Alistar Build Guide : [14.12] You can't milk those! - A comprehensive Alistar guide.

Greetings fellow support players, welcome to my guide! My summoner name is Aerenax on EUW. Since I started playing in season 2, I picked up and never let go. At the moment I have around 300k mastery points in and I would like to share my knowledge and experience with you guys! I really appreciate some constructive feedback and I do want to know what you guys think of the information or the guide layout itself. If you have any personal questions feel free to ask them aswell!

This guide has been written and checked by me. If you have any additions feel free to contact me. I am planning to update the guide every patch to keep you guys up to date on the newest builds, strategies and matchups. This guide is still work in progress and I am also looking for someone that can help me make some fancy banners for the headers for the guide, if you are or know someone who wants to help me upgrade the guide, please send me a message! For other questions check out the AlistarMains reddit!

I hope this guide will make you play with the same enthusiasm as me, so let’s Headbutt right into it!

PROS

+ Bread and butter engage tool.
+ Strong ult for front lining.
+ Passive will help sustain in lane.
+ Great teamfighting potential.
+ A lot of roaming potential.
+ Can change a losing game into a winning game in a single engage.

is a strong melee support that is really good at teamfighting and locking down targets. Your engage power not limited to a single champion, like champions with a hook, but your engage can hit all 5 enemy players. This will lead to some montage moments, but more importantly it leads to great setup for your team to win a teamfight.

CONS

- Unable to play lane before level 2
- High cooldowns early game.
- Difficult to disengage.
- Short engage range.
- Difficult to lane in ranged matchups.

Laning as can feel a little rough into ranged matchups like and as they can poke you down and cancel your engage. has the most difficulty in laning phase as he needs to get close to engage and can be easily punished if he doesn’t manage to engage correctly or takes too much poke so he can’t engage. Lastly, your combo of W > Q is pretty predictable so people know what’s coming, which leads to champions that can buffer cc such as can avoid your combo.


	Triumphant Roar

generates a stack of Triumph for each enemy champion he stuns or displaces with his abilities, and each time a nearby enemy minion or non-epic monster dies. He generates 7 stacks if a nearby enemy champion or epic monster dies.

At 7 stacks, Alistar consumes them all to Heal power icon.png heal himself for 5% of his maximum health and nearby allied champions for 7% of his maximum health.

Passive is very helpful in lane to sustain against the poke you receive or regenerate after an all-in.


	Pulverize

smashes the ground, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies and stunning and knocking them up simultaneously for 1 second.

This ability is pretty strong as you can hit multiple enemies with just one Q. Look for different ability combinations involving your Q such as W > Q, Flash>Q, animation cancel using Q>Flash, W>Flash>Q, and so on. In the spoiler I will add some videos as an example.

Combo’s


	Headbutt

dashes to the target enemy's location. If they are within 400 units upon arrival, he deals them magic damage and knocks them back 700 units over 0.5 seconds while also stunning them for 0.75 seconds.

This is ’s main way to get into a fight. Use your W to setup your Q (see combo’s above) or simply use your W to create distance between your carry and an enemy threat.


	Trample

tramples the ground around him every 0.5 seconds over 5 seconds, becoming ghosted and dealing magic damage to nearby enemies. Each time this damages at least one enemy champion, he generates a stack of that lasts for the remaining duration, stacking up to 5 times.

At 5 stacks, ’s next basic attack against a champion within 6 seconds is empowered to deal 20 − 275 (based on level) bonus magic damage and stun the target for 1 second. This will end prematurely.

Another ability to CC your enemies. Once you get on top of them activate it, or activate it prematurely to start stacking and prepare a stun. This will lead to a longer CC chain that will setup nicely for kills.


	Unbreakable Will

cleanses himself of all crowd control. For the next 7 seconds, he reduces incoming damage taken.

This ability is great for diving turrets because you reduce a lot of damage. Furthermore it helps you tank damage in teamfights. Lastly the cleansing effect will help you peel your carry more as you can get yourself out of CC to help your ADC or catch CC abilities like on purpose, because you can cleanse it and keep your allies safe!

