Why is everyone seemingly allergic to playing a tank top or jungle?

Melledoneus·Nov 30, 2016·42 votes·5,331 views

Seriously, the times I lose top or jg in Blind Pick the top is mostly Riven or Yasuo , and the jungler is almost always Lee Sin.

It's disheartening as a tank main to see so little value placed in picking a tank. I may be Bronze, but these are plats and Diamonds in Normals picking full squishy damage comps with no regard for a proper durable front line.

Is it just my elo, or is this something that's happening more than it should?

EDIT: For those of you downvoting, instead of blindly doing that, why don't you tell me why you are downvoting?

123 Comments

AceBlackNov 30, 201617 votes

Mostly because of things like this.

MasterYi :Hey, can u pick a tank top? Darius :Omg that's not a tank that's a bruiser. Darius : Then u pick a tank : I'm reporting you.

TBakesDec 1, 20162 votes

: I'm reporting you.

Lol, this is so real it hurts.

OurLestradeNov 30, 201616 votes

People just want damage and edginess. A nuisance really since I have to go tank every game and be the front and back line at the same time because I have literally no other choice :P

RalanrNov 30, 201610 votes

Normally it doesn't bother me because I like playing tanks. But it gets very frustrating when I want to learn bruisers or assassins.

I keep running into games where no one on either side has engage and it is very tilting.

OurLestradeNov 30, 20165 votes

I have so little experience with damage champions it's actually a litte bit ridiculous, what with the whole support-fill main thing meaning 90% of the time I'm a tank xD

YumaS2AstralDec 1, 20162 votes

This bothers me because I actually like playing assassins, mages, and squishier fighters more than I like to play tanks. However, I still play tanks more often than I play the other aforementioned champions because my team almost never pick a tank, and if I don't do this job, nobody else will do.

That and the fact that Malphite is my safe pick of choice, he is good against the champions that I would otherwise struggle with at top lane.

Still, I like to play damage based top laners and even some unconventional, non-meta picks for top, like Khazix Lulu Fizz

RalanrDec 1, 20162 votes

I can see your frustration. Honestly I'd go insane if I had to play Malphite over and over because no one picks another tank (He's boring as fuck to me).

I'd just find tanks that get really fun. Like Sion .

Impish YordleNov 30, 201630 votes

People keep complaining about how tanks deal way too much damage but at the same time they don't want to play them because they think they don't have enough damage.[zombie-brand-mindblown]

MelledoneusDec 1, 20165 votes

"Tanks are broken."

Locks in Yasuo top

ErockandrollNov 30, 20163 votes

{quoted}

People just want damage and edginess. A nuisance really since I have to go tank every game and be the front and back line at the same time because I have literally no other choice :P

And for me, they expect me to do this with half the xp and no gold.

If your not picking the tank as the top lane or Jungler, don't complain about not having a tank. (Cause the support won't make a good tank)

NotSpecialDudeDec 1, 201613 votes

For top the reason is fairly simple. Bruisers/Marksmen have better early games then most tanks. Brusiers are as beefy as tanks but contain skills speciallized for trading rather then peeling giving them a huge advantage in the laning phase. Marksmen (or rather Jayce , Vayne , and Quinn ) have range and some form of self peel that forces any opponents to either respond in kind with another marksmen or go a champ better suited for all-ins like bruisers.

Junglers have a different problem. Tanks, to balance their immense teamfight and gank potential, often have slow clear times meaning that most Tank junglers gank towards the end of the laning phase and do most of their work during the mid or late game. Junglers with fast clears are currently dominating so that explains the absence of any tank that isn't outright op being in the jungle.

The source is really the short games. Tanks are best in the mid to late game since by then, they are the only ones that can truly survive from the heavy hitters of the enemy team while setting up their own team for success, but since most games never last too long lately, tanks have been rather superficial. As long as the game is heavy on early game dominance and heavy snowballing the only tanks that will be seen with be with op kits, or can be run support.

