+ Good summoner for 100% games, exhaust can be used both defensively and offensively, viable in every match-up and always useful.
+ You can run ignite if you are facing an adc which is squis hy and very week in the early game (like or ) or a very squishy support (like or ). This should allow your adc to get early kills and to snowball. But this is also a bit risky.
I also recommend getting it against a heavy sustain support (like or )
Edit : Once you are very confident, you can actually use in every match-up, it's really good for snowballing and offers much more lane pressure. That being said is still an overall better summoner in my opinion
Core Rune : Aery is without any contest the best rune for Nami : it brings you better poke thanks to his very low cooldown but also better peeling because Aery shield will trigger on and --> Always good 2nd Rune : Your Choice
None of these 3 is a bad choice really :
= Mana Regen --> Better for lane pressure = less CD on Ult --> Better for mid and late Game = Overall weaker but still a viable defensive option to consider 3rd Rune : With Nami you will get a lot of CDR, and very often more than 40/45%, this mastery will enable you to benefit from the CDR that you will get after 40/45% by giving you 20 AP for each 10% more This means with this mastery + you already have full CDR ! And each CDR Item you will get after that (etc) will give you AP
: 4th Rune For better poke, very simply, other 2 masteries are too situational
Secondary Rune Tree
There are 3/4 good combinations, the choice will depend on your match-up and your playstyle.
- + : Utility Rune page, will give you +350g and +10 move speed on your boot while will give you + 5% CDR, +5% max CDR, + 5% summoner Spells CDR and +5% Item CDR
- + : Aggressive rune page, has 4 sec CD and can be triggered with most of your spells so it adds even more poke and is great for vision
- / + : Defensive Rune page, will increase your healing by 5% (15% instead if target is below 40% health) and or will give you either +5 Armor or +6 Magic Resist + some additional bonus I'm not sure I understand correctly but that can't be bad ^^
Description : When Nami's abilities hit allied champions they gain 60 (+20% AP) Movement Speed for 1.5 Seconds (Doubled on Ultimate)
Q :
Mana cost: 60 points
Range : 875 + 160
Cooldown : 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 seconds
Damage : 75 / 130 / 185 / 240 / 295 (+50% AP)
Description : Sends a bubble towards a targeted area. When it lands, it deals magic damage to all enemies in the area of impact and stuns them for 1.25 seconds. - Your best spell to protect your adc and to engage a 2v2 - Hard to land, you have to anticipate the target movements - Easier to land after your Ultimate or an AA+E - Also gives movement speed to your allies thanks to passive
Description : Unleashes a stream of water that bounces between allied and enemy champions. This ability can only bounce to each target once and hits up to 3 targets. On ally hits, heals the target and bounces towards a nearby enemy champion. On enemy hits, deals magic damage and bounces towards a nearby allied champion. - Your main spell to pressure in lane, try to auto attack before using it and to get at least one bounce/two hits (see "how to harass") - Also gives movement speed to you and your allies thanks to passive
E : Mana cost : 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 points Range : 800 Cooldown : 11 seconds Damage : 25 / 40 /55 / 70 / 85 (+20% AP) for each auto-attack Slow : 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35% (+5% AP)
Description :Empowers an allied champion for 6 seconds or 3 auto attacks. During this time, His basic attacks deal bonus magic damage and slow the target for 1 second. - The slow doesn't stack (one more auto attack will not increase the slow, it will refresh it) - If you use it to slow an enemy : use it on you, not on your adc because he often has more than 1.00 attack Speed, so the slow will be less effective as he will refresh it too quickly - If you use it for burst : use it on your adc because he will proc the damage more quickly - Also gives movement speed to you and your allies thanks to passive (use it on you to escape, it has no incantation time)
R : Mana cost : 100 point Range : 2750 Cooldown : 120 / 110 / 100 seconds Damage :150 / 250 / 350 (+60% AP) Slow : 50 / 60 / 70%
Description : Summons a tidal wave outward from Nami's position. The tidal wave briefly knocks up enemies that it comes into contact with, slows them and deals magic damage. The slow duration increases based on how far the tidal wave has traveled, with a minimum duration of 2 seconds and a maximum duration of 4 seconds. (Passive effectiveness is doubled --> Gives 120 move speed) - Engage or Disengage : you have to choose - Cancel dashes et jumps, don't hesitate to use it at short range if needed. - Also gives move speed, use it under your allies toward them to help them to chase if you are very far Spell for Lvl 1 : is the best to start laning phase as it's the best one to harass, which is your job as a Nami, and you can also heal your jungler : be friendly, heal him.
Spell for lvl 2 : , it will save your ass if you get ganked and it's the best for a lvl 2 trade
Spell for Lvl 3 : to get your 3 spells, only put 2nd point in W is only good if you really need extra sustain
1st spell to max : , always max that spell : your job as a support is to pressure the enemies and to make your adc feel secure, W gives extra damage to pressure and extra heal to make your adc feel secure...
2nd spell to max : For real guys : why do all of you max E 2nd ??? Max E only increases the slow intensity by 5% at each rank, it doesn't reduce CD, it increases less damage than maxing Q and unlike max Q it increases mana cost... Max the spell that reduces its Cooldown : max Q, I don't care you can not miss your E : you know how to land a skillshot do you ?
Take for more pressure in Lane and 3 for sustain Only take if facing a very very hard lane like + where you don't want to trade at all and just sustain as much as possible .
Items to rush :
- to get more gold and Vision ! Then, get Boots : to roam a lot (but slow when fighting) or to get CDR and Summoner Spells CDR
Best Items
GreatAoE heal ! Great Utility Item, gives a bit of tankiness, some support stats and a very powerful healing for your allies
The massive heal Item ! It brings you 10 % CDR which is really useful as you want to get a lot of CDR with Nami, extra AP that will give you more damage AND utility, lot of mana regen and if you play aggressive enough, your heals will be twice as effective ! [Edit patch 7.12] : now gives tons of AP !
Very good active ! This Item used to be very popular even though overestimated, after 6.22 it has become really better : it doesn't heal anymore but the CD is not too long (120 sec) and it prevents from chain CC thanks to slow immunity and +40% move speed for 2 secs
Amazing stats and passive ! Gives +8% move speed, 60 AP, +10% healing, 50% mana regen, 10% CDR + More DPS for you and your ADC ! For only 2300 gold !
Good stats + Active
Gives +60 AP, +7% move speed, 10% CDR and a very useful active that can be used to scout enemy jungle or to catch enemies
Very underestimated item, however it gives you a lot of tankiness, but also a lot of movement speed around turrets, 10% CDR is always good, and an active that allow your team to dive very easily. Think about it. PASSIVE ALSO WORK AROUND ENEMY TURRETS AND DEAD TURRETS !
Weaknesses : - Melee champion, can be poke for free
- Poor sustain
- Very dependant
Just care : - His flash combo
Play very aggressive to zone him completely so he his scared of engaging on you
VS
Annie
Medium
Weaknesses : - Extremely squishy, you can burst her quickly.
