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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: The tanking shortage
by Allison Robert 
Dec 3rd 2008 at 8:00AM
I've seen several Death Knights already at 80 on my realm (and to my everlasting horror, two of them in my guild beat me to 80), but haven't noticed any real difference in the number of tells in trade and LFG searching for a tank. Whenever I see these, it's hard not to wonder what's going on. While it's much too early for the majority of leveling DK's to have had a big impact on 5-man tanking between 70 and 80, most of the ones I've seen at 80 are rerolled DPS and have continued in that role. Some would like to tank but just don't have the gear to withstand the damage of a high-level dungeon. Others have privately admitted that, while they're willing to give tanking a try, having to learn it at 80 with an impatient group that just wants to get through a dungeon is a daunting prospect. Still others really do just prefer to DPS.
I think I'm watching this more closely than anything else developing in Wrath; I think it's going to say a lot about whether you really need a certain personality to enjoy tanking, what people see as fun in the game, and what was actually causing the "tanking shortage" in the first place.
Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Breakfast Topics, Instances, Features, Death Knight
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 12)
Shardrell Dec 3rd 2008 8:11AM
I helped a friend of mine learn to tank as a DK recently. It requires a fair bit of patience at first, and if a DK tank doesn't have access to a group of friends/understanding guild, they're going to have a pretty miserable time of it.
He's gotten much better very quickly, but it doesn't hurt that he only runs with people who know how not to be idiots in dungeons. I don't think he'd ever run with a PUG.
Blizzard could release all the hero classes in the world, but it wouldn't change the fact that many people are uninterested in the stress of tanking or healing for a group of random people who may or may not be idiots/jerks.
KirkJobSluder Dec 3rd 2008 9:52AM
Yes. I'm learning to tank on a new DK right now, and I pretty much just tank for people in-guild with dungeon skills I know and respect. I also prefer to tank in a group with my wife in the next room because it's easy to coordinate crowd control.
But random PUGs? Ugh. 2/3rds of the time I end up with someone who doesn't know their role, dashes ahead of my pulls drawing aggro, or brings drama with them.
Angus Dec 3rd 2008 9:47AM
Very true. If you don't have friends helping you learn to tank, things get ugly fast.
We were running with a DK as DPS and he was doing awesome. He asked if we would like another person in our guild so we snatched him up.
He asked what we needed and we said tank. He's spent the last 2 weeks learning it. We've done runs with him and generally made it very obvious we will help him learn. He's taken to it very well.
As you said, having someone willing to help them learn is the big trick.
Christopher Dec 3rd 2008 8:12AM
I believe it's a glory issue. Frankly, DPSing will always be the glorified role. DPS meters contribute to that, but they are the child of the competitive spirit, not the root. As a Paladin (I jump between holy/prot/ret) I'm unique in that I enjoy healing, not DPSing (although 3 of my 70s are Priests, so that contributes to that feeling).
There's little glory in tanking, especially for the average player. Just like how healing is a niche role (crit heals don't turn everyone on, just seasoned healers) - checking omen for your threat-per-second doesn't get everyone hot, just a real seasoned tank.
Just like healing, tanking is a specialized role for a special type of player (remember 'bring the player, not the class'?). It's not a class problem, the fact that 3 (now 4) classes can do it proves that. Likely the good tanks are fed-up with dealing with bad players.
Dreadbeard Dec 3rd 2008 8:37AM
Completely disagree with your assertion that tanking isn't as "glorious" as other assignments in groups/raids. Watching a good tank at work is one of the things that I marvel at. Any idiot can spam macros, but having the situational awareness of the encounter in hand, in addition to monitoring aggro, taking queues on when bosses are firing up their special attacks, properly marking targets, and exiting the situation with your team intact, that's glory right there. Yeah...topping meters and huge crits look dead sexy, but glory goes to the tank.
Mondryn Dec 3rd 2008 10:40AM
I recently tanked Utgarde Keep as a prot warrior. About halfway through, someone popped a damage meter, and I was at the top.
dpak Dec 3rd 2008 12:47PM
I too disagree.
While all roles are important in a raid, a good tank and healer team can make or break it.
period.
Kassius Dec 3rd 2008 8:13AM
I'm seeing plenty of tanks, healers are the real shortage on my server atm; with most pallys being ret and druids respeccing balance since these specs have seen major buffs.
Bariak Dec 3rd 2008 9:06AM
I agree to a point, I think the real shortage right now is with healers. I do see a shortage of tanks and I do also believe that its mainly because a "everyone wants to DPS" attitude. DPS is actually fun, where healing and tanking can be extremely stressful.
Phoenix Dec 3rd 2008 11:39AM
Same problem here. I have no shortage of tanks to choose from for the Naxx raids I'm running (my MT is a DK even), but there are literally NO HEALERS around.
All the end game guilds on my server are recruiting healers as far as I can tell.
FlameFlash Dec 3rd 2008 2:26PM
Exactly!
Tanks are running rampant. I want to go, "hey guys, let me run get my heal gear out of the bank real fast and pop my dual spec into heals, grab that other guy for tanking."
