Hello Summoners! This is my guide on how I like to play Alistar : Support/Tank. I think that Alistar is not seen in-games a lot, but he is a great tank/support character that can heal allies and get loads of assists by using his ablilities that CC people. Also, remember that you are your team's tank! Even if you die a lot of times, let it be known that you died for YOUR team. They will be happy to have a great tank like you! :')
I hope that you will enjoy reading my guide and that it will help you in your games when you play Alistar. Please upvote if this guide helped you out. Thank you in advance to all those that upvotes this guide, and to all those that enjoyed reading it! (:
Guide written by : Ultimate1026

This is MY list of pros/cons about Alistar.
PROS:
-Great tank (Naturally tanky.)
-Awesome support.
-Is a great addition to a team that needs either a support or tank or both.
-Can CC enemies.

CONS:
-Low mana (if you don't buy mana items you are pretty mana hungry if you use your abilities to support your teammates a lot, even in late game) But with these runes, you should be ok.
-Movement speed is a bit slow.

As the mightiest warrior to ever emerge from the Minotaur tribes of the Great Barrier, Alistar defended his tribe from Valoran's many dangers; that is, until the coming of the Noxian army. Alistar was lured from his village by the machinations of Keiran Darkwill, General Boram Darkwill's youngest son and commander of the Noxian expeditionary force. When Alistar returned, he found his village burning and his family slain. Bellowing with rage, he charged an entire regiment of Noxus' elite, slaughtering them by the hundreds. Only the intervention of some of Noxus' most skilled summoners checked Alistar's rage. Brought in chains to Noxus, Alistar spent the intervening years as a gladiator in the Fleshing, pitted in endless battle for the entertainment of Noxus' wealthy leaders.

Alistar's once noble soul slowly became twisted, and he would have been driven to insanity if not for Ayelia, a young servant girl who befriended him and eventually arranged for his escape. Suddenly free, Alistar joined the newly formed League of Legends to fight as a champion, hoping to one day exact his final vengeance upon Noxus and find the girl who had renewed his hope. Initially unwilling to cater to his celebrity status as a champion, Alistar has since discovered that there is power in fame, and he has become a vocal advocate for those whom the Noxian government treads upon. He also calls to light things that the Noxian military would prefer remain hidden -- something that has made him very unpopular with Noxus' nobles. His charitable work has earned him several philanthropic awards, which serve as an interesting contrast to the rage and destruction he brings to the League of Legends.

If you intend to grab the bull by the horns as a summoner, Alistar might have something to say about that.

Ahhh, items, my favourite part :)
Now, many players will have different opinions on how to build Alistar but this is how i build him. You can see my items purchase orders at the top as well.

I start off with a Doran's Ring for the health, and mana regen. Alistar really needs the mana regen early-game.


-You can instead buy a Doran's Shield if you think that you do not need the mana regen, and instead would like the health regen and attack damage. But i like starting off with a Doran's Ring

When i get enough money, i get Ionion boots of Lucidity , for the cooldown which benefits Alistar. (Usually when i get low on health/mana, i recall. The first time i recall, i usually have enough to either get Boots of Speed, or if my lane got first-blood or is doing really well, i have enough to get Ionion boots of Lucidity


-You can get Mercury Treads or Mobility Boots If the other team has heavy CC, you might instead want to get Mercury Treads for the tencity. If you feel like being a roamer and freely ganking people, you can get Mobility Boots. But i buy Ionian Boots of Lucidity for the cooldown reduction which benefits Alistar greatly.

Because of my skill's mana cost, i now buy a Sheento cope with it. I now do not need to recall as often and i can help my teammates in battles more!

I get Shurelya's Battlesong next, because of the health/mana regen, and the great active which increases your movement speed.
-You can opt to buy Soul Shroud, but Shurelya's Battlesong gives you health/mana regen, CDR, health, and the awesome active. The active can help your movement speed by either allowing your team to chase your enemies, or allowing your teammates to get away quickly when they are in trouble.

At this point, you will start to have some team battles, so i get Aegis of the Legion, which is great for both Alistar and his teammates, because of the aura it gives.

I notice that now, since we are having more team fights, and since Alistar is THE tank, i would usually get something tanky, that gives me health. I usually either get Sunfire Cape first, or Warmog's Armor. (Depending on how your game is going. For example, if you find that you don't really farm in lanes and instead are having team fights, then i would suggest you get a Sunfire Aegis.) But if you are getting a lot of time to farm, then i would get a Warmog's Armor. In most games, i opt for a Sunfire Aegis and not a Warmog's Armor.

And now, you will already have your item slots filled up, but you can always sell your Doran's Ring. Your Doran's Ring helped you out a lot early/mid game, but now its time to say bye-bye to it. You can replace it with either something extra tanky, or something that gives an aura or a good active. I reccomend Locket of the Iron Solari or [[Randuin's Omen. Both will help out yourself and your team a lot, so you can decide which one to get.

Since you still have your Sheen, you can upgrade it into something else. If you are in a really long game, then you might want to upgrade it into a Trinity Force, because Trinity Force gives you health, mana, movement speed, everything that Alistar can benefit from. Or if you do not want a Trinity Force, you can upgrade it into a Lich Bane, but in the end, it is still your choice as to what you would like to get. Usually, my games do not last for so long, so i almost never get to finish upgrading my Sheen into another item.

