Tank Heroes

[KrazyKarl]

Not sure if this has been asked before. I’ve heard of some heroes being referred to as “Tanks” in the alliance war, I was wondering what these are? Are they the big hitters that target multiple enemies? Or just a big hitter in general?

[Kilted]

It’s the middle hero in normal formation of D team

[Mis]

A tank is a hero in the middle of the defense. You want a tank to be as sturdy as possible, and have a special that either helps their fellows to fire/survive/fire harder or to prevent firing/hinder the enemies as much as possible.

[L33tVortex]

TANK POSITIONING

Correct positioing allows tanks and TOWs to both survive and kill. Surviving is key and is a function of two factors: (1) “What can be seen can be hit, . . .” is not just a trite phrase. (2) Your hero in the center “tank” position should be sturdy and extend your survival.

[King_Kyree77]

Tanks serve the most important role of any defense. Their role is to ensure that your other heroes survive long enough to fire. They are meant to fall, but if done with the right support, their individual sacrifice means the survival and triumph of your other heroes. Good tanks do the following:

•Hinder opponent special use
•Speed up allies
•Increase survival of allies

If you have a hero that can do all three like the original Telluria, then that’s what you should use as a tank. Think about the tanks that are predominant now.

Bera/Freya/Xnolphod do a combination of the three points I made. As far as I’m aware, those are the three most optimal tanks.

[The_Seeker]

Some useful links:

I'm unclear on tanks. Fine with snipers but unclear on tanks. Who makes a good tank and, more importantly, why?

I have good snipers but I’m still unclear on who makes a good tank. The community seems so divided on this. Right now my primary tank is Kunchen; he seems to be a pain when I face him, so I’m copying. Seriously, though, snipers as tanks? We’ve all seen it; sometimes it stings quite a lot. (The panel seems totally split on Aegir, which is a moot point since I don’t have him.) My talented 5s are Kunchen, Atomos, Mok-Arr, Leonidas, Khagan, Magni. Then I have Frida, Marjana, Lianna, Domitia f…

Who is the best tank in the game? (or best tank/flank combo)

Alright, with the debilitating nerfs on telluria she fell from the throne of the most overpowered tank and currently I don’t really see her nowhere near the top position as a tank. Who do you think is currently the best tank in the game? Or maybe what are the most devastating tank/flank combos on defense ( because sometimes just the tank is not enough ). Just to know what I should aim for. I am currently using emblemmed heimdall +20 and im dropping to platinum so I guess this guy is not enough…o…

Passive Vs Reactive Vs Proactive Vs Dual: Which tanks are the best at each role?

Tanks in this game can have very different roles, however I see and hear people argue over what types of tanks are the best and which types of tanks are the worst. In this thread I would like an in depth analysis over which heroes you all value in the tank position and tell me why you value them. Before I open up the discussion, I will define the different types of tanks that I believe this game has. Passive: This type of tank usually poses no real threat to the enemy but is usually a huge bene…

You can also look up more topics about tanks on the forum if you feel like it

[Noble_Weasel]

“Tank” and lots of other E&P jargon are discussed here:

The E&P Jargon-Pulverising Fictionary (glossary, definitions, dictionary)

Folks, the Fictionary is now seven thirteen many months old. Thanks for all the support and great ideas. Can you think of any more E&P jargon that should be included? 20 characters – the minimum length of a post is 20 characters (no problem for this behemoth). In order to bulk up a short reply, players literally add the phrase ‘20 characters’. 3*, 4*, 5* – rarity levels (Rare, Epic, Legendary) of heroes or, less often, AM or other items. A 5* hero at max ascension is an “80” (see below)…

I don’t think the post is maintained much anymore now that @JonahTheBard doesn’t seem to be around (), but you might find some helpful info there.

[BubblesUK]

I like to phrase it slightly differently, but it comes back to your basic points in some sense…

Tanks exist to punish poor attacks

Poor attacks might mean several things, for example:

• Incorrect team composition regardless of tiles available
• Correct team composition combined with a “bad board” (not enough tiles to kill the tank before it fires).

In both cases, it comes back to your three points plus a few others…

@King_Kyree77

Good tanks do the following:

•Hinder opponent special use
•Speed up allies
•Increase survival of allies

So a good tank might hinder special skill usage because your team composition is incorrect (eg: you’re up against a Taunt hero like Krampus or Ludwig… But you brought slow hit-all heroes and no dispel), it might hinder special skill usage of a correctly assembled team on a poor board (eg: classic example is you stacked yellow against Ursena and didn’t get the tiles to kill her before that reflect popped up).

