League of Legends is pretty well known for being one of the most competitive MOBAs in the realm of Esports right now, dominating the Twitch scene consistently with 100k+ viewers daily. It has exp&ed with its great world-building, developing lore through the release of the animated Netflix show, Arcane, & the new MMORPG on the horizon.
League of Legends
Updated October 25, 2022, by Maya Sattar: With League of Legends season 12 drawing to a close in November, the current League of Legends meta is constantly evolving. With over 40 champions to choose from in the support category & new ones being added all the time, it can be incredibly difficult for players to keep up, with the best champions in the game constantly changing. Throughout the course of the past few seasons, certain champions who were once considered the best supports in League of Legends have fallen from grace, with new ones rising up to take their place at the top.
12/12 Sona
Sona is one of the best support characters for beginner players to test out in League of Legends. She has a high win rate of 51.9% across all ranks, making her a versatile champion to climb the ranks with. Her Q ability, Hymn of Valor, allows her to easily poke the enemy bot lane during the laning phase, quickly leveling up her support ward item.
Her W, Aria of Perseverance, is a powerful healing tool that can heal herself while prioritizing the most wounded nearby allied champion. It is best paired with Moonstone Renewer to maximize her healing output. Arguably, the best part of Sona’s kit is her Ultimate, Crescendo, which stuns any enemy in the firing line for 1.5 seconds, presenting her ADC with some kills on a silver platter.
11/12 Renata Glasc
League of Legends’ most recent addition to the support category is Renata Glasc. Players are still getting to grips with her mechanics, but she has a decent win rate of 51.3%. Her kit is extremely unique, & when her abilities are used effectively, they can be game-changing.
Her W ability, Bailout, can grant her or a targeted allied champion bonus attack speed & movement speed for five seconds. If the target takes fatal damage while Bailout is active, their health is fully restored but quickly decays. If they secure a kill during Bailout’s duration, they get to escape death & have 20% of their maximum health restored. Renata Glasc’s Ultimate, Hostile Takeover, is a poisonous cloud that forces enemy champions to become berserk & attack each other with 100% bonus attack speed.
10/12 Bard
Bard is genuinely an underrated support champion in the current meta of League of Legends. Despite having a win rate of 51.9% in ranked matches, he isn’t picked all that often. Bard is a support that does well in the laning phase, but he should also be on the lookout for his chimes around the map to further boost his abilities.
He can easily roam & support other lanes by using his Magical Journey to create a magical corridor of transportation. His combination of CC & healing in the laning phase, & his Ultimate, make him a strong pick in the current meta. His Ultimate, Tempered Fate, can be used on turrets or teammates to put them into stasis & temporarily protect them from damage.
9/12 Leona
Leona is simultaneously an offensive & defensive support champion & can suit all ADC playstyles. Leona’s kit is also primarily built around her ability to isolate & CC key targets on the enemy team, like the enemy support or ADC. Her Ultimate, Solar Flare, can be aimed at the enemy backline, slowing them & stunning any enemies caught in the center.
She is a tank champion & can soak up damage while intimidating the enemy. Her E, Zenith Blade, brings her to the furthest target it l&s on, which can be followed up with a stun from Shield of Daybreak, so she can easily infiltrate the enemy backline. Leona is the perfect champion for initiating team fights & chasing down surviving enemies.
8/12 Taric
Taric is an underrated support champion that deserves more love than his lowly 2% pick rate. His kit is versatile, as he focuses on stunning the enemy while providing decent healing for his team with Starlight’s Touch. He currently has a 54.4% win rate, which is one of the highest of all the support champions.
For the humble defender of Demacia, his Ultimate, Cosmic Radiance, allows him to make nearby allies champions invulnerable for a short duration, which can turn the tide of any ropey team fight. Taric’s E ability, Dazzle, can also be cast onto allies, allowing them to deal magic damage & stun enemies caught in it.
7/12 Soraka
Soraka is the gold st&ard for healer support champions in League of Legends. Her entire kit is built around her two healing abilities. L&ing her Q ability gives her the Rejuvenation passive, which regenerates her health & gives her movement speed. She can pass this effect onto her allies by healing them. Her Equinox ability silences & roots any enemy who st&s on it, making it hard for the enemy team to engage.