Hinagiku33Dec 1, 20162 votes

This. With the emphasis on early game dominance winning games, you want someone strong in the laning phase.

Also top lane is one of the only places it is even possible to play some melee champs like Fiora Riven Darius Garen . Juggernauts at least get tanky but don't have the peel or engage that a Tank has. Melee carries like the Skirmishers just have nowhere else to go unless you want an AD mid-laner that will probably get bullied in lane by the ranged AP Mages.

Fiora can't jungle with her passive. If I can't play Fiora top then when and where can I play my main???

Off Meta EvanDec 1, 201610 votes

relaying on your team in low elo = failure. i literally carried my way from bronze 2 to gold just by picking Kennen and one shotting anything in my way. tanks are pretty much the essence of putting faith into your team.

KingnewgameplusDec 1, 20169 votes

Because playing most tanks into a jayce is about as pleasant as getting on the damn train in San Andreas.

MelledoneusDec 1, 20162 votes

"All you had to do was get on the damn train, CJ!"

A Superb VillainDec 1, 20167 votes

I do not enjoy playing pure tanks because they grow reliant on their team to back them up, and I just don't trust anyone to actually follow up on a tank doing their job, whether it be peeling, initiating, or just plain soaking up damage. The closest I get to playing tanks are the likes of Illaoi RekSai Thresh with Braum and Poppy being the only exceptions.

RalanrDec 1, 20169 votes

I can understand that trust issue. This is how I deal with it: I trust everyone in my elo to engage in their bloodlust and do stupid shit to get themselves killed. I play a tank to provide a safe environment for them to sate their bloodlust.

I'm basically a barbarian warlord.

A Superb VillainDec 1, 20169 votes

Or a really gory babysitter.

RalanrDec 1, 20165 votes

As long as there is gore, it's perfectly fine.

DrahcirDec 1, 20167 votes

nothing annoys me more than someone who steals top only to play shit like yasuo.

NightOfLightNov 30, 20164 votes

I play Garen and Mordekaiser I have both damage and tankiness Just not that much utility unless you count death as a form of cc .

PROJECT KatarìnaNov 30, 20164 votes

Mostly because I dont want to have to rely on my mid and adc to do any damage and Im confident to play my champ and win lane then roam to other lanes but hey thats just me.

Only Play DariusDec 1, 20164 votes

Because fighters/juggernauts are more fun to play in lane whereas tanks don't really do anything cool until late game, and even then it's just them initiating while the other 4 follow up and take the credit for the wipe.

Supreme Senpai69Dec 1, 20164 votes

I stopped playing tank supports. The reason is because sometimes my ADC will refuse to attack the enemies, or he'll do something dumb and get caught out. I can stun the enemies and take their damage and not die because that's my role. That allows damage dealers to kill them, because that's their role.

When playing solo you can't rely on damage dealers to do their role. A lot of times they don't do damage or they die or whatever. What does that leave you with? A tank with no damage. That's why I play supports that can do damage. If my ADC is good we'll kill them faster than usual. If my ADC is bad, well, I don't need him because I deal damage as well.

Big LincolnNov 30, 20163 votes

most tanks are really boring and non-interactive

and it's normals so who cares about comp

5000000000000000Nov 30, 20164 votes

Which tanks are non-interactive? Given that's they're frontline locking down enemies and/or peeling for your backline, pretty much every single tank is interactive. I guess engage tanks with long CD has nothing to do after their CDs are blown, but then isn't engaging with all your abilities interactive anyway?

EndlessSorcererNov 30, 20163 votes

If I'm not playing a tank or fighter, we just don't have one most games.

Thankfully, I generally prefer playing them anyways.

