UNDERSTANDING CHAMPION ROLES TANKS? AD? AP? SUPPORT? JUNGLE? (and more) :: League of Legends (LoL) Forum on MOBAFire

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I've decided to create this thread/guide in the hope people will read it and grasp the role their champion is best suited to play. This is not meant to shut people down who want to play Tank Teemo or other things like that. This is to help clarify the roles in which champions can play. There seems to be a lot of debate on what role a champion plays. Yes, Riot gives them a basic description in the roles they play but that does not explain what they do. The next wall of text you are about to read is in order to enhance someone's comprehension of what their role is in a team fight. Additionally it may point out what their strengths are. The basic conceptI want people to take away from this is a bit deeper understanding of why Veigar is considered an anti carry and Akali is considered an assassin, or why Amumu is a true tank and Jarvan IV an Off-Tank. Shall we begin?

TANKS- You are a damage spunge, you initiate fights and force people to focus you.
More In Depth: In my opinion tanks are split into a few different types. Disrupter/Damage Tank/Sponge Tanks.

Disrupter/CC: A tank with multiple ways of canceling opponent abilities. Blitzcrank is a prime example of this. A grab, knock up, and AoE silence. Generally speaking these are SOFT CCs, they are not always guaranteed to effect a target and require patients and timing. Another solid example is Alistar , Head Butt and Pulverize are very strong.

Damage Tanks: A damage tank is a tank with little to no natural hard CC but does exceptional damage. They are naturally durable as well. Damage tanks include Mordekaiser , Galio or Nasus . Do not confuse damage tanks with off tanks.

Sponge tanks/Damage Absorbers: These champs are extremely durable and are capable of dealing some damage. Their primary role though is to help secure kills for their team/absorb HUGE amounts of damage. Sponge Tanks include Rammus and Malphite . I would lump Maokai in here as well due to his ultimate.

Off-Tanks: These champs are somewhat durable, provide a lot to a team and are capable of dealing as much as they get. Champions like Jarvan IV , Warwick , and Irelia are prime examples of off-tanks. Capable of dealing damage and taking it, some CC, overall they complement a true tank.

AD Champions- Typically a melee fighter or ranged champion that focus on auto attacks to do their damage. They can be very effective in teamfights helping control or focus an enemy carry.

Melee AD (Fighter): Champions who use melee attacks to deal a large portion of their damage. These include Xin Zhao , Udyr , and Wukong . They do not require large amounts of farm to be effective. They are somewhat durable and provide some limited CC.

Ranged AD Carry: Champions who attack from distance. They deal large amounts of damage over short periods of time and often require protection from other champions to be effective. They are weak to mediocre early game but really shine once they hit late game. This blanket term refers to champs like Vayne , Ashe , and Corki

Melee AD Carry/Anti Carry: Very much like their fighter counterparts these champs use close quarter attacks to deal damage. However they have weak early games and need to be fed or allowed to farm to be solid late game. These types of champs include Gangplank and Tryndamere . Additionally some believe these champs are considered the AD version for anti carrys. Their high damage often low survivability suits them for the task of destroying one target then dying.

AP CHAMPS- AP champs are mages or supports who rely heavily on their Q,W,E, and R abilties to deal their damage or support their team. As typical mages they have low resistances, low health pools, but can do huge amounts of damage in short bursts or heal and support their team.

AP Nukes: Nukes are champions who can typically have one ability considered able to change the pace of a fight immideately. These champs include Annie , Kennen , and Anivia . High damage, not extremely durable, but capable of delivering devestating damage to entire teams.

AP Assassins/ Anti Carries: These champs are tailor-made to handle dominating one champ per team fight. They are strong 1v1 and can still do well in team fight situations, but their one goal is to instantly kill an opposing carry. Much like AP nukes they do large amounts of damage, however this damage is generally limited to a single target. Their damage as well typically surpasses that of AP nukes in terms of burst. Champions who fit these roles include Veigar , Kassadin , Poppy , and Akali . Veigar and Poppy are examples of anti-carries. They both have strong single target burst. Veigar is suited to CC and kill an opposing team's AP nuke. Poppy can handle AP or AD champs and kill them quickly with her 2-hit combo. Kassadin and Akali are more in line with assassins. Both have burst, but more or less are suited to getting in and getting out of a fight quickly then returning if they didn't finish the job the first time around. Both seem similar but the difference is in their abilities. Veigar's ultimate Primoridal Burst CLEARLY makes him a dominant champ against any AP champ. Poppy's ulti Diplomatic Immunity allows her to focus her target and not have to worry about being hurt by anyone except her target. A great way to seperate their targets and finish them quickly.

AP Support: champions who have a heal or a defensive capability that makes their role extend beyond a nuke. They are capable of working with multiple other champions in lane to secure kills or support their lane partner in other ways. Additionally they can support their whole team late game with heals or buffs. Some of these champs include Sona Soraka , and Taric

NUKES/SEMI-SUPPORTS: This set of champs are champs who can deal damage but have an additional support trait. These champs include Orianna wither her signature support ability being Command: Protect Lux and her Prismatic Barrier and Nidalee with her Primal Surge/Swipe.

