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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Exhaust
Items
Ability Order
Bravado (PASSIVE)
Taric Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Annie
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None



In General | Preparations | In Game | Gameplay |
Introduction |
Summoner Spells |
Ability Sequence |
Matchups |
Pros & Cons |
Runes |
Ability Explanation |
Synergies |
Word of Thanks | Masteries | Items | Laning Phase |
FAQ |
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Mid / Late Game |
Warding |


Hello fellow MOBAfire readers! My summoner name is Pallis123, and I am a Silver level support / Katarina main on the EU West server. I absolutely deserve to be silver - my mechanics at most parts of the game are horrible compared to higher ELO players, but I play support fairly well and have grown very strong with Taric. If you want to get a better idea of my recent game scores, feel free to have a look at my Lolking profile.
Before going on to this guide, there is something very important you need to know first; the first step to becoming a good support, is having a proper mindset. You need to be willing to sacrifice yourself for the team, and must help them whenever you can. Even at the cost of your own life, if that proves necessary!
Taric is very good at helping his team. His kit is awesome (heal, stun, damage boost), and having heaps of armor and health allows him to be a good front line. He also deals quite high damage and can have a good impact on the game, making him a very solid champion for soloqueue. I would definitely recommend picking him up if you are looking for a good, cheap support to help you climb the ladders!
Taric is almost always a safe pick, because he works well with most AD and carries does not have many (hard-)counters. He does however synergize better with some things than others. For example, a Taric / Graves botlane will wreck most other lanes because of their innate tankiness and burst, but for example Ashe has no notable synergy with Taric, while they still work well together.
However you can not actually counter Taric, you can make him less useful by picking more magic damage. Taric is mostly a good pick against (and with) physical damage heavy teams, so when up against a lot of magic damage he loses a lot of his utility.

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Positive Pros
+ Easy to land stun
+ Armor buff and debuff through one skill + Can improve all team's damage + Rather strong heal + Easy to learn Taric is considered the jack of all trades among the supports. He has a little bit of everything; an easy to land stun, a skill revolving around armor for trading in lane, and a heal that is one of the strongest in the game early (however the mana cost and cooldown are quite high). Finally, his ultimate, Radiance, improves the damage of his entire team, which can have a lot of impact on the game - both early and later on. Because of all this requiring not all too hard mechanics, Taric is very easy to pick up and a good way to start learning the support role. |
Critical Cons
- Melee
- Vulnerable to poke - Quite mana hungry - Hard to master space Taric, of course, also has his weaknesses. His laning phase is rather weak compared to some other supports, because of a few reasons. First of all, he is a melee character, making trading with ranged champions very hard. You can practically only trade if Dazzle is up. However Taric can not trade well himself, he can get poked very hard. He can sustain through it with his heal, but that way he will go out of mana very fast. And however Taric is easy to pick up, he requires quite some time to really master. |


Flash is mandatory for almost every champion in the game, and Taric is no exception. He has no instant gapcloser, and Flash --> Dazzle can make for some unexpected pick offs. Flash also has its defensive uses, for example hopping over a wall when you are being chased. It is essentially a get-out-of-jail-free-card. |
For the second summoner spell, there is a little more leeway. I will list the three most viable spells for a support, but that does not mean other spells are all necessarily bad - some of them are just out of favor, or outclassed by others.
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Exhaust is considered the standard-spell for supports right now, as it can be incredibly useful for your team by giving that last bit of crowd control in a gank, or shutting down an assassin or hypercarry late game. Most of the times, you will want to take this as your second summoner spell. |
In some cases, Ignite will be better than Exhaust. When you are for example paired with a bursty AD carry like Graves, Ignite might just add that tad bit to your kill potential to let you snowball the lane. Also, if the enemy has a healing dependent like Dr. Mundo] or Soraka, this can seriously reduce their effectiveness. |
However not often seen on supports, Heal can in some cases be a good option. If your AD carry does not take Heal (he takes Cleanse because the enemy has a lot of crowd control, Ghost for the added kiting potential), you should absolutely take it. Right now it is just too strong to pass by in a duo lane. |
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If you are not level 12 yet, and thus do not have access to Flash, you can still play support Taric! You just have to adjust your summoner spells a little.
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Ghost + Heal is the best combination. Ghost makes up for the mobility you miss by not having Flash. In the end it even lets you cover a bigger distance, it just is not instant, and can not get you over walls. Heal gives you even more movement speed and a small health boost. |


