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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Exhaust
Items
Ability Order
Traveler's Call (PASSIVE)
Bard Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Leona
Leona makes it extremely difficult to leave lane and roam. Try to poke down her or her ADC before she reaches lv 3 so that they are less likely to engage before their first back.
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
Part I: Introduction
That's probably the best question you can ask when deciding to play a champion. Bard is a difficult champion to get used to. But the key is that he is fun to play. You will need to play a few games as Bard in order to see what I mean. There is something satisfying about having half the enemy team stunned and the other half in stasis while your teammates close in for the Ace.
Still, Bard is very different from other champions, so you will need to think out of the box when playing as him.
Still, Bard is very different from other champions, so you will need to think out of the box when playing as him.
Champions are rated on a scale of scale from 1 to 10 in the categories of attack, defense, and ability. Normally each champion is very strong in at least one of these categories. Bard, on the other hand, is rated with only 4 in attack, 4 in defense, and 5 in ability. In summary, Bard can't deal much damage, either with basic attacks or with abilities, and he isn't good at tanking damage either.
To top things off, Bard gets a difficulty rating of 9/10. Those are some pretty daunting statistics.
I'll say it again: You must have a different mindset when playing as Bard.
Utility is the name of Bard's game. This primarily includes speed to collect chimes and roam the Rift. Bard's kit has three forms of crowd control, a heal, and a unique portal that can be used for both engage and disengage. The items considered in this build guide will further improve Bard's utility with meaningful active and passive effects.
To top things off, Bard gets a difficulty rating of 9/10. Those are some pretty daunting statistics.
I'll say it again: You must have a different mindset when playing as Bard.
Utility is the name of Bard's game. This primarily includes speed to collect chimes and roam the Rift. Bard's kit has three forms of crowd control, a heal, and a unique portal that can be used for both engage and disengage. The items considered in this build guide will further improve Bard's utility with meaningful active and passive effects.
Just as there are enemy champions which Bard struggles and does well against, there are also allies Bard works well with... and teammates who aren't big fans of Bard. The guide summary above covers Bard's Enemy Threats, while this section provides a list of Ally Synergies.
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Now that we've covered some of Bard's best teammates, it's time to review those champions with whom he doesn't get along.
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Pros
|
Cons
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+ Relevant at all stages of the game + Supports all teammates + Provides high amounts of cc + Great teamfight presence + Excellent at chasing down champions + High skill cap + Fun to play |
- Reliant on teammates for damage - ADC is vulnerable when out of lane - Countered by early game lane bullies - High skill floor |
Normally before minions meet in mid lane and monsters spawn, there isn't much to do other than wait or strategically hide in a bush. However, Bard can do so much more than that. This is the reason why we take
Caretaker's Shrine first. Bard can place three shrines at the beginning of the game, one each for mid and jung, and possibly even one for top lane.
Click here to display details
This strategy allows you to give your other allies a slight advantage while you are on bot helping your ADC.


This strategy allows you to give your other allies a slight advantage while you are on bot helping your ADC.
The disadvantage of taking
Caretaker's Shrine as your first ability is that you need to wait until lv 2 to get
Cosmic Binding's damage and crowd control. This shouldn't be too much of a disadvantage, as most supports need lv 2 in order to get their combo.
Wait until the shrines in the other lanes are used before placing some on bot lane. If you or your ADC need a heal before the other shrines are used, place the shrine directly on the target so that you don't remove the previously placed shrines.
Your goal at this stage should be to use your Meeps to slowly poke down the enemy Hp. once you get
Cosmic Binding, look for opportunities to stun one of the enemy champs to a minion, or even stun both enemy champions together. Follow up with a Meep auto, and then back off.
Don't be afraid to trade damage with the enemy champions. You can use your shrine and place another for your ADC to fall back on when needed. As long as the enemy is low on health and your ADC is close to full, you can safely begin to recall or roam as needed.


