Time to finally bring out that Alistar
Five Things You Need to Know When Playing Engage Support
Are you tired of always having to play enchanter support? We know this isn’t really the time for our tanky legends, but sometimes you just have to have some fun and pick whatever you feel like, and some engage supports, like our sun warrior Leona, are still viable picks, even in our time of enchanters.
So if you do decide it is time to have some fun and to go against the meta, here are five things to know when playing engage supports.
1. Play Aggressively Against Ranged Supports
In the game’s early stages, you want to create a lead against your opponent, and the worst thing that can happen to you here is that you get poked down and are not able to do anything. If you are playing against a ranged support, you will likely be tankier than them. This can be an advantage if you create opportunities exposing the support or their ADC. If you don’t act proactively, the enemy support will likely poke you down until you are so low and in no state to engage anymore.
Considering how squishy the enemy ADC is, one good play where you catch the enemy bot laner off guard can result in a trade going to your advantage or even a kill for your ADC, which is why you want to be aggressive.
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Don’t be afraid to lose some HP for good picks
Even though you shouldn’t want to be poked down unnecessarily, trading some of your HP to get a pick on the ADC or the squishy support can be worth it. So try to look for positions where you can get a pick, even though this might mean you take some poke damage.
Don’t Be Afraid to Use Your Flash to Engage
Going further into the point of playing aggressively, proactive flashes can be good for you. As already mentioned, you are the tank in the bot lane, so your flash doesn’t necessarily have to be used to escape but can also be used to get a good pick. If done correctly, flashing in for the ADC or their ranged support can often result in a kill or a trade of flashes. So, if you flash in and get the enemy ADC to flash as well, you can consider it a trade to your advantage, as the enemy bot laner has to be more careful than you against engages when they don’t have their flash up.
Looking for a guide on a particular engage support? Check this video out:
2. Play Around Your Minions
So we have covered the point of having to play aggressively, but is it always a good time to engage? - No, you must look for situations where you know you can come out on top. One way of doing this is to play around your minions.
Let your ADC build a minion advantage. Then, it will be more challenging for the enemies to stay in lane, and you can more easily look for picks. Engaging when the enemy has the minion advantage often results in a bad trade where you take unnecessary damage from the enemy minions.
Another important aspect related to your minions is your XP. At the beginning of the game, you want to make sure you get to level 2 first by pushing the first to minion waves, such that you can engage the enemy with a level advantage. If you are one level ahead, you will have more util to play with, which can often lead to an early kill if executed correctly.
3. Don’t Hide Behind Your ADC
During the laning phase, avoiding poke by standing behind your ADC is a bad idea. Your partner in crime should not have to take all the harassment that comes your way, and you hiding behind them creates fewer opportunities for you to get a pick on the enemies and reults in pressure from the enemy bot lane, which could have been avoided. So get up there and, at least, stand next to your ADC.
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4. Roaming Is Your Friend
When playing engage support, you are not tied to bot lane. Roaming can create tremendous advantages for your team and turn the game around. Before you start roaming, ensure the wave state is how you want it to be. A good time to roam is often right after your first death or back.
While roaming around, make sure always to ward. Vision is crucial for every support, and a warding gives you a better awareness of the game state. If you want to know more about warding, click here.
5. Late Game: Reevaluate Your Primary Task
Even though most of the early game has been used to look for good picks, changing your primary task in the later stages of the game can be a good idea. For example, ask yourself if it is more important for the team to look for picks, or if it is essential for your ADC to stay alive, and if you should instead focus on protecting them.
If you believe your main mission to be to find good picks, make sure not to waste your crowd control on enemies who aren’t a threat to your team. Engaging on the right enemy can be the main difference between winning and losing a game.
And with that, you are ready to hit the rift with your favorite engage support. What do you think is important to keep in mind when playing this role?
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