Soraka Build Guide by IceCreamy

Introduction

Hey everyone, with pride I present to you my fourth guide, this time for Soraka! I used to play Janna a lot but sometimes people prefer to play with a healing support so I picked up Soraka. She is not hard to learn, yet fun to play. If you got map awareness, and you like to keep people alive instead of getting kills, Soraka should really suit you.

The reason this guide's name says Auraka and not Soraka is because almost every item bought has an aura ^^ Anyways, Soraka is most viable in 5v5, I do not recommend playing her on 3v3 or Dominion. Well, enough of an intro for now, let's start with the actual guide!

Have fun reading, I hope this guide will encourage you to play Soraka!

Pros/Cons

NOTE: Click HERE for the template of this section.

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Pros + She heals. + Her ult heals, too. + She gives mana. + Bonus magic resist. + She silences.

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Cons - Very squishy in early game. - Underrated. - Long cooldown on W. - Little damage. - No mobility for (counter-)warding.

Runes

I take gold per 10 Quints, to keep my income stable. I also take Armor Marks and Seals, and Magic Resist per level Glyphs, to get some more defense.

In your runepage, it should look like this:

R U N E S

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- Magic Penetration Marks, in case you prefer more damage over defense - gp/10 Seals, in case you prefer the extra gold over the defense - Flat Magic Resist Glyphs, if you are up against harassing supports or AD Carries that also deal magic damage - Flat Health Quintessences, in case you prefer the extra HP over the bonus gold - Movement Speed Quintessences, in case you feel the bonus MS is more useful than bonus gold

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R U N E S

Also, please do not waste your IP/RP and buy tier 1 or tier 2 runes. Just be patient, wait until you get Summoner Level 20 and buy tier 3 runes. You can not sell your old runes, you can put them in some sort of blender and hope you will get something nice, but it is not worth it.

Masteries

Summoner's Wrath to improve Exhaust

Durability for the nice hp boost Hardiness for the bonus Armor Resistance (1 point) for the bonus Magic Resist

Summoner's Insight to improve Flash Wanderer for the bonus Movement Speed Mastermind to reduce the cooldowns of Exhaust and Flash Artificer to reduce the cooldowns on Shurelya's Reverie Greed to help your income Awareness to keep up in levels Pickpocket for rewarding the harass even more Intelligence (2 points) for the nice Cooldown Reduction Nimble for the always useful Movement Speed

- Taking Meditation instead of Wanderer is fine too.
- Maxing out Intelligence instead of putting a point in Pickpocket is fine as well.
- I'm not taking Greed because I really don't know which points to remove. But it's good if you start with the items I recommend since instead of a pot you can buy a second Sight Ward!
- I'm also not taking Biscuiteer and Explorer , because I simply don't like them. If you do, find the points somewhere and enjoy the measly 80hp/50mana and ward.

Summoner Spells

I've listed all Summoner Spells available on Summoner's Rift, the higher it is the better I consider it.

Despite the recent nerf, still the best Summoner Spell in the game. So useful in chasing and running away, can't go without it :)

Probably the best choice to go along with Flash. This spell is very useful in bot lane when fighting 2v2, but also still nice in team fights later on.

Is an option, but with Astral Blessing you have a heal that is really good. Not entirely sure how this matches up against Exhaust but I think the latter is better.

Not such a great spell, you're basically getting free wards from Ruby Sightstone so you won't really need this. Besides, you'll give up some lane control if the enemy support takes Exhaust.

Viable option to replace Flash with if you are not level 12, or if you simply think Ghost is the better spell since the Flash nerf.

Might be of use to deal some damage, but usually you use this to secure a kill and you are the queen of assists.

Good spell for your AD Carry but not for you - like I said earlier, if you're the focus, the enemy is doing something wrong.

Commonly taken by your AD Carry but nothing for you, really. It's a good thing if the enemy focuses you, since your carries can deal damage.

No reason at all to take this spell, you use this to gank or to defend a lane which both are not your job.

You are not a jungler, so there is absolutely no reason to take this spell. blablablablablablablablabla

Only viable when you're very much behind, or when you take Teleport along with it. But you're not really a base defender or the hero that can change the game...

