Post by Arideni
I just want to add a few details that basically sum up what most people have said here, so if you're looking for a few details still, hopefully this will help.
For the actual strategy paragraph, scroll to the bottom. A lot of things everyone has said relies on swapping targets and hitting
Sunder Armor or spreading the hate over mobs. Threat isn't really a magical element that reacts in an unpredictable manner; though it often appears that way due to the large variety of spells, talents, and items that when combined with an individual's playstyle can make cause and effect sometimes unpredictable. On paper this may be much more tolerable, but in on-the-fly practice in a dungeon you have little to no time to process this information.
So with that said, how could one go about fitting the pieces of such an expansive jigsaw into one collective, satisfying experience? The answer is simple: compensation -- or
overcompensation to be accurate. The more effort you put into the process, the more favorable the outcome.
From your post, it is obvious you notice you have identified a potential weakness and wish to improve. This is the first step to improving your game: accepting and rejecting denial. If you wish to improve you must realize you will not reach perfection; however the drive to reach this pinnacle will prove to be a plateau of success.
-----To tank many mobs at once, there are a few key abilities most people usually fail to mention (or simply do not understand) and are listed in another post below.
Thunderclap is an important ability to control up to 4 mobs at a time. It can work wonders if certain conditions are met such as healers controlling their agro or damage dealers holding off their Area-of-effect abilities. It doesn't apply much threat, since it is spread out, but it does create a very low margin to buy time. When to use this and when not to use it, you will learn as you play through experience. Keep in mind these things: crowd control, rage cost, and Global Cooldown.
Cleave is a useful tool, but it has the same disadvantages as
Tclap. It only works on two mobs, can break crowd control, high rage cost and doesn't generate additional rage. This is usually a rage dump move. With careful use, you can find yourself using this even near crowd control where
Tclap will not work...but be careful with your judgement.
You're protection spec you said, so we can presume at the moment you're doing 5-man content, learning the ropes. Here are some great overall tips the common tank neglects:
Take Charge -
Be the leader of the group. Most groups lack coordination, even if the players are smart or have good gear, they often get distracted - especially during downtime (recovering health/mana, etc.). This means asking for leader of the group, using a few hotkeys and putting up Targets for everyone to visually follow. If you group often, use the same targets for the same things: Skull for initial kill, red "X" for next, and Star for Polymorph - make a macro!
Take Responsibility - If you mess up, get over it. You have to be focused for the next battle, not the previous mistake(s). Find the positive light in a situation and inform your group,
pick up the morale and always admit your mistakes before they can be used against you. The truth will set you free.
Create Strong Groups - Be confident (not arrogant) and create your own group, or group with former healers. Fill in the damage dealers as necessary, but always bring crowd control. No one wants to be stuck waiting in a group for an hour, get it together! After you have a healer, focus on crowd control for your dungeon;
weigh the classes who message your group against the classes/players who will benefit you in the dungeon. You don't need a third mage for polymorph, but you might need a warlock to Banish some hard-hitting elementals! Do whatever it takes to ensure both you and your healer stay alive against tough opponents, all classes have a form of evasion or control to buy precious time!
Keep an Open Mind - Keep your party chat window on screen so you can see what players are saying (where voice chat is not used) - you don't want them to miss an important moment where they may need to use crowd control, etc. Stay alert! Do not let distractions prevent you from completing your objective: a safe, enjoyable experience with a low repair bill! Also, keep in mind you will learn many things as you group - either by chance or by reputation - with more experienced players. They often appreciate an open pair of ears and could give you valuable advice, not everyone has just one character, many top players have more than one class they are skilled with!
Never Break Trust - You should never break a trusting relationship with reasonable players if you want to advance. Being an arrogant, selfish player just doesn't create good tanks. If you have leader of your group or even a guild,
be fair in the decisions you make: you could be making or breaking your reputation without knowing. It never hurts to discuss and validate a group decision.
The above five (5) are examples of some guidelines to becoming not only a good tank, but a good player overall. You have to remember that being a Protection tank at high level, players automatically tend to compare you against every other tank they have seen, either raid or pick-up. The last thing you want to do while learning is gain a bad reputation; afterall, a tank who can't get groups can't really tank.
