Taric Build Guide by kwxp

Still under constructrion

Hey, I'm still adding contents to this page, but you will find most of the main info you might be lookin for.

Dangerous side of Taric !

Before I starting to talk about Taric, you must be prepare...Otherwise you may look or react like that:

Personnal History

Hello everybody,

I wanted to give you some of my history as prove of this topic.
I started the season2 at 700 elo (something like 2 win and 6 defeat if I remember correctly).
Then I spend more than 300 ranked game around this elo (lower at 500, best at 900 at this time).
With the end of the season2 approaching, I started to change my mind! Let's take what people do the worst! And of course, in elo hell (where everything is 80% of luck), supporting is the worst place you can play. No ward (or few) no one unward, ...

I start reading about "How to support". But the problem is, most of the content are completly right, but impossible or not relevant for elo hell. This "support" guide is more specific to Taric, but, you can easily picture any other support using the same build/content (I'm use to play karma the exact same way for example).

I can't promess you to have th esame result (80% of win with taric on more than 60 ranked games with him since I'm playing this way).
Now that I'm out of the elo hell (currently at 1580), I can't apply this "how to" anymore. People start, finally, to play with skill rather than luck! thank you so much for letting me see that! (I was desesperate after my 500 ranked game in season2 [season1 was different due to less ..."weird OP quickly feed" char.])
I hope this guide will give you some trick and idea on how to play in elo hell

Definition of Elo Hell

If you want to know if this guide is good for your elo or not, just check "my defenition" of elo hell:
- after 0,5 sec you already have 3 guys that want solotop, start fighting and insult each other
- the last pick is the support (and you got report before the game start because you are the support)
- People "try" some char ( I see an epic blitz ap jungle without runes...) ends with a blitz at 1-19-2. Thanks god my carry got feed at 32-1 in my bot lane ( I remember the " you serve kill like burger!", first time I was proud of beeing support :p)
- People leave during "ban selection" when they see Darius/Diana/Kassadin/Morgana ban... (they wanted to play Darius solotop... of course)
- People tell you directly: "I can only jungle or solotop"
- ...

This is only the definition before the game start! In game, my definition would be:
- People dying before 3:00mn in a 1vs 1(first minion waves at 2:00)
- People tower diving before level 6 and dying (it happen sometimes that they kill the ennemy...)
- Jungler dying in the jungle (most of the time on the red on)
- Jungler coming for a gank after his lvl 7 - 8 when he could have come before (bot lane played under our turret)
- Teamfight focusing the first guys coming = the tank
- Whining for a Ks in a 5 vs 5
- Asking more than 5 wards per back
- Answering that a jungler/solotop/mid don't have to ward them lane
- Explaining why they day giving extra information: lucky, got my ulti in 0,369 sec and you would have died letting me at only 121,23 hp and 419,47 mana.
- Saying that all the team got report at 5:00mn of the game
- Reporting the support by default (they must have a script for that)
- ...

I pass the "easy win" "easy noobs" "#go pex your skills" after a game of 55:00mn with overall score at 43-45 (for example). Then you arrive on the recap page with all the stats, it takes 20 sec (times for them to report everybody) to then start speaking about your mum, dad, ex-old-best-ugly girlfriend you had ...

Well, if most of the point in this list match with your experience of ranked game, that mean you are in elo hell, and this guide may help you to get out of this sh**

Runes

From my point of view, the mastery tree work at 100% with the type of your runes. You must have a logical mastery tree going the same way as your template (playing support with 21-9-0 mastery tree and speed attack-crit-health rune would just be part of another random elo hell ranked game).

I will present you 3 Runes types that I'm using, and telling you, in the next chapter, with what mastery tree match them

Family 1:

Those runes will give you enough armor and magic resist (cumulate with your passive Shatter ). The meta 1 gold/5 sec help you in the case where you don't get feed with assist (it help anyway...)

Family 2:
You lower your armor to have some mana regen. This is usually what I chose if I know that our lane will be played more in the ennemy camp than in our camp. That mean I can't use my passive regen on minions (example of the moment, blitz-ez | draven-soraka...) Usually you can determinate the type of the bot lane (passive bot lane : soraka | ash & tanky agressiv bot lane: urgot-karma & agressiv : draven | blitz).

Family 3:
Those rune are made in extrem case. Your team don't have any tank (top lane fizz,shaco jungle, brandt mid, ash bot) You know that you are the only one who can tank this game (properly). Those runes help you to handle a teamfight before you got your Chain Vest and Negatron Cloak.