- No peel or sustain for her adc
- Very + Ult dependant
Strength : - Huge burst at lvl 6, can nearly 100-0 you with her adc
Harass her hard in the early levels and try to kill her or at least burn her Flash before she gets lvl 6. If you don't she will probably kill you
TIP : Always watch her passive stacks carefully, even if she only has 3 she can get stun instantly with her E (Good Annie players wait to engage with 3 stacks)
VS
Ashe
Medium
Weaknesses : - No mobility
- Not so much damage before she gets some Crit items
Strengths : - Annoying poke
- Good all-in potential at lvl 6
Harass her as much as you can and when she is low enough, land bubble + full combo. Disengage if she uses her ult
TIP : If possible, try to engage on her when she doesn't have Q stacks (she needs 4 to get improved auto-attacks)
VS
Bard
Medium
Weaknesses : - No burst
- Poor sustain
- Not a lot of kill pressure 2v2
Strengths : - Good help for his jungler
- Lot of peel
- Correct poke with AA + passive + Q
- Play maker
This will depend on how Bard plays, if he is a good Bard player he will play safe enough and you should not get a kill in this lane as he has too much peel, if he is too aggressive or makes some mistakes you can punish him.
ALWAYS keep the river warded against him
VS
Blitzcrank
Medium
Weakness : - Melee support : can be poked for free
- No sustain and no peel
Strength : - If he grabs you, you are 100% dead unless you
- If he grabs your adc, he is in trouble...
- Will control the bush, which you like to be in.
Easy match-up as long as you ar your adc don't get grabed
TIP : If he grabs your adc, 1st bubble his adc (not him as he already used his most important spell), then throw W on Blitz (so it bounces : Blitz --> Your adc --> His adc, if you throw it on your adc you lose one bounce). E your adc only if he wants to take the trade or needs more move speed to escape
VS
Brand
Medium
Strengths : - Huge Poke
- Huge burst, especially at lvl 6 but even without ult
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- No mobility / escape
- Poor peel
Play more aggressively than he does or he will destroy you.
TIPS : - When he ults to achieve you, Instantly far away from your mates so it doesn't bounces, reduces up to 80% the ult damages (it hits 5 targets so 80% if you are the 1st target, 60% if you are the 2nd...)
- Before stunning you he needs to burn you, so if you are low and if he burns you, be prepared to avoid the stun
VS
Braum
Medium
Pros : - Melee champion : poke for free
- No sustain
- Not so much poke
Cons : - A lot of peel
- Good all in potential
Poke him hard to zone him, if his passive is about to proc always disengage
TIP : Never use your ulti if he hasn't used his Shield yet !!! Eventually bait it with your Q but wait for him to use it or you will just use it for anything.
VS
Caitlyn
Hard
Strengths : - Huge poke
- Big AA range + escape --> safe
Very hard lane, she will poke you more than you can return or sustain, wich is the biggest danger for Nami. Stay back, try to avoid her poke and to sustain and ask for a gank.
VS
Corki
Medium
Weaknesses : - Squishy
- You counter his poke
Strengths : - Very safe thanks to his Valkyrie
- Great burst
- Can farm by distance at lvl 6
Poke him hard and punish him if he uses his Valkyrie in.
TIP : If you really have to, you can cancel his jump with your ult
VS
Draven
Medium
Weaknesses : - Very predictable
- He has no escape
- Hard to play
Strengths : - You can't trade with his AA
- Scary if his supp has a lot of CC
- Snowball very hard
Poke him hard and feed your adc before Draven feeds himself, very simply ^^
TIP : When his Q is on he becomes very predictable so you can easily bubble him, just aim where he is going to catch his axe
VS
Ezreal
Medium
Completely depends on how he builds and how he plays...
If he plays well he will poke you hard, still stay very safe and all-in once you are low enough
If he is bad he will miss his Q, E in too aggressively and get caught.
He can also get 1st so you can bully him, or not then you can't as easily.
VS
Fiddlesticks
Easy
Not a very common support, but you can stop his ulti and his drain with your A extremely easily, he won't do anything against you.
VS
Graves
Hard
Strengths : - Huge burst
- Has an escape, can avoid your Q
- Quite Tanky
Scary lane, if he is with an hard engage supp he will destroy you, not much you can do against that...
[5.22] : Even more burst with his rework, but he can be bullied because of his shitty range. Harass him as much as you can when he is reloading his Auto-Attacks
VS
Janna
Easy
Weaknesses : - No sustain (apart from ulti)
- Poor damages / Poke
- No kill pressure
Just care : - Her peel, she can bait you
This lane is very easy, all you have to do is harass them hard, her shield is not enough to absorb your damages. Zone them hard and try and get a kill as soon as they are low enough. Don't tower dive though, too risky.
TIP : If you really need to you can cancel her ult with a Q to stop the healing
VS
Jhin
Hard
Weaknesses :
- No mobility
- Slow attack speed and has to recharge every 4 autos
Strengths :
- Huge burst !
- Good CC
- Very good range with his spells
Jhin is very hard to face as a Nami because he has a HUGE burst and his can stun you from very far.
VS
Jinx
Medium
Weaknesses : - No mobility
- Less poke than you have sustain
Strengths : - Lot of CC
- Lot of damages
- Snowball hard
Don't take trades against her, just poke her with W, try an all in once she is low enough. Let her push if she is with a scary Support like Nautilus Thresh or Leona, she mustn't get a kill.
VS
Kalista
Medium
Strengths : - Can avoid your Q
- Lot of damages
- Very safe
Weaknesses : - Hard countered by Slows
- Easy to kill if she gets caught
Poke her hard with your W, once she is low enough slow her with your E, then land your Q and burst her down. You can also engage with your ultimate. NEVER focus her support as she can ult to save him
TIP : Never engage on her with Q (she will dodge it), engage with an aa+E or the ultimate, THEN land Q
VS
Karma
Medium
Weaknesses : - Very squishy
- No sustain
- No instant hard cc (her root needs time to proc)
Strengths : - Lot of poke
- Some peel
This lane is all about who can poke the most, you must be more aggressive than she is and always use your W to sustain AND deal damages at the same time. I suggest focusing her rather than her adc as she will be the one that can zone you and she can be bursted down very easily
VS
Kog'Maw
Easy
Weaknesses : - Poor laning phase
- No mobility
- Very squishy
Just care : His late game (if he reaches it)
He is not dangerous at all, get poke him hard pre 3 and all in him at lvl 3, this should be a free kill.
VS
Leona
Medium
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- No peel
- Melee champion : poked for free
Strengths : - Lot of CC
- Lot of Burst
- Very Tanky
This lane is actually OK as long as you manage to harass constantly her adc, she can burst you down with her adc but if you zone him she can't do anything. Try and get kills pre 6 because at lvl 6 she can nearly 100-0 you
TIP : If she engages on you or your adc, bubble her adc so he can't follow and proc her passive. Don't bubble her, especially if she shielded herself.
