Everyone playing a tank nowadays?

[Kanadei]

I'm already trying to recruit dps with tank o/s, cos my tanks think they're irreplaceable and can turn up to raids whenever they feel like it...

Really? Our raid has 3 tanks and they all have perfect attendance.

In fact our guild has 6 tanks and they all have perfect attendance, so much so that one of them has gone DPS permanently.

I actually thought most tanks had above average attendance for the specific reason that if you aren't going to tank every night then you probably won't end up tanking at all.

[Deleted]

One of my tanks has perfect attendance. The other started out perfect, but then started turnign up 2 minutes late, then 5, then 10, then 20.... then not at all, but still thinks he can't be replaced... (btw, any reliable tanks who can show up 75% of the time and let the raid leader know when they're not available, apply at www.cultofthedoomed.net)

[Kanadei]

One of my tanks has perfect attendance. The other started out perfect, but then started turnign up 2 minutes late, then 5, then 10, then 20.... then not at all, but still thinks he can't be replaced... (btw, any reliable tanks who can show up 75% of the time and let the raid leader know when they're not available, apply at www.cultofthedoomed.net)

If my OT did that (I raid lead my group) the next time he turned up to raid it would be as a dps.

I have multiple people interested in tanking, and with the way gear works these days they are only going to be missing 3-4 pieces max. There is simply no room for unreliable people in such a key role.

[Deleted]

I've handed over raid lead, but I think that's going to be the response pretty soon, and am kinda looking forward to it.

[Kanadei]

In a world where you have a phone which can call, text, log on, facebook and basically fucking save the world - there is no excuse for not telling people who rely on you where you will be and why.

[Serenais]

Well, as a tank, I eventually learned that one of my friends was correct - do you want to tank, or do you want to raid? From a point of view of a person who tanks, tried to creat a tanking group several times and always failed... It looks like that there are almost no "free" tanks, but also that even in that state, the tank market is fully saturated - nobody wants a tank, they have those of their own.

[draganid]

this seems like a good place to say that my guild is looking for a tank now, 2/7m highmaul and 7/10h brf. our main tank is throwing a fit over how we are trying to progress in heroic brf and not mythic highmaul because it makes us a lower rank on wowprogress. PM me!

[batterytime]

Main problem with tanks is that you generally don't want to stack them up your roster, and thus you end up requiring them to have much better attendance and stability than anybody else. Usually guild tanks have been around for a while, and its rare that they quit/leave and thus require recruitment for another.

[Kanadei]

Main problem with tanks is that you generally don't want to stack them up your roster, and thus you end up requiring them to have much better attendance and stability than anybody else. Usually guild tanks have been around for a while, and its rare that they quit/leave and thus require recruitment for another.

As someone who began tanking 2 years ago, the way I got my spot was pretty simple.

1. I formed a raid group, even though we only had about 7/10
2. Raid group fell apart, I petitioned a larger guild to join as part of their team 2 (with 2 tanks at this point)
3. They took one tank to each group (lucky I know) and been raiding happily ever since

I think if you are open to tanking a secondary group, or are coming across with some people already to make that more of an option, it could be an ok way to leverage your way in. Either that or run some pugs, put up some amazing logs, and then apply as per normal.

[Viradiance]

Tanks are both rare, in that a group only needs 2 at most (3 for certain super gimmick fights), and generally very stable members of a group. Tanks don't leave guilds frequently, because it's super hard to find a guild that needs a tank. Vicious cycle, and it remains super hard to find a guild that wants a tank.

[TheLimonTree]

My guess is that the tank to rest of raid ratio is so low that there are just not many spots to fill out there.

[Anzen]

This thread makes a nice change, usually people are complaining about the lack of tanks.

OT: In organized raiding I'd imagine getting a spot as a tank would be pretty difficult.

[Serissa]

If there's tank-shortage in LFD/LFR/pugs doesn't mean there's tank-shortage in general. Many tanks just don't care for LFR/LFD (because of horrible pug community) or do it in premade/guild groups (surprise! you can queue for LFR/LFD in premade groups!).

[Tojara]

It's hard to get into raiding guilds as a tank because you only ever need two. Tanks are two things generally, both stubborn and incredibly consistent. Stubborn so far to say that they are the least likely to play DPS when needed, and consistent in raid attendance. Most guilds have long standing tanks that basically haven't gone anywhere in years, and you even see this in top guilds. Some top guilds have warriors who have been tanking with them since vanilla and are even stubborn enough to play warriors in the event the warriors aren't the optimal tank.

So while you have shortage of tanks in every other facet of the game, you don't have a shortage in organized raiding. Most guilds have established longstanding tanks that aren't going anywhere. What hurt even more is that when they changed the raiding size to a 20 man a lot of established 10 man guilds decided merging was the best idea (it usually isn't) and what did both 10 man guilds have? 2 tanks each, both with those same attitudes I listed above. 4 tanks just doesn't fly in a mythic guild and at the most you want 2 tanks that can play multiple tank specializations and a DPS who doesn't mind playing tank if needed.

Honestly I just wish Blizzard would design encounters that required 3 tanks "OFFICIALLY" from time to time. Most guilds prepare more than 2 tanks just in case, and as long as it wasn't a debuff swapping tank fight it would mix it up a bit. More than 2 tank encounters can be fun as long as it's not just mindless tank swapping, which unfortunately is the extent of half of the bosses.