World of Warcraft

Hey!

Played a hunter for a while, though got sick of waiting for a tank in PUG. So I put my class where my complaint was. I read some guides, watched some Youtube videos and made myself a tank...

It's not gone well -_-

I've Tanked 3 times now and been told at various stages in various ways; I'm cr*p. Last time, I explained I was new and some Heirloom Mage gave me a string of capital letter abuse and started a vote to boot.

Anyhoo, O' tanks of the forum! *genuflection*
Do you have a tip for Tanking?
Where am I going wrong? (...and don't say "logging in" -_-)

Ally

Well, tank and healing are the most fun char. you dont fall asleep behind the keyboard ;-)

About the Dps..you will hear complains all the time..sadly there are some sad ppl behind the screen who think they are the king of the world And they dont care.. and when they die its always the tank or healer..even If they stod in the fire or pulled the hole place haha.

Otherwise read what you can find about warrior tanking :)

Keep up the good spirit :)

Hestia.

Sadly mages and hunters are notorious for ninja pulling, out aggroing, and being a pain in the tanks !@# at low levels... actually this last up until level 80 where they start getting killed for doing those things. Most do learn to control them self as they level higher so there will be less and less of it.

Forget them, there is really nothing you can do to hold aggro on a large group of mobs if a mage or hunter want to AoE them all.

Part of levelling a mage or hunter is learning to control the threat they do.

Try to get them kicked form the group if they are abusive. There are a lot of high people that roll alts and would agree with you that they need a good kick and need to find another group.

If you cant get them kicked and it really annoys you, leave the group. You be better of finding a new group that don’t make you want to throw your PC out the window.

It will get better. When they get to level 80 at the latest, you can just stand back and laugh as they get them self killed. Do try to save the healer from the mobs going for him/her when the stupid DPS die.

In short give it time and let them die. Don’t give up. Do the best you can to tank, but know some times there just isn’t anything you can do at low levels. We have all been there.



I would recommend getting Blood and thunder talent. Then when you pull open up with a Charge, Rend then Thunder Clap

Charge –> Rend –> Thunder Clap.

This will give you aggro on most of a group of mobs. Wont be enough to out aggro a mage in full AoE mode but it will help and make life so much easier for you when tanking groups of mobs.

05/02/2012 23:04Posted by Listan

Where am I going wrong? (...and don't say "logging in" -_-)

Hahaha I have to remember that one for next time some one ask what they do wrong ;p

I was tanking Hour of Twilight on my Warrior Alt last night. A very well geared Hunter was moaning that i was unable to hold aggro on the packs that spawn on the way to Asira but considering he was multishotting and trapping before i'd even got a Tclap off it was little wonder.

I tried to tell him that if he insists on opening up with full DPS at least misdirect me. He just said "Lol" and carried on. My threat is good and i can hold a group but if they all scatter its a PITA to get them under control again. They even spoke to Thrall before i'd landed from the Drake Ride so by the time i did land the mobs had spawned and were all over the place.

You'll get this all the way through your tanking experience. If you can survive the comments and gain the confidence then you'll go far.

Yeah i had the same crap coming at me when i started tanking. You will get used to it in time, doesent really bother me that much anymore.

Tanks are badly needed and i congratulate you for wanting to roll a tank, however dont get discouraged by ppl who are trolling/abusing you iff u wana learn something about tanking i sugest you play a tank from lvl 9 to 85 because the experience that you will get at low lvl will help you at max lvl to have a better spec understanding and mechanics and managing your cooldowns.
Im normally ret but i play os tank since before dual talents even and due to that experience i know when to pop a cd or iff ill manage to survive without. Also try to observ healer iff hes keeping u up with ease or he strugles in wich case u can tank more relaxed or watch out for masive dmg spikes and pop cds.
Instant que is also nice and you get lots of xp from random dungeons ques.
I miss the days where the hunters needed MB(iff u played hunter during tbc like myself u will know what im talking about) so they couldnt just mindlessly pull stuff.
I can understand on the other hand dps wanting to go fast as they wait 10 mins for a que but not at the cost of a whipe.

