Leveling as a Tank

[shadowkras]

Just how good of idea is it to level as a tank on your first character? Mobs and questing isnt difficult so far (lv15), i can kill 2-3 mobs at once without using a potion, or 1 by 1 of same level without having to stop to drink or rest.
But i tried the first dungeon, realm of the fae, the trash wasnt a problem at all, the healer was lv16, i could hold aggro amazingly easy (do defensive souls get extra threat?), but the first boss was smacking me hard, the healer couldnt keep me up for longer than a minute.
After that i got 3 copper crafted pieces, which boosted my armor by about 150, found 2 rings and a helm that boosted it by another 200-ish, and now i will try to craft some runes to get extra health.
My health is at 1200+, about 40% damage reduction from armor and i believe 31% block.

Im on the right track or i should just ignore dungeons for now? Or i need even higher upgrades to be able to tank bosses?

I also noticed a little late that to be a warrior armorcrafter you dont need butchering, i thought you needed it as the first quest given to you asked for soft hides. So i first started as miner/armorcrafter/runecrafter, thought i needed butchering and dropped runecrafting, then after 50 levels on armorcrafting i realized i wont need hides (only for chain armor) and got runecrafting again (which still confuses me).

[antonatsis]

i leveled as a warrior tank its easy and good(ofcourse you are not as efective as a dps but its ok)you can do a solo build and a 5man build and you will do just fine
i leveled with 1 random(o this look good to spent points build)and i tanked 5mans easily and did a pretty easy lvl up

[shadowkras]

Yeah the leveling is pretty easy even if i put points on stuff like +1% armor.
I just find trouble when attacking wild rifts and elite mobs show up, those guys i need heals to tank, but i can bring down one elite 1v1 with a single potion or using the paladin 10 min cd if they are same level as me.

[Edge-]

It's pretty easy. You don't do spectacular damage, but your survivability makes up for it. Honestly though, I'd shell out the 20g (or however much it is) for a second spec and roll with a tank spec for dungeons and a leveling spec.

[Herrenos]

It's pretty easy. You don't do spectacular damage, but your survivability makes up for it. Honestly though, I'd shell out the 20g (or however much it is) for a second spec and roll with a tank spec for dungeons and a leveling spec.

This pretty much. You have enough cash for your second spec by the time you hit level 5.

[antonatsis]

yeap thats the way to go!2 spec or even three if you do pvp or something
(having up to 5 possible specs rocks)

[Edge-]

yeap thats the way to go!2 spec or even three if you do pvp or something
(having up to 5 possible specs rocks)

Coming from years of dual spec in WoW, I agree. But a few weeks into having 5 specs...I found myself wanting more -_-

[shadowkras]

Yeah i got a champion/paragon/beastmaster role, but although i kill thrice as fast 1v1, i get owned if there are 3+ mobs on me, so i feel much safer to quest grind as a tank, spread dots all over and by the time i finish the first mob, the others are at half health.

[Primalthirst]

Levelling as a tank is perfectly viable, but as was said earlier it's probably better to have a dps spec for soloing and pick your mobs 1 by 1 and then have a tanking spec for dungeons and elites.
Ciderhelm (now retired) has great information on how to spec as a tank while levelling and whilst at level 50. Check out http://ciderhelm.com/?cat=31
5 specs is nowhere near enough, I find I need 8 raiding specs each week on my Mage as well as my multiple PvP specs. NEED MORE FLEXIBILITY!!!