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A special LoL lesson to improve your skills.
You can learn the secrets of pro gamers right here.
Ok, today's topic is someone like the mom.
The position that sets the overall flow for the game, the support.
[The support cares]
[They’re finicky sometimes]
I’m fully built now. / Need no more item. / The ADC should be well-fed.
[It's a mother-like position that sacrifices everything for the team]
[LoL Summer Lesson #5: Support]
We have MadLife who’s been the only support god for two years, and Mata, the hottest support at the moment.
Hi, I'm Mata, the support of MVP Ozone.
I'm MadLife, the support from CJ Frost.
[The one and only support god, Madlife]
[Rising to challenge the god, Mata]
[A support who carries the game!]
[A support who dominates the game!]
[The two meet here]
LoL Summer Lesson #5: SUPPORT
Up until the last spring season, there was only one “support god,” but since then he's been challenged a bit.
After Mata won the Championship, fans began to acknowledge him.
Mata's strength is that he sacrifices his life to initiate a good fight.
He knows his team can win the game with that, and it's all calculated. That's a big plus.
What do you think about MadLife's play?
It's hard to even imitate. / Yeah. / His play tells me that it's very well-practiced. That's really good.
Please tell our viewers what areas you would focus on for today’s lesson.
Fans don't get to see my personal screen much. I'll let people learn many of my important tips.
You don't get to see how pro players communicate on TV matches. I'll try to show that side.
Today's Topic: Support / What does the support do in LoL?
What’s a support? / Support is... the mother. / Haha, I knew you'd say so.
Well... but Mata and I are the mothers-in-law.
The stepmothers.
[Will you not behave?]
Your views about the position?
The support is someone who outlines the picture. While the coloring is done by the laners, the support determines how great and big the picture is. / So you do the sketch.
About you, Mata? / He was so eloquent, I can’t...
A support is literally one who supports. But he wouldn't just support the bot. It's the position that can help all lanes. It carries the game.
You guys have shown plenty of spectacular plays, but usually it's a position in LoL that players are least eager to play.
It's irksome and not so fun. / Irksome? / That's what people usually think but people play it more recently.
Supports got more spotlights in TV matches.
So, many people pick a support in the first or second pick.
It requires a lot of sacrifice. / Yes. / So you must have felt a lot of grievances.
As for me... / Good memories with Locodoco? / It's all in the past.
You know Space, he always... *sigh*
He scrims a lot with his solo rank favorites like Twitch and Ezreal.
When we’re winning the laning phase, the jungler would come. So I tell him to stay safe as we might get ganked, but he says "Let's just fight them off."
Then when the jungler really comes, you know, Twitch has a good escape, so Space just abandons me.
He doesn't even hit them once. / Not once? / I have quite a sore feeling towards him now.
What about Imp? / He does just the same.
I say, "There may be the jungler. Avoid fighting and pull the lane," but he always goes to land one more hit and the jungler swoop in at that moment.
This is how the mother feels. She tells her kids to be careful because she cares, and they always end up getting in trouble. / They never listen.
[Two brat sons, Space and Imp]
[What Does a Support Do in LoL?] - Helps feed AD carry with a mother-like care - Yields all CS to AD carry and controls the maps with wards - Supports the whole team, as well as the ADC - Controls the flow of the whole game
Support #1: Types and Characteristics of Support Champions
Shall we talk about support champs?
Offensive supports are champs with hard CCs. Defensive ones are those with heals or AoE skills.
Offensive supports are mostly melee champs. They are not so strong in lane but effective in a team fight.
Defensive supports are ranged and have defensive skills.
There is one melee support who can’t be categorized like this. He’s Thresh. I hope he will get nerfed soon.
Would you recommend two good, versatile supports?
Thresh and Nami? / They must be very outrageously OP.
Nami... Well, I used to think she’s not so good with champs other than Caitlyn or Kog'Maw.
But as we play Vayne and Ezreal more often nowadays, I found Nami is pretty great with them, too.
Why are those two strong? It’s because Thresh's Q or Nami's Q can kill you.
Because they have CCs like it, they will come in handy when you play ranked solo games.
Madlife, you did pretty well with Alistar recently. And your famous Blitzcrank is a melee as well.
Alistar and Blitzcrank are not too great with any AD carry
Nor too bad with any of them. They look like just average.
Having AD carry take care of the lane himself, Alistar or Blitzcrank will just calculate chances to fight and check the jungler’s movement, and hope to safely finish the laning phase. A chance will come.
Wait until the chance comes. / The chance to carry the game.