SpoofghoulDec 1, 20163 votes

To sum it up

Crappy Matchmaking Early game focus Snowball heavy Extreme amounts of damage

What this means

Crappy Matchmaking: You get matched with clowns, tanks are reliant on team more so then any other class, a bunch of feeding clowns is the worst thign which can happen to you when playing tank it leaves you powerless to affect the outcome of a game. Or you get matched vs clowns but you can't take advantage because you are a tank

Early game focus: Riot made this game all about the early game, this ties in with the snowballing aspect too, Most tanks have a shitty early game vs bruiser or carries who have a good early game and are better suited for trading, in the jungle their clears are weak which leaves them vulnerable to invades and their laners vulnerable to ganks without you as playing tank capable of doing anything about it. So in short, you start the game at a heavy disadvantage yay!

Snowball heavy: Because riot made this game so very snowbally, having a great early game is important, which i pointed out in my previous point. but what is worse, tanks snowball poorly, so even if you can get past the shitty early game successfully it still wont have a major impact vs say an ADC or Mage snowballing. You wont get much better at taking objectives or farm any quicker either compared to those classes to further amplify your snowballing. SO even if you do everything right you can't carry thus are still reliant on your team, which ties to point one, if they are clowns youre still fucked, if the enemy is clowns then you being fed still wont matter much anyway.

Extreme amounts of damage: Since the end of season 5 tank items have been nerfed as have tank masteries, you now scale more poorly then ever. In contrast damage skyrocketed, with ADC as a class being reverse sejuani'd by removing ad from items then giving them more base ad, then buffing the items again, as well as gaining a ton of crit, and a crit runaans(fucking bullshit whoever thought that was a great idea should kys) and gaining more damage from masteries then before, leaving some adc end builds with quadruple the teamfight damage they used to bring, even mage damage went up due to masteries. So tanks never really get to fullfill any sort of endgame fantasy anymore, they will never reach raidboss status, in fact they drop off extremely hard during lategame, leaving them only with some power in the midgame for which they first must overcome their weak early game. And even then they are still team reliant so even at their only time to shine, midgame, they are mediocre at best.

PapaGreg21Dec 1, 20163 votes

Nobody wants to play a tank top lane because the enemy will just pick one of 20 ranged harass champs against you and make the game miserable. Plus, doran's shield stinks.

MetalGearTeemuDec 1, 20162 votes

because as long as vayne exists in her current state they're not tanking shit.

DolasaurNov 30, 20161 votes

It's disheartening as a tank main to see so little value placed in picking a tank.

I dunno. I think changing your mindset might be easier than changing the world. Paraphrase of a Rioter a couple months ago:

"52% win rate isn't an indicator that Amumu is out of line. His team is guaranteed to have at least one tank, making his team comp statistically better than average."

It's the same reason few people enjoy playing support, or playing a healer in an MMO, like OurLestrade said.

MelledoneusNov 30, 20161 votes

So how is the fact that nobody is picking tanks besides as supports indicative at all that tanks are liked enough to be played?

DolasaurNov 30, 20163 votes

That's what I meant about changing your attitude. It's not that other people like them (because most people don't, you're absolutely right). I meant change from "I wish other people valued them" to "I get to feel smug/superior because I realize how valuable they are and how much they help my team."

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

lee sin is a tanky jungler

furthermore, all the current broken junglers like hecarim and zac are tanks too

RalanrDec 1, 20166 votes

Hecarim isn't a tank. Zac is.

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Hecarim isn't a tank. Zac is.

he is? his common build is item 1413 item 3009 item 3078 item 3742 item 3065 item 3026 which is very tanky and his w is a strong tanky steroid

RalanrDec 1, 20165 votes

Except he's a damage threat, not a utility threat. item 3078 pretty much makes it your standard bruiser build.

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Except he's a damage threat, not a utility threat. pretty much makes it your standard bruiser build.

he also has strong cc and easily procs colossus

it's currently the reign of colossus junglers i.e. tanky junglers

ScoroctDec 1, 20162 votes

great so that is called a diver :p

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

{quoted}

great so that is called a diver :p

how about amumu or shen, they dive too you know

amumu also deals a ton of damage

MelledoneusDec 1, 20165 votes

Shen is a warden, because his offensive engage is subpar at best.