VS
Lucian
Medium
Weaknesses : - Low range, easy to poke
- His poke can be avoided
Strengths : - Good burst
- Can avoid your Q
Not really much to say about this match-up. Just poke him hard and punish him if he uses his dash aggressively.
[5.22] : Looks like he benefits a lot from the new , might become very dangerous on this patch
VS
Lulu
Medium
Strengths : - Good poke
- Huge peel
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Not a lot of kill pressure
She is very annoying to play against but not that dangerous, just hold the lane by sustaining and poking her at the same time so she doesn't feel too confident. Don't expect to get a kill unless she makes big mistakes.
VS
Lux
Hard
Strengths : - Huge poke
- Good burst and CC --> lot of kill pressure
- Some peel
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Squishy
Not a very common support but very strong though. This lane is very hard as you cannot sustain enough to hold the lane, the only way you can manage to win this lane is by poking her very hard is the 1st levels and all-in her at lvl 3 to feed your adc before she feeds hers or herself. You can also cry for a gank.
VS
Malphite
Medium
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Not a lot of peel
- Very ultimate dependent
Strengths : - Very tanky
- Extremely strong Ultimate
Not a very common support but kinda works. This lane is all about can you givemore kills to your adc than he will. Basically, he will nearly always kill you if he land a good ultimate but never without it, so all you have to do is killing his adc before lvl 6 and even after when he doesn't have his ulti.
VS
Miss Fortune
Medium
Weaknesses :
- No escape
- Not a lot of burst without ult
- Her ult can be cancelled
Strengths :
- Good poke
- Annoying slow
- Huge Ultimate !
This champion is very ult dependent, before 6 she is not so strong : try to bully her. After 6, be careful if her supp has CC because her damages are insane !
TIP : You can cancel her ult with yours or a Q
VS
Mordekaiser
Easy
Since patch his rework on patch 5.16 Riot has always been trying to balance him, but... so many patches changed him that i ended up stopping to try and understand how good he is. No one plays him anymore in fact...
The only thing i know is :
Melee "adc" + no escape + no cc + poor range on spells --> Bully him as hard as you can !!!
He can't handle your poke, just disengage if his supp engages, then keep bullying him ^^
VS
Morgana
Hard
Strengths : - Tons of CC
- Very annoying Black shield
- Good damages, almost if she goes full AP
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Very long CD on her Black shield
This lane is all about what can you do once her Black shield is down and can you avoid her Q. Her Black shield has a very long CD and she has no sustain so you must poke her or her adc hard, then bait her Black shield with a Q and all-in as soon as you got it back (so she still doesn't have her Black shield).
TIP : If she doesn't blackshield herself when she ults, Bubbling her is a good way to escape from it
VS
Nautilus
Hard
Strengths : - Tons of CC
- Huge burst
- Very tanky
- Good peel
Weakness : - Melee champion : can be poked easily (not for free though...)
- No sustain
This lane is extremely hard for you, if he wants to kill you he will, there is not much you can do about that. Just play super safe, stay behind your minions and cry for a gank. I don't think you can win this lane unless him or his adc makes stupid mistakes or if your jungler camps you.
TIP : This may seem obvious but don't flash out from his ult, it will hit you aniway
VS
Nunu
Easy
Weaknesses : - No sustain for his adc
- Not a lot of peel
- No kill pressure
- Not very tanky before he gets items
- Melee champion : poke for free
- Ult easy to cancel
Just care : - His sneaky ult
Not really played as a support and we understand why. Very easy lane he is nearly useless.
Tip : You can cancel his ult with your Q or ult
VS
Poppy
Hard
Strengths :
- Lot of burst
- Lot of peel
- Very tanky
Weaknesses :
- Melee : poked for free
- Needs a wall to stun
Poppy Support is the new pick of the meta since her rework. I personally have a lot of difficulties to lane against her because i feel like you can't escape from her. She a bit like a Nautilus in fact...
TIP : Never stay to close from a wall when she is near...
VS
Quinn
Medium
I don't really know what to think about new Quinn as Adc...
But damn her blind is even more annoying now !
VS
Shen
Medium
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poke for free
- No sustain for his adc
- Weak poke
- Poor damage and only one CC --> Not a lot of kill pressure
Strengths : - Good peel
- Play maker
- Very tanky
- Global Ulti
Because of his taunt and his ulti it will be difficult to kill his adc (or even him, if you wanna try) but he will probably not kill you either. Should be a very quiet lane
TIP : You can cancel his ult with a Q. Will not stop the shield though.
VS
Sivir
Easy
Weaknesses : - Short range --> Easy to poke
- No escape apart from ulti
- Your ulti completely counter hers
- Not so much damage if she doesn't hit Boomerang
- Very mana hungry
Just care : - Her shield can block your bubble
Biggest Sivir strength (in my opinion) is her teamfighting power, which you can completely deny with your ultimate. Moreover you can poke her and easily zone her out of lane because of her short range. Quite easy match-up.
VS
Sona
Easy
Weaknesses : - Extremely squishy
- Poor sustain
- Poor peel apart from ulti
Just care : - Her poke with Q
- Potential wombo-combo with her ulti (with MF for example)
All you have to do in this lane is playing aggressive, sustain and poke her and all-in her at lvl 2-3 as she is very squishy and has no real escape. I suggest you to run to completely counter her.
VS
Soraka
Medium
Weaknesses : - Squishy
- Poor poke (unless she max Q spell)
- No kill pressure
Strengths : - Huge sustain
- Very good peel
Against her i highly recommend : - To run to counter her heal
- To focus the support as she has far less peel for herself (whereas her adc is nearly impossible to kill)
She will probably not kill you in lane, but it will also be very difficult for you to kill her or her adc. Should be a quiet lane.
VS
Tahm Kench
Medium
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poked for free
- No sustain
- Not so much damage / Poke
- Not a lot of kill pressure
Strengths : - Good peel
- Very tanky
Should be a quiet lane, he will probably not kill you, you will probably not kill him or his adc.
TIP : Any damage can cancel the ult
TIP 2 : As you can see where he is gonna TP, you can easily bubble him once he arrives with some anticipation.
VS
Taric
Medium
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poked for free
- Poor sustain
- Poor poke
Strengths : - Very effective CC
- Good damages if he can land aa after spells
- Good dive potential
Reworked Taric is quite strong now. But as Nami is you play aggressive enough, you can handle him
TIP : Don't forget he can land stun from his allies !
VS
Thresh
Medium
Weaknesses : - Short range : easy to poke
- No sustain
- No poke
- Q spell can be dodged
- Very hard to play
Strengths : - Lot of peel
- Lot of kill pressure
- Can have very effective ganks
- Playmaker
This lane is all about how Thresh plays : this match-up can be very easy or very hard depending if he plays well or not.
Anyway, you must poke his adc hard if you want to win this lane. If you know he is premade with his jungler play super safe !
