Maining a Tank for WoD Raiding - Should I be working toward more Tank Alts

[Retsef]

I know this is an opinion question, and this might be the wrong forum so I apologize in advance.

I'm a relative newcomer to the game, a MoP baby to be precise. This tier - SoO - I have gone through 3 guilds, one that was 6/14 Flex (as progression), then to another where we went from 11/14N through 8/14H in 3ish months and now to a 10 man guild that's top 3-4 ranked in Oceania, just swapped to 25m and 11/14H in 1 week.

So no, I'm not hardcore, not ever going to be. In saying that, I hope to be tanking throughout WoD, and will be working towards realm 1st/2nd/3rd.
I main a Prot Warrior (and I'm feeling positive for WoD with this spec). I have a few DPS alts at 90 but no dedicated tanks.
It's been pointed out that I'm the only tank player most people know that doesn't have all the tank classes as Alts at 90.

So my question is - should I be working towards that for the new Expac. I know we know SFA about WoD, but as a general crossover from Expac-1 to Expac-2 is there value there to have another tanking class. Should I be gearing (legendary quest yadayada) a second tank class throughout to cover off issues where classes are poorly implemented or others become flavour of the month?

I want to hear experiences from people - not just "do whatever you want, it's your game". I will be going for guidance from my raid leader on this, but I'm also looking for experiences of people who have tanked much longer than I.

[Raugnaut]

I would have 1 plate tank and 1 agility tank so that you can swap between the 2 depending on the gearing needs on your raid. Of course, being able to fluently play all 5 tanking specs wouldn't hurt, as you would be more able to keep an eye out for what went wrong on wipes for both you and your co-tank.

[Wilderness]

Its certainly helpful to have tanking alts that you could switch to if a specific class/spec is really good or OP on specific fights but its not required. If you love tanking on your warrior and have no interest in the other classes then don't worry about it. Or if you get more than your tanking fill on your main and just want to dps or heal on alts to do something different, then don't worry about it.

But if you really like tanking, it can be beneficial to your guild since you can bring the alt in when its the best option. It can also break up the monotony once a tier is on farm, as you can bring in an alt or two on some fights to get them geared up in case they are needed for the next tier. I don't think one of our main tanks has any tank alts, but our 2nd tank had a very geared monk (main is pally) that was very useful once we went 25 and wanted to kite H Garrosh adds.

[Stacie]

It's always nice to have the other tanks at cap, this will come over time don't rush it and burn yourself out.

A Druid tank is nice if you main a Pala (A solid choice btw with paladin).
Monks (still fairly new to me so wont comment for these guys)
DK's Well worth getting fun to solo stuff in your spare time and can gimp many fights with AMS and stuff, plus awesome fun to play as DPS/Tank (very rewarding as a tank)
Warrior. Another solid tank choice would level one of these 4th though would have said 3ed but in away i guess they are sort of on par with pala.

So to cap for me personally if i played a pala main I would Level the Paladin then a druid soon after, When bored enough move onto a DK then a warrior after that. (fit a monk some place in there like i said not enough experience myself to comment for them).

Thats just what i would do anyway but have fun man, play what you enjoy but jumping from one style of tanking to another one is a good option its way more fun and interesting that way.

[IKT]

I hope to be tanking throughout WoD, and will be working towards realm 1st/2nd/3rd.

So no, I'm not hardcore, not ever going to be

I'm not sure if you know what hardcore means but these two sentences directly contradict each other. Someone who plays casually certainly isn't aiming for anywhere near realm firsts, let alone thinking about making multiple tank alts.

So with that in mind you are now hereby classified as "hardcore" and shall be free to make up your own mind.

My opinion: I've tanked since TBC and have always tanked a prot warrior, I have tried but I'm simply unable to get into druid tanking, paladin tanking or dk tanking, and I have a bad case of the CBF's involved in leveling up a monk and also CBF spending the money to max level it.

When prot warriors were a terrible shit class that nobody should tank with Kungen (Nihilum, Ensidia), Xav (Premonition), Sco (Method), and co were tanking bosses and getting world firsts/top 10 kills np.

[Beerun]

I personally always go with 2 tanks and see which one the guild may need more and possibly may need for certain fights

@Ikt: Could be a dead server and still get realm first yet maybe? Just a guess though

[SGdekay]

Having a plate and an agility tank is always a good choice. It be a good idea to wait a bit more into beta to see what tanks look strong. Once you have a general idea then it'd be a good idea to start leveling.

[Sonnillon]

Unless it's a major problem for your raid leader, that you don't have tons of different classes to use for tanking, then I would stick with what you got. Just cause having 1 class which you can play to max. performance is better then having all which you can play to mediacore performance (although some people can master all the classes and roles w/o a problem).

Although I personally would try all the other classes out and the one which you are best at, would keep as backup (to help on alt runs w/e) if really needed.

[Racthoh]

can't go wrong with w/mo.

[Blade and Soul]

My main is a Blood DK, but I am also gearing up a Brewmaster Monk. As others have said, having a Strength based and Agility based tank would be the best combo. However that takes time to both gear and level (if you don't have one or the other).

