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Do tanks still exists in LoL?

Korkalus·3/15/2015, 5:40:16 AM·20 votes·3,421 views

Hello all,

I open this discussion because I'm kind of sad about tanks in LoL.

Tanks are my most wanted role in a moba, nearly every moba I have played I always go to a tank character, but in Leage tanks feels like they can't tank at all. The only period of time you can tank something in Leage is in early game, when your base stats and skills provides you enough toughness to stand some hits without being killed.

In previous seasons of this game, tanks were really awesome, they could initiate a fight without needing to inmediatly retreat from their enemies, but nowadays even if your build, masteries and runes are done to make your defense "awesome" you probably will die with few hits from enemy carry.

So what are tanks forced to do? Well, in the current meta you are forced to build yourself as if you were a bruiser. But you are not a bruiser, so your only goal in the game is initiate and pray.

In this game, is much more cheaper to buy damage than pure tanky stats, and when you buy, there are so easy ways to kill a tank as can be the classical IF+LW combo. That's without talking about % damage to health.

Maybe this can be seen as a "cry", but I feel tanking should be about beign durable and hard to kill (I mean HARD to kill) with high utility, but without damage output. And to be honest, there are really few champions that can be classified as tanks in this game, namely: Alistar, Leona, and Rammus.

And not, I'm not listing Mundo because he is no more the ubertank he was used to be, and even the previous list in late game is kinda weak at standing damage because armor/MR penetration and % damage, Alistar is the only one who can tank in late and it's due to a overpowered ultimate skill to nowadays standars.

I've read somewhere in another discussion that if tanks were as they theoretically should be, durable as hell, they would auto counter ADCs, assasins and mages, but I do not agree. Tanks, as I mentioned before, are durable and crowd controllers, with very little damage most of time.

In the actual state of game, if you want to pick a tank, as Sejuani, Nautilus, Thresh, Braum etc... is the same as to say "let's play a durable fighter", and that's not what a tank is, in my humble opinion.

Sorry for the long post, but this is what I really think about this not so loved class. Tanks have lost their way in LoL.

TL;DR: Tanks nowadays are just durable fighters that lacks of durability after early game, unless you are ahead.

76 Comments

Kitten of Evil3/15/2015, 6:06:15 AM20 votes

You listed Alistar, Leona and Rammus. I'd also add a few: Sejuani, Amumu, Nautilus

Tanks win games. You can have a team of all squishies and assassins, but having a tank allows safer initiates and means you have a better chance of winning teamfights -- AOE CC is incredibly strong even without damage. If you're dying to a few hits from the enemy carry, you haven't been building right. You have to adapt your build to the enemy team -- cookie cutter builds don't work for tanks. Is the enemy team all AD? Thornmail, FH, and Randuins. Almost all AP? Banshee's, Aegis/Locket, Abyssal, SV. Mix and match if they have some of both.

I don't know what you're building or who you're facing that makes you feel like you get killed instantly, but I rarely feel that way. Sure, if you try to 1v1 carries, you will die. That's intentional. But if an enemy carry focuses you, you're doing your job and your carries should be focusing them. If you tank well, you will often either escape with low health or be your team's only death, traded for 3 or 4 dead enemies.

I'd take a good Sejuani or Nautilus on my team over a good bruiser any day.

ModAcademy Kayn3/15/2015, 6:08:00 AM11 votes

Sion + Cinderhulk 25% bonus health + Sion W passive = The very essence of a tank.

MrPerson103/15/2015, 6:11:13 AM7 votes

Alistar Braum Chogath Galio Hecarim Leona Maokai Malphite Nasus Nautilus Rammus Sejuani Shyvana Sion Singed Udyr Volibear Zac Amumu

Just to name a few that can take a serious beating.

Thumpin3/15/2015, 6:38:14 AM5 votes

They just literally buffed the shit out of tanks.

Plus, have you seen how people play Sion?

DragoonRuin3/15/2015, 2:06:24 PM4 votes

Honestly the biggest problem I see in the game for tanks is the Uncoordinated nature of Solo Q Play. I play Cho, Galio, and occasionally Xin as a tank. If our teams are together, and Jockey'ing for a position/engage, it's ALL up to your team to follow up with the tanks engagement, if they don't, and nobody follows up with your initiate, your tank is going to just get melted down without accomplishing anything. I see this happen alot.

