Yes, this is updated for the most recent patch. (Fizz)

Hello and welcome to my remade Taric guide. Since the original guide, I have changed how I build and play Taric, and improved my guide making skills. This guide is geared towards mid/high ELO play and I hope it will improve your play all around. Now then, let's start!

Why pick Taric?

Well he says it best himself: "More than just precious stones, I bring you an ancient power." And power he does bring, he will turn every player on your team into a player and a half with his auras.

Taric is a good pick in the following situations:

• The enemy team is physical damage heavy.
• Your team is physical damage heavy.
• Your team is oriented around a push style strategy.
• You have a long range or cc-based AD carry.
• You need crowd control and support.
• Soraka was banned/picked. :P (JK, JK)

Table of Contents:

---

spaaaaace

Pros: + Great Physical and AP Support + Very reliable stun from Dazzle + Works well in a bursty bottom lane, one stun may be a kill + Very tanky for a support + Great auras from abilities and items + Amazing lane babysitter with heals/stuns/auras + Great pusher with Radiance + Is totally fabulous

spaace

Cons: - Imbue isn't the strongest heal - Can have early mana issues - Low damage output - Susceptible to crowd control - Lack of escapability ... ... ...

---

• The points in the defensive tree are only because of lack of better options, anything left in the offense or utility tree feels a little weak to me, and armor/MR will help your laning phase and lategame.
• Wealth gives a lot of ways in which you can start your build, try experimenting with a few to find what works best for you.

---

• Greater Mark of Warding - Taric has little in the way of magic resist until mid-game, so we take these to combat that. Taric does not deal enough damage to make Greater Mark of Insight worthwhile, in my opinion (though I may reconsider my choice after the new changes to his ultimate). Greater Mark of Resilience is also an option for this slot if the team or lane has a lack of magic damage.
• Greater Seal of Clarity - Taric flat out needs the mana regeneration, and these outweigh the flat mp5 seals at level 6.
• Greater Glyph of Focus - For the early cooldown reduction, although mana may restrict you early, having the reduced Dazzle cooldown early game makes for a powerful lane, and winning lanes wins games. These outweigh the mana regeneration choice in this slot as well. Greater Glyph of Force are also a viable option for some extra ability power to help out your abilities.
  
• Greater Quintessence of Avarice - Yes, Avarice quints. These will provide gold as you won't be getting much CS, and pay for the benefits of flat AP quints in ~18 minutes. Taric has extremely high base values and does not need flat health quints. If you do not have these, you may also choose to go Greater Quintessence of Swiftness which will make landing a stun in the lane that much easier.

---

Clairvoyance - Powerful for revealing ganks/jungle targets, as well as checking bushes without having to run inside of them. Every team should have one of these, and generally you are the one that should be taking it. You should set up a system for people to ask for CV if you are not on voice chat, I use a double ping system.

spaaaaaace

Flash - This spell is just too good to pass up. Can be used offensively to get a clutch Dazzle or Imbue, as well as defensively to escape a gank, quickly exit a teamfight, forgive a positioning error, or escape that Jarvan IV Cataclysm. ...

Exhaust - Every team should have 1 or 2 of this spell. It is great for shutting down AD carries and AoE damage dealers. However, I usually need the escape of Flash and the utility of Clairvoyance, so there is really no room for me to take this. ...

spaaace

Ghost - Just doesn't forgive errors quite like Flash. It can be used both offensively and defensively, but doesn't bring the same surprise/gap closing factor. The prolonged movement speed is good for juking in the jungle and long runaways, as well as reaching teamfights quickly. Also not as strong because of its inferior synergy with Dazzle. ... ...

space

Fortify - A useful spell that can counter or prolong enemy pushes, however, its passive is wasted on Taric who will rarely be touching creep. This spell is better utilized on a jungling/laning tank such as Amumu, Shen, or Rammus. (These champions also have strong movement abilities that don't tie them to Ghost or Flash.

