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[Champion Concept] League-ifying a battle tank??Let me introduce You to Tiger,the tank commander!

Predatorator··1 votes·882 views

Hello, and thank You for reading this! I'm pretty excited about this, because this is my first attempt to create a champion (and still bad at determining values :p). Forgive me alos for my bad English, it's not my mother lagnuage =)!

So, as the title says, Tiger(placeholder name) commands a tank. What are the main concepts of this champion, especially regarding his aesthetics?

  • He's a Yordle, i wanted him to be affiliated somehow to Corky;
  • he's an officer (this is to better comprehend some things i'll write later);
  • You should imagin his head to come up from the commander's hatch on top of the tank; his head is big and trembles (just as Tristana's or Ziggs');
  • his tank has no turret, the gun is mounted on a carriage. This is because having a turret in a game where characters can turn instantly is pointless to me;
  • his tank got a machine gun, fixed in a gun pod on the tank's front plate, for auto-attacks;
  • his tank also shoots AP and HE (i'll explain later what do they mean) shells, from its main gun, which has an autoloader. Tl;dr: i'll explain what does this translate in gameplay terms, when i'll explain the skills.
  • his tank trembles (just as Rumble's mech);
  • the tank's gun should look large and cartoony;
  • the champion's resource is Mana. (I'll post some drawings to better make clear this champion's general chracteristics.)

SKILLS

Now that I pointed out the "guidelines" for Tiger's aspect, I'll talk about his skills:

Passive: to me, his passive should be tanky, or "snipy", or some kind of buff for nearby allies, or some kind of buff he receives, whose values depend on the number of allies near to him. Here's an example for what a good "snipy" passive should be to me: "Whenever Tiger is in a brush, AP and HE shells gain additional range".

Q - Load: AP(Armor Piercing) Shells: Tiger loads a clip of x AP shells (x may scale with level or not, but the number of shells it's hard to determine due to balance issues.) After triggering the skill, You'll have to wait a cetain amount of time(short to medium) for the shells to be loaded. After this, You can shoot, but there's a delay between each shot. The skill interrupts if the clip is finished, or You decide to load HE shells. However, if You decide to load HE shells, and Your clip of AP shells is still not finished, You'll have to wait an additional (short)amount of time to get the shells loaded; other things You need to know about this skill:

  • AP shells got a long range;
  • AP shells deal low damage;
  • AP shells can go through y units (the damage lowers as the shells go through more units; i'm not sure if to keep this feature or not, i don't want to make this skill oppressive);
  • AP shells have bonus Armor Penetration;
  • AP shells are skillshots;
  • AP Shells travel fast.

W - Load: HE(High Explosive) Shells: Tiger loads a clip of x HE shells(x may scale with level or not, but the number of shells it's hard to determine due to balance issues.) Same way to work as Load: AP Shells. Other things that need to be point out:

  • HE shells got low range;
  • HE shells deal high damage;
  • HE shells deal splash damage (lower than on-hit damage, splash damage area is small);
  • HE shells got higher travel time than AP shells;
  • HE shells got an arch/bow-looking trajectory;
  • HE shells don't have bonus ArmPen.

E - Again, i'm not very sure what to propose. I'm still looking for a skill that gives tankiness, or helps sniping, or gives some kind of utility to the team; So, i've come up with three proposals: E1 - Smoke Charges: Tiger shoots a smoke charge that explodes in front of him (at some distance maybe), generating a wall of smoke.

  • The enemies can't have vision of what's on the other side of the wall till they get there;
  • enemies inside the wall have vison in a small radius.

E2 - Reactive Armor(name tbd): i was thinking i could borrow some inspiration from the explosive plates that compose a reactive armor. Pratically, Tiger will be protected from the next z attacks he receives (said attacks can be from AAs or skills, or turrets, etc.) Or, this skills grants him an ordinary shield (not sure about the values).

  • E2 shall have high cooldowns.

E3 - Rising Morale!: Tiger reduces all his cooldowns (except for Rising Morale!) by a certain percentage (low to moderate value).

  • E3 got high cooldowns.

R - Focus on Target! Tiger gives order to concentrate the tean efforts on a target. Said target will be highlighted, and will receive bonus damage from Tiger's team (not sure how much the damage should be, it's hard to determine due to balance issues). I do really like this skill, because it's ties well with Tiger, since he's basically a commander, and as a commander, he has to give orders.

  • Mid to long cooldowns for this skill;
  • I was about to ask for high mana costs too, just to better prevent abuses.

Observations:

  1. The champion got no CCs;
  2. I'm not sure if to give the champion high MoveSpeed(about 350-355). This truly helps him to relocate better, but again, i don't want him to have balance issues, and i like champions to have clear weaknesses. Having no escape might be this champion's weakness, so i'm not really bothered to give him low MoveSpeed.

