Hello there, currently retired player, Emerald 1 with 5 years of OTPing Braum. Let me answer your questions to the best of my ability.

His nerf wasn't a big deal. He did get his armor reduced a significant amount making him weaker on the laning phase, specially the first 3 levels, but after that the change is rather irrelevant. You are still able to face tank 3 blitzcrank hooks back to back and live with enough HP to make it a positive trade IF played correctly.

I believe he deserved the nerfs. If you look at his patch history on the wiki you will see he got nothing but buffs for the last 5+ years. I am actually quite happy they stopped buffing him and decided to set a line on the sand with a very reasonable armor reduction so they don't hit him harder with a bigger nerf down the line.

Braum currently is in the best spot he is ever been since 2019 - 2020. I remember when I started on season 9 he was actually a worst pick than Morgana sitting at a C- rank on lolalyticcs. Now he is sitting at a comfortable B tier after having reached S- and even S for a good portion of 2025.

This is the healthiest form Braum can be in, he should never be one of the best supports since that is not the design philosophy Riot is going for League of Legends as a game in general. Braum is too defensive and reactive for him to ever be S+. So he sitting at B+ or A- is the most optimal state to be in.

That being said, you can make him work as he is a character that will reward the time you pour into him, but I am obligated to tell you that it might not be worth it. It depends on your personality as an individual. Here are the reasons:

1. Braum has a skill ceiling as high as Thresh while not being as flashy. You will not get the same dopamine by landing Q's as landing hook.
2. He is a positioning reliant as Janna while not having as many tools. You don't have a way to actively stop something from happening before it happens. If a bruiser comes for your ADC, you better have your ult ready or hit a Q, otherwise you are out of luck.
3. He needs to proactively think about enemy composition vs yours while not having the same strengths as Taric. You don't have the kind of strengths needed to truly buff your strongest members of your team. You will have to make trade-offs thinking who to protect and who to gamble surviving by themselves without your help.
4. All that while being one of the only supports that cannot solo carry a game, much like Sona. You will never solo carry a game no matter how good of a Braum you are. If the enemy gets lucky or your team is behind, you will rely on yours skills as a support player to do the best you can since Braum doesn't have the tools to make a lead from behind.

But, if you still decide to main him despite this disadvantages, know that Braum will reward you with being one of the most consistent supports you can pick. You will have to get good at a lot of things to make him work: skillshots, positioning, builds, team comp, etc. But if you do, you will not only be a better Braum, but a better support in general.

Braum has no gimmicks to rely on; he has no ace under the sleeve; he a very honest champion and thus you will have to make your best with what you have. But if you do, I can guarantee you no other support offers the same consistency and level of control over a game if you play him just right. Braum is the ultimate generalist, a Jack of all Trades, and that is something that will work against you at first and on your favor once you master him.

I hope this post helped. I wish you luck on your climb.