Too Scared To Tank

[Pseudosavior]

I definitely had the same fear back in TBC. I wasn't just afraid of tanking though, it was heroics in general. I always heard about how hard they were, especially for someone without CC (I was a Boomkin in those days). Of course, WotLK has rolled around, now I have all specs to use. I'm no longer afraid of tanking, extremely comfortable with healing, and meh with DPS. Mainly because I don't find that one as fun. Just don't give up, practice, practice, practice, and you'll do fine. Always be nice, and don't get yourself down if someone is mean.

[Wafflesahhh]

I can sympathize OP. But I encountered the same situation with my healing priest rather than tanking. To have multiple people's lives in your hands can be very scary. But I did a few runs tho and the nervous jitters stopped as I got more confident.

But its a double edged sword I guess, since I healed so good sometimes tanks felt they were invincible and started pulling 20 mobs at once (which put pressure on me, but I still healed them full).

I thought that I would hate healing (I only DPSed before) but found it is actually my preference. I enjoy the reactive and dynamic playstyle associated with it.

[Velithian]

I was never really bad at tanking, although one time I got into an ICC 10 (5% buff or none at all, don't remember) on my warrior and had never tanked the place past the first four bosses, my main was a rogue at the time. The people that I was running with were the top guild on the server. This was the only time I really ever felt pressure to perform, and because I wasn't experienced in ICC, I got chewed out by these assholes. It happens.

Just practice a lot, and you'll build confidence quick. Once you know what you're doing, you won't even think twice. I used to be semi nervous going into dungeons/raids to tank, but now it's like nothing. I even had lazy paladin guildies who made me tank the adds while they single tanked the boss - if that's not a way to build your skill and confidence, I don't know what is.

[miles411]

What Pilch said. Just get some DECENT gear and start small. Some ToC 10m's if your server still does that. And just keep practicing!!

[Adysux]

let the dps die when they pull befor you overagro with aoe befor u start aoe they will let you tank after they die once or twice

[AnotherPaladin]

Tanking is kind of scary, but once you get some gear you'll get used to it. If anything blame the healers :P. That's what my guild always does.

[Riboe]

Tanked for 5 years. I have a healing offspec and a DPS char, but I do feel that there is more pressure and as you say, a fear to fail, when tanking compared to when I heal or DPS.
Everybody makes mistakes. Learn from them and get better.
When ppl are insulting you, try to forget about it and go on. Remember, it's only words

[Ansgar]

You have no idea, how much this thread actually makes me remember the great times I have had as a tank.

I started tanking in pre-tbc as a warrior, and I absolutely loved it. Now I wasn't a raider so I was only doing the 5,10 and 15man instances as main and off tank and I had the BiS you could get outside instances. This was great fun, and then I had a break from tanking.

Then 1 month before WOTLk I levelled a old warrior 1-70, and when WOTLK hit I went protection at level 72 and knew I was going to be the upcomming tank ( actually main tank ) for my 25man guild, and so I practiced in 32 normal instances before finally dinging level 80.

I did 3-8 Heroics per day, to fully learn my class potentional and back then we had the lol-instant-burst-threat-seal-of-matyr-lolz that could basicly take aggro away from any tank.

I researched as hell, on specs, theocraft, tankspot, mmo-champion basicly anything I could get to improve myself. Even after that I was scared to finally be the rank in a raid, it was after 5 times in Naxx10 and Naxx25 that I finally got used to it and wans't scared anymore.

I tanked from Naxxramas to mid ToC days, and I had the feeling of being scared everytime I had a new guild, because they may have had different tactics than what I was used to.

Now I have had a break from tank raiding, beside heroics RNG tanking, and I'm actually afraid to return ( but I'm enjoying being fury atm ).

But I sure will return as a tank in Cataclysm.
So all in all your not alone, being afraid of tanking. But with practice and with a regular set of people you will get used to it and it will be awesome feeling you get everytime you down something for the first time

[Chobyn]

Personally i found tanking way more scary in the start of wotlk when mistakes could lead to a wipe.
Atm I dont really care, I just pull the mobs and trying to keep most of them on me, if a dps pull aggro its fine, stuff are usually dead before it does much harm anyway.

So even beeing a undergeared tank, it is really forgiving to do mistakes/lose aggro at this point of the expansion, just make sure mobs dont stick to the healer, and you got aggro of the majority of the mobs. and things are all good.

The real problem with beeing a low geared tank are with a full group of low geared people, thats where mistakes really mathers, but tbh nowadays you get one, max 2 people in a heroic that aint icc geared. So just tank a bit more and get some confidence, and faceroll heroics, gear and experience come fast enough

[Checksmix]

It is, indeed, quite frightening to tank on a freshly lvled character when icecrown geared retards go all out and blame you for their mistakes.

i dont blame bad gear tanks when i pull agro. Because i kill it before it gets to me.

[Aris]

dont worry abaut losing aggro in hcs , when i do hcs with my rogue i dont realy care if the tank loses aggro i just step back and wait a few secs. But on the other hand i tanked a few lowbie dungeons with my pally and i felt the same way + i got pissed when i lost aggro.

i get you

[Alcsaar]

I am actually more afraid of healing

But for that very reason, I enjoy healing. I'm a little afraid of it because it can be challenging. I mean, as a tank, your job is to hold threat, make sure positioning is right, and pop cooldowns when needed.

