Intro:
This is PART 4 of the complete guide to all the Tank Heroes in the game. As the “Tank” category would suggest, these characters specialize in absorbing large amounts of damage, protecting the team so that everyone continues to survive. They generally have high Tenacity growth, which helps them deal with disables and keep on going. Each of them has a place in the game, so this guide will provide insight to each Tank hero’s value.
Disclaimer: This Guide will always be under construction, either through updating information or adding more content as more new heroes are released in the game. I will be doing updates accordingly for as long as I continue to play the game.
Olaf
Overview
Strengths:
+Very high survivability
+Insufferable freeze machine
+Also causes slows
+Good synergy
+Has Tenacity
Weaknesses:
-Very low damage contribution
-Low defensive stats
-Ineffective against Disable resistance
Gameplay:
For a long time, Olaf perpetuated the freeze-heavy meta with his insane survivability and near-constant disruptions. While freeze no longer has the dominance it once had, Olaf remains ever resilient even now. Self-heal, evasion, revival, this innocent snowman has everything necessary to stay for as long as he needs to. Olaf’s ability to keep the frontline almost permanently frozen is not only his other biggest strength, it’s also his primary way of protecting his teammates. This absolutely annoying playstyle can bring things to a crawl, giving his teammates plenty of opportunities to do things more safely. Because his freeze range is quite limited, Olaf tends to be much more effective against comps with multiple frontline targets. His unique hit-and-run heal-and-freeze style is best suited for PvP, especially in Coliseum and Guild Wars. He is a decent pick for City Watch, but he is surprisingly not very good for Invasion, where many breaker quests have Disable wards and Mama Bots are completely unfazed by his freeze.
Friendhip Disks:
Amazingly, both of Olaf’s disks improve his HP, making him even more annoying to deal with. Felix’s disk gives Olaf a 25% chance to avoid any negative status effect and gain Energy every time he does so. The 25% is rather low, so this disk ends up being inconsistent most of the time. Moana’s disk on the other hand gives Olaf a boost on his damage potential by inflicting damage when freezing already frozen targets. This bonus damage also counts for anyone in Olaf’s team that can freeze too! This disk is a lot more dependable because it plays to Olaf’s best strengths.
Team Options:
Coming in as a surprise to absolutely no one, Elsa is the absolute best partner for Olaf. The two of them freezing everything in the map showcases how characters from the same franchise are meant to work together, and these two do so better than anyone else. Because Olaf is also capable of causing slows, he also works well with Finnick(Ju), who in turn also works well with Elsa. WALL-E is yet another freeze-inducing hero that Olaf works well with. Olaf particularly enjoys WALL-E’s Energy boost and his push back. Speaking of push backs, heroes that can group enemies together like Timon & Pumbaa, Rex, Violet, etc. are good teammates for him because the closer enemies are together, the more targets Olaf can freeze. Out of all of them, Timon & Pumbaa and Finnick are arguably the best options. Overall, Olaf is at his very best when backed up by teammates that take full advantage of a freeze composition.
Counters:
As slippery as he is, Olaf’s low defenses can be exploited–which is also why his main specialty is to disrupt enemies so that he doesn’t suffer too much damage. Heroes that can cause great damage while staying far from his effective range are particularly difficult for him to deal with. Heroes like Merida, Jafar(Sc), and Anger are huge threats to him. Anger, Sulley(Ra), and Mad Hatter get a special mention since they are unfazed by Olaf’s freezing which means they can freely retaliate without hindrance. Kevin is also a counter; while he cannot directly threaten Olaf with any kind of brute force, Kevin himself is immune to all Disables and can cleanse his team from being frozen. Similarly, Goofy(Mi) and Joy(An) can further mitigate Olaf’s freeze disruptions.
Oogie Boogie
Overview
Strengths:
+Rising endurance levels
+Impressive defensive stats
+Good damage potential
+Useful Friendship Disks
+Has Tenacity
Weaknesses:
-Slow attacker
-No spatial control
-No crowd control
Gameplay:
Oogie helped reinvigorate the prevalence of scare-centric teams. With his monstrous HP and remarkable defensive modifiers, Oogie fulfills the Tank role with frightening dominance. Much like other scare users, Oogie has his own unique set of mechanics to take advantage of induced scares. In his case, “Spooky Shadows” reduces damage taken from scared enemies. Further amplifying his bulk, Oogie can use “Weak with Hunger” which also makes him one of the few characters who can artificially increase his maximum HP. Both skills allow Oogie to very comfortably sponge hits on a good day. He is also highly efficient because he can reliably heal himself while also being capable of inducing scares without much trouble. Oogie embraces the role of damage sponge and his respectable durability can be put to great use in all competitive environments. He tends to struggle in later chapters of City Watch where over-leveled teams cause some of his skills to fail. While he is competent for Invasion, he is somewhat outclassed by some of team Yellow’s more nuclear members.