You will mainly want runes that farther amplify your tankiness - especially armor. This makes Taric more durable in lane, while also improving his damage. The best runes are listed below.
Note: if you are not yet level 20, refrain from buying runes!
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Armor quintessences are what most supports run right now, especially Taric. Not only do they give him the added tankiness that 14 armor gives, they also improve his damage and armor buff through Shatter. If you however are a little bit old-fashioned and still have the rune page from season 3, where health quintessences were the standard choice, feel free to use them. They work fine as well. |
Armor marks right now almost gives as much armor as armor seals do, I take armor here, freeing up the use of seals for something else. If you do not want to use armor marks because they are not first tier, you should consider magic penetration marks. You would actually be surprised how much damage Taric does with them. |
Health seals were recently buffed, making them the best seals for almost every champion in the game. We also need to back up all the resistances we get through quintessences, marks and glyphs with health, making this the best option. |
However Taric is mainly focused on armor, you will also want magic resist because most supports (and even AD carries!) right now deal some magic damage. I normally go with a mix of flat and scaling, depending on the game. The more magic damage their botlane has, the more flat ones you take. The more magic damage late game, the more scaling ones you take. |


The best mastery trees for Taric are no doubt defense and utility. Defense assist him in becoming the great tank he is and gives him a strong early game, while utility allows for a little more sustain and cooldown reduction, and if you decide to run the second mastery page even some gold income.
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space 0/21/9 gives great defensive stats, and makes Taric an insane beast when it comes to trading in lane. If you take this setup, you must abuse your early tankiness and fight with the enemy a bot lane a lot! Due to good early game masteries like Block, Reocvery and Unyielding, you will always come out ahead. Legendary Guardian, Perseverance and Tenacious, are great masteries for amplifying your late game. |
space If you feel like you do not need the extra trading potential and tankiness from Legendary Guardian and Tenacious, you can go with 0/16/14 for more gold income. Summoner Spell cooldown and extra mana regeneration are always nice to have. Greed and Scavenger both passively grant you more money and therefore make you scale faster, while Greed allows you to buy one more potion at the start of the game or one less potion and a Stealth Ward. |


