Why is Garen a thing?

Yellow Diamond·4/7/2016, 3:15:58 AM·3 votes·1,185 views

I mean, yeah juggernauts were pretty outrageous when they came out but after awhile we all just accepted them, but my question is why is he so powerful still. Why can a full tank Garen do 1300 damage with only 110 ad in .7 seconds at level 11 when you're not even the villain (I understand why with his abilities but it's literally just why?) Tbh I've always hated Garen so I'm pretty biased I just want to hear some people's explanation of why Garen, or just juggernauts in general, existing is seen as okay by Riot lol or if me tilting right now is clouding my judgement haha.

13 Comments

Elite4Runner4/7/2016, 3:31:47 AM3 votes

Before the Juggernaut update top lane was really hurting for some attention. That role was one of the most boring to play and this update was intended to help improve upon that position. When I say this, I don't mean Garen specifically, but as a fairly old champion, this was a chance for Riot to give him an update. I personally really like the new Garen. He is definitely more aggressive as a front line champion than many, but that is what makes him unique, ... -ish.

Also, try to remember, when the Juggernaut update came around, there was a HUGE uproar because there was no easy way to deal with them. Since then, as you said, they have begun to be more accepted because the Marksman update provided a few answers, for example item 3036 was specifically released to target Juggernauts.

I also imagine that the Mage update, and updates to other roles to come will also have at least one factor designed to balance all of the roles across the board. However, keep in mind that a big part of what makes League of Legends "BALANCED" is the fact that there are so many champions with unique strengths and weaknesses.

Unpaladin4/7/2016, 3:30:49 AM1 votes

Despite his Spin ability making him seem like a strong AoE champion, he is actually extremely powerful at 1v1's. While this is kind of a theme of the Juggernaut rework, the thing is he's actually a very versatile juggernaut that by design can thrive in situations where he can punish bad positioning and lack of peel.

He's not used in high level play because he can easily be peeled off of carries; take a look at his E. It deals less damage when it hits multiple targets. This means that not only is he susceptible to slows (which are in almost every kit), but also literally anything that can peel in the slightest manner. Simply standing near him reduces his effectiveness. I'm convinced he's a nice champion and don't see where most of the hate for him is coming from. If you have a problem with him, just uh, pick Vayne or something. She has like two champions worth of free peel in one.

Ellphi4/7/2016, 11:27:30 AM1 votes

Because he has no real utility or gapclosers, his only threat-value as a champion is the potential to do a pretty good amount of damage if he actually touches something.

He's actually pretty garbage when you compare him to some of the more favored tanks like Naut who simultaneously have insane amounts of utility, consistent gap-closers, and also manage to do a ton of damage.

Embertine4/7/2016, 6:09:13 PM1 votes

Posted this in the wrong sub-boards mate. Should be in gameplay.

Stars Shaper4/7/2016, 6:47:57 PM1 votes

Becuase having tankish resilence plus high damage is what defines juggernauts. You should fight them with CCs.

Oksanaandjoy4/19/2016, 7:35:08 AM1 votes

I'm ok with his power, except that his Q allows him so much mobility. The juggernaut details always assert that they are powerful but only if they get close. With a little CDR he can keep that 30% mobility up pretty consistently, really shutting down the opportunity for ADC's to kite.

When an ADC and support face off against Garen he should at least pause before thinking about going in. This just isn't the case as he can essentially kite himself: pop in, chunk of some damage, pop out and heal up with his passive, jump in with his ult, kill one, then chase down the other. I've heard people say he is countered with CC, but you need a lot as he can cleanse slows with his Q too. For someone who is in the slow class, he moves around quickly.