I also like to have my tanks with a respectable DPS off spec (you could also do healing as the off spec if the class has one). That way I can change in the middle of a raid (if need be) on the same character.

I also have a ranged DPS (Elemental Shaman) alt just in case, but I would rather use my Frost or Windwalker off specs.

[Anzen]

Except from being able to understand your co-tanks gameplay, if you're genuinely interested in a fairly high level of progress you will want to have a backup tank in case the tanking class you playing isn't viable for whatever reason.

[nightfalls]

I'm of a different mindset, unless your guild requires a main / main-alt deal (mostly for split raids) I wouldn't worry too much about viability. Tanks are generally pretty secure, even if you play a relatively inferior class, it's not like DPS where you're sat.

That said if you actually enjoy tanking, you should try more tank classes for your own sake. I've done the same with healing this expansion, leveled all 5 not because I ever had a chance to get them in my guild's main run, but just because I felt like it.

[Prese]

That said if you actually enjoy tanking, you should try more tank classes for your own sake. I've done the same with healing this expansion, leveled all 5 not because I ever had a chance to get them in my guild's main run, but just because I felt like it.

This is good advice. I'd bet many tank mains have tank alts not for versatility, but simply because they enjoy tanking and naturally gravitate towards that on their tank capable alts as well. I know that I do. Same with alts capable of healing, I tend to prefer both over DPS so I have pretty much everything covered somewhere. I don't really raid with my alts, I just enjoy the different leveling experiences.

[Yayorelay]

I currently have one of each tank, and all of them fairly well geared...also working on a second bear...rofl. I've cleared 14/14 hc on my monk and have done 10/14 hc on the others - though sadly not the first bear yet he's only 4/14 hc.

The advice people have said of pairing a leather tank with your current plate tank is very sound - works well for loot distribution/so forth if that ever is an issue and gives you some very different variety in the play styles.

I never really initially planned to have 1 of each tank, but once I had a couple of them it sort of happened. I love having them all since I really enjoy tanking and honestly enjoy all the tank playstyles. Other perk of it is that I know a lot of guilds on my server so on nights I'm not raiding in my guild I get asked a lot to fill in. Having more then one tank is ultimately up to you, since you want to be a casual player then there really ins't a need but like people mentioned I like to have a few because if one of them does not scale as well or handles some mechanics a lot harder then an other then I can just pick a different one. I also am always happy to make a swap if there is just a total imbalance in gear or raid buffs. It is ultimately up to you, but I can tell you - now that all of mine are well geared there isn't too too much maintenance required, I can kind of plug an play as I wish with them...but getting all them up and grinding all those cloaks very long annoying time investment.

[Deleted]

Playing the worst tank class in a raid tier is not fun at all. Hard to say how it will be in wod but. If I was you I would level a few tanks. Not sure how we will do but I think that my co tank will level a bm and a guardian. And I will level a dk a pala and my warrior.

[Rioo]

I'd say having at least one of each role (DPS, healer, tank) is way more important than having all the tanking classes. The best tanks I've raided with were all off spec tanks or people with a plethora of different alts of all roles. It helps you understand mechanics that might not be important to you as a tank, and this will help you maximize not only your own performance, but everyone else in the raid.

[nightfalls]

I'd say having at least one of each role (DPS, healer, tank) is way more important than having all the tanking classes. The best tanks I've raided with were all off spec tanks or people with a plethora of different alts of all roles. It helps you understand mechanics that might not be important to you as a tank, and this will help you maximize not only your own performance, but everyone else in the raid.

I'm one of those too where I highly, highly recommend all players play every role in the game at least for a bit. Maybe the best players in the world don't absolutely have to, but I think it gives some good perspective. Plus I think it is fun, personally, as well.

[Axphyxiate]

I think it's definitely a good idea to find at least 1 other tank class to level and gear up just in case your main is (in the unlikely event) incapable of tanking due to class changes etc. It's also nice to have the option between multiple classes because there's usually one tank class that stands out from the others in each raid tier. However there's no point playing a tank class that you're shit at, if a class is overpowered as fuck but you can't play it properly you'll have a lot of trouble during progression with low gear levels.

Saying you're in a top 3-4 oceanic guild but you're not a hardcore player definitely doesn't make sense. 4th oceanic 25man guild is ranked US 42nd and 4th oceanic 10man guild is ranked US 39th so whatever guild you're in is top 50 US and likely raids 12-16 hours a week, you are not a casual.

Your guild will be looking to push progression and kill bosses fast and to do that you need to be comfortable playing whatever class you bring to the raid and gear will be scarce the first week so if you don't know how to maximise your class you will have issues on the tougher fights.

tl;dr nice but not required.

[cFortyfive]

While I certainly hope that tank balance will be better than it was this addon I don't really see how it could hurt if you have the time and the eventual support from your raid group.

[Teebu]

Very hard to say without knowing too much about what type of fights we can expect from Mythic and how the various classes are at 100 in a raid setting. If you get beta, play around with all of the classes on premade characters. Look up videos for them if you don't get beta. Slootbag has beta footage of all tanks on his stream iirc.

Can't really choose for you. At least not with the little information we have at the moment. Maybe just level them all?