I really miss tanks

CleverCactus·3/13/2019, 9:21:06 PM·36 votes·13,504 views

I miss tanks being as popular a role as mages, or marksmen, or assassins. I miss being able to take Nautilus into the jungle, and use a cheesy Q-Max Zac in the toplane. I miss Malphite and Amumu ults being the deciding plays in games. I miss big team fights with tanks at the frontline, surviving until the end of the fight.

Tanks playrate have plummeted over the years. They feel less useful and more like niche picks, Malphite and Rammus being the most useful since they just can stack armor. The tank-rework only seemed to hurt some fun champs like Zac.

I know this sounds whiney, it's just they are my favorite champions/playstyle/role to play, and it feels like that role barely exists anymore.

41 Comments

IAmTheLego3/13/2019, 10:03:50 PM14 votes

Can't blame you.

I use to enjoy playing tanks when i wasn't in the mood to play other roles. What i miss though are tanks actually tanking and not deal damage. Not the tank meta cancer.

The match with enemy Maokai still haunts me.

ZerglingOne3/13/2019, 10:33:26 PM12 votes

I would love to see a tank's abilities scale in a non-damage fashion based on their resistances.

I think the best way to go about it would be to increase cast ranges for some abilities, some CC duration, some AoE radius, and some other effects.

Let's say...Unstoppable Force. Malphite's ultimate gains 50 range and 50 AoE radius for every 100 armor. His Q steals more movement speed, his W AoE gets bigger, his E has a stronger attack speed slow. Stuff like that.

Or, Amumu. Bandage Toss gains cast range, W gets increased radius, E...well the thing it already does with flat reduction, amp that up, and his ultimate could cast faster based on his resistances, and could become stronger and stronger cc.

0-100 total resistance: root 101-200 resistance: root and disarm (current) 201-300 resistance: stun

There is so much they could do to give ratios that aren't just damage, that would make characters so much more interesting to play. I DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHY THEY HAVEN'T EVEN TRIED THIS SHIT!

GigglesO3/13/2019, 10:55:43 PM10 votes

I miss being durable in general. Riot can “buff tanks” all they want but unless they bring back durability it just feels shitty.

Melledoneus3/14/2019, 5:07:06 PM4 votes

What Riot fails to achieve when it comes to balance is making tanks win fights not by out-damaging, but by OUTLIVING opponents.

Let me put this into an example to demonstrate my point.

Riven meets Shen in the top lane (we're talking season 5 and 6 scenarios here).

Riven has an explosive level 1-2. She tries to go aggressive, but Shen keeps his distance, losing out on a bit of XP but the wave pushes towards him. He lives until level 3, when he hits a small power spike in trading potential. While farming near his turret, Riven tries to poke him with abilities. She slips up, not realizing that she's pushed up and that the enemy jungler has flanked her and blocked off her means of escape. Shen taunts her and she dies.

5 minutes later in lane, Shen has a gold lead. He has bought himself item 3068 because he has been CSing and he is level 7, having ganked bot lane and teleporting back top just in time to save his turret. Riven has a item 3077 and is dishing out much more damage than if she had bought any other item. However, while using her combo she is about to use her 3rd Q to knock him up for the combo when Shen responds with a swift taunt, pulling his spirit sword through her and whittling her down. Riven tries to reciprocate, but she has lost her opportunity to deal damage and her cooldowns, while relatively short compared to other champions, will not come back up in time for her to be able to break through Shen's bulk.

Shen wins the trade, and Riven is forced to either flee or die, because she cannot kill Shen before he kills her with another round of empowered autos, because she has little to no bulk being a fighter and not a tank.

######(Sorry for using Shen as an example, every other tank champion I've played top against Riven has insane disruption and/or complainable amounts of damage.)

Nowadays, the game has seen hits to survivability, significant buffs to damage, and as a result tanks have become "your damage scales with tankiness or you are irrelevent." Assassins and burst mages used to be the only champions that could throw out a combo (usually when fed) and kill their squishy targets with ease. However, now that is no longer unique to the class, they just do it so fast the game has become uninteractive.

Everyone has become Rengar.

DrippyBrownHole3/14/2019, 1:34:01 PM3 votes

Tank meta was garbage. League is always garbage, it's just different-smelling garbage at different times.

Cronofuge3/14/2019, 3:32:12 PM2 votes

I honestly.... don't. I just play arams where assassins are useless and tanks+adc comps win. It's a bizarro world compared to normal league.

GhaelWinds3/14/2019, 2:02:00 AM2 votes

Tbh as a toplane main I'm sooo glad they're gone. I hate playing tanks and being forced to play maokai or having my team rage was awful. Now I can play juggernauts or skirmishers or whatever kayle is and have fun in this game. The only tank I've ever enjoyed was Sion and hes more juggernaut.