---

Generally I will invest a point in Dazzle at level 1 (for early game teamfights/zoning), then getting a point in Imbue at levels 2 and 4 to make it strong enough to sustain the lane (any more points in this skill will cause mana problems I find). I then prioritize Shatter, maxing it at 9, and then maxing Imbue next, and Dazzle last (as its stun duration does not increase with level), taking Radiance whenever possible. Though if you have a magic heavy opposing lane, or your partner is taking a lot of harass, you may want to max Imbue first.

---

• Gemcraft: Mediocre passive that is a bit counter-intuitive. To make use of this you either have to push the lane, steal last hits from the carry, put yourself in range of harass, or put yourself in a bad teamfighting position. This synergizes with attack speed and your ultimate decently.
• Imbue (Q): A decently strong heal on a medium cooldown, it can really deplete your mana early though. It is always preferable to heal another person as it will heal 200% compared to 140% on just yourself. You may heal yourself for a burst heal if needed though. The cooldown of this ability is reduced by autoattacking, so attack speed will help refresh the cooldown, making you a candidate to buy Stark's Fervor.
• Shatter (W): A great aura for both you and your team, making you anti-AD. This will provide your carry a huge advantage against the opposing physical carry. This can also be used as a nuke on the opposing player, or just in combination with other armor shredding effects to give your carry a massive advantage. Shattering is almost always beneficial now, as your team still receives the armor aura while the ability is on cooldown, only you lose out on your extra portion of the armor buff.
• Dazzle (E): This is probably one of the best stuns in the game. It is exceptionally easy to land and is on a decently short cooldown. Landing one of these babies in lane can almost ensure a kill if they are a bit below full health. Chaining this together with other CC's such as Caitlyn Yordle Snap Trap is usually a guaranteed kill, so try to maximize the duration of the crowd control (trap right after stun wears off and vice versa). It is pretty decent for nuking at close range as well.
• Radiance (R): The ultimate just got recently reworked, making it amazing, it deals a good amount of AoE damage, while giving your team a near baron buff worth of AD and AP for 10 seconds. This makes Taric more than just a viable melee support, but a great support for any team. The cooldown isn't horribly long but isn't horribly short. Also, this combined with a Dazzle and damage from your partner can almost assure a kill at level 6 in the lane. I think this change makes him one of the strongest, if not the strongest, supports in the game.
  

  ---

  
  
  Core Items:

  ...

  space

  Aegis of the Legion Such a great item for the cost, this item gives thousands of gold of stats to your team, and you can get it pretty cheaply. Very strong all around item. (More on Aegis in this thread)

  space

  Shurelya's Reverie Another underrated item that provides a large amount of health, regenerations, and cooldown reduction. And gives a nice speed buff for those teamfights or team getaways. The best part is that it builds off of Philosopher's StonePhilosopher's Stone.

  
  

  ---

  
  
  Boot Choice:
  
  

  Mercury's Treads Pretty hard to pass up on these, the crowd control reduction is just too good to pass up really. You are already pretty tanky against physical damage due to your Shatter, so the magic resist will also help. Really, CC is a huge weakness of yours, so these will minimize that weakness.

  space

  Boots of Mobility A great item if you plan on roaming or being a highly mobile support. (Your bot lane partner can still gain farm and experience in a 1v2 lane). These will allow you to move quickly between lanes, constantly supporting and setting up ganks for your teammates and with your jungler.

  space

  Ionian Boots of Lucidity These are another good support option, but there are better items that can help you reach that cooldown reduction cap, and Taric is more restricted by mana than by cooldowns, at least early, where cooldown reduction is hard to come by.

  
  

  ---

  
  
  Item Choice 1:
  
  

  Randuin's Omen This is a great anti-autoattacker item that provides nice armor, health, and CDR. Choose this to shut down enemy carries and help your entire team with the use. The best part is that you can build it out of Heart of Gold.

  space

  Abyssal Scepter A great caster support item that will really help you in the magic resist department, as well as provide some AP to beef up your heals and damage. Try to synergize this item with passives such as Amumu Cursed Touch, Fiddlesticks Dread, and items like Malady.

  space

  Soul Shroud This is a pretty good all around support item, will provide health to make your resistances more effective, and provide cooldown reduction and mp5 to the ENTIRE TEAM. Often overlooked, this is a good choice if the enemy is pretty balanced damage-wise.

