Looking to branch out a bit

[quote=BroughtMyFgame]Hey everyone, new player (to the whole genre, not just LoL) here looking for some input: When I play most games, I tend to go for more of a support character. I've played for about a week and a half, level 14 (I believe) and I've found that I play about an 80/10/10 split between [[Zilean]], [[Kayle]], and [[Morgana]]. I really like Morgana's abilities but they really don't seem support-like, and Kayle's abilities don't feel strong enough to truly support anyone. I tried [[Karthaus]] but never quite got a feel for him. Would someone like a [[Fiddlesticks]] or [[Malzahar]] be a decent fit, or are there better ones out there?[/quote]

[quote=Klausenheim]Most of the characters you listed can be played as a support, but they are better suited to other roles ([[Kayle]], for example, is actually a very strong AD Carry). That's not to say it can't work and/or won't be enjoyable. If you really enjoy playing support, I would suggest picking up one of the "true" support characters, which include but are not limited to: [[Soraka]] [[Janna]] [[Alistair]] [[Sona]] [[Taric]] Those are, I believe, the most common supports. Outside of those, there are a ton of other characters who can fit into the support role quite well, including some that you listed, like [[Zilean]]. However, the ones I listed all have sustain spells (i.e. a heal or a shield) which will make it much easier for you just starting out. They also tend to have some type of CC (crowd control) spell which will let you peel attackers off of your teammates and keep them alive in sticky situations. Another thing to keep in mind is that many players at low levels will play VERY aggressively when they know you are backing them up. Unfortunately they will blame you when they overextend and get killed, despite your help. Try to communicate early and often that you are not a portable invincibility dispenser, and that smart lane control and positioning is STILL required! Good luck out there, and have fun.[/quote]

[quote=The Overmyynd]Ok, here is what you need to know for support (from a support player) There are 3 different kinds of support champs out there. The traditional Meta supports usually have defensive abilities, like shields or heals. Janna, Soraka, taric, Alistar, and sona all have these. Jana has a shield and several forms of knockback, soraka, alistar, taric, and sona have heals. The most powerful heal belongs to soraka (with summoner heal spell she has 3 healspells @.@). Taric has a stun along with a passive armor buff that goes to any freindly champ he is near, and a steroid buff ultimate. Sona works on providing auras and a funny CC for an ult. Alistar has a heal and is extremely tanky, with good to great CC, and is by far the most aggressive of the group. Now, outside of the meta, there are 2 other kinds of supports, depending on what kind of lane you want to run. Control by Zoning, and Kill Zone. Control by zoning is dominated by two characters in particular, Zilean and Maokai, altho LuLu is sneaking her way in there too. Both of these characters have long range abilities that do large amounts of damage, (and lulu is just irritating as hell) which makes enemy champs afraid to come near your ad carry or even your own creeps, if you are good enough. However they can be countered by being sufficiently aggressive, with good coordination. There are other champs that can accomplish this same goal, im sure, but mao and zil are the two most prominent. As far as "kill lane", most of the characters that dominate this speciality have several forms of hard CC built in, as well as a distance closer. The very best character for this kind of lane is Blitzcrank. His rocket grab launches at an enemy player, and if it lands, yanks them to Blitz's position. THis, combined with a knock up and a silence, means that if a blitz lands a grab on you and his AD carry partner is in range of the blitz, you are pretty much dead. End of story. This "Kill Zone" lane is by far the hardest to run, and requires significant communication with your partner. I would recommend you not try it unless you have vocal contact with your partner. It may be the hardest, but it can be the most deadly, especially if your opponents like to put themselves out of position too often, or they get desperate for creeps. Hope this helps! P.S. if you need more help or advice feel free to add me in game, "The Overmynd". i already mentor lots of other players, its kind of what i do lol[/quote]

[quote=BroughtMyFgame]Thanks for the input, guys. For some reason I've always viewed [[Taric]] as an offense player that just has good defensive abilities, maybe it's just the people I've played against. I thought about [[Sona]] or [[Soraka]] but they seem to be really squishy (mind you, I play a considerable amount of vs. AI, and they're not exactly optimized from what I've seen lol). [[Blitzcrank]] seems like a decent choice, but I've heard he's really tricky to use properly. And I don't think I've ever seen [[Janna]] or [[Maokai]] ever played; if so, I don't remember them at all. I think the thing that I like the most about Zil is the really good AP scaling for all his abilities, so I don't have to worry about going for AD or AS as much. I don't really worry about healing since I (or a teammate) can just dive a tower with my ult on if almost dead. Also, with the range of his bombs, most players will retreat away from minions to avoid giving me the kills, so even though it's not hard CC, its still effective. EDIT: Oh wow, just took a look at Maokai O.o A slow, a stun, a ward, big AoE ult and passive healing? Think I'm gonna grind 2000 more IP[/quote]

