Talk:Soraka/Strategy/@comment-5170841-20120927111429/@comment-164.67.215.152-20121016230056

Hey Kman...

You posted this a while back, but since no one responded to you, I figured I could at least answer your question.

Support builds are always a tricky situation as they rarely ever finish their builds. In fact, supports usually end a game with one or two late-game items if they even have any. Usually, they give all their gold to their carries and buy a lot of wards, meaning that your main items won't come until a lot later in the game.

Looking at your idea os RoA, it would be ideal on a mage type champion or if you were building a mage Soraka. But since, you're building support Soraka, think about how late in the game Soraka can buy this. You probably won't be getting this early enough to get the full benefit of it, if you can afford it at all...

In the case of AAS, you are getting Tear of the Goddess, which can indeed help early game. But the same situation applies. You will not likely be able to afford AAS until late into the game, when the outcome of the game is just about decided.

So my answer is to not focus on getting either. I would suggest items like Philosopher's Stone, Heart of Gold, Kage's Lucky Pick, and Aegis of the Legion (a.k.a. traditional support items). You've probably heard this advice before and I may sound like a broken record. But there is logic behind this.

As a support, you will be getting less gold. As such, you must focus on items that will give you the most benefit for its cost. These items (in addition to others like Kindlegem and other defensive items like Cloth Armor and Null-Mantle) are extremely cost efficient and start working for you right away. Thus, many people, including me, suggest supports to build items from these basic items, such as Shurely's, Locket of the Iron Solari, and Aegis of the Legion.

So my final adivice is, if you are playing support, do not focus on the late game item you want. Focus on which item will benefit you the most at the current moment. Then, focus on building an item that comes from those items you already have so you can get the most benefit out of your gold.