The most common leveling sequence for is the one I am using in this guide which follow R>Q>W>E. There are some variants to this skill sequence such as people starting lane with 1 point in W and level 2 in Q instead of the other way around. The levelling of your abilities can change from time to time and is dependent on your needs in game.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Q

W

E

Q

R

Q

W

Q

W

R

W

E

R

E

-

FLASH: You take in all your games as you can use it to surprise the enemy by a >> or get in range to use your into . This last combo is super strong as it is nearly impossible to dodge. Furthermore, you need to be able to use .

IGNITE: You take in about 95% of your games to add some all in threat at level 2. Furthermore it’s a good tool to use in early fights when up versus some healing supports to reduce healing.

EXHAUST: You only take exhaust if the enemy team is stacked with assassins and one-shot potential. You want to peel your ADC from all this damage and you can reduce their damage by 40%. It also works to slow down enemies to catch them when they are alone, because Exhaust also applies a 30% slow.

RESOLVE

is the go to rune for the frontline playstyle. is great for starting a teamfight or engage and soaking up a lot of damage. This rune is important as you will be soaking a lot of damage with every engage in lane because laning phase is not your best time of the game. I would not recommend and as these are less optimal for the playstyle likes to go for.

This row has 2 good options. I find myself having the most succes playing with . As you have a lot of ways to proc and when an ally procs it they heal for a percentage of your maximum health, which is good as you will be building some HP. is also a good option in melee matchups as you are building HP and damage scale off of that . The last rune in this row is . This rune is suboptimal as the only way you will get a shield is by buying a and you won’t be doing that every game.

is also one of 3 runes in its row that depends on your lane a lot. is overall just a solid rune when in a melee matchup such as as the burst from her engage will be mitigated quite a bit. If you are looking into a more teamfight/skirmish oriented rune is a solid rune. is great into heavy poke lanes, which is also really good for as you tend to suffer in these matchups quite a bit.

is a great rune for as you want to be cc’ed the least possible to be proactive in teamfights. Another great option is . The extra HP will leave you to survive longer, which is very important to play as a front line for you team. I would not recommend taking as because the healing of your passive is decent, but not enough to take this rune valued over the other 2 in this row.

Inspiration

has a steady rune choice since it has been reworked. can utilize this rune to its maximum because of the amount of CC in his kit. When using CC on an enemy you will shoot frost bolts around you which slow enemies and reduce their damage. This tool is pretty huge in teamfighting. is also a favourite of some players and is pretty fun if you know how to use it, but I would only recommend it if you really know how to use it or you have a specific strategy that fits the keystone. I do not recommend .

In this row you only have one good choice. is the only useful rune on this row as it helps you create some surprise engages when used outside of vision. Playing around with will help you find flanks from where your opponents don’t expect you and it is a lot of fun to use. is a rune developed for solo laners and won't give supports as much benefit as it would give a toplaner for example. The last rune on this row is . I do not recommend going for this one as you want your boots as fast as possible to start roaming and impact the map.

This row has 1 valid option. I recommend taking which will help you push sustain in lane in difficult matchups. Laning phase can be difficult as so this is a pretty helpful tool. is something I don't recommend because the sustain of is more valuable because it costs less gold. You need to buy potions for to let it be effective. The last option, I do not recommend.

is the best option in this row as the item haste benefits your high cooldowns and the summoner spell haste will lower the cooldown of your which results in more playmaking potential. is not worth it as you already engage and cc your targets, so you don’t need the extra movement speed because you are already there. is not recommended.

Sorcery

is a fun rune choice for an aggressive playstyle. can utilize this rune because your W>Q combo already procs 2 out of the 3 needed attacks to gain the movement speed. This extra movement speed grants you the ability to stick to your target or disengage quicker. I do not recommend nor as both are not good for .

To make this runepage work there is only one good option in this row: . Playing around with in combination with this rune will create extra surprise as every time you use hexflash you will get a small movement speed boost. I do not recommend or as both don’t have the value you want to achieve.

The same goes for this row: will boost the movement speed boosts you will get from and . It will increase your roam speed and your engage speed after hexflash. could be a good option when you think you need more ability haste built into your runes if you don’t build any with your items. I do not recommend .

is the last piece of the puzzle for this runepage. will help you increase your roaming speed and will empower you around and . I do not recommend and as they don’t give the value you need.

Since season 14 we got a huge overhaul on the support item section. Everyone will be starting with a . This item will grant 20 gold for last hitting any minion (so no boosting with canon minions) and either 30 gold (melee) or 28 gold (ranged) for hitting a champion with attack or ability. These stacks are on an 18 second cooldown. Don't worry about the minion gold, your nearby ally will receive the full amount as if they last hit the minion themselves .

