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Many players feel confused when playing support at the start: if they follow the marksman, they worry about the mid lane being unattended and the mage being pushed under tower due to slow wave clear; if they don't follow the marksman, they fear the marksman will fall behind early. In fact, the support's starting path is quite strategic—it's not just about randomly picking someone to follow. Choosing the right approach can completely change the early game tempo. In this episode, Xiaodi has compiled the five most common starting strategies for supports, so you can pick the one that fits your team composition and the situation. But first, a reminder: none of these five strategies is inherently better or worse; it all depends on your team's lineup and the enemy's playstyle.

Securing the Mid Lane

Securing the mid lane is a very practical starting strategy for supports, and it's not complicated to execute: at the start, move ahead of your mage as early as possible, secure vision first, then help clear the wave together when it arrives. After clearing, the support can also check which buff the enemy jungler starts with and signal teammates—for example, if the enemy starts at blue, warn the top lane teammate to be careful of a gank.

However, there are nuances to securing the mid lane. If the enemy jungler is a hero like Zhong Kui or Donghuang Taiyi, the support should move toward the direction of their own jungler when going to mid lane, to prevent the enemy from interfering with their jungler's efficiency. If the enemy jungler is an early-game powerhouse like Pei Qinhu or Yun Zhongjun, the support should glance toward the red buff jungle area to prevent an invade. If the enemy team has both Pei Qinhu and Zhong Kui/Donghuang Taiyi, the support might as well stick close to their own jungler, ensuring at least half the jungle is safely farmed, since a support alone can't defend it.

Following the Marksman or the Top Lane

Let's first talk about following the marksman. The prerequisite is that your own mage has lane priority—fast-clear mages like Shen Mengxi or Ying Zheng don't need the support's help to push the wave. Also, the enemy team doesn't have an invade composition, so there's no need to defend the jungle. In this case, the support can consider following the marksman to give them an early advantage. There's also a special scenario: if the enemy has Baili Shouyue, the support can start by following the marksman, because Baili Shouyue's early damage is too high, and it prevents the marksman from giving first blood.

Following the top lane is also a good idea, focusing on information asymmetry. After all, the top lane is the easiest place to create early-game plays. A disagreement over wave clearing and leveling up to 2 can easily lead to a fight. If the support suddenly shows up, the enemy basically can't escape; at worst, you can force a flash. However, for this strategy, the support should preferably be offensive or have crowd control, like Liu Shan or Su Lie, who can provide extra damage or lockdown.

Following the Jungler and Jungle Disruption

The strategy of following the jungler is very popular in low to mid-tier games. Suitable junglers include Sun Wukong and Zhuge Liang. For example, with Ming Shiyin's bonus, it can speed up the jungler's clear, allowing them to reach level 4 faster and gank, establishing an early economic advantage and quickly snowballing. As for jungle disruption, suitable heroes include Lanling Wang, Donghuang Taiyi, and Zhong Kui. The first two disrupt the enemy jungler's rhythm by invading, affecting their development, while Zhong Kui hooks the jungle monsters away, preventing the enemy jungler from farming.

To sum up, by choosing the right strategy, a support can firmly grasp the early game tempo. So, how do you usually start as a support? Do you always follow the marksman, or do you adapt based on the situation?

That's all for today's content. If you found it helpful, feel free to hit the like button to support me. If you have anything to say, ask, or want to see, leave a comment below—I'll read them all!

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