Games26

Support is all about controlling the game.

In Lane

Create an XP Gap

Why

• Most of the time, the early levels of spells (e.g. you're 2, they're 1) can give you enough of an edge to get a kill
• When you gain enough of a level advantage, you can either (a) go do other things that are more important because your carry is now set, (b) the opponent will zone themself because they are worried about getting killed

If you need to heal, walk to the fountain and back, or Town Portal and walk back if you need to avoid death.

You will need to teleport to help other lanes if they get ganked and it's generally not worth it to use your Town Portal for a few seconds of quicker healing. If you need to get to a lane quickly to push it or something, then that's fine, but watch your Town Portal usage.

Magic Stick is incredibly useful. Magic Wand is also very good, but is usually purchased later (if ever) on supports.  The reason this item is suggested on everyone is due to it being 200g (for stick) to get instant burst HP/Mana.

Strategy games are about shifting the game state into winnable situations, often this relies on information hiding and appearing weaker than you are.

Most support heroes (and especially Treant Protector/ Crystal Maiden) naturally fall off in the mid game, simply because that's how their kit is designed. These guys are incredibly strong early on, and your job is to secure the early game so your carries can gain an advantage.

You need to get every single last hit your carry doesn't get

If he's too far away to get a last hit, take it from him. When he goes back to base or to gank, focus 100% of you attention on getting every creeps money until he returns. If neither are applicable, stack and pull, so you can make money from last hitting jungle creeps. Supports usually need to be better than carries at last hitting, imo.

The thing is, most of what you can do is just as effective even if you have almost no items at all. While Orb of Venom and Sange and Yasha do provide even more slow, their effectiveness pales compared to what you can do simply with your base abilities.

In a 2v2 lane, your aim isn't really to zone out the enemy heroes like it is in a trilane (at least not unless their dual lane is really weak). Your job is to threaten them enough that they can't really farm, and can't go on the aggressive themselves.

Melee supports are usually known for their gamebreaking ults and/or great abilities (Ravage,  Guardian Angel, Epicenter,  Living Armor, etc.) but lack good laning stages. Melee supports would work best in a trilane when he/she can be the 4 position, but that's not going to be available much in pubs