After finishing the first quest at 500 gold the will upgrade into the .
The will also generate stacks every 18 seconds but differs in the amount of gold you recieve. Killing a minion grants you 28 gold and attack a champion will grant 34 gold (melee) and 32 gold (ranged).

When finishing the second quest at a 1000 gold you receive a . It's the same as the but you will get to choose 1 of 5 upgrades for you support item. Below are the most valid options for .

Celestial Opposition
is the option you go for in most of your games. You will get reduced damage for the first hit you take. When this shield breaks you release a shockwave around you that slows enemies for 50% for 1.5 seconds. This will help you when you are in the middle of the enemy team and will give you extreme sticking power.

Solstice Sleigh
is the option you go for when you are playing a more peeling style of . When slowing or immobilizing an enemy the Sleigh will provide you and the lowest health nearby ally bonus health and movement speed for 4 seconds. If an enemy dives on your carry and you cc them your carry has more chances of getting out alive. This procs on your Q, W and E stun so can be very helpful.

The following section will describe the viable boots options for . Right now as they help you gain more ability rotations off and have summoner spell cooldown reduced.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity
are the way to go. They are a good source of ability haste which will help you in offensive and defensive ways. Furthermore the summoner spell haste will help you setup combo's with more often.

Plated Steelcaps
are the obvious choice versus a full AD comp. Also if the enemy composition has a lot of champions that are auto attack heavy (Vayne top, Kindred jungle and an ADC for example).

Mercury's Treads
If you are losing lane or the enemy team has a lot of CC, are the ideal boots for as they provide tenacity. Also a valid option when you are playing versus an AP heavy composition.

The following section will describe the other items you might want to include into your build. These are my commonly used items and are the best in my opinion:

Zeke's Convergence
is one of the best items for . When peeling or engaging you tend to CC your enemies a lot which gives your linked ally extra damage while facing the threat. I do recommend this item while playing with hyper carries like , or , because they make the most out of the item passive. This item is a really good choice as a second or third item in your build.

Knight’s Vow
is a strong item on as it does increase the tankiness of your carry as the item mitigates some damage to you. In return, the damage your carry deals heals you for a small amount. This items is a good choice as a second, third or fourth item in your build. Be careful though as damage dealt to you through will bring you in combat and cancel the out of combat movement speed.

Locket of the iron solari
is a strong item on as it does increase the tankiness of your team as the item mitigates provides a decent shield. Furthermore, the ability haste stats are nice aswell.

Redemption
is a solid item in your build as it will help out during teamfights or during the time in between teamfights. It increases your healing and shielding by 20% which is a pretty good amount for your passive. The active heals your allies and damages your enemies for a small amount which can turn the tides of battle in your favour by keeping your key carries alive. I recommend going this item later into the game, around your fourth or fifth item.

Trailblazer
is a good item when playing the main frontline for you team. The extra movement speed trail will also help your teammates follow up faster. So consider rushing this item when playing hyper agressive.

Force of Nature
is one of the few solid items that build magic resist together with . I highly recommend building this item when going up against a lot of overtime AP damage.

Abyssal Mask
is one of the few solid items that build magic resist together with . This item is a strong pickup if your team has a lot of AP damage dealers. Furthermore it will also amplify your own damage a little bit more.

Frozen Heart
is a good item when playing into multiple auto attack oriented champions. For example a team compositions with a standard adc, jungle and a toplane. These champion rely on auto attacking and you slow their auto attack speed for a solid amount. Furthermore the armor will also help you out a lot. Go for this item as a second or third item after your mythic.

Randuin’s Omen
is a lot like however the time you build these items is different. You want to buy a when the enemy has a lot critical strike damage in their team, for example a ADC and a midlane. If these 2 get fed you can use the 10% critical strike damage reduction a lot. Go for this item when you feel like you need to build it, probably the second item after your mythic.

Thornmail
When in need of some anti-healing is the way to go. By taking any damage you inflict grievious wounds on your enemy which will reduce their healing. A very useful item for champions building a lot of lifesteal like or enchanters such as who like to heal their ally a lot. When in need of this item, build it immediately after your mythic.