[Support #1: Types and Characteristics of Support Champions] - Offensive: Alistar, Leona – Melee supports with hard CCs - Defensive: Sona, Soraka, Janna – Ranged support with heals and AoE ult - Well-balanced: Thresh – “Ranged” offensive support - Carry potential: Blitzcrank, Alistar – Wait for the chance to carry!
Support #2: Items
Let's talk about item builds for a support.
Players are unsure about whether or not to get gold items like Philosopher's Stone or Kage's Lucky Pick.
The question is whether Philosopher's Stone’s first or Sightstone is. Since Season 3, we tend to get more gold so that some even say gold runes are not needed anymore.
To make more sacrifice, get Sightstone first, before Philosopher's Stone.
If you're building Philosopher's Stone, rush it. What’s bad is to awkwardly linger with ingredients of both.
Supports are so poor anyway. What if you can only choose one core item?
I really think one gold item is all I need. / So austere.
I haven't bought Shurelya lately. Oracle's Elixir is so pricy.
If I add one more, Boots of Mobility after Philosopher's Stone.
Oh, and Oracle's Elixir, too.
We really can’t help but applaud the sacrifice of supports.
Shurelya is in a way iconic as a support item. Should you build it or not?
It's best when initiating and also great when retreating. It's very versatile. So get it, when you can.
Our chief writer only plays support. He focuses too much on the vision battle to afford Shurelya's Reverie, but his teammates blame him for not having one. What do you think is the top priority?
Wards must take first priority. The chief should say, if his teammates want Shurelya, they should take all the dragons and turrets and let him score assists.
So that he can help them back with Shurelya. / Yes, it should be give-and-take.
[Support #2: Items] - A support's No. 1 item is always wards - Philosopher's Stone vs Sightstone: Sightstone to serve the team, Philosopher's Stone for more gold. - Shurelya's Reverie is good, but don’t get it before wards and Oracle's Elixir.
[Support #3: Map Control & Laning Phase]
Map reading, map control have become very important in pro matches now and they fall mostly under the responsibility of the support. It's tough, isn't it?
Yes, it is tough. / You don’t have much gold but still have to buy wards and do lots of things. Many say they’re stressed.
What items do you start out with?
I have one pink ward, three regular wards, and five potions to spend exactly all my gold.
What's important is when you buy them you must be as quick as your AD carry who just needs to get one Doran's Blade.
You have to buy fast to place wards quickly. So buying speed matters as well.
click, click, click, click... / Yes, buy them all in a second.
I think a lot before the game, after picks. I think about where to place pink wards. If it's going to be a laning game, I think about how to control the brush.
When I need to control the whole map, I use my pink ward to kill an enemy ward.
Who do you think should lead laning in bot, support or AD carry?
I really think the support has to do it. AD carry should focus on trading damage and farming.
Usually, supports are the ones with hard CCs. So it makes sense to follow the calls of the support.
Think about what MadLife talked about Space earlier, that he doesn't listen. / Hahaha / He doesn't...
He doesn't listen, gets ganked, and abandons his support. / Frustrating.
Pushing or pulling the lane. How do you make decisions like that?
It depends on whether the enemy support and ADC have their CCs up or not.
To be thorough, you have to check the enemy jungler and mid laner and enemy global ults. But focusing on the lane, champs with CCs are the biggest threat. So be careful.
There is a huge difference between snowballing resulted by a teamfight and by the laning phase. Laning matters much more.
Picking a good bot duo composition helps most, considering counter picks. Think about combining what ADC and support would be best for late-game team fights.
When practicing, focus on champs who can outplay the opponents in the late game even when they’ve got killed a few times in lane.
[Support #3 Map Control & Laning Phase] - Buy items fast to dominate the vision quickly - Determine whether to focus on the lane or control the entire map before you start - Support should take the initiative in laning - The outcome of bot laning is connected to the timing of the dragon hunt
Support #4: Team Fight
What do you have to do when a team fight starts?
If the enemy AD carry is stronger than yours then you should also focus forward.
When your ADC can’t do much while the opponent’s is so strong, Exhaust and CC the enemy ADC. Just keeping your ADC alive increases the team’s damage output.
I may be a little different. I usually just rush forward anyway.
That's because I trust my teammates.
The mid laner and AD carry should do the killing. So even if I die, the team wins if the rest of the team gets the kill.
Say a team fight is about to begin. Diana is the enemy and your ADC, like Kog’Maw, doesn’t have an escape. Then Diana would rush in alone.
She would ult your back line. After that, her E could kill you with its pull and AoE damage. So you need to keep some distance to your ADC.
Take a good position in the backline, where Sona can use Crescendo at a perfect timing,
even though she didn’t cast it right away as the fight began.
Nami should stand back like Sona.
