Taric is a bulky support who focuses on auras, healing and disrupting. Know that this guide will focus playing him as a pure support, not AP and not tank. Your main objective is to help your carry excel early-game, ward the map and help out your allies with your abilities. In turn your team must have at least one carry, and have enough damage the kill the opposing team. If that is not the case you'll find yourself getting aced, and there is nothing a good support can do about it.

Pros:
1. Babysitter, helps other champions excel.
2. Support, buffs and heals allied champions.
3. Versatile; a bulky disrupter who is able to heal/burst.

Cons:
1. Countered by a common Reduced Healing Effect or CC.
2. Semi-long cooldowns and an ill suited passive.
3. Is at a disadvantage vs. burst teams.

Gemcraft
It's not a bad idea to whack minions for mana, but seeing as how you are a support it's not ideal earlygame. Keep in mind that you can't lasthit, and pushing the lane is just a waste unless they are going to tower. Otherwise it's good to get some mana back when demolishing turrets, and whacking enemy champions to get a stun or a heal.

Imbue
First of all note that the self-heal is only 140%, while healing an ally means you utilize your heal 200%. As far as auto-attacking to shorten it's cooldown goes, it just means you must be more initiative than before. Then again know your limits, you need to watch your possitioning. Lastly, the AP ratio was nerfed so it means AP runes are not as useful.

Shatter
The aura gives you alot of armor early-game, and also make guarding your carry very beneficial. Keep in mind that whenever you stun, you should walk up to the target and use the activate for more burst damage, this also reduces your targets armor meaning your allies will hit harder. In teamfights you will want to keep the aura up until your opponents retreat, or if it's needed in order to focus down fleeing opponents.

Dazzle
Dazzle is mostly used to open up a gank, interrupt channeling abilities, and catch up or flee from enemies. The target priority is highly essential for you to become good Taric, just keep in mind that the stun is highly predictable. But very useful when coupled with allied CC as well, in case of a cleanse or flash.

Radiance
With the reduced cooldown buff you can use this at turrets without, just like the old Radiance. Although primarily this works like a second Shatter, which should be used in a Dazzle + Shatter + Radiance combo. In teamfights you should also take advantage of the aura, meainng you should try to use it when your team is ready to blow their cooldowns.

Clairvoyance: This will give your team map awareness, keep in mind vision wins games! It mostly gives you the advantage of scouting and avoid getting juked or flanked. also, please note that only one on your team should take this spell.

Flash: Flash is very useful to jump over ledges, or mostly just to get away in a pinch. It depends on preference, but it doesn't bug abuse projectiles anymore. It's always useful to avoid deaths and getting out of a sticky situation, as well as getting in a dazzle etc.

Considerable Summoner Spells:

Clarity: A unique ability that will greatly benefit people who are new to Taric, I strongly recommend this if requested in premades and is absolutely mandatory if you do not have a summoner level of 30.

Ghost: The speed boost allows you to chase and flee from opponents, or save your allies in a pinch. It's really that little extra for when you really need it, combined with Map awareness you become quite difficult to kill.

Exhaust: This can help you gank a target, or save an ally by disabling an AD champion. There are still people who think you should leave it to the carries, I partially agree but you are there to assist your carries so imo the argument is invalid.

Ignite: You may ask yourself while reviewing the video in the introduction; why did he take Ignite? Now I can't speak for the man himself, but Clairvoyance was already taken by Blitzcrank. It guess it adds up to bursting potential, not really worth it.

Teleport: Can replace Clarity, it gives you more utility in terms of lane presence. Having to walk all the way to the lane is tedious at times, but not game-changing. FYI; I have won games by only using Doran's Ring, go figure.

We start out with Utility in order to get less time spendt dead, more experience, mana regeneration, 1 gold per 10, +15 movementspeed, 6% cooldown reduction and to improve our summoner spells. With the 6% cooldown reduction we can reach the cooldown reduction cap (40%) by getting Shurelya's Battlesong and Morello's Evil Tome or Frozen Heart. Not to mention a Golem buff and Elixir of Brilliance will also do the trick. Lastly we get our final points into Defense for added Magic Resist and Armor.