Wait until the shrines in the other lanes are used before placing some on bot lane. If you or your ADC need a heal before the other shrines are used, place the shrine directly on the target so that you don't remove the previously placed shrines.
Your goal at this stage should be to use your Meeps to slowly poke down the enemy Hp. once you get

Don't be afraid to trade damage with the enemy champions. You can use your shrine and place another for your ADC to fall back on when needed. As long as the enemy is low on health and your ADC is close to full, you can safely begin to recall or roam as needed.
There are a few scenarios during which you should roam.
Ideally you can leave when the enemy bot lane champions are low on HP, forced to back, or dead. In these cases, leave your ADC to farm up, but be sure to ward and leave shrines so the lone marksman can escape a gank.
If you have pushed your lane and your marksman is backing, there is no reason to stay in lane, so go help someone else. Just be sure to be back when your ADC returns, especially if the enemy duo bot is beginning to push your turret.
If you ever run out of mana, you must leave lane to collect chimes, even if you only do so briefly. Your absence in lane may even encourage the enemy to turret dive. With chime enhanced movement speed, your unexpected return may catch them off guard. Use a shrine to heal your ADC and provide the movement speed to juke attacks, and use
Cosmic Binding to stun at least one, if not both of them, under the tower.
If things go exceptionally well during the early game, you can begin to roam to whichever lane is most in need of your presence.
Ideally you can leave when the enemy bot lane champions are low on HP, forced to back, or dead. In these cases, leave your ADC to farm up, but be sure to ward and leave shrines so the lone marksman can escape a gank.
If you have pushed your lane and your marksman is backing, there is no reason to stay in lane, so go help someone else. Just be sure to be back when your ADC returns, especially if the enemy duo bot is beginning to push your turret.
If you ever run out of mana, you must leave lane to collect chimes, even if you only do so briefly. Your absence in lane may even encourage the enemy to turret dive. With chime enhanced movement speed, your unexpected return may catch them off guard. Use a shrine to heal your ADC and provide the movement speed to juke attacks, and use

If things go exceptionally well during the early game, you can begin to roam to whichever lane is most in need of your presence.
The number one rule of roaming is using pings. Let your ADC know you are leaving, and let your teammates know you are coming. This is especially true if you plan on ganking mid.
Yes, you read correctly; as a support you can gank mid. Head through the brush and use
Cosmic Binding to stun the enemy Mid laner to a minion. This is especially easy when minions are approaching in single file. Continue to use Meep powered and even normal basic attacks until the enemy retreats out of range. Unless your Mid laner has high burst damage or your jungle ganks with you, you probably wont get the kill, but you will put the lane in your team's favor. Don't forget to leave a shrine to help keep the advantage on your side.
If your ADC needs you immediately, then head back to lane. Otherwise, recall to fountain or collect a few more chimes and then decide whether to gank mid again or head back to bottom lane.
Also, be aware of what your jungler is doing. If you are nearby, help out with a
Cosmic Binding stun and a
Caretaker's Shrine, which should be fully charged once the camp is cleared. This is especially useful in early game and with low sustain junglers. This will keep your jungler going longer for more camp clears and ganks.
Unfortunately, top lane is still an island, even when it comes to Bard's roaming. Only go to top if your ADC is doing exceptionally well in the solo lane. If you coordinate your gank with your jungler, the three of you and even possibly the mid laner can then take done the Rift Herald. Otherwise, you should recall, as there isn't much else to do at the top side of the map.
Once you have your
Sightstone and
Magical Journey, warding is another good reason to roam. Try to ward the buff camp in the bot lane side of the enemy's jungle. This will help you notify your team of the enemy jungler's position. Your teammates can then either anticipate a gank or know that they are safe for the time being.
Of course, the best reason for Bard to roam is chime collection.
Yes, you read correctly; as a support you can gank mid. Head through the brush and use

If your ADC needs you immediately, then head back to lane. Otherwise, recall to fountain or collect a few more chimes and then decide whether to gank mid again or head back to bottom lane.
Also, be aware of what your jungler is doing. If you are nearby, help out with a


Unfortunately, top lane is still an island, even when it comes to Bard's roaming. Only go to top if your ADC is doing exceptionally well in the solo lane. If you coordinate your gank with your jungler, the three of you and even possibly the mid laner can then take done the Rift Herald. Otherwise, you should recall, as there isn't much else to do at the top side of the map.
Once you have your


Of course, the best reason for Bard to roam is chime collection.
During the early stages of the game, you want to mostly collect chimes for the mana regain . This is especially true for chimes that happen to appear in lane. Only take these chimes when you are out of mana, because the
Meditation
mastery will be most effective when you are low on mana. The brief movement speed burst in lane can also be helpful when poking with Meeps and
Cosmic Binding.
When you begin to roam, collect chimes along the path toward your objective. The movement speed boost is especially useful when ganking mid. However, be sure to leave some chimes for your journey back to bot lane.
By looking at the mini map, you can actually see where chimes will appear as they are doing their spawning animation. Just be aware that champion icons will cover up the chime icons on the mini map. Red chimes will disappear soon. Collect those if you are nearby, but don't go too far out of your way. Missing a few chimes won't make too much of a difference in the long run.
It may even be strategic to leave some chimes nearby for an escape, or to chase fleeing enemies, especially when your team is attempting to take the neutral objectives.


