Advice for a new druid tank??!

[Deleted]

Well it really depends. In heroics this specc is pure threat and migation. Raids without 4set perhaps not. And popping barkskin together with enrage really decreases any big dmg taken.

But what he could do is swap the 6 points from koj and infected wounds to resto tree with natural shape shifter, master shapeshifter and omen of clarity. But it will only increase threat. Not migation.

Using Enrage + Barkskin is shit if you don't have 4xT10 since it decreases your Armor. http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-ta...3%A8n&gn=Karma is the right spec for people without 4xT10.
Also OP said he has Threat problems, not mitigation problems. Even if he does, adding more threat problems isnt going to stand up against the mitigation increase.

Also on those 2 packs after Ick, most DPS are too retarded to listen. If we have a DK, Mage, MM Hunter or anything i ask them to Interrupt / Silence 1 of the casters (the Flame ones) so i can stack them up, they don't listen ("Interrupt / Silence Cross please so i can pull him to Skull").

[Drakkmur]

Well it really depends. In heroics this specc is pure threat and migation. Raids without 4set perhaps not. And popping barkskin together with enrage really decreases any big dmg taken.

But what he could do is swap the 6 points from koj and infected wounds to resto tree with natural shape shifter, master shapeshifter and omen of clarity. But it will only increase threat. Not migation.

This is the tanking spec I use (and referenced above)

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-t...ur&gn=Team+Ice

My spec and the spec I referred to above have the exact same mitigation. The only difference is the way threat is generated. KotJ is roughly a 2.5% dps increase if enrage is used every minute. Master Shapeshifter is a 4% increase. The difference being that KotJ only costs 3 talent points and Master Shapeshifter costs 5. On a point for point basis, they are worth basically the same value. However, OOC on a point per point basis is more valuable than imp mangle. I contend that my spec and the spec I referred to offer roughly the same threat and exactly the same mitigation. The difference is ease of use. My spec allows you to keep FF and mangle on the same CD which simplifies the rotation. Also, you don't have to use enrage every minute, which would require you to blow one of your defensive CDs in order to not take increased damage (assuming no T10 4 set bonus which the OP doesn't have). It clearly comes down to personal preference but for a beginning bear tank like the OP, my spec is a lot easier to manage threat while also being able to focus on the other things a tank needs to worry about (i.e., positioning, popping defensive CDs, etc).

One edit, for anyone that looks at my dps spec realize that it is not my normal spec. That is a spec designed to let me dps heroic 25 professor putricide for 95% of the fight, but allow me to tank him in P3 for ~20 seconds through the use of CDs.

[Aliadra]

Well, since we're all posting our speccs now, I'll go ahead and post mine
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-ta...cn=Andr%C3%B4s
Doubt it's standard, since it's something I put together for MY OWN use (Now flamers can gtfo)
I don't really tank raids, as you can see on my gear.

[Drakkmur]

Using Enrage + Barkskin is shit if you don't have 4xT10 since it decreases your Armor. http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-ta...3%A8n&gn=Karma is the right spec for people without 4xT10.
Also OP said he has Threat problems, not mitigation problems. Even if he does, adding more threat problems isnt going to stand up against the mitigation increase.

Falconblade, two quick questions about your spec. First, you have no infected wounds. The only way you can get away with that is if you are 100% sure another tank is going to bring that buff. Even still, there are times when you are tanking a boss and the other tank is tanking something else (you are MTing Rotface and the other tank is tanking the Ooze). Therefore, I wouldn't recommend dropping that from your spec.

Second, why do you have glyph of mangle and imp mangle? It seems like a waste atm. Once the patch hits the glyph will be a threat glyph and you can justify it but why do you need a longer duration on mangle when you are mangling every 4.5 seconds anyway?

[Deleted]

Well, since we're all posting our speccs now, I'll go ahead and post mine
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-ta...cn=Andr%C3%B4s
Doubt it's standard, since it's something I put together for MY OWN use (Now flamers can gtfo)
I don't really tank raids, as you can see on my gear.

Lowering your overall damage is good.... why exactly?
You lower your damage by 6% to get a 12% dmg increase on a CD.... wut

Falconblade, two quick questions about your spec. First, you have no infected wounds. The only way you can get away with that is if you are 100% sure another tank is going to bring that buff. Even still, there are times when you are tanking a boss and the other tank is tanking something else (you are MTing Rotface and the other tank is tanking the Ooze). Therefore, I wouldn't recommend dropping that from your spec.

Second, why do you have glyph of mangle and imp mangle? It seems like a waste atm. Once the patch hits the glyph will be a threat glyph and you can justify it but why do you need a longer duration on mangle when you are mangling every 4.5 seconds anyway?