  
  

  ---

  
  
  Item Choice 2:
  
  
  The items of Choice 1 are also included in this pool.
  
  

  Banshee's Veil A great magic resist choice if you are hurting for that, and also gives health and some needed mana. But the spell shield is what really makes it valuable, if you make a positioning error and get gripped or just get engaged on, it will save you.

  space

  Frozen Heart Another great anti-autoattacker item, and one of the most cost-effective items there is. It will provide a needed boost to your mana pool as well as bring you to the CDR cap. You will be a brick wall for any physical dps.

  
  

  ---

  
  
  Item Choice 3:
  
  

  Sight Ward Sight Ward I cannot stress how important these are to be buying all throughout the game. You should not be getting a 6th item because this slot should be reserved for wards as your teammates run out of slots. More on warding later.

  space

  Sight Ward Sight Ward I cannot stress how important these are to be buying all throughout the game. You should not be getting a 6th item because this slot should be reserved for wards as your teammates run out of slots. More on warding later.

  space

  Sight Ward Sight Ward I cannot stress how important these are to be buying all throughout the game. You should not be getting a 6th item because this slot should be reserved for wards as your teammates run out of slots. More on warding later.

  
  

  ---

  
  
  Situational Items:
  
  

  Stark's Fervor Taric is a good candidate for this item if as the attack speed and armor penetration benefit him more than on other supports (Because of synergy with other abilities). You should get this if you have more than one or two major physical damage dealer ( Ashe bottom and Nocturne jungle). ... ... Nashor's Tooth A decent item that can add some lategame damage and cooldown reduction. The attack speed is pretty nice because it synergizes with your Gemcraft and Imbue. This synergy makes it a pretty viable option for a 5th item (unless you are CDR capped). ...

  spaaace

  Eleisa's Miracle An item that is pretty decent and will provide tenacity if you choose not to go for Mercury's Treads. Really nice to get at around mid game for some regen and can be build out of Philosopher's StonePhilosopher's Stone. The best of the more recent tenacity items. ... Mejai's Soulstealer A decent item for pub games. Since you can get assists through heals and Randuin's Omen, you can actually get a decent amount of stacks on this baby. Though it does put a target on your head and that might not be a good thing if you have Oracle's Elixir

  
  
  As a sidenote: After a completed build, always remember to pick up elixirs in the order of Elixir of Brilliance (if you aren't CDR capped, otherwise this is second priority)--> Elixir of Fortitude--> Elixir of Agility
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Warding / Counterwarding:
  
  
  Sight wardSight Wards are "functional, and stylish." - Taric
  
  
  Here is a map of commonly warded areas, you should get to know these areas well as they give the most sight and provide vision of important targets or pathways. If you think the enemy has warded one of these areas, don't be afraid to pick up a Vision Ward and remove theirs.
  
  When you start the game, you should begin with 2 Sight wardSight Wards. With your first ward, you will want to defensively ward your jungle to prevent invasion from the opponents. You will want to place this ward in the entrance to your jungle or near one of your buffs. However, be sure not to use the second ward in your lane until ~3-4 minutes into the game! Depending on the speed of the jungler, you will decide when to place the ward. Junglers such as Jarvan IV and Nunu & Willump can gank very early, even at level 2, so ward early against these opponents. Be sure to ward your lane far enough out that you can react to the jungler coming but not too far that you cannot see the path coming from the bushes on your own side of the jungle (as your jungle may have been taken by the enemy).
  
  You should always be buying wards when you go back, so make sure to have at least 75 gold in addition to whatever items you would be buying (if not more).
  
  In mid/late game, you should begin warding Baron, dragon, and near the lanes that your team is pushing to avoid being engaged or getting flanked. When you ward Baron, you may do what is commonly known as "butt warding." This means you lay a Sight wardSight Ward inside of Baron, making it near impossible to remove with Oracle's Elixir or Vision Ward unless Baron is actually dead.
  
  When should I buy Oracle's Elixir and Vision Wards?
  