Acceptable Runes: 1. Greater Mark of Armor: Armor to get bulky earlygame.
2. Greater Mark of Attack Speed: Attackspeed for lasthitting, Gemcraft, and Imbue.
3. Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Magic Penetration for burst damage on Shatter and Dazzle.

1. Greater Seal of Armor: Armor for a bulky earlygame.
2. Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration: Mana Regeneration per level to sustain yourself early-game.
3. Greater Seal of Evasion: Not very useful for Taric, would rather have Armor.

1. Greater Glyph of Scaling Mana Regeneration: Mana Regeneration per level to sustain yourself early-game.
2. Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: flat Magic Resist, very useful early game.
3. Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power: AP per level for more powerful heals, I recommend this one.

1. Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: 15 Movementspeed to gain an advantage when dazzling.
2. Greater Quintessence of Health: 75 Health, it really gives you an edge early game.
3. Greater Quintessence of Gold: 1 gold per 10 sec in order to increase your income.

3xSight Ward2x OR
Starting with Faerie Charm is not advisable if you are not level 30, and if you are new to Taric. You should be able to sustain yourself with the extra Health Potions until you reach level 5, while the sight wards should be put in one of the brushes in your lane if needed and / or to ward against enemy jungle at 4:00 minute mark. For people without proper runes and masteries I recommend Doran's Ring, which will most likely give you the early-game dominance.

Philosopher's Stone
The Philosopher's Stone should be giving you enough sustain early-game, but it won't allow you to spam your spells. Together with Heart of Gold it also helps keep a steady income, which is quite useful considering you're not supposed to farm. Lastly, make sure to get boots early. It will make stunning and retreating alot easier.

OR OR
Your boots of choice shouldn't be much of a problem, seeing as how almost every successful team has crowd controll of some sort. Not to mention you also benefit from the magic resistence, I'm talking of course about Mercury's Treads. The other boots are just alternatives, just in case the other team is lacking.

->
Make sure you get this as your fourth item, unless your team already has one. It is very cost-efficient, with approxomately 5000 gold worth with everyone on your team nearby. When building the item you should focus on the stats that are the most beneficial, like Null-Magic Mantle vs. Magic damage oriented teams, Cloth Armor vs. AD damage carries, and Ruby Crystal if you feel you got everything covered. Just keep in mind you have to keep a spot open for your Sight Ward.

(+ )
After getting Aegis of the Legion and Kindlegem you should be competent enough to keep an Oracle Elixir. It helps you get rid of enemy Sight Ward, Noxious Trap, Jack In The Box and other stealthed units such as Akali, Evelynn, Shaco, Talon, Teemo, Twitch, Vayne and Wukong. Once you reach the point where teamfights are all that matters you should upgrade your Philosopher's Stone to make use of the +40% movementspeed buff for 3 seconds from Shurelya's Battlesong.

OR OR (+ )
Morello's Evil Tome is evil, but it's also deliciously evil. With the added mana regeneration, cooldown reduction and AP you can effectivly heal during late-game. You can also use Nashor's Tooth for the same effect, but only if you can get into auto-attack range without getting pwned and you don't have Intelligence in your masteries. Otherwise get a Frozen Heart in case the enemy team is all about sustained attack-damage, which can be a real pain sometimes. Lastly, if the game continues make sure you get a Banshee's Veil in order to avoid losing the game because of a little Crowd Controll.

5xSight Ward (- )
If you get a full itembuild sell your Heart of Gold, and keep one spot open for more wards at all times. Keep in mind that map-awereness is alot more important, not to mention that you will most likely never get the 6th item unless the match lasts 60:00 Minutes. Finally, whenever the game is about to finish try get some Elixirs for the finishing battle.

Do not lasthit if you have a carry or someone who benefits from farming in your lane, you'll have a greater chance of winning if they get fed instead of you. This means you'll want to stay in your brush while trying to zone, or potentially kill your opponents.

