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Soraka Build Guide by

Ranked Soraka support

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12 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Prismik

Soraka Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (12) More Soraka Guides

Spells:

Clairvoyance

Flash

Ability Order

Soraka Passive Ability

More Soraka Counters

Introduction to this "thing" called a guide

Maybe you know what "Elo hell" is. Well, my first 10 games of ranked could be classified with this term, as they solved in horrible defeats. I started asking myself what made me loose all these games, and it appeared quite simple: we had no good support.

So support I started to play, and ever since, I've discovered many mechanics on how to make my team win. Not by getting kills, nor by having this "UBER GODLIKE MONSTERIFIC" score. Simply by warding at the proper places and by babysitting effectively. And this is all what this guide is about: How to be effective with .

Also note that I tested several guides before making this one. None could suit me so I made my own, with a classic build offered, an in dept explanation of what alternative items you can get in many different situations (sticking to one build is a VERY bad idea in my opinion), and the basic purposes of in a game: Healing, warding and wining.

Pros versus Cons

Pros

[+] Amazing healing capabilities
[+] Global healing that can give free assists
[+] Silence that is helpful in many situations
[+] Capacity to grant mana to ourself/allies
[+] Great AoE magic resist debuff with

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Cons

[-] Poor damage output early game
[-] Not "allowed" to farm
[-] Long cooldown on most skills
[-] Low AP ratio with most of her spell
[-] Squishy until mid game

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

CDR glyphs
With a starting 20 seconds CD on your without any CDR, you will want to lower that somehow. Since the basic build does not reach the cap of 40%, we will get a bit more from all the , in addition to the 6% from the masteries (0-9-21).

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Armor marks
Here, it sounds a bit weird to get armor marks instead of armor seals. But as a support, your job is to stay alive, so getting marks like Greater Mark of Desolation won't help you to support properly by actually staying alive. We also are already getting enough hp from our seals. Now if you have a good laner with you which will prevent the ennemy from targeting you too often, there is always the option of getting Greater Mark of Vitality to disencourage the ennemy from hitting you, since you will have quite a lot of health bars early game (1 bar show for each 100 HP you have).

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HP/lvl seals
Now for the seals, gives a **** load of mana, so why would we botter to get any mana regen at all ? No, we won't take any of those. We could get flat HP runes for quite a punch at lvl 1, but that would be saying that we consider 50 HP early game is better than about the 129 HP we would get with HP/lvl runes. We are smarter than that, and this is why we won't take any flat HP runes.
You can switch these seals for if you consider having a slight boost in money flow (wards can cost a **** load of money, especially when trying to keep control over the dragon) is more important then a slight boost in HP.

Masteries

Wtf, no CDR from the offense tree ?

Well ... actually no. You will get enough CDR depending on the items you will build, and reaching 40% is not your priority, as being durable is more important than being fast (this is why superman is stronger than flash, right ?). So let's explain what to get in both Defense and Utility tree.

Defense tree

Here, it is really up to you getting the number of points you want into and . Just make sure it makes a total of 4 points. Then you really want that HP boost from and which will make you, in addition to the runes mentionned, tougher than a normal would be. Think about all the HP bars you'll get ! Remember, a strong support is a living support. You won't heal anything once you are dead.

Utility tree

A lot of people could argue about being more usefull than . But let's say you need to go back to base really urgently, grab an item or 2 (hopefully you will get wards as you should be doing everytime you recall), that 1 second can make the difference between, let's say, a gank that worked & a gank that failed because your mate died before you could reach him (trust me, sometimes it really is a matter of seconds).

Next come a boost in maximum mana and mana regen, nothing to say there.

can make your wards more efficient when they are well placed (refer to the guide mentionned below).

Since you won't be getting any kills (or at least you should not) and neither will you farm, is a proper choice in adittion to gold generating items. Note that I did not take as 20 early gold is almost useless compared a slight boost in XP (you will find yourself behind & under leveled compared to your teammates because you will be running all around the map to ward key spots). Finally come CDR and Summoner spells CDR which is quite appreciated (especially with the huge CD of of more than a minute)!

