Should I be afraid of tanking?

[Aceshigh]

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.

I'd wager that you don't actually understand the concept of active mitigation, this post makes it seem like you've never tanked in MOP at all.

Threat is a non issue now for the most part, extremely hard to lose threat unless it is to another high vengeance tank. Knowing how to use your active mitigation, however, has tanking being more enjoyable than it has ever been. Tanking itself is engaging and about timing. I'd suggest tanking for anyone, it is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't suggest going in to things completely blind. People WILL get upset at you and WILL give you a hard time.
Start by reading the dungeon journal in game and then if you still don't feel comfortable just google something like "stormstout brewery heroic guide" or something like that. The information should be incredibly easy to find.

DO NOT, under any circumstances go into lfr as a tank and say two seconds before the pull (or as most do, wait till they wipe the group first) "never been here, don't know what to do" because you WILL have a bad time.

[Ethes]

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.

You don't need any mitigation for MoP heroics though.. When Im bored I tank them as ret without issues and honestly, active mitigation isn't very hard imo. I would just jump in and try your best. Ignore all the people shouting at you for going too slow, not pulling enough, etc....

GL tanking!

[tehealadin]

Started lvling my DK tank today. He had been at lvl 86 since week one of MoP. Lvl 89 now, not long to go, mixing questing with LFD. Content wise, its easy. But the rest of the people in the groups...Was doing Mogu Palace earlier. I swear I pulled 2 trash packs the entire run, this damned lock kept ninja pulling everything. When it came to end boss, he ninja pulled it, and had his pet taunting, I couldn't keep aggro on him/move him, so I decided "screw this" and stood back. Let the lock tank do it on his own. See how long he lasts, I thought.

They killed the boss. To say I was pissed off was an understatement.

You may remember a time when dpsers thinking they were tanks generally didn't live long. In LFD at least, that often isn't the case now. There is even a fury warrior in my battlegroup who always queues as a tank. Granted, he is in close to BiS gear, but he could 2 man all of the hcs if a healer is at his back.

Long story short (or moan rather), tanks in hcs these days aren't as important as they used to be. I get frustrated eventually at all the ninja pulling. And I am generally a quick playing tank, I only stop if the healer goes afk or is oom. And even then dpsers run off chain pulling. The only time they die is if the healer is afk. And usually they greet you with a "omfg faget noob group /quit".

As for LFR, do as the others have said, run the raids as dps first. Tbh, they aren't difficult to tank, the only one I ever have an issue with is The 4th boss in ToT, the turtle (tortos?) if I am on add duty, I sometimes have problems picking up all the bats. You will be fine.

[Deleted]

If you are unused to your abilities, keybinds etc,
do some soloing of old stuff which stretches survival a bit.

Dungeons, once you know your abilities, just have quick chat with the healer, most at this point in the xpac will probably chain pull packs for you anyway

Hehe, I was that tank that went into Toes first lfr week and asked tacts from the other tank at the first boss, he sent me a sentence before each boss and all went swimmingly. Honestly, you should have a bit of an understanding of the encounter from a tank pov but lfr difficulty is pretty forgiving even if the community appears not to be.

[Thelxi]

Be terrified trust me

[Deleted]

Unfortunately, the way things are at the moment a demo lock can easily tank hc's, I've healed a few through long runs of hc's and well played they take barely any more damage than a tank class. They have a capacity of damage they can offset though and then they get hurt like clothies again, just hc's don't dish out that much damage.

[Ninotchka]

Tanking is a lot of fun, really a joy, if you have decent support and good gear. Tanking is a nightmare if you go in on the deep end not knowing what to do and the random jerk generator serves you up some choice ones.

Guild support makes all the difference. When I have a new baby tank, I'll trade favors with geared guildies so that my dungeon runs have at least one or two non-jerks with decent gear who aren't actively trying to make my life difficult. Our guild also schedules LFR alt runs that will typically garner 12-20 people, but I understand that's rare.

Anyhow, work your contacts and see if you can't find someone to come heal you or dps for you when you start tanking things.

I'm generally happy to whisper the other tank strategies if I get a new tank in an LFR. It means that he probably won't charge off and pull everything and drop group, and that he's likely to taunt when I'm comfortable with it, and go the direction I like going. You'll run into jerks, you'll run into others who are also tanking this for the first time, but please consider whispering the other tank and letting them know you're new. Communication can be a wonderful thing.

