Help me out here. Which characters are bruisers?

PopcornBunni·Jan 26, 2018·28 votes·68,895 views

Because bruisers are doing poorly from the air given off by the boards, but I can't get a concise list for which characters fit under this category.

The term covers a wide swash of "semi-tanky fighters" which isn't very helpful, since it could range from juggernauts, to divers, to some wardens or vanguards or even skirmishers.

I get what people mean when they say "bruiser yi" or "bruiser Eve" were problems, because I get they mean those characters building half tanky and still doing ridiculous damage.

What I don't get is just the term "bruiser" as a class. Because the way I'm looking at it, as just tanky fighters, it would seem the opposite to the board's view. Top lane is being demolished by a mix of annoying poke champions and tanky juggernauts, and divers are taking the top spots in the jungle --

make up 11 of the most winning toplaners with decent playrates (above 1%), while the jungle has a similar story for other fighters.

Pantheon is also doing well top, but falls more under the annoying poke category in that role, and other toplaners like Mordekaiser and Rumble, while doing well depending on the day, aren't putting consistent numbers.

So what exactly do people mean when they say that "bruisers" aren't doing well? Because all of these are fighters that build a mix of offense and defense, or build a lot of one while their kit provides the other, all serving as well-performing tanky fighters.

72 Comments

Mysticman89Jan 26, 201828 votes

There is a reason riot tried to push for actual champion classes and subclass names instead of vague terms like 'bruiser'.

Sometimes people all think they're talking about the same thing when referring to 'bruisers', but might be thinking of different champs and then theres debates that end up "no, X isn't a bruiser, they're just a tank who happens to build a damage item" or similar not so productive things, so trying to get people on a common ground with terminology is a worthwhile endeavor.

redniwediSJan 26, 20185 votes

To add to this, champions who have been considered to be bruisers, both in the past and present, are in the Juggernaut, Skirmisher, and Diver subclasses.

Z3SleeperJan 26, 20185 votes

Skirmishers toe the line. Their builds are what defines them since alot of them have kits built around negating damage completely or having absurd dueling capabilities so tankiness isn't a necessity but still a viable option.

See: Bruiser Ekko vs AP Ekko, Bruiser Yi vs AD Yi, Bruiser Yasuo vs Crit Yasuo, etc.

Z3SleeperJan 26, 20182 votes

^ this. Bruiser is too vague of a term that defines far too many champions outside the intended "Juggernaut" and "Diver" roles.

GhaelWindsJan 26, 20184 votes

Came here to comment this same thing. That being said the most common "bruisers" are Juggernauts and Divers.

EssenceOfPooJan 26, 20181 votes

now what I don't understand is why Shyvana is not considered a diver but instead a juggernaut who has been considered without any movement speed or gap-closing ability. Meanwhile Olaf is considered a diver instead of a juggernaut (I can agree with this). Note that Olaf was previously considered a juggernaut in a previous attempt to classify champions about 2 years ago.

and then Dr. Mundo is classified as fighter, instead of tank, when his entire kit is based around HP (has HP regen boost & MR boost), and literally everyone builds tanky on him right away instead of 1 item with AD/AP then into tanky items like traditional juggernauts.

also, why is cho'gath classified as unique playstyle when he seems to me like a warden tank (this I'm not sure, so I'm not going to disagree that quickly)

also, why is quinn unique playstyle when she's more of a hybrid marksman/assassin?

if anything, jayce seems more like a unique playstyle. I know his Q is very potent and all but a huge number of circumstances involve throwing himself into the midst of battle unlike velkoz, xerath, and ziggs, who almost never shove their faces into the enemy team.

and then there's Jhin who's listed as hybrid Catcher but not Ashe?

and I don't know if I would even mildly agree with their decision to lump Ashe through Xayah into one class without subclasses because Jhin clearly plays differently than Kog'Maw or Vayne

r4ndomkillJan 27, 20181 votes

mundo might build straight tank but that doesn't make him one, he just has all of his damage built into his kit so he only needs things to keep him alive instead of giving him anymore.