Vigilant Wardstone
is the warding support item that helps you a lot in the late game. The struggle of being full build and not being able to buy control wards is gone as this item gives you great stats in the form of ability haste and health and it gives you bonusses towards warding. The 40 ability haste when fully upgraded is a lot. Also the extra movement speed helps when warding. I recommend going for this item when you are one item away from full build as it will only be available around level 13 and you won’t get this far in most of the games as games tend to last around 30-35 minutes in this meta.

Hard

AMUMU

Very Hard

ASHE

Moderate

BARD

Very Easy

BLITZCRANK

Hard

BRAND

Very Easy

BRAUM

Moderate

FIDDLESTICKS

Very Easy

GALIO

Easy

GRAGAS

Very Hard

HEIMERDINGER

Very Hard

JANNA

Hard

KARMA

Very Easy

LEONA

Hard

LULU

Moderate

LUX

Moderate

MAOKAI

Hard

MILIO

Very Hard

MORGANA

Hard

NAMI

Easy

NAUTILUS

Easy

PANTHEON

Hard

POPPY

Very Easy

PYKE

Moderate

RAKAN

Easy

RELL

Hard

RENATA GLASC

Moderate

SENNA

Moderate

SERAPHINE

Easy

SETT

Very Hard

SHACO

Moderate

SONA

Hard

SORAKA

Hard

SWAIN

Easy

TAHM KENCH

Moderate

TARIC

Moderate

THRESH

Hard

VEL'KOZ

Hard

VEX

Hard

XERATH

Easy

YUUMI

Hard

ZILEAN

Hard

ZYRA

's early game can be tricky to play. How you play your early game is really matchup dependant. When the enemy runs a poke lane, your objective is to survive lane and secure your ADC as much farm as possible. When in a matchup you can punish look to position aggressively to deny as much farm from the enemy ADC as possible. Remember that bushes are your best friend and you can put pressure onto the enemy by playing in these bushes.

You have to be wary of lane state no matter the matchup you are in. There are 3 important wave states that you should acknowledge:

Freeze – Freezing is manipulating your minion wave to stay in the same place for a given amount of time. This is the hardest form of wave management, especially in the botlane as you are dependent on your ADC and your own ability of wave management. Freezing is done by only last hitting the minions and matching minions damage with your opponent.
The way you setup a freeze is linked to how close you are to your tower. The closer to your tower the more ranged minions you need, this is because your minions arrive quicker to lane then the enemy minions. The picture shows in what area you need a certain amount of ranged minions to freeze. Learning to freeze effectively requires some practice so don’t give up after the first one doesn’t work out. You want to freeze your wave when you are ahead or when you are in a difficult matchup and your ADC can farm safely so you can roam.

Slow push – Slow pushing already says what is does, it slowly pushes the wave. This one is easier than a Freeze as you don’t have to be focussing on what the enemy does. All you want to do is killing the caster minions in the wave and there you have it, a slow push. Slow pushing is something you want to avoid during laning phase in botlane. When you leave lane and the enemies have based you almost always want to be fast pushing the wave. The only time slow pushing is applied is in the later stages of the game where you want to prepare waves by slow pushing them in the side lane. This either draws attention of at least one enemy so you can make a play across the map or it builds towards a massive minion wave which helps you siege or denies your opponents a lot of experience and gold.

Fast push – Fast pushing is important during the laning phase. Fast pushing is done by killing all the melee minions of a wave and even clearing a complete wave in such a way that the wave crashes into the tower and starts slow pushing back to you. Fast pushing when the enemy botlane has backed denies them a lot of gold and experience while you get a good timing to base and get some items and catch the wave that bounced back from the tower.
Another viable reason to do so, is to roam. While the wave is under the enemy tower try to get some deep vision in the enemy jungle or look for a roam midlane. The last thing you can do with a fast push is setting up a dive. If the enemy botlane decides to stay you can have a free kill, if they back off they lose gold and experience. I only recommend diving when you know you can get a free kill and don’t risk the fact that you can fall behind because of a misplayed dive.
Another important part of the laning phase is to help out your jungler when he is invading or fighting for scuttle crab. Try to fast push the wave and follow him into the jungle to help him fight. By fast pushing you will force the enemy botlane to either miss the wave or leave their jungler for dead.

starts to become useful at level 2, as you have unlocked both your and . This will enable you to make engages in lane or peel your carry better. In lane you will always look to get level 2 first, as this is an important powerspike for you.

