So, let me get this straight....tanks like Voli and Sion get to be super tough to kill...and they can build tons of defense items...and yet they still get to do tons of damage without having to buy weapons? How exactly is this balanced? I don't see the draw back of being a tank over a fighter.
I think its fundamentally unbalanced. What do you guys think?
67chrome4 votesWhat do you guys think?
Used to think it was unbalanced until I really thought about it. LoL isn't a turn-based deal like Pokemon or Final Fantasy where defense and offense are one of the only balance points.
Mobility and range are massive assets in a game where you move around in real time.
When a champion like Volibear attacks an opponent - he doesn't get to charge up to them, boop them over the head, then do a backflip into his side of the combat screen. Volibear actually has to lumber over to where his opponents are - leaving him exposed in a bad position that's likely to get bombared by AoE skills or tower shots.
Anways - Tanky DPS get tank instead of range or mobility for their primary means of surviving long enough to do damage, at least in the case of Volibear and Sion. In some cases you can get tanky via skills like Wind Wall, Counterstrike, Divine Intervention, and Diplomatic Immunity as well to be tanky DPS.
It's unrealistic to assume Volibear can build the tank he needs to survive and damage he needs to be a tanky DPS threat if a champion with range and/or mobility has the same access to such itemization, as Volibear would simply be slower and shorter ranged in that case. As such - he gets damage for free so he can build full-tank, where assassins, marksman, and mages tend to get mobility and/or range for free and build damage.
I don't see the draw back of being a tank over a fighter.
and 
are fighters.
Tanks are tanky CC Fighters are tanky DPS
The amount of tanky is actually the same in regards to ~50% of the fighters in the game, fighter/tanks get damage for free so they can build full-tank. (The other 50% of fighters tend to be something like Yasou or Jax where you get a ton of free tanky via stuff like Counterstrike or Wind Wall).
AHeroNamedHawke1 votesThey've both got much less reliable gap closing than bruisers like Irelia, instead getting a shit load of CC and damage
After initiating with ult Sion can really only walk at your backline, as his ult will likely hit the front line, and Voli gets slowed to shit during his Q, while Irelia can just hit Q and be on top of you
Ser Garland1 votesUmmm. Irrelia's a tank too. Like Voli and Sion
Only Play Darius1 votesJust because you can build 
and the rest pure defense because that's all the damage items you need, does not make you a tank.
What it makes you is an unkillable assassin, NOT a tank.
AHeroNamedHawke1 votes[{quoted}](name=Ser Garland,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=TIL71drW,comment-id=00020000,timestamp=2015-03-24T15:36:31.348+0000)
Ummm. Irrelia's a tank too. Like Voli and Sion
She builds 1-2 damage items to stay relevant and has 1 single target CC
Building Irelia 100% tank is a good way to lose a game
