Theory: Sustain

Sustain is a critical issue for both laners and junglers, and over the next few days I'm going to be looking at this facet of the game in-depth. Today I'll be discussing why sustain itself is so important.

At a fundamental level the ability to maintain or recover health is extremely valuable regardless of role or team position. As a player's health level decreases their options and opportunities shrink until they're forced to return to base or risk death. Sustain keeps players in the field and battle-ready, allowing them to continue farming and exerting their presence.

While not the be all and end all of laning, a gap in sustain is a clear advantage. The champion with more sustain will often come out ahead not by winning damage trades but by recovering significantly more health afterward. Many lanes revolve around weathering the damage of an opponent until they've exhausted their resources, then forcing them into a position where they must either cede huge amounts of farm or risk dying. Sustain also pressures an opponent by placing a timer on any damage they do, if they don't apply more damage soon their previous efforts will be made worthless. Out-sustaining an opponent can easily lead to victory in lane.

For a jungler sustain is incredibly important. Maintaining a high health-level directly translates into stronger presence and jungle control. A jungler whose health drops low can't repel invasions, gank, counter-gank, hold lanes, or even ward without putting themselves in danger. Junglers with enough sustain to fully heal simply by clearing the jungle can become omnipresent monsters, constantly applying pressure everywhere without a need to rest. A jungler without sustain is essentially worthless.

In summary, sustain is so valuable because it it is an enabler; sustain directly translates into additional farm, advantages, and opportunities. Even after countless nerfs to champions and items which have or provide sustain, it remains one of the most important factors in deciding the early phase of the game. Keep this in mind as we examine sustain over the next couple of days.