JUNGLER- Junglers are champions who forgo the security of EXP in lane for the uncertainty of EXP in the jungle. They roam around killing jungle camps and attempting to gank their opponents. Using a jungler means that you have ~3 champions gaining 100% of the exp they can in lane. These means they have an advantage in gold, items, and level. Jungling is a risk reward playstyle and not something to be attempted without reading up on what champ to start jungling with and how. Solid junglers include Udyr , Warwick , and Xin Zhao just to name the typical choices.

Closing: I hope you enjoyed this guide/thread and my explanations. Some of you may not agree with my reasoning or believe I know what I'm talking about at all. This was not an attempt to force people to play and build a champ a certain way, it was merely meant to clear up the confusion I seem to read from thread to thread. I know way intend for people to wholly follow my explantations to a "T". How to build and how to play a champ is up to each individual. But understanding a role they fill might mean the difference between selecting Jarvan IV and Alistar for your team comp.

[quote=JEFFY40HANDS]I've decided to create this thread/guide in the hope people will read it and grasp the role their champion is best suited to play. This is not meant to shut people down who want to play Tank Teemo [icon= Teemo size=20] or other things like that. This is to help clarify the roles in which champions can play. There seems to be a lot of debate on what role a champion plays. Yes, Riot gives them a basic description in the roles they play but that does not explain what they do. The next wall of text you are about to read is in order to enhance someone's comprehension of what their role is in a team fight. Additionally it may point out what their strengths are. The basic conceptI want people to take away from this is a bit deeper understanding of why Veigar [icon= Veigar size= 20] is considered an anti carry and Akali [icon= Akali size=20] is considered an assassin, or why Amumu [icon= Amumu size=20] is a true tank and Jarvan IV [icon= Jarvan IV size=20] an Off-Tank. Shall we begin? [color=#008000]TANKS-[/color] You are a damage spunge, you initiate fights and force people to focus you. More In Depth: In my opinion tanks are split into a few different types. Disrupter/Damage Tank/Sponge Tanks. [color=#ff8000]Disrupter/CC:[/color] A tank with multiple ways of canceling opponent abilities. Blitzcrank [icon= Blitzcrank size= 20] is a prime example of this. A grab, knock up, and AoE silence. Generally speaking these are SOFT CCs, they are not always guaranteed to effect a target and require patients and timing. Another solid example is Alistar [icon= Alistar size= 20], Head Butt and Pulverize are very strong. [color=#ff8000]Damage Tanks:[/color] A damage tank is a tank with little to no natural hard CC but does exceptional damage. They are naturally durable as well. Damage tanks include Mordekaiser [icon= Mordekaiser size=20], Galio [icon= Galio size=20] or Nasus [icon= Nasus size= 20]. Do not confuse damage tanks with off tanks. [color=#ff8000]Sponge tanks/Damage Absorbers:[/color] These champs are extremely durable and are capable of dealing some damage. Their primary role though is to help secure kills for their team/absorb HUGE amounts of damage. Sponge Tanks include Rammus [icon= Rammus size= 20] and Malphite [icon= Malphite size= 20]. I would lump Maokai [icon= Maokai size= 20] in here as well due to his ultimate. [color=#ff8000]Off-Tanks:[/color] These champs are somewhat durable, provide a lot to a team and are capable of dealing as much as they get. Champions like Jarvan IV [icon= Jarvan IV size=20], Warwick [icon= Warwick size=20], and Irelia [icon= Irelia size=20] are prime examples of off-tanks. Capable of dealing damage and taking it, some CC, overall they complement a true tank. [color=#008000]AD Champions- [/color]Typically a melee fighter or ranged champion that focus on auto attacks to do their damage. They can be very effective in teamfights helping control or focus an enemy carry. [color=#ff8000]Melee AD (Fighter):[/color] Champions who use melee attacks to deal a large portion of their damage. These include Xin Zhao [icon= Xin Zhao size=20], Udyr [icon= Udyr size=20], and Wukong [icon= Wukong size=20]. They do not require large amounts of farm to be effective. They are somewhat durable and provide some limited CC. [color=#ff8000]Ranged AD Carry:[/color] Champions who attack from distance. They deal large amounts of damage over short periods of time and often require protection from other champions to be effective. They are weak to mediocre early game but really shine once they hit late game. This blanket term refers to champs like Vayne [icon= Vayne size=20], Ashe [icon= Ashe size= 20], and Corki [icon= Corki size= 20] [color=#ff8000]Melee AD Carry/Anti Carry:[/color] Very much like their fighter counterparts these champs use close quarter attacks to deal damage. However they have weak early games and need to be fed or allowed to farm to be solid late game. These types of champs include Gangplank [icon= Gangplank size= 20] and Tryndamere [icon= Tryndamere size=20]. Additionally some believe these champs are considered the AD version for anti carrys. Their high damage often low survivability suits them for the task of destroying one target then dying. [color=#008000]AP CHAMPS-[/color] AP champs are mages or supports who rely heavily on their Q,W,E, and R abilties to deal their damage or support their team. As typical mages they have low resistances, low health pools, but can do huge amounts of damage in short bursts or heal and support their team. [color=#ff8000]AP Nukes:[/color] Nukes are champions who can typically have one ability considered able to change the pace