VS
Tristana
Medium
Strengths : - Good peel for herself (Jump + Ult)
- Huge Late game
Weaknesses : - Needs long trades to be effective
- Cannot farm under turret
I don't know this match-up very well, the only things i can suggest is to take short trades, as usual harass her, and punish her if she uses her Jump aggressively.
TIP : Same as Corki, you can cancel her jump with your ult if needed
VS
Twitch
Easy
Weaknesses : - No reliable escape (his Q has been buffed patch 5.18 but 4.5 secs is still too long to become invisible when receiving damage)
- Very squishy
- Not so much damage
Just care : - His roaming
- His late game teamfight power
Very easy lane, just poke him hard and kill him as soon as you can. I suggest you to run for even more snowballing. ALWAYS say SS as he will probably want to roam.
VS
Urgot
Easy
Weaknesses : - Not so much damage
- Very short range --> Easy to poke - No escape - Puts himself in a bad position when he ults Just care : - He is very tanky compared to other adc - He can throw you under his turret with his ult Not played a lot as adc, mainly because of his short range. Very easy match-up as even if he is tanky you poke him hard and zone him
out of lane, he doesn't have enough poke to be a threat and if he gets low
enough you can all in him. Just don't try any dive or even try to deal him damage if he is under
turret, you would get the aggro if he ults you.
TIP : You can cancel his ult with Q or Ult
VS
Varus
Medium
Weaknesses : - No escape and mobility
- Not so much damage
Strengths : - Good poke
- Can reduce your heal
- Great ultimate for engage
If you want to win this lane, you must play very aggressive, if you don't he will poke you down and kill you at lvl 6. If you do you can try to kill him once he is low enough.
VS
Vayne
Medium
Strengths : - Can avoid your bubble
- Huge Late game
- Very strong in 1v1
Weaknesses : - Useless if she gets zoned
- Very hard to play
- Quite weak Laning phase
A bit the same as for Thresh : This match-up can be really easy or really hard depending if she plays well or not. If she doesn't make any mistake she will win this lane as you won't be able to kill her, she will farm and have a better late game than your adc. NEVER let your adc 1v1 against her !
VS
Veigar
Medium
Veigar support is back guys, he can now stack AP without last hitting !
Strengths : - Good poke
- Great burst
- Huge late game
Weaknesses : - Poor peel
- No sustain
- Squishy
Play more aggressively than he does
VS
Vel'Koz
Medium
Weaknesses : - Ult can be canceled
- Poke can be avoided
- Squishy and no mobility or escape
- Poor peel
Strengths : - Huge poke (if he lands it)
- A huge burst at lvl 6
To win this lane you must absolutely avoid his poke and poke poke him in return. If you just play passive he will destroy you. I suggest you to get boots as soon as possible.
QUESTION : Can his ult be cancelled ? He channels the ray but...
VS
Volibear
Easy
Strengths : - Great burst
- Very tanky
- Lot of constant damages
BUT : - Poor peel
- Can be kitted
- No poke
Volibear is quite a strong support in my opinion, but he can't do anything against you as he will not be abble to engage, if he Q you will just slow him, speed up yourself or even bubble him. Just forget him, poke his adc hard he will not be abble to protect him.
Don't run , it hard counters his passive BUT he is not the one you want to kill and you might need if he flashes at you.
VS
Zilean
Easy
Weaknesses : - Poor poke, can easily be avoided
- Very squishy
- No sustain
- Not so much peel
Just care : - His ult can be annoying
Very weak support in my opinion, poke him or his adc hard and get easy kills before lvl 6. After lvl 6 just bait his ult and kill the one that is not marked by ult.
VS
Zyra
Medium
Strengths : - Very good poke
- Good CC
Weaknesses : - Very squishy
- No sustain
The most aggressive will win, a bit the same as against Vel'koz, if you play too passive she will rekt you
TIP : Her ult deals damage before the bump ! If you want to flash out, flash out early
Champion
Difficulty
Notes
Alistar
Weaknesses : - Melee champion, can be poke for free
- Poor sustain
- Very dependant
Just care : - His flash combo
Play very aggressive to zone him completely so he his scared of engaging on you
Annie
Weaknesses : - Extremely squishy, you can burst her quickly.
- No peel or sustain for her adc
- Very + Ult dependant
Strength : - Huge burst at lvl 6, can nearly 100-0 you with her adc
Harass her hard in the early levels and try to kill her or at least burn her Flash before she gets lvl 6. If you don't she will probably kill you
TIP : Always watch her passive stacks carefully, even if she only has 3 she can get stun instantly with her E (Good Annie players wait to engage with 3 stacks)
Ashe
Weaknesses : - No mobility
- Not so much damage before she gets some Crit items
Strengths : - Annoying poke
- Good all-in potential at lvl 6
Harass her as much as you can and when she is low enough, land bubble + full combo. Disengage if she uses her ult
TIP : If possible, try to engage on her when she doesn't have Q stacks (she needs 4 to get improved auto-attacks)
Bard
Weaknesses : - No burst
- Poor sustain
- Not a lot of kill pressure 2v2
Strengths : - Good help for his jungler
- Lot of peel
- Correct poke with AA + passive + Q
- Play maker
This will depend on how Bard plays, if he is a good Bard player he will play safe enough and you should not get a kill in this lane as he has too much peel, if he is too aggressive or makes some mistakes you can punish him.
ALWAYS keep the river warded against him
Blitzcrank
Weakness : - Melee support : can be poked for free
- No sustain and no peel
Strength : - If he grabs you, you are 100% dead unless you
- If he grabs your adc, he is in trouble...
- Will control the bush, which you like to be in.
Easy match-up as long as you ar your adc don't get grabed
TIP : If he grabs your adc, 1st bubble his adc (not him as he already used his most important spell), then throw W on Blitz (so it bounces : Blitz --> Your adc --> His adc, if you throw it on your adc you lose one bounce). E your adc only if he wants to take the trade or needs more move speed to escape
Brand
Strengths : - Huge Poke
- Huge burst, especially at lvl 6 but even without ult
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- No mobility / escape
- Poor peel
Play more aggressively than he does or he will destroy you.
TIPS : - When he ults to achieve you, Instantly far away from your mates so it doesn't bounces, reduces up to 80% the ult damages (it hits 5 targets so 80% if you are the 1st target, 60% if you are the 2nd...)
- Before stunning you he needs to burn you, so if you are low and if he burns you, be prepared to avoid the stun
Braum
Pros : - Melee champion : poke for free
- No sustain
- Not so much poke
Cons : - A lot of peel
- Good all in potential
Poke him hard to zone him, if his passive is about to proc always disengage
TIP : Never use your ulti if he hasn't used his Shield yet !!! Eventually bait it with your Q but wait for him to use it or you will just use it for anything.
Caitlyn
Strengths : - Huge poke
- Big AA range + escape --> safe
Very hard lane, she will poke you more than you can return or sustain, wich is the biggest danger for Nami. Stay back, try to avoid her poke and to sustain and ask for a gank.
