Tank Beginner Help

[flyingspatula]

Hey, I played mostly unholy for legion so far until the point I was bored and quit a little over a month ago. I want to try playing again as blood but it kind of seems daunting over just being dps. The mechanics of blood is easy, so I have been looking for guides/videos/tips on how I can deal with better pulls and dungeon pace. Should I know exactly what ability every mob has since I am tanking and how hard each pack is in every dungeon before I consider pulling? Just seems like a lot to remember on top of having to be the most aware of my surroundings in combat in the group. I tanked in BC some, but that was ages ago and only raiding which was much easier than say mythic+.

Thanks

[Saltysquidoon]

Should I know exactly what ability every mob has since I am tanking and how hard each pack is in every dungeon before I consider pulling?

No, anything worth knowing about you should already know from doing the dungeon as dps.
Tanking anything outside of M10+ and a mythic raid consists of; 1. Have aggro 2. Interrupt casts 3. Use CDs if you take more damage then one or two death strikes can handle 4. Grip in shit that's not in cleave range 5. Use force choke to stun the 3-4 mobs across all dungeons that have an uninterruptible cast.

Sorry if that sounds glib but I've been my guilds back up tank for so long I cant conceptualise tanking anxiety its really not that different from dps unless you're doing gear appropriate content. Also imo every DK should have some tanking experience from running their random heroic every day for ap and runes.

[Zandrin]

Ultimately, it depends on how good of a tank you want to be. You *can* tank by just holding aggro and not dying, but there's a lot more nuance to being a good tank.

Part of it is a burden of knowledge (knowing the dungeons inside and out). There is a series of wowhead guides written by Dayani that are very detailed. Ex: http://www.wowhead.com/darkheart-thi...strategy-guide

When I decided I wanted to tank in Legion, i started by reading these and/or finding video guides.

Some of the basic things you can do to be a really good tank that a lot of bad tanks struggle with/don't pay attention to...

1) Positioning is all-important. You played unholy, so, having melee DPS experience, look at where your group has to stand to hit mobs. Make it easy for them. Give them plenty of room, and don't go around corners where you will be out of line of sight for healers and ranged DPS. Always turn packs of mobs away from the group as well even if they don't cleave. It lets your melee DPS position more safely, and if you're consistent in how you position/face packs, your group can react faster since they know how you'll move.

2) Know your rotation inside and out. As a tank you have a lot of things to pay attention to in order to do your job well...so pushing your buttons needs to be second nature. Practice until it's mechanical...it will improve your situational awareness significantly.

3) Have knowledge of the content. This is especially important for CC and interrupts. Interrupts are *extremely important* in mythic+, and you can't always rely on your group members. Ex: Do you know that Fel-Infused Furies in Vault of the Wardens can wipe the party with Unleash Fury casts? You have at least 4 tools to stop it (Mind Freeze, Death Grip, Asphyxiate, Gorefiend's Grasp, maybe racials). Or that Hatecoil Wranglers in Eye of Azshara will do huge damage and aggro more mobs with Lightning Prod? You can't interrupt it, but you can Asphyxiate or Death Grip to stop the cast. Just two examples off the top of my head of how knowledge of key abilities can be the difference between a great run and a terrible run.

4) Mark targets. This is apparently a long lost secret passed down from classic WoW tanks of legend. Have buttons bound to mark at minimum two mobs in every pack (usually skull / X markers). Most tanks don't bother with this, but having all your DPS target the same mob is important as it eliminates threats more quickly, makes it easier to control dangerous mob abilities, and is a survivability gain (incoming tank damage is decreased every time something dies). Be able to put down at least one ground marker too. Using line of sight to pull mana wyrms out of the library area in Arcway? Don't just pull and run and assume your DPS will know to use LoS. Put down a big ass red X world marker and say "Stand here for line of sight pull please". People respond well to easy visual cues.

5) Use your cooldowns wisely. A lot of beginner tanks tend to panic and use 2 or even 3 cooldowns in a dangerous situation when one will suffice. This really just comes from getting a feel for your character, and how much of a beating you can take. Don't be afraid to use kiting as a survivability tool too, especially with the 70% slow on Death and Decay talent.

Got a bit carried away there, wrapping up at work, but I hope that helps. I love tanking, and anyone who has the forethought to seek out tank knowledge instead of just going into it blind has the potential to learn and be great!

[Deleted]

^ This is some good advice. I only started properly tanking in Legion (Blood DK) but get very positive feedback from others.

I can't stress enough the importance of being able to do your rotation without keeping an eye on it. Have an addon that shows your runes and bone shield charges right up in the middle of the screen. That way you can concentrate on the important parts of tanking (interrupts, positioning, looking for adds that need aggro, patrols, not standing in fire, etc) without looking down at your action bars.

Most people expect the Tank to take the lead, for obvious reasons, and with that you are expected to know your fight and navigate your way around. Although you may know the dungeon/raid from a DPS point of view, tanking can be different as there are more tank specific spells/mechanics. Tank swapping is more important than ever, so having your taunt on your mouse is ideal. I personally have both grips, taunt, interrupt and wraith walk on my mouse.

Again, mark targets and have that on a keybind. Most DPS that I encounter have little knowledge of what should be downed first, especially if there's 3-4 different types of add in the encounter. I generally prioritise magic damage, ranged damage then melee damage adds, but this isn't always the case. Trash can really hurt in this expansion and often needs to be marked in order to keep everyone alive.

Get DBM if you haven't already, it's a god send for when you first start.

Take a look at this guide - http://www.icy-veins.com/wow/tanking-guide

[Alvito]

Run some dungeons and see how it goes. The worst that could happen is they kick you out of that 1 run. That isn't really a big deal so queue up and have some fun. As you are more comfortable with your spec and the dungeons start climbing up the difficulty ladder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtg_ricaVZQ Preach just made a video covering this topic, maybe it will help.

[Malkiah]

Again, mark targets and have that on a keybind. Most DPS that I encounter have little knowledge of what should be downed first, especially if there's 3-4 different types of add in the encounter. I generally prioritise magic damage, ranged damage then melee damage adds, but this isn't always the case. Trash can really hurt in this expansion and often needs to be marked in order to keep everyone alive.

another good option, once you're comfortable with ae aggro, is just use the skullme addon.

i find TellMeWhen to also be very helpful, you can set it to show icons for your any buffs/debuffs, useful for tracking bloodshield and making sure everything is dotted.

also be aware that a lot of tanking dungeon dependent - you don't necessarily have to know everything about everything, but it's extremely helpful to know for example that mobs in black rook hold have a frontal cone stun you can sidestep, or that facing scorpions in neth's lair away from the group reduces the amount of damage they take.