a tank has 2 main jobs in a game. initiating and disrupting.
initiating is the simpler one, most should know what initiating is but what it is is starting a teamfight. usually through the use of cc like blitz's grab, which pulls an enemy to his team for you to jump on, or something like amumus or galios ult, which locks the enemy team up for your team to jump on them with aoe.
disrupting encompasses a large definition, where it includes keeping the enemy from attacking your carry, locking down an enemy and keeping it from attacking or escaping, and just throwing down cc like nobodies business.
malphite is an example of an initiating tank, his ultimate is a giant ATTACK THE ENEMY NOW button, yet he really has no other cc in order to fulfill the disruption role.
on the other hand, maokai is more of a disrupting tank, as his q interrupts channels, he can stop runners with his snare, and defend his team with his ult.
nautilus makes for an excelent tank all around; able to initiate teamfights with q and ult, and can disrupt the enemy with his passive, q, and e. he also does considerable enough damage through his w to make enemies want to attack him, albeit only until the shield dies.
initiating is the simpler one, most should know what initiating is but what it is is starting a teamfight. usually through the use of cc like blitz's grab, which pulls an enemy to his team for you to jump on, or something like amumus or galios ult, which locks the enemy team up for your team to jump on them with aoe.
disrupting encompasses a large definition, where it includes keeping the enemy from attacking your carry, locking down an enemy and keeping it from attacking or escaping, and just throwing down cc like nobodies business.
malphite is an example of an initiating tank, his ultimate is a giant ATTACK THE ENEMY NOW button, yet he really has no other cc in order to fulfill the disruption role.
on the other hand, maokai is more of a disrupting tank, as his q interrupts channels, he can stop runners with his snare, and defend his team with his ult.
nautilus makes for an excelent tank all around; able to initiate teamfights with q and ult, and can disrupt the enemy with his passive, q, and e. he also does considerable enough damage through his w to make enemies want to attack him, albeit only until the shield dies.
I like things that make me feel stupid. - Ken Levine
Malphite also has speed-buff steal and AS reduction, which can be considered as disruptive abilities (slow their bruiser, down the AS of the AD, has nice dmg even with full tank build)
A tank, in my opinion, is somebody that can take a lot of dmg in the face and can't be ignored in fight because of him CC or damages, making enemies focus him. You can't ignore the warwick, spamming his Q all around but he can tank the damage with his armor, MR and sustain habilities.
Some support have great initiate and CC hability but can't tank a lot : a mid/lategame support blitz or leona will annoy everyone around but can be easily destroyed by carries. Being support does not allow them to quickly have a tanky build.
However, if they die while having already throw a good hook+aoe silence/stun+aoe stun, their team will still win, the time it takes to the enemy carries to kill the support will be a time-loss of AA or spells.
Other roles' champs can have a initiating hability (ashe, kennen or GP in a way, etc)
Garen is a poor tank. He only has a silence, and without a dmg (but still tanky) build, his damage will fall a lot in mid-late game. "let's ignore that garen and destroy the 4 other guys"
Chogath with a really tanky build and a Wit's End will dish out a good amount of dmg (autoattack + E + ult) and will CC the whole enemy team. He wont be ignored "this monster annoys me so much, I'll kill him". Works with Shen too, he even has dmg scaling on HP :D
Taric is a poor tank (especially with support gold income), his W does not make him that tanky, he is more an tanky aura support with 1 CC. If taric initiates, he will die in the first 2 seconds. A shield and an armor skin dont change anything :D
A tank, in my opinion, is somebody that can take a lot of dmg in the face and can't be ignored in fight because of him CC or damages, making enemies focus him. You can't ignore the warwick, spamming his Q all around but he can tank the damage with his armor, MR and sustain habilities.
Some support have great initiate and CC hability but can't tank a lot : a mid/lategame support blitz or leona will annoy everyone around but can be easily destroyed by carries. Being support does not allow them to quickly have a tanky build.
However, if they die while having already throw a good hook+aoe silence/stun+aoe stun, their team will still win, the time it takes to the enemy carries to kill the support will be a time-loss of AA or spells.
Other roles' champs can have a initiating hability (ashe, kennen or GP in a way, etc)
Garen is a poor tank. He only has a silence, and without a dmg (but still tanky) build, his damage will fall a lot in mid-late game. "let's ignore that garen and destroy the 4 other guys"
Chogath with a really tanky build and a Wit's End will dish out a good amount of dmg (autoattack + E + ult) and will CC the whole enemy team. He wont be ignored "this monster annoys me so much, I'll kill him". Works with Shen too, he even has dmg scaling on HP :D
Taric is a poor tank (especially with support gold income), his W does not make him that tanky, he is more an tanky aura support with 1 CC. If taric initiates, he will die in the first 2 seconds. A shield and an armor skin dont change anything :D
English is not my native langage, I'm sorry about how painful to read my text are :c
For the tl;dr part:
Be the one the enemy has to/wants to attack.
By going in first, being the only one in range or
annoy the enemy: CC like stun/toss/taunt is well-fitted for the job.
Remember:
A full-fledged tank has no great dmg output and only excels in being extremly tough, so he has to interfere with the enemy's intentions otherwise.
- Open the fight.
- Make yourself the target.
- Save the ***es of your mates.
- Profit.
Be the one the enemy has to/wants to attack.
By going in first, being the only one in range or
annoy the enemy: CC like stun/toss/taunt is well-fitted for the job.
Remember:
A full-fledged tank has no great dmg output and only excels in being extremly tough, so he has to interfere with the enemy's intentions otherwise.
- Open the fight.
- Make yourself the target.
- Save the ***es of your mates.
- Profit.
Darcurse wrote:
- Open the fight.
- Make yourself the target.
- Save the ***es of your mates.
- Profit.
This I agree with, but honestly being a tank is about generating threat and initiating combat. You need to be scary enough not to be ignored, but also tough enough to start the ****. A good tank is hard to come by and really needs to be a good combat leader. You need to be the first to act at the most opportune moment, leading your team to victory by prioritizing targets.
Threat is one of the most powerful aspects of Lol and can be used in a variety of ways. I urge you to learn how to play jungle

+Rep me if i'm useful!
IMO, as a tank, you should be the first to enter the fight and the last to leave it. It is better that you die to save an ally than it is if you let him die
+rep me and you'll get good karma, wich means you won't be reincarnated into a rock! Isn't that awesome?
JEFFY40HANDS wrote:
But yes this idea has been discussed more than Pam Anderson's tits in a plastic surgeons office.
You need to log in before commenting.
<Member>