I take it 1, 21, and 8 for my masteries. Why? Because i take improved Exhaust and Heal. And then i mostly put most of my points into the defense column, because it helps Alistar by giving more health, a bit more movement speed, reducing damage taken from attacks, and some cooldown reduction too! Then i put the rest of my points into the utility column, which helps with more movement speed, and some more mana. These are the masteries i take when i play Alistar.

You can instead put some points into the offense column if you think that you do not need the extra mana and movement speed from the utility column.

Many players will have different opinions on how Alistar's Rune page should be like, but these runes are what i take when i'm playing Alistar support/tank:
For Quintessences, i take 3 Greater Quintessences of Fortitude, for a total 78 extra health.
For Marks, i take 9 Greater Marks of Resilience for the armor, for a total of 8.91 extra armor.
For Seals, i take 9 Greater Seals of Clarity, for the extra 1.17 mana regen at level 18.
For Glyphs, i take 9 Great Glyphs of Warding, for the extra 13.41 magic resist.

FAQS

-You might ask; why do i not take AP/CDR runes? Well, the answer is simple. Since i am playing Alistar as a SUPPORT/TANK champion, i need the defense so that i can tank for my team, and the mana so that i do not have to recall as often. AP runes are good for if i play Alistar as an AP champion, and same with CDR. As with CDR, its really useful on Alistar, but i find that with my item build, i do not need the CDR runes.

I play Alistar as a support/tank champion. So, as you see in my skill sequence chart at the top, i take Trimphant Roar first, for the heal that helps you and your teammates.
And then at level 2, i take Pulverize.
At level 3, i take Headbutt.
So, now i have all 3 abilites.
I take my ultimate, Unbreakable Will, at the levels that it is available: 6,11,and 16.
I level up Trimphant Roar first.
I level up Pulverize second.
And last but not least, i level up Headbutt last.
You can also see my skill sequence here.

FAQS
-Why take Trimphant Roar first?
So i can heal myself and my teammates.
-Why level Pulverize first after Trimphant Roar, and not Headbutt?
Pulverize can knock people up in the air, which stuns them. I max this first so that the CDR is reduced and i can use it more often; it also deals more damage. Headbutt is great for headbutting people toward your teammates, but it is not such an offensive skill because you need to synergize well with your teammates when you use it, so i max it last.

Q ABILITY
- Alistar smashes the ground, dealing damage to all nearby enemies and tossing them into the air. On landing, enemies are stunned.

W ABILITY
- Alistar rams a target with his head, dealing damage and knocking the target back.

E ABILITY
Trimphant roar - Alistar lets out a commanding war cry, restoring health to himself and nearby friendly units for half the amount. Can be cast more often if nearby enemies are dying.

R ABILITY
- Alistar lets out a wild roar, gaining bonus damage, removing all crowd-control effects on himself, and reducing incoming physical and magical damage for the duration.


PASSIVE
- Each time Alistar casts a spell, he Tramples nearby units for a few seconds, dealing damage to units he walks over.

There are many choices for summoner spells, but i like to take Exhaust and Heal.
The reason i take these two spells is because Exhaust can help your teammates with either slowing down an enemy so that they can kill them, or slowing down an enemy so that your teammates can get away. Heal (obviously) helps by healing your teammates and yourself ! It helps out in teamfights or when you want to suprise an enemy by using Heal when they thought they could take you down. So, i take Exhaust and Heal for my summoner spells.


Summoner Spells you should definitely not choose when you play Alistar:

• Revive. I'm sure i don't have to explain about why you shouldn't take revive.
• Promote. Not everyone needs a superminion in their lane!
• Smite. I mean, come on. You're not a jungler so you shouldn't even take smite!
• Surge. You do not need the extra attack speed OR the extra ap so no, obviously you do not take surge.

FAQS

-What are some other good choices for summoner spells when i'm playing Alistar?
You can take Flash or Ghost too... but i don't because as a support/tank champion, i always die for my team first, so its not like i will be flashing or ghosting away from my teammates anytime soon! Clarity...hmm....it would help with mana problems, but it isn't really useful late game, so i would not take it if i were you. But i'm not you, so you can take it if you want! Ignite... is good when enemies start running away while they are on low health BUT then you decide to Ignite them, and they die! But i think Exhaust helps out your team more. And Teleport? Well, it would help you get to your lane faster, but you would lose some of your damage or some survivability. These are the only 'other' choices i would recommend for an Alistar playing: Flash, Ghost, Clarity, and Ignite. Other choices are a definite NO NO.

-Alistar already has a heal ability; why take summoner spell Heal as well?
This allows Alistar to stay in-lane late game a lot longer than expected, and helps teammates out as well.

Well, here i am at the end of my guide. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it , and i hope it helps you out in your games. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!
P.S: If you like my guide, do me a favour and up-vote it! Thank you very much! :) If you have any questions, feel free to comment and i will answer them to the best of my ability. Advice or suggestions are appreciated! Thanks again!

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