Soraka/Strategy

Laning
a support who works best in the immediately proximity of her marksman. Here she can keep her lane partner healthy with before turning to  to damage the enemy bot lane champions and restore some of her own health. has serious potential to win trades, too – casting it beneath an enemy AD caster ( and, for example) greatly reduces their damage output, while using it beneath the enemy support cuts off their ability to use their array of abilities and summoner spells.

can be a lifesaver when the enemy jungler comes in to gank. Whenever casts the portal along the jungler’s attack route, she effectively forces them to choose between a longer gank path and the ability’s silence/snare gauntlet. Additionally, if her marksman’s already close to death but closer to the relative safety of their tower, then the speed boost from helps  motor away from her enemies. Of course, if all else fails, can break the emergency glass and hit the big red  button to buy her allies a few extra seconds of life.

Teamfights
teamfight presence relies on sharp decision-making and making the most of extremely low cooldown. Though she’s generally better off sticking close to – and healing up – her team’s backline, gives her enough movement speed to fly to the frontline and heal her suffering tanks. This presents risks, though: without the extra movement speed, she returns to her team’s backline – and safety – relatively slowly, giving the enemy team plenty of opportunities to wade in and cut her down. can diminish this threat by casting on the battle’s frontline, hopefully dissuading all but the most determined assassins from bursting through to kill her.

Finally, has enough raw power to turn around seemingly lost fights. Timing is critical: using it early on tops off health and keeps the momentum of a fight in your team’s hands, but saving it until the last moment grants significantly more health and can fully dispirit a confident enemy team.


 * The indicator which appears on allies below 40% maximum health also indicates when they will receive the 50% increased heal from.
 * Use to weave in and out of danger and determine which ally needs healing. Be careful not to lead yourself into danger, as some allies may not be able to be saved.
 * only gives bonus movement speed when approaching low-health allies in range. Thus, it might even be beneficial to leave allies low just long enough to escape danger.
 * Observant enemy players will be able to notice changes in movement speed when a low-health ally is in range. Be sure that your jungler or roaming ally does not enter your vicinity at low health if you need their presence to be elusive.


 * Leveling at level 1 is desirable in a solo lane or if you and your laning partner seek to reach level 2 first.
 * Maxing it first will give greater poke potential and enable lane dominance if ahead.
 * projectile falls more slowly the longer the distance at which it is cast from.
 * If cast from a long range, you may need to lead your target. Oftentimes in laning, the enemy laner will move back after last-hitting a minion. Try casting the ability behind them. However, keep in mind that moving forward far enough to do so may put you in range of retaliation.
 * In desperate circumstances or situations where you may need to land a faster consider casting it as close to  as possible. This is easiest using  to get on top of an opponent beforehand.
 * Sometimes, it may be unnecessary to use if  is at full health, and if  is maxed first instead, the damage in early laning may be negligible. In this case, it may better to conserve your mana for more appropriate times.
 * provides vision of unwarded brush for a brief period. Use this to check bushes rather than warding them or directly facechecking, as this can help prevent unwanted deaths.


 * Leveling at level 1 is desirable if you wish to give your a jungler a "perfect" leash in the support role, need to level it on-point in the case of early jungle invades, and/or seek to play passive in lane.
 * Maxing it first will dramatically increase both early ally and passive self-heal.
 * Tell your jungler beforehand that using a for the first jungle buff is unnecessary.  should be able to heal her jungler once during the leash, step out of experience range when her jungler  the buff, and then heal her jungler a second time while heading to lane with her ADC in a fashionable time frame.
 * Despite its health cost, has a relatively low mana cost. As such, in a support role in lane,  can remain relevant with only a couple points of extra mana regeneration.
 * Casting many times over a short period can drain a large portion of  health. Be mindful of positioning in extended trades.
 * Once both and  are leveled at least once,  should be seeking to land s to regain some or all of the health that is lost from casting.
 * If fails to land enough sufficient, it may be necessary to invest in some alternative health restoration methods through itemization, including health regeneration and consumables.
 * If, however, a lands on multiple enemy champions,  can potentially self-heal more than the health cost of . Strive to position your team in a siege composition so that the enemy team is forced to be clustered up under a tower to protect it. This will make it more likely for you to land a multiple-enemy.
 * can be a powerful, though risky, lane control tool if used effectively.
 * If you and your lane partner, if applicable, are seeing a strong minion push to your turret, you can use sparingly on your own ally minions to delay the push. This has the effect of stopping your own turret from killing enemy minions, allowing you or your partner to be able to last-hit them more easily.
 * Alternatively, the same method can be used to deny enemy farm. Carefully timed heals on ally minions under enemy turrets can deny a large amount of farm over time.
 * In the late game when is capable, a large minion wave can be built up by constantly healing ally minions when they are fighting an enemy wave until a 2nd ally minion wave reaches your first ally minion wave. This can facilitate an easier tower dive or split push.