Hi Listan,

Tip 1 - Persevere.

Unfortunately, low level tanking is often a thankless task, you don't yet have your full range of tank tools and dungeon difficulty compared to character level means that dungeons can be abused by dps with little or no repercussions. Learn how you should be doing your job, ignore the insulters, listen to people who give you constructive advice. By level 80 you should have a decent "feel" for the job, tanking isn't like DPS where it's about the numbers, tanking and healing are about knowing the right thing to do in a changing environment based on what you can do.

Tip 2 - Enjoy the pressure.

Your job, along with healing extends beyond your own safety, a bad DPS will churn out poor numbers or get themselves killed, a bad tank or healer will get their group killed. There is more pressure on you to perform well, and you will take flak when things go wrong. Get over that feeling of increased responsibility though and tanking is alot of fun.

Tip 3 - Class knowledge.

Knowing your tools instinctively and when they are appropriate is what separates a good tank from an average one. Also, understanding how your class mechanics work and how gear should be balanced to maximise the effectiveness of your toon. There is alot of sound advice to be found, I'd always recommend sites like Elitist Jerks for solid information on talent builds and gearing.

Hi Chap - I'm not the god of tanks so don't take what I say as gospel.

Firstly I would respec to use Blood and Thunder talent (spreading rend to all targets)

Then I'd probably advise using Battle Shout -> Charge -> Thunder Clap -> Rend then second Thunder Clap to spread Rend.

This was you get agro instantly - With trigger happy AoE Hunters / Mages this can make the difference.

It might also be worth key binding taunt to a mouse button to make life easier for that stray mob.

Stick with it!

I put off doing my first heroic as a tank forever with my pala. When I finally queued I got stonecore. I pulled the very first trash pack, they went everywhere and we wiped.

Bottom line is, it takes some practice. Dps will hurl abuse, they will ninja pull and make life difficult by mashing the one mob that you don't have good aggro on. Learn to deal with it and it can become pretty rewarding.

Once you become more comfortable in your role you will be able to distinguish your shortcomings from those of the group. I've become pretty adept at letting the idiots die while keeping the rest of a party sheltered from the mobs. This can be a game within a game for me.

My pala is now the main raid tank in our pretty casual guild and has 8/8 normal. If I can do it, I'm sure you can :D Just persevere.

thanks all for the nice words. feel alot better about tanking as i really enjoy being the guide of the group and taking the responsibility.

i feel i know my class well i hardly ever wipe cant remember the last time actually, if i do wipe i take responsiblity and apologise...

i try to help others who dont know whats coming and try to be kind.

my main downfall is the detailed knowledge of the gear and little extras.

with all ur help i hope to become better thanks alot !

Thanks guys! ^_^

I took all your advice and Tanked again, this time in Shadowfang Keep.
Here's one of the comments from the run:

"BAD !#@ TANK AND BAD $%^ TEAM" *****- Chamber of Aspects

Thanks for all your help again.
Ally

P.s. He means "Bad !#@" in the good way

I took all your advice and Tanked again, this time in Shadowfang Keep.
Here's one of the comments from the run:

"BAD !#@ TANK AND BAD $%^ TEAM"

I’m curios, what was the problem in you're last dungeon. I assume its keeping aggro?

I never done the low level version of Shadowfang Keep, but if it is like the level 85 version then it can be a pain to tank with a group that don’t know what to do.

Don't give up on tanking. There is a lot of morons out there but there are even more good people that will be happy to have a good tank. Even if it don’t always feels that way.

P.S.
You are not allowed to name and shame people on the forum, even if they deserve it. I guess its to keep the drama down.

Thanks guys! ^_^

I took all your advice and Tanked again, this time in Shadowfang Keep.
Here's one of the comments from the run:

"BAD !#@ TANK AND BAD $%^ TEAM" Kÿlie - Chamber of Aspects

Thanks for all your help again.
Ally

Tip for thrash after the first boss. Im not sure if the big mobs fear in normal, as they do in heroic. But pull them inside so that you minimize the fear effectivenes and so that you dont actually pull any more mobs.