Aaand that's it(finally xD!), i think i put everything. But, if You have any opinions or questions to share, don't hesitate =)! Thank You again for Your attention! EnolaGay45

21 Comments

Khodexus1 votes

Wow, I had an idea I was working on for a yordle tank commander, only my Yordle was female, and slightly crazy. She studied under Heimerdinger, but felt a bit neglected by him, until Ziggs showed up. She became kind of obsessed with Ziggs, and was the first person to realize how useful his 'explosive talents' were, even before he did. Her specialty is metallurgy, and she became driven to 'compliment' Ziggs skills by developing a type of armor plating even HE could not blast through. She isolated herself to feed her obsessions, until Heimerdinger 'forced her to take a vacation and go socialize' well she didn't take that very well, and long story short, she was approached by someone from Zaun who wanted to take advantage of her situation, offered her basically unlimited funding for her research and promised not to 'force' her to socialize like Heimerdinger did.

Working out of Zaun she started building not just armor, but adapting them to be full on war machines. Her one true goal in life is to get Ziggs to notice her brilliance, so they can be the perfect couple. She doesn't seem to get that he doesn't appreciate her life choices, and has become kind of a creepy stalker type. In a cute yordle way, of course (she's got a Ziggs plushy tucked into her pocket, and the inside of her tank is covered with pictures of Ziggs).

Anyways, that's my basic lore concept for the character, hadn't actually worked out the abilities yet, but I could offer a few ideas for yours, whether or not you like my lore/want to use some of it.

If nothing else, I'm interested to hear what you think of my lore.

Thelmon1 votes

This lore is pretty cool.

Khodexus1 votes

I'm glad you like it. I just love the idea of an 'evil yordle' who rather than being a twisted sadist like Veigar, is just an obsessive creepy stalker with a Ziggs plushy who doesn't even realize how messed up she is.

Can you imagine the champ specific taunts and other interactions fighting against or alongside Ziggs? Or Heimerdinger for that matter?

Predatorator1 votes

I'm not really the person to ask about lores, since i don't have a really deep knowledge of LoL champions and their lores. But from my personal point of view, i like it, it got sense, and may fit with my champion somehow =D!

Khodexus1 votes

I'd love to combine our ideas. Would you like to hear some of my thoughts on her mechanics? Also, I think tiger could fit as a name for my character (or at least a name for her tank?).

Predatorator1 votes

I'm always open to ideas =), especially since the initial kit i've suggested lacks of some battle tanks aspects! When i chose Tiger to be the champions name, i was referring to the german panzer VI, which is also called "Tiger" =). So i'm ok with You want to borrow the name for Your character =), or if You got other suggestions to bring up!

Khodexus1 votes

Well, I'll start with the passive. My idea was to name the passive 'Reactive Armor'. And have it represent the special semi-magical metallurgical/techmaturgical alloy her tank's armor is made out of.

Basically, every time she takes physical or magic damage, she gains a boost to armor or magic resistance (based on the kind of damage taken) based on the percentage of her health she lost, possibly with a small scaling from ability power as well. This bonus defense would stack up to a certain cap (30% of her current armor/magic resistance) and would deplete when not taking damage after a short delay.

I also wanted the second part of her passive to represent the 'turn speed' of her tank. Basically, she can still fire in any direction instantly thanks to the turret mounted gun, but she takes a little time to turn, and gains a bit of straight-line speed to compensate (tanks can move in one direction very quickly, but have to be facing forwards to do it). Additionally, due to the turret, I thought it could be nice to have her able to auto-attack while moving (unless you tell her not to by hitting S first), but with a significant attack speed penalty while she's moving (to represent the diminished aim), somewhere like firing half as often.

I wanted her Q to be a toggle that switched her between Velocity shells (range, armor penetration, and projectile speed), and 'Mana' shells, (large-ish area of effect, magic damage, and possible status effects).

W was going to be 'Smoke Launchers', that basically surrounded her with smoke that reduced visibility and hid her and allies basically like the area counted as brush.

For an alternate W (in case the counting as brush is too much, or due to the fact that in truth, smoke launchers are a very modern invention for tanks), You could have a mortar launcher attached somewhere to the tank, and let her lob long range arcing explosives as a skillshot.

E was going to be 'Engine on Full', and would increase her straight line movement speed further, her attack rate, and overall damage with auto-attacks at the expense of draining mana over time.

And for R, I thought it could be interesting to have two ultimates based on which ammo type she's currently using.

Velocity rounds would do "Breaching Shot" which is a piercing line attack that damages all enemies hit out to a moderate range.

Mana rounds would do, "Inferno Shot". Slightly longer range than standard mana rounds, and it impacts a much wider radius, and lights it on fire, doing damage to any enemy units caught in, or moving through the area.

Let me know if you like any of my ideas here.