You either start out bot or top lane, but before that I just want to mention the possibility have an early-golem buff. Now it does have some requirements, but that's not really important, just think of the EXP advantage and the endless mana you or your lanepartner get. You could potententially try to steal the enemy golem if forced in another lane.

The Wolf Camp:Ask your lane-partner, or mid by all means, to come help you with the wolves. All you have to do is position yourself right next to them, and wait until your lanepartner attacks. This will trigger your aggro, and there is no harm done to you. This is important if you want to survive the Golem.


The Ancient Golem:After healing your teammate up you should tank the Golem yourself, just make sure that you cast Imbue on yourself only [alt + Q]. Ask mid to aggro the golem to avoid tons of damage, otherwise; if you are about to die you should avoid getting auto-attacked by juking the golem.


Harassing in the Lane:This consist of using Dazzle on your target, mostly the squishy ones, followed by Shatter and auto-attacks. The best way to do this is with your teammate, make sure he follows every time you stun to deal more damage. This will give you lane-dominance allowing you to farm freely and have loads of opportunities to get a kill and push the turret.


The Aggressive Lane:Play safe and don't feed the enemy, but most of all don't let them auto-attack your turret! Last-hitting and harassing becomes more difficult, but not impossible. Use shatter to clean the minion waves, time 1 auto-attack with 2 turret hits on a minion, or 1 auto-attack, 1 turret hit, and minion focusing the current target. As for getting kills, stun them at the tower if they get too cocky.


The Passive lane:When everyone is just trying to farm and don't have much to harass with, your mana pool will do just fine. This is why babysitting or having snowball champions for lane-partners is a good idea, especially carries. However, despite your abilities to heal; you have to avoid getting harassed! Make sure your lanepartner knows that. Just try to get a kill, and destroy the turret.

People tend to get lazy at warding, meaning most of the time it's completely up to you. Even though you have Clairvoyance doesn't mean it works the same as a ward, it's used to specifically locate your opponents and to gain the advantage of vision. You still have to ward early-game no matter the circumstances.

The Art of Supporting:Taric is meant to support his team, you are meant to help them win the game. A few rules follows when ganking, and when contributing to the team. First of all we have your ability to heal, your auras, and your stun. Second we have things you can do to help with like; Warding the map, getting Oracle Elixir, and healing wounded allies.

1. Do not strive for godhood, assists are better than kills for supports.
2. Devote yourself, if your carry is about to die you should take his place.
3. Keep up the pace, a support has to be just as initiative as a carry & tank.

This doesn't mean you are not allowed to get kills, accidents do happen, it's just your moral compass within the game. There are times where I have gotten a few kills by myself, although it's not recommended. As for the second note, not feeding the enemy team is preferable and people often mix sacrifice with feeding.

Cultivation of an Empire:Taking over lanes is necessary at times, but giving all the farm to Taric is a bit of a waste. I recommend trying to gank mid and other lanes, and pushing down turrets. Keep in mind that your main source of income is assists and gold per second items, not minion kills.


Pushing Lanes & Turrets:Whenever Ghost is up you can take a few chances with the turrets, in addition to getting more gold and experience. Warding, and scouting out for miss calls is primarily your concern, if they show up at the tower you have nothing to worry about. If things turn ugly just make them join the Taric train for 10-30 seconds.


Jungling and Buffs:When teamfights are about to start, you know when things are starting to get serious and you have to work together to win the game. That's why controlling buffs, dragon and even baron is very important. Not to mention warding the jungle to get some recon, which should be easy to gank. In case you were wondering, you rarely get any ancient golems unless it's just you and your carry.

At this stage of the game you will often get 3 or 5 enemies in the same spotlight. That doesn't say warding is just as important, it just gets more situational. Keep in mind that you have to think for yourself when warding the map. The fighting arena always depends on the game, whats important is that you adapt to that.