Don't always go for a level 2 push blindly as you need to be healthy aswell to make something happen. Try to help you adc push in melee support matchups such as : these champions have a harder time punishing you.
Ranged matchups such as are way harder: care to stay healthy and be patient on getting level 2.

In the example below you will see me laning versus a and . These 2 will always outrange me, so I know that I need to play safe early and stay as healthy as possible while I cover when he tries to farm.

Keep in mind, not every ranged matchup works the same as every support player plays their own style, either agressive or more defensive. So as you also have some freedom to play a certain matchup and you have to feel that for yourself in your game.

WIP

Recalling is an important aspect of laning in general, but especially in botlane you have to time it correctly. As a support you always want to try and synchronize your recall with your ADC. When you want to Recall you are looking to push the minion wave under the enemy tower, as this gives you enough time to recall and come back to lane to catch the enemy wave pushing in.

In the example on the right you see and pushing the wave, getting 2 towerplates and recalling after that.

In the mid to late game, your objective when playing is to find engages or picks by Roaming and Flanking. Roaming will be discussed in the chapter “Roaming” and Flanking will be discussed here shortly. So what is a Flank? Flanking is when you take advantage of certain spots on the map to come up on the enemies blind spot to take them out, from their side or behind (from the jungle or a lane). As you can see flanking is pretty important as as you have strong CC to take enemies out.

In the example on the right, you can see a video of setting up a flank. By hiding himself out of vision he manages to surprise the enemy team. Vision is key to setting up a good flank, so make good use of your Control wards and ! Also shows it’s massive value in this clip as you have a lot more angles to surprise the enemy from than just the normal lanes or jungle routes. While flanking it’s important to not rush things and dare to take a longer route, this will make your flanks stronger. Choose the right moment to start your flank and choose the right path: Patience is key.

WIP

As Rakan you can do a lot of roaming and get a lot of value out of this by putting teammates other than your ADC ahead. With runes such as Water Walking and Celerity or items such as Mobility Boots your roaming becomes a threat as you will quickly move around the map. There are some rules linked to roaming:

If one of these requirements is not met do NOT roam as this will put you or your ADC in a bad spot. You can roam from two different situations; you either roam from botlane after pushing in the wave or when you pushed the wave and come back from base instantly look to make something happen in the river area. The following pictures are coming from the site of mobalytics. For any further information on roaming have a look here.

Roaming from base
The first situation we are looking at is roaming from base. On the right is shown with roam pathings when coming from base. and his adc pushed the wave on botlane and based. Now he is looking for a roam on mid. He will use the blue dotted path to get behind the enemy midlaner. The same case for on red side, he will follow the red dotted line to get behind the enemy midlaner. You don't necessarily have to go for a mid gank, as you can also look for a gank top or vision control in the river (check out the warding chapters).

Roaming from botlane (Blue side)
The second situation is when you are roaming from botlane. In this example we look at again. First you take one of the green paths, when you are pushed under enemy tower you take the path through the river, when your adc is farming under your tower you take the other path. From there on you can choose each of the purple paths. You decide to go through the enemy jungle when the enemy controls rift scutler, otherwise path straight to midlane. From there on you have to choose the best angle for a gank and that totally depends on the position of the enemy midlaner. I always favor wrapping around the longest route as you get more value out of this.

Roaming from botlane (red side)
The same goes for mr. on the otherside of the map. When your wave is pushed in look to path through the river, if the wave is under your tower and there is no threat of a dive, path through your own jungle following the green paths. As for in the other example you can also choose the purple path you like from here. I do favor the longest route as this gives the highest reward most of the times as the enemy has to walk into you. When pathing through the enemy jungle beware of the possibility of a jungler that is clearing one of his camps, so be sure you are safe to go there!

In these examples I only talk about setting up a gank on midlane. When following these green and purple paths it can also just be as valuable to place down wards so you can see the opposing team path along these routes! See the warding chapters for more info on that.