Tidal Wave has a long range and a wide AoE. Nami can stop Diana mid-air from rushing in with her ult, even when she landed her Q.
Nami can be very influential in a team fight, so it's best for her to support the team from the backline.
Where should Thresh position himself?
The best Thresh can do is initiate a good team fight. When he pulls one enemy, the other four would come in too, to help their teammate.
He has many hard, AoE CCs. Your teammates can take advantage of that and turn the tide of the game.
What if you were on the receiving end of initiation? / Thresh is a well-balanced champ. In such situations,
He can use his ult and E to protect allied dealers.
Especially E is really good and has a short cooldown.
[Support #4: Team Fight] - Priority should be to protect your AD carry - Initiate a good team fight – the team wins if your dealers score kills, even when you die - Defensive supports should stand in the backline in a team fight - Thresh's skillset is excellent for initiating and reversing team fights
[Practice #1: Mata's Thresh]
We'll start with Mata. Whom will you play?
I'll take Thresh. / Just as expected.
It looks like dual penetration, right? / No, just armor penetration.
You have 1 gold per 10 seconds.
I feel I should have at least one gold item and one gold rune.
Mastery is the basic 1/13/16. / I also think it's the best.
With the drawback of a melee support, you get beaten a lot. / Thresh is not a melee support.
He’s technically a melee champ. A melee champ with a long ranged autoattack. He’s so OP.
Anyway, his range is shorter than regular ranged supports, so you get hit a lot. That’s why it’s really nice to take these defensive Masteries.
This 1/13/16 Mastery is good against champs like Sona who harasses a lot.
[Mata's item purchase time test]
Oh, I think I am faster. / But this “smaller grid mode” option was not set.
You are competing how fast they can buy! / Buying quickly doesn’t matter that much.
But it's cool. / Yes, very cool.
You should buy items here, near the shop. / Outside the well. / I always do so.
Also here. You can buy here but not here.
When my team has reliable CCs like this, I usually go for a jungle invasion. The opponent’s only CC is Irelia's E. We have Thresh's Q and Cho'Gath's Q, so we can get aggressive.
But I usually learn E which is better in lane, instead of Q. / Mata chose E, didn't he?
Because I didn’t invade. / Don’t learn a skill too early. Take E when you decide not to invade.
Sona started with a Faerie Charm. I have a slight advantage here if we fight head-to-head, because I have way more potions. I can win, if we fight now.
Wow, wow. / Nice Exhaust! / I can catch him but can we win? / Oh, I won, I won. / This is it.
I took all the last hits. / Mata takes the last hits.
[8 Flash / 630 Shield] Wow, he checks when the enemy’s Summoner Spells are up.
Sometimes you pull the lane and sometimes you don't. As I have the upper hand until level 6, they might bring their jungler.
But if we had failed when I used Q, Varus and Sona would have the upper hand after level 6, as they have two CCs. Consider things like that before fighting.
Huh? Oh. Wow. Whoa. / Got him. Got him. / Oh.
My Flash is off and Varus and Sona’s ults will be up much earlier than my Flash. And my lantern is also on cooldown. So I tell my ADC to be careful for 10 seconds.
While we’re playing it safe, other laners... *sneer* ...they should gain advantage but they’re dead. Usually it is a very favorable situation for them since our jungler is over there with them.
Playing carefully in bot enables your teammates to easily gain advantage elsewhere.
What item will you pick next? / Item? / Philosopher's Stone? Ruby Sightstone?
I usually buy Ruby Sightstone but I need gold now. Oh, I got them all.
I’m fully built now. The gold item will yield Oracle's Exilir later on.
A game flow control tip. You should keep the lanes well-pushed when you leave the lane. It’s fine if you can take all the CS before getting to the turrets like this.
Later the lanes will get pushed, causing a bad situation where the enemy can farm and you can’t.
When playing ranked solo, I place four wards in those places, sometimes one more on the mid lane, to completely control the map like a map hack. It grants a great game flow control advantage.
Uh, how did I take the last hit? This E skill range is a bit deceptive. That’s why I don’t smart-cast it.
I used to do it but I made a lot of mistakes that way. I feel practicing without smart cast is better.
Thresh’s E results in many mistakes especially when used backward. It has been a trouble for me too.
How did you solve it? / I like to do challenging practices, so I just use smart cast.
When pushing an inhibitor turret, place a ward on the hill. / Oh, like this.
And erase enemy wards below the hill. / He’s giving a lot of good tips.
[Mata's Thresh Tip] - 1/13/16 Mastery works well with a melee support - Allied and enemy CCs decide invasion: Learn Q if you invade; otherwise E - Always check the cooldown/duration of enemy Summoner Spells and wards. - Wards are a must to control the map!
