What are the best late game items for tanks?

Evongelo·6/5/2016, 1:32:09 PM·3 votes·3,583 views

So I main Sion, Malphite, and Moaokai. Any tank is game for me really. But at my elo, I find games drag into the late game very often, when tanks do less damage and take more, and if I've been carrying my team so far by surviving, peeling, and cc, it becomes more difficult to do.

So what are some of the best last items to buy, 5th or 6th items, for the end when the adc has his armor pen but you still need to peel and live? I'm asking for items you wouldn't have built already, like sunfire, spirit visage, and Popsicle punch.

21 Comments

Duke Anax6/5/2016, 6:29:41 PM2 votes

item 3742 it help you to get in position to peal, or to engage on the ADC and have it focussed down.

item 3053 This can extend your health pool and give more damage to your popsicle punch.

For optimal gold efficiency your health pool should match your defenses. A good rule of thumb is 750+7,5 x armor. When they have last whisper health gains value so you should have 1000 + 10 x armor in health.

If they are mostly AP, you can change armor to MR. If they have both, you can simply add Armor and MR.

item 3083 item 3022 item 3748 item 3116 So in a typical game where they have both a strong APC and an ADC and you build sunfire, spirit and iceborn you need about 4200 health. So you can stop buying resists and build health items with other stats.

jaymc11306/5/2016, 1:55:59 PM2 votes

item 3512

Learn to use strategy. This thing can prevent a push, take a tower, block off an escape route kind of like a weird psuedo trundle pillar, it gives you durability and it gives you "go fast" which lets you do more in your face tank things like peeling or initiating. It also provides some vision control which should never be underestimated.

Illiad6/5/2016, 1:41:53 PM2 votes

item 3110 is generally a good item for crippling adc's who have reached their power spikes

Serevas6/5/2016, 2:23:37 PM1 votes

Well if the ADC took off you can't go wrong with Thornmail or Randuin's Omen to deal with the crits.

Bobloser35556/5/2016, 3:26:39 PM1 votes

Damage

Knight Sky6/5/2016, 5:32:12 PM1 votes

War mogs item 3083 is a great option if you have alot of MR and armour and your trying to get tankyier.

Erockandroll6/5/2016, 6:49:44 PM1 votes

I'll speak mainly about Sion since that's who I play mainly.

[{quoted}](name=Tetsu Juan,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=PkmmcAFT,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-06-05T13:41:53.837+0000)

is generally a good item for crippling adc's who have reached their power spikes

Generally, I would just get this first item, for the Mana, CDR and Armor, especially if your opponent is AD. But I would get both that, and ICB. If you have IBC, I'd get Randuin's instead.

If you can kite the fight with your CC, (Which I feel is more True with Sion) Wormarg's may be good simply for it's out of combat regeneration. Important if you end up doing a lot of extended fights.

Otherwise, I would just get Thornmail if you really need to counter the enemy ADC. Come late game, the ADC is going to be the only one who can actually shred you.

EcchiOtakuTM6/5/2016, 7:44:57 PM1 votes

Because adcs are suppose to be your late game carries........ All your job as a tank is late game keep your team alive more than locking priority targets unless it's a pick play.

Just build correctly and continue doing your job just trust your teammates.

Quepha6/5/2016, 7:47:29 PM1 votes

Incredibly situational.

Even Guardian Angel can be really good if you tend to die first in the team fight and you expect the game to end after the events of the next one.

Evongelo6/6/2016, 12:49:45 PM1 votes

Thanks for all the replies

Critmaster Garen6/6/2016, 2:25:13 PM1 votes

i think the most effecient tank items are item 3047 and item 3143 since they add damage reduction, and randuins additionally attack speed slow. which is the only defensive stat not affected by % health damage or % armor penetration and % armor shred.

the most damage youre probably gonna take, unless youre facing someone like brand will be from auto attacks from the adc, and possibly other similar champs.

against most spell damage (physical or magical), health stacking works just fine.

special shout out to item 3053 as a bruiser item since it increases your health pool with a shield and therefore shouldnt factor into max % health damge. on the other hand, shields still benefit from armor and magic resistance.

this is the only item i can think of that at least somewhat reduces damage you take from vayne. you might live through one more of her w procs.

BluePolarizer6/6/2016, 2:27:02 PM1 votes

item 3135 or item 3001 . No joke.

If you are Malphite Maokai with full tank build, 1 more tank item is unlikely to make a huge difference in your late game survivability against ADCs. Instead you mitigate the damage you take by increasing your already significant magic damage burst even higher. Death is the best cc.

EndlessSorcerer6/6/2016, 2:43:31 PM1 votes

item 3083 provides a massive amount of sustain when you barely survive or escape a fight. You can leave with less than 100 health and be near full within about 30 seconds. The ability to heal between fights without having to base is very useful.

item 3512 provides more mobility when fighting around towers and lets you keep a side-lane pushed out while you are grouped with your team. This lets you provide map pressure without leaving you team at a numeric disadvantage. It can make you rather difficult to chase down or escape too.

item 3143 provides significant damage reduction against autoattackers (between the armor, crit damage reduction, and attack speed slow) while providing a powerful slow. It's probably the best defensive item against physical damage (though the alternatively full different niches).

item 3065 is great for general durability against magic damage and is exceptionally powerful on champions with signficiant in-combat sustain (i.e. Hecarim, Maokai, Mundo).

Mistress Shyvana6/5/2016, 1:38:44 PM1 votes

take smite and build item 1409 . Warding, 15% bonus health and sunfires passive so you can buy another tank item

Evongelo6/7/2016, 2:38:22 PM1 votes

In low elo where I am ( mid silver) I find matches almost always last 35 + minutes. For this reason I asked this question, because I need to remain relevent in the late game as a tank.

In an attempt to counter the length of low elo games, I have been building tri force and frozen mallet early, as well as steraks gauge, mixing in SV, thorn mail, zzrot, banner, ran ruins, and warmogs as needed. The idea was to create a champ that does more damage, who wins fights and takes objectives faster. While I don't deny it is the most optimal build for Sion and champs like him, I find low elo teems get less out of a full tank and more out of a damaging off tank. Games have been ending faster for me with more victories. If I'm playing Moaokai or Malphite I sub tri force for RoA or Abysal.

Would anyone like to weigh in on this?

MLDzXnRRR6/5/2016, 1:49:10 PM1 votes

item 3083

Friendly Ram6/5/2016, 1:53:56 PM1 votes

I love to build zzrots to lock down a lane while you are off teamfighting. The hybrid tank stats are also quite amazing.