League of Legends S12: Rakan Support Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Rakan in the botlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Shurelya's Battlesong

2500 Gold

Chemtech Putrifier

2300 Gold

Build

Shurelya's Battlesong is a core item on Rakan, allowing for you and your ADC to be aggressive in lane trading and synergising well with his shield dash.

Chemtech Putrifier applies Grievous Wounds, and also synergises well with his shield dash.

Other good items include Redemption, Zeke's Convergence, and Knight's Vow.

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Relic Shield

400 Gold

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

950 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Rakan skill priority is:

R > W > E > Q

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Rakan in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Rakan is an aggressive support who should always be looking to poke and dive in for the stun on the enemy backline. He's got excellent mobility, but is quite squishy, and his item build is often geared towards empowering his ADC.

• Level 1 - Take W - Grand Entrance, so you can get right to knocking up the enemy laners and denying farm for a few seconds.
• Level 2 - Take E - Battle Dance, so you can dive to your ADC and shield them. This is a great escape tool after you've used Grand Entrance.
• First Back - A Bandleglass Mirror begins your path to Shurelya's Battlesong, and provides a bit of mana sustain for Rakan's thirsty abilities.

Tips & Tricks

• Use Grand Entrance to get behind the enemy frontline and cover any retreats. 
• Rakan's ultimate, The Quickness, is a good way to escape a tricky situation. Don't be afraid to use it as such.
• Use an auto-attack immediately after Gleaming Quill, for the full effect. 
• The most effective combo is Grand Entrance + Auto-Attack + Gleaming Quill + Auto-Attack. 
• Use your ultimate before Grand Entrance to increase the jump speed, and prevent the enemy from reacting in time.