DeathBurstJan 29, 20182 votes

The key point to remember is that there is no point to this classification in itself. It's just a tool to analyze and compare different champs and to group relevant champs with similar kits together. A champ being officially sub-class X just means that's how Riot see them, but it's only a starting point, not a final word.

That being said, I was rather disappointed with the last version of the classification, and I disagreed with most of the changes compared to the previous one. So when we disagree on what the starting point even is, that doesn't help discussion... Below, a few case by case comments.

For Olaf and Shyvana, the back and forth between the different versions of the classification suggests to me that the current version just needs another sub-class. Other people that would go with Olaf and Shyv in that new sub-class would be Warwick, Volibear, Trundle, Udyr, etc. I've made a suggestion about that (and some other thing) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fSghVIlb1XdodKU0ze_gY4a57qwFFZWtuVX_d3Daryg/

Mundo is very definitely a Juggernaut, this one decision is perfectly sane and sound. He only has soft, single target CC, no way to peel for an ally, and no way to lock-down an enemy team with a big engage. In other words, he lacks all the key strengths of a proper Tank. His contribution to a team is mostly his own damage and not dying. That's what a Juggernaut provides, not a Tank. (Note that if the additional sub-class I mentioned above was created, he might go there, but in the current system, there is no hesitation, he's clearly more Fighter than Tank, and he is no Diver, so he must be a Juggernaut.)

For the various Marksfolks, I'm more hesitant because I don't know those champs as well but what you've got to keep in mind is that: What do they provide to the team? Not what they look like. Sure, Quinn "looks like" an ADC. But what will a good Quinn do in a game to get her Victory? Probably NOT stay in the middle of her team, close to her Support and Tank, contrary to "real" ADCs. She won't stay on the flanks either, waiting for an opportunity to jump into the enemy backline, because despite her super high MS, she has no good, free-range mobility like a true Assassin such as Zed, Kata, etc. Instead, she will try to roam, disorganize the enemy team, and hopefully win without ever needing to team-fight. So in the end: it's true that she has elements of both Marksfolk and Assassin, but what she actually does with those elements is neither what an ADC nor what an Assassin do. Her output is clearly different, and she has a truly unique playstyle. Neither Ashe nor Jhin suprise me being or not being a Catcher, but I couldn't say which one the two most "deserve" it. Maybe Jhin, I agree, but I wouldn't be categorical. But more broadly, Riot tried to differentiate Marksfolks using "hybrid" notations, and I don't think that was a good idea, when all Marksfolks are still mostly here for their damage. Basically, Marksfolks are all here to provide damage+a little something, and the little something helps differentiate them between all Marksfolks, but it is not the main reason you pick them over, say a Mage or a Controller. And I don't think most ADC play that differently from each others. Not to the point that they need different sub-classes. Ashe and Vayne play differently, but compare them to Ziggs versus Vladimir, and they suddenly look pretty similar.

Jayce, on the other hand, would be a good use of the hybrid notation, IMHO. What's the ouput he provides? Poke at the start of a fight, then he swap form and act as a Diver with weak CC. But he really plays like an Artillery at some points, and like a Diver at some others, not a uniquely different playstyle like Quinn. Jayce as a pure Artillery, though, I'm not convinced.

Cho'gath is an odd beast. I'd qualify him as an unreliable Tank with heavy damage to compensate, except that an unreliable Tank is no good Tank, and a Tank isn't interested in compensatory damage, it's not their job to deal damage. Maybe that's enough to make Cho a unique playstyle, maybe that just means he's outdated, I don't really know. But when you say he's a Warden, compare what he can do to what Poppy or Braum can do, and you'll see that he's not a good Warden.

Sona PingJan 26, 20181 votes

Which failed because obviously you can't replace one set of terms derived from the game to cover a wide variety of distinctly different characters with various abilities, playstyles and capabilities for the reason of them being vague, and replace them with another small set of terms which are used to cover a wide variety of distinctly different characters with various abilities, playstyles, and capabilities.