He meant "Bad !#A@" in the good way :)

When i specced this char tank i got 100% attendance on raids and alt raids, but DS is so dreadfully boring as a tank :(

I recently tanked Normal Stonecore, and I wish players let me tank on my own pace.

Instead, other players, especially ranged DPSers (both spellcasters and Hunters) pull mobs, sometimes a boss and then I must find out who has the aggro. That is harder than when I do the pulling then all mobs will attack me. If a mob decides to attack someone else instead of me, I will notice that soon enough, and I will use abilities to get the mob back on me.

Most players are impatient and want to do that with an experienced tank, not with siomeone who hasn't tanked for a long while.

I was tanking Hour of Twilight on my Warrior Alt last night. A very well geared Hunter was moaning that i was unable to hold aggro on the packs that spawn on the way to Asira but considering he was multishotting and trapping before i'd even got a Tclap off it was little wonder.

I tried to tell him that if he insists on opening up with full DPS at least misdirect me. He just said "Lol" and carried on. My threat is good and i can hold a group but if they all scatter its a PITA to get them under control again. They even spoke to Thrall before i'd landed from the Drake Ride so by the time i did land the mobs had spawned and were all over the place.

You'll get this all the way through your tanking experience. If you can survive the comments and gain the confidence then you'll go far.

heroic leap -> tc -> shockwave, worry about rend/tc afterwards, it works wonders to leap into those packs imo :)

I recently tanked Normal Stonecore, and I wish players let me tank on my own pace.

Instead, other players, especially ranged DPSers (both spellcasters and Hunters) pull mobs, sometimes a boss and then I must find out who has the aggro. That is harder than when I do the pulling then all mobs will attack me. If a mob decides to attack someone else instead of me, I will notice that soon enough, and I will use abilities to get the mob back on me.

Most players are impatient and want to do that with an experienced tank, not with siomeone who hasn't tanked for a long while.

That will depend on how long it takes you to move from mob pack to mob pack, more then 2-5 seconds isnt really good (unless healer is drinking), whenever I am either healing or dpsing, getting a tank that waits 30secs between each pull and makes a readycheck, just make want to start chewing on my keyboard.

@OP

I have only one advice to give, it may or may not be the best depending on circumstances, on instances up to 80,
STEP 1 : Wisp your healer and tell him to wisp you to stop if he needs mana.
STEP 2 : NEVER stop moving, two mobs left from a pack @less then 50% HP, start moving to the next, 1Mob full HP, start moving to next pack.

This way you will never get OOR (out of rage), dps will not ake aggro from you (and if they do mobs die fast) and i makes the runs fast.

STEP 3 : Never ever rise to the bait of trolls in instances, either ignore or start a vote kick before they do

heroic leap -> tc -> shockwave, worry about rend/tc afterwards, it works wonders to leap into those packs imo :)

Thanks i'll keep that in mind. A pally tank really does have it easy when it comes to AoE threat :P

I recently tanked Normal Stonecore, and I wish players let me tank on my own pace.

Instead, other players, especially ranged DPSers (both spellcasters and Hunters) pull mobs, sometimes a boss and then I must find out who has the aggro. That is harder than when I do the pulling then all mobs will attack me. If a mob decides to attack someone else instead of me, I will notice that soon enough, and I will use abilities to get the mob back on me.

Most players are impatient and want to do that with an experienced tank, not with siomeone who hasn't tanked for a long while.

That will depend on how long it takes you to move from mob pack to mob pack, more then 2-5 seconds isnt really good (unless healer is drinking), whenever I am either healing or dpsing, getting a tank that waits 30secs between each pull and makes a readycheck, just make want to start chewing on my keyboard.

I don't wait that long and don't do a ready check before a pack of mobs. Before a boss I often only type "r?" When players are ready they type something like "r", "yes", etc.

It will go faster when I get more experienced with tanking.