 * is rarely leveled first and is typically the last ability to be maxed.
 * Due to instantaneous cast time, it can be used to swiftly interrupt channeled abilities, such as  or.
 * Alternatively, it can also be used as a trap to prevent enemy champions from engaging from a or other global ability. For example, when placed in the epicenter of, it can prevent him from leaping onto an ally with  due to the silence field and will subsequently root him, making him vulnerable to a counter-engage.
 * Because the root from is extremely difficult to land, consider using it as a crowd-control extension ability instead. When, for example, lands a  on multiple enemies, a slightly delayed  can effectively disable them for an even longer period of time - preventing them from  and then rooting them - allowing your allies to make quick work without fear of retaliation.
 * When escaping from a dangerous situation, lead the path of your enemy and cast where they would be rooted.
 * While never guarantees a root if any enemy champion simply walks over its entire radius, the slow from a well-aimed  will make the root more likely to occur.
 * cannot deal damage to lane minions or neutral monsters.


 * Use in the early laning phase to make an impact on allied lanes across the map.
 * If you are sure only a single ally will die and that a will not be able to save them, it may be wise to conserve it for a more appropriate use.
 * can and should be used to cleanse Grievous Wounds before continuing to heal allies with.
 * Some enemy champions, for example, can constantly reapply Grievous Wounds over a period of time. Be sure to engage them in a more favorable circumstance when possible.

Rune Usage

 * For runes, should steer clear of flat, scaling, and percent health runes, as more health increases the health cost of . In general, health regeneration, armor, magic resist, ability power, and utility are all valued on.


 * Marks
 * As is usually not an offensive champion, GMarks (1).png Marks of Armor can give her more survivability. Though they are secondary runes, GMarks (1).png Marks of Armor provide only 0.1 points less armor than GSeals (1).png Seals of Armor.
 * GMarks (1).png Marks of Hybrid Penetration are the standard choice of marks among most ranged, magic damage-dealing champions.


 * Seals
 * GSeals (1).png Seals of Armor are standard for most champions, but V4.5 has reduced their value.
 * Due to 's health costs, GSeals (1).png Seals of Health Regeneration or GSeals (2).png Seals of Scaling Health Regeneration can alleviate some of these costs over a period of time.
 * GSeals (1).png Seals of Health Regeneration and GSeals (2).png Seals of Scaling Health Regeneration break even at level 6; GSeals (2).png Seals of Scaling Health Regeneration have more gold efficiency.
 * Consider GSeals (3).png Seals of Mana Regeneration if you are willing to sacrifice defense for more mana sustain.


 * Glyphs
 * GGlyphs (3).png Glyphs of Magic Resist are standard when facing a magic damage-dealing champion in-lane.
 * GGlyphs (4).png Glyphs of Scaling Magic Resist can be used if you do not expect heavy magic damage early but are facing a magic damage-dealing champion in another lane.
 * GGlyphs (1).png Glyphs of Cooldown Reduction are useful on most supports and allow her to use more often and heal an ally with  over a shorter period of time in burst engages.
 * GGlyphs (3).png Glyphs of Ability Power give more burst healing and some increased poke damage in the early game.
 * Alternatively, GGlyphs (4).png Glyphs of Scaling Ability Power, which break even at level 6, can be used for slightly more power in the mid to lategame.


 * Quintessences
 * Quintessences (1).png Quintessences of Armor have more gold efficiency than their seal counterparts.
 * Along with cooldown reduction in glyphs, Quintessences (1).png Quintessences of Cooldown Reduction can help max cooldown reduction early on.
 * Quintessences (3).png Quintessences of Movement Speed synergizes with, helping avoid damage more easily, and allows her to aid allies faster. They also scale into late game.
 * As with their seal counterparts, Quintessences (3).png Quintessences of Mana Regeneration can help alleviate 's early mana costs throughout the early laning phase.