Predatorator1 votes

I like the passive concept. But i think we can remove the ability power, unless it's something she builds by standard. . about the second part, i like it too, it solves the problem of instant turning rate.

The Q that switches between an ammo type and another was something i've considered before, but did not suit well with the sniper tank i had in mind. However, it fits well with this kind of conept, that makes the tank to be a brawler/frontline assault machine: attaching the skill charge times to cooldown allows for faster responses, which are more important in the centre of the battle, than sniping from the edges of it =). I don't know what do You mean with "status effects", but i'm still a fan of making piercing shells to have more range, and the explosive ones to have it lower, while making the he shells to have a scaling value also. That's to better point out the differences between one ammo and another.

The W idea is pretty (the first one). the are should be not too big however. (side note, smoke launchers are not that modern indeed =), You can find some on ceratin WWII tanks). As for the other W, i don't think a mortar fits very well on a tank. However, tanks (especially nowadays) are very versatile, and can have a range of weapons attached to, from flamethrowers, to missile launchers. I was wondering to make the W a barrage-fire-thing, making a mingun(or a multi-barrelled gun) to shoot in a arch for a certain amount of time, dealing damage over time (a Corki-like minigun, with no armour debuffs). The skill is more of a tool, so i don't expect much power to come from it.

The E is good, the name needs doesn't give the full idea of what the skill about, but that's np. Can it be toggled on/off? or does it have a cooldown? As a side note, the overall buff shouldn't be really high, since this is a normal skill =).

The R is good, and fits the concept. Breachig Shot could use a damage buff maybe.

Overall, this champion concept is aggressive, and can afford to get in the center of the battle to discharge all her damage, opposed ot my concept, which is a more timid one, snipes from afar, and relies more on the team. These two aspects combine resemble what a modern battle truly is, a multi-purpose platform. I'm happy I had the chance to look at Your idea, is really nice

Khodexus1 votes

I kind of see her as a bit of a hybrid champ, when it comes to AP/AD. Specifically, Mana Rounds and the Inferno Shot would scale with AP, while Velocity Rounds and the Breaching Shot would scale with AD. Doesn't have to work this way though, just thought AP would fit into her kit somehow as she's a techmaturgist/metallurgist.

I personally liked the smoke launcher idea, but I've had other people say it doesn't quite feel right for a techmaturgical/steampunk tank. That's why I offered an alternative, one that's more offensive than defensive.

As for the E, I think "Engines on Full", or "Reactor on Full" describe the effect well enough. It makes me think of submarine movies, or star trek, when they're always asking the engineer for 'more power from the reactor/warp core'. Also, I think it could work as a toggle, but then she's already got one of those, so it might be better as a limited duration buff, similar to Blitzcrank's W.

Predatorator1 votes

Hybrid scalings on her Q are ok, i was talking about the passive for the most, in terms of both simplicity and build path.

I don't know what do these people you talked with mean, but smoke launchers are a standard on most armored vehicles. They can be used both to escape, or to prepare an offensive by dishorientating the enemy. So, the right thing to say to me should be "Smoke launchers may fit the tank, but they take the place for something better". That said, bith smoke launchers, or another offensive skill are equally good alternatives once You make them to work.

As for the E, i agree. Best solution is to make it a limited duration buff

Khodexus1 votes

Yes, they are standard on modern tanks. I think they just meant it didn't fit their vision of a more steampunk style tank, is all. If we stick with the smoke launchers, however, I'd want it to activate in an area around Tiger, rather than be targetable at a distance. This will set it apart a bit thematically as a 'battle tank defensive measure' and specifically will not mimic Graves' smoke grenade.

I agree that the passive doesn't need AP scaling, it was just a passing thought when i was writing it up. As I mentioned I haven't gotten these ideas hashed out on my own yet, but I still wanted to share the general concepts with you.

Predatorator1 votes

I agree on Your point on how smoke launchers shall work ingame =D. One of my first priorities is to avoid making copies of other champions' skills =)

Khodexus1 votes

I'm in the process of writing up my ideas into a more detailed format, starting with the lore. It's coming along well so far, but I'm still debating if I'd want to post it up before finishing some concept art, and she's frankly a little far down the list of champion ideas I've been working on concept art for.

After Kronus, Caius, Ilsa, Ilena, and Sakuri, not to mention concept art I'm working on for Taric and Shyvana.

Predatorator1 votes

I'm curious to see what will come out =). The aspect also, the steampunk theme it's nice on a tank! Wow, so many ideas You got over there!best of luck to bring them alive!

Khodexus1 votes

Thanks. I've also got some mechanical ideas for Wukong that do not require any concept art (though I might want a little something anyways). Perhaps I'll try to post that up here soon, and you can give me some feedback on it.

It's mainly a thematic adjustment to his kit, not a visual change to his character.

