Off-spec Tanking as a Warrior

So today I buckled. I went prot on my alt. This makes sense for me (all he does is instance grind) but I don’t SUGGEST it for anyone doing quests. It is plenty easy to tank as arms (and I’d assume fury) you just need to understand a FEW things.

First off, and this is a big one, taunt is not an aggro generator. It’s an aggro DUPLICATOR, but it generates no aggro, and is supposed to be used only if you’re not on top of the threat meter. It will duplicate the person who has the highest threat, and then it’s your job to push it up past that. This can be done with any of your abilities, but its best to use high aggro ones such as sunder.

There are two really good uses of taunt. The first is obvious, saving whoever got aggro. Taunt, sunder or shield bash (shield bash costs less than sunder, and does a fair chunk o’ threat, so it’s a good way to just get you some damage so you can get threat so you can really lock the mob down) and go on your merry tanking way. Another use that I like is to taunt a CC’d mob (forcing it to stick to you) break the CC and then proceed on not having to chase a mob half way across an instance because SOME FOOL decided to attack a sheep wildly before it got sheeped.

Oh yes, I hate it when that happens. NOT THAT IT EVER HAS. *cough*

Now, spamming sunder is good and all, especially for trash mobs, but when you’re on a boss, you get your five sunders up, and it still has a fair chunk of health. Darn that boss for being so health-filled! :)

So what do you do? Sunder is ok to reapply (and I did for my first few boss fights) but look at your tool tips. Remember that skill you used to use to deal damage? It was called heroic strike. And it’s your friend again.

I linked the lowest level, and even it “causes a high amount of threat”. Up till level 66, it deals damage, and causes threat. At 66, it gets a bit more damage if you’ve happened to shield slam a mob lately (or get some other daze applied to it) but other than that, its high damage (higher if the mob is dazed) and high threat.

That is TOTAL win for you, Mr. Arms (or Fury) Tank. Heck, its total win for any tank needing to dump rage. But more importantly, it gives you something good to do on boss fights. Couple that with MS or BT (depending on spec) after 5 sunders, and you should be able to keep aggro.

Besides spamming sunder, and the heroic strike/spec special spam on bosses, there isn’t much to tanking as Arms or Fury. It’s a bit more tough (no extra threat, no extra health, no extra damage reduction, no extra armor bonus, no last stand) but its still VERY doable. Until 70 at least ;)

A few tips. If you’re Arms, and have blood frenzy, keep rend up at all times. I know, it’s rend, it sucks, but it gives 4% extra threat. And once you get spell reflect LOVE IT BIG. It’s amazing, and can save you from nasty 2k hits (1st boss in SP you can spell reflect his lightning bolts, saving you 2k health and dealing him 2k damage). Also, couple shield block with Revenge (I didn’t mention revenge did I, use it, it’s 5 rage for nice threat) as a block triggers Revenge and Revenge is good to throw out ;)

I wanted to go really in-depth into this but then I realized there wasn’t much to it. If you bound every key to sunder you could probably slam your head against the keyboard and not do TOO bad. At least if the rest of your group doesn’t suck.

I need to go get myself into an instance now, 5% off from my Crystalblade of the Draenai :)

Tank, healing, and why the hell can't we farm!?

My main is a paladin. At one point, Blizzard called them a defensive hybrid and they really are. Ret paladins are VIABLE. The problem is, the viability is leveling and past Kara raiding. PvP they’re even doing alright. But in Heroics, and 5-mans with under-geared people (you know, the type that still needs to run regular 5 mans), and Kara, they do not shine. Yes, they CAN have GREAT DPS, but they’re not hybrids in the way that elemental shamans, shadow priests, or even feral druids are. They DPS, and that’s really it. An occasional heal is a major hit to their DPS. Elemental shamans are similar, but its no were near as much of a problem. Shadow priests are set up great, and feral can switch between DPS and tanking with the click of a button (ok ok, they won’t tank so great in kitty gear, but they still can do a half-way decent job.)

Now, before this gets anymore into how I think paladins should be actual hybrids, and ret needs more viability, the point. I’ve played both a tank and a healer in one class. Done a few instances as a tank at 70 (but I don’t like getting healed by someone else, they always seem to do something that I, as a healer, can’t stand) and done Netherwing dailies as a tank. It sucks to do those dailies. Really, really, really badly. And as a healer, it’s actually EASIER, due to Blizzard’s genius idea to have part of +heal become +spell damage. (It’s like a third, right?) I just stand there, lay a consecrate, heal myself, rinse and repeat. I can take 5-7 mobs this way. I’m also in some epics, have around 666 +spell, and my consecrate ticks are crazy.

That way of farming is almost the exact thing as prot, except I don’t use SoL to heal myself, I use my own heals. I do take more damage though, and it still takes forever.

But whenever I’m down in those damned Netherwing mines, I remember how BAD it was to be there as a tank, and I seriously think they need to fix that.

Tanks have the worst place in this game. Sure, healers have a tough time farming, but with the recent change, it’s not quite as bad as it COULD be. But they also have much less for repair bills, and just about as much (if not more) costs for consumables. And they CAN farm, but they’re really just killing the mobs with their health bar. Ok, ok, you can switch into DPS gear (unless you’re a paladin, then you’re just doubly screwed) but it still is nothing like being a DPS class. Plus, to get decent DPS gear you have to either a) get lucky or not have anyone take it b) farm honor in PvP and just pick up season 1 stuff or c) make it yourself (and some of those cost a lot, plus leveling up a profession can be costly).