When you begin to roam, collect chimes along the path toward your objective. The movement speed boost is especially useful when ganking mid. However, be sure to leave some chimes for your journey back to bot lane.
By looking at the mini map, you can actually see where chimes will appear as they are doing their spawning animation. Just be aware that champion icons will cover up the chime icons on the mini map. Red chimes will disappear soon. Collect those if you are nearby, but don't go too far out of your way. Missing a few chimes won't make too much of a difference in the long run.
It may even be strategic to leave some chimes nearby for an escape, or to chase fleeing enemies, especially when your team is attempting to take the neutral objectives.
At this point, you should have
Dead Man's Plate, providing you with extraordinary movement speed to fuel your roaming. You can now quickly move to where you are most needed. Just be sure to keep a close eye on your ADC. Drop off wards in the enemy's jungle, and use
Cosmic Binding or
Magical Journey to escape any encounters you might have. In particular, keep the neutral objectives closely warded. Don't forget to keep placing shrines behind your ally champions.



Keep doing what you've been doing. Have an even closer eye on neutral objectives. In addition, all the chimes you have collected have greatly empowered your Meeps. You can now actually do decent damage to squishies. You can apply up to 4 Meep empowered auto attacks that slow for 80%. Meeps also recharge fairly quickly.
By now, full-fledged teamfights will begin to break out if they haven't already. In these cases, you should ult the enemy back line damage dealers and then use
Cosmic Binding to stun two of their front line champions (assuming that no minions or pets get in the way). This will buy your team about two seconds to whittle away at the health of their frontline. You can also contribute to your team's damage with your chime empowered Meeps.
If the teamfight ended in your favor, you can chase down any fleeing enemy champions by using your
Magical Journey to catch up. Then slow them with your Meeps and pin them to walls with your
Cosmic Binding. If your team hasn't suffered too much from the skirmish, you can also head to a neutral objective to start setting up
Caretaker's Shrines and wards in preparation for taking the objective.
If the teamfight did not go your way, a combination of
Cosmic Binding and
Magical Journey can help your team escape. Your items should provide enough movement speed for you, and you can use
Caretaker's Shrine to boost the movement speed of your fellow fleeing allies.
By now, full-fledged teamfights will begin to break out if they haven't already. In these cases, you should ult the enemy back line damage dealers and then use

If the teamfight ended in your favor, you can chase down any fleeing enemy champions by using your



If the teamfight did not go your way, a combination of








Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: The extra movement speed will help any roaming support. The flat movement speed bonuses from
Mobility Boots,
Dead Man's Plate, and the
Wanderer mastery will also benefit from the percent movement speed bonus provided by these runes.
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: In the early levels of the game, there isn't much threat from spells and magic damage. These runes will provide Bard some survivability against late game magic damage.
Greater Seal of Armor: During the early game, these runes will provide some protection for trades with the enemy ADC. As an alternative, you could take
Greater Seal of Scaling Armor Bard's roaming nature means he will not be in contact with the enemy ADC for extended periods of time during the early game. However, if the enemy ADC is particularly aggressive early game, you will run into trouble. Scaling runes are a high risk with a low reward.
Greater Seal of Scaling Health: These runes work well with the armor and magic resist runes previously mentioned.
- greater mark of Hybrid Penetration: Until Bard collects 10 chimes, the physical attack portion of his basic attacks deals more damage than his Meep magical damage. When compared to
Greater Mark of Magic Penetrationx9, by sacrificing 2.3 magic penetration you gain 8.1 armor penetration. Taking hybrid runes will increase Bard's overall poke damage in the early game.

