..

..

..

In this guide, I will tell you how and why I play/build Soraka the way I do. I will try my best to explain why I build the way I do and how my personal play-style is with this champion. I will also explain why you should at least appreciate your support because, to be honest, we are very underrated for what we do.

Where do I start when it comes to describing supports and the rules they follow?

Support is probably one of the most important roles, and underrated roles, in the game. They control the flow of the game and a great deal of map control. A lot of things happen behind the kills that most people do not realize or refuse to. As the name implies, this role helps the team to achieve victory by enabling them to get kills and objectives, such as the Rift Herald , Baron Nashor or the Dragon .


As a support, you head to the bottom lane with your AD Carry, and as the name implies, you support them. When you are in laning phase, don't last hit the minions for gold. There are items that will passively give you gold as the game progresses (That being said, you can farm the minions when your ADC is out of lane). Your job is not to take kills, but to set up kills for your team, so try not to kill steal!

Watch the whole map, not just your own lane, and ping/inform your allies of approaching enemies. Pinging missing champions and maybe even writing in the chat goes to this section and even if your Mid doesn't say anything, but the enemy is gone there, you can ping it instead. Remember to buy and put wards and beware of ganks, inform your own Jungler of the enemy wards, and set up ganks. Remember: you can only place 3 wards at a time and 1 Control Ward. Remind others to ward as well, this is a team game.

Soraka is one of my favorite supports to play. She has powerful utility, decent poke, and has the capability to shut down threats through her healing. I have enjoyed playing her for a long time, even more so recently! I tend to focus on a more passive play-style than a more aggressive one, which is fine with me (though she has the ability to be aggressive!)

..

..

..

Pros + Creazy healing power + Map-wide heal + Strong poke + Silence + Self sustain + Increased movement speed toward low health allies Soraka is a great support when you need to focus on heals! You don't even need to get close to battle to heal someone with Wish and the amount of HP you sacrifice with Astral Infusion is nothing compared to how much your team gains. She crowed control is also nice with an instant silence on Equinox and her bonus movement speed with her Salvation to get to low allies quickly.

Cons - Squishy - No escape - AP ratios - Countered easily - Mana reliant - Low damage - Team reliant Like all champions, Soraka has her downfalls. She is a very squishy support that is heavily targeted, so she's reliant on her team in order to protect her. She has little no to mobility, so if she gets caught out while warding or attempting to roam she becomes the prime target for the enemy jungler or enemy roaming champions.

..

..

..

This is where I try to explain why I chose the masteries I do and compare them to the others that I do not. I will attempt to do this as clearly as possible without too much-unneeded text!

SORCERY

Summon Aery is my preferred choice when playing Soraka. That is because it can be used defensively or offensively. For example, whenever you heal an allay it grants them a shield that for 35 − 80 (based on level) that lasts for 2 seconds which can be important early game. You can also use it as a poking tool in lane because when you hit an enemy champion with an ability it does 10 − 40 (based on level) damage. (I usually play her defensively and around her heals so I find this to be the best keystone!)

This is probably my favorite option when playing Soraka because of the extra mana regen for the early game pressure. It makes it easy to sustain yourself when using Starcall and trying to heal your allied champions. It's easy to find yourself low on mana which makes this extremely useful.

This is my current go-to! Soraka is a slow champion and could use all the movement speed she could get, even if it's out of her AP. This work well with her passive, Salvation , or after she hits an enemy champion with her Starcall.

This is my personal choice when playing Soraka currently. It gives you nice AP scaling and the extra AP is always nice for the extra healing potential! (Her heals scale off of her AP!).

RESOLVE

This is probably the best choice to get out of the Resolve mastery section. It's nice because you have a root on your Equinox and a slow your Starcall which you can utilize with this for some extra healing for your ally. Fun Fact: this activates with Ardent Censer as well!

Soraka, if you couldn't' tell, loves to heal her teammates! This mastery, specifically, works really well with her kit because the heals and shields she has will be stronger, even more so when your allies are below 40% HP. Revitalize is basically the reason I consider taking anything from the Resolve track.

Arcane Comet and Phase Rush Arcane Comet is used if you prefer a more aggressive play-style and harass your enemy a lot with Soraka. It's nice since your Starcall slows your opponent which makes it almost impossible to outrun your Arcane Comet damage. As stated above, I don't play aggressively with Soraka (because I am afraid of finding myself in an unfriendly situation) so I do not prefer this keystone myself. I am not exactly sure if Phase Rush is actually used on any champion. It'll grant you up to 3 stacks when hitting enemy champions and will grant you 25-40% movement speed (based on level) and up to 75% slow resist for 3 seconds. I personally don't recommend it.