The same points can be made with regards to your other two points…

Other positive tank strategies can (or have, in the past) include increasing flanks/wings potential to cause damage (whether by buff or debuff, eg: BK by buff, Kunchen by debuff).

The really key point though is that tanks are tough enough to take some damage AND have a special that makes it harder for attackers to recover once they go off.

[Guvnor]

wrote this a while back so a lot of the specific heroes have changed… But the principle still applies.

@Guvnor

Understanding the terms

Essentially when we talk positions there are three roles.

1. Tank
2. Flank
3. Wing

In each team there is 1 tank (the center hero). The two positions on ether side of the tank are flanks (cause they flank the tank) and the ones on the very edges are wings.

One thing that is the general consensus is that you put average heroes closer to the tank and fast ones further out… Reason being that the tank protects the flanks and the flanks protect the wings. When the tank is alive, the flanks & wings can only be hit by 1 column of tiles each. When the tank dies, the flanks can be hit by 2 columns each with the wing still only able to be hit by 1 column. This means that the wings will get the least “tile hitting mana generation” so need to charge quickly on their own.

Another important factor to consider is that the AI (your defence team) will fire your hereos left to right. So the left wing fires first, followed by left flank, tank, right flank then right winger.

So when choosing which heroes go where, it’s important to understand each positions role.

The Tank

The tank is the position that is most prone to tile damage with 3 of the 7 lanes hitting it. Tanks g one of two ways. Either they survive a long time or they charge really quickly and do max damage before dying.
Some examples of the “soaking” type of tank include Aegir, Kunchen, Guinevere.
Some examples of the “fast damage” type of tank is Gravemaker. Not many others fit this role.

The best tanks are the ones people fear to face. Ones which can last forever and affect/ damage the enemy teams performance. Someone like Guinevere will heal, provide a purple buff AND cut mana. Yunan will soak up tiles, do both DoA and DoT AND give a healing inhibition. Kunchen will soak tiles, heal his team and lower enemy defence for the snipers.

The Flanks

The flankers are your first of your support heroes. Again, these go one or two ways. Either the flank is a support hero (healer/ inhibitor) or they are a sniper.
A supporting flank is primarily used to keep the tank alive longer. So either they heal the tank, provide him a buff, inhibit the enemy etc… Some examples include Vivica, Ariel, Hel, Kingston etc…
A sniping flank is there to mana up quickly and deal damage to the enemy. These flanks are there slowly to kill the enemy. Some examples of sniping flanks are Magni, Kageburado, Joon, Lianna
There are some times when the flanker can do both roles. Examples include Drake Fong (blind and fast damage), Kingston (sniper and attack down), white rabbit (damage & defence down) and Frida/Evelyn (damage, debuff and elemental down).

Wingers

Like the flanks, these guys are a support role. Usually they’re fast/very fast snipers or healers/revivers.

The most effective healer/revivers are Alberich and Mother North (left wing). These guys have a chance at reviving dead team members as well as providing a healing buff to your team.

Many other people chuck in some fast snipers in the wings like Captain Kestral, Joon or Finley.

Other people throw in their damage over time/ healers. Heroes like Morgan Le Fey and Lady Locke are popular there.

[FrenziedEye]

Other features of a tank (in addition to all the good ones here):

High health and def

Takes all damage and allows other heroes to fire

Exceptional tanks: Often has a special that makes you scared to activate because it is tricky to deal with (eg taunt, def down, dodge, ststus ailments, buff allies mana etc)

I wouldnt chase tanks though because they come and go like the wind…Exhibit A: Telluria

[H.V]

@FrenziedEye

Often has a special that makes you scared to activate because it is tricky to deal with (eg taunt, def down, dodge, ststus ailments, buff allies mana etc)

taunt is nor really a very good feature for tank. It doesn’t help to survive against tile damage, if you concentrate also all SS damage on tank. Taunter is better on the flank, where is not so exposed to tile damage in the same time protecting tank from SS.
One more SS good for tanks is overheal.

[FrenziedEye]

True too, it depends on the team composition but I agree taunt is better on flank.

Taunt from a tank can still be useful to stop a snipe of a hero on the flank who is about to cast, so it really depends

[Noble_Weasel]

@FrenziedEye

I agree taunt is better on flank.

Agree in theory, but often, those taunt heroes have really high HP/def, and on short rosters, they can end up being the best tank option. I run Krampus as tank in many war defense situation because he takes a beating better than anyone else on my roster. I pair him with Brynhild on the wing to try and heal him fast and make his taunt undispellable.