I've even offered to do so these days, though we usually just have to wait another 10 minutes before finally snagging one.
Can't wait for dual spec...
Darksentinel Dec 7th 2008 3:16PM
One thing that bugs me is that people want on-spec healers. I'm leveling as Ret at the moment and can heal well. None of the groups I've healed for have failed to complete a run, and I've had no complaints. Keristrazsa is doable as ret, final boss in UK is simple as long as people move out of the range of his spells and you avoid the silences. Hadronox is the only really painful fight I've healed as Ret, and if I'm solo healing and dispeling I'll almost always lose a DPS or two.
But a lot of groups that are looking for healers (and there are a lot of them) won't give off-spec (geared) healers a try, even if it means they sit in /lfm for 2 hours.
And let's face it, Sheath of Light is awesome for healing. People should be more open minded. Take the player not the class/spec :P
Beagan Dec 3rd 2008 8:14AM
We've got plenty of tanks on our server (Dunemaul EU), but there seems to be a serious shortage in healers...
Hudders Dec 3rd 2008 9:40AM
Hopefully something that will change slightly when the Paladin changes kick-in.
Hamlet Dec 3rd 2008 8:15AM
I've tanked with a protection warrior for over two years, and now I'm sitting at level 80 with my brand new Death Knight and decided "I'm gonna go frost and give this character a shot at tanking Heroics!"
Good god. The pain. The horror. The lack of defense!
Not being able to use (real) tanking weapons is evil, not being uncritable (still 200 drating away from ze cap), mixed with the (to me) completely different rotation/buttons (besides icy touch and plague strike) that comes with a change from blood to frost, and I really have to say that I felt *very* inadequate. Well, probably because I *was* inadequate. At some times I wouldn't be taking damage at all, and then, all of the sudden, it was awfully-colorful-death-time.
Then I decided to leave heroics and step down to regular level 80. And it was messy, but less "the horror, the horror", although I'll chalk that up to my healer being a good one.
My point here is, if I wasn't running the instances with my friends, I don't think I would've had the chance to finish the instances, or try as many times. Being a tank is totally awesome, but it is very bad to feel unreliable and not solid.
I think that's why most DKs out there are not tanking. It's a rough awakening. o.o
H.
zappo Dec 3rd 2008 9:30AM
The main tank in my guild switched from a warrior to a death knight. Running instances I actually found to be similar to your experience. I had to watch him much more closely when I healed because his health would just plummet all of a sudden. Keep in mind that all the gear you get in Norend at the beginning is essentially leveling gear. On my paladin tank I have the tankatronic goggles left over which will probably last me to late 70's-80. That means I'm not replacing defense/tanking gear with basically dps gear. Death Knights never got the option to sit at 70 and accumulate good tanking gear.
So now that the his gear started to gain defense I've the incoming damage become much more consistent. Offhand I'm going to guess you may have had the same problems. My healer isn't high enough to run heroics with him now, but it seems like death knights will be fine as they come into end game tanking gear.
wodiin Dec 3rd 2008 9:59AM
I just got off from tanking naxx 10 man as the off tank, and I must say at non defense cap (515 raw defense) I was doing pretty good. But yeah I would have to agree with you Hamlet the lack of defense was a real bugga to grind lucky I have a patient group of guildies to help gear me up, or it would of been a nightmare.
Duel wielding the epic sword from Utgrade Pinnacle and some random blue axe with the rest of my gear just of defense, it just saddens me I have to get defense caped before I can start getting the juicy gear, hopefully GC will come good on his deal and defense wont be such a needed stat.
(sorry for the lack of forum grammer and/or spelling for you fun police)
ggascoigne Dec 3rd 2008 1:08PM
But I had the same as a fairly new 70 pally, I was still undergeared and the spike damage blew me to smithereens. I could to the 70s, but not the heroics for quite a while. Once I'd geared up it all changed.
I think you might be forgetting just how hard some of the 70 heroics really were first time round.
Lanth Dec 3rd 2008 8:16AM
It's a step in the right direction, but people just don't like tanking. This is because of:
High repair bills for tanks.
Tanking is quite reactive and requires you to be quick and paying attention, while DPS is rather simple.
Tanks are often in charge of the group, and when PuGs fail miserably, they're often blamed.
Terdrix Dec 3rd 2008 9:09AM
"High repair bills for tanks.
Tanking is quite reactive and requires you to be quick and paying attention, while DPS is rather simple.
Tanks are often in charge of the group, and when PuGs fail miserably, they're often blamed."
This....
My paladin main has never been anything but prot for any extended period of time. I've been the main tank of my guild for quite some time. However, I can't stand to pug because of the idiots you tend to get and the blame that gets put on the tank.
Seriously, got pugged into a group early on in the expansion for Nexxus. Resto druid healer had 600 spellpower at 72 and the DPS were running between 500-750 each. Yet, when the group wiped twice on the second boss they started yelling about how they needed a new tank because I died. Now, I'm not the most geared tank in the world, but come on guys.