Hi my name is Sandytrain and I have been playing Taric since season 2. Since the rework I swore if him off as no good since the major change in his playstyle but I have started playing him again. Go Drunk Division(HAMD) Shots! Shots! Shots!

Also Praise the Great Megaboss!!!

~Sandytrain

Pros
-He's Outrageous
-He can spam his spells lategame.
-He Can link and replicate to another partner
-Ult allows for some great ganking in lane
-His E allows for multiple stuns
-Yasou's Wind Wall and Braums shield does not block your E(Spellshield does)
-Makes Baron a breeze
-Teamfights often dictated on your ult

Cons
-Laning is hard vs lots of poke
-Very Kiteable
-He has one damage spell with empowered attacks that fall off mid/late game.
-His stun is a skill shot
-Spamming his heal is a great way to run out of mana
-His Ult takes 2.5 seconds to charge and then only lasts 2.5 seconds
-Long CD
-Low damage
-Teamfights often dictated on your ult

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If you truly want to master Taric's abilities then I recommend playing a few normal games in the jungle. Jungling will force you to understand Taric's passive combined with his abilities. And it will show you the rotation for his skills and exactly how much damage potential Taric really has.

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Mana Pool
Before we get started lets talk about your mana pool. This is the bane of Taric's existance. Without mana Taric is mainly useless. Your damage is poor without your passive as a melee champ and your not tanky until you get your items. Here are a few ways I have found to reserve your mana.

-Hunter's Potion

-Take the plants. Even if your at full health they give back mana.

-Only look for engages when you have enough mana to use two abilities

-If in a teamfight and only enough mana to ult or cast once you should ULT. It will give you and your team a 5 sec window of opportunity. (Only ult yourself if its the only way to get away from the enemy)





Some of this is copied from the wiki

Bravado

Passive~ After casting an ability, Taric's next two basic attacks within 4 seconds each gain 100% total attack speed, deal 22 - 90 (based on level) (+ 15% bonus armor) bonus magic damage and reduce the cooldowns of his basic abilities by 1 - 0.55 (based on cooldown reduction) seconds, increased to 6 - 3.3 (based on cooldown reduction) seconds for Starlight's Touch's recharge time.



Stategy
His passive is a vital part to his build. Practice using an ability then AA.

His passive gives your Q the greatest CD. When spamming mid-late game always use Q between your other spell casts with your AA for best CD.

Taric's rotation is key in teamfights. (Q->AA->W->AA->Q->AA->E->AA Repeat) or (Q->AA->W->AA Repeat) To get your auto off hit anything you can. Enemies, Creeps, jungle, Baron, your Ex(I hate Ezreal with a passion). To carry your ****py team you need to have your abilities up.

Bravado will deal small amounts of decent damage. Try to focus your damage on the ADC in teamfights. Taric's Damage scales with building armor.

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Starlight's Touch

Passive: Taric stores a charge of Starlight's Touch periodically, up to a maximum of 3 at once. Starlight's Touch cannot be cast without charges.

Active: Taric heals himself and all nearby allied champions, with the amount increasing with every stored charge at the time of cast.


Strategy:
Q~ Max this last. Makes great use of Windspeaker's Blessing Mastery . Should be taken at level 3. And should only be used in the beginning when you have 3 stacks on it or when your trying to proc Windspeaker's . Mid/Late game its good to spam this for CD. (Q->W->Q->E Repeat) This Ability makes the most of Taric passive CD Reduction.

Also this scales with Taric's Health(4.5% of Taric Health). The more health Taric has the greater his healing is.



Bastion

Passive: Taric and his Bastion-marked champion gain bonus armor shielding them for 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12% of their maximum Health for 2.5 seconds

Active: Taric shields himself and the target allied champion for 2.5 seconds, blessing them with Bastion and causing his abilities to be replicated on them while both are near each other, though the effects do not stack(E does not do double damage).



Strategy:
W~ Max this Second. Makes great use of Windspeaker's Blessing Mastery . Take this either first or second. I usually take this first and cast it on the jungler to help him take less damage from red or blue. Also cast it on the jungler when they come gank lane.

