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4/17/11 - Guide Posted

My first guide in forever. I have decided that there have been NO Soraka guides recently so I made this one.

Soraka is the most underrated support that I have ever seen. She can change games with her Ultimate Super Heal, Wish, and heal very quickly. Mana is NEVER an issue with her either, using her Infuse to regenerate mana faster than she can heal. What is not more to ask from a support. Best of all, she can, with some auras, completely turn a game around for a team.

Now, some of you may notice that I only finished 2 items for the final build and started the Soul Shroud. This is because it becomes very situational on what you get with her. She doesn't need much to become an tier 1 support. But, as any support is like, she depends on the team to do well also...

So I hope you enjoy this guide and PLEASE read it fully and give explanation before you downvote. Also, feel free to give constructive criticism.

Pros:
- Can keep someone in lane for a VERY long time
- Can help someone get farmed
- Does not require a ton of gold to do well with
- Works well with any team composition.
- Never runs out of mana unless you don't infuse yourself/teammates
- Not very squishy for support
- Can heal anyone very quickly

Cons:
- Very team dependent to do well
- Not for people who like to get kills
- Cannot carry
- Focus fire on her will ruin her
- No innate auras in her skills

I go with Clairvoyance for obvious reasons. It is a support spell and she works well with it. It can help her scout for the enemy jungler and help her team with map awareness. What more is there to ask for in that skill.

The second spell I get is Teleport. I use this mostly for mobility to help you get back to the lane to keep your teammates alive and to save others. No reason not to get it.

Other Spells you could consider are:
- Flash | It allows for easy access to people, repositioning, and escape.

- Ghost | It allows for catching up and running away; mostly the former.

- Fortify | Nice Spell to stop a push in its tracks.

- Revive | Not the best spell in the world. Causes funny revive heals to turn the tide of a battle though.

Other Spells that are okay:
- Heal | Not really needed. It is basically another heal for the healer.

- Exhaust | Useful to help finish the enemy. A carry can use this better.

- Rally | Hey, it gives some nice AD to your team. More aura FTW?

Other Spells that are BAD!:
- Clarity | You already regenerate mana amazingly fast; no need for this.

- Ignite | Leave this to someone who actually NEEDS kills.

- Smite | Not jungle and don't need as much farm.

Debatable Spells:
- Cleanse | I think that it isn't worth it. Once you get focused, you are most likely dead anyway. It would help for running but that is about it. Flash and Ghost do better IMO.


You should ALWAYS get Clairvoyance. YOU ARE SUPPORT! YOU GET IT!

Runes are kind of hard to figure out for her. She doesn't really need mana regeneration. CD reduction is on almost ALL of the auras that you should first get on her. Armor and Magic Resist could be decent for survivability, but not truly needed either. So, I came up with this little group of runes.

Marks:

RECOMMENDED - 9 Greater Marks of Force - These bad boys give .1 AP per level, totaling out to 1.8 AP per rune by level 18. Seeing as she does NOT need magic penetration due to using her Attack Skills ONLY for utility and/or mana, AP helps the most in this category. All of her Skills scale off of AP anyway in some way.

Others you can get:

9 Greater Marks of Potency - These give flat AP, for those times you want a better early game. But, I feel that her early game is already so easy and good that AP per level outperforms these.

9 Greater Mark of VitalityGreater Marks of Vitality - At 9.72 HP per level, these guys could save your early soft butt from being clawed at the claws of Warwick. Hey, they are better than nothing.

Seals:

RECOMMENDED 9 Greater Seals of Evasion - These amazing dodge runes give .75% chance to dodge, for a total of 6.75% chance to dodge. This can save your life and make those AD carry people miserable. A support that they can't hit? BONUS!

Others that you could get:

9 Greater Seals of Resilience - These give some nice flat armor for extra survivability. Better than nothing.

9 Greater Seals of Warding - Same as armor, but magic resist. What more to ask?

Glyphs:

RECOMMENDED 9 Greater Glyphs of Celerity - These are nice even if you get CD reduction in items anyway. The extra CD makes it so you need less to max it. Great stuff here XD

Others that you can get:

9 Greater Glyphs of Warding - These give Magic Resist.... Okay....

9 Greater Glyphs of Resilience - Armor YAY!

Quintessences:

RECOMMENDED 9 Greater Quintessences of Focus - These gals(can't keep saying guys XD) give more CD Reduction. Not that she needs much since her items give it, too. But, there isn't much better.