Be carefull with those runes because you have no gold income and no mana regen. You play as tank bot lane that ward (get ready to handle trash talking about your items until you win)

Masteries

Like I said in the previous chapter, you HAVE TO use your runes according your summary tree and the other way around.
Masteries 1: 0-21-9

I recommend it with the Family 1 or 2 or 3 runes (tanky-gold and tanky/mp5/gold) (up to you to switch some point according to your general gameplay/feeling).

Masteries 2: 0-9-21 I recommend it with family 1 or 2 of runes (tanky-gold and tanky/mp5/gold). This template will give you more damage than usually

Items

You can't be supporting your team if you don't have:
- Ward
- Aoe damage / control (massive or not) / Buff
- Heal (spell or skill)
- Money income (your suppose to have 0 last hit and 0 kills)
- Halo

Whatever the char you take, your skill or spells may not be enough to support your team correctly.
As recommendation, I would like to say that, especially in elo hell, halo item are the best.
Frozen Heart Will of the Ancients Zeke's Herald ... are all good items. You just have to find the one that fit the best your char and your team ( Will of the Ancients will be useless in an AD team compare to Zeke's Herald ...)
For Taric here are the list (in my order) that feet usually most of the team (defensive halo/offensive/passiv):

: This is the best item for Taric and your team. Anti-Ad-carry (20% speed less) , Lot of Armor (combine with your passive Shatter it give you directly 200+ armor with your runes/masteries. The mana pull early game with Glacial Shroud is interesting and, the more important, after the Chain Vest every things cost less than 425 gold (650 to complete the build). You can build this item peace by peace every time you back, having money to buy some more wards!

: Using this Items will help in engaging or save most of your teammate trying to back

locket of the iron solary : you will have enough armor pull to build that with the using abilty that help on massive aoe attack/ulti (karthus/katarina/talon/brandt...) Your team will feel more confident when they engage the fight seeing a shield on them. Randuin's Omen would be good if there is an ad feed or just one AP carry (without aoe Ulti). The use will help in teamfight (decrease speed attack) or if you the opponent team start to back (snare).

The list here are other type of "halo item" you may prefer to use. Depending your team, the opponent team, and your income money (feed from assist or not / ...)

In addition to those halo items, I often put on of those two magic resist items. Again, you can chose the one that feet better your gameplay (hp regen /massive magic resist/speed walking increase)
: is good to engage a teamfight with more than 1 AP (and give you few more speed to do it) / (Hp/mana/absorb passiv /magic resist)
: is good against opponent like blitz / karthus / Darius / etc... it help absorbing the first skill (grap blitz / ulti or barrier of karthus / grab darius ...).

Skill Sequence

Especially in elo Hell, the best sequence (in the scenario describe) would be:

Your team is facing the other one mid. You got enough tanky to engaged a fight (don t engage a teanfight with only your 2 gold items). there are mainly 2 options:
- Use your items to have a sprint and reach the ad carry as soon as possible with your Dazzle, that may force him to desengage and then to have the rest of his team on your shoulder (which is great). Use your shield item, Radiance and a soon as you are under 60% hp heal you (or a teammate) to have the benefit of your ulti (increase healing and damage).
NEVER USE your Shatter until you have someone focusing you, otherwise you will lose all your passive armor and your team will lose the passive halo coming from it!

- Try to reach the carry ad, but get stuck in control of the rest of his team. Good! Your team can engage with the first waves of spells / ulti use. Use your shield item as soon as your team is around you, then Radiance and heal who need. Remember to use your exhaust on the ad carry when he is at good distance (very important, with Frozen Heart and exhaust the carry will make less damage than a full support soraka). NEVER USE your Shatter until you have someone focusing you, otherwise you will lose all your passive armor and your team will lose the passive halo coming from it!

Basicly the sequence is : Sprint item / Dazzle the carry ad / shield item / Exhaust Radiance / Imbue

How to maximize the "feed assist"

This is a very easy question to answer playing Taric! Use your Radiance middle of a teamfight, Imbue the carry ad to have most of the range assist that your Radiance wouldn't reach, exhaust on a range char out of Radiance, use your buff item (sprint / sheild) to have assists from any kill made by people affect by it.

Warding

Your AD carry combo!

I'm still experiencing all the combo.

But wihtout so much explaination, the best combo I did was Graves / Taric ( graves passif aröor + halo armor Taric).

Urgot is a nice carry to play with too knowing that he is the "tanky" carry AD of Lol.

Then I would put Vayne / Ezreal / Ash

The rest of the ad carry are still nice, but the "combo" that we are looking for (Taric tanking for the Ad carry to rush in the battle and burst while Taric got between the the 2 ad carry to minimize the damage (taking blitz grab/ezreal "q" / Ash "w" / etc..) ( Taric giving masive combo with passiv armor -> GRaves and Urgot)