-It will also increase the shield size the more health your partner has. Flat or scaling health runes on your ADC are great.

-This will be your most used ability. In teamfights Taric's W should be cast on the person who is taking the most damage or engaging for your team. Usually whoever is engaging is a somewhat tank and can take a hit before going down. Your W will shield them for a percentage of their health. If your back line is taking damage then be sure to shield them as well.

-All your spells will replicate on who you cast you W on

-Be picky who you cast your W on. If you can't use your passive for CD reduction it has a really long CD.

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Dazzle

Active: Taric projects a beam of starlight towards the target location, erupting after a 1 second delay, dealing magic damage to all enemies hit and Stun icon stunning them.


Strategy:
E~ Max this first. Its your primary and sometimes only source of damage on the enemy. Also it stuns the enemy. It is a skillshot so you have to wait for champions like Vayne or Lucian to use their tumble or dodge before you can stun them. Otherwise your wasting mana.

Consider holding onto your E when you see that someone like fizz or Yi looking to dive your carry. Even if you can't stun a brickwall with your E the threat from you stun will discourage them from trying to make a play. And if they do go in wait for them to use their dodge, dash, jump(etc) and then stun their face.

It does take a one second charge time so if your trying to flash stun you need to wait .5 sec.


Also note that Yasou's Wind Wall and Braums shield does not block your E.(Spellshield does)


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Cosmic Radiance

Active: After a 2.5 seconds delay, cosmic energy descends upon Taric and all nearby allied champions, granting them invulnerability for 2.5 seconds upon impact.


Strategy:
R~ Taric's ultimate which charges for 2.5 seconds and lasts for 2.5 seconds. The 2.5 second charge will last longer than you think and the 2.5 second invulnerable state will not last as long as you need it to.

There are two ways to use his Ult. Offensively and Defensively.

Defensively ~

-If your carry is going to die without it(They need to survive 2.5S for the Ult to proc).

-If you are about to be dived and think your carry might die.

-Let your team clear the wave of minions under the tower to save it.

Offensively ~

-In laning phase W your jungler and have them dive under tower and then ult them. Easy double.

-If the enemy goes all in

Using your Ult

If you are not used to the timing of his ult then a recommend you do this in a teamfight. Cast your W onto the Tank or the Fighter. Then When the enemy commits to a fight(Not when someone like leblanc jumps in and out), but when the real fight breaks, activate your R. This will scare the enemy team if they know whats coming and make them either run away or try to kill you or your partner. But since your both tanks they have a low chance of killing either of you before your ult procs. Then let your team handle the rest.

If your team is full of assassins and squishies it is better to cast your ult at the beginning of the fight rather than waiting for a better chance. Hopefully someone gets a guardian angel or a hourglass.



-Also do no use your W or Q and sometimes E while the ult is in effect. Use them either during the channeling or after your ult has ended.

-Positioning matter when using your ult. If your linked partner is at the front of the fight you should be at the rear or next to your carry so it will cover your entire team.

-Timing matters in the use of Taric's Ult. If you use it to soon then the enemy will run away and laugh at your Ult. If you use it too late then the fights already over.



If your ult is cast on your carry with guardian angel/zhonya's hourglas or you die with a guardian angel then your Ult will continue around them. I do not recommend building guardian on support Taric.



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The reason why most Taric player prefer Armor over every other rune is because Taric W passive and damage scale off armor. But I prefer more of a mix between health and armor for survivability in lane.

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Your First items should be relic shield. Helps you give your adc sustain and you some health.
The refillable potion is for upgrading into hunter's potion as soon as possible. Whether you get harassed out of lane early or sit in the bush for twenty minutes you should have enough to upgrade this on your first back.



Targon's Brace

I have been experimenting on which to get first, Targon's or Hunter's and cloth, and it comes down to this. If you need the sustain on your carry the Targon's is better.

