Tanking tips

[Tart]

Hi guys Ive recently started to level a paladin for tanking towards the new expansion and I'm just looking for some tips.

First of all do you use some sort of macro or a fast technique for Righteous defence or is it just a click (or F key) to the party member? The next thing that annoys the life out of me is auto attacking. Example, im fighting 4 or more mobs and one dies, i click tab to attack the other and i just stand there doing nothing. Now is there a method to stay attacking after i tab (bearing in mind my last mob died before the tab) instead of having to mouse click it? or do you guys keep the attack button in your action bar?

Any tips to a tanking noob would be brilliant.

[Deleted]

okay, taunt macro:

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover, noharm] Righteous defense
/cast [@mouseover, harm] hand of reckoning.

this casts RD on friendlies, HoR on hostiles.

as for the autoattacking, just use a judgement on him, and autoattack starts right away.

[Tart]

Excuse my noobishness mate but what is a mouseover and how does it work?

[Soresu]

mouseover is where you hover your mouse pointer over the target, and the macro does whatever you tell it to depending on the current target of your mouse pointer.

Just about any of your tanking spells (HotR/ShoR/Judge/CR) should start your auto-attack, so just spam another ability when your current target has died and it should start attacking. Another less obvious option would be to check your interface settings - there's a checkbox in (I think the combat tab) for "stop attack on target switch" or something similar - sorry I'm at work at the moment and can't check the exact wording. You want to make sure that's unchecked anyway.

[Astray]

3 golden rules of tanking

#1: don't hesitate, it means dead bodies:
the moment you think "hm, should i may i ..." someone lost his life and the healer his mana

#2: get nerves of steel
dps will do their best to drive you crazy, dont give in
expect them to ignore orders, do stupid stuff, fail to do good stuff, pull groups and things like that

#3: learn to priorize: dead dps = okey, dead healer = not ok
If you ever have to decide between healer and dps, save the healer.
if one dps seems to like pulling groups, don't taunt, whisper the healer to let him die.
After 2 times, he will learn it.

[Tart]

So i dont need to click the mouse just basically move it over the mob/member and it will automatically taunt?

[Tart]

Thanks Astray I'll bare those in mind :-)

[Nillo]

So i dont need to click the mouse just basically move it over the mob/member and it will automatically taunt?

If your mouse is over the target all you have to do is press the hotkey for your spell - instead of first clicking the target and then pressing the hotkey of the spell.


PS: Righteous Defense also works on hostile targets since late in BC (as long as the one that has aggro of it is in range and - obviously - not yourself).

[Soresu]

You don't need to click the mouse, just activate the macro on your action bar (preferably through use of a keybinding) when your mouse is hovering over the desired target to be saved/smacked.

Keybindings are probably the easiest way to "improve" your tanking, by improve I mean make your reactions faster and therefore save more people from death, which is kinda your job as a tank. I use 1-5, Shift+1-5, and Shift+Q-R & Shift+A-F/Z-C, giving me plenty of hotkeys to assign my abilities to all within easy reach of the movement keys.

[Jtree]

You don't need to click the mouse, just activate the macro on your action bar (preferably through use of a keybinding) when your mouse is hovering over the desired target to be saved/smacked.

Keybindings are probably the easiest way to "improve" your tanking, by improve I mean make your reactions faster and therefore save more people from death, which is kinda your job as a tank. I use 1-5, Shift+1-5, and Shift+Q-R & Shift+A-F/Z-C, giving me plenty of hotkeys to assign my abilities to all within easy reach of the movement keys.

I'll second this. Keybound abilities are a lot easier to use than having to swing your mouse back and forth across the action bars. Get your key spells set in an effective manner, and you'll be able to run through your cycle without having to look at what your hand is doing, meaning you can watch what's happening. Use your mouse to turn your camera or your character, as needed.

Also, don't tab to another mob when one dies. Right click the one you want to kill next to start attacking it(it helps if you have enemy health bars showing).

[Tart]

(it helps if you have enemy health bars showing).

Good tip i'll use that thanks.

[Deleted]

As you get more used to tanking packs you'll find tabbing to the next target just before the current one dies is the best method of continuous tanking.

If DPS is close on your heals for threat then putting aside that being a problem in itself, a HoJ to stun it for the last couple of secs of life should be sufficient.

[Lucifra]

http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com

there are basic and advanced tanking guides there.

also, the differense between a good tank and a great tank is ego, know what your gear is capable off and act to that, you are the deciding factor in the speed of the run, not the dps. So don't think "oh, the healer is still looting, I'll wait 10 seconds" but think "my block will easily keep me up untill he gets his slow ass over here", to get speed I've given myself a rule in dungeons with trash which I can easily handle: if your divine plea falls off and it's not before or after a boss, you're doing something wrong.