OT: Bear Gram
So yes, I have a 3 day hiatus and I come back... to ask advice about my bear!
Well, more specifically, my druid.
I have the insanity of many alts. I have one of each class. Most are in the teens to 30 something, but the three highest are:
Giddg Puts the Pointy Ends into the Squishie's so that they bleed
Cayleigh the Love Priest
and
Sashara, a very confused Druid.
I started her out feral, then switched to Boomkin, and recently respec'd her back to feral.
Why?
I have my healz, I have my DPS, now, I have the potential for a tank.
Sasha is 64, so she's only 6 levels away from 70-dom. By having a 70 of each type, I'm looking forward to being able to help anyone in the guild in case they need anything. (And yes, I realize that by playing a druid, I could be all three anyway, but SHHHHH! The monkeys don't need to know.)
Here's my problem. I can DPS like a mofo in kitty. It's fun, it's an awesome way to level, this feral spec.
But I've never tanked. Ever.
And this is what she's supposed to be.
So what do I do? I know, I should go out and peruse some of the blogs out there (BRK's got a friend with a druid blog, I know it!) and read up?
Ever get retardedly nervous about trying something new?
I don't want my first tank adventure to be with anyone but guildies. I tried, way back at lvl 61, to tank Ramparts with a PuG... but some bug in the mapping wouldn't let me click target, and was screwing up my gaming, and I just sucked it. Hard.
Not fun. I felt like the ultimate tool. Since then, I just haven't had the time to go back to her. But I want to try and tank.
I don't have the "Sit back and let things happen" mentality that is prevalent in many, many healers. Giddg got me over that. But there's been a lot of times in instances where I knew more than the tank about the place, and I was marking... and what not. So, yea... I want to try it.
Nyar, now I need a time machine to make me more time for my tank!
____
Ok, that was sufficiently Off Topic (hence OT). Stay tuned for more blathering tomorrow on how to heal your Tank's left testicle back on after Epoch Hunter ate it.
~<3 Cay
5 comments:
Tanking's actually really difficult to get done correctly, even if you don't have a group that thinks "Assisting" is some obscure venereal disease.
Just as a note, most raiding guilds are probably looking for boomkin - not only do they crank out some scary damage, but their gear is designed with +spelldamage, which as we all know, also means +heal. So in a pinch, they can shift out of featherfluff and start tossing out heals.
On the other hand, feral druids are bar none the BEST offtank in the game.
Unfortunately, my Tank Of Choice is currently leveling a bear tank - his pally and warrior tanks are already raiding. So I don't have much help I can offer for the bear tank strategies. *lopsided grin*
Serious kudos for you on it though - it's not a role I'd want to try, myself. XD
I prefer priest, myself. But I too succumbed to the lure of tanking with an alt - a warrior in my case. Like you the first try was... pathetic. That said, the recommendation I was given made it a LOT more bearable.
I tanked a grey instance. Yep, I was a level 40 dwarf warrior tanking VC. I did this accompanied by two friends - a healer (druid, but they try hard) and a warlock, both level-appropriate. The first time through, I still had problems - darn pats would turn and take a step or two (or five) toward my friends before I could get them back. But generally the mobs were MINE, and by the time I reached VanCleef and his band of assassins I had the confidence - and enough handle on my tools - to keep them all dancing with me while the other two did their jobs. A second run went close to perfect, and I 'promoted' myself to a higher instance (and some more players). I still had learning, but taking the kindergarten route helped a lot.
So, not Ramparts. Instead take something that errors and computer glitches on your part don't bother anyone. Pick a favorite - one you think the tank (as healer) should have been able to do in his/her sleep. Just take someone along who will try very hard to steal aggro - a healer by preference - to help your training.
My two cents, anyway.
I ha(d)/(ve) a feral druid - kinda.
Level 70, but resto atm - it does have a near full tankage set however.
You wanna look on Adventures in Azeroth at the tanking gear post - that should be a boost to tanking.
Now I suck balls at tanking, so i tend to stay resto.
However, I do know (some of) the basics. Maul & mangle are great. Use mangle every time its up. Feral faerie fire adds a bit of free threat, so pop that every time its up.
Swipe is good with 2+ mobs, as if you have (eg)a 25% crit rate, and two mobs, there is a 50% chance you will get at least one crit, so the rage cost drops to 10 (you get 5 back with a crit).
If there are 3 mobs, there is a 75% chance to get 5 rage. And an 18.75% chance to get 10 rage back.
I digress (I love theorycrafting 8) )
So 2+ mobs = swipe
Mangle & FFF every time either is up. EgoPriest may not like CC, but I do - it is hard ('specially at first) to tank 3+ mobs, so focused fire helps ofc.
Demoralizing roar helps the healer by lowering AP, so pop that every time it is about to go down, and it also gives some threat.
ONce you hit 66, lacerate is great. Most of the threat is now front end, so it comes with the damage done at first rather than bleed. This means that it is soo bad on mobs that are immune to bleed, like those buggers in mech.
Maul is expensive however, and becuase it is on next attack, it doesnt generate any rage.
Final note - correct me wherever possible - I know what to do better than I can do it - so there will be errors.
Also - maul & lacerate are bleed effects, so mangle will up their damage, and thus the threat generated.
I have a lvl 70 lock, a lvl 70 bear druid, and a lvl 60 priest, so I've seen all sides. I've played WoW for a while now, but playing a tank is a whole different experience from dpsing or healing. DPSers don't have to pay attention to the pulls much (just follow the tank) and healers don't even have to look at the mobs at all. I recommend you going to one dungeon on your other toons if you're hesitant about tanking and learning the pulls until you feel confident. That's really all you need to know. Once you know how to pull and mark the mobs, then it's a simple Mangle-Lacerate x 5-Maul (when you have extra rage.) Growl when you lose aggro, Swipe if you need to tank multiple mobs, and yell at your group to stay on one target. Happy tanking!
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