Should I be afraid of tanking?

[Tikishock]

Hello, I'm a recently returning player having last played in Wrath. I've been playing on a Warrior or Druid doing tanking since Vanilla and I enjoy it but there is a lot of effort needed in doing it right. Should I be afraid of tanking because right now I don't really know any of the paths through the dungeon nor any of the boss mechanics. Are their good resources and videos as far as boss mechanics and best paths through dungeons that I could use to get updated before I start tanking again? Or should I just stick with faceroll dps in which I just follow the group and stab things?

Thanks,
Thalem

[Museigen]

I wouldn't say you should fear tanking, but you will likely very quickly get frustrated with the current playerbase as many tanks wind up doing sooner or later. (Usually sooner) To answer you question, roll as a dps a few times and see the path taken and memorize it, then start your tanking.

[Schalde]

As muse says... if u go into LFR trying too wing it, you will probably be getting a very bad experiance, so yes roll a dps, try it out.. or go use some time on a few guides before going in tanking the new content.

[TEHPALLYTANK]

You should be terrified of it when it comes to LFD, learn the instances first then tank 'em. You can read through dungeon journal to get a general idea of mechanics.

[zwoopaman]

For dungeons just jump in and go with the flow. They're all linear anyways and tactics are usually pretty obvious if you have some experience. If you're doing LFR, just ask the other tank about tactics.

[Vermicious]

You can also check out the different instances on a site like wowhead.com, check the comments sections, that's where most of the good information is.

[crakerjack]

Tanks has been dumbed down to the point where someone w/ a quarter of a brain can tank w/o losing threat. Not only did they jack up all tanks threat, but they also made tanks very very simple. I remember the rotation for feral druids and warriors to be slightly funky, now it's either spam these 2 or spam these 2... trust me man, if you struggle to tank in MoP, then chances are you're not meant to be a tank... If they made tanking any easier, they'd have to rate this game for children, for that would be the required skill level to play the game.

[Beace]

Unless you're a very confident leader, I'd recommend you go dps at first, to see how how the dungeons/raids are done. This also gives you a chance to collect some decent tanking gear, for when you switch later.

- - - Updated - - -

Tanks has been dumbed down to the point where someone w/ a quarter of a brain can tank w/o losing threat.

Threat is easier than it's ever been before, true. However, the active mitigation all the tanks has to handle nowadays, makes tanking well harder than it was in Wotlk and Cata. IMO.

[zwoopaman]

Threat is easier than it's ever been before, true. However, the active mitigation all the tanks has to handle nowadays, makes tanking well harder than it was in Wotlk and Cata. IMO.

There's no real need for active mitigation in Heroic dungeons though. I mean, they can be done in quest greens...

[pkm]

People will do your head in. The community and players are to blame for the shortage of tanks and people fearing as well as not wanting to tank. Some people will have patience with you but some will just want to get you kicked asap and curse at you.

This is ofcourse pug play. The experience is different with guildies and friends.

[Jaen]

As others have said, I'd recommend going dps at first, just to see the mechanics of each fight. Also, your first time doing lfr as a tank, sometimes it helps to explain it's your first time tanking it. I've seen some very helpful groups come out of a tank admitting he didn't know the fights ahead of time. Of course, I'd still read up beforehand

[Magpai]

You should be more afraid of the impatient assholes in randomized groups. For dungeons, go through a couple times as dps or run with a guild.

For LFR, if you go in there trying to tank with no idea what to do, then you deserve all the ire you get frankly.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I will recommend you to go dps first aswell. When you get familiar with the mechanics, then tanking will be easy as pie (:

[Deleted]

You should be terrified of it when it comes to LFD, learn the instances first then tank 'em. You can read through dungeon journal to get a general idea of mechanics.

I concur. Running a LFD raid for the 1st time as a tank could be a nasty experience. Just do it and try to use logic, look for debuffs on yourself and don't taunt back if the other tank taunted. If you fail, you will be told, between insults, what you did wrong and if you get kicked, queue up again but this time you should obviously know what you did wrong last time.

Also, it seems the lower lfd raids can be tanked in horrible gear. Saw some guy in MSV in the crafted blue tank gear and heroic dungeon drops and the raid was fine.

[Deleted]

if you arent afraid of wineheads, go ahead

[Csnyder]

Unless you're a very confident leader, I'd recommend you go dps at first, to see how how the dungeons/raids are done. This also gives you a chance to collect some decent tanking gear, for when you switch later.

- - - Updated - - -


Threat is easier than it's ever been before, true. However, the active mitigation all the tanks has to handle nowadays, makes tanking well harder than it was in Wotlk and Cata. IMO.

he obviously isnt confident, if he was would he have come to a forum asking the question he did....no

[Deleted]

Gotta agree with the others here, go as dps first and watch the other tanks. Pugs in LFR have very very little patience for anything that isn't a super-tank.

[thebdc]

If you're looking for LFR tactics http://nolifeat90.blogspot.de/2013/0...rt-1-last.html is a pretty good place. Links to other parts of LFR are at the very top.

As for 5 man heroics... just don't stand in fire and turn the boss away from the group if in doubt. Heroics are easy (actually they are just called "heroics" because of historical reasons, they are just level 90 dungeons).

[Deleted]

Play what you like. Tanking is still, in my opinion, a very relaxed job in raids. The onus is simply on you to grasp mechanics that affect you quicker than you would have to as DPS.

Watch some videos, read some guides, try to jump into LFR with a tanking friend. Be prepared and it'll be fine. Preparing is key though, the community has lost its patience for tanks that don't know what they are doing at all.
For LFR: have a chat with your co-tank, most of the time you'll find them more than willing to give you an explanation, without you having to incur the wrath of raid chat

[Lucyrotten]

Please, for the love of all things beautiful and right with the world, do NOT queue up LFR and whisper the other tank 'LOL NEVER BEEN HERE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!' I will personally hunt you down and let my cat scratch you. There is nothing that makes me more insane than trying to spit out everything a tank needs to know about a fight in the .3 seconds I have before the hunter misdirects me (or worse you).

Read the dungeon journal, run as dps, read the dungeon journal again to connect what happens with what is says is going on. Ask people in your guild about stuff like how many stacks to taunt at, etc. If you have a tank buddy you can sit in mumble with your first time you'll be awesome.