Taric Build Guide by Worra

Introduction

Hello!

My name is Worra. I play at EU West server, and today I will show you my way of playing my most favorite support Taric. I play him very often and I have experimented alot of builds and gameplay strategies, and I will share only the best ones in this Taric guide.

Hope you enjoy the guide!

Pros / Cons

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Pros + Tanky by nature + Great against bottom ADs because of his passive bonus from Shatter + Has ALOT of burst at level 6 + Can protect his carry very well + Has a bit of sustain from Imbue + Awesome aura for teamfights Radiance

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Cons - Can easily get kited by supports such as Janna or Lulu - Cannot give as much as sustain as a Soraka can give - Fairly long cooldowns on 3 main spells pre-6 - Falls off mid-game if he doesn't get any kills in the laning phase - Needs to be really close to the target for his burst to be effective

Runes

• Greater Quintessence of Gold: You are a support therefore you should not be getting any farm, so this is your primary source of gold besides assists
  
• Greater Mark of Armor: As marks are damage-wise, and you are not supposed to be a high damage dealer, it's the best you get a bit of this extra armor. Although these runes don't give much armor, you still could get Greater Mark of Magic Penetration for more damage and burst if you feel going really aggressive.
  
• Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: Since you already have armor, you need a source of blocking some of the magic damage.
  
• Greater Seal of Armor: Taric is a tanky support, and armor seals are the best for bottom lane as you will mostly be taking physical damage

Masteries

I use 21 defense with Taric because he should be played as a tanky support. People usually use 21 in utility for extra gold income, but that should only be used with passive supports such as Soraka. You already have Greater Quintessence of Gold which will give you extra gold income, and as Taric you should be able to get alot of assists/kills in the laning phase as you're supposed to be aggressive.

8 in utility because you don't need offense in any way as you're a support. Utility will give you a nice flash cooldown reduction for setting up kills more often. Expanded Mind for extra mana due to his fairly low mana pool. 4 in Swiftness as you need the movement speed to stun running targets or to get close to do your Radiance + Shatter combo.

I also get 1 point in Summoner's Wrath so that the target you exhaust takes more damage from you and your team.

Summoner Spells

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Flash is your bread and butter spell. I can't stress how much every Taric player needs this. It brings so much - from numerous escape possibilities, all the way to Flash + Dazzle combos on escaping targets to catch them for your team. Highly recommended.

Exhaust is almost a necessity for botlane. When you fight 2on2 in your lane, you can reduce the enemy team's AD carry damage output and his armor/magic resist also wtih Summoner's Wrath (which was explained in the previous chapter). Overall a great spell for fights to reduce someone's damage output, movement speed and resist.

Ignite is a very useful spell if the enemy bottom lane has a support such as Soraka. It brings 50% healing reduction to a single target which is great if you want to go aggressive against such support. Also brings a chunk of true damage, which gives you even more burst. Consider getting this if the enemy team has Swain, Vladimir or some other champions that have self-healing. This is recommended with discussion from your team, especially in Ranked Solo/Duo Queue or Ranked Teams, where you can see the enemy team's pick.

Skill Sequence

Aggressive lane (RECOMMENDED!):

This is the usual leveling up orded that should be used. Leveling up Radiance whenever possible is regular, as it's his ultimate ability which helps his allies and deals decent damage. Shatter is leveled up first to protect you and your carries from taking too much physical damage as you'll be playing agaist an AD + support. It's also a great bursting tool in the laning phase combined with Radiance, as it reduces their armor for your AD carry to deal more damage. Imbue is leveled up third for utility, to heal your AD carry/teammates in tricky situations. Dazzle leved up last because leveling it up further brings more damage, and it's always better to have heal then more damage on a utility stun.

Passive lane:

While being in a passive lane, you should level up Imbue after your ultimate to heal your carry more, as you don't need the damage nor armor buff from Shatter. Shatter is leveled up third as it brings more armor and damage mid/late-game for your team, while leveling up Dazzle last as for the same reason stated in the first part of this chapter.