Others that you can get:

9 Greater Quintessences of Potency - Flat AP FTW!

9 Greater Quintessence of KnowledgeGreater Quintessences of Knowledge - Why not some Mana per Level XD


There really isn't much choice with her. She doesn't need a lot of things.

Fun fun here. First off, you should always try to get the masteries for your summoner spells. So, with my recommended ones, you will get Mystical Vision and Spatial Accuracy. With this, you need at least 17 points in the Utility tree to get both. Strength of Spirit is nice in the Defense tree, as there really is no other thing to get other than that outside of the Utility tree, and it increases survivability a bit. So I came up with this combination of 0/7/23. This will allow you to have tons of CD reduction and other helpful things while leveling faster and regenerating health at a higher rate.

- Starcall (Q) - Strikes nearby enemy units for 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+25% of ability power) magic damage and reduces their Magic Resistance by 8 for 8 seconds This effect stacks up to 20 times.

Cooldown 3 seconds | Cost 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 mana | Range 630

- This is mainly used to reduce MR, which helps your AP casters a ton. Does decent damage at max, too. But, this is not a priority seeing as you are going support following this guide. W, E, and R have higher priority.


- Astral Blessing (W) - Restores 80 / 120 / 180 / 240 / 300 (+90% of ability power) health and grants 20 / 35 / 50 / 65 / 80 bonus armor for 9 seconds.

Cooldown 9 seconds | Cost 90 / 110 / 130 / 150 / 170 mana | Range 650

- This is a great heal. A lot of people like to build AP to abuse the MASSIVE AP ratio. I don't. It already heals for a good amount and aura items do more for your team. Anyway, you get an aura item that give AP anyway. This is top priority with your E and R.


- Infuse (E) - If cast on an allied champion, restores 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 Mana to him and yourself. Doubled when self-cast.

If cast on an enemy champion, silences them for 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 second(s) and deals 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 (+60% of ability power) magic damage.

Cooldown 15 seconds | Range 725

- I love this skill. The pure mana regeneration is amazing. It can be a nice nuke as well if you have some AP. But, other than that, it should be used for Mana Regen. Nuke only if you don't need the mana.


[icon=Wish size=300 - Wish (R) - Instantly restores 200 / 320 / 440 (+130% of ability power) health to all allied champions.

Cooldown 120 / 110 / 100 seconds | Cost 250 / 350 / 450 mana | Range 25000(WHOLE MAP)

- This makes Soraka who she is. The global heal is ungodly if you stack AP and is amazing even if you don't. 440 health healed to 5 champions can already change games. Very mana intensive though. Use if a teammate is going to die, etc. There will be a brief section on this skill.


Consecration - Consecration (PASSIVE) - Increases surrounding allies' magic resistance by 16

- Not much to explain here. Just another aura in the bunch that becomes truly effective in mid-late game.

You should start with a point in your heal. Then grab Infuse. Then Heal. etc....

This could be shown as this:

R > W > E > Q

I don't get Starcall until I max both W and E, but you can get one point in it if you like it better that way at level 3. I find that maximum lane sustainability with W and E are more important though.

Items are very obvious for support, for the most part, in the beginning. This hasty generalization is somewhat true for Soraka. Personally, no matter what, I believe any Soraka player should start with a Mana Manipulator. The mana regeneration aura just helps lane sustainability and helps to make the ally in your lane(HINT: LANE WITH SOMEONE WITH MANA!!!) last with you so much longer. They will love you. Now, whenever you are actually FORCED to go back. Buy as much of the following core as possible:

Core:

CD Reduction is VERY important. Always going for max. With Shurelya's Reverie and the eventual Soul Shroud, you should get it easy with the runes I got.

Now, with your boots, you could go a couple ways, depending on the team you face and your runes.