of a fight immideately. These champs include Annie [icon= Annie size=20], Kennen [icon= Kennen size=20], and Anivia [icon= Anivia size=20]. High damage, not extremely durable, but capable of delivering devestating damage to entire teams. [color=#ff8000]AP Assassins/ Anti Carries:[/color] These champs are tailor-made to handle dominating one champ per team fight. They are strong 1v1 and can still do well in team fight situations, but their one goal is to instantly kill an opposing carry. Much like AP nukes they do large amounts of damage, however this damage is generally limited to a single target. Their damage as well typically surpasses that of AP nukes in terms of burst. Champions who fit these roles include Veigar [icon= Veigar size=20], Kassadin [icon= Kassadin size=20], Poppy [icon= Poppy size=20], and Akali [icon= Akali size=20]. Veigar [icon= Veigar size=20] and Poppy [icon= Poppy size=20] are examples of anti-carries. They both have strong single target burst. Veigar is suited to CC and kill an opposing team's AP nuke. Poppy can handle AP or AD champs and kill them quickly with her 2-hit combo. Kassadin [icon= Kassadin size=20] and Akali [icon= Akali size=20] are more in line with assassins. Both have burst, but more or less are suited to getting in and getting out of a fight quickly then returning if they didn't finish the job the first time around. Both seem similar but the difference is in their abilities. Veigar's ultimate Primoridal Burst [icon= Primordial Burst size=20] CLEARLY makes him a dominant champ against any AP champ. Poppy's ulti Diplomatic Immunity [icon= Diplomatic Immunity size=20] allows her to focus her target and not have to worry about being hurt by anyone except her target. A great way to seperate their targets and finish them quickly. [color=#ff8000]AP Support:[/color] champions who have a heal or a defensive capability that makes their role extend beyond a nuke. They are capable of working with multiple other champions in lane to secure kills or support their lane partner in other ways. Additionally they can support their whole team late game with heals or buffs. Some of these champs include Sona [icon= Sona size=20] Soraka [icon= Soraka size=20], and Taric [icon= Taric size= 20] NUKES/SEMI-SUPPORTS: This set of champs are champs who can deal damage but have an additional support trait. These champs include Orianna [icon= Orianna size=20] wither her signature support ability being Command: Protect [icon= Command: Protect size=20] Lux [icon= Lux size=20] and her Prismatic Barrier [icon= Prismatic Barrier size=20] and Nidalee [icon= Nidalee size=20] with her Primal Surge/Swipe[icon= Primal Surge / Swipe size=20]. [color=#008000]JUNGLER-[/color] Junglers are champions who forgo the security of EXP in lane for the uncertainty of EXP in the jungle. They roam around killing jungle camps and attempting to gank their opponents. Using a jungler means that you have ~3 champions gaining 100% of the exp they can in lane. These means they have an advantage in gold, items, and level. Jungling is a risk reward playstyle and not something to be attempted without reading up on what champ to start jungling with and how. Solid junglers include Udyr [icon= Udyr size=20], Warwick [icon= Warwick size=20], and Xin Zhao [icon= Xin Zhao size=20] just to name the typical choices. [color=#008000]Closing:[/color] I hope you enjoyed this guide/thread and my explanations. Some of you may not agree with my reasoning or believe I know what I'm talking about at all. This was not an attempt to force people to play and build a champ a certain way, it was merely meant to clear up the confusion I seem to read from thread to thread. I know way intend for people to wholly follow my explantations to a "T". How to build and how to play a champ is up to each individual. But understanding a role they fill might mean the difference between selecting Jarvan IV [icon= Jarvan IV size=20] and Alistar [icon= Alistar size=20] for your team comp.[/quote]

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I think this would be better utilized as a guide. Would you create that as well please?

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I could try. @_@ maybe I will. Thought it would fit in here (New Player Help) but a multi champ/team guide might work too. I'm unsure if one has already been made though.

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I'll look around for one. I believe an in-depth guide to character roles would be a great addition. Especially if you get into specifics of how to play this style and that, including examples of the proper techniques.

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Well playstyle is sepearate and can be individual to each player. As well it might be too difficult to actually go into specifics about how to position, who to focus etc. But we will see what I can come up with.

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I didn't see any guides to this in "General Game Guides". And yes, it would be wrong to say that "this is your playstyle". But for new players I think any advice is better than what they come up with on their own. For instance, when you mentioned Alistar's head-butt I would also include a side not as DO NOT GIVE THE CHAMP YOU ARE HEADBUTTING A GET OUT OF GANK FREE PASS. Ie, hit over a wall of something. Basically, be able to give tips and tricks for maximum effectiveness with each playstyle while giving a few specific champ tips.

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Yeah, I might make a double team guide and then go into depth about each champion's role. That could be a bit easier. And tips and tricks could be benefical too. It would take time to put together but the end result might be nice for newbies or even more seasoned players.