Due to the launch of Cataclysm, tanking has become of bigger importance in Raids as well as Dungeons. I have experienced a lot of wipes lately, mostly on the account of bad tanks.
Keep in mind that i have played a Warrior Tank since the release of TBC but i decided to switch over to DPS for Cataclysm. These are just the ways i played my tank and my not be the optimal way.



One thing that i urge any tanking class to do is to take a good look at your skills, read through them and realize what they do. For example, alot of people still don't know that Shield Slam dispels one magic effect on the target. Knowing exactly what your skills do, the range of them, and their cooldowns , will help you picking a rotation. Keep in mind that certain skills have priority over others. Never Devastate when you can Revenge, Never Revenge when you can Shield Slam.

Something that is general to any tank that is currently tanking hard content, keep in mind that your job is to keep the targets attacking you, avoid standing in AoE and IF TOLD interrupt certain abilities. Your job is not hard, it simply requires more focus than your average DPS. If a wipe occurs try to figure out the problem, remember that these instances are not impossible and if an ability is hitting you for 200k you are doing the encounter wrong. I urge any tank that is jumping into heroics to read the strategies for the bosses and make sure that your entire group is doing the same. This is obviously not such a big problem in guild runs since you (hopefully) know the people you are playing with. But in PUGs you will have to make sure that everyone knows what to do.

I won't go into rotations and threat management because i feel that there are a lot of guides on that subject already.

Warrior tanking has changed a lot since i started playing. In TBC keeping threat on multiple mobs was a pain in the ass. Not only did you have to cleave and thunderclap spam but you also had to switch targets ALOT. Shockwave had a big impact on my tanking. Suddenly i was able to stack Sunder Armor quicker into the fight and still keep threat on multiple mobs. I think that tanking turns a lot of people of since you have to be in control constantly, its much easier to just follow a simple DPS rotation. As a tank you need to keep a lookout over the entire "Battlefield" that is your group. I made it a habit to zoom out my camera as far as possible so that i could see if one of the feared DPS ran into a group of savage trolls that wanted to eat his brain. You have to be on constant alert, maybe you suddenly loose aggro on one of the mobs that you weren't targeting and this mob is now running for the healer, Axe held high. You should be able to quickly see the problem and find a skill that will neutralize the threat of the situation.

I think i have rambled on about random stuff for quite awhile now so i think its time to get to the last point before i let you try this stuff out for yourself. We already talked about situational awareness but this subject is more then just what mobs is targeting who. This is directed primarily at boss fights but since Cataclysm has made trash more... versatile i guess the same strategies works there.

Stuff that you should never do:

1. Never ever ever stand in the fire. If your standing in something other then the floor make it a habit to get out of it. Cataclysm introduced some AoE heals but if you are unsure about what you are standing in you should move. It's better then standing in a massive lava pit saying "I thought it was Efflorescence!" becuase the group will likely think that you have brain damage.

2. Never find yourself unprepared before a fight. I talked about reading up on tactics and that is a big part of a fight, but something else that you should keep in mind is buffs, I understand that most people don't flask up in a Heroic (I do but I'm a Alchemist so I'll let it slide.) but resistance buffs are quite useful in boss fights where you know there will be a lot of Elemental damage. In TBC the paladins were often asked to change their Aura to give resistance to certain mobs, for example shadow resistance. This may not seem like a big thing but it does save your healer a lot of a mana and makes the entire fight easier.

3. Never initiate a boss fight without making sure everyone is ready. This may seem like a small issue but most healers and DPS likes to top of their mana before a fight and sometimes leave their computer to refill their endless supply of "Insert drink here". If you start a fight with 2 DPS instead of 3 you are 8If your group is any good) starting out with 30% less damage on the boss.

I cannot think of any other good things to keep in mind so thank you for reading my sloppy guide!