Tanks and Bruisers.

Streeton·1/18/2016, 12:02:43 AM·4 votes·385 views

DISCLAIMER: i'm not very good at this game, so take this with a pinch of salt. (lots of it)

Is it me or is the definition of tanks and bruisers becoming the same? For example, Mundo has been running around like a madman since season six, he is extremely tanky and does amazing damage. I thought tanks were supposed to to little damage but have a large amount of hitpoints, not do more damage than my adc. Another example is Jax, all he has to do is buy a rageblade and then goo full definsive. What is he then? A tank or a bruiser? In general i think that there are no boundaries between a tank and a bruiser and i hope riot can fix this n the near future.

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

12 Comments

EndlessSorcerer1/18/2016, 12:05:24 AM6 votes

IMO, the primary difference between tanks and bruisers is how they generate threat (why the enemy team wants to kill them).

Bruisers (i.e. Darius, Garen, Mundo, Irelia, Jax, Shyvana, Trundle) deal a significant amount of damage if left alone.

Tanks (i.e. Nautilus, Sion, Sejuani, Maokai, Nautilus, Nunu) provide a signficant amount of utility for their team and can hinder the enemy team until they die.

For champions which blur the definitions (i.e. Jarvan, Amumu, Volibear, Cho'gath), I would typically lean towards whichever role they are fulfilling in a particular game.

If they are building primarily damage and trying to kill targets, they may be considered more of a fighter.

If they are building durability and focusing on their utility for the team, they may be considered more of a tank.

The Bíg Ticket1/18/2016, 12:04:09 AM3 votes

Jax going full defense after Rageblade is useless as fk...you actually need to buy offense to make Rageblade worth it and on top of that Jax gets MR/Armor for building dmg.

redniwediS1/18/2016, 12:20:16 AM3 votes

People have been confusing these terms since season 2 ended... Or at least that's what my memory says, maybe they did it before.

To put it simply a Tank is someone who relies on their utility to be useful, where as a Bruiser is someone who relies on their damage. Both use similar defensive items, and are similarly difficult to take down, but they play very differently. A Bruiser goes in and makes the play, where as a Tank sets up the battlefield for someone else.

Historically speaking Bruisers are Fighters who build defense. Jax is a Fighter, so if he builds heavy defense he would be considered a Bruiser.

Mundo is also a Fighter. Just take a look at his primary attribute according to Riot. His only utility is the slow on his Q, so the only way he could be useful as a tanky champion is by soaking damage. In order for him to actually take damage from the other team there has to be a reason for people to attack him. He doesn't have the utility to peel or catch someone so completely that he is a worthy target, so he has to rely on his damage to make him a threat.

This is why his primary attribute is Fighter, and his secondary is Tank. When it comes to League the term Tank describes a style of play, not just the fact that someone can take a lot of damage before dying.

HEAljvLykd1/18/2016, 12:04:27 AM1 votes

If adc builds all tank are the adcs considered tanks or adc?

BluePolarizer1/18/2016, 2:41:30 AM1 votes

tanks have some burst and terribad sustained damage meaning they might be able to burst a squishy ADC (not even mages since mages have rylais, zhonyas or roa ) but simply can't carry teams since they can't kill the enemy tank or bruisers past early game.

bruisers have massive sustained damage second only to ADCs and can carry games. the downside is that in high level games they usually dont get enough gold to carry directly.