Soraka Build Guide by X da Reaper
Build Guide
Discussion (41)
1: AP 2: Hybrid 3: Support |
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| Health | 2881 |
| Health Regen | 14.4 |
| Mana | 2070 |
| Mana Regen | 34.4 |
| Armor | 138.49 |
| Magic Resist | 119.3 |
| Dodge | 0 |
| Tenacity | 0 |
| Movement Speed | 405 |
| Gold Bonus | 0 |
| Attack Damage | 102.8 |
| Attack Speed | 0.852 |
| Crit Chance | 0%S |
| Crit Damage | 0% |
| Ability Power | 440 |
| Life Steal | 0% |
| Spell Vamp | 0 |
| Armor Penetration | 0 |
| Magic Penetration | 7.83 |
| Cooldown Reduction | 35% |
Recommended Runes
Ability Sequence
Mastery Tree Is Outdated
WARNING: These masteries are still using the old tree and have not been updated to the new tree by the guide author. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.
Masteries
Introduction
I highly suggest reading the whole guide or you are likely not going to do that well with this build. I am not some super veteran, just another LoL player with an opinion. I am very open to suggestions so talk to me before you down vote if you would be so kind.
This is by no means suppose to be some amazing build, just my personal preference from experience. The fun thing about 
Soraka is that when you build her to deliver hurt she can still be passed over for other targets. This leaves you free to Infuse and Starcall enemies before they realize you are steam rolling them in groups.
If you go for the AP or hybrid builds your heals are weak until about mid game. The trade off is that you can plow through minions and feed mana to champs who then turn that into incredible pain for the other team. It takes a very good lane mate to fully utilize this build. I have had my best games with Soraka using this build.
Under Construction
I am currently reworking this guide, it's going to take some time to get it up to par, please be patient with me.
10/14/2012 reworked ap items and changed some guide info.
Addressing game changes
So they made some major changes to Soraka since I built this guide. In response to this I added the support page since the changes strengthened her support role with the new Infuse.
The hybrid build is still very possible though since it helps address the high mana costs of Soraka. The AP build has been completely reworked.
Pros / Cons
+ So much fun late game it should be illegal
+ Late game Wish turns team fights almost every time with a good team
+ Farm is Epic with Starcall properly built
+ You can push lanes so fast you never need to be in danger
+ Late game Astral Blessing restores so much health it's almost disgusting
+ Mid-Late game Infuse hits like a truck propelled by rockets
+ Smart casting isn't a must for Soraka (though I smart cast everyone anyways)
+ Infuse silences and slows (with 
Rylai's Crystal Scepter) enemies for easy kills or fantastic teammate saves
- Early game Astral Blessing can feel weak, you won't be saving anyone's bacon without Wish most of the time
- You are pretty squishy start to finish
- If the other team realizes what a game changer you are they are going to hunt you down in team fights
- You have a lot more responsibility as carry and healer (like 
Kayle)
Masteries
My logic behind this setup aims to give you a little help with damage (because AP Soraka really does hit like a truck) and give you enough gold and mana boost to get her set up well. I use this mastery setup and wait for the extra 15 gold to get my 
Boots of Speed and 
Faerie Charm from the start so I can get that little extra mana boost to help spam Starcall. The Boots of Speed help you get in and out of range for Starcall safely. You can use 
Teleport to get you to lane instantly or walk, it's only a few seconds tardy to lane for walking. I recommend laning with a partner who eats mana to maximize this builds potential.
Items
I prefer this particular item setup because I like the survivability early and the pain later game. Don't forget how much your AP helps your Wish and Astral Blessing you might not be as helpful as the common Soraka support early, but late game you can almost carry the team provided you don't let yourself get focused.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter is good to try and get early so your silence and star call are even more detrimental to the enemy with its slow. I go with 
Ionian Boots of Lucidity because you should be standing behind your team pretending like you aren't punching your enemies in the face while they aren't looking.
Lich Bane is a debatable item, there are a lot of choices I just like the idea of all that damage on a ranged attack that no one is expecting to hurt.
