What type of damage do tanks do?

Cardmant·Jul 16, 2015·2 votes·354 views

So, I'm a noob still and, everytime I see an enemy tank, I have no idea what type of defensive item to but. So, are tanks ap or ad?

8 Comments

Critmaster GarenJul 16, 20154 votes

most actual tanks scale with ap and deal magic damage. there are only be a couple like sion who scale with ad.

even then youll usually find that most tanks deal some form of magic damage (sions shield explosion), even if their kit scales with ad. just look at their values and the items in their inevtory.

{quoted}

generally speaking, against tanks you dont buy defense

even squishy carry type champions should at least build 1 defensive item at some stage of the game. a banshees usually helps with a tanks magic damage, and their cc.

and as a mage there are some items that provide ap and magic resist. athenes for example.

RueianJul 16, 20152 votes

Wet noodle damage

realistically though, it depends on the the tank. most do prominently magic damage, but there are some who do physical. You just have to do some research on each champion to become familiar with what they do, or if you die you can use the death recap. It tells you what type you are taking.

AyRe CoNteMpTJul 16, 20152 votes

generally speaking, against tanks you dont buy defense

67chromeJul 16, 20152 votes

So, I'm a noob still and, everytime I see an enemy tank, I have no idea what type of defensive item to but. So, are tanks ap or ad?

Mixed damage.

Tanks and fighters usually deal a mixture of physical, magical, ability, and auto-attack damage. Often with a bit of %HP, True, or armor pen/magic pen steroids thrown in the mix if they're tanky DPS (a fighter). And they probably are a fighter rather than a tank if there damage is an issue. DrMundo Shyvana Warwick Udyr Olaf Volibear Darius Nasus

Tanks = tanky CC Fighter = tanky DPS

Fighters are the tanky class that's going to be killing you.

Back to the mixed damage - this is 100% because fighters need to actually build defense to survive long enough to do their job, where other classes like assassins, mages, and marksman get enough mobility, range, or a mixture of both to survive long enough to do their respective jobs innately without needing to purchase any of it.

So fighters deal damage that's essentially impossible to counter-build, allowing them to lay down some consistent hurt throughout a game.

If Fighters could easily be counter-built with items like item 3075 or item 3102 , then you could turn a champion like Ahri into a mega-tank vs. that problematic fighter, while also allowing her to out-range and out-maneuver them. Which would be broken and make fighters pretty useless.

Anyways - you pretty much never beat tanky champions by counter-building there damage. That's how tanky champions beat everyone else - and it's akin to thinking it's hopeless to beat a Zed because he's faster or a Ziggs because he has more range.

You're better off focusing on items that play to your specific strengths or the specific weaknesses of fighters. Or countering their own defenses with things like penetrations and health shred. If you need to build defense - just gear it towards the direction the enemy team is leaning in. Otherwise attempting to counter-build a fighter's damage can often be disastrous and ineffecient unless you have pretty solid knowledge of the champion in question, the exact direction each leans towards varries pretty considerably between each pick. You can do a number on Warwick with item 3140 or Darius with item 3026 , but those are pretty specific cases and don't really apply to other fighters.

TLDR: don't counter-build the damage of tanky champions. Build towards your strengths or their weaknesses instead, or towards the weaknesses of their team at large. And try to play each champion once so you have a decent idea of what their weaknesses are.

AMYS GRAVEJul 16, 20152 votes

it depends on the champion.

There are champions who do AD damage and can be built tanky, although ~~they~~ some of these are more accurately described as bruisers they are often referred to as tanks : Garen Irelia JarvanIV Jax LeeSin Nocturne Olaf Pantheon Poppy RekSai Renekton Rengar Sion Trundle Udyr Volibear MonkeyKing XinZhao

Champions who do Magic damage and can be built tanks : Amumu Blitzcrank Braum Chogath Gragas Leona Lissandra Lulu Malphite Maokai Nautilus Nunu Rumble Ryze Sejuani Shen Shyvana Singed Vladimir Warwick Zac

Some of these cross the line though and do mixed damage so it is most important to look at the build. If the enemy is building some AP they will do more magic damage, if they are building some AD then physical. As an example Shyvana can be built either way so you'll have to keep an eye out for what they build as the game progresses. There are also champions with a true damage component like irelia so health stacking can help in those cases.

In general you should probably only want to counterbuild them a little if you are laning against them or not at all unless they are quite fed and are starting to build more than one or two damage items because they can transition from a tank to a damage dealer through their build.

EDIT: word choice for clarity.

Critmaster GarenJul 16, 20151 votes

{quoted}

it depends on the champion.

There are champions who do AD damage and can be built tanky, although they are more accurately described as bruisers they are often referred to as tanks :

Champions who do Magic damage and can be built tanks :

Some of these cross the line though and do mixed damage so it is most important to look at the build. If the enemy is building some AP they will do more magic damage, if they are building some AD then physical. As an example Shyvana can be built either way so you'll have to keep an eye out for what they build as the game progresses. There are also champions with a true damage component like irelia so health stacking can help in those cases.

In general you should probably only want to counterbuild them a little if you are laning against them or not at all unless they are quite fed and are starting to build more than one or two damage items because they can transition from a tank to a damage dealer through their build.

since his rework, sion has definitely a tank kit.

long range engage, massive defensive scaling, and cc/disruption. j4 could fit the bill aswell. if im not mistaken, he was originally intended as a tank. but he can go bruiser just fine. the rest looks pretty accurate.

AMYS GRAVEJul 16, 20151 votes

I Absolutely agree. BTW the list was not meant to be all encompassing either, as classifications have proven to be at least somewhat subjective.

LordGeovanniJul 17, 20151 votes

Contrary to what many people like to complain about tanks are not a high damage class they have very low damage in most cases but they have good survival kits along with CC (crowd control slows stuns etc) on most of them they usually do more damage over time due to the fact that their armor and Magic resist and health build allow them to survive and take enough damage to do over time meaning you dont want to stay in prolonged fights against a tank and you dont want to target them in team fights though trying to go through them in most cases isnt smart either. penetration is more efficient than it should be against then and other forms of sustain like life steal or spell vamp