What’s the one thing that human tears and the League of Legends player base have in common? They both come in one flavor — salty. Climbing elo hell isn’t easy. League of Legends is a game that most players have developed a love-hate relationship with over the years, with every patch bringing a flood of changes to memorize and new broken champions to despise. In ranked matches, summoners will constantly have to endure the harshest of matchups and the most toxic of teammates. How could one possibly climb the ranks without having to pour their heart and soul into endless hours of hardcore frustration, “learning the ropes” every time a new season begins or studying the notes of every major patch? The answer is simple, Soraka.
When There’s a Will, Soraka’s the Way
Summoner’s Rift is a no man’s land of uncertainty and inconsistency. Despite the many hours you’ve trained behind your keyboard with a pool of champions, there’s no telling who or what kinds of situations you will face in battle. If years have gone by, and you’re still in Bronze, Silver, or even Gold, it’s sadly improbable you’ll ever make it to the highest elo ranks in League of Legends. The tiny percentage that does exist up there most likely have committed years of their life to an excessive amount of practice, surplus time that not all of us have.
However, let’s say, like I was, you dream of reaching Gold and perhaps Platinum. You want to enjoy playing League without the nerve-racking micromanagement or the stressful matchups. Maybe you don’t want to be at such a low elo to be called a “scrub” or “noob chump,” but you want a decently high enough rank to impress others. If any of this rings true, then follow this League of Legends guide with Soraka, the celestial space goat, being the champion for you.
But Why a Support Champion?
Every role in League of Legends requires a high level of competency and a constant active mindset. That isn’t to say that Support is a “mindless role” or inferior to the others. However, if you want to spend as little time possible in “hardcore engagement” and focus more on casually enjoying League while seeing your elo rise in rank, then Support is the way to go. My goal is to explain why Soraka best fits this role as the perfect solution for “autopiloting” your way to the Gold and beyond while still providing enjoyment on the bumpy journey. This an unofficial League of Legends guide to explain why I have consistently managed to casually slide into Platinum each season without putting in too much time or effort. The “way of Soraka” is for someone who isn’t very skilled but still wants to enjoy the aspects of riding the “elo escalator.”
A Quick Review of Soraka’s Simple Kit in League of Legends
For those unfamiliar with Soraka, here’s a quick rundown of the abilities in her kit for this League of Legends guide:
Passive: Salvation (Speed increase)
Her innate passive allows her to run faster towards nearby low health allies. In other words, Soraka becomes a speedy anthropomorphic ambulance, racing about to those in need of healing.
Q Ability: Starcall (Damage and enemy CC/slow)
Soraka summons a star to fall from the sky at the target location dealing magic damage and slowing enemies. If Starcall hits an enemy champion, Soraka recovers a small amount of health and receives a minor speed boost.
W Ability: Astral Infusion (Heal)
Soraka sacrifices a portion of her health to heal another ally champion. However, if she successfully hit an enemy champion with Starcall within the last 2.5 seconds, Astral Infusion’s healing cost is significantly reduced.
E Ability: Equinox (Damage and ability silencer with potential CC)
This ability creates a small circle that instantly deals magic damage and silences any enemy inside. With Equinox, Soraka can prevent enemy abilities and halt any enemy ultimates from functioning (ex: Warwick, Katarina, Karthus, Malzahar, etc.) When the zone expires, all enemies still inside are rooted to the ground for a short duration.
R Ability: Wish (Instant global heal)
Soraka immediately restores a large chunk of health to herself and all friendly champions. An ultimate that requires little to no brain activity but brings overwhelming utility for your team.
Soraka – Highly Approachable and Always Beneficial
Compared to the majority of the other 154 current champions in League of Legends, Soraka is arguably one of, if not the most accessible, champion to get a hold of on Summoner’s Rift. Her abilities are straightforward and easy to master. She requires very little mechanical skill of the player. That is to say, you don’t need hundreds of games spent with her as you do to master very complex champions like Thresh or Yasuo. Her Q is generously manageable to land on enemies, and her W is literally a “point-and-click” heal ability. Her E is somewhat situational and takes some practice, albeit you’ll never need to worry about taking serious thought into comprehending any “secret passives” or “deep pro mechanics.” As for her R, the global ultimate does take some timing to provide massive heals at that “perfect moment.” However, no one on your team is ever going to complain that you gave them an untimely heal. Plus, you’ll be able to collect “bonus participation points (assist gold)” for pushing a single button!
Soraka doesn’t have any alternative playstyles you have to consider, so you can always enter every game confidently using her as intended. No matter what situation she’s in, her healing will always be advantageous to your team. Just make sure you stay safe and alive to shower your teammates with endless heals.
Soraka – To Heal or Not to Heal
When playing Soraka, you have one job and one job only — to deny the deaths of your allies. Unlike other mechanically challenging support champions in League like Leona or Janna, you don’t need to go out of your way to do anything fancy to be of assistance. Safe and smart healing is what will elevate your elo rank and your team in every match. Of course, your basic core mechanics will need to be down pat, such as good positioning or when to push/pull lane with your ADC. I am not guaranteeing you’ll automatically win every game with Soraka. However, playing with someone so casually simple yet overwhelmingly practical is bound to help in climbing elo — granted you have the patience and dedication to stick with her.
Conclusion: Soraka – The Elo Autopilot of League
This League of Legends guide’s idea to climb elo by only maining League of Legends‘ Soraka can be attributed to LS (Nick De Cesare), a professional League coach/analyst who is currently a streamer for T1. During many of his coaching streams, he would often answer the common question, “How can I easily/quickly climb elo [to Plat]?” with “Just main the ‘point n’ click’ champions Annie[mid] and Soraka[support].” Taking this advice to heart, I fulfilled my dream of a “noob scrub,” reaching the top 13% of League players on the KR server. I don’t think Soraka is for everyone. She’s obviously not the most exciting or flashy of champions to play. But for someone who wants to enjoy climbing elo in League of Legends with the least amount of effort possible, Soraka support is the way to go.
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If this guide helped you climbed the ranked ladder in League of Legends as Soraka, be sure to let us know in the comments below. As well, share it around so it can help others!