As a tank, you are dependent on your team to win fights, and if they fail to follow up with you, well then congrats, you just turned it into a 4v5 in the enemy teams favor, then you get flamed and blamed for the loss.

Krinu3/15/2015, 6:32:10 AM4 votes

DrMundo

Kuroi863/15/2015, 10:22:48 AM3 votes

You don't want to list Mundo, and yet he was probably one of the strongest players on my team in my last match.

Tanks are very strong, but require a team to fight to their advantage. Meanwhile bruisers are simply more variant on what they can do. It's that simple. If you want to play a tank, play a tank, just know your strengths and help your team play to them.

Lemons223/15/2015, 9:43:26 AM3 votes

item 3153 really makes life as a tank a living hell. I was against a Vayne with that thing, and I'd just get melted in about 3-4 seconds in teamfights.

Also, Sion is probably the only tank who feels really tanky right now. I love to play him. The rest of the "tanks" start getting blown up as the game drags on and people start getting more damage. Sion is the only tank who feels tanky as hell at all stages of the game.

darkdill3/15/2015, 5:47:53 AM2 votes

Here's the problem, though: Anything that tanks can use to become tougher, fighters and bruisers can also use and abuse. That's why tanks have to be more defined by their CC capability than their toughness.

Meserion3/15/2015, 5:55:40 AM2 votes

I agree with this, the thing that made it like this is Riot reversed how Magic pen and armor pen worked. Previously it calculated first flat penetration then %-based penetration, this meant if you had some flat penetration % was weaker, and thus you only got % like item 3035 and item 3135 if the target had an excessive amount of defenses.

The changes present reversed those effects causing % to be calculated 1st resulting in penetration being much more potent that it was previously. Either by reversing the penetration stats back they way they used to be or by rebalancing tank item costs should fix the issue where tanks are not tanks, just durable fighters.

I think the reason it was changed was twofold: 1st, more noob-friendly if penetration is simple like that. 2nd, there used to be a tank meta where games could one with only tanks and Riot does not want a tank meta. Tanks unfortunately are still needed cause they are initiators often and can dive in and not die instantly.

I think riot should try something that cause become a thing in World Warcraft for tanks; it is called "active mitigation". Active Mitigation is about having defenses be reliant on a player's input rather than passive things like Armor and Magic Resist. To introduce something like this in LoL may require a faie few reworks of tank champions so they have methods of active mitigation in their kits; Also tank items could be retuned with active effects. I think I'll make a post about this idea later.

TheGrandAlliance3/15/2015, 7:01:13 AM2 votes

{quoted} Do tanks still exists in LoL?

http://na.lolesports.com/eu-lcs/2015/spring/matches/week-7/elements-vs-unicorns-love

/caseclosed

Saianna3/15/2015, 8:56:59 AM2 votes

I wanted to write similar article as you, Korkalus untill my last ARAM game For some unkown reason in most games tanks die almost as soon as they show up, yet in this last game I had Naut-tank on my side vs Maokai-tank on other..

They were truly monsters. I as Riven couldn't do almost nothing.. My job from main damage dealer changed into support/ADC bodyguard.. I really wish every game with tanks would look like what I had...

Solidair33/15/2015, 1:25:01 PM2 votes

If my recent Nautilus games are any indication, then yes, Tanks are alive and, for once, well.

femmé3/16/2015, 1:14:24 AM1 votes

the only problem a tank faces right now is that they do what they're supposed to do until a fed/decent adc gets last whisper, then they become "block one cait q and aa before you die" tanks in order to be tanks and not just bruisers with warmogs need innate tankiness in their kits like shields Sion Nautilus or some form of health regen Singed DrMundo
or a defensive steroid Alistar Garen Maokai Rammus Taric P.S. i know i missed a lot of champions but these are examples of champions with tankiness in their kits. I think tanks do fine but a big problem is that botrk and last whisper can nuke them down which is a major problem since the whole point of a tank is that while you can die, you can't get 3 shotted like squishies can.