Play more than 1 ranked game with Nami before you write a "high ELO author" guide.

Hey hey hey hey now!!! >:(

I may not really be maining support anymore, but that doesn't mean I can let people get away with comments like these. You better watch what you're saying, woman, or else.. or else....!!!


.....k I have nothing to really threaten you with, but you get the message.

Thanks a lot for the constructive post, Flammabubble!

About the layout: I'm still waiting for custom artwork, which will replace the // stuff (as I mentioned all the way in the bottom of the guide)

I agree that I can buy some more wards at the start, I've actually tried Flask + VW + SW in a ranked game and I kinda liked it, if I'm honest. I still think the start I recommend is better but I'll mention it more clearly.

About the items: I agree that all of them are not really great, but that's why I've listed them as alternatives; think about them in 8 out of 100 games, maybe.

Thanks again for the really nice feedback, much appreciated :)

Difference with Shard is a) you keep the gp5 that you had before meaning you can upgrade it earlier into an item with nice benefits, and still be saving gold, and b) it's an AoE that you can put on in a teamfight. In addition, the bonus mana regen aura is very useful. Rylai's I disagree with because you can put your slow onto someone that's closer than you are. It's less the fact that it's a slow, and more the fact that there are better items you could get at that stage in the game. If you're at the point where buying a rylai's is viable, there are better options.

About crystalline flask, personally I don't find myself running low very often. I have actually stopped buying pots at the start of the game, and so I have 70 gold left over that I save to spend later (I'm testing out not taking the wealth mastery at the moment). Generally, I don't use potions really at all, and I'd rather save money on them entirely so I can buy more wards, gp5's and the main items I want to be building. Personal preference, but I still don't think the flask should be a first buy, as I said before, getting it on your first b just means you're already sure you'll be needing it, and can be the little filler item you can buy if you die quite quickly and don't have enough gold for much else.

@Nameless: The idea was to buy Crystalline Flask at the start of the game. Your suggestion that buying a Philosopher's Stone means getting Sightstone quicker makes 0 sense when you could just buy a Sightstone anyway. Philosopher's Stone doesn't actually give you gold until it has refunded its entire cost, which takes over 20 minutes. If you start Crystalline Flask and 4 Sight Wards and you have 21GP10 (16 base + 2 greed + 3 quints), then you'll have enough gold for a Sightstone in 5.5 minutes. Factoring in minion spawn time, that's 7 minutes total. You then rely on Crystalline Flask for an occasional spike in regen, as opposed to Philosopher's Stone's slow regen.

(Btw: The biscuit/cookie stacks with Flask/Pots for an additional spike in regen early on.)

Conveniently, with this item path you start with 4 Sight Wards. Assuming you start setting them down around 1-1.5mins, having 4 would allow you to keep 2 spots in bottom lane warded for 6 minutes (game time 7-7.5mins after adding in the pre-minion spawn time), at which point you will have enough passively generated gold to buy a Sightstone. If the enemy support has a Vision Ward, you can use your Explorer Ward ASAP to bait them into blowing their Vision Ward early and not have to worry about it.

@Flammabubble: Rylai's Crystal Scepter means you can potentially slow 2 people with Ebb and Flow. How is it pointless? Are you always going to be in autoattack range for Tidecaller's Blessing? Twin Shadows synergizes with her ult. Find someone with Twin Shadows and ult them to initiate from far away. If Nami already having a slow discredits the item, then Shard of True Ice should be discredited too since it's, gasp, a slow. The fact it keeps the GP10 is a non-factor unless a game goes on for like an hour.

The Explorer ward is to ward against early invasion or to track the enemy jungler early.

Crystalline Flask is gold effective. You practically don't have to buy potions at all, ergo, you save money for more important things. Faerie Charm is also gold effective too, it builds into philosopher's Stone, but you end up spending more gold on potions anyway and you have arguably less sustain than the multiple uses of Flask + Biscuit.