[judgementofantonidas]

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

A tank is expected to know all the mechanics in all the fights and with the current state of dps players is expected to move through the space between each encounter quickly. That being said, you control the pace. I have not personally stepped back to perform a dps roll in order to learn any fights ever. It is really not needed, however I am always there on day one learning the fights while they are fresh and people have not begun to be too pushy. There are many guides and videos available for you to get mentally caught up with. As far as getting your toon caught up, warrior is pretty face roll and should not be an issue.

[ophion1990]

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.

The aoe rotation for feral tanks in WotLK was spamming a swipe/maul macro though. Single target was 3 stacks lacerate and mangle on CD, keep up FF and Demo roar I think, since pulverize didn't exist yet, you also didn't get mangle procs and pretty much shit rage so every spell had maul macro'd into it. Haven't tanked in MoP yet though, but I kinda doubt/hope that it got dumbed down even more then it was in WotLK.

[Simulacrum]

Tanking is ass these days.

There's literally no non-raid content for tanks. 5 mans are irrelevant (and such jokes that you don't need a tank in either case, or a healer if you do have a tank), scenarios don't need a tank (you can bring one, but then you're doing it wrong).

And raids - the only place where tanks are necessary anymore - is the most boring piece of shit ever. Enjoy spending half the time on nearly every fight basically afk, or going as dps unless you're the main tank.

[judgementofantonidas]

Tanking is ass these days.

There's literally no non-raid content for tanks. 5 mans are irrelevant (and such jokes that you don't need a tank in either case, or a healer if you do have a tank), scenarios don't need a tank (you can bring one, but then you're doing it wrong).

And raids - the only place where tanks are necessary anymore - is the most boring piece of shit ever. Enjoy spending half the time on nearly every fight basically afk, or going as dps unless you're the main tank.

heh, and I argue that even a mediocre tank needs no healers or dps. I easily solo all five man content. If dps get upity there is a very easy way to fix them. just pull everything YOU can hold as a tank then dump agro and watch them die. they will get the point.

[Ninotchka]

Scenarios don't need a tank, but heroic scenarios apparently become light years less challenging when you have a tank. At least that's what all my dps tell me.

[Tarazet]

Scenarios don't need a tank, but heroic scenarios apparently become light years less challenging when you have a tank. At least that's what all my dps tell me.

Because DPS think they're supposed to kite everything all the time. A good tank knows to stay planted until there's a compelling reason not to. Just watch Brawler's Guild and see all the nubs who come up against Bruce. A good player will stand still and do his rotation until he starts casting, then run through his hitbox behind him. A bad one will run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

[Kuthe]

No you shouldn't be.
T14 and T15 are a joke for tanks in Normals and LFR. Seriously snooze fests for most of the fights.

Now T14 bosses are pretty easy to do, now, just the occasional tank swap.

I highly recommend this video maker for ToT LFR. I used it prior to tanking it for the first time, and I recommend it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCx9-gFcXd4

They probably aren't all there in order, but shift through them.
They are short and simple and I show you all you need to know.

Don't worry about it at all, Vengeance makes keeping aggro so very easy now.

[jayinjersey]

I think there is a reasonable expectation to LFR tanks...that give the LFR tanks a lot of blame as well.

For example, if I queue for MSV part 1, I don't expect my Tank to be 100% experienced with every little aspect of tanking or the boss mechanics. It is the starter raid and there must be some time given for them to figure out their raid tanking.

That said, if I queue for Pinnacle of Storms (ToT4) I don't expect to hear "This is my first time tanking any boss" or "I've never seen this boss before" from my tank either...just cause you CAN queue for tank doesn't mean you should


And while I realize this may be unnatural, but if you have no idea on the fight at all...say so before the wipe. I had a vicious argument with someone that wiped us twice before stating "They didn't know the mechanics"
If you say that to start, I and the people I LFR with at least, will not vote kick you...if you say that after 2 stacks of Determination, enjoy your next queue.

[Toxigen]

To quote one of my poker buddies:

"Don't play scared."

[pld]

I swapped to tank at the end of T14 (begrudgingly and out of necessity), but have absolutely loved it. It was my first time really tanking and it was a bit scary at first, but once you get the hang of it, there's very little pressure. I went from dying in HoF LFR and getting yelled at to MT for our heroic progression guild - so don't be scared!

