Why aren't you tanking?

[Bildur]

I had a ton of fun tanking for my friends and guildies back in Vanilla, TBC and most of Wrath and I met a lot of nice people too back in those days. But for me personally the fun stopped when the penis-meter started to matter more than aggro control and LFG/cross-realms killed off common courtesy and made all the not-so-nice players come out of the woodwork.

[HuxNeva]

I used to tank some, but to be honest I like ranged DPS much more. There is just so much more to do as a ranged in most fights.

[Taedae]

For some people tanking isn't something they are able to get a grasp on. I tried tanking a few times over the years but I was never able to really understand how to do it this Legion. Not all players can play all the specs/roles. Some people have also never considered trying to learn to tank. Others maybe prefer healing over tanking and would rather be the healer who saves the group from a rough tank than being a tank who is backed up by a bad healer. And some people might have also had bad experiences when trying to become a tank (other players being bad can make things hell for tanks). My husband almost quit learning to tank in the first week of tanking back in Wrath because a raid he had gotten into was picking his talent choices to shreds but I convinced him to keep trying his way and ignore them. Glad I did cause now he's the best tank in our guild.

There are many possible reasons as to why people don't/can't tank. Ease of grouping shouldn't be a reason to play a role. Capability of performing well in that role and how much you enjoy it should be the reasons why you play it. I have mained a healer since Wrath but learned to tank this expansion. I then did some testing via LFG. I went as tank several times and healer several times. I realized that there is a far greater number of bad healers out there than tanks and I much prefer to be the healer because of that because I know I can get a group through almost anything that way. I enjoy tanking but the need for good healers is much higher in my experience.

[pionock]

I love tanking. At least, far more in this expansion than any other. It's enjoyable to be a good tank. I love going into a M+ run and have things go smoothly because you know where to place the mobs to cause the least amount of hassle for the DPS. It makes their lives easier, makes the healer's life easier, and you occasionally get compliments. I'm also a bit of a control freak at times, so I like to dictate the pace of the dungeons. It's why I hate overly pushy dps in the easier dungeons. I pull fast and hard almost always, so it annoys when the dps wants to do it faster than that.

[Super Kami Dende]

I enjoy Tanking. I just don't enjoy the knuckledragging DPS that I'm required to babysit. So I really only Tank when I have friends as my DPS.

[Baine]

Never healed or tanked. I prefer to make damage than preventing it. As for the longer queue time, I am used to it.

[Halyon]

I used to main a tank. Problem was that finding another guild as tank is such a pain in the rear, and I really dislike the attitude of some dps that they think they can pull for me when I want to go at my pace, and god forbid if I had to learn the fights, instead of just perfectly remember every single boss kill vid ever, and every priority mob ever. So now I play a dps class. If it could tank, I might do it once in a while, but all in all, dpsing is just more relaxing for me now. Still have to learn tactics and priorities, but it's much more livable when you're also not the one responsible for keeping everyone alive.../shrug

[plagueshard801]

As a tank, I will tell you why you shouldn't tank:

1. Thankless job.
2. Can't see cool encounter visuals because lower legs of the boss block your view.
3. Harder to find good raid spots.
4. Unforgiving learning curve.
5. DPS can really be assholes if you aren't moving quick enough.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I enjoy Tanking. I just don't enjoy the knuckledragging DPS that I'm required to babysit. So I really only Tank when I have friends as my DPS.

Every time I tank outside of my guild it's not knuckle dragging DPS i need to babysit. it's the braindead off-tank that can't perform a simple fucking tank-swap.

[Deleted]

Despite my name, I don't tank. I don't feel confident leading a group through a dungeon I barely remember at just the right pace. I've always made a better "second in command," which is why I love healing.

exactly the same thing, mate.
i used to heal in wow & would just follow everyone else, most of the time i had no idea where i was going.
when i used to get lost, they had to come and find me lol

[endersblade]

Because I stopped playing WoW.

I got tired of people shitting on tanks, and I learned how to combat it. When people start shit-talking, then start dying because I told the healer not to heal them anymore, you either shut up or you drop group. DPS'ers are a dime a dozen. You wanna boot me? Fine, the cooldown for getting booted is still less time waiting to insta-queue as a tank than it is for a DPS to queue normally.

When I played, and tanked, I did my best to be the best 'host' I could, since we essentially drive the bus. But you always have that one idiot. The one saying you aren't pulling fast enough, the one saying your tanking sucks, the one pulling ahead of you, the list goes on. I stopped letting it bother me and simply got them killed enough to drop the group. It works wonders, I promise. It just takes a little more skill to make sure they get targeted rather than you.