In my opinion, I don't think one start is as effective as another - they both have advantages and they both have drawbacks that the other covers. I would not think that one was as unreasonable as the other. It might even depend on what lane you're using/facing.

Disagree about explorer ward as I said 2 posts ago, go look if you want to see why I think it's very good. Agree about Crystalline Flask. Spending the 225 gold on the flask immediately doesn't help you because if you end up in a lane where the opponents are very passive, it won't do much for you and you would be better off starting with a usual build and 2 mana pots. If you get it and they're very all in, the flask isn't going to help you. The 225 gold also sets you back on being able to buy a gp5 of a Sightstone which will save you more money than the flask will. If you find yourself needing one after the first section of laning phase, you can get it then. The gold you would have saved with it really is negligable, and you then have a better idea of whether you need it or not so you can make use of it. If you're getting consistently poked down too much by the enemy laners in every game, you're being too out of position too often.

I'll clarify my reasons for disliking the AP items a little more.

Abyssal Mask is OK if nobody on your team has it, but given the range of her spells really doesn't benefit her with the aura, though the mres is nice.
Morellonomicon is fine for a team with mundo/voli/sion etc
Ohmwrecker takes too long to build for it to be effective. If you rush it, you lose out on all your core items. If you get it late, there's not much point because you should have a tank that can ignore turrets, or you will have turrets down and will be engaging elsewhere. If you don't have a tank, someone else should be getting it over you. (I know it's not AP but thought I'd throw that out there).
Rabadon's Deathcap just no. Not unless you're incredibly fed and feel like buying it for the lols.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter is pointless, you already have a slow with her Tidecaller's Blessing on basic attacks, so you've already got that covered. Health is okay, but there are other items you could get for that.
Will of the Ancients is okay with an AP heavy team and it's late game.
Twin Shadows again, you have a slow. It's helpful for clearing an area for you and making sure you can go to ward which is nice, but Shard of True Ice is usually better because it keeps the gp5 passive.

Guide in general was ok, but Lots of suggested AP items, when you really don't get the chance for them, and AP Nami is incredibly poor, also the overview on laning partners is quite poor as it doesn't look like the champions have been tested together. Also, guide layout with // and guide spacing everywhere isn't nice to look at. Also, disagree about explorer ward and biscuit. Biscuit itself isn't massively amazing, but it can be a real boost if you need to hold for a little longer or top up after a gank, but Explorer is invaluable. I generally use it to ward river at 1:55, it covers for the early ganks, and if the other support puts a ward down, when your explorer runs out you pink ward it and get the gold. Alternatively, if they pink ward you, you lose the explorer and can pink them back. If you can't do that, explorer works in helping prevent and enable invades early game, it's definitely worth taking.

Absolutely nothing I can do with that, please explain why you think it's terrible so I can improve my guide.

terrible

it's selfish because you're spending 225 gold on something that will not further your build (as a support) in any way. I've tried starting it, I feel it tends to set back other items too much when you're not just obliterating the enemies...I prefer to start faeri or regrowth + 2 sight wards + 1 vision ward (because I like to counterward like a *****). Having played with the Explorer's ward, it's basically worthless in terms of actual use...doesn't last long enough to matter and biscuit is pretty bad too (compared to other masteries).

In terms of getting it later, if I go back and have 250 gold leftover from something, I'd rather buy 3 health pots and a vision ward than worry about getting flask, comparatively it's a much better use of gold as a support. It's one thing to get flask in a solo lane, but as a support you don't have a lot of income, and therefore you have priorities. Flask shouldn't be one of them.

Buying an early philo means I'll have the gold to get a sightstone in a reasonable amount of time. Which you won't likely have without one unless you happen to be winning lane hard. Besides the fact that Philo builds into Shurelya's, so you're likely to need one anyways.

But we should stop having this argument on Chris' guide...there are other places in which it would be less inconvenient (for him) to have it.