Boards›Gameplay

Tactical Question: What is an Assassin?

Kagagiou·3/1/2016, 9:23:34 AM·1 votes·481 views

Let me clarify real fast: Fighter is often built into Tanks, contrary to having a tank on team or not, so why not just call them tanks (though I know 'Fighter' just means 'Melee Marksman' in basic terms, but the average person hits them up as tanks, due to stats)...

I'll give you an example: A game a little while back was a Sion Top, going full Tank, and I was Vi jungle, going for pain (Building damage). I got yelled at for not building tank, contrary to the fact I melted enemy tanks faster than Katarina completing her ult. Another issue for another day... What annoyed me was during the entire match I was yelled at (well, caps locked at) for not building 'full tank like Sion'. After the match, I pointed out that Vi is Fighter / Assassin. NOT Fighter / Tank. Assassins use a bit of damage. I built a due to 3 of the enemy having AP champs, but that was 'not tanky enough.

So the question is: What is an assassin when they have 'fighter' in their roles? Because evidently, that translates to Tank.

Someone clarify please? I know there's TankMo (teemo built as tank, but then again, seen katarina built as tank too, so maybe that's just a new term for assassin?)

2 Comments

Nyhver3/1/2016, 9:34:37 AM2 votes

Well I suppose for league it'd be Assassin = someone that can kill someone quickly while also having mobility, typically relying on kit, (AD caster) to do so, unlike ADCs which heavily auto-attack oriented for killing a target quickly, (rip SOTD)

Typical AP mages have the burst equivalent to assassins, but they don't have the mobility to exactly go in and out of a fight or usher in a 'pick'

Assassins can be built tank, (katarina) but that doesn't innately make assassins tanks, that's just building a labeled champion a certain way, the same way you can build a fighter or tank as an assassin, (heavy ad) but that doesn't make the champion itself an assassin, it makes that champion in that game pseudo-assassin

HongChongDong3/1/2016, 11:59:47 AM2 votes

Tanks = Utility champions with large defenses and are typically used to prevent Assassins, fighters and w/e else from getting to the squishies.

Fighters = Off tanks meant to take a load of the damage at the front of the fights while keeping a stream of Mid tier DPS to combat other fighters and keep squishies under pressure.

ADC = Primary DPS meant for shredding people from the back line from tanks to fighters with constant damage as well as being the primary person for taking objectives.

Support = a squishier utility champion typically meant for CC and being the personal body guard meant to be the last line of defense for the squishies in the back

Mage = Typically a role to give the team wave clear and siege capabilities but more importantly to lay down oppressive AOE damage in team fights and also providing magic damage to help against hard counter itemization.

Assassin = a role specifically meant for hard kill potential on squishies with capabilities to typically dive a back line and delete 1-2 targets depending on player skill and how ahead they are.

This is just my basic understanding of the system and there's probably more I could add.

Fighters typically build tank for the fact that they are front line so they'll take a large chunk of damage but typically don't have escapes and hard mobility like assassins or hard durability like tanks.