Low level tanking - no rage

[Nemrod]

I started levelling my last class, a warrior, with the help of some BoA items. The new LFG tool is great as I team up with my brother in law as healer to do dungeons and the waiting time is like one second.

My problem is that I seem to be rage starving all the time. It gets better if it's a longer encounter, but to get initial aggro from all mobs is a pain, especially when Bloodrage is on cooldown and there is A L W A Y S some hunter with Multi-Shot or a paladin with Hand of Reckoning grabbing mobs from me within the first 3 seconds. This is all low level so I don't really try to tell them to play properly, it's useless most of the time anyway (especially with Paladins and HoReckoning complaining that they get aggro in every fight and that I need to "l2p")

This is my spec:
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-ta...h&cn=Alpharius

Do I need to switch points from Imp TC to Shield Spec and from Incite to Anticipation? But that means less threat for my only AoE threat ability.

I got plenty of tanking experience (Pala, Druid and DK at 80, all tanks) but it was never that hard to tank in low level instances for me.

Right now I run into the mobs or pull with a bow, then TC and Demo shout (if multiple mobs), then tab through the mobs and apply Sunder Armor.
Maybe it will get better when I can use Charge in Def Stance but until then I hope for Bloodrage and when it's down I run around chasing the mobs like a headless chicken.
Any tips?

[Thorold]

just use 2 1 handers for low lvl tanking

[Samin]

So a few things first. A dps Paladin should N E V E R use hand of reckoning in dungeons (it's his taunt!) except to save the healer. Don't let them tell you to l2p, they use a taunt as a dps in a group and they are the ones who need to l2p. It's the same as death gripping death knights. It's okay on non elites and help you get scattered mobs togheter, but not as a dps ability, even if it does nice damage (if you don't teach them now you get arms warriors using mocking blow at gormok..I was 'wtf? fuuu' seriously.)

Regarding your spec, Shield Spec and Anticipation should play really well together for better rage generation. Consider imp blood rage too, as it gives you more initial rage to use up.
I don't know if you really have threat problems, it wasn't a problem for me later (I levelled my prot long before the LFG tool and never tanked early dungeons) so try taking away imp TC or Incite. (If you level as prot too, I recommend taking Incite)

[Dwight Howard]

I believe your problem is solved as simply as removing your glyph of sunder armor. I believe that although it is not specified in the tooltip for the glyph it does effectively double the cost of sunder armor which might be leading to your rage starvation. Also I just looked again at your armory and noticed your spec, you should move some points out of incite and into shield specialization, this will help TONS with your rage generation. with those two changes you should see your rage become more normalized.

[Samin]

I believe your problem is solved as simply as removing your glyph of sunder armor. I believe that although it is not specified in the tooltip for the glyph it does effectively double the cost of sunder armor which might be leading to your rage starvation.

This is not correct. It does not cost double. They only information missing in the tooltip is that it also effects devestate (I think this was added some time in BC, when they applied all SA buffs to devestate too)

edit: it seems to be bugged to cost more rage when using devestate+this glyph. So this isn't a problem now (and rage isn't that big of a problem when you get devestate), I don't know if this is fixed by now. wowhead comments are pretty old.

[Unionoob]

eh I am lvling how Shaman as healer with instances and random LFG.. but what I can say for low level zones you really don't need tank since mobs hit for nathing even if they beat on me I can just tank em for long enough if I have mana

but about Paladins using hand of reckoning yes its dumb shit.. kinda getting bored out of shit " it increases my dmg"

[Samin]

but about Paladins using hand of reckoning yes its dumb shit.. kinda getting bored out of shit " it increases my dmg"

Let them die and answer "no it doesn't"

[Malmsteen]

simply put... only spec prot for Outlands. if u want rage, use arms or fury. u can tank just as easy while lvling and doing more dps.

warriors can dps and tank using dps specs.

palading can do ALL. heal,dps,tank using Ret Spec

shamans can heal/dps with enhancement

the rest goes for all classes not pure dps.

[Dwight Howard]

This is not correct. It does not cost double. They only information missing in the tooltip is that it also effects devestate (I think this was added some time in BC, when they applied all SA buffs to devestate too)

edit: it seems to be bugged to cost more rage when using devestate+this glyph. So this isn't a problem now (and rage isn't that big of a problem when you get devestate), I don't know if this is fixed by now. wowhead comments are pretty old.

wow, you where right, stopped using sunder and started using dev before glyphs so i never really knew the double rage was limited. :P

[Feador]

At your lvl (24) I would tank with a fury spec, no difference on the damage u'll take.

Also, for the firsts lvls as a tanking prot warrior, I recommend u to put some talents on imp bloodrage and go for rage saving talents such as focused rage or puncture. In arms go for imp HS and imp charge.