Corki
Weaknesses : - Squishy
- You counter his poke
Strengths : - Very safe thanks to his Valkyrie
- Great burst
- Can farm by distance at lvl 6
Poke him hard and punish him if he uses his Valkyrie in.
TIP : If you really have to, you can cancel his jump with your ult
Draven
Weaknesses : - Very predictable
- He has no escape
- Hard to play
Strengths : - You can't trade with his AA
- Scary if his supp has a lot of CC
- Snowball very hard
Poke him hard and feed your adc before Draven feeds himself, very simply ^^
TIP : When his Q is on he becomes very predictable so you can easily bubble him, just aim where he is going to catch his axe
Ezreal
Completely depends on how he builds and how he plays...
If he plays well he will poke you hard, still stay very safe and all-in once you are low enough
If he is bad he will miss his Q, E in too aggressively and get caught.
He can also get 1st so you can bully him, or not then you can't as easily.
Fiddlesticks
Not a very common support, but you can stop his ulti and his drain with your A extremely easily, he won't do anything against you.
Graves
Strengths : - Huge burst
- Has an escape, can avoid your Q
- Quite Tanky
Scary lane, if he is with an hard engage supp he will destroy you, not much you can do against that...
[5.22] : Even more burst with his rework, but he can be bullied because of his shitty range. Harass him as much as you can when he is reloading his Auto-Attacks
Janna
Weaknesses : - No sustain (apart from ulti)
- Poor damages / Poke
- No kill pressure
Just care : - Her peel, she can bait you
This lane is very easy, all you have to do is harass them hard, her shield is not enough to absorb your damages. Zone them hard and try and get a kill as soon as they are low enough. Don't tower dive though, too risky.
TIP : If you really need to you can cancel her ult with a Q to stop the healing
Jhin
Weaknesses :
- No mobility
- Slow attack speed and has to recharge every 4 autos
Strengths :
- Huge burst !
- Good CC
- Very good range with his spells
Jhin is very hard to face as a Nami because he has a HUGE burst and his can stun you from very far.
Jinx
Weaknesses : - No mobility
- Less poke than you have sustain
Strengths : - Lot of CC
- Lot of damages
- Snowball hard
Don't take trades against her, just poke her with W, try an all in once she is low enough. Let her push if she is with a scary Support like Nautilus Thresh or Leona, she mustn't get a kill.
Kalista
Strengths : - Can avoid your Q
- Lot of damages
- Very safe
Weaknesses : - Hard countered by Slows
- Easy to kill if she gets caught
Poke her hard with your W, once she is low enough slow her with your E, then land your Q and burst her down. You can also engage with your ultimate. NEVER focus her support as she can ult to save him
TIP : Never engage on her with Q (she will dodge it), engage with an aa+E or the ultimate, THEN land Q
Karma
Weaknesses : - Very squishy
- No sustain
- No instant hard cc (her root needs time to proc)
Strengths : - Lot of poke
- Some peel
This lane is all about who can poke the most, you must be more aggressive than she is and always use your W to sustain AND deal damages at the same time. I suggest focusing her rather than her adc as she will be the one that can zone you and she can be bursted down very easily
Kog'Maw
Weaknesses : - Poor laning phase
- No mobility
- Very squishy
Just care : His late game (if he reaches it)
He is not dangerous at all, get poke him hard pre 3 and all in him at lvl 3, this should be a free kill.
Leona
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- No peel
- Melee champion : poked for free
Strengths : - Lot of CC
- Lot of Burst
- Very Tanky
This lane is actually OK as long as you manage to harass constantly her adc, she can burst you down with her adc but if you zone him she can't do anything. Try and get kills pre 6 because at lvl 6 she can nearly 100-0 you
TIP : If she engages on you or your adc, bubble her adc so he can't follow and proc her passive. Don't bubble her, especially if she shielded herself.
Lucian
Weaknesses : - Low range, easy to poke
- His poke can be avoided
Strengths : - Good burst
- Can avoid your Q
Not really much to say about this match-up. Just poke him hard and punish him if he uses his dash aggressively.
[5.22] : Looks like he benefits a lot from the new , might become very dangerous on this patch
Lulu
Strengths : - Good poke
- Huge peel
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Not a lot of kill pressure
She is very annoying to play against but not that dangerous, just hold the lane by sustaining and poking her at the same time so she doesn't feel too confident. Don't expect to get a kill unless she makes big mistakes.
Lux
Strengths : - Huge poke
- Good burst and CC --> lot of kill pressure
- Some peel
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Squishy
Not a very common support but very strong though. This lane is very hard as you cannot sustain enough to hold the lane, the only way you can manage to win this lane is by poking her very hard is the 1st levels and all-in her at lvl 3 to feed your adc before she feeds hers or herself. You can also cry for a gank.
Malphite
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Not a lot of peel
- Very ultimate dependent
Strengths : - Very tanky
- Extremely strong Ultimate
Not a very common support but kinda works. This lane is all about can you givemore kills to your adc than he will. Basically, he will nearly always kill you if he land a good ultimate but never without it, so all you have to do is killing his adc before lvl 6 and even after when he doesn't have his ulti.
Miss Fortune
Weaknesses :
- No escape
- Not a lot of burst without ult
- Her ult can be cancelled
Strengths :
- Good poke
- Annoying slow
- Huge Ultimate !
This champion is very ult dependent, before 6 she is not so strong : try to bully her. After 6, be careful if her supp has CC because her damages are insane !
TIP : You can cancel her ult with yours or a Q
Mordekaiser
Since patch his rework on patch 5.16 Riot has always been trying to balance him, but... so many patches changed him that i ended up stopping to try and understand how good he is. No one plays him anymore in fact...
The only thing i know is :
Melee "adc" + no escape + no cc + poor range on spells --> Bully him as hard as you can !!!
He can't handle your poke, just disengage if his supp engages, then keep bullying him ^^
Morgana
Strengths : - Tons of CC
- Very annoying Black shield
- Good damages, almost if she goes full AP
Weaknesses : - No sustain
- Very long CD on her Black shield
This lane is all about what can you do once her Black shield is down and can you avoid her Q. Her Black shield has a very long CD and she has no sustain so you must poke her or her adc hard, then bait her Black shield with a Q and all-in as soon as you got it back (so she still doesn't have her Black shield).
TIP : If she doesn't blackshield herself when she ults, Bubbling her is a good way to escape from it
Nautilus
Strengths : - Tons of CC
- Huge burst
- Very tanky
- Good peel
Weakness : - Melee champion : can be poked easily (not for free though...)
- No sustain
This lane is extremely hard for you, if he wants to kill you he will, there is not much you can do about that. Just play super safe, stay behind your minions and cry for a gank. I don't think you can win this lane unless him or his adc makes stupid mistakes or if your jungler camps you.
