I want a tank alt - is bear fun?

[Rioo]

Bear has always been a bit underwhelming, for different reasons every expansion. I've always stayed though since I play feral most of the time and it's easy to keep the bear geared then as well. In TBC, WotLK and especially Cataclysm our niche of being able to switch between cat and bear during a fight made the spec really fun if you had a raid team that took advantage of it, but since MoP, the split between cat and bear and the introduction of active mitigation, I really see no reason to roll a new bear if all you plan to do is tank with it.

Honestly, the split between feral and guardian left us with two half specs and Blizzard have not made them whole yet. You're gonna be stuck with a boring rotation with fewer utility spells than all other tanks. You'll also risk going underpowered for months since Blizzard doesn't really have a clue about the spec and the so called experts in the community they listen to are yes-saying weekend raiders.

[Dreyen]

Compared to MoP I do not find bears fun at all anymore. 6.2 will make them much more powerful but I don't think it will make them fun again.

Because their mitigation is RNG it doesn't feel like anything you do matters. Frequently you don't use Savage Defense and take little or no damage or you can use Savage Defense and still get trucked. Not a very satisfying experience.

TBH, i dont feel bear is that RNG, and with 25% physical DR on savage defense all RNG is gone... you still have frenzied regen, cenarion ward, and mostly reliable doc healing touches that are far from RNG, and you can feel their power very well when you use them.

[nightfalls]

I like to think of bears as the 'Onion tank', especially after 6.2. You can't really go wrong.

Off topic, but something tells me that Black Hand mace is going to win over that onion (and all layers of it) in a heartbeat.

[Deleted]

Off topic, but something tells me that Black Hand mace is going to win over that onion (and all layers of it) in a heartbeat.

Put your faith in the dodge!

[Deleted]

bear is fun!!!

[teddabear]

TBH, i dont feel bear is that RNG, and with 25% physical DR on savage defense all RNG is gone... you still have frenzied regen, cenarion ward, and mostly reliable doc healing touches that are far from RNG, and you can feel their power very well when you use them.

It will be far less RNG in 6.2.

And it only took Blizzard half the expansion to fix it.

[exochaft]

It will be far less RNG in 6.2.

And it only took Blizzard half the expansion to fix it.

In light of how Blizz has departed heavily from their tank damage goals in the WoD beta (especially in mythic content), the 6.2 changes will be immensely helpful. I don't fancy melee hits being close to half my base HP, especially when having SD up doesn't dodge them. I'm glad I have the gear itemization I want and tons of sockets. Also, the Displacer Beast change is addictive, especially when you don't have to debate whether you'll hurt yourself in the long run before using the ability.

On a side note, I sort of laughed when looking at pre-6.0 SoO logs for heroic Garrosh, only to notice that the average melee damage is eerily similar to mythic Blackhand.