Sequence
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Generally, you will want to start with Dazzle because it is your crowd control move and thus the best for invades / early safety. You can take either Imbue or Shatter second, depending on if you want stronger trading potential or a stronger heal first. Just make sure you have all your abilities available by level 3. From there on, max Shatter, simply because it scales the best with level. Second, max Imbue. The heal / mana ratio goes up quite a lot, and maxing Dazzle does not give you much more than a 0.1 increased stun duration. Of course take a point in Radiance whenever you can.
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Another ability sequence you could use, is maxing Imbue first instead of Shatter. However I do not recommend this, because it really gives you a lot weaker trading potential and you will run out of mana very fast because Imbue's cost goes up with levels, it can be a good option in case your AD carry is not so good and you need to erase as much of his mistakes as possible by stronger healing. If you go this way, chances are you might also want to rush Targon's Brace over Sightstone because the more procs heal your AD carry as well and you will be pushed to your turret anyway.
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Explanation
spaceTaric has an interesting skill set, with subtle nuances that - when mastered - can really make the difference between being a good Taric, or a superb Taric. Really try to keep the tips and notes in mind when playing!
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Gemcraft (Passive) Gemcraft is often overlooked, but is what actually makes Taric so strong late game and possible also in trades if you can get up in melee range of the enemy. After every spell you cast, your next auto-attack will deal bonus damage - scaling off your armor. This is actually very strong, and the scaling is rather high. space ![]() |
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Start
spaceRelic Shield is the best gold income item for Taric. It gives him early tankiness and adds to his already high health regeneration. The Spoils of War passive helps with sustaining your AD carry as well as pushing the lane and getting more gold. |
If you have bought your Relic Shield, you will still have some gold (either 110 or 150) left, that you can spend on potions and wards. I normally start with three biscuits because I do not often find myself out of mana, but if you are not good at managing your mana feel free to get one or two mana potions. |
In case the enemy has a strong early ganking jungler (Lee Sin), or you think you need more bush control (Blitzcrank, Thresh), you should consider getting two less biscuits and starting with a Stealth Ward. Just keep in mind that you can trade a little less. |
Going with Ancient Coin and its upgrades instead of Relic Shield is a fine choice as well. It gives you more cooldown reduction and mana regeneration with a strong active, at the cost of 500 health and a shield for your AD carry. But as Relic Shield is by far the superior laning item, and the health really is important for Taric, I prefer Relic Shield. |
If you are planning on playing hyper-agressive in lane (for example, you are Taric / Graves against Janna / Ashe), getting Doran's Shield might be a good idea because it gives the best combat stats out of all options and is the best suited for long-term, often trading. |
You can start with Ruby Crystal if you want to rush a fast Sightstone. This way you will only need 400 gold on your first back, which you should nearly always have. Do note that apart from the health, this item gives no sustain. It is therefore often a good idea to pair this start with two or three biscuits and no Stealth Ward. |
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First Back / Core
spaceSightstone is your first and foremost item that you should always purchase on your first back. It gives you some tankiness, while providing you with necessary vision to keep you safe from ganks and give you bush control. It is essentially also a gold income item, as every ward you do not have to buy saves you 75 gold. |
When you buy your Sightstone, you should also swap your Warding Totem with a Sweeping Lens. You will already have more than enough wards, and denying vision to the enemy will become more and more important by now, because of upcoming ganks and dragon fights. Somewhere in between getting your core items, you should also get the upgrade, as Oracle's Lens is a really solid item. |
Getting second tier boots (Ninja Tabi, in most of the cases) early is for Taric more important than it is for most other champions. His biggest weakness is kiting and not being able to get in range for Dazzle, meaning more movement speed is very important. Besides, the 25 armor and passive it gives are very good stats and also help with becoming a bigger tank. |
face of the mountain
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Face of the Mountain is the final version of your Relic Shield, and gives you a lot of good stats. First of all, the health. 500 is a lot, and increases your heal, as well as your own tankiness. Second, the health regeneration. If you purchase this item early, it will also help you with sustaining in lane a little. The active is very good at helping with defending your carries. And on top of that, your gold income stays! |
The last item you need before you have finished your core, is Glacial Shroud. It gives good stats that all benefit Taric, and you will always want at least one of its upgrades every game. It is just a very solid, cost-effective item in general. |
Because of aforementioned vision battles, you should always carry a Vision Ward with you. They only cost 100 gold, and can really help your team a lot if you use them wisely. More on this in the Warding section. |
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Glacial Shroud Upgrade
spaceIf you are behind, it is often the best idea to upgrade your Glacial Shroud into a Frozen Heart. It is the most supportive item of the two, and the best option when you can not itemize for damage. 100 armor and 20% cooldown reduction is so much that it is almost hilarious, and the passive and mana are nice as well. |
The other possible upgrade, is Iceborn Gauntlet. If you are ahead and have won your lane rather hard, you should always pick this up. It has very strong synergy with Gemcraft, and really makes you a force to be reckoned with. The base stats it gives are a little less than Frozen Heart, but the passive more than makes up for that. |
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Armor
spaceIf the enemy team has a lot of physical damage dealers (or just one, who is doing very well), you should purchase more armor. The following items are the best choices, and generally the only armor items you would want to purchase. Note: you can get both Frozen Heart and Iceborn Gauntlet, as they have no overlapping unique passive or something.
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Frozen Heart is an insanely good item for Taric. It gives 20% cooldown reduction and a lot of mana - as soon as you buy this item you can keep using your spells over and over again without any worries. 100 armor is just absurd, and the passive is good to have against heavy auto-attackers. |
Iceborn Gauntlet has long been Taric's signature item (it even was confirmed that on the original artwork, the gauntlet he wore was an Iceborn Gauntlet), and for good reason. It gives armor, cooldown reduction and mana, all of which are good stats for Taric. The ability power is not that good, but helps a little as well. But the passive is what makes this item so strong; it is essentially an upgrade to Gemcraft. |
The other Warden's Mail upgrade that is very good for Taric. It also has some notable synergies with his kit, by giving him a bigger heal and a stronger Shatter. This is the armor item you would want to buy against mixed teams, because the health also helps against magic damage. The active is very good, and gives you more ways of peeling. The passive is not that good, in my opinion Riot should not have removed the movement speed slow. |
Another good option, that is seen a little less often. The base stats are generally the same as Randuin's Omen's, just a little weaker. This is a good pick-up if you are very far ahead of the enemy team, as the aura will help you to deal more damage in teamfights and decide the game faster. Otherwise, just stick with Randuin's Omen or Frozen Heart. |
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Magic Resist
spaceIf it is magic damage that you worry about instead of physical damage, it is imperative that you pick up some magic resist. Listed below are the four best options.
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A little selfish magic resist item that is nonetheless very good. It gives a rather high amount of health and magic resist, and the spell bubble is very useful for negating some of the enemy's poke, or, more important, denying an important ability such as a Blitzcrank hook. It also allows you to really body-block enemies and be a meat shield for your team. |
A more supportive item that is very good when you find yourself teamfighting a lot or if the enemy has a lot area of effect (magic) damage. The components are rather cheap, making it easy to buy. You can just get other items, and if you have some spare gold, pick up parts of this. |
This item, if you still had mana problems, solves them all. It also gives you a good amount of magic resist. However, the main point to buying this item is the active. It gives you another way to save your carries. Pick this up if your carries are doing very well and the enemy has a lot of crowd control. |
The other Spectre's Cowl upgrade. Gives about the same amount of health and magic resist as Banshee's Veil, but gives you improved self-healing and 10% cooldown reduction instead of a spell bubble. I do not often find myself to get this item, but it can work in theory. |
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Utility
spaceIn some cases, if you are already tanky enough to fulfill your team's needs, you might consider picking up one of the two items listed below. Do note: going full tank still often is the best way.
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Twin Shadows is considered a good item for mage supports, but can also work for Taric. It gives a rather high amount of 80 ability power, and some cooldown reduction. The active provides your team some extra peel through the slow, and also grants temporary vision. |
However you would rather ask your midlaner to pick this up over Athene's Unholy Grail, getting Morellonomicon can help a lot against heavy healers like Dr. Mundo or Soraka. The components of this item are cheap and it is very cost effective - it just does not give any defensive stats. |
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Enchant / Upgrade
spaceYou should by now have six items and a trinket, your build is almost ready! Time to put the icing on the cake and finish the last few things.
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There are four viable enchantments for Taric. I normally find myself to get Homeguard or Captain. The first if the base is getting destroyed, the second if I am the one initiating fights and I want my teammates to follow up faster. Alacrity is good for everyone, as it just gives you more movement speed. Distortion is only good if you rely on Flash-engages. |
If you have some spare gold somewhere in between getting your items, you should upgrade your Sightstone to a Ruby Sightstone. However this was not necessary in the early game, it will become now - having one more ward is always useful and the extra health helps a little with becoming a bigger tank. |
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Full Build
spaceCongratulations, you have now finished your build! If you have followed everything in this chapter according to your specific game, your build should look something like this:
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Keep in mind that you should always try to have 40% cooldown reduction in your full build! Having less means using less abilities, while having more means wasted gold. Also, every game is different and requires a different approach - no build is ever set in stone!
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Optional
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talisman of ascension
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If you think you will have a hard lane and will get severely punished for going up to the minions and using Relic Shield, you can get Ancient Coin in addition to your Doran's Shield for the passive gold income. However Talisman of Ascension does not make you as tanky as Face of the Mountain, it offers a better active and increased mana regeneration. I would not use this, but it is a viable alternative. |
Boots of Mobility are a good alternative to Ninja Tabi if the enemy does not have so much physical damage, and you find yourself to roam or go back to base a lot. The movement speed you get when out of combat, is rather insane. |
If the enemy team has a lot of magic damage and crowd control, you should consider getting Mercury Treads. An example would be if the enemy team had Kennen top, Leblanc mid, Amumu jungle and Morgana support. |
If the enemy team has some form of true damage and you really are scared of it (Irelia, Olaf, Cho'Gath, to name a few), Warmog's Armor is a good purchase. It gives a big amount of health, along with very high health regeneration. On top of all that, it also makes your heals stronger. |
Thornmail is an okay item that can work in some cases and also gives a ridiculous amount of armor, but it is very, very niche. I would only get it if the enemy had three fed auto-attackers, and then get it on top of Frozen Heart, because otherwise it just gets outclassed by all other possibilities. |