TIP : This may seem obvious but don't flash out from his ult, it will hit you aniway
Nunu
Weaknesses : - No sustain for his adc
- Not a lot of peel
- No kill pressure
- Not very tanky before he gets items
- Melee champion : poke for free
- Ult easy to cancel
Just care : - His sneaky ult
Not really played as a support and we understand why. Very easy lane he is nearly useless.
Tip : You can cancel his ult with your Q or ult
Poppy
Strengths :
- Lot of burst
- Lot of peel
- Very tanky
Weaknesses :
- Melee : poked for free
- Needs a wall to stun
Poppy Support is the new pick of the meta since her rework. I personally have a lot of difficulties to lane against her because i feel like you can't escape from her. She a bit like a Nautilus in fact...
TIP : Never stay to close from a wall when she is near...
Quinn
I don't really know what to think about new Quinn as Adc...
But damn her blind is even more annoying now !
Shen
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poke for free
- No sustain for his adc
- Weak poke
- Poor damage and only one CC --> Not a lot of kill pressure
Strengths : - Good peel
- Play maker
- Very tanky
- Global Ulti
Because of his taunt and his ulti it will be difficult to kill his adc (or even him, if you wanna try) but he will probably not kill you either. Should be a very quiet lane
TIP : You can cancel his ult with a Q. Will not stop the shield though.
Sivir
Weaknesses : - Short range --> Easy to poke
- No escape apart from ulti
- Your ulti completely counter hers
- Not so much damage if she doesn't hit Boomerang
- Very mana hungry
Just care : - Her shield can block your bubble
Biggest Sivir strength (in my opinion) is her teamfighting power, which you can completely deny with your ultimate. Moreover you can poke her and easily zone her out of lane because of her short range. Quite easy match-up.
Sona
Weaknesses : - Extremely squishy
- Poor sustain
- Poor peel apart from ulti
Just care : - Her poke with Q
- Potential wombo-combo with her ulti (with MF for example)
All you have to do in this lane is playing aggressive, sustain and poke her and all-in her at lvl 2-3 as she is very squishy and has no real escape. I suggest you to run to completely counter her.
Soraka
Weaknesses : - Squishy
- Poor poke (unless she max Q spell)
- No kill pressure
Strengths : - Huge sustain
- Very good peel
Against her i highly recommend : - To run to counter her heal
- To focus the support as she has far less peel for herself (whereas her adc is nearly impossible to kill)
She will probably not kill you in lane, but it will also be very difficult for you to kill her or her adc. Should be a quiet lane.
Tahm Kench
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poked for free
- No sustain
- Not so much damage / Poke
- Not a lot of kill pressure
Strengths : - Good peel
- Very tanky
Should be a quiet lane, he will probably not kill you, you will probably not kill him or his adc.
TIP : Any damage can cancel the ult
TIP 2 : As you can see where he is gonna TP, you can easily bubble him once he arrives with some anticipation.
Taric
Weaknesses : - Melee champion : poked for free
- Poor sustain
- Poor poke
Strengths : - Very effective CC
- Good damages if he can land aa after spells
- Good dive potential
Reworked Taric is quite strong now. But as Nami is you play aggressive enough, you can handle him
TIP : Don't forget he can land stun from his allies !
Thresh
Weaknesses : - Short range : easy to poke
- No sustain
- No poke
- Q spell can be dodged
- Very hard to play
Strengths : - Lot of peel
- Lot of kill pressure
- Can have very effective ganks
- Playmaker
This lane is all about how Thresh plays : this match-up can be very easy or very hard depending if he plays well or not.
Anyway, you must poke his adc hard if you want to win this lane. If you know he is premade with his jungler play super safe !
Tristana
Strengths : - Good peel for herself (Jump + Ult)
- Huge Late game
Weaknesses : - Needs long trades to be effective
- Cannot farm under turret
I don't know this match-up very well, the only things i can suggest is to take short trades, as usual harass her, and punish her if she uses her Jump aggressively.
TIP : Same as Corki, you can cancel her jump with your ult if needed
Twitch
Weaknesses : - No reliable escape (his Q has been buffed patch 5.18 but 4.5 secs is still too long to become invisible when receiving damage)
- Very squishy
- Not so much damage
Just care : - His roaming
- His late game teamfight power
Very easy lane, just poke him hard and kill him as soon as you can. I suggest you to run for even more snowballing. ALWAYS say SS as he will probably want to roam.
Urgot
Weaknesses : - Not so much damage
- Very short range --> Easy to poke - No escape - Puts himself in a bad position when he ults Just care : - He is very tanky compared to other adc - He can throw you under his turret with his ult Not played a lot as adc, mainly because of his short range. Very easy match-up as even if he is tanky you poke him hard and zone him
out of lane, he doesn't have enough poke to be a threat and if he gets low
enough you can all in him. Just don't try any dive or even try to deal him damage if he is under
turret, you would get the aggro if he ults you.
TIP : You can cancel his ult with Q or Ult
Varus
Weaknesses : - No escape and mobility
- Not so much damage
Strengths : - Good poke
- Can reduce your heal
- Great ultimate for engage
If you want to win this lane, you must play very aggressive, if you don't he will poke you down and kill you at lvl 6. If you do you can try to kill him once he is low enough.
Vayne
Strengths : - Can avoid your bubble
- Huge Late game
- Very strong in 1v1
Weaknesses : - Useless if she gets zoned
- Very hard to play
- Quite weak Laning phase
A bit the same as for Thresh : This match-up can be really easy or really hard depending if she plays well or not. If she doesn't make any mistake she will win this lane as you won't be able to kill her, she will farm and have a better late game than your adc. NEVER let your adc 1v1 against her !
Veigar
Veigar support is back guys, he can now stack AP without last hitting !
Strengths : - Good poke
- Great burst
- Huge late game
Weaknesses : - Poor peel
- No sustain
- Squishy
Play more aggressively than he does
Vel'Koz
Weaknesses : - Ult can be canceled
- Poke can be avoided
- Squishy and no mobility or escape
- Poor peel
Strengths : - Huge poke (if he lands it)
- A huge burst at lvl 6
To win this lane you must absolutely avoid his poke and poke poke him in return. If you just play passive he will destroy you. I suggest you to get boots as soon as possible.
QUESTION : Can his ult be cancelled ? He channels the ray but...
Volibear
Strengths : - Great burst
- Very tanky
- Lot of constant damages
BUT : - Poor peel
- Can be kitted
- No poke
Volibear is quite a strong support in my opinion, but he can't do anything against you as he will not be abble to engage, if he Q you will just slow him, speed up yourself or even bubble him. Just forget him, poke his adc hard he will not be abble to protect him.
Don't run , it hard counters his passive BUT he is not the one you want to kill and you might need if he flashes at you.
Zilean
Weaknesses : - Poor poke, can easily be avoided
- Very squishy
- No sustain
- Not so much peel
Just care : - His ult can be annoying
Very weak support in my opinion, poke him or his adc hard and get easy kills before lvl 6. After lvl 6 just bait his ult and kill the one that is not marked by ult.