Practice #2: MadLife's Blitzcrank
I'll play Blitzcrank who signals the end of the time of man. / Impersonate.
Oh, no. / Come on, camera, camera.
“The time of man has come to an end.”
Skins. Oh, Rusty Blitzcrank. / I think the skins are very important when you play Blitzcrank.
First, I liked Boom Boom Blitzcrank most. But my coach insightfully told me it has too big a fist, so it’s easier dodge his grab. I had to switch to Piltover Blitzcrank.
Now that everything is set up, items. / Let's check how fast he can buy. / It's very important when you invade. / Let's check how fast God can buy items.
[MadLife's item purchase time test] One more! [A big mistake]
“The time of man has come to an end”
Hahahahahahahahaha... [Mental breakdown]
At level 1, the minions can be hard to last-hit with one attack. That’s why MadLife hits them here and there, so the ADC can farm more comfortably.
Oh, here it comes! Wow. Wow. Wow. Whooa.
My play even impresses me.
The best timing to go home is when a cannon minion comes.
Oh, oh? / I am too low. / Oh? Vayne, Vayne, wow! Whoa!
Madlife was one hit away from death, but he seized the timing and cast Exhaust.
LoL is fun.
Wow. Yes. / I think the situation is... / Wow! Oh my god!
[This is God, MadLife!]
This looks like a chance to secure vision and assassinate someone.
Since the enemies have gone home now... / Nami? Ezreal? Ezreal? Ezreal? Oh!
Flash’s off. Whom will he case Exhaust on? Exhaust... is spared. / Oh, he won.
I did everything that I should.
Shen ult 1915, 1815... Wow, he even checks Shen's ult.
Shen right now... / He's really good with the grab. / Shen’s pushing the top with his ult off. So we can just defend the mid. It's worth trying a team fight.
Oh, wow! / It looks like... / Whoa! / A good CC combination.
Keep on, covering the lane. / Ah.
Ezreal is getting very well-fed. But it doesn't matter, all I need is just one grab.
If you feel too nervous as Blitzcrank, you can’t land even the easiest grabs.
Wow, wow. / It was a good chance, but he couldn't take it. / Oh! He can win! It worked out anyway. Cho'Gath will die, though. But Evelynn?
Oh, 500! He got 500 gold!
Now I can buy Oracle's Elixir. It’s the perk of being a support.
Go, go, go, go, go, go! Oh, wow...
Nice shot.
After landing a grab, he always autoattack once, before using E.
Also note that Blitzcrank’s attack speed is slow. So make sure your W is on when you cast E, to prevent the enemy from escaping with Flash.
I learned that from Locodoco. / I never knew. / He is good at things like this.
Cast E right after one autoattack to get the on-hit effect. That resets your autoattack timer. It's very good if you get in the habit of doing this.
Hmm. / There's no more item to buy. / Did you hear him?
You guys keep showing how much the support has to skimp. You guys are really sacrificing a lot!
There are a plenty of nice items! Please get any of them!
I feel like crying, folks. You have to love your support.
Oh! / You can't do this. You must maintain double the safety distance against Blitzcrank, as I can Flash AND grab.
Is there a ward? / Wow!
MadLife, Amen. / MadLife, Amen.
[MadLife's Blitzcrank Tip] - A single grab can turn the tide of the game - Pull in with Q and autoattack once before casting E - Turn W on before E to prevent a Flash escape - E right after autoattack resets attack timer - Remember Blitz can Flash and Q to stay safe from his grab
[What Does a Support Do in LoL?] - The vision battle depends on warding - Communication with your ADC matters a lot - It’s your duty to protect the AD carry - In team fights, support the backline or initiate a fight with CCs
We just checked out plays by Korea’s two top supports, Madlife and Mata. Today's lesson was very, very substantial.
I'm not a theory type like CloudTemplar, so I’m sorry I didn't explain as well as I'd like to.
But I think you can take away a lot by watching how I played, how I moved in the game.
It’s just a great honor for me to be with MadLife. I learned so much from him. And I hope I can live up to fans’ expectations from now on.
Well, you guys didn't know each other very well before today. Be friends. Shake hands. I hope you’ll be good friends from now on.
Take my grab.
I also learn a lot every time from this show. I'd like to thank MadLife and Mata for being with us. I'll come back again next time. Bye bye.
Goodbye.
Hahahahahahahaha.
LoL Summer Lesson #6: Team Strategies
Have no idea what it is like to work as a team? I’ll teach you.
Making orders? So easy. / No need for much talk. / Kill him!
Kill him! / Kill him! / Kill him!
Watch and learn. / And rank up. How? / Not telling you.
LoL Summer Lesson #6: Team Strategies