New To Tanking and Have Some Questions.

[SirShuffles]

Hey all, I started tanking for the first time last night and I really enjoyed it.
Things didn't really go too bad. My health dipped low sometimes, but everyone but me was typing a lot and just kind of letting me do my thing and figure things out. And the SMN ripped from me a couple of times but I would usually pull back after a couple hits. Don't have Provoke Yet, waiting until 30 to get GLD to 22. I'm going WAR btw.


My questions are this.

Is tanking skill acquired mainly from practice and patience, or will a tank know if he is good or not pretty much at first?

When is the best time in an average trash pull to use cool downs to minimize healer stress?

What is the average ideal positioning in relation to the party?

Any Feedback is appreciated.

[SpookyGhost]

1. It's 100% practice. If you're a good tank from the jump, you're likely coming from another MMO. You will likely be pretty bad at first and improve from there. Don't go in expecting to make perfect decisions, but if you do then know that you're doing above what the average player would.

2. You usually want to plan your CDs ahead of time, but they're most useful at the start as that is usually when the healer will be DPSing (if not the whole way through).

3. Mobs facing away from party.

[karateorangutang]

1. Practice!! Tanking comes down to a set of basic rules that are followed in order to keep the party moving quickly and safely. I made all sorts of mistakes when I first started, but as long as you can learn from it and work to improve the process then that is what makes a good tank. I heard once that tanking is a job and I think it really applies. It's using resources and managing not only your enemies but your party members as well. Learning through practice how to leverage and position everything is what makes a great tank.

2. I tend to hit a cooldown after the mobs are settled toward the beginning of a pull. Thats when you have the most mobs on you and when you'll get the most mileage out of your cooldown. Additionally, if your pulling multiple groups make sure you have the cooldown ready to run a little earlier to ease the initial casts of your healer.

3. Ideal positioning is always facing away from your healers. Generally DPS will move to make sure they aren't going to get cleaved, but if your HP is dropping then you don't want the healer to have to eat an AOE so you don't die. Do what you can to prevent their spell interruptions.

[bounddreamer]

Some of your answers are going to depend on what class you're playing. For instance, DRK has a full toolkit of enmity generating tools out of the box. It also might be tougher for a first time tank. I recommend looking up and reading a guide specific to your class.

Tanking skill and tanking aptitude are really two different things. You will probably know within your first few dungeons whether you have the aptitude ("I want to do this.") It will take longer to develop the experience and comfort level to call yourself skilled ("I am good at doing this.")

Basic rule of positioning is keep your mobs faced away from your dps and healer. Open with your ranged move, close the distance, aoe aggro generating move (flash, overpower, unleash) a couple of times, then rotate enmity generating combo moves on all the mobs because your aoe dps will be hitting everything.

Use of cooldowns is really something you have to develop a feel for with practice. Again it depends on your class.

[SirShuffles]

I did tank in WoW back in WotLK but this seems really different and I like it.

Also, does it generate more threat to use the 2nd combo piece when getting ripped from rather than the whole combo, IE say I'm ripped from, I use Tomahawk to close the gap, then should I use Skull Sunder, or just go through with the whole combo starting with Heavy Swing? This is when I don't have Provoke yet.

[karateorangutang]

I did tank in WoW back in WotLK but this seems really different and I like it.

Also, does it generate more threat to use the 2nd combo piece when getting ripped from rather than the whole combo, IE say I'm ripped from, I use Tomahawk to close the gap, then should I use Skull Sunder, or just go through with the whole combo starting with Heavy Swing? This is when I don't have Provoke yet.

If its only one mob, usually a tomahawk followed by a full combo is better. Otherwise if its a group overpower is always handy. You can also utilize your stun to keep the mob still.

[bounddreamer]

You have to do the whole combo or you don't get the optimal enmity generation for skull sunder. Do you have Flash cross classed? You could overpower then flash, then combo that specific mob.

[SirShuffles]

You have to do the whole combo or you don't get the optimal enmity generation for skull sunder. Do you have Flash cross classed? You could overpower then flash, then combo that specific mob.

I do have Flash, but my current MP only lets me do like 2 of them so I try to use it sparingly for groups that are more spaced out or in case things just get out of hand. I would probably sooner do a 2nd Overpower.

[Leidiriv]

You said you were waiting to get Provoke until you hit level 30 as MRD, correct? I'm of the opinion that Provoke is *the* single most important thing any tank could have, so you will make it much easier on yourself if you get it as soon as possible. It's just such a great cooldown, and it's nice to be able to practice using it before you get too ingrained in your ways of tanking without it.

[bounddreamer]

You said you were waiting to get Provoke until you hit level 30 as MRD, correct? I'm of the opinion that Provoke is *the* single most important thing any tank could have, so you will make it much easier on yourself if you get it as soon as possible. It's just such a great cooldown, and it's nice to be able to practice using it before you get too ingrained in your ways of tanking without it.

I second this. I actually got Provoke from GLD before I started tanking with marauder.

And OP, a second overpower should work just fine. I like to weave flash because the TP drain is more of a concern than mp.