Build Usage

 * is the recommended starting item of choice for a standard supportive build, as it can be built into a . The combination of health regeneration, mana regeneration, movement speed, and cooldown reduction will allow to sustain herself and her allies more often in an -centric ability path. Alternatively, more aggressive players who choose to max  first can choose  as a starting item, taking advantage of enhanced poke capabilities.
 * However, Soraka is now tied for the lowest base health regeneration in the game, making the bonus health regen from much less effective on her than on most champions.
 * has a wide variety of boots to choose from:
 * or will allow her to weave in and out of danger and heal her allies more easily. Build the former if you expect to take some damage and/or if the enemy team has a lot of slows. Build the latter if you expect to roam often.
 * may be necessary against teams with more than one auto-attack reliant champion.
 * is a boon against CC- and magic damage-heavy teams.
 * might be a possible choice if you do not plan on building a or other forms of cooldown reduction.
 * Consider the enchantment, as movement speed is very valuable on Soraka. This will help her heal her allies more quickly.
 * Due to her latest rework, 's sustained damage output has been weakened, but she now has increased utility and stronger base burst damage. Consider building items that complement her utility:
 * An early is recommended, as with all supports, as the vision can help  and her duo lane partner, if applicable, foresee ganks ahead of time. If  is not rushed, it is highly recommended to buy a few s as  has very little mobility and peel.
 * The Starchild abuses three items better than most supports in the game. is one of these, offering a mixture of defense and utility. Due to the spammy nature of Soraka's heals, she stacks the item very quickly. Once the passive kicks in, her heals become amplified. The mix of Armor, CDR, and mana also help to make her windows of weakness a bit harder to exploit.
 * can help turn the tides in a team fight if more than one team member is auto-attack reliant. A well-timed can allow your team to focus down an enemy or tower more quickly and  can apply the attack speed buff in smaller skirmishes. It combos well with, as the attack speed allows your carries to abuse the 50% bonus critical strike change more effectively.
 * is a great buy. The stats benefit your team a great deal. You heal for more and make the effective health greater thanks to added resistances. The biggest impact of this item lies in the active. can be used on promoted minions to create a gigantic siege threat. With this item, Soraka can be effective as a split pusher.
 * A provides high mana regeneration, which is vital to allowing  to support over a longer period of time, and some magic resist.
 * is the more offensive upgrade if you are looking to be more aggressive.
 * is key for a more passive play style and helps immensely against a CC-heavy team if you are looking to protect a valuable carry.
 * gives ability power, movement speed, and cooldown reduction. More importantly, the scouting active can help detect enemies lying in wait in brush. Along with heavy vision, this will help alleviate 's lack of strong peel.
 * Aside from and, which are usually core for most supports, building health on  is discouraged due to 's percent health cost.
 * , while providing greatly enhanced health regeneration, also gives 800 health, making  cost considerably more health to cast and subsequently making its passive heal on  heal for less effective health. In Patch 5.16, the item was reworked making it no longer core on, as well as inefficient on her.
 * does increase 's passive self-heal through . However, like, it is rather expensive, especially if bought on a support's gold budget, and is another selfish item.
 * Prior to her latest rework, was core on  due to her previous, which had a lower cooldown and thus could be spammed to perpetually slow a cluster of enemies. Now that it has a longer base cooldown and already slows, the item is now redundant even if it does give a healthy amount of ability power. However, provided that the center of the area of effect of , which slows enemies, is not huge and casting  causes varying delays, it can be a situational item for Soraka to pick up if she constantly fails to land  at the center of the ability against her enemies. In either case, the health will increase the cost of.
 * Despite the fact that and  increase health, they may still be valuable against heavy magic damage. Consider buying an Aegis into a Locket once you see a magic damage dealer on the enemy team making a strong impact.
 * On the other hand, stacking resistance items is preferable on because such items do not increase 's health cost.
 * should be the go-to defensive item against physical damage. It provides a healthy dose of armor, mana, and cooldown reduction. The attack speed reduction should also help against auto-attack reliant champions.
 * is a decent alternative to those who miss the constant slow of in 's pre-rework builds.
 * is a decent item if the enemy team has a hefty amount of magic damage. It should also help if your team has more than one magic damage dealer.
 * While most support builds may not include, it is now a worthy investment on after her rework, as it will allow her to heal more "aggressively" in important team fights. The combination of armor, magic resist, and the revival passive can allow  to sacrifice herself wisely for the sake of the team.
 * If you and your team are ahead, a / can provide an edge by giving a healthy amount of ability power and armor. The stasis passive can also aid 's survivability.
 * Outside of stacking resistances, should be able to make use of a hefty amount of consumables even on a support's budget:
 * Because will often be below max health, investing in an early  will give her 360 health (120x3) on demand between every recall/death without raising the health cost of . Because  can be expected to use its charges often, the Flask is both a cheap and cost-effective health alternative for her, especially when considering the  mastery.
 * Among other supports, can make valuable use of the  over the regular  through the  mastery.

Countering

 * depletes her own health to heal others. Try dodging her early on as it is the only way she can replenish health on her own (besides health regeneration and s).
 * Soraka can also restore her own health with, , and even if Soraka has purchased a . However,  is still her primary method of self-healing, and dodging it is very important if you don't have enough burst damage or crowd control to counter her sustain.
 * has a short range (550). Try bursting her down so that she cannot heal her allies.
 * The key to keep her down in lane is to poke her down slowly and dodge . This will keep her vulnerable when she tries to heal her lane partner with.
 * A well timed can turn the tides of a battle, as the heal is not reduced by Grievous Wounds - all instances of Grievous Wounds is removed before the heal. Try to make her use  in her own defense as this will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the heal on her allies.
 * and can assert lane dominance against her. A well timed hook from either champion can force her to use  and play more cautiously.
 * However you must play very aggressively. Otherwise Soraka will actually end up outsustaining and outharassing both of them.
 * Picking instead of  can also be an option not only to zone Soraka with the threat of being killed, but also because of the Grievous Wounds. Keep in mind two things, though: as explained above, Grievous Wounds is ineffective against her ultimate. Second, you must take into account the rest of her team. If there are dangerous mobile assassins such as  and, then it is better to still take Exhaust instead of Ignite.

Champion Spotlight
'This champion spotlight is for pre-rework. The spotlight for the current has yet to be released.