There isn't one spell more useless for you - you already give mana, and if you get mana problems yourself (which you really shouldn't) you can buy mana regen with an item.

Skill Explanation and Sequence

Soraka's passive is Consecration. It gives bonus magic resist to every teammate that is nearby. In early game it is quite useless but once teamfights start to break out it becomes really useful. What is there to say, you don't have to do anything with it, just stick to your teammates.



Her Q is Starcall. It deals some damage, but more importantly shreds the enemy's magic resist. It is not really useful in early game, but very nice in teamfights to aid your AP carry. In teamfights, you can spam your Starcall. Try to hit as many enemies as you can, without moving too far away from your AD carry.



The W spell is Astral Blessing. It heals any teammate that you click for a bit, and it also gives bonus Armor! Very useful in laning phase, but not bad in teamfights either. In early game, you have to watch your mana carefully as Astral Blessing is pretty costly and you don't want to run out of mana at the wrong time. In teamfights, you should use Astral Blessing on your AD carry preferably, or your AP carry (depending on who the enemy focuses most). The Armor buff and extra hp can screw the enemy over pretty hard.



The E ability is Infuse. You can either give free mana to a teammate (but not to yourself...), or damage and silence any enemy for a short duration. During laning phase, it's important you know when to use Infuse in which way. If you are laning with an AD Carry who uses a lot of mana (such as Sivir or Ezreal) you will be more busy giving them mana, but if you play with Caitlyn or Ashe you should be harassing the enemy.



Her ult is Wish. It gives any allied champion that is alive some health. It is really awesome in laning phase for baiting kills, and in teamfights you could just get the edge by using it at the right time. There is also one specific counter, namely Karthus' Requiem. If you see him cast it, just hit R and laugh at him ^^ That said, always try to check other lanes. You never know when a teammate needs your ultimate. This is easier when you are premade but in solo queue you must really have a lot of map awareness.



Put a point in Wish whenever you can, max Infuse first, Astral Blessing second and Starcall last. I only take a point in Starcall at level 8 for several reasons: It costs relatively much mana, it pushes the lane and it has no synergy with most AD Carries. Anyways, the skill sequence is just like this:



However, you should always use your common sense. If you and your AD carry are getting harassed early, max Astral Blessing first instead. If you are not getting harassed at all, you can even max Starcall before Astral Blessing. Always use your brain!

Items

Probably the best start on any support, since those two quickly builds into a Philosopher's Stone. The mana regen will be useful as your heal is quite costly. Bring along a Sight Ward and a Mana Potion as well! (taking a Health Potion is okay too) If you like you can also not buy one of those item and buy 2 extra wards instead.

At your first time going back to base, you can hopefully buy those 2. If not, buy the most expensive item of the 2.

On your second trip back, get some boots and continue your gold rush with a Pick. Now you have a good mix of income, movement and map awareness.

All you need now is some defensive stuff. Aegis of the Legion is all you ask for - a nice aura for a fair price. If you can't buy it when you have to go back, pick up Emblem of Valor first.

To get very close to the CDR cap, you need those boots. However if the game requires you to get Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads they are okay too.

Great support item. Bonus movement speed upon activation, CDR, health regen AND mana regen? Defenitely yes, even another teammate such as Skarner has already bought it.

Nice and cheap upgrade to Sightstone, offering more wards and more HP.

Decent upgrade to Aegis of the Legion, giving you and your allies some nice bonuses. blablablablablablablablabla

Great item. Once you have this, you can spam Starcall all you want and rack up assists along with your ult, and annoy the hell out of the enemy with the slow.

Very nice item that complements your passive. It also gives a nice mix of defense and offense, so no reason not to buy this. You should sell Kage's Lucky Pick to make space for this item.

If the game lasts this long you can upgrade your boots with an Enchantment. I personally prefer Enchantment: Alacrity, but Enchantment: Captain can work very well too.


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Decent item if your team needs pushing power, but I'd prefer Aegis of the Legion/ Runic Bulwark over this item any day.

