I'm PerfectPhoenixI, but call me Phoe. I've been on League for a while now and proud to be a mid/jungle/support main. Through each of those lanes, Soraka has been probably my favorite Champion to play as. She's great, has a pretty good kit, and isn't banned that often. So, here's my first ever guide on Moba!

Pros:
-Easy to pick up (450 IP)
-Very easy to play and learn
-Save lives with that ult
-Not banned too often

Cons:
-REALLY SQUISHY
-Can't take a hit
-Heals can drain you quickly
-One of the more focused targets in a team fight
-Lack of damage without AP items won't help much in team fights (Though you don't want to build damage anyway) You're a support first, and not a team-killing machine.

Early Game:

80% of the time when you start off, you're most likely going to head to red buff or blue buff to help the jungle leash. Remember to start off with Starcall/Q and keep an eye out. If you feel suspicious of bushes in the river, throw your Starcall. When the buff does come, auto-attack it. Throw a few Q's at it and don't worry too much about tanking damage. If it's a squishy jungler like Twitch, tank a few hits. You'll be recovering most of it during lane phase anyway.

-As of 8.13, there might be a time where you actually want to start with Heal instead of Q because of lane being heavy poke, like Draven-Brand or Miss Fortune-Fiddlesticks. Starting with W is a bit more optimal so you can keep your lane partner alive and farming, but stay back.

Lane Phase: Starting off with your Q, just poke at the enemy team and keep an eye on their support. Once you hit Level 2 and get your heal, don't spam it so often. Remember, you lose health for each heal you do. Something ideal is to combo your Starcall with your heal as the regen effect gets passed on, doing the most healing.

Level 3 and up is where it really begins. You might be tempted to spam Silence, but your E burns through a lot more mana than your other abilities until you hit 6. Only use Silence for escapes or all-ins.

An example is if you're partnered with a Twitch bot lane and he decides to use his Camouflage ability to go in on the opposing team. Instead of landing it directly on your opponent, try to aim it a bit further up on their escape route. Remember, Silence stops them from using Flash and such for escapes. If you get lucky, you can root the opponents and secure kills.

However, a big thing to remember as Soraka: You don't do much damage at all. What you do is like a bug bite. Never start a fight as Soraka. You're far too squishy to do any damage. You're a Support role. You can however, throw down the Q and a few auto's to get some damage off.

Once you hit 6, however, this is where you can excel as a Healer. Your ult CAN save lives. When you do, keep an eye on EVERYONE's health bar, not just your own and your bot lane. If you see someone critically low or getting jumped by the enemy jungler, throw it out. Keep them alive longer. Or if you and your laner are getting ganged up on, throw it out. If your team gets kills, you get assists and exp to boot.

Mid Game: Once you hit 6, it's pretty much the same strategy as before. Stick with your teams at all times and keep any squishy champs healed. If you built the Warding item, try to not go deep into the jungle. Place wards close-by enough common paths. If you're afraid of going out by yourself in the Jungle, get the Farsight Alteration over the Oracle Alteration.

During mid game however, if you are demolishing your lane, you can start to wander a bit if you got the Ardent Censer, or at least the Wisp part to give you more movement speed. You could go give mid lane or top lane a hand or help secure jungle objectives. At this point, you should be warding at vital points in the jungle.

Late Game: This is where it starts to get pretty intense for Soraka. This is where you must position yourself behind your team at almost all times. Keep an eye on their health and heal them when necessary. Build the Warding item and take Oracle Alteration to take out enemy wards and place your own. Throw out your ult when needed. This is the biggest thing too: DO NOT GO ALONE. Always be with another champion when roaming or else you will get assassinated.

If you want to bring your Soraka to Ranked play, there might be options where a Soraka isn't needed and you want to play someone else.

But instead of listing all the bad ideas, here's a couple things to look out for to have Soraka be the best support for that team.

-There needs to be someone who can engage a teamfight.
-At least a tank or a bruiser with great sustain such as Illaoi or Darius.
-At the very least, two forms of CC. (Remember, you don't have much CC. You virtually have no peel and are just a second health bar for your team.)
-If your team is auto-reliant, make sure to rush Ardent Censer. Remember, your ult also applies the Attack Speed effects to ALL your teammates.

If some of these conditions are met, Soraka is a good choice. But say if your team is full of squishies and the enemy team has an engage, you do not want Soraka.

IF. You are first pick, make sure to ban Blitz as top priority. He's by far your biggest counter. Whatever you do, do not fight a Blitz. If they select a Blitz, it's okay to dodge.

Also, a huge tip: Try to keep a careful eye on the mini-map for enemy engages once you hit 6. Your ult will save lives, but if you have it, not use it, you're gonna either get pinged, flamed, or worst case scenario, other lanes AFK at the fountain because 'you're not a good support.' Be careful of those types.

In short, Soraka's a pretty good support for those who want to help out without netting kills. It's all about the assists and warding. She's pretty much perfect for those who want to learn support as she's not hard to master. Her only downsides are that she's frail and you will die a couple of times burning your heals on an ADC who's a bit too aggro.

This has been Bronze 3 Perfectphoenix. See ya next time!