Forum post of the day: "which class should I roll to tank?"
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 24th 2008 at 11:00AM
Not so long ago, I asked this very question in a poll, so it was nice to see this excellent forum post attempting to answer the query "which class should I roll to tank?" Jakalope of US Wildhammer-H goes over the strengths and weaknesses of each of our three current tanking classes (Warrior, Druid, and Paladin), and gives some reasons why you might want or not want to play them.It's a great post and you should really read it if you're at all interested in the tanking classes and comparisons of them, but here's a summary (note, this is what he seems to be saying, not my opinions):
- Warrior: takes a lot of concentration, needs many skills, gear-dependent, has several "oh !@#%" buttons; most difficult to play well. Crucial MT for progression raids.
- Druid: easier to gear, fewer skills used while tanking and thus easiest for straightforward fights, less versatile while tanking, but can switch roles mid-fight. Not a great MT for 25-mans, but the best OT anywhere, and a strong MT for 5- and 10-mans
- Paladin: Best AoE tank, hands-down. Need to be able to watch cooldowns; need multiple sets of gear for tanking; best 5-man tank; hard to level.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Zuldim Jun 24th 2008 11:12AM
I'm currently leveling a Paladin, (he dinged 45 last night.) and I'm not finding it too terribly hard. My only complaint is the lack of ranged attacks. I plan on using him as a Tank until Wrath once he dings 70. At Wrath I'll respec Holy, (at 80) and get a DK for a tank.
Druids and Warriors I'm afraid I don't have too much experience with since my highest Druid was level 20 (maybe 21.) And I've never gotten a Warrior past like, 8.
doyesac Jun 24th 2008 11:39AM
Get your Warrior to 10 at least. If you get a huge adrenaline rush from your first Charge, you'll get your warrior to 70 right quick, and you'll never want to play another tanking class. If Charge does nothing for ya, you have no Warrior in your soul.
Malyfactian Jun 24th 2008 12:54PM
Geared and played properly, prot paladins are astoundingly easy to level. Any class that can take out 5-6 or more mobs in under 2 minutes is not going to have a problem gaining XP. Plus, you almost never die, which means no time-wasting corpse runs.
The only minor lulls I had were in the low 50s and again in the low 60s (but I think every class/spec goes through this, my rogue's experience was similar).
Bored Healer Jun 24th 2008 11:16AM
After countless hours waiting for a tank to do heroics on my healer i decided to roll a druid tank so that at least I could get groups together and to something.
My reasons were that it’s fun and easy to level and so versatile. I can respec to healer or two types of dps if there will be an increase in available tanks (death knight hype) and it should also be an excellent herb gatherer to supply my main which is a priest needing copious amounts of herbs for raiding.
Zghuk Jun 24th 2008 11:20AM
* Warrior: takes a lot of concentration, needs many skills, gear-dependent, has several "oh !@#%" buttons; most difficult to play well. Crucial MT for progression raids.
Warrior is (and will be (see alpha wiki) still the best and most versatile tank class. You will have problems with more than 3 targets but most in your WoW time there wont be so much target at once.
My choice!
" * Druid: easier to gear, fewer skills used while tanking and thus easiest for straightforward fights, less versatile while tanking, but can switch roles mid-fight. Not a great MT for 25-mans, but the best OT anywhere, and a strong MT for 5- and 10-mans"
If you are soloing much druid is the best for you. With cat and bear equip you wont have any problems in WoW. You wont be the leading main tank in a raid guild but you can always off tank in a raid.
When you dont want to be a pacifistic no-damager in other situations but raids, you really should play druid. no one can gank a druid, but you can gank def warriors and prot paladins...
* Paladin: Best AoE tank, hands-down. Need to be able to watch cooldowns; need multiple sets of gear for tanking; best 5-man tank; hard to level.
I play a prot paladin (well, I have also a warrior and druid) and I have to say: It's the weakest of the 3. You are so mana-addicted and spell damage-addicted. This isnt funny. In TBC the gear was okay, but the best gear is still for def warriors.
I dont think the class will rock in WotLK. Most of the things which needs a prot paladin will be death knight-only (more dmg, more anti-casting skills, minions).
Alchemistmerlin Jun 24th 2008 11:23AM
As a prot pally I have to say I LOVE the level grind. I pull 6 or 7 mobs that are at or around my level and then just let them grind themselves down on my reflective damage abilities. All the while I regain mana/health with seals and judgements.
Dranaerys Jun 24th 2008 11:28AM
I kinda have a thing about playing all my characters as belfs, so to me warrior and druid are sadly out of the question, and Im not teribly keen on levelling a pally. If I had to choose I'd probably go with a Warrior, something about it being the harder class to tank with makes it sound challenging and a ppealing to me. :) But I'll probably wait for wotlk and make a DK to have a stab at a tanking class.
Tony Vila Jun 24th 2008 11:30AM
Druids, hands down.