Vision is one of the key things a support player has to do within his team. You are responsible for vison setup around objectives; this means clearing enemy vision and establishing your own. Not only around objectives but also inside the enemy jungle to spot enemies walking around or around your lane to spot out ganks or roams from enemies.
In the examples below the red circles indicate s and the green circles indicate s, these are interchangeable but I personally mostly use them this way. When using your you also want to sweep these spots as they are commonly used warding spots. If you want to know how to setup vision in the topside of the map just flip the images, because Summoners Rift is mirrored in midlane.

Early Game

1. This ward is a standard ward when you are on your side of the lane. It spots out jungle ganks and it gives your jungler a free option to gank when you have been pushed under tower.

2. This ward is a standard ward when you are on the enemy side of the lane. This gives you as windows to roam or create deep vision because the enemy won’t know where you go. The difference with ward 1 has to do with your line of vision. On this side of the map it’s important to keep spot 1 warded aswell as midlaners can still roam through the river as it is the most common route for midlane roams.

3. This ward is good when someone else used his in the botside so you can spot out enemy invades or tower dives.

4. This ward is a strong ward around minute 3. It gives a lot of information on the position of the enemy jungler. You can spot him doing or you can see in which direction he is pathing.

5. This ward is good to see when the enemy jungler moves into the river and you can maybe collapse on him with your mid/jungler. It also gives midlane information if the enemy jungler is ganking mid.

6. This ward can spot out the enemy jungler when he is clearing his . This ward gives information on the enemy jungler moving into the river or continues clearing his jungle towards .

7. This ward can spot out the enemy jungler doing his red buff and pathing either botside, towards or towards raptors.

8. This ward will spot out the enemy jungler doing and if he is pathing towards the botlane through lane, through tribush or he is heading towards his /.

9. This ward is useful to spot out lane ganks or for an ally to tp on as it perfectly cuts off the escape path of the enemy botlane.

10. You can ward the lane bushes when you think you need a ward in here. is a matchup in which these wards are of high importance.

Mid Game

1. This ward is the standard ward when you have just destroyed the first botlane tower and start pushing towards the second tower. It spots out midlane roams and creates safety for your jungler to invade the botside.

2. This ward is a good ward when sieging either botlane or midlane as it will spot out enemy flanks when sieging mid or roams towards botlane when sieging there.

3. This ward is good when you are pushing onto the second botlane tower. It spots out enemies coming from the enemy base through the jungle and it gives you enough time to react according to the situation.

4. This ward is good when pushing the wave from your midlane tower and try to scout for flanks being setup here.

5. This ward is generally good when you have destroyed either the first midlane tower or the first botlane tower. It shows everyone entering and leaving this part of the jungle and you can setup a play with a numbers advantage with this information.

6. This ward shows everyone entering the jungle straight out of the enemy base. Off the back of this you can setup a play with a numbers advantage.

7. When you have removed ward 1, I highly recommend placing this ward as it can spot midlane roams and people trying to walk around to attack you from behind when you have pushed your botlane wave.

8. This ward is mostly used when you have just destroyed the first botlane tower and want to spot out enemies waiting to collapse on you if you overextend to crash the wave.

Dragon Setup

1. This ward is a good ward to deny enemy vision inside the pit. Be sure to place it inside the pit so it covers the full area of the pit.

2. If there is already a ward in the pit, this ward is very helpful because it shows the enemy pathing from midlane towards you if that is the case and it gives your carries time to position correctly in fights. This can either be a or just a normal ward.

3. A ward behind the pit will give you a lot of information. It shows potential long range engages or a steal attempt by your enemies.

4. This ward comes in handy when the enemy just pushed out their wave from the first botlane tower or closer to their base. This way you can see them coming your way when they take the safe route. Try to have either this ward, ward 3 or ward 5 in position (can be a ).

5. This ward has the same effect as ward 3. The difference is that is positioned more towards the midlane and it shows enemies entering the river.

6. This ward is good when your opponent is pushing in mid and you try to sneak a dragon. Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 2 in position (can be a ).

7. This ward is good when your opponent just pushed/are trying to push the wave away from their first botlane tower. You can see if they want to check the pit and it allows your team to adapt to the situation.

8. This ward is good when your opponent just pushed botlane past the midway point. If you notice an enemy is pushing botlane try to have this ward in place so you know if they join the fight or not.

9. This ward is worth it when the enemy is hard pushing botlane and you try to sneak a attempt. This way you will see the enemy botlane coming your way and your carries can adapt accordingly.