DK, Pala and Warr all bring the Infected Wounds like debuff so it's useless. I'm also the only Druid Tank in my guild.
I have Improved Mangle because i can manage to use it every CD without losing anything.
The Glyph is random and i'm going to switch that out for something else when i manage to get on again.

[wolffish]

I'm almost certain you can CC the mobs (it's been a while since I've needed to).

CC either the left or right one, grab whatever's left, less mobs beating on healer/dps, less incoming damage, win.

I could rant about DPS priority being 'rage about party members' > 'getting things done', but I wont

[Drakkmur]

DK, Pala and Warr all bring the Infected Wounds like debuff so it's useless. I'm also the only Druid Tank in my guild.
I have Improved Mangle because i can manage to use it every CD without losing anything.
The Glyph is random and i'm going to switch that out for something else when i manage to get on again.

Like I said above, for 75% of fights you are correct about that but on fights like Rotface, Blood Council, Dreamwalker, and Lich King you have to tank a boss for all or part of the fight without another tank on that target applying the debuff. Therefore, you are giving up a more or less straight 6%-20% reduction in damage (depending on if you have a DK dps on the target applying frost fever or not). If I were you, I would reconsider picking up the talent because as you get deeper in ICC, you will need it on many of the fights.

[Deleted]

Like I said above, for 75% of fights you are correct about that but on fights like Rotface, Blood Council, Dreamwalker, and Lich King you have to tank a boss for all or part of the fight without another tank on that target applying the debuff. Therefore, you are giving up a more or less straight 6%-20% reduction in damage (depending on if you have a DK dps on the target applying frost fever or not). If I were you, I would reconsider picking up the talent because as you get deeper in ICC, you will need it on many of the fights.

I will when my guild gets deeper in. So far i don't need it. When i get my T10 legs next week i will be changing my spec anyways no matter what.

[Aliadra]

Lowering your overall damage is good.... why exactly?
You lower your damage by 6% to get a 12% dmg increase on a CD.... wut

For the reduced mana cost, because I simply just jump in and out of bearform when I'm not doing anything.

[Deleted]

For the reduced mana cost, because I simply just jump in and out of bearform when I'm not doing anything.

... ???

[Drakkmur]

Aliadra, the one thing I would point out about your spec is that KotJ increases damage by 2.5% if it is used on every single CD. If you move those 3 points to Naturalist, you get a 6% increase in damage passively without having to use an ability that increases the damage you take. That seems like a win all around. And again, I would recommend all bear tanks take infected wounds because there are times where you are tanking a boss without the ability of another tank to provide that debuff.

[Sibelius]

Nope, it doesn't toggle it off. I think they fixed that a few patches ago. Try it out on a dummy if you don't believe me though.

I haven't seen any notes about that,but i'll test it out once i get back home from work.
If i'm wrong, i stand corrected.

Should be easy enough to test it out. Since it's next melee i should be able to queue it even if i'm not standing on melee range...

[Deleted]

You can spam Maul without toggling it off. It stays queued even if you are out of range.

[jpwkeeper]

Hey guys,

<snip>
Is it just my lack of gear?

I have omen but it only shows the mob ur targeting correct?
Is there additional addons that would help while tanking?

Any suggestions/advice is welcomed and criticism expected lol. Just be gentle please lol.

Thanks

I realize this has been said many times, but I'm going to re-iterate it.

I've played a hunter since BC. No class, and I man No class, can control their own aggro the way a hunter can.

The fact is, if a hunter pulls aggro and dies, it is without a doubt his own fault. There can be no question.

Other DPSers need to be much more careful because they can't control their aggro as well.

With a 30 second cooldown and the new 4 second mechanic, any hunter who does not MD at the start of every single pull is nothing short of fail. It takes one single click with a focus macro to make sure you stack aggro on the tank.

Now here is another piece of advice I can give you as a noob alt tank. At the beginning of the run, tell them that you're not the most experienced tank and to be patient. If they don't like it, they can drop group. If they call you a fail tank, be honest and agree with them. Everybody tank is, at some point in their learning curve, a fail tank. You're learning to not be one. It's hard, but let their douche-isms roll off of you and let their actual constructive criticisms make you better.

If they drop, let them. The DPSers are looking at a 15-20 minute wait for being a douche, and the healer is looking at maybe a 5 minute wait. You NEVER have to wait.

As you improve, you'll realize that you're really doing everyone a favor since there is a drastic shortage of tanks in LFG. You are reducing queue times for people while enjoying zero queue times yourself, so it's win/win.