It’s just not a good system.

How can it be fixed? Not easily. I’m not sure you could do just a basic thing like healing => spell damage. Especially with druids as a consideration. The reason why druids would cause a problem has to do with what stat would you make the conversion with? Well, if you used Stam => attack power, kitties would have all tank gear, and no need to change out gear to switch roles. Or armor => attack power. And while *I* wouldn’t mind this (and I can’t get a druid out of Mulgore XP) I could hear the QQ’s now.

Now, before someone jumps on me and says that healers have it horrible for farming, they spend as much as tanks and its only a little better, well, I know, I’m a healer, and I wear plate. Think of my repair bills you squishy little lucky priests ;) But they already had their “fix” and I really do think it might be the cause of cases like Area 52, where the server is good (for the most part) on healers, but can’t find a tank around.

And DPS classes, if you come in here and you comment that farming sucks for you also. Well. Let me just put it this way. You’re wrong. YOU may not enjoy it, but I can guarantee you, someone in your class loves it, and they wouldn’t want to roll another class just for farming.

It’s not exactly a very bright and shiny future. Maybe WotLK will bring something innovative from the minds of the developers and the problem will get fixed.

For now, it just means I need to level up a TRUE DPS class, so that I can’t get sidetracked into something like tanking ;)


As a side note, I suck at grammar and at spelling.

Technology FTW!

I'm a tech aide at my school, and I fix technology stuff.  Which means I have access to computers.  Slow days = blog days, and after reading quite a few articles across 4-5 blogs, I've decided I really need to get a hobby.

And so, I go and blog that I need to get a hobby, which is all inspired by being addicted to blogs.  Isn't life wonderful :)

Anyways, I actually have WoW musings for today.  Want to write this down somewhere to straighten my own thoughts, so all (2) of you get to deal with my thinking.  Or read something else.  Or go play WoW.  Whatever works.

My level 61 warrior is Arms.  He started as fury at 10, and respecced to arms for the first time at 30 when I got my whirlwind hammer.  I had fun with that for 9 levels, but I had
the SM and RFD swords in my bank, my hammer was getting old, and the only 
decent replacement for it was in Ulda.

I hate Ulda.

So I went back fury, and stayed that way until level 59.  At 59, I went BACK to arms because I wanted to PvP and get the AV wolf.  I had a nice sword sitting in my bags (AH ftw), another GREAT one coming (what I currently use), and I PvP'd it up for a few games, got my 2h sword skill up while doing it, got my lifetime kills over 1337, got revered with the frostwolf clan, and just had fun.

I had gotten all the way to 59 as a DPS class.  I tried to tank maybe twice before.  The instance runs I did were mostly runs by myself using my girlfriend's hunter and my warrior on autofollow.  I hate PUGs, why would I deal with one unless I had to?

But then I hit outlands.  I had virtually no experience as a warrior tank (did it on my paladin, but thats a whole different ball game).  All I knew was I was supposed to spam Sunder, shield bash(or whatever its called.  The spell interupt with your shield.) occasionally, thunder clap if there were lots of mobs, and taunt if something was hitting on someone squishier than me.  And I could no longer run myself through, cause I'm pretty sure it'd start to get tough on one 70 to run someone through that.

So I tanked, but I did not tank.  I actually ended up being a decent tank, and I enjoyed my first run.  A lot.  It was even a PUG =O.  Plus I learned about this weird skill I have "shield block" or something ;)  And disarm.  And how shield bash is a good way to get a bit extra aggro after a taunt.  I learned plenty good things, and I got motivated to try this tanking thing some more.

So I did it again last night.   Now, maybe I got my hopes up from the first group.  It was a very good PUG.  But last night.  Oh. my. goshles.  I HATED THE GROUP.  The rogue pissed me off, and the mage was worse.  The mage was so bad I tried to kill him.  Tried and tried and tried. The warlock never talked, but was doing decent damage, no complaints really.

The Priest.

The Priest was amazing.  And maybe if she wasn't, I'd have a different post for today.  But she was, and she made me decide to change Gisli's plans.  Or maybe just alter.  Or SOMETHING.

The thing is, I had fun with the bad group.  I got a LOT of enjoyment out of trying to kill the mage(and failing! >:().  I had fun spamming sunder armor, shield bash, 
watching as the group would have wiped if I hadn't gotten that TClap 
off in the right place at the right time.  (we managed to pull a bit too many a few times, and the mage would NEVER resheep. even when asked)

So even with a bad group, I had amazing fun.  Tanking.  
I don't like tanking THAT much on my paladin.  Its fun, for something 
to do SOMETIMES.  But I definately don't prefer it over healing.

But oh how much fun I had tanking on my warrior.  He's SUPPOSED to be my PvP/farming toon, but I think I'm going to have to push my rogue and hunter up faster.  Especially cause that means I'll have two class/spec combinations that SUCK at farming/making money.

Maybe that should be my next post....

Anyways, I know I'm getting my epic flyer asap on my warrior.  I've flown on my regular one with crusader on since getting my paladin his flyer, but god its slow, frustratingly so.  So maybe I'll do some farming and pvping till I have someone to replace him.  But my warrior is going to help alleviate my servers tanking problem, that I can already tell.