1. Easiest of the three to level.
2. Most versatile. You could tank, or what your guild needs / you feel like could change. Then you can be a great healer, a decent caster, or even a mediocre melee dps. It leaves your options open for 70 levels from know.
3. Yes everyone wants a T6 paly tank to run them through stuff, but gearing up a paly tank sucks. Unless a guild is carrying you, or you constantly spec between holy and your real set (and have a good holy set), you just don't get the gear fast.
Duncan Jun 24th 2008 12:10PM
So all the prot Pallys out there are being carried by there guild?? I donlt think so
KateJaneway Jun 24th 2008 12:52PM
I have a sick healing set, but I've still never respecced to Holy, there's far more cry for Tanks these days than healers, at least on my server.
g8rCody Jun 24th 2008 11:32AM
as a druid I've tanked content through SSC and TK. can't speak to anything beyond that, but I've been able to tank all trash and any boss that doesn't necessitate the use of a shield or plate/resist gear.
BillDoor Jun 24th 2008 1:10PM
As a T6 druid tank, I've tanked BT, Hyjal and up to Brutallus in T6 content just fine. You're not going to be the MT most of the time, but that's fine, you're a kick-butt OT. And you'll get to tank the Flames of Azzinoth, which is really fun.
I really get annoyed with people who think being an OT is a "lesser" job than MT. It's not, it's a different job, and just as important as the MT's job.
On trash, we really don't worry about who is MT and OT, we just constantly pull, and kill everything as fast as we can.
Truckin Jun 24th 2008 11:36AM
As a T4/5 warrior tank I think druids have the most fun and are far more versatile. Its not a chore to do dailies, etc.
infection Jun 24th 2008 11:41AM
So i'm 66 on my pally right now, and it looks like basically I have a prot pally that will be good for heorics and that's it?
This is really disturbing news. I've leveled this guy up because our guild really needs a tank besides our warrior, and also because i know he could heal if possible. I'm wondering should I just say screw this guy for tanking for WoTLK? Me and about 7 other friends have decided to stop pvp'ing and just work on progression now, but we needed another tank.
Please someone here clear up the issue of having a pally as a progression tank or not. If I need to stop and level a warrior, I would like to clear that up now. There is no way I level this guy up just to do 5 man's.. thats retarded.
Has anyone seen any information on how they will make pallies in WoTLK more viable for tanking?
KateJaneway Jun 24th 2008 12:50PM
They are viable in 25-man content as tanks *now*. There are Prot Pallies that main tank bosses in Hyjal/BT and their guilds love them for their AOE ability. There is still a very strong negative stigma towards Paladins, and it's sad. I mean, guys srsly, a Rogue tanked Gruul with only four other players and survived 30 growths. If that isn't proof that anything is possible, I don't know what is.
Personally, I have tanked in Gruul/Mag right now, and can say it is certainly possible and fun. I have loved leveling, playing and tanking on my Pally. Sure it was tough getting her geared up, but I don't want an easy ride, I don't want a button to press once that magically gives me all my gear. Yes Blizzard could certainly actually give Paladins decent Badge loot and better raid drops, but you can still be very successful with what is available.
I could NEVER imagine leveling a Warrior or a Druid to tank, it just seems too boring to be honest.
Also, CC to a great Paladin, means Constant Consecrate.
BitterCupOJoe Jun 24th 2008 12:52PM
Prot pallys are quite reasonable past 5 mans. There's places in even the 25 mans where they are hands down the best choices. Early on, they're great in several of the Kara fights, etc.
Cyrus Jun 24th 2008 1:01PM
I wouldn't worry too much about the usefulness of a prot pally. People are talking comparing what each class is best at, but there's a lot of space between "best at" and "good at." A pally tank in my guild main-tanked Karazhan a lot. Our leading warrior tank is now back to playing consistently, but the paladin is still used as one of the two main tanks on Hydross and several other situations where more than one tank is needed. True, when we get to the later bosses of BT and MH he probably won't have to be the main tank often, but that's not a problem for a while yet.
Qyn Jun 24th 2008 6:08PM
Pallys are fine progression tanks up through Hyjal.
Ger Jun 24th 2008 11:47AM
Get a Protect Pally and you won't find yourself kicking yourself later at how easy they have it in holding multi-mob aggro. Seriously, they're dependent on mana, but I find myself constantly frustrated at how easily a decently played Paladin can outshine my Warrior.
Aden Nak Jun 24th 2008 11:56AM
Druid. . . easier to gear. . . /sigh
Druid has, by far, the fewest gear selections for tanking of the three tanking classes - once you graduate from the Just Starting Kara gear, you're looking either entirely at Badge Loot or Tier pieces for all of the main slots with a few high-end craftables thrown in there. The number of tanking upgrades that are both Druid specific and dropped inside the actual raids can be counted on one furry paw.
That all being said, each class does have it's high points. I'd say the Druid high point is excellent physical mitigation and the highest potential threat generation - especially while still wearing high mitigation gear. The low point? Spell damage mitigation, which often requires Druids to either build a STAM-centric set or else invest in resistance sets to be remotely viable.