To be blunt - why are so many people in WoW idiots/expletive one/expletive two/expletive three*
And not just when you are level 80 - it seems that they reside in every corner of WoW - leveling instances, BGs, randoms, PuGs - basically anywhere you don't have control over who you have to share you play space with.
*Delete as appropriate
I have several projects outside of gold on the go in WoW. For some reason I'm leveling another priest on the horde side of my server (originally to make gold but thats expanded to healing instances and doing BGs - eventually I will heal on her as Holy spec just to learn that style of healing) but I also decided that I should learn to tank.
I've had a wee pally for a while - when I first went onto my own account Acanthus was born whilst I waited for my priest to transfer. I leveled her to 20 and then rolled Puraa and since then the Pally has been on the back boiler. She's been selling glyphs - originally as my double ink glyph seller but after a reorganisation she now sells my warlock and warrior glyphs.
I did take her out on occasion and got her to level 30 but then, tbh, I lost interest. I'm over questing and I've been focusing on healing instances on my hordie.
Anyhows, long story short, a couple of weeks ago I decided to respec her and learn to tank. It's something I've not done before, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
I've taken advice from several pally tank friends, and I've geared, specced and enchanted appropriately.
My tanking options are still limited, but so far I ensure Righteous Fury is on, taunt with Hand of Reckoning and throw down a Consecration. If anyone pulls agro I use Righteous Defence (via healbot which works well). I use Seal of Light, Judgement of Wisdom when available, Exorcism and Hammer of Justice if I have the mana.
OK, so basic stuff
I insta-find groups - and currently running the Scarlet Monastary (library) etc.
Now I admit that tanking is very different to healing and range DPS. And no doubt tanking in the 30s it vastly different to tanking in raids etc. There are things I am having to get my head around:
Melee - this is probably the hardest thing to get my head around. As a healer you are looking at bars, as a range dps you are stood back able to see the action laid out in front of you. Selecting targets isn't an issue. But close up and personal in a throng of mobs, other melee, spells graphics ping off left and right - I find it hard to be able to select from one target to the next. Tab targeting is all well and good - but it just puts you on the next nearest target which isn't always the one you are most interested in.
Range Mobs - nothing worse than taunting a mob to see then start casting a fireball spell. I understand I don't tank at range so I need to be where they are - but if I taunt a spell caster worry that the melee members of that particular set of mobs will just run past me into the DPS/heals.
Being surrounded - as I understand it I cant block or parry attacks from behind. Therefore I need to keep everyone in front of me if at all possible. Well mobs don't seem to realise this! So I run through them and turn around to get them all in front of me - so why dont I see tanks in heroics or raids doing this?
Anyway this post isn't meant to be about tanking - its meant to be about impatience.
I decided that its only fair on the rest of the group to let them know before we start that I am new to tanking. Doesn't seem to cause much issue - but I am constantly finding DPS running off pulling mobs. I realise that levelling and instances are 'ezi-mode' these days - and that on my priest I can easily keep a group alive whatever they decide to do - but it doesn't mean that I do it.
Then last night I got a healer that said 'I'm leaving after this pull because the tank cant hold agro'.
To be honest I said "No I'll go' and left party. I couldn't take the criticism - even though I wasn't doing badly (just the odd mob here and there getting through before being taunted back). I mean wtf?
Are we really in such a needy, 'moon on a stick', 'give it to me on a plate' game that people can't work through with someone learning something new in WoW? Are they really that shallow and self centred that they are just running for themselves forgetting it's an MMO? Why the hell don't they just go and play Sacred if they don't want to be inconvenienced by others?
I don't really know what to do about it - it would be nice to have four friends all running with new classes - enjoying the learning experience together. But that's not what's happening - so I have suffer with the idiots that I share my battlegroup with - ones who have no manners, don't understand their roles or just don't remember that they too once had to learn new aspects of the game.
To conclude - I am sure it was would easy to tank on a lvl 30ish paladin if I had a level 80 bear or warrior. But if you are levelling a toon, keep in mind that people you run in instances with may well be learning something completely new to them - so stop a second if you plan to be idiot, it doesn't make you look special. Or perhaps it does - just with a capital 'S'.