Not that you will really need it for the mana regen but the active is ridiculously strong. blablablablablablablablabla

Nice item if their team has a lot of champs who rely on spell vamp/life steal.

Excellent item for tower diving/pushing, and the basic stats it gives aren't measly either. blablablablablablablablabla

THE item of AP-based champions, if your team lacks in damage you'll want this item.

Great defensive item, best used if their team has a lot of AD based champions. The active is really nice and the health and armor really help out.

Pretty decent item, but since you already give mana I do not consider this core. You could upgrade your Kage's Lucky Pick and sell it later for Abyssal Scepter.

Great item if every time enemies escape at low hp from team fights. Otherwise, not so much. blablablablablablablablabla

Great item if your team has a lot of AP based champions, and for some reason they do not buy this. Also goes well with your Q if you let it go over a minion wave.

Great item if your team has a lot of AD based champions. blablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablabla

//boots

Good choice of boots if their team has a lot of CC.

Good choice of boots if their team has a lot of champs who count on their autoattacks. blablablablablablablablabla

General Tips

You will mostly lane with a ranged DPS champion like Ashe or Graves, but a melee DPS champion like Tryndamere or Talon also works nicely. Anything else will not work really well, and laning with another support just plain sucks.

You have so much sustain, laning against any melee champion is very doable. You will find yourself in more trouble against ranged champions, so keep your distance.



Sit back and relax. If you play Soraka, it means that your AD Carry will just farm and nothing else, unless your jungler comes to gank of course. Use Astral Blessing on whoever gets focused, and silence the one you want to kill. ALWAYS have a ward up, in case their jungler comes to gank. More explanation about warding is found in the section below :)

Ashe

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Rather good lane, she can spam Volley unlimited in early game because of your Infuse. You might want to level Astral Blessing over Infuse because Ashe is far from mana hungry.

Caitlyn

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Same as Ashe, a good lane because Caitlyn is a good farmer and Soraka supports just that. Caitlyn also is not mana hungry, so put some extra points in Astral Blessing.

Corki

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Not the best of all lanes, because he is way more aggressive. He has the kit to go aggressive, which does not make him a good lane partner for Soraka.

Draven

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Not such a great lane, he is a pretty aggressive laner and you do not complement that at all.

Ezreal

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Same as Corki, he prefers aggression while Soraka does not.

Graves

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The lane match that says: We will not die. Graves' True Grit makes him rather tanky already, and Soraka helps. Good lane if the enemy has a "kill lane".

Kennen

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Hell no. He does not even use mana, why would you ever pick him and Soraka in one lane...

Kog

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Not too good of a lane, he is all about aggression while Soraka is passive. Would not recommend!

MF

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Also an aggressive laner, she falls of a little late game so you will need to get early game kills, which will be hard if you pick Soraka.

Sivir

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It's okayish, Sivir has decent early and late game, so if you want to go for afk farming early and net some kills later (her ult is awesome in late game) this can certainly work. She is also pretty mana hungry on early levels, so this works.

Trist

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Again an aggressive laner, better not pick Soraka when you see an ally has picked Tristana.

Urgot

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He is not even an AD Carry... I would not recommend Soraka with him since he will probably get a Tear of the Goddess early so he does not need your mana. He also has such a strong early game, it should be exploited by picking an aggressive support.

Varus

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Since you are pretty defensive/sustain and he is all about burst, this lane does not work very well. However he uses quite some mana so it might work, but there are better supports for him.

Vayne

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She is the late game carry, so going safe and picking Soraka alongside Vayne is not a bad idea at all. If Vayne gets farmed up in early game, she wrecks in late game so I'd say this is a great lane!

Warding

But seriously, warding is the most important job of a support. Doesn't mean that other people should not do it (in early game your jungler (probably along with Wriggle's Lantern), your top laner (to stop ganks from their jungler) and your mid (to stop ganks from top, bot and jungler) will also do it.), but in mid and late game you will be the one placing the most wards. You should always have at least 3 in your inventory as soon as teamfights start to break out.

Anyways, if you are new to the support role, or if you don't know where to place wards, here are a bunch of screenshots to help you.

