Playing League of Legends for about 7 Seasons now, I have hit Masters and practically stopped playing as much (besides hitting Masters multiple times again).Soraka was one of my most-played and champions that I was most knowledgeable about.

I coach a variety of players and have found that most of the basics are really good on a champion like Soraka where you don't need intensive mechanical skills on your abilities. Her kit is especially good for players good at spacing and having more awareness of the map and other factors of the game.

I also post short videos and clips on how to play Enchanter Supports at
https://www.youtube.com/@Global_Coaching
You'll also learn how to play Soraka in the video

Positives :
+ Horribly Annoying to vs a good one
+ Can pair with any ADC
+ Massive sustain
+ Adaptive playstyle, can suit most team comps
+ Will always have impact
+ Strong zoning with her E

Negatives:
- Reliant on team to engage and frontline as well as CC
- If team is unreliable, can be difficult to sustain your hp during teamfights and provide valuable heal + q regen
- Relatively Squishy but can be self peeled using proper E placement and Q to run
- No instant hard CC but has incredible zoning potential with E
- Often gets a lot of attention from Enemy team as you are a priority target
- Relies on having a strong team, or singular carry.

Passive

The main thing here is that you can use the speed buff provided in a variety of ways. Escaping, running to low health allies, repositioning and also to gain more heal value. Don't instantly heal if you need to reposition and they are not in threat of getting bursted or killed.

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Q Ability

By far one of her strongest abilities. This is the ability that will win you lane. It gives you regen, movement speed away from enemies and also does a considerable amount of damage. The key with using this is to fit in auto attack trades with a Q to get maximum value of the ability and regen. You'll want to regen the hp you lost from their autos, but also deal your auto damage + your own Q damage easily outtrading almost every champion in the early levels.

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W Ability

Soraka's signature ability, her heal. Fairly self explanatory but you are able to apply rejuvenation (regen) from your q landing to allies with w. So if you have the luxury of waiting to w, always land a q before w'ing a Ally for maximum value. Also, assess whether you'll want to heal low health allies or use them as a speed boost to run away before actually healing them.

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E Ability

Soraka has one of the only AOE silence in the game. You can use this ability to instant cancel channelling abilities like Warwick R, Malzahar R or Teleport. In general, it's best use is as a zoning tool or anti-engage for when assassins like Zed, Khazix or Talon jump on your carries. Predicting and reacting to enemy engages will be the key to using this ability most effectively. In lane, it can also be used as a long range poke for spellthiefs, but beware of Nunu/Pyke, you'll want to hold it for those champions.

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R Ability

Soraka's massive heal that spans across all five members of the team. This ability is best used to heal health during a big teamfight where everyone is missing health or to act as a heal across map during mini-skirmishes in the early to mid game. The key to using this ability well is map awareness and not pressing it too late. 25% is better than 0% health >:)

Early Game

My take on Soraka is that she is a extremely prominent Level 1-3 champion who can dictate the first 5 minutes if playing these levels correctly. She is extremely strong early due to her regenerative ability on her Q landing while fitting in auto attacks to deal considerable amounts of damage while taking a mitigated amount since she gets healed by Q.

The logic behind this is to take even trades where you land q meaning that you've actually taken a positive trade since q heals approximately 100hp for example. The Math :

Enemy Deal 300 Damage
You Deal 300 Damage
Q Heals 100 Health

You've effectively won the trade by 100 hp. If you repeat this several times with multiple small trades, you can effectively do tons of damage, without losing a single bit of hp (thanks to regen).

You'll want to position aggressively in the early levels to make up for the fact that you aren't that strong levels 3-5 compared to other engage, mage or poke supports. If done correctly, any matchup becomes a breeze unless they are respecting you or outplaying your Q's.

Mid-Late Game
You'll want to save E's for decisive moments to zone off enemy teammates, follow up your own team's CC to chain crowd control enemies or prevent abilities from being used when an assassin jumps on your backline.

The mid-late game for supports in general will be mostly about vision control, threat assessment during and before teamfights, and finally being in the right place at the right time. Soraka is no different.

Soraka will aim to move around with her team, or within the vicinity of her team to hover against enemy collapses and provide a unexpected amount of healing while also pushing for vision with your jungler or roaming mid laner.


Final Comments :

Soraka is an extremely potent champion but can feel lackluster in the sense that she can't solo carry games. However, as long as you maintain positive impact, be extremely hard to catch and provide value as long as you're alive, you can most defintitely climb the ladder with this versatile enchanter.

Feel free to leave any comments about what I'm missing from this guide and anything you disagree with!