Looking for a tank support that doesn’t take much skill to use? Are you looking for a great initiating tank but can also take blows meant for your ADC? If you answered yes, read on. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing Braum, the Heart of the Freljord.

Braum is a very underrated Support champion. He has one of the best kits having a healthy mix of crowd control and defensive abilities for his allies. Not to mention, his ultimate is game changing and can turn the tides of a team fight. Braum also tends to hit his power spike very early in the game and can work well as either a passive or aggressive support. So what exactly makes Braum a good pick to be a support?

Champion Abilities

Braum’s kit is all about initiating and protecting his allies. Precision and timing is key when using Braum’s abilities to the fullest. Since he has a lot of crowd control, it can be rewarding to play him aggressively especially if you are playing with an ADC who can be a lane bully.

Passive – Concussive Blows

Braum’s basic attacks apply Concussive Blows for 4 seconds. Once the first stack is applied, ally basic attacks also stack Concussive Blows. Upon reaching 4 stacks, the target is stunned and takes magic damage. For the next few seconds they cannot receive stacks, but take bonus magic damage from Braum’ attacks and Winter’s Bite.

This is a big reason why Braum works so well with aggressive ADCs. You get a free stun as long as you and your carry hits the same target. It’s great for focusing down high priority targets from the enemy team during team fights.

Q –  Winter’s Bite

Braum propels freezing ice from his shield dealing magic damage to the first enemy hit and slowing them by 70% decaying over the next 2 seconds. Winter’s Bite applies a stack of Concussive Blows.

A great offensive ability to engage enemies or to just poke them down. There’s not much to be said about this ability apart from its damage being based on Braum’s max health. Use this in conjunction with the passive for easy kills in the early game.

W – Stand Behind Me

Braum leaps to target allied champions or minions. On arrival, Braum and the ally gain bonus Armor and Magic Resist for 3 seconds.

Stand Behind Me is a great support ability since it allows you to literally leap in to aid your allies. It gives some bonus armor and magic resist to both you and your ally to help you survive engages or all in situations. It can also be somewhat effective as an escape tool especially if it’s Braum who is caught inside enemy lines.

E – Unbreakable

Braum raises his shield in a direction negating the damage of the next attack from that direction. Subsequent attacks deal reduced damage. Braum intercepts projectiles, causing them to hit him and be destroyed. Braum gains 10% Movement Speed for the duration.

Unbreakable kind of works the same way as Yasuo’s Wind Wall. But instead of negating all projectiles, Braum just intercepts it and absorbs the blow. It’s great for protecting your team against projectile abilities like Ezreal’s or Ashe’s Ultimate. 

R – Glacial Fissure

Braum slams the ground, knocking up enemies nearby and in a line in front of him. A fissure is left along the line that slows enemies. Enemies hit take magic damage. The first champion hit is knocked up for a few seconds depending on distance from Braum, subsequent enemies are knocked up briefly. For the next 4 seconds, enemies that enter the area are slowed for 1.5 seconds.

Braum’s ultimate makes him an absolute beast during team fights. Glacial Fissure has hard crowd control that can heavily disrupt the enemy team allowing you and your allies to capitalize on the opportunity. It’s one of the best ultimates in the game and what makes Braum a favorite even in pro play.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus on Braum is to literally build all the support items with tank stats plus a bit of hard tank items. 

Starting Items

Braum starts the game like any other support tank, with a Relic Shield and some Health Potions. Relic Shield has everything you need to start out from health to health regeneration plus it has added sustain for your carry whenever you last hit a minion. 

Mythic Items

For Mythic Items, Braum has a few choices and most of them are tank items. The best overall Mythic Item for Braum is Locket of the Iron Solari. It has everything you need to be effective as a support and a tank plus an active shield that can definitely help out you and your team in a lot of situations. If you feel like you don’t need the shield and you’d like to be more durable to be a better frontline, you can go for Sunfire Aegis instead. It’s the best overall tank item. However, if you want to be aggressive and stick to your opponents, you can do well with Frostfire Gauntlet instead. 

Full Build

After buying your Mythic, your next item should be Plated Steelcaps. If your enemies have a lot of crowd control or mages, you can swap this out with a Mercury’s Treads. Next, go for Zeke’s Convergence for the health, armor, and mana. Plus it has a passive that makes your carry’s attacks hit harder whenever you immobilize a target. Knight’s Vow would be the next item to purchase as it gives you bonus health and health regeneration. It also redirects some of the damage taken by your carry to you so it adds to their overall survivability. Thornmail is up next since it increases your armor and health. Finish off your build with Redemption mostly for its active AoE heal that is super useful whenever your team is low on health.

Other Viable Items

There are lots of viable items on Braum. As long as it’s a tank item and increases his durability and resistances, a case can be made for that item to be viable on Braum. However, we’ll focus on some of the more common ones that can easily be slotted in his core build. Gargoyle Stoneplate is a good item for its resistances and active shield. Abyssal Mask is also a great item since it gives you magic resist and will increase your damage on immobilized enemies. Anathema’s Chains is another item that can increase your durability by decreasing the damage of your chosen champion from the enemy team. It’s also pretty low cost and can be purchased relatively early in the game. We would recommend for you to mix and match these items to see what works best for you and your situation.

Runes

For runes, you’ll go with Guardian from the Resolve tree. This is the go to keystone for most support tanks since it increases both you and your carry’s survivability if you are within proximity of each other. Next take Font of Life for additional damage on targets whose movements you impaired, Bone Plating for reduced spell damage from your enemies, and Unflinching to help you stick to your targets. For secondaries, take Biscuit Delivery for the sustain and Cosmic Insight for the cooldown reduction on both item actives and abilities. For rune shards, take Ability Haste and double Armor. 

Useful Tips

1. Braum is good at roaming and getting picks thanks to his kit. Try to roam to different lanes to help your other teammates get ahead. 
2. Braum synergizes well with most ADCs but champions like Ashe and Lucian work especially well with him. Ashe’s Q, Ranger’s Focus, can quickly proc the stun from Braum’s Concussive Blows. Lucian’s Passive, Lightslinger, also works the same way.
3. For summoner spells, always take Flash and Exhaust. Exhaust is great for setting up kills or escaping ganks. Ignite can be a viable alternative however, it loses some of its potency in the late game.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Braum in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!