TLDR: Here is a list of the masteries I've chosen, in order from highest tier to lowest tier.
- Passive -
Traveler's Call: Meeps play an important role in the very early stages of the game for poking at enemy champions. They are less effective in the early-mid stage of the game. At 65 chimes, the damaging cone receives a greatly increased size. It can now affect multiple enemy champions in a teamfight and even clear minion waves. Also see the chapter on Chime Collection.
- Q -
Cosmic Binding: This ability is your main crowd control effect. Bot lane players are used to hiding behind minions in order to avoid damaging and crowd control skill shots. Because Cosmic Binding passes through the first target, it is more difficult for enemies to hide. If you land the stun on a champion, don't forget to use your free Meep empowered auto attack.
Unfortunately, this ability has a low range when compared to other skill shot abilities. You gain a little extra range after hitting the first target, but you still need to get close. The build in this guide provides the movement speed and a slight amount of tankiness to get close to an enemy champion, land the ability, and back off without taking too much retaliation damage.
Take this ability second, but upgrade it first. Its upgrades provide a longer stun, more damage, and a lower cooldown.
- W -
Caretaker's Shrine: Take this first in order to provide heals to all your teammates (see the chapter on Before the Match Really Begins). In lanes, shrines should be placed in a path toward the allied tower so that the bonus movement speed can be used to evade a gank. If your tower is pushed, you should place multiple shrines behind your tower. When your team is preparing to take neutral objectives, place shrines nearby so that low health allies can quickly use them and rejoin the fight. Before a teamfight breaks out, place shrines behind your team. Try to have this ability off cooldown during the teamfight so that you can place your shrine directly on a low health ally. In addition, the speed boost can be used to help allies escape or reach a high priority target.
Caretaker's Shrine is also a useful ability when your team is chasing low health enemies. Place a shrine on your high damage dealers to speed them up so that they can secure the kill. This is a great way to gain assists when you show up too late to actually attack the enemy.
The heal is generally pretty weak, which is why I recommend leveling it last, in favor of Bard's other abilities. However, if you find yourself in constantly in lane defending your turret against siege, or you are constantly being poked from long range (think about champs likeVarus), then it may be best to put extra points in Caretakers Shrine and postpone maxing Magical Journey.
- E -
Magical Journey: Wait to take this ability until lv 4 or even possibly lv 5. The simple reason is that it provides no benefit while in lane, which is where you will spend the very early stages of the game. When you do begin to roam, it can be helpful for collecting chimes, but the portal usually doesn't make your route much shorter. I also discourage using Magical Journey to gank before lv 6, even if you are with your jungle. Doing so provides a big sign saying "Caution, enemies will appear here!" Of course, you can always mess with enemies by creating a portal without actually intending to use it. If you plan to do this, be sure to ping your allies to not take to portal, and don't accidentally take the portal yourself. This bluff can often trick the enemy into backing off when they could have taken a turret.
One useful aspect of the Magical Journey's mechanics is that you can create a portal while you are still a certain distance away from the wall. This is especially beneficial when Bard is chasing down an enemy champion with the help of an ally. By creating the portal from a distance, your ally will have more time to see and take the portal. Otherwise, it is likely that the teammate will pass the portal and waste some valuable time doubling back. When using this method, also be aware that a skilled enemy can momentarily juke you by turning around after you have entered the portal. If this seems likely, let your ally take the portal while you continue to follow the enemy. This way, the enemy champion will be caught on both sides.
When being chased, if you use Magical Journey, the enemy will almost always follow you, often without even thinking about it. You can use this to your advantage. Try to make your portals long, so that the bonus movement speed while in the tunnel will lengthen your lead. If there is an ally nearby, portal to them, baiting the enemy champion to their death. On occasion, I've even lead enemies directly into an allied turret. In any case, when coming out of the portal, be ready withCosmic Binding to stun up to two enemies upon exit. If three or more enemies are pursuing you, consider using your ultimate. In late game during favorable teamfights, use magical journey to flank the enemy or chase down stragglers for an Ace.
Leveling Magical Journey will reduce the cooldown and increase allied movement speed through the portal. Level this ability second, and make it a priority if some of your allies are very far ahead. This especially applies if your jungler is fed and your marksman is relatively self efficient. You can easily team up with your jungler in order to raid the enemy jungle or gank the enemy laners.
- R -
Tempered Fate: This is bard's unique ultimate ability, and it has endless possibilities. Unfortunately, a poor ult can even aid the enemy team.
There are three main cases where you will get the most value from your ult. The first can be to set up for a gank. Get as close as possible to the enemy so that the ability's cast time is low. While the enemy is in stasis, try to line up a stun withCosmic Binding The enemy may try flashing to safety upon coming out, so also be ready to auto attack and apply Meep damage and slowing.
