Tanks in World of Warcraft serve as the primary frontline fighters when it comes to any dungeon setup. Unlike other melee Classes in the Warcraft MMO, Tanks don’t necessarily have to deal major damage to enemies. Rather, Tanks need to ensure everything is attacking them instead of allies.
As with other MMOs, Tanks in the Blizzard MMO have abilities specifically designed for threat generation and damage mitigation. In turn, they’re built to last long and hit hard enough to get the attention of enemies. Sadly, while this role seems straightforward enough, some newcomer Tanks might commit some mistakes that can result in a party wipe. What should new Tanks avoid?
10 Don’t Forget Spec Synergies
While all Tanks have the general responsibility of pulling mobs, keeping aggro, and damage mitigation – different Tank Specializations approach these elements differently. For instance, the Protection Paladin and Blood Death Knight have “traditional” kits that focus on attack-based threat generation and general party defense.
Meanwhile, other Specializations boast unique interactions as Tanks. For instance, the Vengeance Demon Hunter has Sigils of Silence, Misery, and Chains that provide alternating debuffs to enemies while boosting the party’s damage. Likewise, the Brewmaster Monk has movement-based utilities that boost ally speed or stun enemies – perfect for the more mobile Raiding team.
9 Don’t Stick To One Rotation
Tanks who always stick to a single rotation won’t be much help in more complicated Raids. Rather, Tanks should have their ideal rotation as well as abilities in reserve for damage mitigation and defensive cooldowns.
For instance, the Protection Paladin has a major rotation that involves Consecration, Judgment, Avenger’s Shield, and Hammer of Wrath to damage foes and debuff them at the same time. However, they also need to rely on Hand of Reckoning to taunt major enemies. Likewise, they need to synchronize Shield of the Righteous with Guardian of Ancient Kings, Ardent Defender, and Avenging Wrath to boost their defensive capabilities.
8 Don’t Go Outside Positions
Unlike other roles, Tanks don’t have the flexibility of being able to move around in an encounter. Remember, Tanks who move all the time risk mobs ignoring them and targeting the DPS or Healer instead. Rather, Tanks have the responsibility of ensuring their targets don’t face the party as much as possible. Ideally, this means Tanks attacking enemies from the rear to ensure that they “flip” positions. That way, the target has their backs on the party while focusing on the Tank.
Likewise, in instances where Tanks and the party are facing the target, Tanks should always keep themselves within the “aggro radius” of the enemy. Essentially, this radius acts as the “zone” that generates threats for that target – which mostly translates to melee range.
7 Don’t Neglect Damage Potential
Just because Tanks need to pull aggro doesn’t mean they need to stick to defense. Rather, it’s the Tank’s constant damage build-up that ensures aggro stays on them. As such, their damage numbers should be as close as possible to the melee DPS. That way, they can easily “steal” aggro back or even wipe mobs if the DPS needs a bit of time to recuperate or reposition.
For instance, damage-oriented Vengeance Demon Hunters have Fel Devastation as an AOE lifesteal on pull. Ideally, their rotations involving Spirit Bomb, Fracture, and Immolation Aura can pile up huge damage numbers to help DPS wipe mobs easily. However, players can also proc their mitigation abilities such as Demon Spikes (increase defense), Soul Cleave (emergency healing), and Fiery Brand (damage reduction) in case of emergencies.
6 Don’t Forget About Alt Tanks
In case of emergencies, Tanks likely have to recuperate for a few seconds to reset rotations and CDs. Unfortunately, these few seconds can spell a party wipe if they aren’t careful. However, having an Alt Tank can ensure the battle flows smoothly, as this Alt Tank can “take over” aggro while the Main Tank recuperates or changes positions.
For larger Raids, the Alt Tank acts as the “other Tank” of the other half of the party. Likewise, an Alt Tank can alternate with the Main Tank for smaller groups in more volatile Raids. Alt Tanks place themselves within melee range of a target at all times to ensure melee DPS or Healers in melee range won’t get aggro.
5 Don’t Rely On Healers All The Time
Granted, it’s the Healer’s main responsibility to keep the party alive. Moreover, Healers almost always heal the Tanks first in emergencies. However, players need to take note of this term – “in emergencies.” Tanks who need Healers to heal damage they could’ve avoided or healed themselves will waste valuable Mana that Healers could use for debuffing or dealing damage to enemies.
Instead, Tanks should always take note of their emergency heals and primary mitigation abilities to prevent emergencies in the first place. For instance, the Vengeance Demon Hunter has Last Resort that transforms them into a beast (Metamorphosis) when receiving fatal damage. Likewise, Guardian Druids have Survival Instincts that halves all incoming damage for a short time. Both abilities have long cooldowns, but are well worth it in emergencies.
4 Don’t Forget To Plan The Approach
Tanks who want to show off will just run off to the nearest mob and attack away, not realizing that they might generate unnecessary threat to other mobs and pull them to the party as well. This spells instant death, and Tanks need to be wary of which mobs to approach first.
Ideally, Tanks need to stay careful as to how their abilities can generate threat outside their target. In turn, Tanks should try to pull a monster from a mob to pull the rest of them to the party – instead of attacking a mob straight out and risk aggro spreading to nearby mobs and overwhelm the party in the process.
3 Don’t Underestimate Consumables
Granted, Tanks should always have damage mitigation abilities in their ensemble. After all, Tanks almost always have a means to stay alive with emergency heals (Paladin), lifesteal (Demon Hunter), or even stuns (Monk). However, it wouldn’t hurt for Tanks to also carry handy consumables in case of emergencies. For instance, Spiritual Healing and Spiritual Mana Potions can save Tanks in a pinch – especially if they have to cut rotation and pull aggro away from the showoff DPS.
Moreover, it’s important to remember that Healers can’t always make a huge impact with their buffs. And sometimes, Healers have better use of their Mana than the usual buffing sequence. In that regard, Potions of Spectral Strength and Spectral Stamina, or even a Veiled Augment Rune can give huge advantages when facing Mythic+ bosses.
2 Don’t Neglect Raid Research
Good Tanks have a general sense of what to do in any kind of Raid. However, the best Tanks know their target Raid by heart. Remember, some of the most challenging Raids in WoW have unique level mechanics. For instance, players fight Kil’jaeden across five “stages” in the Tomb of Sargeras. Likewise, Lich King Arthas in Icecrown Citadel boasts a grueling battle with an amped-up ability set.
The more intimate a Tank knows a Raid, the better they can perform. This way, they can anticipate which mobs or bosses will appear and when, and they know exactly where to position themselves. Additionally, being familiar with a mob or boss’s general skillset enables them to maximize their defensive capabilities by knowing exactly how to counter which attack or spell.
1 Don’t Shy Away From Leadership
Tanks who just stick themselves in front of every mob will be useless if the rest of the party won’t follow through with their opening. In that regard, Tanks shouldn’t shy away from assuming leadership in a Raid. Essentially, this involves the Tank familiarizing themselves with the overall approach of their team’s DPS and Healing components. That way, they can determine exactly what their encounter flow will be like.
For instance, DPS characters would want to dish out high-damage rotations on the get-go to eliminate enemies faster. As such, Tanks can coordinate with the DPS so that the latter would only strike as soon as the former has the target’s focus. Likewise, Tanks should orient the team with target markers they want to use throughout the Raid.
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