END -
written by poster
Post by Arideni
Examples of Important AbilitiesThis is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but a very short list of abilities seldom mentioned (because most tanks are not protection for a great deal of time, if at all).
Shield Slam - Highest threat ability available to Protection warriors (in Defensive stance), Imagine threat as blocks/bars like that of a threat meter;
SS is the largest chunk of threat immediately available, triggers Global Cooldown
- When approaching a monster, use frequently (read: immediately & every chance available)
- Use on initial monster, follow-up with Revenge (see Revenge below)
- Has no requirements (only a cooldown), you may use this ability when you have rage
- Highest amount of threat by a single ability...even if you have little to no rage, this ability is worth using and its high threat can gradually help you regain the lead if you struggle
- Can be empowered by shield block value , blocking & dealing more damage
Revenge - Reaction command (enabled after a dodge, block or parry), high threat counterattack move only available in Defensive stance
- After SS, use frequently when available; if not available, use Shield Block to force a block
- Base rage cost very low, potentially even lower with Protection talents (see here)
- After initial monster, focus Rev and other moves such as Heroic Strike to maintain enough threat until the monster's death; this allows SSon other creatures
Heroic Strike - High offensive threat, potentially equal threat compared to
Sunder Armor subject to 2.3 changes, if any
- Rage cost lowered depending on talent points
- next attack - this ability does not trigger Global Cooldown
- Press the key for HS quickly between heavy Shield Block's 5 sec. cooldown, followed by Rev and repeating with SS
- Scales favorably with high speed weapons
- does not produce rage upon dealing damage (use this to reduce excess rage)
Devastate - Refreshes the duration of
Sunder Armor while dealing 50% of weapon damage and base threat multiplied by applications of
Sunder Armor, recently changed in 2.3
- Rage reduced by talents, including those affecting Sunder Armor new in 2.3
- Resets the debuff Sunder Armor for minimal rage cost
- Damage is normalized (slow weapons do not deal more damage
- Works well when combined with HS to dump extra rage, boosting threat generation
END -
written by poster
Post by Arideni
Matt69 touched on some great things I wanted to iterate and that being mostly the use of more than just Sunder Armor or (lol?) Mocking Blow.
Every situation is different and circumstance doesn't always allow you to write out a summary of a battle without some point of reference. Here is what you need to focus on, though and it's flexible to meet your needs. Let's say 3 targets since this is what most players begin having trouble with.
Objective: To lay down maximum initial threat on first target while simultaneously forcing hate on additional dangerous targets.There are two areas to work on: Target-switching and AOE tanking (for lack of a better term coming to mind). Target-switching simply means you just Slam and Strike your main target fast and furious, moving on to the next target. AOE tanking involves Thunderclap and Shouts (most recommend Demoralizing Shout, though it actually has little effective threat, the Attack Power reduction is worthwhile if you can afford the rage).
A simple Bloodrage will allow you to Shield Slam as soon as the monsters come to you. An ideal group can see that you have not yet quite begun work on secondary targets, however your main target will sometimes be unleashed upon soon after the pull.
- You must lay down maximum threat on the inital target. - This means opening with Shield Slam and following it immediately with as many available moves as possible. It's a race between you and the agro of your party members. Because Heroic Strike is on next attack as said earlier, queue this move before or after Shield Slam (depending on your rage available).
Having several targets hit you at the same time will usually enable Revenge without using Shield Block. Having Heroic Strike queued with Revenge means a 2-for-1 double whammy. You just put down 3 moves (plus white damage) in just a few seconds. This buys a large amount of time to focus on other enemy targets, most importantly the secondary target. - Be ready for the next target. - The first target in an ideal group dies first. This reiterates the need to maximize threat early. This allows you to Shield Slam or Thunderclap in your "free time" between cycles/rotations. Thunderclap with talents will greatly benefit your effective lifeline while causing a good amount of what I call temporary threat. It has a "cooldown" for a reason - use it when possible (if talents permit) in conjunction to target-switching to help not only buy time, but to increase your survival as well.
I apologize for length, hopefully I have cleared up any questionables without being long winded.. Tanking can be simple, but it is a lot of information to cover, especially when trying to answer questions about answers.
=) Good luck!