DeathBurstJan 29, 20181 votes

Except that even Rioters themselves are still using Bruisers everywhere in recent communication, including Meddler in his Quick Gameplay Posts. And I think that's the case because the current class/sub-class structure has a number of issues.

I've been saying for months that the current classification lacks an additional Fighter sub-class. I'm also thinking that the super-class are currently tied to thematics more than to gameplay functions, so that's another problem too. If you wanna dive deeper into that, I made a suggestion over there: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fSghVIlb1XdodKU0ze_gY4a57qwFFZWtuVX_d3Daryg Or course it's meant as a basis for discussion, it's probably not perfect yet. But I think it's a marked improvement on the current structure.

RiotRiot MapleNectarJan 27, 201828 votes

Just wanted to pop in here and commend everyone in this thread for having a really good discussion around classes/subclasses, who falls into them, and how you individually interpret the strengths/weaknesses of each champion. This is the kind of discussion I love seeing from the boards that I wouldn't expect on Reddit. +1 everyone.

Edit: To elaborate a bit - I think people that want to talk about League and get into the nitty gritty should be able to come here and have a good productive discussion on whatever topic is on their brain. This thread is a perfect example of that and I think this is where the gameplay section of the boards can/should differ from Reddit. If I wasn't a Rioter I'd want to use Reddit for my high level "news" about League, cool community things, esports, pbe updates etc. As soon as I want in depth conversation about actual gameplay I'd want this to be the place to come to. Keep it up guys!

Kei143Jan 27, 20184 votes

if only people would have the same discussion of marksman vs adcs. I also wish the esports casters would stop calling them ADCs.

NemeBroJan 27, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Maple Nectar,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=sATkz9IE,comment-id=0016,timestamp=2018-01-27T00:29:55.314+0000)

Just wanted to pop in here and commend everyone in this thread for having a really good discussion around classes/subclasses, who falls into them, and how you individually interpret the strengths/weaknesses of each champion. This is the kind of discussion I love seeing from the boards that I wouldn't expect on Reddit. +1 everyone.

Edit: To elaborate a bit - I think people that want to talk about League and get into the nitty gritty should be able to come here and have a good productive discussion on whatever topic is on their brain. This thread is a perfect example of that and I think this is where the gameplay section of the boards can/should differ from Reddit. If I wasn't a Rioter I'd want to use Reddit for my high level "news" about League, cool community things, esports, pbe updates etc. As soon as I want in depth conversation about actual gameplay I'd want this to be the place to come to. Keep it up guys!

Do you think new Swain is handsome?

Blue Moon WolfJan 26, 20186 votes

Most "bruisers" were reclassified as "Divers and Juggernauts", but all it means is a champ who is durable, less so then a tank but is also able to do good enough damage to be considered a damage dealer. Technically speaking, Its any champ that is under the fighter class, which is a class generally made up of durable melee champs.

Juggernauts have less mobility to gain access to a lot of durability, almost on par with a tank: (hybrid marksman)

Divers have more mobility but less durability and are pretty much the "kamikaze" class. (in spider form)

Any other damage dealing melee champ is generally a Skirmisher (think marksman, but melee and has situational defensive tools) or an Assassin (really squishy and deals a lot of burst damage). There are a few Skirmishers who were considered bruisers like Jax and Tryndamere , but mostly they are squishy fighters who rely on Auto Attacks and can make use of Crit and Attack speed.

Pretty much when someone brings up "Bruiser MasterYi " or something like that, its cause he builds more durable when he should be building full damage/attack speed and this durable build is outclassing his intended squishy, damage focus build.

