Please explain Supports to me as if my comprehension is hit-and-miss.

snowcattt

Or point me to a Q&A...I might figure it out that way, but I do not understand this Support idea.

Playing almost 2 years, about 15 4* Champs

Thank you.

**Removed inappropriate reference - Ducky

Sim Mayor

Bullet-point version:

• Supports attach to characters and give complementary abilities
• They only attach to certain characters, depending on the affiliations of the character
• There are five tiers of abilities, based on the rarity of the support
• Each tier gives a new ability that you get in addition to the previous ones (so a 2* support has 2 abilities, a 5* has 5 abilities, etc.)
• Some also have a special ability that only activates when the support is attached to a specific character
• Better versions of supports replace the old version, so you can't have multiples of a support

Basically, supports are small perks, rather than whole new powers. They should be considered bonuses to your strategy, but are probably not powerful enough to be considered a part of your strategy.

Anyone else want to chime in with anything I missed?

Blindman13

In addition to the 5 Ranks for each support they have up to 250 levels. 
Each rank unlocks 50 more levels, so 1* can be level 50, 2* level 100, 3* level 150, and so on.
Increasing rank opens more abilities, increasing level makes the abilities stronger.
To increase rank, you need to get a higher rank support from a token
To increase level, you need to spend Red ISO-8.
If you get a duplicate support, the lower ranked of the two is automatically sold for Red ISO.
Any levels applied to the support stay on the one that you keep.

ZeiramMR

Additional notes:
They (currently) only add the perks and changes for Story Mode. PVP is supposedly coming at some point.
They can only be attached to characters of 3/4/5 star rarity.