Just a note, 
Deathfire Grasp is another viable option to replace a more expensive item and gain some CDR. You could also consider getting 
Shurelya's Reverie it's really all going to depend on what your income is like. I provided a budget build that provides better cool downs at the cost of some AP. You could bring this build cost down some more by replacing 
Morello's Evil Tome with a Shurelya's Reverie but it's not going to save you that much, but your team will probably appreciate the active boost from it.
Runes
Like I said, I aim for survivability as much as I can, these runes aim for that while providing a little extra punch. Your a very likely to get focused as Soraka if the enemy team thinks they can get easy kills off you.
Skill Sequence
The skill order isn't exactly an easy thing to remember but I feel it gives Soraka the best sustain. Feel out what skills you need to level as you play, if you are running short on mana too much focus on Infuse a little more. If you or your ally are having health problems put some more points into Astral Blessing. I don't like getting past level three in Astral Blessing in the early game since the mana cost can start to hurt pretty quick. Also keep an eye on your Starcall level and spam rate. You can burn through mana a lot faster then you would think since Soraka has such high spell costs.
With a quick witted partner and the early Boots of Speed you can land a first blood pretty quick using Starcall as a health shredder. The great thing about it is that is gets scary pretty quick and it's amazing for landing that last hit in a lot of tough situations.
The thing to keep in mind is that these builds on 
MOBAFire aren't the bible. If you and or your team mate get low on health right off the bat you can take Astral Blessing sooner. If you want to feed your partner the farm focus on Infuse a little more. What I have listed here is for an ideal scenario but it's not often that you get handed that.
Summoner Spells
The logic behind this setup is pretty sound for me, tower surrounded by a ton of minions and about to go down?
Teleport in and slaughter them in seconds with Starcall
Tower survives and you are now well funded to go buy more hurt.
The same could be said for a close team fight
Wish, Teleport, Starcall and or Infuse for the win.
Flash is a must have for escape and the amazing Flash Starcall and or Infuse to secure a kill that would have otherwise gotten away. Of course you are welcome to try other spells but I feel this is the best combination.
Team Work
Your team needs to understand how to work with you. A big key to making full use of Soraka is having your team mates know to trick enemies into over extending or diving towers or stick to a fight and have you cast Wish to swing things in your allies favor. If you aren't doing this you aren't getting the full benefits of Soraka. I believe Soraka can be the best support in the game but only if used properly (just my opinion, I realize 
Sona is epic and probably better).
It's also very important to remember that if your whole team could use a heal, cast your Wish if you think you won't need it very soon. A major problem with most global ultimate champs is that most people playing them are much too conservative with their ultimate's. I am not saying to go willy nilly and fire off your ultimate every time the cool down is up or something like that, but how much did you really contribute if you only used your global five or six times in a 60 minute game?
Your Responsibility
I have been playing team mate caretaker since I started playing LoL and I main in characters who are good at just that.
Alistar
Blitzcrank
Cho'Gath
Gangplank
Kayle
Nasus
Nunu
Sejuani
Soraka
Viktor
Each one of these champs excels at controlling enemies or saving allies in some form or another. My best character is probably Kayle tied closely with Cho'Gath. As Kayle I plan ultimate's to either save team mates or screw enemies trying to secure a kill. I have a very long list of epic saves under my belt because I love the support role more then anything else. Kills are fun but chasing an enemy away from a dying team mate as Cho'Gath with maxed 
Feast stacks is even better. That's the mind set you need to be in as Soraka.
I am not saying it isn't your job to bring the pain too. I have landed a triple kill or two with Starcall in a team fight but I don't try for it, I focus on protecting team mates first and nuking enemies second. It's not about how your score looks, it's about securing a win through superior tactics. If you are doing your job right you will have a lot more assists then kills. I am not suggesting pulling any Starcall punches or risking loosing a kill to let another champ take it. I am just saying it's important to remember your first job is support even if you are dealing damage like an atom bomb.
Summary
Soraka is a somewhat versatile champ and right now she is one of the strongest supports. I will be looking to revamp the guide soon so suggestions are welcome! Remember that you are a big part of the success of any guide on this site.
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