Zyra
Strengths : - Very good poke
- Good CC
Weaknesses : - Very squishy
- No sustain
The most aggressive will win, a bit the same as against Vel'koz, if you play too passive she will rekt you
TIP : Her ult deals damage before the bump ! If you want to flash out, flash out early
Huge buff ! Q is now less punishing to miss because you have it back earlier
Also during teamfights you will have much more peeling potential
Thanks Riot ! I love you ! <3
Patch 7.12 : Support Item Changes (Changes for Nami)
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Patch 7.12 is finally bringing some changes for Supports ! Let's go through these changes and see what will change for Nami. As always, this is a very short summary, for more details, check the patch note !
: Shield reduced but now scales with CASTER's Max health --> Less interesting for Squishy support, similar for tanky supports, better for tanks.
: HP reduced : from 300 to 200, Active Healing reduced but now scales 3 times better with healing amplification ( masteries etc.) --> Overall more interesting item, unchanged base healing but more interesting if you play with , or
: Completely changed ! Now becomes a TANK item (no longer gives AP, now gives 60 Armor + 30 MR). Passive unchanged, still targets one ally. Active changed : When you cast your Ultimate near the ally you are linked to, summon a frost zone around you that slows ennemies for 20%, your allies basic attacks burn ennemies for 50% bonus magic damage ! 2nd active : If you basic attack a burning ennemy, the frost zone slow is doubled (40%) and deals 40 magic damage per second --> Super strong Item for all melee supports !
: CDR reduced (from 20%) to 10%. Bonus healing passive increased (from 20%) to 25% damage dealt. AP reduced (from 40) to 30 but bonus AP scaling with Mana Regen (+5 AP for 25% base mana regen) : with + + you reach 95 AP !!! --> Much better for Supports that benefit from AP
: Grants +125% health regen, no longer grans Mana, now gives the bonus (+20% move speed near all turrets)
: No longer grants base health regen, gives +10% CDR
: Health reduced (from 500) to 400, now gives +10% CDR and slow trigers automaticaly once an enely is closed
: 200 gold cheaper, from 2400 to 2200
Overview :
Nami benefits a lot from the new but also from the buff to This is an indirect buff to her ! (See "Yes, Nami scales with AP" section below)
I now recommend to build + into , then depending on what you need.
becomes even stronger if you know you will build .
Patch 7.9 : Tanks update (Changes for Nami)
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Mid season update is a HUGE patch ! However not much changed for supports, not directly at least, so I will start by the most important changes for support and then quickly explain the rest, trying to focus on what changes for supports. Once again, these changes will be made VERY shorts, many will not be mentioned because the aim is to make it short and simple.
1- Support Item changes :
- becomes a more "active" item, it now drops coins and mana and you need to collect what it drops (like souls) instead of just staying behind and waiting. Doesn't become more interesting for Nami but becomes slightly less interesting for champions that used it
- ALL support items receive a new effect once you have collected 650 gold with the passive : gets one spell point for free, gets a small shield that regenerates out of combat, gives a burst of move speed for a short duration when you proc the item (auto or spell). This remains when you upgrade the Item
- give less mana regen but more AP
--> Slight buff of supports
2- Tank update :
- get reworked, read patch note for more details
- Tank Items (...) get a bit less health but a bit more resistances
- New OP Item : During a teamfight gives +80 Armor, +80 Magic Res and active : reduces your damages of 60% but grants a shield equal to 100% max HP for 4 seconds !!!
- get changed, read the patch note for more details
--> Tanks become tankier
3- ADC Items changes :
- get +5 AD, get +5 AD and absorb 30% instead of 15%
- become 200g cheaper
- receive a slight buff on their passive
- become a better defensive item for ADCs
BUT
armor penetration : 45% --> 35% and maximum armor shred : 30% --> 24%
--> ADC deal a bit more damage but become weaker to kill Tanks
OVERVIEW
Not much changed for Nami (and supports in general) : you just get a nice passive that makes her a bit more fun to play (2 move speed buffs when you cast : cool! ), a bit more AP and a bit less mana regen. Your ADC will be less efficient because he will not deal much less damage to tanks (they get tankier and adc get less armor pen)
[Outdated] 6.13 : Support Changes, (Changes for Nami)
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NO LONGER UP TO DATE
These are the the most important changes made very short, check patch note for complete information
and now give 15% bonus healing --> ALWAYS get one of them as 3rd Item (see "Major choices" for which one to favor) or even both : these passive can stack (confirmed by Riot)
Utility buff : CDR earlier, +45 armor and passive when finished. --> Now consider picking it situationally : in very very hard match-up or if your team really really needs hard engage, but still prefer getting in 95% games
Buff to : (Q 2 sec slow at all ranks, Z also gives attack speed) / (Many changes) / (Lantern shield scale better)
Nerf to : (more early CD on ult) / (more early CD on Z)
[Personal opinion] Big indirect buff to "Utility build" : gives more mobility + armor, and increases shield + Ult healing (both passive stack, confirmed by Riot !), reduces even more the CD of items like
is 200 gold cheaper (1600 now) and gives 10% more CDR for active ability items (20% now) --> Still too expensive, prefer unless you go for a "full active items build"...
Indirect buff to : Killing wards doesn't stop the passive anymore
Killing wards now gives XP (15 for , 30 for / Ranged minion = 29 xp, melee = 59) --> Not a big deal but still a pretty cool thing to reward vision control
- R = + 60 damage (and it's a big AoE !) + 40 move speed on all allies hit (passive doubled on Ult)
Now, I'm not telling you that you should always build a lot of AP, because you are a support and it's not your main Job. BUT, if you're ahead and you don't absolutely need or against the enemy team, don't get more peel than you need and than you already have, get damage and utility. Killing people faster also helps your team, so does more slow and more move speed
If you're in a Ranked Team or DuoQ with an ADC that you know he is good, then make everything to protect him so he can carry, but if you're in SoloQ and your adc suck, just get damage this is much better ! (Used to Bronze SoloQ, sorry ^^" )
* Nami can give to her adc a very comfortable laning phase, because :
- She has sustain --> Her adc is not too worried about being poked
- She has peel and disengage --> He won't be too worried being killed either
- She has poke --> He will feel confident if the enemy botlane plays defensively
- She deals a lot of damage and has a lot of CC --> He will be able to get kills
* She is also very good in teamfights, because :
- She can complete an engage
- She can disengage if it goes wrong
- She deals a lot of damage
- She can protect very effectively her carries
* She is an extremely safe pick, as she doesn't have many counters and she has a good synergy with ALL the adc. You can 1st pick her without any problem.