Not much you can do at that lvl though.. try to tell the dps of your groups to don't taunt xD

[smartAXE]

tell them not to hit stuff till you round it all up, i do it on my druid(34) all the time, and theres always someone that pulls, the first 2-3 times he gets my taunt, anything after that is his problem
then again i do pull like 4-8 mobs at a time :>

[Gohan]

All i do to keep AOE threat is this

Macro
/cast Thunder Clap
/cast Cleave

But i find myself never having rage issues unless you cant get a Charge off. In that case you pop Bloodrage. Charge or bloodrage should be enough to give u that initial rage u need to create agro on all the Mobs.

I think its pretty easy to keep agro on multiple mobs using that macro, simply mash and all mobs should stay on u, if they dont taunt it.

[Kalmarin]

Try a macro like this for the start of combat, be in battle stance when starting

/cast Charge
/stopcasting
/cast Defensive Stance

It should make you charge and switch stances in the middle of the run up.
Not sure if the /stopcasting is even needed anymore or if the wording is correct, I used this all through classic WoW while tanking.

[Darshana]

Uhm, I am level 24 same as you and I haven't had no rage problems yet. I never played a tank before either so I'm totally new to it. I use bloodrage whenever its up, thunderclap, cleave, demo shout, and sunder armor only, I have a macro to sunder on mouse over so I don't need to tab target, also have the sunder glyph, if the mobs half way dead I will have so much threat on it I can auto attack and build rage for the next mob.. so I'm running into the next pack with at least 50 rage left built from the last mob.. i try to save bloodrage for after mana breaks. sometimes i got happy hunters who like to pull the mobs before I get there but i just taunt and usually does the trick and that costs no rage, I have never had a problem with paladins, i guess you played with idiots... the only thing that i lose agro to, is hunter pets with auto taunt and tbh i just leave it because if the guy cba to turn off his taunt he can have a dead pet for all i care.

heres my armory
http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sh...nor&cn=Rionagh

[Gunwolf]

Something I didn't see anyone mention here is that the biggest and easiest way to keep generating rage is to have many mobs on you....like 3-4+. Should be very easy to heal thru, and tclap and cleave is enough to hold them all on you. Getting hit generates alot of rage, and if you are spec'd for it, dodge/block/parry generates even more rage which happens alot mroe when you have multiple mobs.

[Samin]

You're only 24. You can tank any instance at that level without a shield.

Which takes away the ability to block (=less rage) and shield bash. While we're talking about block. I often use shield block at the start of a fight for additional rage. With 5/5 Shield spec and 100% increased block chance you should get some rage if you get hit by 3+ mobs. 40sec cooldown should be enough to have it ready almost every pull.

[Monochrome]

You're only 24. You can tank any instance at that level without a shield.

While this is true, if you are dead set to level as Prot all the way from the beginning, I recommend the following spec at your level if you're rage starved:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#LZZVI0r:hZz

5/5 Shield specialization means that everytime you block/dodge/parry your getting rage - guaranteed. Pop shield block everytime you pull a pack of mobs or when you need rage and watch that bar top itself off. ;D

Between Improved Thunderclap and the Glyph of Resonating Power, your thunderclaps will drop from 16 rage per (just the talents) to 11. Once you get to a higher level, with focused rage it drops to 8. Thunderclap being you're only aoe threat ability, until you get shockwave, should be on CD all the time when tanking packs of mobs. At 16 rage per, that's a lot rage you're burning through when you don't have to.

This should up your rage generation, drop the rage cost of one of your most used abilities and solve your rage issues in general.

With all this new found rage you should have some to spare for cleave - use it. A lot. Sunders are nice, but at your level you can dps to hold threat. On single targets, swap Cleave for Heroic Strike. Hit revenge everytime it's up. And tab through the mobs with revenge/cleaves to spread around the love. :

Hope that helps.

[Nemrod]

Thanks for all the answers.

To answer a few things: I have no threat problems (apart from the taunting pets and paladins) but rage problems at the start of fights when Bloodrage is on cooldown. In stockades it's less of a problem as the mob groups are well sizes and not really far apart from each other, but in other instances I have to start fights with zero rage and before I can do anyhting I lost aggro due to Multi-Shot or other AoE attacks from the DPS people. So no one is hitting me = very little to zero rage for me.

Also I cannot charge into mobs as I will lose most rage when I change stances, so it's not really doing anything good.

I think the best advice so far was to spec full into Shield Spec and alternate between Bloodrage and Shield Block to start fights, both should get me sufficient rage for my first TC and Demo Shout, after that it ain't a problem.

Thanks again

[lilbandit]

it's difficult as a warrior to start tanking low level. either you can't generate any rage, so can't hold agro, or you pull enough mobs to generate decent rage to TC them, but the ret pally that's meant to be healing forgets and is doing dps and you die.

at least that's my experience so far re-levelling my warrior :S