EUPiLoL#9 - A different way of approaching AP Taric

(I picked that picture because it looked more "AP-like", NOT because of his boots. Just clearing that up.)

Sorry for my lack of posts recently. I lost interest in League of Legends (And blogging about it), although my interest has been peaked slightly and I am back on the horse for the time being. I come to you with a post about AP Taric. AP Taric is nothing new. That being said, with his new changes, I've been looking at him, and I feel like I have a certain approach that some people who play (or want to play) AP Taric might find appealing.To the player who suggested an alternative Taric build, I finally got around to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The big issue that I find with AP Tarics is that they forget their role as a support character, and that leads to them building him the same way they would build your common nuker. The thing about Taric, is that 2/3 of his damaging spells are close ranged (dazzle being medium ranged, although you might as well use it as close as possible as well). The point (however obvious it might be) that I'm trying to make is that glass cannon builds  don't work on Taric. He needs survivability in order to be effective. The new changes to dazzle make survivability even more important.

The second issue that I find is that most AP Tarics is that they try to build expensive nuker items on him straight from the get go, despite the fact that he is a side lane babysitter / aggressive support first and a nuker second. He lacks much farming ability, and the idea of having a Taric go mid or top is quite frankly sickening to me. My Taric will focus on gold efficiency and early survivability followed by heavy focus into AP.

Let's look at some of the strengths and weaknesses that AP Taric has compared to your run of the mill support Taric.

Strengths

- Heavily increased late game damage.
- Improved heal (This can lead to the argument that in certain ways, an AP focused Taric out-supports a tankier one)
-  Increased support potential for an AP focused team (Will explain why later)

Weaknesses

- Less survivability (This can be slightly countered by the fact that your heal is much more powerful as AP Taric)

- Slightly more mana intensive

- Somewhat costly in comparison to support Taric

Now... What you've all been waiting for...

Itemizing  

Like I said. I prefer a support Taric that moves into heavy AP after his core is done. Like I also said, this build is costs more than your average taric build. I like to start with Boots of Speed / 3 Pot or a Regrowth Pendant / 1 pot. I would suggest starting with the regrowth pendant because you can turn it into an extremely early philosopher's stone. My core build is as follows (In this order)

Philosopher's Stone

Boots of Speed (Unless you started with them.)

Heart of Gold

Kage's Lucky Pick

Aegis of the Legion

I finish my boots whenever I generally feel the need to, although I try to make it past aegis. You can either go Mercury Treads or Sorcerer Boots. If they have more than 2 stuns, I'd opt for the treads (although you can go sorcerer boots and turn your philosopher stone into a Miracle later on).

As you can see, this is a run of the mill support build. It offers you enough g/5 to fund your AP, as well as the most cost effective survivability item in the game. I know this might seem boring for people who want to jump in and start blasting things, but believe me when I say that all of these items are necessary in order to achieve success as AP Taric.

This is where the fun begins. Your next item is Rabadon's Deathcap. The great thing about this build is that it looks like a normal Taric, and then you turn around with the biggest AP item in the game and start bursting like crazy. After getting this item, it's not unheard of that I burst a squishy down to 20-30% life, all the while supporting my team with a seriously powerful heal, damage/AP buffs, and my Aegis aura. This is especially true if you opted for Sorc Boots. 

After that, you can continue going AP to your hearts content, but let's look at some AP options and why we might chose them. The choice I usually go with is Deathfire Grasp. This isn't an item that I normally suggest so early, but it is simply amazing on Taric. The combined mana regeneration from your philosopher's stone and your DFG nets you enough MR to be somewhat comfortable. The cooldown reduction is helpful on Taric because his cooldowns are long enough for CDR to have a substantial impact, but short enough for that impact to matter. The active adds another chunk to the burst potential that caused you to pick AP Taric in the first place. 

Another good option that I enjoy going is Will of the Ancients. This is an especially awesome choice if someone else on your team gets it  (110 AP and 50% Spell Vamp for each of you) due to the fact that the auras combine between the holders. If you want to go crazy, and would like a bit of DPS, and for some reason have the gold for it, you can even get a Gunblade and enjoy 75% Spell Vamp as well as an added slow (Although it does little to help your supportability and is quite expensive.) 

Abyssal Scepter is another good item (albeit situational) that I enjoy getting. It's a good item if you are on an magic focused team and having issues with magic damage as well. That being said, either reason is a good enough reason to get it. If you are getting it simply for the aura, I would get will of the ancients first, unless your team isn't AP focused. 

If you are in desperate need of armor, I wouldn't suggest Zhonya's Hourglass, as the active won't be of much use to someone like Taric. Glacial shroud into (possibly) Frozen Heart is a great choice. Randuin's is good as well if you can make use of the active. 

TL;DR 

Core:

Regrowth Pendant + Potion / Boots of Speed + 3 Potion

Philosopher's Stone

Boots of Speed

Heart of Gold

Kage's Lucky Pick

Aegis of the Imperium

Mercury Treads (If 2+ CC) Sorc Boots

Rabadon's Deathcap

Past Core:

Doing Well - Deathfire Grasp or Will of the Ancients (Works best if someone else gets it as well)

Need MR / Teamwide Magic Penetration - Abyssal Scepter / Banshee's veil

Need Armor  - Frozen Heart (Better CDR, Mana, More armor, Passive Attack speed debuff)
/ Randuins Omen (Active AoE slow, more HP)


-> BUY WARDS!!!!!!!!!!! <-

Approaching Team fights

AP Taric walks the line between Tanky AP and support. His strength lies in his ability to burst someone down and then turn around and heal someone else, all while offering up auras. Because of the fact that 2/3 of your damage is AoE, try to use those two abilities with as many people in them as possible. Also, try to use your ult first, so your following abilities do more damage. On top of that, try to use your ult with as many teammates around as possible, so they benefit as well. You aren't incredibly tanky, but you would be surprised at how often you can heal when you're constantly hitting someone, and you'd also be surprised at how much your heal is actually worth with some AP under your belt. Try to make sure your shatter lands on whoever your carry is targeting so they can benefit from the armor debuff. 

TL;DR

- Try to get as many enemies in your AOEs

- Use your ult first so your abilities benefit from your AD/AP buff.

- Try to get as many allies as possible in your ult

-  Try to get your shatter debuff on whoever needs it to be on them the most

- Make sure you are constantly auto attacking in order to get the most out of your heal.

Runes

I like to use AP runes. That's just me. Cool down runes, magic penetration, and even defensive runes can work very well. It's up to preference at the end of the day

Masteries

There are a couple of different approaches you can do. 9/0/21 for the improved CDR and magic penetration or 0/9/21 for the improved regeneration and MR/Armor. It's up to you. Whatever suits your fancy is fine. 

Spells

Either Clairvoyance/Flash or Exhaust/Flash or Ignite/Flash. Once again, preferential.

Leveling Order

I take Dazzle first, followed by imbue, followed by Shatter. I then Go in the order of Shatter -> Imbue -> Dazzle. I max out Dazzle last because it doesn't really do all that much damage and it's duration is the same throughout all the levels.