The best support champions in League of Legends

If you want to climb the ranked ladder, you need to pick up these support champions.

Lulu and Pixie flying in a forest.
Image via Riot Games

When it comes to playing support in League of Legends, there’s a lot to keep track of. The best support for each patch can change based on the meta, the type of support you play, and even the patch updates.

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Supports can be divided into three categories: Enchanters, engagers, and poke supports. Some champions cross into multiple categories, so it’s a pretty safe golden triangle to follow. But there are supports in Patch 14.13 you should pick that fall into these categories. 

Understanding the different support categories, their purpose in the bot lane, and their strengths and weaknesses is key to choosing the best champions for your team, your playstyle, and against enemy compositions. You can learn more about these categories further in the article. But, for now, these are the five best League supports in Patch 14.14

Best LoL support champions in Patch 14.14

Leona standing and wielding her shield and sword.
A critical role. Image via Riot Games

The best support champions in LoL Patch 14.14 are: 

  • Leona
  • Pyke
  • Braum
  • Lulu
  • Nami

Leona

Leona swinging her sword and charging in with shield up front.
A truly exceptional support. Image via Riot Games

Leona has remained unchanged for years. That’s a result of arguably the most unique and rewarding kit among League champions. If you play her right, your bottom lane matchup is bound to go your way.

ProsCons
– Aggressive kit.
– Great lane poke.
– Perfect at binding multiple champions.
– Long cooldowns.
– Lacks versatility.
– Must land skill shots.

As Leona, you want to pair up with an aggressive AD carry. With your kit and a champion that can follow up pretty easily, you can create a deadly duo. The support champion has a perfect kit to go in as early as level two, and if you win your early-game skirmishes, you will become unstoppable.

There’s a catch, however. Casual Leona players often overestimate their strength and go for unfavorable trades. If you do that and fall behind early, there’s a huge chance you won’t be able to come back to the game. In the end, Leona is a champion who relies on one specific, offensive way of playing, and it’s pretty impossible to do if you’re on the back foot.

Areas of InterestBest options for Leona
Best runesRune tree one: Resolve
– Aftershock
– Font of Life
– Second Wind
– Overgrowth

Rune tree two: Precision
– Triumph
– Legend: Haste
– Offense: Ability haste
– Flex: Movement speed
– Defense: Health
Best items– Plated Steelcaps/Mercury’s Treads
– Celestial Opposition
– Warmog’s Armor

From here, your items will be situational. For more support build, go for Knight’s Vow and Locket of the Iron Solari. However, if you just want to bulk up, especially against an AD-heavy composition, Thornmail and Frozen Heart are also sensible options. If none of them fits your game, you can also go for Zeke’s Convergence.

For AP and move speed, choose Stormsurge for ability haste and more mana, choose Malignance; or for ability power and armor, choose Zhonya’s Hourglass.
Best summoner spells– Flash
– Ignite
Best skill order– Shield of Daybreak (Q)
– Zenith Blade (E)
– Eclipse (W).

Once you’ve unlocked these three, max R, W, E, and Q, in that order.
Best ADCs to pair with Leona– Ashe
– Brand
– Twitch
– Ezreal
– Jinx
– Kai’Sa
Toughest support matchups for Leona– Pyke
– Senna
– Tahm Kench
– Zyra
– Braum

Pyke

Pyke holding a human hostage with his blade pointing towards them.
The cutthroat is back. Image via Riot Games

Pyke has reemerged in Patch 14.14. He’s back to slitting throats and wreaking havoc on the Summoner’s Rift. Contrary to every other support on the list, Pyke isn’t a typical “stick to your ADC” type of champion. Instead, he wants to be as aggressive as possible to pick up a potential early snowball. Pyke can do that by looking for hooks in the laning phase, or by joining his jungler in their adventures on the other parts of the Summoner’s Rift.

However, if you pick Pyke into a matchup that’s going to be impossible for you and your ADC to handle, you might lose the game from the get-go. It’s best to lock him against bottom lane duos that aren’t too aggressive or tanky on their own.

ProsCons
– Deadly in lane and late game
– Unique support gameplay
– Doesn’t provide his ADC with any utility
– Needs to be ahead or on par with the rest of the team to be useful
– Doesn’t fit in every team composition

Since Pyke relies on getting as many kills as possible, especially with his ultimate, it’s pivotal you increase his damage. You can do that by picking the Domination tree with Hail of Blades as the main rune. Bone Plating and Unflinching from the Resolve tree make up for a bit of much-needed sustain.