Laning phase - Laning Partners and Combos

In the laning phase you should look for as much kills and aggression you could possibly get. For that to happen, you need to have suitable laning AD carry partners.

He is one of the best laning partners you can get. His Mystic Shot and Essence Flux work extremely well with your Dazzle before level 6 and is a great zoning combo. At level 6 when you catch someone off-guard, it will be extremely easy to burst that target down. The best combo you can possibly imagine : Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Trueshot Barrage > Essence Flux > Mystic Shot > Arcane Shift (in case they try to run)


Graves + Taric is a devastating combo for botlane. Taric's Dazzle fits perfectly with Graves - he can follow up very quickly with his Quickdraw to get into range for his Buckshot and Collateral Damage, while getting an AD buff for those 2 spells with Radiance and the armor reduction from Shatter. Overall an extremely good partner that synergises well wih Taric. Combo: Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Buckshot > Collateral Damage > smokescreen (for some extra damage or blinding their support so they can't heal/shield their carry or stun/disable your carry)


Corki brings alot of burst which fits Taric well. His Phosphorus Bomb can be easily hit with Dazzle, aswell as his Missile Barrage at level 6. This combo brings alot of armor reduction aswell, considering that Taric already has his Shatter, while Corki brings Gatling Gun to the table aswell. This is a great combo that brings alot of fast burst and can easily shred armor on high armor targets. Combo : Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Phosphorus Bomb > Gatling Gun > Missile Barrage > Valkyrie (in case they flash or run))


This is an awesome combo which can pop-go targets that are out of position EXTREMELY fast. If you hit Dazzle with a target that is out of position (by out of position I mean either too close to you or next to a wall), Vayne's Condemn can be hit easily, where the same target dies instantly due to Radiance which increases her Tumble (and Condemn damage if used before she uses it) damage and due to her natural damage from Silver Bolts which ignores all armor targets and easily bursts down high health ones. Combo: Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Condemn > Tumble & Silver Bolts


Ashe brings another stun with her, therefore this is a dream for any jungler to gank. This lane combo is extremely poky due to her Volley which is pretty easy to hit with Dazzle. Most of Ashe-Taric lanes play passively and simply poke until they drop you to low HP, then they combo you with Dazzle + Enchanted Crystal Arrow. This combo works really well with someone with global presence that can gank your lane and kill it very easily like Nocturne, Twisted Fate, Shen or someone who can lane gank easily such as Alistar, Jarvan IV, Malphite, Maokai etc. Combo : Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Enchanted Crystal Arrow > Volley > continous slow with Frost Shot


Like Taric-Ashe, this lane is very poke based especially pre level 6. Piercing Arrow is Varus' main damage spell, which is hard to hit, but with this combo it's extremely easy due to the fact that Taric can stop targets with his Dazzle. This is also an awesome combo for your junglers (explained in the Ashe section in this chapter above this one) as Varus has a multi-target root with his Chain of Corruption. Although, even without your junglers, this combo is quite dangerous for your enemies itself. This is also a combo that brings ALOT of magic damage as Varus' spells deal magic damage. Combo : Dazzle > Radiance > Shatter > Piercing Arrow > 3 AAs for Blighted Quiver > Chain of Corruption > Hail of Arrows. NOTE that in this particular combo Hail of Arrows can be casted earlier if the enemy team support is a healer or the target you're trying to burst has Heal, as it brings 50% healing reduction.


IMPORTANT NOTE: In this guide I won't be covering less played ADs such as Miss Fortune, Draven, Kog'Maw, Twitch, Caitlyn & Tristana. The reason to that is not that they are bad with Taric, it's the fact that most of the people request tips for the above carries. Also, if there will be any requests to cover these stated underplayed carries, I will be covering those aswell.