But if your carry is doing alright or if the enemy won't let you use the Targon's stacks then cloth and hunter's is a better option. Cloth will allow you more tankiness, scaling on W, and increase you AA DPS which can be powerfull early game. Hunter's will allow you to sustain some mana for the jungle gank if you have a jungle that actually ganks for bot lane.


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Boots of speed~ I don't like building these on Taric but if you find yourself getting rundown by faster opponents or you just need the extra movemnt before you can finished your Dead Man's Plate then you should get these. Deadman's should fix your movement issues. The extra movement speed is nice when added with deadmans plate but should be sold around the fourth or fifth item.
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Eye of the Equinox

By now you should be 6 or be about to be 6. And what I would recommend getting every time if you don't already have it is sightstone. Wards will allow the lane to see the jungle gank. Wards will allow your team see the enemy getting dragon.

Rushing a Chain Vest will let you be the boss of the lane. Chain Vest will give you 40 armor making you tankier to physical damage. This scales your passive on W and your passive damage on Bravado

Make sure to finish your Eye of the Equinox Eye of the Equinox first so you can get the 10% CD, wards, and massive health bonus. Health scales your Q .





You need magic resist at this point.

The preferred build path is to build straight in Locket of the Iron Solari to allow your team to survive either so your ult can take place or when your ult is down.

Abyssal Scepter is a great item for if your team has a lot of AP. This item gives health and also gives you much needed CD.

Mikael's Crucible should be taken for instances like if your carry is always getting hit by that Morganna stun. Plus CDR and 20% to heals and shields. (+10% from windspeaker)





For your last three items you have rather a huge pool of items to choose from. Pick what you need or what the team needs. I will go more in depth on how the items work it the item descriptions.

Your should be sold when it is no longer useful.


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Your Build up to this point should looks something like this...

