[u]Why I Think Garen Is a Bad Choice for Ranked Gameplay[/u] [quote]Please note: This is in no way a troll or a stab at Suns. Merely my opinion. You can take it or leave it.[/quote] Garen is completely useless as a Tank and offers nothing to the team. He scales slowly and is quite ineffective when built DPS unless he has a full 5-6 item kit. Here is why: [b]Pro's[/b] -Naturally has alot of health -Naturally has alot of armor and magic resist because of his shields passive -Can absorb large amounts of damage upon shield activation -Can break CC with his spin [b]Con's[/b] -Poor initiation (Slight speed boost with a Q) -No CC -Absolutely no damage mid-late game. -Kited very easily [b]Conclusion[/b] Building Garen tank is useful only to absorb damage. And even then, the other teams have no reason to focus any sort of damage onto him at all. Judgement may hit the whole enemy team during teamfights, but the damage is extremely minimal. The only time Garen is slightly dangerous to the other team is when someone is low. Then he can proceed to ult them and steal the kill that the carries have worked so hard towards earning. This is why Garens K/D ratios are blown out of proportion. He can steal numerous kills with his ult and will die very little times due to how beefy he is. He may even still get alot of assists, but that is because he can be in the thick of fights, spinning around dealing [i]some[/i] damage (really none at all), to everyone on the enemy team, receiving him many assists. Garen should not be using his ult unless he is 1 on 1 with another champion or securing a kill. They should not be used to kill steal from the carries, as they [b]need[/b] these kills to thrive and help win the game. If the other team jumps our carries, Garen has no way to get the enemy champions off of them because he completely lacks CC. When initiating team fights (which he has difficulty doing), he has no way of slowing the enemy team or keeping them from running. He does a poor job of starting team fights, and, once they have started, he does a poor job of keeping his team safe. Ultimately, he does a great job of absorbing damage, but thats about it. He lacks all other qualities good tanks have, such as CC or initiations. Malphite, Amumu, Maokai, Nautilus, all are tanks who are overall much better and much more useful to the team. Personally, I think, that, if you're going to build Tank, Suns, that having a high K/D is nothing to be proud of. Going 9/0 or 11/2 is nothing to brag about, simply because it shows that you did not tank effectively for your team. Generally, I think that tanks should die atleast 4-5 times a game. That shows that you were willing to die and sacrifice yourself to save your carries and get your team kills. If I were to die as the tank, yet my team got 3 kills, I did my job correctly. Granted, that could also be a result of the character you're playing. You have no way to force the other team to target you because you lack CC. They can walk right by you without a second thought and jump upon one of the carries. So I suppose I understand why you die so little. I understand that you also like to have a good looking K/D. So maybe, tanking isn't for you. Tanks generally don't go Positive. If you want flashy numbers and alot of kills, you should try to play more of a DPS role. I can tank from the jungle no problem. Then again, you build him tanky because that way you're not as squishy and you can earn kills through your ult. If you were to build DPS, I'm sure you could get more kills if you played it right. Remember, this is just my opinion. Don't take it personally please. Don't be afraid to try new characters. I fear that you have become so acclimated to Garen, that everyone who is not Garen will feel foreign and unusual. I know there are characters out there that will suit you and you will like, but you just have to give them more than one chance. Don't try them once, decide you don't like them, and go back to Garen. That won't get you anywhere. Sure, you may do poorly the first few times, but thats all part of the learning experience. Don't feel bad if you have a bad game. I know you hold yourself to an extremely high standard but you gotta let that go sometimes. Also, don't be afraid of mana. Its a key component of the game, and if you're going to shut off all characters that use mana then you're really limiting your potential. Mana is really only a problem early game. With careful management of your abilities, it'll never be a problem. Well thats all I have to say. I know you probably don't care for my opinion at all, but I will still state it just in case you decide to take my advice. REMEMBER: this is only my opinion. Don't take it personally. Thanks for reading -Quick