Unfair Play:
Oogie’s Red Skill puts even more emphasis on his defensive take on scare mechanics. He gets moderate stat boosts to his HP, Skill Power, and Armor, all of which cater to exactly the right strengths. Snake Eyes will also increase his maximum HP every time he rolls two 1’s. To add on top of that, Oogie’s presence will cause scared enemies to do 25% less damage! This substantial damage reduction works from any source of scares. This is a universal reduction too, so allies benefit from the damage nerf as long as enemies remain scared. Unfortunately, the damage reduction becomes less effective if the Skill remains under-leveled. However, the stat boosts and the improved Snake Eyes makes the investment worth while.
Friendship Disks:
Oogie’s disks are surprisingly very supportive by nature, improving his damage-soaking capabilities in different ways. Hook’s disk improves Oogie’s Armor while also providing a team-wide boost to HP and Skill Power. This disk improves Snake Eyes by increasing Oogie’s Skill Power for every use. It’s a pretty neat mechanic considering that this improves Oogie’s self-healing and damage output. Randall’s disk takes a more direct approach for impact. This disk improves Oogie’s HP while also bestowing his team with more Armor. This disk reduces the attack speed of scared enemies, which can be a huge momentum swing. The implications are quite obvious and highly effective. However, this disk is quite weak and negligible at low stars.
Team Options:
It should be obvious that Oogie is at his best when working with other scare users. Jack Skelington and Randall are some of his best options but for different reasons. Randall uses a lot more brute force and annihilates scared enemies rather effortlessly. Jack Skellington on the other hand, provides a lot more defensive utilities with his healing and more frequent scares. Mike and Sulley can also be decent choices, but they tend to have a bit of trouble maintaining earned momentum, let alone initiating it. Animal is a wonderful speed booster who can patch up Oogie’s sluggish regular attacks. Woody is also a decent alternative who can pull in enemies instead.
Counters:
While Oogie is great at soaking up damage, that’s actually the only way he can protect his team. He can be pushed back and he won’t be able to protect anyone when he is cornered. While not a direct counter, Hercules can keep up with his increasing HP and will be able put a lot of pressure with his excellent spatial control. Oogie will definitely run into trouble with Flynn Rider. His fast melee attacks have a tendency to cause Oogie to flinch and his relentless energy steal will leave Oogie unable to heal himself with Quite a Fright. Magica is also a very troublesome Control Hero to deal with. If she decides to target Oggie with Wand Zap, no amount of Tenacity will allow him to break out of it, leaving extremely vulnerable. Even without her Wand Zap, Magica’s curses vastly diminishes Oogie’s self-healing. Armor shredders like Bo Peep soften up Oogie’s defenses and will make him easier to break in addition to pushing him back with lethal force.
The Queen of Hearts
Overview
Strengths:
+Solid defensive stats
+Great spatial control
+Has coveted True damage
+Has comeback factor
+High damage potential
Weaknesses:
-Unreliable charm resistance
-Low sustainability
-Somewhat poor team protection
-Key skills are situational
Gameplay:
As with the other Wonderland heroes, the Queen of Hearts excels in wreaking havoc all over the battlefield. Her “Shuffle” is a unique White Skill that swaps the positioning of targets that are farthest apart from each other. Additionally, Shuffle will also stun these targets, setting up the chance to absolutely devastate vulnerable backline targets. She’s also very strong–sporting an impressive Basic Attack stat to pressure her enemies while occasionally using True damage to finish the job. Similar to Mr. Incredible and Merida, the Queen of Hearts also has a comeback factor that dramatically increases her strength, speed, and defenses. She is sort of like a combination of Mr. Incredible and Maui–a big physical threat who can reliably finish off weakened targets. She does offer her team a 52% chance to avoid charms, which sounds good on paper considering the popularity of charm-inducing heroes, but in practice, it’s not too reliable. The Queen of Hearts’ destructive nature is sometimes difficult to fit in the ever-strict and ever-changing Arena environment, but she makes for a great choice within Coliseum and Guild War teams. She’s also a decent pick for Invasion’s Breaker quests.