As a healer, you are playing a role that changes constantly, even when doing the same bosses. The people taking damage will change constantly during a fight, you have to try to work with other healers to avoid over healing and wasting to much mana, ect.

[Rakzuul]

I love tanking....I have leveled every class capable of tanking to 70+, I still get nervous not as much as I use to of course. All it is, is just being confident in yourself, tanking is pretty much like leading and it takes some level of confidence to tank and some thick skin on top of that to stick with it. There is no better way to get comfortable with tanking then doing it. It is a work in progress, get to be comfortable with your class, know it inside and out and be able to get to all of your abilities quickly, a lot of tanking I would venture to say is pro-active and re-active at the same time. Ya gotta be aggressive and defensive at the same time. I love being an aggressive tank in heroics and pulling like a mad man, pulling the next group with the last group still being dps'd down. Tanking is so much fun when you get comfortable with it and that is the key, the act of tanking is easy but getting to be confidence and have the mindset of a tank is not and takes time.

I will never forget the time I was main tanking 25m KT back when it was progression and I was in full 7.5 BiS tanking gear I was decked out, cocky as hell and wasn't paying much attention then BAM dead and looked where I was....red circle on the ground. Needless to say I felt like a complete noob and the whole guild was aware that I died to the lolshit on the ground mechanic I was completely quiet and ashamed didn't say a word, everyone knew it. Then my GM/OT sent me a whisper and was like "I can assume you are beating yourself up more then I can scold and yell out at you......LMFAO nice one Rak you will never live this down". My guild being the best guild I have ever been in, a few of them whispered me telling me it was alright and that everyone makes mistakes but they also still give me shit about it today nearly two years later, in ICC.

[Fishman]

I felt just like this when I started tanking. Good times!

[Cotterize]

Just do it. Turn off your care for the negativity (if any) and jump face first into that fire. It's just a video game. If you do it and fail, at least you tried. keep trying.

[Deleted]

The worst part, hand's down about tanking is those idiots in ICC25hc gear who literally just go;

IMMOLATECHAOSBOLTRWARRWARSPAMCORRUPTIONMOREEVILSPAMRWAR!

And then you lose aggro and cry.

But with like ok gear, and ok players, you get past tht

[Deleted]

hehe thats the problem with wotlk. Almost everyone is over geared and doesn't accept new players with less gear. I hope that changes in Cata.

[wilder12]

Tanking is quite hard to get into, but it is worth it.
If you are just starting and get thrown in with ICC geared people it is normally 100% there fault if they over aggro, being a dps is about doing good damaging while checking your aggro it is as much there job not to overaggro as your job is to keep it.
IF one or two times you get voted to kick by 3 or 4 ICC people you can sit there knowing its because they couldnt play there class well and not over aggro, they are used to having ICC geared tanks and are too stupid to realize you arent one

[Markluzz]

I can sympathize OP. But I encountered the same situation with my healing priest rather than tanking. To have multiple people's lives in your hands can be very scary. But I did a few runs tho and the nervous jitters stopped as I got more confident.

But its a double edged sword I guess, since I healed so good sometimes tanks felt they were invincible and started pulling 20 mobs at once (which put pressure on me, but I still healed them full).

I thought that I would hate healing (I only DPSed before) but found it is actually my preference. I enjoy the reactive and dynamic playstyle associated with it.

That was like me, however I was never really scared to heal, the only time i was nervous was when i healed my first raid and that scariness left me after the first boss when i thought, 'Hey, this is just like heroics only more people, and you get help!' It was nothing like how scared I was when i went into my first raid as a dps, not knowing any of the fights, i did have a friend explain them to me in person but I remember being freaked out about the ways I would die. Another time is basically dps'ing the Undying run for naxx, although naxx is easy, you just freak out at any 'close calls' that happen, i remember we went to saph and i was at the edge of the ice storm and in my thought anyway made it to the block just on time, and the thaddius jump scared the crap out of me thinking i'd fall end up dying and get everybody mad at me for wasting their time, in my opinion healing that is the scariest mainly because you cant let anybody die and need to keep everyone pratically at full health.

However neither of those are as scary as tanking for the first time, expecially if you are with geared elitists, and I have no idea how scary it would be to enter your first raid as a tank, I still do not tank all that much (never tanked a raid, I know i could probably do it but I know i'd mess up probably from never tank swapping before, or just the pressure, also yeah you tend to notice your mistakes alot more than others will notice them. Letting one mob off you then you'll most likely freak thinking it will wipe everyone, while others may see it as that dps just pulled aggro, and think you as a pretty flawless tank.

But yeah rating how scary things are, or for me anyways

Entering your first raid as a tank (Im putting this here even though i dont know really never tanked a raid before) > Entering first raid > Tanking your first heroic > Naxx the Undying/Immortal run as a healer > Naxx the undying/immortal run as a tank (cant really judge either, but an experienced tank might not be as frightened as an expeirenced healer) > Naxx the undying/immortal run as a dps > Healing your first raid

[4KhazModan]

I am very comfortable with tanking because I have been doing it on my paladin for 4 years. It takes time to truly get comfortable with new things.