UnboundHadesJan 26, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Blue Moon Wolf,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=sATkz9IE,comment-id=0005,timestamp=2018-01-26T07:14:06.010+0000)

Most "bruisers" were reclassified as "Divers and Juggernauts", but all it means is a champ who is durable, less so then a tank but is also able to do good enough damage to be considered a damage dealer. Technically speaking, Its any champ that is under the fighter class, which is a class generally made up of durable melee champs. (hybrid marksman) (in spider form)

Any other damage dealing melee champ is generally a Skirmisher (think marksman, but melee and has situational defensive tools) or an Assassin (really squishy and deals a lot of burst damage). There are a few Skirmishers who were considered bruisers like and , but mostly they are squishy fighters who rely on Auto Attacks and can make use of Crit and Attack speed.

Pretty much when someone brings up "Bruiser " or something like that, its cause he builds more durable when he should be building full damage/attack speed and this durable build is outclassing his intended squishy, damage focus build.

Skarner is a jugg

RalanrJan 26, 20183 votes

Nope. He’s classified as a diver now. Riot has changed his subclass twice.

Blue Moon WolfJan 26, 20182 votes

sadly he got reclassified as a Diver.

Jerry SeinfeIdJan 26, 20185 votes

I always though Bruisers were champs who look to build a mix of offensive items and defensive items. But then i was told i'm an idiot for saying Singed is a bruiser while he builds 2 ap items into tank and has pretty much no cc, you know kinda like garen does.

Overall it's just people crying their main isn't performing at the highest tier.

Personally i think riot's new class system is quite on point though i'd add most skirmishers to it (not Ekko/yas/trynd as they function much better full offense). Fighters = bruisers so it ranges from Juggernauts who build 1-2 dmg items into full tank to skirmishers like yi who build 1-2 defensive items.

Z3SleeperJan 26, 201810 votes

Singed just doesn't have a classification cuz he fulfills far too many in some aspect.

He is a Warden, Vanguard, Diver, Battle Mage, Catcher but mostly a Nuisance. Thus why he is under Unique.

Jerry SeinfeIdJan 26, 20181 votes

yes, but most ppl say he's a tank which he really isn't. personally I think Specialist is the perfect category for him because he can do fill so many roles to some extend but If i'd have to put him in one i'd say Bruiser or Battlemage but i've been told riot's definition of a battlemage is just any ap dps champion and not a tanky mage which is my definition of a battlemage.

Z3SleeperJan 26, 20182 votes

Yeah it's best not to even bother delving too deep into this discussion.

I think we can all just agree he's a specialist.

INoble KnightIJan 26, 20181 votes

I've heard some Singed mains (Like minishcap1) call Singed an AP Bruiser as just the catch all term. Cause like other bruisers he builds like 2 damage items then pure tank. But yeah he's a rather odd one to classify.

Jerry SeinfeIdJan 26, 20181 votes

Yeah, when i first started playing singed i followed inverted Composers guide which used roa, rylai, lyandry so to me he's always been an AP bruiser. Now i barely build roa anymore but Yeah just AP singed never really made sense to me as i still largely build defensive. Or atleast half. I always just said AP bruiser. I've had some very long discussions with my friend about it.

INoble KnightIJan 26, 20181 votes

Yeah I used to follow some off his stuff as well (never built ROA though except for ARAM).

EssenceOfPooJan 26, 20184 votes

There should be a class/subclass called nuisance. Other than singed, we can throw that freaking midget with a blowing dart in there.

HaIlMonitorJan 26, 20184 votes

If they lose lane they are bruisers, otherwise they are tanks.

Modl Ryden lJan 26, 20183 votes

Gragas Illaoi Jax Jayce Kled Olaf Renekton Trundle Udyr Diana Yorick I would classify as bruisers since much of their damage can come in bursts during the laning phase and that they're much more durable.

Aatrox Camille Fiora Gangplank Irelia LeeSin MasterYi Pantheon Riven Tryndamere XinZhao Yasuo I would classify these as fighters as they are generally more fragile (without items) than the champs I've listed above for the bruisers as they normally rely on a ability in their kit to avoid damage and counter. Much of their damage mitigation comes from pursuing and committing to their target, forcing them to to stay in combat with their opponent.