What items to get

Lovely aura items:
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This item offers a good ammount of defense & magic resist to your allies, and the effect is even bigger on yourself ! Also gives you a slight boost in HP. The best of the best IMO (tends to be less viable the more you get close to end game).
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Need some HP in addition to a fair ammount of CDR converted into an epic aura that your allies will absolutely love ? Well, what are you waiting to get this item !?
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Counters other 's Consecration in normal games, but this is not what this guide is about (also good to deny the other team . Usually an AP Carry item, only get if nobody is getting it in your team.
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This item comes handy because it is built from our Philosopher's stone, and the speed bonus can help you to either catch up with a fleeing ennemy or to stay alive. I usually get this item last, because it stops me from getting gold from Philosopher's stone (it harms my warding if I get it too early).
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If you have a strong AD team and nobody plan to get this item, the Lifesteal & attack speed you get from it is gorgeous.
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This item should not be part of you core build, but let'ts say none of your teammates took it, the spell vamp is very good in teamfights as it gives you a fairly good ammount of survivability with your spam that you should be doing all the time (in addition, grants bonus to your allies) & a slight boost in AP which might give you a correct boost for most of your spells (the scale of AP on is not really good).
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Things you put on your feet:
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Since you will be walking around, warding like a smurf, it's a good thing you don't waste too much time (and eventually get killed because you are not fast enough). This is why they are my favourite.
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For the CDR lovers, they will be perfect for you, but you still lack the awesome speed boost from which help you a lot to ward the **** out of the map. Not too much for me, as I prefer staying alive and healing throughout the entire teammfights & this one gives no escape options or resistance at all.
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If the ennemy has very strong CC such as (slow, snare, fear, stuns), these could save your life more than once. If you intend not to get these, you might as well consider getting a to get the tenacity you lack.
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Optional items
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This items is very good on as it gives her Starfall the ability to slow your ennemies ! 15% does not seem much, but it's a huge CC effect in team fights when it hits everyone ! Also grants a nice ammount of HP.
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I know this is not a usual item to get on support, but let's say you get feared by Fiddlestick for 3 seconds, and they CC you as ****, you need to heal your team ASAP to make sure it survives this CC storm. put all debuffs away from you, which is a free cleanse but in an item, and let you heal like the pro healer you are. Also good against 's ult & .
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Bulky items:
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Quite good against teams with a strong AP carry or annoying ults like Kartus's. The extra HP & MP is also appreciated.
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Not really a fan, but in case you did not get Mercury's tread, this is a way of getting an additional Philosopher's stone early (which grant you even more gold) in addition to the CC reduction (without loosing speed from not getting .
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Since it is one of your priority to get Hearth of gold, you should get this item when needing additional armor and not forget to use it's active in team fights.
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Always-get items:
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philosopher's stone &
Trust me, you really cannot live without both these items. They will give you that money that you lack from not farming (in addition to runes / masteries depending on how you do the build). Also, Philosopher's Stone & gives you the survivability you need to be able stay in lane if, let's say, the ennemy decided to target you (damn, that horn shines a lot and brings the focus on me)!
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sight ward
As a support, one of your job consist in warding key spots of the map to give some map awareness and to keep control over: buffs, baron, dragon & to deny those nasty ganks the ennemy hope to make succeed.
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Mostly used to counter-ward the ennemy wards at baron & dragon.
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Make the other support rage quit by destroying the **** out of his wards.

Warding the map

Here you can see key spots where to put wards. I will be honest with you, there is no guide nearly as good as this one to show you "the way of the wards" in depth: Warding helper - More than your eyes can see

Laning as a babysitter

There are few things you must know before you become a good duo partner.

First of all, your teammate life is your priority. If it means dying for him, then die you should. After all, it's not you that will get the killing spree bonus (or at least it should not be you).

Secondly, you try to always use your as soon as the CD is over, either to harass the ennemy or to heal both your partner & your own MP (alway target a mate if you can).

If your partner is out of range and this is a matter of milliseconds before he dies, flash near him (brains are allowed, if this is a suicide where both of you die, just try to reach him without puting yourself in danger) to be able to cast .

You should always do something (harassing, healing, warding). Staying in a bush waiting for something to happen won't help at all.

Remember to buy wards each time you go back to base so that you can constantly ward.

Do not, ever, try to take a kill if your carry has the capacity to get it. Communication is the key.

Gaming tips

Taking control over the bush help you to spam Infuse & Astral Blessing
When your laner is full HP, you can use Astral Blessing on a minion before the ennemy last hit, but this is not always recommended because you might need it during the CD.
Your auto attacks make more damage than you think early game
Starcall should be used as a debuff/assist spell & not to push lanes
Ward at key spots
If you can, use Clairvoyance before warding a bush
Use Infuse on key targets such as an strong AP / AD carry, or to disrupt spells such as Malzahar's Nether Grasp & even Teleport
Healing priority stands on the one who deals the most DMG and has lowest HP left

Special thanks

Thanks to jhoijhoi for the images & tips on making this guide.

Edit

21/01/2012 - Changed the order of for better survivability

Summary

I don't claim to have "THE" way of playing soraka, but this build has proven to work in many situations. Many players tend to max out CDR, but at the cost of having less support capabilities from auras. I prefer to stack what auras benefit my team the most, at the cost of a slight ammount on CDR, but you can differ on that point.

Also, note that this is my first build, and english is not my main langage, so be cool and I will be open on critism (don't be 's) and will try improving this guide as much as I can.