Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with Smolder in League of Legends, you know, that cute little dragon ADC? He’s pretty neat, but honestly, getting the right support with him makes all the difference. I spent a good chunk of my day trying out different combos, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a rollercoaster.
Trying Out Different Supports
First off, I jumped into a few games, just to see what felt right. I started pairing Smolder with some of the usual suspects. You know, the ones you see all the time in the bot lane.
- Rakan: I thought, “Hey, Rakan’s got charm, he’s mobile, he can keep Smolder safe, right?” And yeah, it worked okay. Rakan’s engages were nice for setting up some kills, especially when I got my Q stacked up. But it wasn’t anything mind-blowing, just your average combo.
- Sona: Then I tried Sona. I figured her heals and poke would be good with Smolder’s need to scale. It was alright, but I felt like I was just surviving the lane, not really dominating it. Plus, she’s squishy, and if we got caught out, it was pretty much game over for her.
- Alistar: Alistar was a bit of a different story. His knock-ups and headbutts gave me some good opportunities to land my W and stack up that Q. But sometimes, it felt a bit clunky. Like, we weren’t always on the same page, and I’d miss my skillshots because he’d knock them away. Still, it was pretty fun.
Finding the Best Combo
After a few games, I started to notice a pattern. Smolder really shines when his support can do two things: keep him safe and help him stack up his abilities. So, I started focusing on supports that could do that really well. I read some stuff online that said supports with strong CC, peeling and disengage can increase Smolder’s survivability. So I experimented with some other supports.
- Bard: Bard was interesting. His portals are super handy for escaping ganks, and his ultimate can be a real game-changer in team fights. But it takes some serious coordination, and if you’re not in sync, you can end up messing things up more than helping.
- Janna: Janna, oh Janna. She was the real MVP. Her shields are amazing for keeping Smolder alive, and her tornado is perfect for interrupting those pesky assassins that try to jump on him. Plus, her ultimate is like a “get out of jail free” card. If things get hairy, she just pops it, and we’re safe.
What I Learned
So, what did I learn from all this? Well, Smolder is strong, but he needs the right partner to really shine. You gotta keep him safe, help him stack, and make sure he doesn’t get blown up before he can scale. I also noticed that if you feed him early or if you can delay his Q empowerment, he won’t be as strong as he could be.
Janna, for me, was the best of the bunch. She just ticked all the boxes. But hey, that’s just my experience. Maybe you’ll find someone else who works even better. The important thing is to experiment and see what works for you. Good luck, and have fun burning down the bot lane!
