Tanks don't exist in Suikoden.

[sticky-runes]

Or many other fantasy role-playing games for that matter.

Calling someone a "tank" just because they can take lots of hits without dying should be considered an offense.

Even worse than calling somebody a cunt.

[Wolkendrache]

But not worse than calling someone a "tank-cunt"...
And "meat shield" is worse than "tank" imo.

[sticky-runes]

I've been playing RPGs since I was a kid and didn't call characters tanks before I started talking about them on gaming forums, so I ain't gonna start.
I would rather stick to calling them front line fighters, tough guys or hard motherf#ckers.

[Wolkendrache]

I’m fine with “tough guy” and “hard mf-bomb”. “Front line fighters” is good, but not in Suikoden, where fighters like Shin and Kasumi are forced into the front line. In the other thread you used “strong physical fighter”, which is a pleonasm like “old wrinkly great-grandfather”. Anyway, players like to distinguish between AT>DF, DF>AT, and equally high AT and DF fighters. So how about this terminology:
- high AT, high DF: monster, terminator
- low AT, high DF: tough guy, bodyguard
- high AT, low DF: glass cannon
- low AT, high SP: woodpecker
- high AT, low SP: time bomb
- high TECH + LUCK: russian roulette
- all stats high: orgasmatron
- all stats low: ballon, filler

[sticky-runes]

By "physical fighter" I mean characters who use little or no magic. They rely on physical strength in combat.

[Wolkendrache]

According to that, your categories would be physical fighter - magical fighter - mage. That makes sense. I'm using fighter - battle mage - mage though.
Since there's a big difference between physical fighters like Humphrey, Shin and Kasumi, what terminology would you use to distinguish them?

[sticky-runes]

Big guy, skinny guy and ninja slag.

[Sasarai10]

Don't swear about it.

We even had electric guitars in Suikoden,leather jackets and sunglasses.....or even a COMPUTER. When Meg performs her Unite attack with Gadget in S2,she uses sth that resembles a computer.

It wouldn't be weird to see a tank...no?

[sticky-runes]

And what if Suikoden does decide to have tanks in the next game? The strategy guides will be saying "deploy your tanks and have them attack this enemy" and the players will be like "Huh? What? Which tank do you mean? Do you mean the vehicles or the general with the big axe?"

In fact, that's probably what happened. The Konami team were halfway through finishing Suikoden 6 which had professor Babbage or Kamandol or some other genius inventing the world's first land based war vehicle, or else the sindar had one tucked away in a forgotten ruin somewhere, and then it turns out all the gamers were using the word "Tank" to describe all their heavily armed characters, and so the Konami guys said "oh well, f#ck it. We'll just have to discontinue the series."

[gildedtalon]

Do you guys play Call of Duty? I only ever play CoD 3 and it's so good. I just replayed it an hour ago. Tanks are not that hard to control in the game

[sticky-runes]

I've never played CoD. Does it have tanks who are knights who wield axes or swords, and have sworn loyalty to serve their country, but at some point become torn between following their leader down a destructive path or joining a rebellion to right the country's wrongs?

[gildedtalon]

No, it's a first person shooter. Everyone hates the Germans

[Piisuke]

The terminology tank has been used since the early 90s. It's to distinguish a character with high toughness and HP capable of absorbing attacks that would otherwise destroy your squishy glass cannon mage.

Humphrey is clearly a tank. The Firefly and Turtle Runes are clearly designed to be tanking runes. It's just that Suikoden has never really needed a tank, hence it becomes somewhat of an unused aspect.

[gildedtalon]

Suikoden 3 could use a tank for the strategy battles

[Wolkendrache]

Gadget is a tank in any sense: A barrel wheeling into war and can take a lot of hits.