[SealMemeSix]

I exclusively tank in pve. It's fun to have responsibility, unlike the endless hordes of braindead, mouth-breathing dps players out there. If all the tank and healer players out there banded together and all played on one server, it would be the most skilled server by a mile. DPS are disrespectful scum and deserve the same amount of respect as I give to my toilet paper.

[Lasombria]

I'd be okay with tanking...maybe... but I usually feel the tank is also the leader, setting the pace and expected to know the dungeons. I'm simply not that good of a player, and I'm not going to hose 4+ other people because of it.

I enjoy tanking on a monk, druid, or warrior. But since I returned a few months back I've seen what I can only describe as a zerg mentality when it comes to dungeons. Unless you're racing to the end like a meth-addled jack-rabbit, dragging trash behind you in a string of unlooted bodies, you're somehow doing it wrong. Fuck that. Every time I tank and mention a normal, slower pace I'm either kicked or the dps and healer just go ahead and start pulling everything in sight and screaming about how I suck because I'm not following suit. Fuck that.

It's definitely the combination of these two for me. I could learn, and do learn some when grouping with friends, but I can't learn when dealing constantly with imminent destruction thanks to others who just don't care. The stress-to-fun ratio sucks.

[Mirishka]

When I was first learning to tank, way back in the day, everyone I grouped with while trying to learn was such a bastard about how I wasn't immediately perfect that I just gave up so I didn't end up hating the game.

Learning curve can be way too high for what the community is willing to deal with, whereas as a DPS as long as I'm pushing some buttons and facing the correct direction I'm not going to get kicked out of the raid/dungeon.

Yep. This right here is one of the biggest reasons more people don't tank.

[Thage]

Anxiety issues, mostly. Might give it a try with the new leveling grind, we'll see.

[Mirishka]

Aggro mechanics, while fun for tanks, was totally unfun for everybody else. It required people to literally stop doing anything and just stare at the boss or else they would overaggro. It was not difficult. It was not skill-demanding. It was just: stare at threat meter, if you are too high, stop doing anything.

And still, active mitigation is 10x more fun than aggro managing. When it first appeared in form of DKs, most tanks worldwide were delighted.

I agree, as someone who has tanked since vanilla. Threat was not a 'fun' mechanic for me, nor for the dps I ran with.

[Deleted]

Trying to do dungeons with braindead dps is a chore, more so than a braindead tank.

I felt it was the other way around, got tired of shitty tanks and failures, so rolled tank instead.

Since Vanilla I have played tanks and healers for this reason - when raiding with a good geared dps spec.

Currently only playing dps on a char due to low playtime, and dps is less maintenance. Still going as tank in LFR/LFG though.

[Erolian]

Honestly its pretty boring. Tanking to me is more like a learning step rather than a learning curve. You learn when to taunt and when you need extra mitigation and then focus on dealing more damage most of the time. You often don't get the really interesting mechanics because you're too busy waiting to taunt at 2 or 3. Your damage now is kind of inconsequential. MoP/WoD were different in that your gameplay could have way more of an impact in the sense that you could self sustain and/or deal A LOT of damage if you were a great player. Now you're pretty much just focused on hitting the right taunt and not getting outright 1 shot because you didn't pop a defensive like an idiot.

[Pull My Finger]

I still do it, mainly because I don't wanna wait for fucking dungeon invites and stuff. But it's not as cool as it used to be. Old school tanking and threat management was way more interesting than today's Diablo/Devil-May-Cry-esque dungeon gameplay. Besides, tanks are almost not needed in mythic 0 dungeons, let alone below. And it's just not as fun any more when nobody even gives a shit about what you're trying/supposed to do.

[Erolian]

I still do it, mainly because I don't wanna wait for fucking dungeon invites and stuff. But it's not as cool as it used to be. Old school tanking and threat management was way more interesting than today's Diablo/Devil-May-Cry-esque dungeon gameplay. Besides, tanks are almost not needed in mythic 0 dungeons, let alone below. And it's just not as fun any more when nobody even gives a shit about what you're trying/supposed to do.

You should try doing some content with any difficulty at all. I do think tanking is just straight up boring now but threat isn't the solution. Your problem in particular here is that you're doing content that's basically the equivalent of normal dungeons in wrath. Hell I could solo heroics that expansion as a mage by the end of it. The whole mitigation, low self healing unless you're a dk, sort of irrelevant damage unless your aoeing as a paladin is boring but at least do something that requires your presence at the keyboard.