The line between Fighter/Juggernaut/Bruiser/etc. is very hazy as a handful of champs can straddle these lines easily. The ones that come to mind are Shyvana Gnar RekSai Since they can have more offensive or defensive capabilities under certain conditions

TehNACHOJan 26, 20182 votes

{quoted}

So what exactly do people mean when they say that "bruisers" aren't doing well? Because all of these are fighters that build a mix of offense and defense, or build a lot of one while their kit provides the other, all serving as well-performing tanky fighters.

Just going to grab this and run on a tangent.

I like to use lolalytics' tier list and basically, depending on where you draw the line on "Bruiser", Bruisers seem to be dominating, say, Top lane. Bruisers doing at least above average: Gangplank Kled Rengar Fiora Urgot Yorick Riven Camille Illaoi Akali Yasuo Nasus Jax Aatrox Non-Bruisers also at least above average: Vladimir Heimerdinger Sion Kayle Singed Cassiopeia Teemo Karma Karthus Swain Kennen Shen

We have more Brusiers as a whole doing at least above average, as well as these Bruisers tending to perform higher than their non-Bruiser opponents (a big bulk of the Non-Bruisers in this list are just above average, while Bruisers tend to score higher).

But you know, the Boards isn't really well known for presenting evidence with their fits of rage most of the time.

INoble KnightIJan 26, 20182 votes

Um Urgot, Nasus, Ilaoi, and Yorick are Juggernauts.

LeetriJan 26, 20181 votes

Juggernauts are a subclass of bruisers, so those champions are indeed bruisers. The only ones on that list that aren't bruisers are Riven, Yasuo and Jax. They're Skirmishers, which is a subclass of Slayers and not Fighters (which it's officially called).

INoble KnightIJan 26, 20181 votes

Bruisers as a class doesn't exist anymore. Now it's Fighters with subclass of Juggernaut and Diver. Bruiser was to broad a term.

VardenSaladJan 26, 20182 votes

Bruisers build off-tank and look to grab items that give both damage and some defensive ability or stats. A lot of them look to carry in the midgame due to higher, non-scaling, flat damage that some of those items provide before being outscaled by the range and DPS (via crit/AD/AS) of ranged AD carries.

Prototypical bruisers build items like this: Triforce - Cleaver - Titanic - Sterak's - Death's Dance - BotRK (in the past) - Maw - Frozen Mallet (in the past) - Gunblade (rarely) - Iceborn (rarely) - Warmog's - Wit's End (sadly, extremely rarely).

IMO, the most absolute, archtypical, "cannot go wrong if you call them a bruiser" champions look something like Kled, Olaf, Jax, Renekton, Irelia, and Xin. Ideally, when these champions are fighting in the midgame, their opponents aren't exploding or anything, but these champs at this point in the game should be winning DPS races due to their spells, CC, and items spec'd for damage and enough survivability to utilize that damage.

They're not gonna win teamfights in a 5v5 because they tend to excel at picking on a single target and "duelling" them down, if given the opportunity, hence when they tend to be decent splitpushers.

I'm not going to comment on game balance or the state of the class of champion or anything like that. This archetype is supposed to have a clearly designed window of power in which to force the hand of the opponent by being separate from their team (should the situation need it) putting pressure on static objectives like towers and, in turn, eliciting a response from the enemy team, lest they lose a tower or even an inhibitor.

SalsonJan 26, 20182 votes

It's the champion playstyle that's hurting, not the champs themselves.

Comet Camille and Electrocute Riven are more of lane bulies than pure 1v1 duelists they were with Fervor. PTA Aatrox and Jax have better teamfighting but weaker 1v1 than Fervor. Klepto Nasus Illaoi Gangplank gain gold faster, but ultimately get outscalled hard by Marksman.

Then you add insane Jungle pressure that's been ruining the game since S7.

Top can no longer hard carry. No really, if Junglers dominate early and Marksman dominate late, when the hell are solo laners supposed to hard carry?