  • You should buy Vision Wards when you feel that investing in an Oracle's Elixir is risky, but you know the enemy has a spot warded and you want to get rid of their vision. It costs only 25 gold more (because you get 25 gold from killing the enemy ward) but creates a huge advantage for your team.
  • You may also place a Vision Ward in lanes if the enemy team has a Twitch, Evelynn, Shaco, Vayne, Akali, Teemo, etc.
  • Generally, I will pick up an Oracle's Elixir after I get at least Boots of Speed. With that extra mobility, I can move around and destroy enemy wards. The two things to keep in mind before buying this: Make sure the enemy is actually buying wards before you get this. Know that this puts a large target on your head, so if you think you might die, it is not worth the investment.
  How should I use Clairvoyance?
  
  • Use it to find the whereabouts of the enemy jungler. Try to reveal two camps at once: golem and wolves, wraiths and lizard, etc. Checking to see if the jungler has killed red is generally a good indicator of when he will begin ganking (though some can gank without red).
  • Use it to reveal areas you think enemies might be hiding in. If you think they are in the brush near Baron, CV it.
  • Check spots before you ward them, the worst thing ever is getting killed when you are trying to ward.
  • Watch if enemies are approaching when doing Baron/Dragon. You need at least 10 seconds to retreat from Baron if enemies are coming your way.
  • Bait Ganks! This is my favorite thing to do with Clairvoyance. It only works occasionally, but you use Clairvoyance on the bush that you and your teammates are sitting in, making the enemies think you were scouting it, and are not actually there. Then pounce on them.
  • Scout ganks and reveal bushes to get kills in lane for your teammates.
  • Use at level 1 at the fountain to figure out their direction, or delay them in buying items or going where they are actually supposed to go.
  For more on warding, and the exact spots to place them, check out Panglot's: Warding helper - More than your eyes can see
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Laning:
  
  As Taric, you shine as a bottom lane support with a ranged AD carry, or a strong burst champion. In this lane setup, you should be giving all minion last hits to the carry. This is because most of your usefulness comes from abilities, and not from items, whereas an autoattacking carry needs items to be useful.
  
  Taric does not have the heals that a support such as Soraka does, so he needs a partner that can sustain themselves or easily keep themselves out of harm's way. He also does well with champions with crowd control or strong burst. The optimal lane setups for Taric are as follows:
  
  Ranged AD Carries:
  • Caitlyn and Taric (Trap w/ stun, long range that has strong harass)
  • Tristana and Taric (Long range w/ high burst that can capitalize on Dazzle)
  • Vayne and Taric (High burst with stun and decent range)
  • Miss Fortune and Taric (Strong burst damage w/ decent range)
  • Graves and Taric (Strong burst)
  • Kog'Maw, Ashe, and Corki are all good too, though I just prefer better sustainers with them.
  
  Melee Carries:
  • Garen and Taric (My personal favorite, high burst and a landed stun basically means a kill. Once you get ultimates, you can tower dive easily for a kill.)
  • Xin Zhao and Taric (Strong burst again that can get a kill in the stun duration)
  • Pantheon and Taric (Once again, strong burst with more follow up CC)
  • Renekton and Taric (Strong burst and double stun, though I prefer a solo lane for Renekton)
  • Talon and Taric (Great burst and CC)
  
  These are the best laning partners for Taric, though any melee or ranged AD carry is a good pick to lane with Taric (e.g. Ashe, Corki, etc.)
  
  Your job in lane is to nurture your carry until he can do significant damage in teamfights, to do this you will protect him through his most vulnerable phase (early game). The only time you will take cs is when your laning partner is not in the lane! So you are useful because of your skills and aura items, not
  because of your items.
  
  Sometimes you might want to stay out of exp range for about a level to give your carry the level advantage and get their ultimate earlier than the opponent.
  
  Your main focuses in lane should be this:
  1. Keeping your carry alive.
  2. Allowing your carry to farm easily and safely.
  3. Try to get kills for your carry.
  4. Zone the enemy team out of experience and gold range.
  5. Push when needed for dragon attempts.
  