Nullifying Orb and Nimbus Cloak Nullifying Orb could be useful for when you are facing AP champions, but I found that it generally doesn't give you too much and it feels like a waste in terms of utilization for Soraka. Nimbus Cloak is probably my second favorite mastery for Soraka. It gives you extra movement speed after you use your ultimate, which is why it makes this a nice second option, especially when you want to disengage from a terrible situation! (Though, I still prefer Manaflow Band of this any day! I love me my extra mana and my mana regen!)

Transcendence and Absolute Focus I found that this is an alright alternative to Celerity if you feel like rushing 40% CDR asap. While it's an alright alternative, it's only 10% CDR over the current cap of 30% and it's just a mastery. Absolute Focus is probably the worst choice for Soraka in my opinion and I feel as though it's obvious! Absolute Focus give you bonus AP when you are above 70% of your maximum health! You are Soraka! That means you will never be that full of health because your healing ability ( Astral Infusion) takes 10% of your health every time you use it! Think about it!

Scorch and Waterwalking Poking your enemy is lane is almost a must, but I don't recommend Scorch because the extra damage that it give you is nearly non-existent. Plus it doesn't fit my passive play-style so I have no reason to take it. Waterwalking I have noticed is for champions who tend to roam and are in the river are a good amount. I can see it being a viable option for Soraka, but I personally don't use it. Since I am a passive Soraka, I tend to stay by my own ADC so I don't use it.

When you pick your secondary stats, I feel like you can change them for different games. I tend to take the CDR Time for the first tier that way I don't have to focus on CDR Items very often and can focus on Mana Regen or other viable items that I need. For the second tier, I tend to take the Adaptive Force because it's something that all my Supports on this page can benefit from, but you can also take the MR one. For the third tier, I tend to go straight health, but take the MR or the Armor one if you think you'll need it.

..

..

..

- FLASH: This is standered on every champion, support or not. Since Soraka does not have any real escape, taking this spell will be a life-saver! EXHAUST: This I find is a must on any support champion! Not only does it slow the enemy champion affected by 30% for 2.5 seconds in order to help secure your carry a kill, you can use it to get out of a sticky situation or disengage if need-be. IGNITE: This is not a spell I perosnally use or would reccomend, but that does not stop me from seeing other people take it on Soraka for some reason. I see it mostly in aggressive play-style. I would still personally recommend Exhaust and Flash.

..

..

..

PASSIVE ABILITY

Salvation (Passive): This is her passive. It gives Soraka a 70% movement speed bonus when moving towards allied champions that are below 40% of their maximum health. What is nice about this, is that she will continue her bonus movement speed as long as she is facing the champion, even if she can't see them in her line of site via terrain.

Q

Starcall (Q): This will be your main source of damage when it comes to harass. It provides some sustain in lane because if you hit enemy champions it gives you Rejuvenation for 4 seconds and slows the enemy by 30% for 2 seconds. This is what I usually max second, the first being her W.

W

Astral Infusion (W): This is probably the ability you will be using the most. This ability will most likely be the first you max for obvious reasons; you are a healer. Each heal costs 0 mana but costs 10% of your maximum health; that means that this will almost always be up (Unless you are below 5% of your maximum health).

E

Equinox (E): This is both a silence and a root. This ability works well against Katarina and Malzahar because both their ultimate abilities will have them stand in place for a period of time, which makes it useful to silence those. While the silence is an automatic effect, the root will not take place unless a champion is standing on the zone as it detonates (which is 1.5 seconds after casting), so I usually max this last.

R

Wish (R): This is quite an ability when used properly. Soraka calls upon the stars to heal her and her allies. This ability is crucial early game, so watch your team's health bars and the map. I found that I use it early game when I see the enemy jungler either mid or top lane and I try to save my team member who is being ganked. Don't waste it though, be sure that when you use it you are either have the chance to turn that fight around!

..

..

..

#1 Wish 6 / 11 / 16 #2 Astral Infusion 1 / 4 / 5 / 7 / 9 #3 Starcall 2 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 13 #4 Equinox 3 / 14 / 15 / 17 / 18

> > > Alright, so to be clear I tend to vary on my skill sequence, but I always tend to start off with my E. A lot of times I don't completely ignore I also prefer to go Starcall over Equinox second due to the amount of time it takes for Equinox to silence a champion. I found that I had more luck just poking them than trying to silence them. Although, as stated in the Abilities section, Equinox comes in handy when it comes to champion like Malzahar and Katarina who have abilities that requires them to stay in one place for a period of time.

..

..

..

Imperial Mandate This Mythic Item is all about lane dominance. This item doesn't scale well into the late game, especially if you are team fighting a lot. That being said, it's great for early game. The item passive is damaged based, granting you extra damage when your abilities slow or immobilize enemy champions (which is great for your Starcall since it slows when hit!); while the Mythic Passive empowers your legendary items with 15 AP. I personally only recommend building this for the early game, then switching it out to Moonstone Renewer.