Items

Starting items:

Faerie Charm + 3x Sight Ward + 2x Health Potion - This is the usual recommended start which gives you a bit of mana regen, wards to keep you and your carry safe and health potions in case you take some damage in the lane. Faerie Charm is also a part of your Philosopher's Stone you build later which generates your gold faster.

Boots of Speed + Sight Ward + Health Potion - This can be used if you want to roam or feel safe in lane as you only have 1 ward. Start like this should only be used situational, as it depends on who is your lane opponent / enemy jungler.

Core items:

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Philo stone is what you should aim for early game. It gives you everything you need early - a bit of mana regeneration, health regeneration and ofcourse gold per 10 seconds, as you won't be getting any farm/minions in the laning phase so you need every extra gold you can get. Also this is a part of Shurelya's Reverie which you build later. It boosts your and your team's movement speed for a few seconds, as that's what you need to catch up to people or run away from tricky situations. It only depends on you how early you build Shurelya's Reverie - ask your team or determine the situation yourself.

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This gives you a decent amount of health and gold per 10 seconds which is exactly what you need. Later on it could be built into 2 different items. You should build Randuin's Omen if the enemy team got 3-4 AD's or if the enemy team's AD is fed. That will slow his attack speed, aswell as movement speed for your team to catch him. I recommend Randuin's Omen late game as the enemy team AD is supposed to have alot of damage at that point. Locket of the Iron Solari should be built if you see that enemy team has alot of AOE damage such as Karthus, Galio, Ziggs, Wukong etc.



Aegis of the Legion is great to increase your tankyness aswell to give resist to your team and make them tankier. However, this costs alot of gold and again depends up to you how early you build it.

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Ninja tabi is the most regular thing built, especially as you'll be taking mostly physical damage in the laning phase. Consider Mercury's treads if you are getting stunned/slowed/snared alot. Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you're feeling safe and just want the extra CDR to poke more/burst them down more often. Build Boots of Mobility if you have an early Oracle's Elixir to clear the wards around the map, or if you want to roam and help your team in the laning phase.



This item is great if you have a sufficient number of autoattackers in your team. Again, it depends only on you how early you build it - build it earlier sometimes if you see that your team has alot of fed autoattackers. This is also useful when you have someone like Vayne, Kog'Maw, Tryndamere, Xin Zhao in your team.



Frozen Heart is awesome late game. It gives you a bit of extra mana to increase Taric's fairly low mana pool and ALOT of armor which is useful late game as you take most of the damage from their AD carry. Passive attack speed reduction is also great against the enemy's AD carry. I don't see how rushing this item really early is useful, as it brings nothing early game because there are much much much better item choices early game.

Situational items:



Extra magic resist and magic resist reduction you say, eh? Great! Build this if your team doesn't have one, or build it if the enemy team has double AP compostion/your team has double AP composition.



You should build this if your team doesn't have enough Ignites to stop the enemy team's healers such as Swain, Vladimir, Soraka, Warwick, Volibear etc. Ask your team wheter you need this or not. Although this is only situational as it should be build for the active effect of this item.



This item is extremely useful if you lack (magic) damage and/or if the enemy team has high health target. Active ability of this deals %HP so it is recommended to perhaps try and cast this item on the champion with the highest HP bar in the enemy team.

Warding

Always try to ward as much as you can. You won't always have gold to buy as much as wards to cove the whole map, so try to cover the most important objectives and spots (baron/dragon primarily, then everything else) and ofcourse also ASK YOUR TEAM TO HELP YOU!

I have made a simple album with pictures on warding.

I also made a whole map view so you can see it from the whole map perspective :

Red represents wards that both teams should have
Blue represents blue team's wards
Purple represents purple team's wards

Summary

I hope you have enjoyed my Taric guide. Please leave any constructive feedback and comments when voting!

Shoutouts to:
jhoijhoi for her awesome "Making a guide" guide!
P denz for tips and help on the guide!

Thank you for reading and see you on the Field of Justice!