Alistar is a tanky champion with good peel and a weak, but spammable heal for his AD carry. He is normally picked as a counter to kill-heavy botlanes, because he can just knock them back. Taric has a way of peeling and healing as well - you get it? This is gonna be a farm lane and getting kills is only possible with the help of a jungler or if one the supports does not defend his AD carry properly. It is probably a good idea to ask for a champion who just needs to farm safely early game for a good late game - such as Vayne, or Ashe. |
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Annie is without doubt the hardest support to play against as Taric. She has everything Taric hates seeing. A range that is longer than Dazzle's, non-skillshots high magic damage skills and insane all-in potential at level 6. If she is any good, she will just whittle you down with auto-attacks and Disintegrates, while occasionally stunning both you and your AD carry with Incinerate. She can stun you with Tibbers before you can Dazzle, and erase your AD carry without any retaliation. And as she deals magic damage, your Shatter will be pretty much useless here. Consider maxing Imbue. |
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Laning Phasespace
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The best way to trade as Taric is as follows: Dazzle --> Auto-attack --> Shatter --> Auto-attack, then backing off. This assures that you hit your Shatter, as well as dealing quite some damage with Gemcraft. If you took any damage when executing this, you could heal it up with Imbue. Be careful with not doing this too often though, as you will run out of mana soon. For example, you should not heal your carry if he lost around 200 health in a trade, because he has life steal from Doran's Blade and probably even runes, so he will heal it back up anyway.
At level 6, Taric becomes really scary combined with a laner with strong burst or good initiation. Dazzle --> Radiance --> Shatter combined with for example Buckshot --> Smokescreen --> Collateral Damage will erase almost every squishy from the map.
You should use your Warding Totem to gain bush control during the laning phase, or vision in the river if you are pushed towards the enemy's side of the lane. Camping the bushes is often a very good idea as Taric, because it makes it harder for the enemy to hit you with both skillshots and targeted abilities, and allows you to hit your Dazzle easier. Communicate well with your AD carry who uses his Warding Totem where and when, as to not waste two wards at the same place.
If the enemy botlane / jungler is dead, it might be a good idea to do a call for Dragon. Taking it down with 3 should be rather easy, and with your Dazzle you can keep enemies who want to steal the Dragon at bay. It gives a pretty big bunch of gold (especially early on), so this part is very important.
Mid / Late Game
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Radiance and Shatter together (with maybe Iceborn Gauntlet) provide strong area of effect damage and crowd control, whereas Dazzle helps you with peeling for your AD carry or picking off theirs. And that are exactly the two most important things you have to do during a teamfight: peeling and picking. If your carries are doing well, your job is to defend them by stunning and fighting everyone who jumps on them. While doing so do not forget about things like Exhaust and Mikael's Crucible.
If the enemy carries, however, are more a threat to your team than the other way round, your main focus should be stunning them so your team can take them out. If you ping the enemy you want to use Dazzle on beforehand, your team will know what you are planning on doing and follow up better and faster. Taric is really good at making picks, and making picks is really good at winning you the game.
Something else Taric is very good at and he should be doing situationally, is splitpushing. Shatter gives good waveclear and Radiance enables you to take down turrets rather fast. Only do this if you are sure no teamfight will occur soon though.
Also, grant your team vision, while denying the enemy's. You should always use Ruby Sightstone if you have charges left and not placed 3 wards yet, as well as buying Vision Wards if you have a slot left in your items. If you have Oracle's Lens, also do not forget to scout for wards with the free Oracle's Elixir you get afterwards.space space