Know your Enemy:Sivir is about to use Spellshield any second now, deflecting my stun. You have to know specifics like this to succeed in ganks, knowing when to initiate and knowing when to back off is extremely important for Taric. How you counteract and deal with the various champions of the league is what defines your experience as a player.


Teamplaying Strategy:How you coordinate is much more important now; you need to stay with your team at all times. Try to get a kill without suffering penalties, then start a teamfight and push lanes. Your stun will help ganking, and interrupting channeling abilities in teamfights whereas you otherwise have to make sure your allies stay alive.


Slaying Baron Nashor:Scouting out Baron Nashor, and possibly getting the buff. It's mostly a late-game thing you never get do unless someone on your team is feeding. In other words; almost all the time. Instead of excessively spamming Clairvoyance, I prefer to ward it unless someone is running around with an Oracle Elixir. Just don't rush in there without your team, it's a death-wish.

Taric is a support, it's all about helping your team. If you can devote yourself to help another champion, you should! But there is no need to die without taking Taric up to his true potential, the longer you stay alive the more you heal. The more you heal the higher success rate your team have of staying alive. The longer you stay alive, the longer your team stay alive. Then of course just help with stun, burst damage, and turret tanking. It's all for one thing, victory!

Hard Counters vs. Taric
Stun + Silence: Makes you unable to cast any spells, which can be devastating for Taric.
Reduced Healing Effects: Ignite, Executioner's Calling, Grog Soaked Blade, Explosive Shot etc.
AoE Teams: Teams who are all AoE focus often makes you go like "I can't heal this ****!".
Soloque PUG: Simply just unreliable people, but there are times when you meet decent people.

Gameplay and Commentaries:
Play Video
One of the most legit Taric video you'll ever find on youtube, try Own3d for more.

Triva and References:
Play Video
Warning:"What has been seen, cannot be unseen" ~ Anonymous.

Frequently Asked Questions:
If you have any questions please ask them, I will answer within a week, I guarantee it.

Q: Who's the one playing in the pictures named Alahric?
A: That is my real account name, I'm playing on EU servers. The Sivir named "Keh Loco" is my little sister, cute isn't it? She's level 9 or something so for the love of god don't add her to your friend list.

Q: What's with the name "Leagues Paladin"?
A: It's a reference to both Warcraft and DotA for me. Taric is based upon Omniknight, who was a member of the Silver Hand, a Paladin order. Which is why I drew the conclusion of Taric being League of Legends "Paladin" type of character.

Q: Why Clairvoyance instead of Clarity?
A: Taric is one of my mains, and was the very first champion I played. Clarity back then was an absolute must, it's still good but not necessary. Vision wins games, but if you're laning with a mana hungry partner then clarity is a better option.

Q: Why do you go Utility instead of Defense?
A: For the sake of Summoner Spells, cooldown reduction, and even greater utility. Defense doesn't add up as much as it should, taking 1% dodge and reducing the damage of minions by 2 into account, it's not all that useful for Taric.

Q: What do you think about rushing Aegis of the Legion?
A: If you ever get +1900 gold on your first trip back to the fountain, you should purchase Aegis of the Legion before anything. Why? Because it's an item that really shines early-game since the aura also affects minions.

Q: When should I buy sight ward?
A: All the time, whenever you have a spare 75-150 gold you should purchase wards and place them depending on your current situation as shown in the guide. But this is mere pointless if someone on the enemy team has an Oracle Elixir.

Q: How do I create an image from League of Legends?
A: When you are in the game swap settings on Video to windows mode, and press Alt + Prnt Scrn when you have the image you want. Paste it into a Paint or Photoshop, upload that file at http://imageshack.us/ and use the forum code.

Q: Should I use Taric in normal game PUGs?
A: There is no rule that says Taric is automatically banned in PUGs. The problem is that people tend to be unreliable at times, but when you have 5 carries in your composition I think it's better to play a support.

Changelog and Updates:
18/01/2011 - Guide published on Mobafire.
... Sue me!