Ares of InterestBest options for Pyke
Best runesRune tree one: Domination
– Hail of Blades
– Sudden Impact
– Zombie Ward
– Ultimate Hunter

Rune tree two: Resolve
– Bone Plating
– Unflinching

– Offense: Adaptive Force
– Flex: Adaptive Force
– Defense: Health
Best items– Boots of Swiftness
– Celestial Opposition
– Umbral Glaive

While most supports will collect items that provide additional stats and aid to your team, Pyke should go the assassin route. This means picking up items like Youmuu’s Ghostblade, Edge of Night, Axiom Arc, Voltaic Cyclosword, and Maw of Malmortius.
Best summoner spells– Flash
– Ignite
Best build path– Bone Skewer (Q)
– Phantom Undertow (E)
– Ghostwater Dive (W)

Once you’ve unlocked all three, max out your hook Q, E, W, in that order.
Best ADCs to pair with Pyke– Seraphine
– Ziggs
– Ashe
– Kai’Sa
– Miss Fortune
Toughest support matchups for Pyke– LeBlanc
– Poppy
– Maokai
– Leona
– Rakan

Braum

Braum shielding himself and a Poro from gunfire.
Stand behind Braum. Image via Riot Games

I think we can all agree that Braum is everyone’s favorite support or at least one of them. Lore-wise, the champion is very noble, and on the Summoner’s Rift, he takes care of every ally he can.

Braum’s gameplay allows you to adapt to almost any game. If you need him to be an aggressive champion that will engage fights, he’s a suitable choice. The same goes if you need someone to stand in front of you and soak in damage.

ProsCons
– Great engage
– Immense sustain
– Easy and fun to play
– Can be played both agressively and defensively
– Is pretty tied to his ADC
– Can be useless when fallen behind

With Braum’s primary role being a tank, regardless of the approach you’re taking, there are no better runes for him than ones from the Resolve tree.

Areas of InterestBest options for Braum
Best runesRune tree one: Resolve
– Guardian
– Font of Life
– Bone Plating
– Unflinching

Rune tree two: Inspiration
– BIscuit Delivery
– Cosmic Insight

– Offense: Attack speed
– Flex: Health based on level
– Defense: Health based on level
Best items– Plated Steelcaps
– Warmog’s Armor
– Celestial Opposition

While Pyke follows a different build path, Braum, similarly to Leona, has a much more traditional one. After obtaining the items listed below, simply pick others that will be the best for your current game. These include, for example, Knight’s Vow, Locket of the Iron Solari, Thornmail, Spirit Visage, or Frozen Heart.
Best summoner spells– Flash
– Ignite
Best build path– Winter’s Bite (Q)
– Unbreakable (E)
– Stand Behind Me (W)

Once you’ve unlocked all three, max your Q first, then E, and round up with W.
Best ADCs to pair with Braum– Miss Fortune
– Ezreal
– Twitch
– Zeri
– Jhin
Toughest support matchups for Braum– Taric
– Shaco
– Rakan
– Seraphine
– Pyke

Lulu

Lulu's Monster Tamer skin in League of Legends
Lulu is the best buffing support champion. Image via Riot Games

Despite her yordle size, Lulu, the Fae Sorceress, is one of the best buffing and assisting supports in League. Her kit revolves around supporting her teammates. While she doesn’t have much in the way of damaging abilities and is quite squishy, her pros sometimes outweigh the cons.

ProsCons
– Great at poking.
– Offers crowd control.
– Excellent assist and buff support.
– Low cooldowns.
– Lots of utility.
– Barely any damage.
– Her kit isn’t for fighting.
– She relies heavily on her teammates.
– Mana management.
– Squishy.

Because Lulu is quite squishy, she’s an easy target, and with her little legs, she often can’t get away fast enough. But with specific runes, items, and summoner spells, she has a little more survivability, and when paired with the best ADCs that mesh well with her kit, she can buff them so much that they become a damage-dealing God.

Area of InterestBest options for Lulu
Best runesRune tree one: Sorcery
– Summon Aery
– Manaflow Band
– Transcendence
– Scorch

Rune tree two (option one): Resolve (Survivability)
– Bone Plating
– Revitalize
– Offense: Ability haste
– Flex: Adaptive force
– Defense: Health

Rune tree two (option two): Inspiration (Haste)
– Biscuit Delivery
– Cosmic Insight
– Offense: Adaptive force
– Flex: Adaptive force
– Defense: Health
Best items– Dream Maker
– Ionian Boots of Lucidity
– Ardent Censer

After this, two of the best items to get are Moonstone Renewer (ability power, ability haste, mana, and mana regeneration) and Staff of Flowing Water (ability power, ability haste, heal and shield power, and mana regeneration).