In case you have played more often, and you know the map, I took an image from the internet and used Paint to draw some circles to show you where you should place wards in certain stages:



Early game
Mid-late game
When doing Dragon or Baron, respectively
Black : When pushing the midlane

And the rest of this section shows screenshots of that place, in case you do not know the map by heart yet.

In early game, you will want to place wards here:

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In mid- and lategame, you will want to place wards here:




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If your team is about to do Dragon, you will want to place wards here:




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If your team is about to do Baron, you will want to place wards here:











If you are pushing the midlane up to their inhibitor turret, those places are nice places to ward:




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Oracles and Vision Wards

At the start, if the enemy has any champion with a stealth mechanism in the bot lane or the jungle, you could get some until you can buy Oracles. When everyone hits about level 7, you should always have one up near Dragon so you can destroy the enemy ward that is probably there. Later on, having one at Baron is also great. For the rest, I do not recommend using them as a Sight Ward gives you pretty much the same vision.



Almost all the time if the enemy team has any stealth ability. Oracles detect them when they are close to you.
Otherwise I do not recommend taking them early, they are quite costly and if you die you will have to spend another 400 gold. One way or another, get your gp/10 items first.
Reasoning behind this is that usually, your jungler gets one early. If he/she doesn't, you could consider it but a Vision Ward usually does the job just fine.

The other good thing about getting an Oracle is that you can clear enemy wards. Especially in bot lane, this will be of good use. Clear the 2 lane brushes, tribrush, river and dragon wards whenever you can, so your jungler can have free reign!

Teamfights

The enemy AP carry, for the simple reason you can silence them. As for healing, focus it on the who is getting focused by the enemy AD carry, because they will benefit from the armor bonus.



Anyone who has the means to kill you. Nocturne and Tryndamere come to mind, but Graves, Evelynn and Kassadin are also dangerous. Heal yourself if you must! No reason to be scared of the enemy support or tank, when it comes to damage. Be wary of their CC - even though you are a little bit tanky you can still die quickly when focused.



Somewhere in the middle of your team. You have your Q, which requires you to stand quite close, but you do not want to get focused either.

Ranked Play

She is picked probably most right after Janna, and I understand why. With an AD carry who uses a lot of mana like Ezreal, Corki, and Kog'Maw, she really shines. She has a global ult, silences enemies, heals allies and shreds Magic Resist.

So, when is a good time to pick her?

• If you have an AD carry to lane with
• If your team does not have a support already
• If your team has enough damage

Videos

So, I have this cool program called LoL Replay, but I have no idea how I can edit stuff. Any help is appreciated, just leave a comment or send me a PM :)

Anyways, some videos you should watch:

Soraka Champion Spotlight:

Shurelia's zoning guide:

My scores

Below here are also ranked scores, but they are with my ranked 5x5 team:

Special thanks to...

All the people who have commented and/or voted on my guide. No matter if it was an up- or downvote, I appreciate everything you guys did.

Some very special thanks go to:

- Kusoku for helping me out greatly with the use of columns, thanks a lot dude!
- MissMaw for making the awesome banners in this guide. Visit her sig shop right here!
- LaCorpse, for making all the small banners in this guide. Visit her sig shop right here.
- jhoijhoi for writing her Guide to making a Guide. It has helped me in so many ways, I can't link it enough. If you are going to make a guide yourself, READ IT!

Summary

Runes: Flat Armor Marks, Flat Armor Seals, MR/lvl Glyphs, gp/10 Quintessences.
Masteries: 1-8-21
Spells: Flash/ Exhaust or Heal.
Items: Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Shurelya's Reverie, Ruby Sightstone, Runic Bulwark, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Abyssal Scepter.
Skill Sequence: R>E>W>Q

I hope you liked reading, enjoy playing Soraka! :)

To do list

Here's a list of things I still want to do, in order of most important to least important:

• Improve the Champion match up list
• Proper warding screenshots, using the right champion at least :P
• Scores from my ranked adventures
• Hopefully I'll figure out a way to make my own videos

This guide is still under construction and prone to changes.