In the realm of MOBA gaming, a fundamental principle is that tanks should possess high durability, yet they must not be invincible. To maintain this balance, game developers have created anti-tank items that deal damage based on the target's current HP.
Popular Anti-Tank Items
In games like League of Legends, the Blade of the Ruined King stands out, while Arena of Valor utilizes Fafnir's Talon. Honor of Kings features Doomsday, and Mobile Legends has the Demon Hunter Sword. The logic behind these items is straightforward: the more health an enemy has, the greater the damage inflicted. This mechanic ensures that tank heroes do not become impenetrable fortresses.
The Meta Discussion
As the meta evolves, discussions arise regarding whether these items are solely designed to counter tanks or if they compel players to completely revamp their item-building strategies. Despite their different names, these items serve a similar function. They are primarily designed for physical attackers relying on basic attacks, providing additional damage based on the enemy's current HP.
Effects on Tank Durability
In League of Legends, the Blade of the Ruined King consistently grants bonus physical damage with each basic attack, along with attributes like Attack Damage, Attack Speed, and Life Steal. Riot Games has frequently adjusted the damage percentage of this item due to its overwhelming advantage against tanks.
Similarly, in Mobile Legends, the Demon Hunter Sword features a passive ability that inflicts 8% damage based on the target's remaining health, making it an essential choice for rapid-fire heroes such as Claude, Moskov, Melissa, and Sun. The same concept applies to Doomsday in Honor of Kings and Fafnir's Talon in Arena of Valor, both designed as ultimate weapons to penetrate sturdy defenses.
Understanding Tank Weaknesses
Traditionally, a tank's resilience is measured by high HP and thick armor. However, when faced with anti-tank items, having an excessive amount of HP can become a vulnerability. For example, a tank with 12,000 HP will suffer significantly more damage from current HP-based items than a hero with 6,000 HP.
This means that simply accumulating HP items no longer guarantees safety once the opposing team secures these frontline-destroying items. It's a common misconception that the bonus damage from items like the Blade of the Ruined King or Demon Hunter Sword can easily bypass armor. In truth, this additional damage is still classified as physical damage, which decreases in effectiveness as the target's physical defense increases.
The primary reason tanks continue to fall quickly lies in the combination of various attack mechanics. Users of anti-tank items often benefit from high attack speeds, triggering the passive effects of their items multiple times in rapid succession. This issue is exacerbated by armor penetration items that diminish the target's defensive capabilities, creating the illusion that armor is ineffective.
Challenges in Balancing Gameplay
Balancing items that deal percentage-based HP damage presents a complex challenge for game designers. If the damage percentage is set too low, tank heroes become nearly impossible to defeat, prolonging match durations unnecessarily. Conversely, if the percentage is too high, these items can dominate the meta and disrupt build diversity. Riot Games, for instance, has previously reduced the damage percentage of the Blade of the Ruined King to provide more breathing room for tank users.
Moreover, the synergy of these items with high attack speeds often grants substantial advantages to heroes that excel in rapid attacks. To address these concerns, some game designers have proposed alternative ideas, such as calculating damage percentages based on HP obtained from items (bonus HP) rather than the hero's total HP. This approach punishes tanks that excessively stack HP without penalizing characters that inherently have high HP.
Another suggestion is to implement a short cooldown period, ensuring that passive damage does not activate on every hit. Ultimately, the ongoing competition between anti-tank items and frontline defenders illustrates how numerical adjustments will always influence the meta, gameplay styles, and shifts in hero roles within the competitive arena.
Source: https://www.esports.id/read/item-anti-tank-di-moba-mengapa-tank-harus-mengubah-build-untuk-bertahan-19090
