league-of-legends
My main support pick is Taric, and while I have not had much trouble with him so far, I wonder how good of a pick he is in high level play.
It is not common to see Taric picked in pro-level games, most of the pro supports seem to go for Soraka, Janna or Sona instead.
As such, what is the advantage those champions have over Taric?
It depends, I like to choose a support based on the ADC early game play, if the ADC is squishy, let's say for example Ezreal, I'm more likely to pick Soraka or Sona to sustain him on lane. But, if you have a more sustainable ADC, you can pick a more aggressive support like Leona, Nunu or Zyra.
Another thing to observe is the synergy of Support/ADC level, Leona has her Q,W and E ready by level 3, which can combo really good with Graves, where in this level he's really great. We could also mention some good combos like Ashe and Janna, due to the synergy of Janna's Shield and Ashe's crit, and Ashe's slow with Janna's slow.
Besides, picking a champion that you enjoy playing, which will also help in your performance, you could ask the ADC which support he enjoys to play with, if he has any preference and you feel his preference is useful, you could pick it too.
I found the League Support Suggester, a recommendation software to provide the best support for your current needs.
I've also found the following chart which really helps me when to choose a good support for my ADC, I usually pick one of the three recommended:
Leona excels as an aggressive support, but she is prone to dying due to her having to go all-in to do anything. Here are a few tips for Leona:
As Leona, aim for bush control. Consider starting with a Vision Ward; my starting items on Leona tend to be Rejuvenation Bead, 2x Health Potion, 2x Sight Ward, and a Vision Ward. By maintaining bush control, you keep the enemy laners on their toes, worrying about when you may strike.
Assert lane dominance. If you are confident about being able to take the enemy's poke, walk up to them a bit to scare them off. Try not to do this unless you have all three skills though in case you get into a sticky situation (or in case you find an opening to engage!).
Engage intelligently. If you find both yourself and your carry at Level 2 while one or both of the enemies is still Level 1, strongly consider engaging; you will have the upper hand. If you miss this window of opportunity, look again at Level 3 (when you have all abilities) and Level 6 (when you have your ult).
Absorb skillshots. It's usually better if you take the enemy Ezreal's Mystic Shot instead of your carry, since you should have higher health and regeneration, at least in the early game. It's even better if you can take a Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab — it's like a free E in!
Don't be scared of taking kills. Ideally, your carry will get every kill. However, your W deals a deceptively high amount of damage at higher ranks; don't beat yourself up if you accidentally take one. In addition, if your carry is dead or is otherwise unable or unlikely to take the kill, don't be afraid of taking it! It's probably better for you to take the kill and have some extra gold for that Sightstone than it is to let them get away.
Delay picking your first skill. You should typically take either Shield of Daybreak (Q) or Zenith Blade (E) first, the other of the two second, and Eclipse (W) third, prioritising your Solar Flare (R) and your W. Take E first if you find yourself in a Level 1 teamfight where multiple enemies may be hit by your Zenith Blade; otherwise, if nothing happens and you just go into lane normally, take Q.
Be willing to sacrifice yourself for your carry. Once Leona gets off her E and R, she becomes significantly less useful. At this point, if the enemies have kill potential on your carry, consider leading them away from your carry to have yourself killed instead. However, be careful about this: do not sacrifice yourself if your carry will surely die, nor should you sacrifice yourself if your carry is likely to live.
Do not E in every time. Sometimes it's better to stay in the back line.
Do not be afraid to ult. Leona's Solar Flare has a relatively short cooldown. You don't always need to use it aggressively; you can use it as zone control to stop or delay enemies from chasing you.
Try to stun-lock. If you happen to catch onto their carry with your Zenith Blade, follow up immediately with a Shield of Daybreak (Q) to stun, then centre Solar Flare on the carry. This will lock them up for almost 3 seconds, which is plenty of time for your team to blow them up.
Be familiar with your passive. Leona's passive, Sunlight, allows her team to do additional magic damage onto the tagged targets. This can be useful for taking Dragon. Since Sunlight does not stack, try to not blow all your abilities at once if it can be avoided, especially against Dragon and Baron. Instead, apply a stack of Sunlight onto the target, wait for a teammate to proc it, and then apply another. This really helps with burning down the high HP. Caveat: if enemies are approaching, leave your skills unused in case they attempt to engage a fight.
Know whether you need to initiate or peel.
Above all else, practice! With time, you'll notice yourself getting better and better.
Best Answer
It's just that Taric does nothing special. If you want to play aggressive (utilize the stun) you can go for Leona or Alistar or even Blitzcrank. If you want to utilize the Armor and the Heal, go for Soraka or Janna. If you want to utilize a mix of these things... get Sona!
For everything that Taric does, there is someone who does it better. Still, if you like the champion, you can play him for sure and you will have a lot of success with him. While you could still see some people using Taric a few patches ago, I fairly doubt you will see this as frequently after Sona got buffed again.