Baron setup

1. This ward is a good ward to deny enemy vision inside the pit. Be sure to place it inside the pit so it covers the full area of the pit.

2. If there is already a ward in the pit, this ward is very helpful because it shows the enemy pathing from midlane towards you if that is the case and it gives your carries time to position correctly in fights.

3. If there is already a ward in the pit, this ward is very helpful because it shows the enemy pathing from base/toplane towards you if that is the case and it gives your carries time to position correctly in fights.

4. This ward shows the enemy entering the river and it fulfils the same function as ward 2, it only gives your team more time to adapt. Have either ward 2 or ward 4 placed when doing baron.

5. This ward is good when your opponent just resets from a cross map play and you try to rush/sneak a . Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 3 in position.

6. This ward is good when your opponent is pushing toplane and you try to rush/sneak a dragon. Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 3 in position.

7. This ward comes in handy when the enemy just pushed out their wave from the first toplane tower towards your first toplane tower. Warding this spot is beneficial when you do not have a hard pushed toplane wave.

8. This ward is worth it when the enemy is hard pushing toplane and you try to sneak a attempt. This way you will see the enemy coming your way and your carries can adapt accordingly.

9. This ward shows enemies that try to sneak around your vision line and attempt a steal from the back of the pit. This ward does not have to be in the bush and only needs to be placed when afraid of an enemy hiding in your jungle.

Vision is one of the key things a support player has to do within his team. You are responsible for vison setup around objectives; this means clearing enemy vision and establishing your own. Not only around objectives but also inside the enemy jungle to spot enemies walking around or around your lane to spot out ganks or roams from enemies.
In the examples below the red circles indicate s and the green circles indicate s, these are interchangeable but I personally mostly use them this way. When using your you also want to sweep these spots as they are commonly used warding spots. If you want to know how to setup vision in the topside of the map just flip the images, because Summoners Rift is mirrored in midlane.

Early Game

1. This ward is a standard ward when you are on your side of the lane. It spots out jungle ganks and it gives your jungler safety to roam into the river to gank or go for an invade.

2. This ward is a standard ward when you are on the enemy side of the lane. This gives you as windows to roam or create deep vision because the enemy won’t know where you go. The difference with ward 1 has to do with your line of vision. The enemy won’t path around to tribush (location of ward 1) when you are under the enemy tower, the jungler takes the shortest route through the river bush.

3. This ward is good when someone else used his in the botside so you can spot out enemy invades or midlane ganks.

4. This ward is a strong ward around minute 3. It gives a lot of information on the position of the enemy jungler. You can spot him doing scuttle or you can see in which direction he is pathing.

5. This ward is good to see when the enemy jungler moves into the river and you can maybe collapse on him with your mid/jungler. This ward can also be a

6. This ward can spot out the enemy jungler when he is clearing his botside. If placed correctly it spots all 4 entrances of this point.

7. This ward can spot out the enemy jungler entering or leaving the river and if he ganks midlane, this ward is helpful for you midlaner.

8. This ward is useful to spot out lane ganks or for an ally to on as it perfectly cuts of the escape path of the enemy botlane.

9. You can ward the lane bushes when you think you need a ward in here. is a matchup in which these wards are of high importance.

Mid Game

1. This ward is useful when you are sieging botlane. When you are not attacking the second botlane tower this ward can spot out enemies looking for a flank through tribush (location ward 4).

2. This ward is useful when you are sieging botlane aswell. The difference is that you have pushed your wave under the enemy tower and you want to see enemies coming through the jungle from their base or midlane. The difference with ward 1 is that you are moving up your line of vision because enemies will take the shortest route towards you as you are in a vulnerable position.

3. This ward is strong when sieging the first midlane tower. It shows potential flanks and, when placed correctly, who enters or leaves the jungle. This spot can also be used for a .

4. When you have pushed your botlane wave, this ward comes in handy in combination with ward 2. It shows if enemies are approaching from the tribush and it effects your decision making on what to do.

5. This ward is an all round solid choice as it provides the information of who is pathing where through the jungle. You can also create flanks yourself by closing in enemies in the jungle, based on the information gathered from this ward.

6. This is a good ward to spot out enemies leaving their base or pathing the safe way from bot to midlane. This ward comes in handy when trying to setup a dive and decide if you want to go for it or not.

