Sett support is one of League of Legends’ best picks — here’s why
Riot GamesSett support is rising up as the place to be for The Boss, with League of Legends’ latest top laner being picked more often than not in the bot lane. We’ve broken down why, and how you can pick him up for your own games.
Sett’s home was meant to be the top lane. The latest champion to be dropped into the League of Legends universe has been carving out a name for himself on the other side of the map though.
Pro players and casuals alike are picking up Sett in the bot lane as a support with surprising regularity. With a kit stacked with crowd control, tankiness, and damage, it’s easy to see why though.
Riot GamesWhy is Sett so popular?
Sett support has been picked 75 times in top-level professional League of Legends tournaments, including 20 times in China’s LPL, 11 in the LCK, and eight in the LEC. It has a 52% win rate in pro play, and still remained a popular pick despite recent nerfs.
Watch T1’s Lee ‘Effort’ Sang-ho use Sett support to take down DragonX in the LCK Spring 2020 playoffs.
It’s gotten to the point where Sett has become more popular in support than his intended role of top lane — at least in solo queue. According to stats site op.gg, 48% of Sett picks on Patch 10.8 were support Sett, compared to 39.2% in top lane.
While his win rate has dropped to below 47%, it’s correlated with an increase in player base, which can have an impact on a champion’s win rate.
Players are picking up Sett support because of his solo carry potential. He is good for tower diving with his W shield, while his engage is one of the strongest in the bot lane. He has enough damage to duel any carry if he can get on top of them too, making him a solid all-rounder.
op.ggSett Support runes
Support Sett has found a happy medium with two playstyles. There’s the more consistent Aftershock Sett support, which is used as a primary engage tool, picking up tank items like Gargoyle’s Stoneplate and Dead Man’s Plate to sustain himself through fights.
Riot GamesHowever, Sett has also become a popular pick with Fasting Senna, taking Prototype: Omnistone as a keystone rune instead. His kit synergizes with a lot of the keystones, each giving him specific advantages in a fight. One fight he might have Aftershock for those much-needed resistances, and then he will have Arcane Comet for just that extra bit of W poke damage.
Running Omnistone also gives Sett access to Hexflash and Minion Dematerializer, two of the strongest runes to take on Sett support. Combine this with Nimbus Cloak and Celerity as secondaries, and it’s easy to see why Omnistone Sett support has risen up to become more than just a pick with Senna support too.
However, in games where Sett needs to reliably be the team’s frontline, Aftershock has proven to be the best option.
Riot GamesSett Support build
The build for Sett support is surprisingly flexible. Items like Dead Man’s Plate are considered top-tier on the pick, but players shouldn’t have to feel locked into a single item path every game compared to some other supports.
You can run a tanky set-up with Gargoyle’s Stoneplate, Righteous Glory, and Abyssal Mask, enabling the rest of your team to do damage while you lock up the enemy. Sunfire Cape is also very strong, as you can easily proc the active with your E or ultimate.
Watch MAD Lions’ Norman ‘Kaiser’ Kaiser use Sett support to dismantle G2 Esports in the LEC Spring 2020 playoffs.
However, if the situation calls for it, don’t be afraid to go for a more traditional top lane Sett build. Trinity Force, Blade of the Ruined King, Sterak’s Gage, and more can all be easily built on Sett, especially if you are in a Fasting Senna lane.
Regardless of whether you go tank Sett or carry Sett, you must take Steel Shoulderguards as a support item. If you are running Fasting Senna though, it’ll be better for you to take Doran’s Shield to survive lane poke.
How to play Sett support
Sett support is all about using the minion wave to your advantage to pressure enemies out of lane with high kill threat. One big stun with E can change the tides of the lane, and in an extended fight, Sett’s effective HP with his massive W shield means he very rarely loses trades.
Blowing your flash to ensure your opponent blows theirs is perfectly acceptable, especially if you run Hexflash. In that five minute window, you might be able to pick up a couple of cheeky kills, running at enemies with Nimbus Cloak and Q activated.
Watch Tristan ‘Zeyzal’ Stidam show off the power of Omnistone Sett against FlyQuest in the LCS Spring 2020 playoffs.
Sett support does, however, struggle into double ranged bot lanes. Like most melee supports, Sett can’t reliably clear minions or get engages off when the enemies poke him down from afar. If he can survive the early game though, he should be able to dominate the mid and late game.
In teamfights, you want to look at keeping the tanks off your backline. Slamming them back into the enemy backline is a sure-fire way to go about it, before stunning everyone with your E. You can also look to go on a cheeky flank to bring the enemy carries into your own team.
If you want to pick up Sett for yourself, go nuts. He’s one of the easiest champs to learn, and with enough time, you’ll be landing Show Stopping ults like no other.