  Generally you want to keep the lane as far back as possible without the minions being in range of your tower, this allows you to farm safely and easily without taking tower damage.
  
  HOWEVAH!!!!
  
  One note: Pushing can be a good way to prevent the enemy from farming, take dragon, and get turret damage. If you have enough vision to do this safely, don't hesitate to do it.
  
  Now zoning is an important part of support that is a huge part of being a better laner. Basically zoning comes down to keeping enemies out of experience and farm range by threatening harass or death if they choose to farm. Taric utilizes the long range on Dazzle to zone effectively. Some things to keep in mind when zoning:
  • It only makes sense to zone when one of your creep are nearing death, so when that happens, you need to be aggressive and appear that you are going up to Dazzle them, and they will back off, missing the gold and experience.
  • Staying in the bushes or pacing back and forth greatly increases the zone that you control. Do so.
  • Sometimes zoning may cause the lane to push slightly (sometimes the opposite, because the only way they can last hit may be through abilities that cause the lane to push). But if this does happen, you can "hard reset" the lane by killing all the creep very quickly and the enemy tower will do the same, pushing the creep back to the center of the lane.
  
  Here is an example of how I can make my zone (the yellow ellipse) take up a large portion of the lane by just standing in the bushes.
  
  
  For more on zoning, check out this video made by Shurelia about zoning.
  Play Video
  
  You may also choose to roam on Taric, but you must be sure that your would-be laning partner can handle a 1v2 lane and will be able to farm, regardless of if you are there or not. If they can't, then don't roam. Basically the job of a roamer is this: Your job is to go from lane to lane, punishing overextenders, healing your allies, setting up ganks with and without your jungler, helping counterjungle, and instilling fear into the hearts of the enemies. Another important job is to ward heavily. Roaming provides your team with essentially 3 and a half solo lanes worth of farm (jungler doesn't get quite the farm of a solo lane), with you helping out each lane. It can give a great advantage if executed well.
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Late Game / Teamfighting:
  
  Lategame, you should just be staying with the team, letting them benefit from your auras. Stay near your carry, healing him and stunning any assailant coming his way. Use your ultimate when needed, Clairvoyance important objectives before warding/face-checking. Continue ward slaying with Oracle's Elixir, and help push towers and kill objectives, but ALWAYS STAY WITH YOUR TEAM, even for warding and counterwarding. If you can engage on somebody out of position with Dazzle, don't be afraid to use even Flash for it.
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Closing Statements / Change Log:
  
  I really hope you enjoyed reading my guide and hope that you learned more about the game because of it. Please vote and leave me a comment and tell me what you think! If you have any questions, I will try to answer them and even put it into my guide. Also thanks to Jhoijhoi who's Making a Guide guide template I based a couple sections of my guide on. Also thanks to Searz (His template here) and SixSonatas for their guide templates as well. All were very helpful in inspiring my final product. When you do play Taric though, keep a few things in mind:
  • Assists are better than kills, but don't be afraid to get a kill if you think they will get away.
  • Throwing your life away for the life of another teammate is usually worth it. Generally if you can champion block the enemy team, your friend can get away.
  • Don't take farm, it may be boring and somewhat silly, but it is worth it in the end.
  Thanks for reading :D
  
  Oh, btw, Taric just got A NEW SKIN!!
  
  
  Change Log:
  Guide Published - 8/15/2011
  Revisions/Additions - 8/23/2011
  Removed Chalice of Harmony from Item list - 10/27/2011
  Updated For Mastery Changes - 11/16/2011
  
  9/23/2011 - Patch 1.0.0.129
  Mastery trees completely redone
  
  The mastery tree setup did not really have a huge effect on the way I build Taric, the changes to starting gold and gold per 10 make more item build variance, especially at the start, a possibility. The buffs to ward ranges are pretty nice and will create new and interesting places to ward. The Clairvoyance and Flash nerfs will probably hurt a bit, but should not be extremely noticeable. You will have to use Clairvoyance more sparingly now, but good judgement should take care of that. I will update again when I am more sure about what mastery setup is optimal.