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• Good points for Warding Totem
• Good points for Stealth Wards
• Good points for Vision Wards
You should mainly use your Warding Totem for the lane bushes. They are perfect for giving you a short period of vision, and that is exactly what you need, considering you will not constantly be at the same place in lane. It is also perfectly fine to ward other bushes with your Warding Totem for temporary vision, but you should always use a Stealth or Vision Ward there if you have them available.
The places marked with green dots, are perfect for a Stealth Ward. It is often beneficial to have vision on them for a longer time, considering junglers can always pass that ways. The wards in river and tribush are rather standard, and the ward at the enemy blue buff will make sure you see the jungler coming far from before, giving you enough time to back off.
I actually really like the changes made to Vision Wards at the beginning of season 4. As long as no enemy sees your Vision Ward, it will last forever. Therefore, it is good to place one in bushes enemies do not often look in, while they still provide useful information. The Vision Wards in the middle of the river and the bush behind red buff give vital information about the enemy jungler. You can also place a Vision Ward in the wall of the Dragon pit. Chances are the enemy will pass by it without seeing it, and it gives you vision in the entire pit. You can also consider pink warding the tribush and river bush, as enemies will often ward there as well, allowing you to clear out their wards. Do note that these wards generally do not survive that long.space
After the laning phase, you still have to carry on warding! On the image above, you can see good places to ward in either your jungle or the enemy's jungle, and how to effectively gain vision over Baron Nashor.