Redemption or Mikael’s Blessing are good healing and shielding options if you need a sixth item.
Best summoner spells– Flash.
– Ignite.
Best build path– Help, Pix! (E).
– Glitterlance (Q).
– Whimsy (W).

Once you’ve unlocked all three, max out your E, W, R, and Q. 
Best ADCs to pair with Lulu– Kog’Maw
– Ashe
– Jinx
– Twitch
– Vayne
Toughest support matchups for Lulu– Zyra
– Leona
– Sona
– Braum
– Taric

Nami

Nami holding her wand in left hand, and having her right hand on her lips.
The surge is coming. Image via Riot Games

Last but not least, we have Nami, a true Enchanter support. Thanks to her versatile kit, she’s an all-round great pick for numerous matches. Nami is immensely fun to play but can be hard to get to grips with at first due to how much she depends on skill shots.

ProsCons
– A lot of strong crowd control
– Versatile
– Easy to play
– Requires you to land skill shots
– Easy to catch and eliminate

Due to her unique kit, there is no perfect rune combination for Nami. Players usually pick Sorcery tree for additional mana and poke from the Summon Aery rune, and we believe that is the best option. Round that up with some Resolve survivability, and you’re good to go.

Area of InterestBest options for Nami
Best runesRune tree one: Sorcery
– Summon Aery
– Manaflow Band
– Transcendence
– Scorch

Rune tree two: Resolve
– Bone Plating
– Revitalize

– Offense: Adaptive Force
– Flex: Adaptive Force
– Defense: Health based on level
Best items– Ionian Boots of Lucidity
– Dream Maker
– Imperial Mandate

While you can have fun with different champions’ builds, that’s not the case with Nami. Once you complete the core three choices listed above, you ought to go for Shurelya’s Battlesong and Moonstone Renewer. You can have some fun with the sixth item, though, Staff of Flowing Water or Redemption often fit the most.
Best summoner spells– Flash
– Heal
Best build path– Ebb and Flow (W)
– Tidecaller’s Blessing (E)
– Aqua Prison (Q)

Once you’ve unlocked all three, you’ll want to max your W, E, Q.
Best ADCs to pair with Nami– Ziggs
– Zeri
– Kog’Maw
– Draven
– Nilah
Toughest support matchups for Nami– Taric
– Maokai
– Nautilus
– Leona
– Pyke

Support categories and their roles in the bot lane

Enchanter supports

Faerie Court Soraka in a radiating summer light
Soraka is one of the best healing supports. Image by Riot Games

Enchanter supports, like Soraka or Nami, focus on keeping the bot lane carry alive through the laning phase with heals and shields. Enchanter supports usually go well into poke supports because they can out-sustain the poke but struggle into engagers due to a lack of mobility and relative squishiness.

Engage supports

Crystalis Motus Leona holding her shield and sword.
Leona is a good all-in engage support. Image via Riot Games

Engage supports, like Alistar or Leona, look to all-in the enemy bot lane during the laning phase with crowd control and significant early-game damage. Because of their lack of poke, they can capitalize on enchanters during the laning phase but can’t deal effectively with poke supports since they whittle down your health before you can even consider engaging.

Poke supports

Blood Moon Zyra splash art LoL
Zyra and her plants provide incredible lane poke. Image via Riot Games

Poke supports, like Zyra or Brand, succeed by annoying the enemy laners as much as possible with long-range abilities, forcing them to waste their potions or heals. If an enemy gets greedy, they also have a fair amount of burst in their kits to delete them from Summoner’s Rift. Because of this, they can deal with engage supports. But enchanters can usually out-sustain a poke support’s mana pool, rendering their poke ineffective.

If you’re having trouble picking a support champion for you or your team or simply want to know which supports are crushing it in the meta, these are the five best supports in Patch 14.14.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.
Author
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Davide Xu
Davide is a League expert with nearly 10 years of experience and knowledge. Once a young talent that wanted to go pro, he now enjoys talking about the game and competitive scene. @Dovi_X on Twitter
Author
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Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews is a staff writer for Dot Esports with a dual degree in business and human resource management. After discovering her passion for creative writing and gaming, she now writes about MOBAs, MMOs, and cozy games.
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