You keep right on tanking and keep improving your gear and technique and you'll do fine. Not every DPS or healer is a douche-bag. Some of them will help you.

[Mrbora2k]

Wow, i honestly didnt expect these many answers but i appreciate it all.

To all that suggest that macro with the auto select of maul. I dont use that because like one said if i dont have the rage for it. But when i pull a mob and my rage is always at 100 basically even hitting the buttons all one by themselves i never miss a maul. And for aoe i swipe like its my job, well it is, but sometimes i do get a mob pulled off

Thanks for the Tidy Plate suggestion, i like the idea of being able to see aggro change by looking at a nameplate on a specific mob im not targeting, that should help with the extra mob that i dont have alot of aggro on that leaves me.

And yes tanking heroics isnt that fun, even starting off i want to go faster (which i keep up good with a decent pug) but there is always someone going afk or just taking their damn time. But i know there are not alot of tanks hence me making one to help out plus with the demand when i get geared im sure ill find a guild easy lol.

Single target rotation/boss rotation i have no problems with. Enrage to get rage if none, wait for debuff to fall off, FF, mangle, DR. then the typical maul/lacerate/mangle spam. it was just those occasions where there is 3+mobs. Even 2 mobs isnt a problem since with the glyph i hit both with maul so aggro is pretty controlled there.

But ya dps can be idiots. Just had a pug with a kitty druid, and i was out dpsing him by like 1k to 1.5k the whole instance (forge of souls) and i asked what his rotation was. He said "mangle rake mangleX2 SR, rake mangleX3, rip. I couldnt believe it lol. But i think i might have to make a comment to dps if they out gear me alot (5k+ gs) and tell them to watch their aggro because there is only so much i can do lol.

**edit and that kitty dps out geared me by lots...my gs is like 3400 his was 4800 lawlz.

But again thanks for the feedback/suggestions, i find druid forums more helpful than any others. You guys are awesome so thank you. And again if there are any others with another comment please post. I have read everything and taken all suggestions :-)

*EDIT and yes, talking mainly about the Heroic ICC dungeons. Only ones i have had a problem with at the moment.

1. Props for going tank, if you want to get gear...fastest way possible. 2. When tanking multiple mobs make sure your glyphed w/ maul and one thing I do is tab target a lot and usually attack the target w/ the most health. Most of the lower health mobs will die soon and you should have enough threat on them, so find the one w/ the larger health remaining and focus that one. Don't forget white damage helps you keep your target too. Just don't pull 5 mobs, and attack only that one till it's dead. I find once a mob is at 50%, 99% of the time I don't have to worry about agro unless im in a pro group...which happens about as often as I roll above a 80...Just keep at it. Things will get better as you gear up. Sta/Exp/hit are your main goal. APR is ok but only after your capped for the other 3.

[Gimin]

I can tell you from the position of a DK and a Druid tank that that is the hardest spot in heroics to hold aggro. Its difficult to get everything hit because the casters are spread. As a DK I can death grip the far one into my DnD area and am fine. If I slip even a little in the pull someone always dies. As a Bear its a lot of charging mauls and swipe/maul macros. The gear will help some with dealing with the threat issues. Remember you can't fix stupid, as a hunter they have 2 skills to lower threat. Its his fault, not yours, end of story. Welcome to being a tank, you'll be blamed when things go bad and the healer will be praised when they are good. You picked a great class to do it on I have tanked bear since BC came out.

[arel00]

The shortest possible version is: beside Swipe and Maul, we can't do shit. So not your fault.

If you can foresee some troublesome pulls, save Berserk for them since it helps a lot. Else, just ask your party to wait like 5 seconds before turning that place into a scorching hell.

On a side note: gem your gear. It's not a solution by all means, but I die a little when I see empty sockets :P

[Mortifer]

ya im ging to gem and enchant...i just need to make the money...all my other chars (3 80s) are ally so i cant transfer money so im only doing them lil by lil...but all others...ran a whole bunch of heroics (no PoS popped though to try out new strat) but doing alot more tab mauling and it seems to work...so thanks for all the advice.

[Sibelius]

Nope, it doesn't toggle it off. I think they fixed that a few patches ago. Try it out on a dummy if you don't believe me though.

You can spam Maul without toggling it off. It stays queued even if you are out of range.

Tested it yesterday, and maul infact seems to stay queued even if i spam it..

I stand corrected. Thank you both. :-[

[frester]

Tested it yesterday, and maul infact seems to stay queued even if i spam it..

I stand corrected. Thank you both. :-[

thanks, i stand corrected too, and sorry guys for implying that you were wrong.