• Good points for Vision Wards
Generally spoken, if you constantly use your Sightstone and Vision Wards, you're doing it well. Every bit of vision is is important, and you need to think a little bit ahead with using wards, such as already having in mind where vision will be important the next few minutes, and what places grant you sight on a lot of different paths.
I will not go into detail on every single ward, but the same rule as for the laning phase still goes now. Vision Wards are important in places where they can survive long and still give a lot of vision, but they now also become important for denying the enemy vision. Good places are the bush behind the enemy's red buff, the bushes halfway the river and in the Baron pit. Stealth Wards can be used anywhere, but you will most of the time want to place them in a bush because they also grant you vision in that bush, which they would otherwise not.space space


There are a few people who deserve a special mentioning for contributing to my guide in a useful way;
- Emikadon for making the wonderful banner and headers. She came up with idea of adding Talisman of Ascension, Boots of Mobility and Mercury Treads to the guide as well. I also "stole" quite some ideas of my formatting from her guide. :3
- Vynertje, for allowing me to use some kind of the same template as his Nami guide as well as the dividers. Also, he gave an in-depth review which really helped me to improve this guide a lot!
- Janitsu, because he made the aforementioned dividers
- DarkAkumaLord for coming up with the suggestion of Warmog's Armor, which indeed can be a very niche purchase.


If you have any questions about something in this guide, feel free to ask! If I consider your question useful, I will list it here with an answer.
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Pallis123
Taric Guide
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