[quote=The Overmyynd]Lawl great choice, he has been my main for months now. The range on the sapling toss is INSANE, and it deals 100% of ap+ a certain amount, as long as both parts of the spell hit, which you can almost guarantee with a little practice at keeping track of the minion waves. Zilean has great range and great AP scaling, yes, which is why i rank him as on par with maokai as far as offensive support. If you can zone through damage, you dont really need hard CC to own your lane. And once you get into higher elo games or ranked, it will become much more structured, like a chess match, and the relative squishyness of soraka and sona are countered by the fact that the opposing team is also likely to have a similar build bot. That, and the support in those instances is ALWAYS behind the AD carry, so its impossible to get at the support without taking serious damage in the process which would likely end in at least one of you dying without success anyway @.@, just kind of how it goes at higher levels. And taric can be played almost every way you can imagine (with limited success as anything but a support), so its likely you have seen him played in a non-traditional manner before. Not surprising. But, seeing as how im more of an aggressive support (thank playing months of support Mao for that rofl) i tend to find myself gravitating more towards taric and alistar as far as "traditional" supports go. Seriously, tho, you should add me on NA, i would be more than happy to lend you a helping hand XD[/quote]

[quote=Alissera]Heyy, I like playing Supporters, and i prefere [[Janna]] (I cant belive that you havnt seen her in some games. She is played in ranked games very often) and [[Leona]]. Both are very strong supporter even in late-game. I dislike [[Sokara]] or [[Sona]] because both are very squishy and not that good in the end. Janna has 2 skills for cc. With [[Howling Gale]] she can interrupt channaling skills like Nunu's [[Absolute Zero]] or Karthus [[Requiem]]. It is a great escape ability, also. If you are an experienced Janna player you can do funny things with your [[Monsoon]]. You can throw enemies into your tower or into friendly attacks. Aditional it is a nice help for your teammates if you protect them from enemies by throwing them away. The heal is not that much, but better then nothing. Your [[Eye Of The Storm]] is very effectively in early and mid game. The shield blocks some attacks and it gives an additional attack-boost. Because of its low cd its very useful. Her [[Zephyr]] iss pretty cool, you can walk by minions without getting blocked, and it grants you a nice runspeed boost. The active is good to hunt an enemy or to escape from a single one. Her passive [[Tailwind]] is not that strong, but better than nothing. All in all I like her most, because she supports very good, she has great escape abilities and she is useful in lategame. Now to [[Leona]]. I think it is the champ with the most cc in the game, because of 3 skills that stun. But the reason why she is a great supporter is her passive [[Sunlight]]. That allows your carry to deal much damage. Because of her great cc she is a very aggressive support, but the stun can be used to protect your teammate as well. To iniate an attack you normally start with [[Zenith Blade]], but you activate your [[Eclipse]] before, so it explodes while you are near the enemy. If you hit the enemy champ you are directly on his side. Now you can stun him with your [[Shield of Daybreak]]. While this time your carry can deal much damage to your target. If he is not dead after that combo you can use your [[Solar Flare]] to stun him again. A normal carry, ap or support should be down now :P. This ulti is very useful in teamfights because it is AOE stun. In total Leona is a nice supporter with much cc and she is a bit more tanky then the others. But i recommend her only to premates who communicate via teamspeak or skype, because you need a good coordination. I hope i can help you with my post =)[/quote]

[quote=The Overmyynd]Yes, i had forgotten about leona... Also a good choice, but not one that i have had too much trouble with, mostly because a proper support does not build a whole lot of ap to deal the massive amount of damage that the abilities suggest she can do. But yes, add Leona to the list of viable champs. Suppose her and Lulu could make their own category... Suppose CC Heavy could be made XD[/quote]

[quote=Klausenheim][[Maokai]] is a great choice if you dislike the squishy supports. While I hesitate to call him a support (he is so powerful in the jungle and as a solo laner), he can set up kills all day long for your laning partner. He also scales into a great end-game tanky AP. Also, I forgot to mention [[Lulu]] who is ridiculously powerful right now. You can build her as support one game and top lane damage dealer the next. Very flexible and powerful champion.[/quote]

[quote=Jovy]Kayle is a actually a pretty decent support even with her heal being .. bad. with this patch she'll get a really nice buff and you should try her as a support then :3 Lux is a also a great support even though she is prefered as an ap mid by lots of people, and same for Morgana really. out of the 'real' supports best picks are Soraka & Janna right now, seeing as Sona's recent nerf really got her badly. Alistar is a also a nice support, though I can't play him very well :x so i'm not all that sure about him.[/quote]

[quote=The Overmyynd]The biggest thing with Alistar is positioning. Controlling the bushes, then when an attack comes in getting to the outside of the champ, so when u headbut him he hits a wall and gets stunned. Then stun him again when you catch up to him. Thats basically alistar. Super tanky, very aggressive, great at zoning just by standing there.[/quote]