Locket of the Iron Solari This is a great Mythic Item if your team really needs some defense. When activated, it has an AoE shield that stacks pretty well with your Wish and Revitalize. It's not a common item or one I would really recommend due to the fact that you will be more focused on items that help increase your healing potential.

Moonstone Renewer This is my personal favorite Mythic Item for Soraka. It scales into late game very well, especially since it has a 2 second cooldown! What I love most about this item is that it automatically targets the lowest HP ally to heal! In my opinion, it's a must-have for teamfights!

Shurelya's Battlesong This item is alright. If anything, I find this to be more useful on champions who have more movement speed-- or even have a movement speed passive such as Janna. I can also see this being useful in engage heavy champions like Leona.

..

..

..

This item is basically an AP version of Ardent Censer. When you heal an ally it grants you and them bonus AP and movement speed for 3 seconds. This is great if you have an APC in botlane, such as Lux or Brand (which has become super comment recently)!

This item is good for its raw healing power in a single item slot and also for its active, which cleanses CC from an ally. That makes it great for teams against heavy CC! Though, I feel like it should be taken only if you don't plan on taking Athene's Unholy Grail for reason that I will state when I get to that item.

I usually run this after I run Redemption in my build order. This item is amazing for a couple of different reasons! One reason is the fact that it has the ability to convert your mana regeneration to ability power--which increases your healing power! What's better is that when you do damage you get stacks that will heal your alley for additional HP! BONUS HEALING! So in short, Athene's Unholy Grail will increase your potential healing ability!

This is an alright situational item. I have seen it from time to time when playing games, but I personally don't recommend it. I can see this being viable in heavy AP teams and you become the target and are dying easily, but other than that I would say skip it and purchase something a little bit more useful.

Alright, this one is an exception. I will sometimes build into this after I purchase Dark Seal, but I usually don't. I will say if you do decide to build into it, make sure that you and your team are ahead of the enemy. If you're not, I wouldn't suggest getting it (but again, that's my opinion).

This is alright all things considered. I've seen this in some games throughout the years, but it's not one I can personally recommend for Soraka because I feel like there are better items for her. For most games, I don't see a use for it for this champion when some people already built it.

While I know this is a key item for most people when it comes to support, but I find this to be a super situational item. When upgraded, it holds 3 control wards and will let you place an extra control and stealth ward. While controlling vision is important in games, I find it really depends on if your team is warding themselves. If you're behind in vision, I would suggest purchasing this, but if you're ahead and your team is warding, I would suggest to skip it and utilize another item instead!

This item I find to be more useful on champions like Sona than Soraka in my opinion. This item will give you AP equal to 1% of your maximum mana and will refund you 25% of the mana you spend. It has 40% cooldown reduction which is nice, but excessive in my opinion. Still a good item, though.

This item can come in handy if used correctly. Once you activate it, two cute little ghost dudes will come out and look for nearby enemies. If they find them they get slowed and you will have vision on them--even if you don't have vision in that particular area. While it's not ideal in every situation, it is in some.

..

..

..

This is where I'll talk about how I usually play as Soraka. Please, keep in mind that you can either play this champion or any champion, aggressively or defensively--but here I will focus on my defensive play-style!


This phase usually goes from the beginning of the game to when the first tower, ally or enemy, is down. So, with that in mind, the main thing you want to do during this phase is to keep your ADC alive and to try to get a tower. Do not forget that you are Soraka, so you do not have the best CC, so don't be afraid to ask your jungler for help when it comes to ganks. If you are not able to get ganks, try to play passivaly.

With what CC you have, try to poke the enemy as much as you can with Starcall. Remember that you will have no escape, so because of this I only poke and run away unless the enemies are coming toward me so I do not have to put myself in too much danger.

Once you hit level 6 you'll get Wish. Be sure to watch your map and your teammates' health and when they're low, activate it. Try not to randomly use it when someone is low, try to use it when it looks like they'll survive or it seems like they could turn the fight around.

Alright, now the tower is gone. This makes the game a little bit more tricky when it comes to your opponents. You can be easily picked off especially when you are trying to ward (for rough warding map click here! Remember that wards/Results may vary). Always remember to keep vision on Baron and Dragon if possible! Those are very important game changers.

In team fights, you should be sure to position yourself behind your team and heal them when possible. You are very squishy and can die easily! In certain fights, you can be closer to your front line--especially if you are ahead--in order to heal them and not wait for them to back off. This can help make team fights last longer.

Remember, try not to use Wish to heal only one player! Sometimes it's best to just let them die and to save it for a different situation. In team fights, I will span my Astral Infusion until I can't anymore, wait for my team to be low, then I will use Wish.

This is probably the hardest phase to determine when is happening, but usually, it's usually when everyone starts to group together and 5v5 for towers.

Now I feel like there's not of a difference betwen the Late-Game and the Mid-Game play-style. Teamfifights are usually the same along with the objectives.

..

..

..

..

..

..