8 comments:
The levelling tanks job is to (A) stay alive, and (B) keep the agro off the healer. Anything else is cream. Pity that gogogo DPS don't understand that.
My blog has a few similar rants - hopefully not all negative. Instancing with learning tanks isn't hard. The mobs & bosses are not hard. The DPS you take with you are.
Get a pocket healer for your first few runs. It really helps.
My shammy, Kazinga is at level 25. With a bit of weekend work (unfortunately not this weekend) I imagine I could get his level up a bit to join you in SM for some elemental DPS, which I've never done in an instance before. I wonder if other guildies have alts close to 30 they'd like to take? An MTR alt-leveling group would probably not be a bad idea.
Would certainly be fun trying the old dungeons with at-level toons all learning together :) I have a priest I am levelling, she is only 18 at the moment though. Moldy also has a pally that he has but he/she is also back about my level.
Hmm, I've been considering levelling a hunter to see what the fuss is about or possibly a druid.
I reckon I could get to 30 pretty quick with a bit of a concerted effort and a few BoA's
You may not notice it, but I'll generally position mobs so that I'm not surrounded (think the initial big pull on H UK). Its not always possible and sometimes ignored on outgeared Heroics.
If you think of the 50 whelp ach. we tried for, its was hits to the tanks back from half of the 65+mobs that caused his death. You can't really do much about them other than pray for outstanding heals.
Levelling my Shaman in the not too distant past showed me a related problem. Lots of ret spec'd pallys or arms warriors trying to tanking with not tanking gear or spec. I'm still seeing it now in the mid 70's.
Once you're into the level 50's you'll find it a lot easier. Ramparts is a good place to really learn to tank with more than autoattack and a judgement.
B
That's exactly the problem, ppl expect all others to be so called "pro" even though they aren't even close to that themselves.
I had the same issue when I started to heal, which I have never done before (always been a tank). I just said, I am new into this, so please give me chance, I am still learning...
Some understood, most didn't.
In fact you are totally right, ppl nowadays just expect everything to be served on a golden plate.
The best part is, you are the tank, you are the one getting instant rnd daily inv...if you leave, the others will have to wait for a rather long time;)
Pally tanking becomes much better when you get your captain america sheild throw. Then there is a way to make it silence. Pally tanking gets better with levels hopefully they move some of the talents lower to make it easier on lower level toons.
Its always easier to keep aggro than to regain it, so being the first to engage is very important for a tank. This is half of the reason so many tanks are in a hurry in pugs - to pull before the hunter gets a chance to. Here are some tips:
To keep mobs in front of you get used to strafing when they get on your sides, you can keep all 50 whelps in Onyxia hitting your front if you strafe around them in a circle while your tanking them.
Running through groups is one way to keep them grouped up and close to you, but you end up fighting them where they stand, which can be very close to other packs of mobs, or patrols... this is why seasoned tanks prefer to line of sight pull around a corner to get the mobs stacked on the corner point. This can be tough for a paladin, as you have few ranged attack at that level, ues Exorcism or Avenger's Shield then run for the corner, just before you turn it, consecrate and wait just on the other side of the corner.
Enable name plates so you can select the exact mob you are worried about with your mouse easier. Threat plates is a great addon that will highlight the nameplates of mobs you don't have aggro on.
I can absolutely relate to where you are coming from. I'm working on a druid tank off and on and having a blast with her for the most part. I've played DPS with both range and melee and healing with a priest. Even though I swore I would never, ever tank, for some ungodly reason I woke up one morning and decided to give it a whirl.
I love it!!! The only problem that I've encountered are some DPS. I don't do half bad tanking and hold aggro pretty well. But I've noticed I have to be constantly pulling as fast as I possibly can. I've run into hunter's shooting mobs before I have the opportunity to snag them. I've run into a warrior that was taunting the mobs off me. Took me the longest time to figure out what in the world I was doing wrong until I actually saw him do it. I was like WTH? I've been instances with other druids who sign up as dps and go bear and growling the mobs away from me. Again, WTH?
So those DPS out there, please, please think about what you are doing. It's been my experience that it takes more work on my part to pull the mobs off you than if you just wait 5 secs and let me get a hold of them in the first place.
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