Xela Syab3/14/2019, 4:46:12 AM2 votes

Tanks are still fairly meta bot lane, Alistar, Braum, Tahm, Leona and others are still viable botlane. They could buff some tanks to have their abilities do bonus minion damage so they could jungle more effectively and waveclear as good as juggernauts without having to overcompensate them on damage.

NocturnalSheild3/14/2019, 10:26:59 AM2 votes

Play heros of the storm. The tanks and supports are 10x more powerful in that game.

With tanks requiring multiple people focusing them for 5+ seconds to kill them even in a 1v4 or 1v5

And supports can outheal entire teams if left alone.

Sole reason i plays HoTS over leauge is due to supports actually being game changers.

Serika Zero3/14/2019, 12:41:26 PM2 votes

I don't miss tanks being able to engage 1 v 5 and us being unable to kill that thing for 5+ seconds.

I don't miss team fights when teams had 2 or 3 tanks as they were more like a bull hoard running over you and there's nothing you can to but try to get out of the way, but they had gap closers and cc to ensure they take you on their horns.

No, no thx. tanks are only popular when they are overpowered. and when tanks are overpowered playing anything other than tank or adc feels kind of bad.

In this current game state tho, I can play full ad team comps and be the mid talon and succeed. I can play full ap comps and win. I can play assassins, kite mages, control mages, skirmishers, bruisers, enchanter, divers, tanks, adcs. and still enjoy some part of the game or win.

In the tank meta? You're either a tank, an ADC or cassio/anivia. Everything else sucks.

Even vayne is successful in this meta, even the new kayle has 49% win rate. and most my games last 30-40 mins.

Tank meta? No thx.

Shiroe Okazaki3/14/2019, 3:44:25 PM2 votes

I miss poppy being good. Its impossible to play her top cause all the darius players and conq. i had to quit top and run to jg to play tanks. Tanks are allowed to be good in twisted treeline though

SpaceWolf3/14/2019, 7:05:46 PM2 votes

Tank meta was the best.

The game should stick with the tank meta as default, and just build the game around that. Wet noodle fights were not just entertaining but kept the viewer glued to the screen because the fights lasted more than mere milliseconds.

General Matty3/14/2019, 12:20:26 PM1 votes

I miss being able to farm in jungle and actually earn exp.

OtakuBurrito3/20/2019, 1:52:59 PM1 votes

No more big thick boys :c

TimeToDieSuckers3/14/2019, 9:15:00 PM1 votes

Aren't they buffing like 5 tanks next patch? I found playing tanks to only be fun when I could chunk people for 75% of their health in 1 combo while being neigh invincible. Though, most players only pick tanks when they're forced to because they auto lose if they don't. Meanwhile everyone that doesn't have to play it advocate to force their teammates to pick tanks.

Crimson Mutt3/15/2019, 12:03:46 AM1 votes

me too, i miss WW2

hiyares3/15/2019, 10:36:50 AM1 votes

I am a cho main and i love tank tops but with how things are atm i cant even play mundo which is litteraly one of my favorite champs lol. the rune system and power creep of damage and the inability for tanks to even use the majority of the tank runes is whats killing them. only 1 keystone is used on tanks grasp....... and tank rune are abused by bruisers or mages. lissandra galio and have gps that go grasp. then we have the kelpto tops making it annoying as fuck or just random ass ranged tops tanks just cant deal with most of the game. tanks just cant lane for crap atm it tends to be hug all game hope they dont freeze your lane if they do go farm a jungle camp or 2...... that or try to farm and get chased down and killed if you miss 1 skill. ohh and as for the damage i think most of the tanks in damage are fine but yes there are those that even in the early just pop you out of nowhere but it has to do with being relevant. I mean atm most tanks that have no hard targeted cc if you miss the adc will probably kill you. now cut that damage in half and gl even getting out of lane vs bruisers mages or some kind of cheese crap.

Vulkus I3/15/2019, 12:47:33 PM1 votes

Tanks are alright but k

PlsBuffMyMain3/15/2019, 9:34:15 PM1 votes

And I don't, different strokes for different folks.

wolvius3/14/2019, 2:01:30 PM1 votes

What you talking about tanks are still viable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZmty-5j-s_ ######_ if you build them damage, Trinity deaths-dance ornn all the way._ Last whisper items need to be less gold efficient it's efficient against most level 18 bruisers/tanks base armor.

mack91123/15/2019, 9:38:53 PM1 votes

Tanks just need more meaningful in game options than they currently have