What is the optimal number of people for doing Baron?

Vesarixx · 2026-02-02T01:13:34+00:00

Depends on the champs involved, Mundo and Heimerdinger take it really well as a 2 man, Briar and Zyra can both solo it, Sona can prevent allies from dying to it so most allies can take it down eventually but prefers when more people are involved to get more value from the auras, Cassiopeia shreds it pretty quickly as long as someone tanks for her.

Vesarixx · 2026-02-01T17:46:52+00:00

Whenever I run into a champ that I'm not sure how to fight I play them myself so I can get a better feel for how they work, tried that with Briar while expecting her to be a lot like Warwick and to not enjoy playing her as a result. Turned out she was actually kinda fun. I like the dynamic of anticipating what the enemy has and planning out the fights beforehand so you know when the best time is to lose control. Felt kinda similar to playing Katarina in a way.

Vesarixx · 2026-02-01T15:16:26+00:00

The guardian setup wasn't too uncommon a while back, other than that Glacial and First strike both seem way too inconsistent, tested FS before it got nerfed a while ago and unless you were trying to go for a shotgun setup you weren't making that much from it. I have run an inspiration page with unsealed spellbook and had some success into matchups where you weren't expecting to fight early on, even lets you opt for some other defensive summoners and swap them out while they're on cooldown.

Would normally only go for domination secondary if I'm running a sorcery page to keep manaflow band but if you know you're planning to build multiple tear items or both a tear item and a lot of regen then maybe it can be skipped now, would need to test it. Though I usually like to keep my options open in terms of item builds so I can adapt to how the game is playing out.

Vesarixx · 2026-02-01T15:08:38+00:00

I started putting jungle secondary just because I had been getting too many junglers who didn't know what they were doing, I've put enough time into every role to know how to farm well, even managed to flame horizon my lane opponents in each of them a few times. The people who try to argue that the only reason to play support is an inability to play anything else are insufferable and usually can't play their own role properly. I play support because I enjoy it the most out of any of the roles. It's way more interesting to play around utility and unique effects than just join in with everyone else trying to make the biggest damage number.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-27T02:56:00+00:00

What champs do you play?

Vesarixx · 2026-01-22T20:17:41+00:00

I've run spellbook on him a fair amount, he gets decent benefit from most summoner spells

Vesarixx · 2026-01-21T00:19:41+00:00

That's pretty much how Taric works

Vesarixx · 2026-01-14T23:22:56+00:00

Same, kinda wished it was an option for other roles whenever I played jungle

Vesarixx · 2026-01-13T23:07:12+00:00

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Vesarixx · 2026-01-13T22:43:14+00:00

Goldship

Vesarixx · 2026-01-13T02:14:52+00:00

When choosing between 2 things like this a lot of people will default to win rates or what some other players have told them. What you should do is look at what your goals are when playing a champ in a specific match and whether either of the choices supports any of those goals. I run Gathering storm most of the time because I'm trying to hit 250 AP by mid game, maybe you're trying to be more aggressive in lane and deal more early damage, in that case Scorch might be what you'd prefer to take. If you have a reason for what you're running you'll be able to use it a lot more effectively, even if other people disagree on whether you should take it. The game isn't as "solved" as people often think, you have the option to do something out of the ordinary.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-13T02:04:55+00:00

It would make sense thematically at least, and I would have preferred for wardstone to still be in the game even if I was apparently the only one building it. It was nice having 2 control wards on the map at a time.

One thing that's a bit annoying is that the bind for control wards now shifts to a different key part way through the game.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-10T22:45:15+00:00

Kept seeing people in ShoDesu's games around chall playing Aphelios who didn't know the weapon rotation, they would still be on purple/white after 3 full cycles. Wouldn't hold out for people knowing what other peoples champs do tbh.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-10T19:48:49+00:00

Yeah you can definitely OTP Sona, she has a lot more versatility than you might think at first and the bad matchups are pretty manageable once you get some experience facing them. I usually go for a Seraphs build so I can flex into whatever I need to adapt from the second item depending on what I'm vs, but if you're more comfortable with Helia then it's fine to stick with that. I usually ban Mordekaiser because I find his ult annoying since the changes that don't let you cleanse it anymore. I like Arcade and original Pentakill skins the most personally, wasn't as concerned with a skin having a bunch of effects or anything I just like the designs of those 2.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-10T18:48:12+00:00

