Greetings community,
As many of you regular League of Legends players may already know, there's not much appreciation for the support role. "And why not!?," you ask, as you clutch your monitors in anticipation and fury? "Aren't they that 5th wheel we force the last pick to burden himself with because he hate him and all he stands for? "
Actually, there's quite a bit of sophisticated strategy involved in supporting and I'm here today to share with you the myriad concerns that any professional level support player occupies himself with when not rushing the surrender vote so that he can instalock Jax in the next match.
1.) Zen and the Art of Support Play
Many believe that support is a passive role in which little thought is involved. In actuality, support play offers an opportunity not found in many competitive action games; an opportunity for self reflection. Little mental effort is expended mashing the S key to prevent CS stealing, allowing the mind to engage in the goal of seeking enlightenment. Sun Tsu said to know oneself is to kick a lot of medieval Chinese buttocks (abbreviated), and while your opponents aren't likely medieval time travelers, there's still the possibility that they're Chinese (1/3 of the world population after all), so this soul searching exercise is a must for any serious support player.
2.) Serving as the Team's Psychological Booster
The Tao Te Ching espouses the value of inaction as a means of guidence, and if there's any role that is a master of inaction, it's the support. Many of the support's activities, while not offering much in terms of a mechanical advantage to winning, help to boost the team's confidence in their prospects. Wards are a prime example of this theory in action. Teammates love the warm feeling of seeing the "so-so bought sight wards" text appear in affirming green on their screen; the small beacons of vision on their minimaps serivng as lights in the darkness. Thus, wards are best placed whenever the support player remembers he purchased them. Their location isn't important. What's important is showing your teammates that you care about them and want them to be happy.
3.) Unifying the Team Against a Common Enemy
Any top tier support player is aware of the thin ice they tred every match. Solo queue teams are a bubbling cauldron of teenage angst and overstressed nervous systems rendered feeble by copious doses of energy drinks and doritos. The most useless team member will be the target of mass reporting and virulent typing, and the support must make sure he doesn't bear the brunt of these attacks by directing that hate towards the team's AD carry.
Everyone's inclined to hate the AD carry already. He likely was the first pick on your team, smug in his importance in the meta. They just need that little push, and that's where the wise support comes in by villifying him. Their methods vary depending on the support of course. Some spam the retreat ping against a hopelessly ganked carry, chastizing him in chat during the process. Others will openly criticize the AD's last hitting abilities and start taking their CS away. And there's always making snide remarks about their summoner spells. By directing the teams scorn, the support dodges the tribunal and is free to wreck havoc on countless other LoL matches.
There are other concerns, of course, but hopefully, this little peek into the mind of a tournament worthy support player gives you a little appreciation of the complexities of their role. Consider these concerns the next time you are quick to bad mouth support players, or at the very least, come up with clever insults to show them that you are genuinely invested in their hurt feelings. They'll probably find some comfort in that. I wouldn't know. I play AP mid with the other adults.
As many of you regular League of Legends players may already know, there's not much appreciation for the support role. "And why not!?," you ask, as you clutch your monitors in anticipation and fury? "Aren't they that 5th wheel we force the last pick to burden himself with because he hate him and all he stands for? "
Actually, there's quite a bit of sophisticated strategy involved in supporting and I'm here today to share with you the myriad concerns that any professional level support player occupies himself with when not rushing the surrender vote so that he can instalock Jax in the next match.
1.) Zen and the Art of Support Play
Many believe that support is a passive role in which little thought is involved. In actuality, support play offers an opportunity not found in many competitive action games; an opportunity for self reflection. Little mental effort is expended mashing the S key to prevent CS stealing, allowing the mind to engage in the goal of seeking enlightenment. Sun Tsu said to know oneself is to kick a lot of medieval Chinese buttocks (abbreviated), and while your opponents aren't likely medieval time travelers, there's still the possibility that they're Chinese (1/3 of the world population after all), so this soul searching exercise is a must for any serious support player.
2.) Serving as the Team's Psychological Booster
The Tao Te Ching espouses the value of inaction as a means of guidence, and if there's any role that is a master of inaction, it's the support. Many of the support's activities, while not offering much in terms of a mechanical advantage to winning, help to boost the team's confidence in their prospects. Wards are a prime example of this theory in action. Teammates love the warm feeling of seeing the "so-so bought sight wards" text appear in affirming green on their screen; the small beacons of vision on their minimaps serivng as lights in the darkness. Thus, wards are best placed whenever the support player remembers he purchased them. Their location isn't important. What's important is showing your teammates that you care about them and want them to be happy.
3.) Unifying the Team Against a Common Enemy
Any top tier support player is aware of the thin ice they tred every match. Solo queue teams are a bubbling cauldron of teenage angst and overstressed nervous systems rendered feeble by copious doses of energy drinks and doritos. The most useless team member will be the target of mass reporting and virulent typing, and the support must make sure he doesn't bear the brunt of these attacks by directing that hate towards the team's AD carry.
Everyone's inclined to hate the AD carry already. He likely was the first pick on your team, smug in his importance in the meta. They just need that little push, and that's where the wise support comes in by villifying him. Their methods vary depending on the support of course. Some spam the retreat ping against a hopelessly ganked carry, chastizing him in chat during the process. Others will openly criticize the AD's last hitting abilities and start taking their CS away. And there's always making snide remarks about their summoner spells. By directing the teams scorn, the support dodges the tribunal and is free to wreck havoc on countless other LoL matches.
There are other concerns, of course, but hopefully, this little peek into the mind of a tournament worthy support player gives you a little appreciation of the complexities of their role. Consider these concerns the next time you are quick to bad mouth support players, or at the very least, come up with clever insults to show them that you are genuinely invested in their hurt feelings. They'll probably find some comfort in that. I wouldn't know. I play AP mid with the other adults.
