How to Carry a Losing Team as a Tank

A good team in League of Legends will often have a tank that can absorb all the damage for their team and help them stay safe. However, playing a tank in solo queue can be quite difficult since you have less carry potential as your damage is low. If your team falls behind, the chances are that you’ll lose the game since you can’t do anything other than taking damage from the enemy. That is why this guide will show you how to carry a losing team as a tank.

To carry your losing team as a tank, you must build your items accordingly and ensure that you are peeling for your team. If you have a tank that has CC potential, make sure that you use it on their strong champions to disable the for the time being. 

However, all of that is easier said than done. If you want to know the detailed process of how to carry a losing team as a tank, continue reading to find out! Without further ado, let’s dive right in and take a look at how you can do that and more.

Also check out: How can support carry in a losing team?

Prioritize Your Items

Most players build their items in a set pattern without reacting to what’s going on around them. If the enemy has a few fed AP champions, you should prioritize making magic resist items instead of the usual armor ones. On the other hand, if the enemy has a fed AD champion, you’ll have to make more physical damage resist items to ensure that you are not taking additional damage.

Depending on who is fed, you can easily negate their damage by building the correct items. This will allow you to stand there and tank for a longer duration while your team deals their damage. The chances of you winning the teamfight are automatically increased if you prioritize your build correctly instead of making the usual items regardless of who is fed or what items are needed.

At the same time, you need to make Thornmail – or at least rush Bramble Vest – if the enemy has a lot of healing. It is extremely useful against champions such as Aatrox, Darius, Olaf, Kayn (red form), Yummi, or any other champion that heals a lot. Lowering their healing will benefit your team a lot since they won’t be able to sustain as long and will die quicker.

Also check out: How can an assassin carry a losing team?

Peel For Your Squishies

As a tank, it is your job to peel for your team. If your ADC is fed, you must make a decision to either be the frontline or peel for your ADC so that the enemy does not get to them. This will allow your squishy champions to deal their damage while being protected by you. On the other hand, you can also act as a frontline for your team and take damage from every champion on the enemy side.

This will stop you from peeling for one person but it can be useful since most of the enemy’s abilities will be used on you. Depending on what your team needs, you must position yourself accordingly. This might feel like a boring job but as a tank, this is something that you must absolutely do. If you are playing a tanky support, you must protect your ADC at all costs. They will not only thank you but also deal tons of damage and win you the fight.

When you are behind, this can be quite tricky as the enemy can go through you relatively easily. However, if you try your best to peel for your team, you will buy a few precious seconds that can be the difference between a victory or defeat.

Also check: Best Tanky ADCs in League of Legends

Use Your CC Wisely

Depending on which champion you are playing, you might have a few abilities that have crowd control (CC). Whether you are playing a tanky support, jungle, or top laner, you can use your CC abilities to protect your team.

While it can be quite tempting to initiate with your CC, you need to use it wisely, especially if you are behind. This will allow you to target the fed enemy champs and stun them so that they cannot do well in the teamfights. CCing them will either allow your team to kill them easily before the teamfight or it will render them useless for a few seconds. Champions like Leona, Sejuani, Ornn, Maokai, and Sion are quite good at keeping the enemy in one place while your team runs wild.

If your team is losing, you must save your CC and use it to either protect your squishy champs or use it on the fed enemy champion like Zed or Kayn. Doing so will certainly change the game in your favor and you’ll win it in no time.

Do Not Be Afraid of Dying

I know that it can be quite tempting to have a positive KDA. However, as a tank, your responsibility is to tank as much damage as possible. In some cases, you might even have to die for your team. This might sound like a bad thing but in reality, it will allow your team to deal tons of damage while the enemy wastes all of their abilities on you.

Even if you have a negative KDA at the end of the game, you will have done your part and carried your team to victory since the enemy was too busy killing you. This can take some time to get used to since it is natural to run when your HP is low. However, this doesn’t mean that you should die in every teamfight. If a few members of your team pick a random fight, do not die for them. Instead, try to tank as much as you can but then back off since you also need to be alive in order to tank in the next fight.

Also check: Hardest-To-Kill Champions in League of Legends

Stick With Your Team

As a tank, you must always stick with your team rather than splitpushing. Since you will not have a lot of damage, clearing out the waves to splitpush can become quite challenging. So, make sure that you are always with your team so that you can protect them when a teamfight eventually breaks out.

If you are not with your team, the chances are that the enemy will engage and take out all your damage dealers. At that point, you cannot do much since you do not have high damage nor the wave clear. So, always communicate with your team and tell them that you are going to another lane or going back to buy items. Ping them back or type in chat so that they are aware and they do not step ahead. This might not sound like much but it actually helps out a lot and can change the tide of the game in your favor.