Boots:

- Ionian Boots of Lucidity - Only if you didn't get any of the CD runes.


- Mercury's Treads - VERY important if you are facing a CC team. This will allow you to get out of CC faster. This way, you can heal more.


- Ninja Tabi - Good against AD teams. ONLY against those too!


- Boots of Swiftness - Great movement speed for getting in and out fast as a healer. These should be gotten if the team you are against is not too overwhelmingly AD and has a lot less CC. AKA Default Boots.


- Sorcerer's Shoes - Good for nuking and that is it. Not needed as Soraka.


- Berserker's Greaves - NO! You are not in need of attack speed last time I checked.


- Boots of Mobility - Great for getting around fast, but the Boots of Swiftness are more reliable. I would get those, but these can be bought if you prefer them.


Now, after your choice of boots(I will follow the boots I put up there and get the Ionian Boots. Please substitute those for what you please.), you have 2 options. You could either go for another Aura item/support item, or you could finish your Soul Shroud. Either is a good route and will not effect your final build. If you choose the former, I would go with one of these:

Aura Items:

- Aegis of the Legion - GREAT AMAZING AURA ITEM HERE! This will change the course of the game without bringing much notice to itself. It will also make you that much more tankier. Heck, it makes your whole team tankier.


- Will of the Ancients - Good AP aura with some aura spell vamp. This is very good for you and your caster. Can also change a game without others noticing it. Very underrated.


- Stark's Fervor - Great for your whole team, especially your DPS. This can be gotten so your DPS doesn't have to. Not top priority unless other team getting some Armor/your team can't survive long enough.


- Frozen Heart - Good for making you tankier. But, despite the attack speed reducing aura, it really isn't a high priority. ESPECIALLY with your already capped CD reduction with SS, Reverie, and runes/boots. Your call.


Now, after one of these(I RECOMMEND AEGIS HIGHLY), you should finish that Soul Shroud. If you did Soul Shroud first, get the Aura item(AEGIS). Core should now look something like this:

Core:

So, after that, the transition between mid and late game is here. You can get another aura if you want; they really turn the game around; or you can get a situational item. If you get another aura, which you really should only get one more, I recommend the Will if you didn't already get it. The AP is helpful. This is only if your team doesn't consist of only AD. If that is true, get Stark's. Even if another got it, giving them double buff from it will help A LOT. After that aura item, you should get a situational item. Here is a list:

Situational Items:

- Banshee's Veil - Great counter to some CC. Helps to get away and to keep you from getting CC'd before an important heal. Works wonders with Mercury's Treads.


- Force of Nature - Helps to mitigate magic damage focus and makes you that much faster. Adds health regeneration, too, so it puts that much less downtime from healing yourself.


- Randuin's Omen - Good active and passive to help stop AD from attacking you. The threat from them helps to keep them away. Also, the health helps.


- Thornmail - Helps to keep AD from attacking you from fear of damage. Not much more.


Now, you should end up with one of these from these last 2 picks, unless you liked something else, as these are just what I would pick:

You have an AD team:

They have an AP/CC team:

They have an AD team:

or


All of these are up to you. I am not forcing you to a specific choice.

Here are some hints:



- It is better to be at a team fight than to be pushing on the other side of the map. Don't depend on your ultimate to be the one to save them; it isn't a replacement for you being there.

- Try to keep your mana at at least 60%. You never no when you will need to do more silencing than mana regenerating.

- Silence any enemy champions if they are threatening your teammates survival, if they are in a channel ultimate like Nunu & Willump's, or if they have an escape ability and are getting close to death.

- Spam Q during team fights. It will ruin the enemy's MR.

- Heal people in this order:
1. Whoever is being focused
2. AP carry
3. DPS
4. Off-Tank
5. Tank
6. Yourself
Now this might make you top priority if you are being focused. That is fine. If you are not being focused, follow this.

- Don't hesitate to pop your ultimate if your teammates are getting low health. It also keeps them in lane.

I hope you enjoy your games as Soraka and I wish the best for you out in the Fields of Justice.

mobrebel

IGN: RealistFreak <- Active
OIGN: IVIoB Rebel