7. This ward does have the same effect as ward number 3, I recommend using this ward when you did not place ward 3.

8. This ward comes in handy when pushing your midlane wave around the middle of the lane to spot out possible flank setups from your enemies.

9. This ward is a good ward to spot out enemies in the river or spot out a sneaky attempt by your enemies.

Dragon Setup

1. This ward is a good ward to deny enemy vision inside the pit. Be sure to place it inside the pit so it covers the full area of the pit.

2. If there is already a ward in the pit, this ward is very helpful because it shows the enemy pathing from midlane towards you if that is the case and it gives your carries time to position correctly in fights.

3. If there is already a ward in the pit, this ward is very helpful because it shows the enemy pathing from base/botlane towards you if that is the case and it gives your carries time to position correctly in fights. Having a here is very helpful aswell!

4. This ward is good when your opponent is pushing in mid and you try to sneak a . Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 2 in position.

5. This ward is good when your opponent just resets from a cross map play and you try to rush/sneak a dragon. Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 2 in position (can be a ).

6. This ward is good when your opponent just resets from a cross map play and you try to rush/sneak a dragon. Placing this ward will give you enough space to adept according to the situation. Try to have either this ward or ward 3 in position (can be a ).

7. This ward comes in handy when the enemy just pushed out their wave from the first botlane tower or closer to their base. This way you can see them coming your way and if they attempt to use a Blast Cone when present. Try to have either this ward or ward 3 in position.

8. This ward is worth it when the enemy is hard pushing botlane and you try to sneak a attempt. This way you will see the enemy botlane coming your way and your carries can adapt accordingly.

Baron setup

1. This ward is a good ward to deny enemy vision inside the pit. Be sure to place it inside the pit so it covers the full area of the pit.

2. When there is a in the baron pit already, this bush is a good alternative to place a control ward in. You will spot out enemies trying to fight you in the pit and your allies can react accordingly.

3. This ward is good because it can show you enemies trying to flank you from your own jungle. This ward will also help your carries to position accordingly. You either have to place ward 2 or 3.

4. This ward comes in handy when the enemy just pushed out midlane and are taking the safe route from midlane. This alerts your carries and gives them a lot of time to reposition.

5. This ward is important as it spots out enemies trying to steal the or enemies setting up a long range engage. Your jungler will benefit from this ward a lot as he can focus on his timing.

6. This ward will spot out enemies that just came from base and are pathing through topside (can also be a ).

7. This ward will help your carries position correctly if the enemy decides to engage from the topside if they just pushed out their toplane wave from their first tower or closer to their base.

8. This ward is important when trying to sneak a attempt when they are hard pushing your toplane wave. This occurs rarely as you want to have a pushing wave toplane when attempting a .

Thank you for reaching the end of my guide! I hope I gave you some insights and new knowledge to apply in your games and become an fanatic just like me. Don’t forget to leave a comment with some feedback so I can update the guide! The best way to learn is by playing and applying tips you found in guides or on the reddit. Below you will find the Changelog and I will be updating it so you can see what changed in my guide without completely reading it over again every patch. I hope you enjoy your time playing and hopefully I will see you on the rift sometime!

Changelog

[14.12] You can't milk those! - A comprehensive Alistar guide.

[14.12] You can't milk those! - A comprehensive Alistar guide.

Recommended Items

Runes: Aftershock

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Exhaust

Flash

Items

Ability Order Ability Sequence

Triumphant Roar (PASSIVE)

Pulverize (Q)

Headbutt (W)

Trample (E)

Unbreakable Will (R)

Threats & Synergies

Alistar

Amumu

Ashe

Bard

Blitzcrank

Brand

Braum

Fiddlesticks

Galio

Gragas

Heimerdinger

Janna

Karma

Leona

Lulu

Lux

Maokai

Milio

Morgana

Nami

Nautilus

Pantheon

Poppy

Pyke

Rakan

Rell

Renata Glasc

Senna

Seraphine

Sett

Shaco

Sona

Soraka

Swain

Tahm Kench

Taric

Thresh

Vel'Koz

Vex

Xerath

Yuumi

Zilean

Zyra

Aphelios

Ashe

Caitlyn

Draven

Ezreal

Jhin

Jinx

Kai'Sa

Kalista

Kog'Maw

Lucian

Miss Fortune

Nilah

Samira

Senna

Sivir

Smolder

Tristana

Twitch

Varus