DuskDaUmbreonJan 26, 20186 votes

Nasus is being outscaled by marksmen?

Damn. I wish that Nasus and the entire marksman class were told that. Or that his W that makes him incredibly difficult to kite and nearly halves their DPS was told that.

I'll give you the others. But not Nasus.

SalsonJan 26, 20181 votes

True, but I'll be honest here. I find Nasus representing Toplane an insult to everyone who plays there.

And still, he can't teamfight for shit, Twitch Jinx KogMaw output 3 times his damage while he's busy being knocked up for the 4th time.

DuskDaUmbreonJan 26, 20181 votes

Except they're outputting 150% of his damage at best, because Nasus just pressed W on them.

And Nasus's passive and E mean he gets to actually focus on the front line if he wants to, since he can just keep slamming Qs into them to keep his health up.

Besides, at that point, he's drawing attention. That's honestly all he needs to do. That way his assassin can just walk at the ADC and two-shot them.

...I'm not kidding. I've seen this exact thing happen. Someone distracts the ADC, and SA Kayn just walks at her and kills her with just W and Q.

SalsonJan 26, 20181 votes

Oh, I don't actually consider mid game/range Adc a problem. Ashe, Sivir, Lucian they all suffer exactly that, which I extremely dislike as I find them rather healthy.

Hypercarries are broken though, because they kill everything before it can actually get to them. Kayn/Zed/Fiz > dead in 3 autos while bursting through a shield Nasus/Illaoi/Darius > Slow as hell an perma-stuned since Supports can now get 45% cdr Mid range Marksman > dead to Bruisers/Assassins and even Marksman in 3 autos while trying to get into AA range

FurriesAreHotJan 26, 20182 votes

Bruisers are typically the anti-tanks you see going top, and ironically losing lane to tanks.

Off the top of my head: Aatrox, Kled, Camille, Irelia, Kayn's Rhaast form, the list goes on.

A misconception is that characters like Riven, Yasuo, and Fiora are bruisers, they are actually Skirmishers. A Skirmisher is a highly mobile damage dealer with 1 powerful defensive steroid. (Fiora Riposte, Yasuo Windwall)

deadlychuckJan 26, 20181 votes

What's funny is that their mobility alone is a considerable defensive steroid, but i guess that gets written off and why they always feel painfully overtuned in lane.

DuskDaUmbreonJan 26, 20181 votes

Because mobility itself isn't strictly defensive or offensive. It can be tilted either way based on how the ability itself works, but mobility itself is neither offensive nor defensive.

Generally, for those three, their mobility is more offensive, rather than defensive. Yasuo dashes through enemies, Fiora's Q gets a partial reset on a dash to an enemy, Riven's mobility is tied to her offensive abilities.

It's less a defensive tool, and more a way back out.

deadlychuckJan 26, 20181 votes

But the point is that basically all dashes carry some amount of defensive capabilities, which means that if riot is only balancing the champions around their defensive steroid being the extent of their defense, the actual power of the champions is greater than intended by riot.

BobaFlautistJan 26, 20181 votes

Well, let's see...bruisers are

Melee champions Aatrox Akali Alistar Amumu Blitzcrank Braum Camille Chogath Darius Diana DrMundo Ekko Evelynn Fiora

Edit 1: hit post too soon, post under construction

DMate19Jan 26, 20182 votes

A lot of those classifications are just flat out wrong. Amumu, alistar, braum, and chogath are all tanks. Alkali and Evelyn are assassins, and blitzcrank is too niche to be really be considered a bruiser.

Sire HippingtonJan 27, 20181 votes

It's a bit blury, but basically any melee that is neither an glasscannon(assasin) nor a CC-focused tank. Juggernauts and divers are clearly bruiser, skirmishers are in a gray area, if the built more tanky, they certainly can be seen as bruisers, if they go full glasscannon it wouldn#t really be a fitting term(hence why tanky builts for champs like Yi are reffered to as 'bruiser builts')

But most of the time when people reffer to bruisers, they retem to what Riot categoriced as ' Fighters'. with Juggernauts and Divers as subclasses.