Soraka can keep her whole team alive using her global Ultimate & her healing W, Astral Infusion, meaning they should be able to easily win team fights. If Soraka builds the Warmog’s Armor item, she becomes unstoppable as she can then passively regenerate her HP outside of combat, adding to her sustainability as she can endlessly heal her team with no repercussions.
6/12 Janna
Janna is a very flexible enchanter support champion with some great utility. Her Q ability, Howling Gale, summons a whirlwind at Janna’s location that charges up over three seconds, increasing its speed, range, & knock-up duration. Howling Gale can also be a deterrent for any enemy junglers looking to gank her lane.
Janna’s Ultimate, Monsoon, knocks back all nearby enemies when cast, unleashing a healing aura for all nearby enemies while it is being channeled. Paired with her E ability, Eye of the Storm, which provides a hefty shield for allies or even turrets, Janna is a hurricane force of a support champion & is not to be messed with.
5/12 Pyke
Pyke is a unique support champion; taking the secondary role as an assassin means he is automatically going to be one of the most aggressive supports in the game. Pyke currently has a 50.7% win rate & is an asset to any team composition as he can freely roam across the map to all lanes.
Pyke will synergize with any aggressive ADCs, as he can use his Bone Skewer harpoon to pull in enemies & stun them using his Phantom Undertow. He is especially useful when he reaches level six, as he can share gold from kills using his Ultimate, Death From Below, allowing his ADC to benefit from more gold from assists.
4/12 Blitzcrank
Blitzcrank is every enchanter support player’s nightmare, & he has one of the highest ban rates of over 25%. With his Q ability, Rocket Grab, he can pull in the unfortunate player it l&s on to his location. Followed up by his E ability, Power Fist, which can be a devastating combo that can force the enemy to use their Flash in a bid to escape.
Because of this deadly combo, Blitzcrank is excellent at initiating team fights or scaring the enemy bot lane away from their minions with his sheer presence. His Ultimate, Static Field should not be disregarded either. It can do some serious magic damage while silencing the enemy team, leaving them defenseless.
3/12 Lulu
Despite her cute adorable nature, Lulu is a support powerhouse & a headache for the enemy team. Her ban rate has skyrocketed to 17%, which is no surprise considering how irritating she is to go up against. Lulu can be a nuisance for the enemy team during the laning phase, as she can polymorph anyone unlucky enough to get within her range.
Accompanied by her faerie companion Pix, Lulu has ample poke during the early game with her semi-long-range Q ability, Glitterlance. Her Ultimate, Wild Growth, can enlarge herself or a chosen teammate, giving them boosted health & a lingering slowing aura. If Wild Growth is activated on top of enemies, it will also cause a knock-up effect for 0.75 seconds. Lulu pairs well with hyper-carry ADCs like Twitch & Vayne, giving them bonus survivability & support.
2/12 Nami
Nami is currently ranked as the second-best support champion in League of Legends, & it is easy to see why. She is a complete healing machine while also having some impressive CC ability to stop the enemy team in their tracks. Her W ability, Ebb & Flow, can be used to restore health to allies or damage enemies. It can hit up to three targets, bouncing to each one.
Her Q ability, Aqua Prison, launches a bubble that can stun any enemy for 1.5 seconds if it hits them. This can be great for punishing an enemy bot lane’s aggressive push & launching a counterattack. This can be coupled with her Ultimate, Tidal Wave, which knocks up enemies & slows them. Any allies hit by Tidal Wave also gain bonus movement speed granted by Nami’s passive, Surging Tides.
1/12 Thresh
Thresh is a champion that thrives, no matter the current situation with the game’s meta, he consistently stays strong & remains a top pick. Thresh is currently one of the highest-picked support champions, with an 11.7% pick rate. Thresh can harvest the souls of nearby enemy deaths, permanently granting him Armor & Ability Power with his passive, Damnation.
Thresh suits aggressive playstyles, as his entire kit is based around displacing the enemy. His Q ability can stun & drag in enemy players & can be reactivated to pull Thresh toward them. His W, Dark Passage, throws a lantern toward allies, which they can click to dash toward Thresh’s location. This lantern can be used offensively or defensively to save an ally & grant them a shield for four seconds.
League of Legends is free-to-play on PC.