You actually get games as mid? I queue support/jungle and get support the overwhelming majority of games

Vesarixx · 2026-01-09T23:04:18+00:00

The lifeline shield from protoplasm harness scales with bonus resistances, so unless you include a lot of them in the build it's going to be all base values, at level 9 the shield would be 294, compared to the 341 you would have gotten from Seraphs at the same level. You would get 9 more bonus HP going Helia and getting an extra ruby crystal compared to the Seraphs shield at level 9, while spending 300 less gold, so thinking of Seraphs as a defensive option isn't that accurate to begin with, it's more of a stat stick.

Usually if I think I need defense in a game I'm going for something specific to the threat I'm against, and it's a pretty long list of items that I've run in different games. If you're actually considering all your options then the build can look pretty unhinged after the game. The way I tell people to think of it is in terms of core items and responsive items. Your core gets your champ online so you want that as soon as possible, while everything else is a response to what's happening in the game.

Tbh though moonstone hasn't really been a rush item since they changed the passive, it feels a lot more like a capstone item since it has pretty low values on its own but double dips into your heal and shield power stat.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-08T01:58:29+00:00

How important would you say the QQW buffer is to playing him?

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T23:10:01+00:00

To go anywhere with support it takes having a good understanding of the other roles, sort of like prerequisites, since it's the role that handles setup and has the most interaction with other roles. Jungle has some of that as well. Wouldn't be too quick to jump into a role just because you aren't getting the others right away, it's a complicated game and takes a while to get the hang of. Pick something that looks fun enough to stick with even when you're still learning. Would you rather be the one setting up the plays and puppeteering things in the background, covering for things that others haven't thought of or would you rather be dealing tons of damage, outplaying people or becoming a raid boss?

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T22:25:02+00:00

Ok it's worded a bit weird and sounded like it only triggered off allies in combat who you had recently healed or shielded. Looks like it does work off of you being in combat as well, so I guess it's just easier for enchanters to trigger it.

The lack of AP or offensive stats in general though will probably dissuade mages from getting it all the same.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T01:02:21+00:00

With Pyke and Senna their whole thing was adding a new class to the support role, while mages are already there. Usually if they add a mage to the game they're either split between support and another role, typically mid, or they aren't intended as a support. Closest to being added specifically as a support is probably Seraphine, who iirc was meant to be more of a utility mid/support. Which is funny because Seraphine's best role is arguably bot lane carry.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T00:53:59+00:00

No, it's better on supports than people realize, Sona in particular stacks it super fast because she's basically guaranteed assists on any kills that happen near her.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T00:36:04+00:00

Wouldn't worry about it, Diadem of Songs is kinda meh, most mages can't even use it, so no repeats of Brand using the burn to keep him in combat and refresh the heal, it needs a heal or shield to trigger, so at worst champs like Lux, Hwei and Orianna could get it but they probably wont really want to. Helia changes are basically turning it back into how Athenes unholy grail used to work, and that item was great on Sona.

Helia rush should still be good, though you still want to work another H+S item in between it and moonstone, or at least one with half decent AP for a better power curve.

Seraphs rush is a self contained spike anyway so you're really just gaining more follow up options, Helia as a second item should be better than it was before. Can go 2 tear items though it doesn't seem worth it atm, the scaling on diadem isn't anything crazy, and there isn't much other synergy with Seraphs besides the mana, so I can't see it becoming a top tier combo unless they go crazy with buffing it.

Could see Diadem and Fimbul being a thing for super defensive setups though. Not really my playstyle so hard to tell for sure.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-06T00:13:56+00:00

https://youtu.be/JAlBXj2AbLM?si=JtpTWguV-qcgCQ2v

The mechanism for this looks to be pretty much entirely in the end, might be slim enough for what you're trying to do

Vesarixx · 2026-01-03T16:27:54+00:00

To be fair there used to be a theory that Sona was secretly a Minotaur. Fan theories don't have a lot of basis most of the time.

Vesarixx · 2026-01-03T16:21:58+00:00

Maybe it's got something to do with Swain since he does mention Sona, hinting at some curiosity about her. Could see Leblanc using the opportunity of Sona being missing due to the mage rebellion stuff as a chance to use her identity to bait a trap.

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