Eye of the Equinox

or

Eye of the Equinox

Hunter's Potion~ This will really help your early game and even into mid game. It gives you 5 refills that regenerate 60 health and 35 mana. 5*35=175mana 175/60= gives you about 2.9 casts extra. In plat or higher this might be useless but in gold this can save your and your carries life or get you that kill.


~~~ So why not Sapphire Crystal ? ~~~

Sapphire Crystal is roughly the same price and gives Taric more mana. Building a Sapphire Crystal gives you three choices. Build into a Glacial Shroud , a Sheen , or sell it later.

Glacial Shroud is good if you know for sure you are going to build into a Frozen Heart

Or you could build it into a Sheen and later into Iceborn Gauntlet . This will make Taric more into a glass hammer early. You will need to get into CC range and possibly spam your abilities for best damage. Your damage will fall off mid-late game but you will still get a nice 20% CDR and a on-hit slow. If you go this route then your next two items are going to be boots and a MR item. This will veer the build path away from an early Deadman's plate for movement so Iceborn is not built .





Eye of the Equinox
Eye of the Equinox~ Why Eye of the Equinox over Face of the Mountain? Honestly they are both great items but Taric doesn't really need Face of the Mountain for that extra shield and it will slow your build path. Eye of the Equinox gives similar stats and lets you rush sight stone.



Boots of speed- If your falling to far behind your teammates or the enemy is going to consistently run you down before you can finish your Dead Man's Plate then you should pick these up. I usually sell these later but you can upgrade them if needed or preferred.



Dead Man's Plate~ This item I almost always take over boots most of the time. The Speed is equal to boots, gives a on-hit slow, gives Taric much needed damage, and the build path is solid. The Armor is good for that adc and the Health is great for the pesky AP support. I find myself rushing this almost every game. Overall a great item.



Locket of the Iron Solari~ Ask this question, Can my team survive that 2.5 seconds until my ults procs. If not then you should probably rush this as a third item.



Abyssal Scepter~ Great AP resist item that I usually take if i don't need locket or my team has a lot of AP damage.




Redemption~ The item that answers the question. What do I do after my Ult finishes. Proc your ult then just activate this on your team for the ultimate ultimate. Aiming can be tricky.




~Good if your carry is always getting stunned or need an answer to that Morganna stun. Also increases your shields and heals by 20%. Gives a nice 10% CD reduction and 40 MR as well. The mana regen. is nice but by the time this is built mana regen. is not usually a concern.




~Gives more survivability for your carry by taking some of their damage as true damage. In return you get healed by their damage on enemy champions. Gives a nice armor and health bonus as well. Usually a must buy for a fourth or fifth item. You will notice the difference in your carries survivability.




~This item is OP on Taric. Gives Taric everything he want except movement. Downsides is the gold cost and when the enemy gets a last whisperer.




The best item against criticals and good against auto attacks. Usually being a support you don't always have the luxury of building this item early. Take this as a final item if criticals are a problem. Such as fighting a Yi or Yasou




~New item will wait to see how it plays out.




~Lots of health and CD reduction. Can be better than straight armor. Good for a final item.




~Good vs people like Karthus who spam the same spell.

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So you've read the guide so far and if your like me it went in one ear and out the other. Here's a brief rundown so far.

-AA reduce CD with passive

-Use you Q when it has 3 stacks.

-Q and W give bonus Armor and MR from Windspeakers for 3 sec when used

-Sometimes its better to hold onto your E-Stun

-Timing is important on your ult

-I don't believe in building boots on Taric so we build Deadman's Plate


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Your number one priority in this aspect should be feeding your carry. But quite often you will get the enemy down to one auto and they will flash or leap away before you carry can get his last auto off. So if you think that the enemy could get away then you should take the kill. Then go buy an early chainvest and bully the enemy bot lane.



The game has just started and you just helped out your jungler take their camp and now your in lane. What do you do now? You wait...

Taric has a hard time going agro in lane early due to the fact he has long CD and high mana cost. In order to sustain yourself and your adc just defend your adc and use your relic shield to keep them healed.

If your adc is about to take damage then shield them. Often this will result in them taking little to no damage and often counter attacking causing the enemy adc to take more damage. Your shield CD is long so you have to use your best judgement on the types of damage to shield from.

If the enemy try to dive your adc then go for a stun on their adc and hit them with x2 AA . It is better to focus your damage on the enemy adc than the support.

You should only use your Q when it has three stacks, or your adc will die without it, or your in an all in fight and your trying to proc Windspeakers .

Now I am not saying to never agro them. If you see an opening then take it. If the enemy support is pushed to far up then stun them. Your stun actually does a good amount of damage. But watch your mana and make sure you have enough to defend your adc. A Taric with no mana is almost useless.




By now you should have a hunter's potion with a Targon's Brace and/or cloth. You can start trying to get agro with the enemy now. Watch your mana, keep up your sustain, throw your W to the jungle when they come to gank, and do not let your carry die. If they do die then you either get the kill on the enemy adc or get out alive.

-Pre-six
If your lane gets dived by the enemy jungler then you only have one stun to get out alive or turn the fight, Make it count.

-After-six
Better to Ult right away than wait for the perfect moment if the enemy jungler is within 2.5 sec of being on your carry.

If your team is full of assassins and squishies it is better to cast your ult at the beginning of the fight rather than waiting for a better chance. Hopefully someone gets a guardian angel or a hourglass.






-You should stick with your adc 90% of the time.

-Use your Ults during teamfights

-As the game goes later on it is better to cast your ults on tanks or champions with guardians so you can get the dual casting off.

-Stick with your team, if a fight breaks out you should be there. Taric is the master of dirty team fights.

-If the team dies you die. If the enemy focuses you instead of your team, then you team usually wins.

-Wait for the enemy champions like Fizz or Yi to use their gap closers before trying to stun them







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Here is a full video on playing Taric. Its not showing how to dominate with Taric or be OP with Taric but it shows Good and Bad plays along with Good and Bad uses of Tarics Ult. This a Gold/Plat game. Don't judge me to hard on the mistakes that are made. They do get punished.



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The audio recorded my mic for some reason and I was at a coffee shop. Turn of the sound



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