A few tips:

1. Know the basic mechanics of a fight. Heroics are pretty negligible at this point and very few bosses are non-tank and spank fights. However, if you're planning to tank LFRs and raids, know what you're doing. Icy Veins is a good resource that'll give you a good foundation and there are a ton of videos on YouTube that you can use (Vox has super long but very detailed videos, Fatboss Guides videos are more brief). It may seem daunting to learn all the fights, but it's really not that bad. It helps you become a better, more aware raider in the long run.

2. Know your class. MMO-C has a lot of helpful resources and there are a bunch more out there (ex. Icy Veins) to get you started. A lot of classes have evolved and tanking is no longer about being a meat shield. A lot of tanks (BrM and Prot Paladins especially) also have great DPS and HPS (lol) so make sure you bring all the utility of your class. If you did your homework and still have questions, ask other players. You can only learn so much from reading something on a website. As a prot paladin, I see a lot of other paladin tanks in LFRs and around Shrine who are using outdated gearing choices. It's not WRONG, but they could be bringing so much more to their raid teams.

3. Don't be afraid. The tank is the focal point of most PvE encounters. Healers aim to keep you up and DPS need (read: should) to wait for you until they can go in and do their job. You control the pacing and make sure you stick by that. Don't let healers or DPS bully you around just because you don't want to chain pull the entire instance. When you inevitably run into these people, don't let it get to you. People love to blame tanks and healers so be prepared to have a thick skin.

4. Be ready to be forced into a leadership position. It seems tanks are generally in a leadership position. In LFRs, people expect tanks to set up groups and explain mechanics (ex. Lei-Shen intermission groups) and a lot of raid leaders tend to be tanks. This may not always be the case, but it's a pretty common trait I've noticed.

I can see why tanking may be daunting, but it's really not that bad. It requires some extra work IMO, but that can be said about being good at any role. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

[Simulacrum]

...

3. Don't be afraid. The tank is the focal point of most PvE encounters. Healers aim to keep you up and DPS need (read: should) to wait for you until they can go in and do their job. You control the pacing and make sure you stick by that. Don't let healers or DPS bully you around just because you don't want to chain pull the entire instance. When you inevitably run into these people, don't let it get to you. People love to blame tanks and healers so be prepared to have a thick skin.

...

So your advice is to be an asshole, eh? Don't let the dps bully you; bully them! And don't let it get to you if they call you out on it, they're wrong because you're the one in charge by default. Interesting advice. I adopt a similar tankingstyle in LFR myself. I call it the "ignore all raid mechanics"-style, where I taunt off the other tank in all situations where he has threat and I'm in melee range of his target. Not having threat is just, like, soooo boring. You won't get kicked for it unless you die! Raids love fast pullers.

[cFortyfive]

I'd wager that you don't actually understand the concept of active mitigation, this post makes it seem like you've never tanked in MOP at all.

As already mentioned a couple of times there is zero need for active mitigation in the content he will be doing in the near future.
There is no reason at all to be afraid of tanking especially currently as 9/10 only require you to watch for a debuff on the other tank and taunt at a certain number of stacks.

[TaurenNinja]

No, not really. If you've tanked in the past, you should be in good shape. You can also queue for LFR, if you do the following:

1.) Skim over http://nolifeat90.blogspot.de/2013/0...rt-1-last.html and the other parts
Since LFR is so easy, all you have to do is memorize when to tank swap or what else to look out for as a tank (usually, just the tank swap at X stacks)
I hopped in as a new tank in 5.2 LFR, having this guide open on the second monitor, and just skimmed over it during the trash. Once I got to the boss, there were no problems. And it's just ~3 lines to read per boss. Most compact guide I've seen so far. Perfect for LFR.

2.) If you have more time to read, you can read http://sunniersartofwar.com/blog/201...hunder-normal/
although that's more intended for non-LFR raiding.

3.) Lei Shen is a little bit more involved on what you have to do as a tank, even in LFR. So read up on him.

4.) Memorizing instance layout is not really necessary because it's all very linear. Just follow the crowd, and look at the map

5.) If you've played pre-Cata, you should know that managing threat as a tank isn't a big issue anymore, since they generate a lot mroe threat now. But tanks now have to be better at active mitigation, and encounter mechanics are more complex.