Sona, and I win most of my games with her). So... Even if sometime I like to change for mid or top, I often take the place of support, and I don't really mind.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. Good support is neccessary and a good support can carry.

You'll notice that both videos are of incredibly close games where the support (barely!) defends the nexus before winning and how many times they bail out the team in one way or another. It's unappreciated because you rarely have good supports. At least, I rarely see very many on the other team. Mostly I see noob supports picking Taric because he's the easiest one to do right and all they do is walk around and waste their stun. Blitzcrank is the only other support where more than a few people are at least decent with him, but he's permabanned in ranked and 100% guaranteed to be my first ban unless the other team banned him first.