Bard Pro Builds - How to Play Bard in Season 14
Bard – the Wandering Caretaker – is a great Support that is usually played on position Support. Bard can also be played in other roles, but we focus on position Support in this LoL Bard guide as it fits the current meta in S14 very well.
Bard has a win rate of 57% and pick rate of 0.5%. There is a ban rate of 2%. Although a great champion, winning with Bard is not a given. You need to have the right Bard build in order to unleash the full potential on patch 14.10. There are many Bard probuilds out there. We help you to find the right probuild, Bard players need to win.
Latest Bard probuilds
Here a quick view on the latest Bard probuilds on position Support.
How to play Bard
We will show you what you need to do, to increase your chances of winning your lane. Bard is strong, but if you ran into 
Camille or 
Shaco you might get in trouble. In order to win your lane and against your counter, you need the right spells, items and runes. The following Bard Support pro build will help you with that.
Follow our build, pentakills will follow and you will learn how to play Bard. Since Riot Games regularly releases a new patch, Bard builds may change from time to time. It is important to keep up to date.
Items for Bard
Items obviously play a big role in League of Legends. Buying the right item can make the difference between winning and losing as Bard. The order of items is also very important. Especially in early game, it is imperative to make the right decision on what to buy. You need to know the right starter item and starter trinket. But you also need to know what your final items will be. Your opponent like 
Xerath or 
Yuumi can also influence your buying decisions.
Since Bard is a powerful Support you should start with 
Health Potion, Health Potion, and 
World Atlas. Your starter trinket should be 
Stealth Ward. You will find those in the shop under: Tools > Vision & Trinkets. Your optimal final boots are 
Symbiotic Soles. So make sure to buy accordingly. A good buy order for your items is:
Redemption
Locket of the Iron Solari
Mikael's Blessing
Bard abilities and summoner spells
Pro Gamers in LoL also gain advantage by their choice of spells and the order they use their abilities on Bard. You also shouldn’t leave this to chance.
During champion select you have the possibility to choose two spells for Bard. The choice of summoner spells can’t be underestimated. They can play a big role in team-fights. Countless team-fights have been decided by a well-used flash. Statistics have proven that the best choice is 
Flash and 
Ignite.
You can also gain an advantage in early game by using Bard abilities in a certain order. Each phase of the game differs. Some abilities might be good in late game, but less in early game. Start the game with 
Cosmic Binding. Then you should continue with 
Caretaker's Shrine, followed by 
Magical Journey. An order for abilities of Bard up to level 10:
| Level | Key | Champion Spell |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R | Cosmic Binding |
| 2 | R | Caretaker's Shrine |
| 3 | R | Magical Journey |
| 4 | R | Cosmic Binding |
| 5 | R | Cosmic Binding |
| 6 | R |  Tempered Fate |
| 7 | R | Cosmic Binding |
| 8 | R | Caretaker's Shrine |
| 9 | R | Cosmic Binding |
| 10 | R | Caretaker's Shrine |
Most effective Bard runes selection
For an effective Bard build, you also need to select the appropriate runes. Ideally, you make an extra rune page for Bard. You have to choose a primary and a secondary path from five rune paths for the Wandering Caretaker: Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve and Inspiration.
In the primary path you can choose a keystone rune and three lesser runes. The secondary path only consists of two lesser runes. There are also the three so-called shard slots. The best rune paths for Bard are for primary 
Resolve and for secondary 
Domination. As the keystone rune on Bard most pros pick 
Guardian.
For your primary path – Resolve – choose these runes on Bard:
- Guardian
Font of Life
Bone Plating
Unflinching
For your secondary path – Domination – choose these runes on Bard:
Zombie Ward
Relentless Hunter
Champions that counter Bard
As mentioned before, it is always necessary to react to opponents of Bard. There are champions that counter Bard. These champions have advantages that can be dangerous for you. Camille for instance is strong against Bard and has a win rate of 57%. Another dangerous counter is Shaco.
When your opponent counter picks Bard in champion select, you need to be aware. In this case, adjust your items and game to the situation.
Shan Hai Scrolls Bard is one of the 7 available skins for Bard.
Conclusion
Many people are looking for Bard pro builds, that players often used to win. By following our probuilds, you can turn Bard into a beast. Especially if you also follow our Bard guide. When you have your runes placed like we told you, Bard will reach its full potential. Buying the items we listed will also increase your chances. Start with the abilities in the correct order to gain an advantage in early game.
When you build Bard in League of Legends correctly, you will have a very capable champion. But as always you need to practice, especially when and how to use Tempered Fate. League of Legends is a dynamic game that changes with every patch. Keep following the patch notes and keep adjusting your LoL Bard build.
Also, keep reacting to the game itself. Do you play mid, top or bot? Who is support or jungle? Overall, a good game is the sum of the right decisions. Over time, you your skills with Bard will grow. Once you mastered Bard – the Wandering Caretaker – you will rule the rift.