Would you be interested in seeing that?

Predatorator1 votes

I'm not a fan of Wukong honestly =), but i'm curious to see how Your champions concepts will develop in the future!

Khodexus1 votes

How can you not like the Monkey King? Is it just LoL Wukong you don't like, or do you not care for the whole Journey West story to begin with?

I didn't honestly like his playstyle that much at first, but I love the character, and I grew to enjoy playing him as I worked to actually get better with him.

My idea would hopefully help his playstyle fit his character a little better.

Predatorator1 votes

My special place in LoL is occupied by Xerath and Skarner =D! Then there are about 3 other champions i do use and like in the game, but Wukong doesn't tell me anything special =)

Particularly, I liked Xerath even before buying him, which happened in the last year. I like his story, and love his personality. And gameplay wise ofc!

Don't worry tho, i'm aware that Wukong is loved by the majority of players! Are You planning to make him more nimble or agile? Because that's the idea i got of him: a nimble and agile guy

Khodexus1 votes

Well, as a summary, I wanted to swap two of his abilities, thematically. His Crushing Blow with Cyclone.

First, because just spinning in place with your weapon out doesn't strike me as all that interesting. Secondly, because neither ability really showcase what to me are two very interesting aspects of his lore. His practically infinitely extending staff, and his training under Master Yi.

Thus, his Crushing Blow was going to be replaced by an ability called 'Wuju Strikes', which combines the passive on Master Yi's Wuju Style, with an almost 'Alpha Strike' like ability that allows Wukong to knock the 4 closest targets to himself up in the air while becoming very briefly untargetable (retaining the knockup effect of his previous ult, Cyclone, without the long duration damage).

Then I was going to replace his ult with 'Sky Crushing Blow' where you target a spot anywhere on the map, and Wukong Leaps up into the air extends his staff upwards until it's long enough to hit the spot you targetted (with an increasing delay the further away you target), then brings it down full force hitting everything in between you and the target. The ability would do more damage against targets further away (up to a cap) but would be easier to dodge when targeting spots across the map due to the increased delay and his staff's shadow broadcasting where it's going to hit (and yes, he can 'hit the enemy base from here' which is one of his joke lines).

Thought that'd make for a very interesting variation on a 'global ultimate' and it fits Wukong's background lore to a tee.

Thelmon1 votes

I like the idea of a tank champion, even though it may be stepping on rumbles domain a bit.

That being said, when you think tank, you think TANK. Huge, fast moving, tons of armor. Sure they may be able to deal a lot of damage, but it's dealt kinda slow (load shell, fire, repeat). No rapid fire.

This tank seems a bit too damage based to me. The kit looks almost borderline ADC, although it's hard to tell with no base damage/scaling info. The only thing I can tell, is that by building AS, you utilize your q and w more. These two spells kind of remind me of Jynx's skill that allows you to switch between rapid fire and AOE attacks, instead of a change in attack speed, it's a change in attack range and with a limit. (Depending on how you want this champ to be, this may be an idea you could use to combine your Q and W into a toggle skill and free up another skill slot).

As a tank, maybe one of your skills could be a passive that increases armor and hp to make him really tanky. Once again, it's hard to see what your goal for this champ is.

Quick question, what was your intended role for this champion? As a tank, I'd assume tank, but it could be ironic if it was an adc (or even support?). However, I think if you're a bit more clear on this, it will help people with their feedback.

I hope this helps ...

Predatorator1 votes

I was actually thinking about modern MBTs, which have both roles of a tank and a tank destoryer, looking in particular at the Swedish S tank. That being said, i wanted to make a champion that resembles the cool things of a modern mbt (mobility and sniping over armor, while still having some armor). I admit that making good tanky skills is a bit hard to me, since all the good ideas were already implemented ingame (Wukong's passive, i was even thinking about a reverse Rammus' passive, or another ordinary damage reduction skill).

About making Q and W a jinx-like-skill...i've already worked on that possibility, but that implies that champion will AA from his main gun, so: -AAs will get the respective characteristics from AP and HE shells, depending on what's toggled on atm; -RoF will depend from AS, not from CDR anymore; -the autoloader mechanism will have to be taken out; I'm totally cool with this, as long as it doesn't make Tiger to look like a Jinx copy.

As for the role, a cool thing is that the actual kit i've made, allows for a bit of versatility. Tiger could work as a Urgot-like adc, can support by peeling with his Q, his W gives him waveclear. His R can win teamfights, or secure kills anyways. If i manage to make him tanky, he may even fit toplane.

N.B.: a way to make him tanky, could be to make his passive to give bonus armor or HPs, by building another stat (which can be attack damage, for example), or to give him armor/magic resist for every ally near him.

Thank You for replying.I hope i made my point clear. I hope Yo'll come up with some other ideas =)

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