The second major use for Bard's ultimate is to stop fleeing enemies. Keep in mind that the farther away you are, the longer the cast time will be. Aim your ult just a little ahead of where the enemy champions are heading. They will either be trapped in stasis, or they will be forced to take a detour. In the latter case, a well-placedMagical Journey can be used to cut them off.
Finally, your ultimate can be used to put the enemy's damage dealing back line in timeout during a teamfight. Teamfights can be chaotic, so the ult should be easy to land. This usually takes out about two enemy champions, producing a favorable 5v3 scenario, which can turn into a 5v1 when combined withCosmic Binding. In the crucial seconds during which the enemy team is locked down, your team can overwhelm them and come out victorious. A similar strategy is useful if the enemy team attempts an early turret dive.
There are also a few cool tricks you can do with your ult, which are harder to pull off or less impactful but can still be pretty interesting:
- If you are surrounded by a group of enemy champions but you have your ultimate and
Flash off cooldown, you can ult the entire group and then flash out of it. The enemy will be frozen in menacing attack posses, while you are free to escape. This is a very costly and risky maneuver, so don't attempt it lightheartedly.
- If you are alone defending a turret being sieged by a melee enemy champion with a group of caster and cannon minions (NO melee minions) ult the ranged minions, causing the enemy champion to take damage from the turret. If you can stun the champion with
Cosmic Binding, even better. This maneuver is very situational, and if successful it probably won't secure the kill but should save the turret.
- If the enemy team is taking a neutral objective, ult as many of them as possible while leaving
Dragon or
Baron Nashor out of stasis. If all enemy champions and pets are put in stasis and no allies or other targets are nearby, the monster's health will begin to reset (I have personally tested this, and it still works with the new leashing rules introduced in Patch 5.19). If one enemy champion is left out, they will be forced to solo for a few seconds (this is most impactful for Baron). This strategy can be annoying to the enemy team, but if your team cannot follow up on it, the effort will be wasted.
- Using Tempered Fate on an enemy turret may help during an allied turret dive. Just be sure that the enemy champion isn't also put in stasis. And beware that if you are turret diving behind two turrets, the inner turret will be untragetable and therefore unaffected by your ultimate.
- If you are surrounded by a group of enemy champions but you have your ultimate and
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Before you begin building some of the higher tier items, it would be good to have a few basic 10% CDR item. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() ![]() DO NOT purchase Zz'Rot if you are behind, as your team will not be able to properly protect it, and you will only be feeding the enemy team additional gold and experience. |
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When a featured game mode or other special event comes around, I like to update my guide for the occasion. This unique information about how to adapt Bard's play style and build to these special situations will help you Roam the Rift (or whatever map we happen to be on) with style.
The following is a list of past featured content. I have moved each to a separate build guide which I have archived but can still be accessed by using the link below. If you enjoyed the featured content when I first included it, feel free to revisit the pages.
The following is a list of past featured content. I have moved each to a separate build guide which I have archived but can still be accessed by using the link below. If you enjoyed the featured content when I first included it, feel free to revisit the pages.
- One For All featured game mode 2015: Bard: One For All And All For Fun
- [5.21] Bard: The Rift Roamer (End Of Season 5 Archive)
Throughout this guide, we have seen a glimpse of Bard's potential. Bard is a very versatile champion, but he is difficult to pick up and even more challenging to master. He is great at using his utility to set up opportunities, but he relies on allies to take advantage of those opportunities. While Bard is very fun to play, he currently has low viability when it comes to ranked or professional play.
I hope that you were able to learn some tips and tricks for playing as Bard. Feedback would be greatly appreciated, as this is my first guide on Mobafire.
Have fun "Roaming the Rift!"
-SignError
I hope that you were able to learn some tips and tricks for playing as Bard. Feedback would be greatly appreciated, as this is my first guide on Mobafire.
Have fun "Roaming the Rift!"
-SignError
-- jhoijhoi --
-- KikoHyuuga --
-- League of Legends Wikia --
-- Surrender @ 20 --
Thanks for the Making a Guide guide, to get me started. The coding sections and examples were especially useful.
-- KikoHyuuga --
It may seem odd that I'm working with the author of another very popular Bard guide. However, as support role players, we don't mind helping out others and sharing the glory. KikoHyuuga and I have provided extensive feedback to help improve each others guides. Especially with Preseason 6 in full swing, we have been collaborating about the best ways to addapt Bard to all of the crazy changes that are happening on the Rift. For another take on Bard's build and play style, check out KikoHyuuga's guide Bard: The Fattest&Cutest Supp of Summoner's Rift.
-- League of Legends Wikia --
Provides up to date statistics for Bard, other champions, items, and all aspects of the game.
-- Surrender @ 20 --
Provides a sneak peak at upcoming changes which have already been released in the Public Beta Environment. This is especially useful when there are significant changes to game, specifically during the preseason update.
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