intermediatestrategyIntermediate
Support Guide: From 5th Position to Game Winner
Comprehensive guide to playing position 5 support effectively, from laning to late game impact.
SupportGuru
Author
22min
Read Time
134.0K
Views
4.7
Rating
2024-09-10
Updated
Related Heroes
Contents
## The Support Mindset
### Your Role
As position 5, you're the team's foundation:
- **Enable your cores** to farm and grow
- **Control the map** with vision
- **Create space** through rotations and pressure
- **Save teammates** with defensive items and positioning
## Laning Phase (0-10 minutes)
### Lane Partner Priority
1. **Keep your carry alive** - this is priority #1
2. **Stack and pull** to control creep equilibrium
3. **Harass** enemies when safe to do so
4. **Secure runes** for bottle heroes
### Essential Laning Skills
#### Pulling
- **:15 and :45**: Standard pull times
- **Stack and pull**: Create double/triple stacks
- **Through pull**: Connect easy camp to hard camp
#### Warding
- **River wards**: Prevent ganks
- **Lane wards**: Secure farming
- **Aggressive wards**: Enable kills
### Starting Items
- **2 Observer Wards**
- **Tangoes** (share with mid/carry)
- **Clarity**
- **Iron Branches**
- **Wind Lace** or **Circlet**
## Early Game (10-20 minutes)
### Transition Phase
Once your carry can farm alone:
1. **Smoke gank** mid lane
2. **Ward key areas** (jungle, river)
3. **Stack camps** for cores
4. **Rotate** to help other lanes
### Core Items to Rush
#### Boots Upgrade
- **Arcane Boots**: For mana-hungry teams
- **Tranquil Boots**: For roaming supports
#### Key Support Items
- **Magic Stick/Wand**: Essential survivability
- **Wind Lace**: Movement speed
- **Ghost Scepter**: Against physical damage
## Mid Game (20-35 minutes)
### Team Fighting
#### Positioning
- **Stay behind cores** - let them tank damage
- **Maintain escape routes** - always have exit plan
- **Use range advantage** - cast from maximum distance
#### Spell Usage Priority
1. **Save allies** first (healing, defensive spells)
2. **Disable key targets** (enemy cores)
3. **Follow up** on team initiation
### Vision Control
#### Offensive Warding
- **Enemy jungle**: Track farming patterns
- **High ground**: Preparation for pushes
- **Roshan pit**: Contest objectives
#### Defensive Warding
- **Your jungle**: Protect cores
- **Base approaches**: Prevent surprises
- **Retreat paths**: Safe evacuation routes
## Late Game (35+ minutes)
### Your New Role
As a poor position 5, you must:
1. **Stay alive** - your spells matter more than items
2. **Ward key objectives** - Roshan, base defense
3. **Use utility items** - Force Staff, Glimmer Cape
4. **Position perfectly** - one mistake loses the game
### Item Priorities
#### Core Utility
- **Force Staff**: Save allies, positioning
- **Glimmer Cape**: Invisibility and magic resistance
- **Ghost Scepter**: Survive physical damage
#### Luxury Items (if wealthy)
- **Aghanim's Scepter**: Hero-dependent upgrades
- **Refresher Orb**: Double ultimate impact
- **Scythe of Vyse**: Game-changing disable
## Hero-Specific Tips
### Crystal Maiden
- **Positioning is everything** - you're extremely fragile
- **Freezing Field** in trees or fog
- **Frostbite** for jungle stacking
### Dazzle
- **Shallow Grave** timing is crucial
- **Poison Touch** for initiation slow
- **Bad Juju** reduces enemy cooldowns
### Lion
- **Hex** before Earth Spike for guaranteed stun
- **Finger of Death** for kill securing
- **Mana Drain** against mana-dependent enemies
## Common Mistakes
### Positioning Errors
- Standing too close to cores
- Showing yourself on map unnecessarily
- Not having escape routes
### Resource Management
- Using spells on wrong targets
- Poor ward placement timing
- Not buying enough regeneration
### Team Fighting
- Casting spells too early
- Not saving allies first
- Tunnel vision on enemy cores
## Advanced Techniques
### Smoke Ganking
1. **Buy smoke** when team is ready
2. **Choose target** (usually mid or carry)
3. **Approach from unexpected angle**
4. **Coordinate stuns** and burst damage
### Ward Wars
1. **Buy sentries** regularly
2. **Deward efficiently** (check common spots)
3. **Counter-ward** enemy vision
4. **Place aggressive wards** after dewarding
## Conclusion
Playing support well requires game knowledge, positioning, and sacrifice. Your impact might not show in KDA, but good supports win games. Focus on enabling your team rather than your personal performance!
Tags
#support#position 5#warding#team fighting#strategy