I context of the 'bruisers are not doing well', there are some things to keep in mind. One of the biggest things is ELO. Bruisers historically shine in lower elos and struggle in high elos, they are usually quite straight forward to play, strong at punishing mistakes, but easy to outplay as a team if you know what you're doing. Especially in high dimond and beyond, many champs that can destroy low elos become non viable, while many champs with generally bad performance become busted. Ryze for example totally wrecks the game up there, but sucks pretty hard in lower elos. Also, player experience and playrate are immmportant when talking about winrates. Many of the current high winrate tops have a low playrate(barely above 1%) and are mostly played by diehard mains(morde for example) At the same time, many of the 'FotM' toplaners get played by not that experienced players and thus have lower winrates than you#d expect. Exeprience is a very important factor in top, many matchups are rather close and can snowball heavily, and more often than not it's about knwledge(experience) rather than raw mechanics so the difference between a OTP and FotM player is pretty massive.

Another thing is precived power and champion fantasy. Shyvana for example performs pretty well right now, but all her power comes from her absurdly hgih clearspead and good dueling, so she just gets a huge XP and gold lead over the other jungler. On equal gold/XP in mid to lategame, she doesn't look any strong at all, and her teamfigthing later on, which is supposed one of her stregths and once upon the time also was, is pretty pathetic in higher elos. Also, if played toplane, she just struggle alot. So yea, she performs well, but all that power comes from fas clears and if you can't snowball on the back of that, she does feel pretty weak, while the fantasy of the dragon lady(atleast for me) would be becomeing a lategame raidboss for teamfights(which was the case in S2/3).

And for most bruisers it's similar, they can do well early and snowballl on the back of that, buff if they hit mid/late on even terms, they feel completely usless.

TerozuJan 28, 20181 votes

Bruisers are actually called divers now. Here's a list. https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/gameplay/taking-another-look-subclasses

DeathBurstJan 29, 20181 votes

That's not really the case, though. The community (and even Rioters) uses the term "Bruiser" as something vague but much wider than only the Diver sub-class. That suggests to me the current classification doesn't fulfill its role well enough since it doesn't stick.

TerozuJan 30, 20181 votes

Yeah srry but no. Bruisers as they were called were changed to divers. The problem is noone knows what bruisers were. And now there's a bunch of confusion and any top laner not doing well balance wise is labelled a 'Bruiser'.

DeathBurstJan 30, 20181 votes

"Bruisers as they were called" means nothing. The term Bruiser was NEVER properly defined. The point of the new classification that introduced the term "Diver" was to create those precise definitions for the first time, and it actively avoided the previous terms to start on a clean slate.

And it failed, because people are still using the old vague terms instead of the new precisely defined terms.

Telephone BoothFeb 2, 20181 votes

This is why I don't get involved in balance. I haven't even heard of half these terms... warden tank? Hybrid catcher? Vanguard? Lol I can kinda guess what all these types are, but I just hadn't heard of them before.

HugmeharderMar 24, 20181 votes

Honestly speaking, non. The only good bruiser currently in the top lane is Camille because since a couple of years back there were these discussions on this forum regarding how insane they were for their burst damage especially most adc that were having problems. So for the next few patches riot kinda went overboard at such an extent to resolve this issue that the whole 'concept' of bruisers was at a verge of extinction. Most of the champs that have been listed above once used to be bruisers but currently most people play these champs as tanks now. This is because the last few months more importance has been given to tanks and 'bruisers' were the only class of champions who could leech the hell out of tanky champs with their burst damage. Thus, another reason why currently in the top lane there has been choices of choosing tanky champs over bruisers. Also bruisers are not complete tanks but are kinda hybrids on the basis of buying damage and health items but champions like Zac , Poppy Sejuani and many more are pure tanks who just don't die easily. But with the introduction of the new rune I hope that might change.