As I said, Nami has a good synergy with ALL the adc, there is no adc you shouldn't pick her with. But here is my Top 10 of the best synergies :
1- - Her gives extra damage after ...3 auto attacks, and your lasts ...3 auto attacks. So you can take extremely effective short trades with coordination
- Her passivegives move speed, yoursalso does, which will make her even faster. - If you land on enemy near a wall, she can easily him, which should result in a free kill for her - And finally Vayne really needs to be protected during laning phase - and even during teamfights -, what Nami can do very effectively
2- : auto + --> --> + all your spells = HUGE BURST, this combo is insane and will very often leed to a kill at lvl 3
3- He is the adc I enjoy playing the most with, as it is a very playmaking and dynamic lane - He has a great burst like you : if you hit it will result in tons of damage
- His passive makes your proc twice : you can take very effective short trades
- Your can enable him to land 100% of his damage on enemies in teamfights or botlane fights
4- - Extremely strong lvl 1 if you get and she gets : 3 boosted autos + E = mid-life adc
- Tonns of CC and Huge synergy between your both Ultimate : All people you will bump thanks to Kalista Ult will be bumped again with Your Ult - Her passive + your passive --> Tonns of mobility, if she plays well and you peel her well, she will be impossible to catch
5- - If you land your , she can easily make her hit twice, which will hurt a lot !
- Your both passive give extra move speed, which will make her very fast even without her ult - She needs some sustain as she can get poked a lot because of her short range. - + can create a huge hard engage !
6- - His can proc your
- Both of you have lot of poke - He is already very safe + you have lot of peel --> good luck to kill this guys :p
7- - If you land a , then she can and deal tons of damage with autos + Zap
- She has no escape so she needs peel during teamfights, what you can do very well
8- All Kog Maw needs is a good laning phase to reach late game and peel during teamfights, what you can do very well
9- Huge poke ! You will totally bully this lane
10-
Same thing as Kog Maw, all Twitch needs is a good laning phase to reach Late Game
But as I said it, she's great with ALL the adc, not only these once. And not to be forgotten : Not as adc of course, but for teamfights because Yasuo needs enemies to be thrown in the air to Ult, and guess what ? Both your Q and Ult can do it --> Wombo-combo ! (Reminder : Your Qis a Stun, not a bump, but enemies are thrown in the air so Yasuo can ult on it)
During laning phase, your job is to make your adc as good in the game as possible. But this is really complex to do because you have many things to do :
- Pressure the enemy botlane : You have to put a constant pressure on the enemy adc and supports so that they are afraid to engage on you and the adc loses some farm --> see "how to harass"
- Try and kill them : If you pressure very effectively, you should be able to give a kill to your adc, if you want to carry the game as a support this is the best thing you can do.
- Protect your adc : If your adc gets engaged, you have to protect him : the enemy adc (or jungler if you get ganked), your adc and use for extra move speed or on yourself for the slow
- Keep your lane warded : Bring vision to your team, this is very important, even more during laning phase --> See "Warding"
- White points = Defensive wards, if you get pushed. Can be green or Pink wards
- Green points = Wards to control the river and prevent from a gank, most important ones. Can be green trinket or green wards.
- Blue points = Deep wards, usefull for helping your jungler to counter-jungle or if you push a lot. Green wards only.
- Pink points = Best place for Pink wards, will give a lot of information and should stay for a long time.
Warding for blue side during Laning phase :
Warding for Red side during laning phase :
Best places for after Laning phase (white for both sides, red for red side, blue for blue side) :
IMPORTANT : Adjust your Vision considering how push your team or the enemy team is pushing : The more deeper you push, the deeper you should ward --> If you are pushing the enemy Inhibitor tower, ward the enemy jungle, not yours.
I create a special topic for that because it's extremely important with Nami.
Quite surprisingly, the best way you can harass with a Nami is using... your Auto Attacks ! I mean, you should always start harassing by using a auto attack, then there are two situations :
1- The enemy botlane doesn't reply, then just go back : you won the trade ! 2- The adc or the support replies, now you can throw your on one of them and get the healing bounce : you won the trade again !
See how simple it is ? You can always outrade the adc or the support, that is why Nami is so great !
The best moment to harass the adc is when he is going to last-hit, because he should be in your AA range and shouldn't be able to reply. That's why i recommend looking YOUR minions HP, so you know when the adc is going to last hit.
Also, you can use the bush to harass, by just going out of it to throw a AA and quickly hide back. That should zone the enemy adc and support. BUT : NEVER GO OVER YOUR MINIONS ! If you do, you will get engaged and will probably die as you are very squishy
During a teamfight, here's how you should use your spells :
: Keep it to stun the enemy bruiser or assassin who wants to kill your carries
: Heal the person being focused
: On yourself to protect your adc with the slow
: You can use it to disengage the fight if it's turning in enemies favor OR to complete the engage, but this is a bit risky so only do that if you are sure the fight will be in your favor OR to catch the enemies that would like to escape. If you have to engage a fight, then i highly recommend to Ult1st and then to Q the ennemy carries, this way you can engage from a long range and the slow will enable you not to miss your Q, but you only have your E and your W to protect your carries, so only do this if you are sure to win the teamfight... You can also just use your Ult and let your team follow with their CC, but keep your Q for peeling, that's the best option IMO ^^
Here are 4 big differences between an average Nami player and a good Nami
player :
1- You play very aggressively during laning phase : Good
player will be very aggressive and able to give kills to their adc or at least zone the en enemy botlane when average
players will just keep their adc alive
2- You can land your Q--> It's a very hard skillshot to land but
very effective if you land, it clearly makes the difference in a trade, saves
lives and gives kills.
3- You always get at least 2 bounces of your W : this doubles the
effectiveness of this spell and will enable you to sustain AND pressure at the
same time, wich is extremely important, especially against poke champions like Lux, Corki,
Lulu, Caitlyn...
4- Your are confident enough to engage by yourself, in lane and during
teamfight when needed. You also don't hesitate to put your E on yourself and
auto-attack with it in lane (to engage by yourself or even poke)
* Try different builds by yourself : so you know which build suits better to your play style and to what your team needs, I like buying a lot of AP with items, but again this is personal and suits to my SoloQ play style, in team most players prefer building more defensively with items like and which is also very good.
* Play DuoQ with an adc main : so he can tell you what is good and what is strong. The 2 best adc you can play with are to train taking trades during laning phase, and to train your peeling capacity. But of course any other adc is good too
* Play Midlane Nami : By playing her in a solo lane, you will get much more confident with her. You will also be surprised by how good her laning phase is, you can easily bully your opponent with your poke and sustain. (But her late game as a AP Carry is weaker than any other Standard mage so don't do that in SoloQ)
* Play against hard comps to improve a specific point, for example : - : Focus on your positioning --> stay behind minions - : to force you playing aggressively --> always get at least 2 bounces of W, if you play too passive you cannot sustain enough to survive this lane. - : Try and survive, just try not to feed them. - : Play around ennemy coldowns
* Play ADC : Knowing what's in an adc's head and how to play Marksman champs helps a lot understanding botlane
---> Find botlane partners and play with them on Skype or TeamSpeak, it's the best way to progress.