Friendship Disks:
Both of the Queen’s disks put a greater emphasis on her aggressive playstyle albeit in different ways. Alice’s disk increases the Queen’s attack speed and grants HP recovery every time she successfully KO’s a target. This disk is rather situational and somewhat unreliable. It only actives if it was specifcally the Queen that gets the KO, and does not count when an ally does the finishing blow. Rex’s disk, however, is much more dependable. The Queen will now shuffle 3 targets instead of 2, stunning even more enemies in the process. Just as importantly, this disk also increases her Skill Power, which improves the threshold of when she can use “Off With Their Head!”. The sooner she’s able to use True Damage, the better.
Team Options:
Fellow Wonderland characters, Alice and the Mad Hatter, are excellent teammates for her. All three of them are amazing at influencing the positioning of the enemy team (Alice with her stomps, Hatter with his charms, and the Queen with her Shuffle). Madness ensues as Wonderland heroes excel at perpetuating chaos in the battlefield. Not only that, Alice and Hatter provide excellent speed-control to help give the Queen of Hearts an advantage in melee combat. Of course, she does fit in a variety of team comps. She’s not really a “main” Tank, so she works well with Tanks that do a better job at protecting the team, such as Herc(Ma) and Goofy. Pairing her up with heroes who give her more Skill Power like Miguel or Meg helps her use True damage a little sooner. She of course benefits from anyone who can boost her Basic Attack as well, such as Judy(Fe) or Woody.
Counters:
Due to her naturally high Basic Attack stat, she is a high priority target for Merlin. So unless you have Timon & Pumbaa backing her up, Merlin can very quickly shut her down. Armor shredders, especially Bo Peep and Simba & Nala, are very problematic for her to deal with as well. She also generally has a tough time dealing with shields, so be mindful of Baymax and Violet. Most of the main healers can be considered as soft-counters as well because they can really mess with her ability to use True damage reliably.
Ralph
Overview
Strengths:
+Strong CC potential
+Mixed Attacker
+Good AOE specialist
+High Armor and Reality growth
Weaknesses:
-Contradictory low HP growth
-Very low damage
-Unreliable emergency healing
Gameplay:
Ralph was the original Tank, given to the player as an introductory hero. Ralph’s destructive tendencies in the movies are better reflected in his highly disruptive play style rather than his strength. He takes control of the battlefield with his very frequent stuns and occasional silence, capable of affecting multiple targets at a time. His CC don’t last very long nor do they inflict much meaningful damage. As such, Ralph tends to heavily compete with by the many, many stun-inducing heroes for a team slot. Still, he’s not a totally incompetent pick most of the time anyway. It’s true that his low stats make him a poor choice for high-level Arena, but he can be decent in Coliseum, Guild Wars, and Invasion.
Heavy Handed:
Description coming soon.
Friendship Disks:
As a stun-specialist, Ralph’s disks both improve the quality of his stuns. Jack Sparrow’s disk gives Ralph some minor healing every time he causes stuns. It also improves the potency of Ralph’s self-healing in general, making him a little more self-sufficient. Vanellope’s disk increases the stun time of Ralph’s skills. It also improves his Skill Power, allowing him to do more damage. Vanellope’s disk is a little better most of the time, although Sparrow’s disk is a little better if your team forgoes having a main healer.
Team Options:
Ralph can fit in a team that tries to perpetuate stuns. Gaston(Ca) would likely be the star team member, but working with Maleficent or Hercules(Ma) is also good for Ralph. His very low HP means he benefits greatly from heroes that give him even more defenses. Joy(Ol), Meg, Timon & Pumbaa, and Rafiki(Ja) are all good choices. Baymax and Violet are also good teammates as their shields can artificially give Ralph more temporary HP, so to speak.
Counters:
Ralph is highly vulnerable against burst damage, as it completely exploits his low HP while also cleaving through his self-heal. Of course this means Ducky & Bunny and Jafar(Sc) are serious threats. Anyone that can do great burst damage like Anger (who’s also immune to stuns), Jack Sparrow, Alice, and Merida are big problems. Mad Hatter is also a key threat because he is completely unfazed by CC and can easily turn things around on Ralph. Quorra can also very easily win the close range match up as her damage can annihilate Ralph’s tragically low HP.
More in Part 5 (CLICK HERE)