Amumu is a Vanguard, he engages for the team, he doesn't jump on one target and obliterate them as a consistent damage threat unless he's AP.

RalanrDec 1, 20164 votes

Tanky==Tank.

ZT XperimentorDec 1, 20161 votes

Building tanky doesn't make him a tank; the it's the kit that does, which his doesn't.

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=ZT Xperimentor,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=fcrunXbk,comment-id=001a000000000002,timestamp=2016-12-01T16:06:58.973+0000)

Building tanky doesn't make him a tank; the it's the kit that does, which his doesn't.

and what exactly in his kit doesn't make him a tank? his w is a tanky steroid. his e and r are hard cc

he is actually pretty alike to amumu having the same style of engagement and aoe damage with aoe cc

i dunno why you buy that retarded riot's champion classification instead of thinking yourself

ZT XperimentorDec 1, 20162 votes

Significant or spam-able crowd control, survivability mechanics, and the capacity to save teammates.

I'd chalk hecarim up as a bruiser like jax; sure he can use his ultimate as engage that can change a teamfight, but most people just use it to chase surviving enemies in a won fight or to flee from a loosing one. Though he can heal, it's dependant on how much damage your team can put out during that window; if your team doesn't follow up or focus then it was pointless. His charge is a brief single target displacement with a long cooldown; which means it's good for initiation on someone caught out and about nothing else, unless you're going to be one of the few to save it to try peeling with it.

Amumu's crowd control is longer lasting on both his Q and R, his other passive reduces all physical damage taken regardless of what. He doesn't need allies to be paying attention to gain durability; and since his grab is on a lower cooldown he can both initiate, peel and escape with it.

That's a pathetic attempt to insult btw.

bad arcade kittyDec 1, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=ZT Xperimentor,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=fcrunXbk,comment-id=001a00000000000200000000,timestamp=2016-12-01T16:25:29.456+0000)

Significant or spam-able crowd control, survivability mechanics, and the capacity to save teammates.

I'd chalk hecarim up as a bruiser like jax; sure he can use his ultimate as engage that can change a teamfight, but most people just use it to chase surviving enemies in a won fight or to flee from a loosing one. Though he can heal, it's dependant on how much damage your team can put out during that window; if your team doesn't follow up or focus then it was pointless. His charge is a brief single target displacement with a long cooldown; which means it's good for initiation on someone caught out and about nothing else, unless you're going to be one of the few to save it to try peeling with it.

Amumu's crowd control is longer lasting on both his Q and R, his other passive reduces all physical damage taken regardless of what. He doesn't need allies to be paying attention to gain durability; and since his grab is on a lower cooldown he can both initiate, peel and escape with it.

That's a pathetic attempt to insult btw.

now, he has an aoe fear which is also a great initiation and you don't call it a significant cc? he has his w which heals him of the percentage of the damage which everybody does to enemies in its radius and you claim he has no "survivability mechanics"

...and you compare him to jax? i just don't know what to answer to that

RalanrDec 1, 20162 votes

Jax has an AoE stun and a jump for imitation. He's also not a tank despite how tanky he builds.

The key thing with Hecarim is that he's a damage threat on top of his initiation because of his Q spam and triforce proc. Not to mention that he gets more AD the faster he moves.

Hecarim is expected to do damage.

Now could he be turned into a tank? Yeah, I could see Riot making him a Vanguard easily because IMO he steps on the toes of three groups. Juggernauts, divers, and vanguards.

But currently he's some unholy mix of diver and juggernaut. More picked for his damage than lock down potential.

LadyRenlyDec 1, 20161 votes

tanks tend to be boring. have you ever seen trundle vs poppy top lane? people want to have fun, not put themselves to sleep.

Not that I am defending them, just pointing out why people do it. I don't think I've ever met a single person who said Malphite was "fun" unless they were full AP or against a full ad team

RalanrDec 1, 20163 votes

IMO watching league is boring. I enjoy playing Poppy a lot and find her very fun.

I also find Malphite boring as fuck though.