I'll be covering everything from gear to plots, raiding and everything else I can fit in to the new blog.
Seeing WoW though the eyes of a tank.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The new blog is up and running....
I have indeed started up a SW:TOR blog and I'm moving all my blogging over to there. Please feel free to stop by and check it out.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
It's been fun....
I wanted to thank those that followed me here and wanted to take a moment to say that I will not be posting here anymore. I've found that I'm just no longer having fun in WoW. It is just not the same game I started playing back in the classic days. There have become far too many elitist in game these days that have forgotten that to win, you need to work as a team. It doesn't matter if you top of the meters, if you didn't help in a different way when it was needed, and the group fails, you fail too. I have also decided to prepare for the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic. I'm hanging up my tanking gear for a lightsaber, pretty fair trade if you ask me, lol.
Thanks again to those that followed this blog and I'll likely be starting up a new blog once SW:TOR launches.
Elune protect you....or rather, May the Force be with you.
Neotaeo
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Is Fandral's Flamescythe really worth it?
Ok, so we have all probably seen someone with Fandral's Flamescythe by now. A flaming cat hanging out in Stormwind or Orgrimmar, showing off their new look. But is it really worth it? Is this weapon more then just a gimmicky weapon put in by Blizzard? Lets examine the facts shall we...
Here is Fandral's Flamescythe:
Fandral's Flamescythe
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1428 - 2143 Damage Speed 2.40
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 276 (1.54% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 265 (1.48 @ L85).
We also know that the unlisted trick to this weapon is that druids using it get a new fiery cat form. Now, the stats are nice, very high and in the right spots. The mastery on it is nice and the critical strike always helps. But is this really worth going crazy to go after?
Well, if you like your fair share of PvP, another weapon in your grasp can be:
Ruthless Gladiator's Staff
Season 10
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1190 - 1786 Damage Speed 2.00
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Classes: Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 272 (1.52% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your resilience rating by 272 (3.44% @ L85).
or
Ruthless Gladiator's Pike
Season 10
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Polearm
2142 - 3215 Damage Speed 3.60
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 272 (1.52% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your resilience rating by 272 (3.44% @ L85).
Now, you do lose out on the mastery on these 2 choices, but although mastery is a nice stat to have, it's not the top stat in most builds at the moment. You can always reforge to get some mastery back, but ultimately, the 265 mastery that the Fandral's Flamescythe gives you does not actually translate in to that much of an improvement. You have to remember that 265 does not translate in to actually 265 more mastery. It gets tossed in to the conversion tables like all other stats and then the correct amount is added to your stats.
Now, if you do not have access to or do not like to PvP, there is always "
Witch-Hunter's Harvester
Binds when equipped
Two-Hand Polearm
1614 - 3000 Damage Speed 3.50
(659.2 damage per second)
+361 Agility
+541 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 365
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 241 (1.34% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 241 (1.34 @ L85).
Ok, I know what you are going to say. And yes, the ilvl and stats are lower. But look at the big picture here and not the numbers on the polearm. You are only losing out on 47 agility, 70 stamina, 35 critical strike and 24 mastery. If you were to add these missing amounts to your stats you would see almost no change in your over all stats. For example, 70 stamina is only going to give you about 700 more health over all. In today's WoW, 700 health doesn't make a ton of difference, or really any at all.
If you sit back and do that over all math and run that numbers in your stats, you can see that, unless the staff drops while you are in there anyways, it does not seem that Fandral's Flamescythe is the end all/be all of weapons in the game for druids at this point. Sure the higher stats and ilvl numbers all make it the "best" weapon in game for druids. But if you stand back and look at it for what it really is, the shine on it seems to die down and it's not really that awesome of a weapon. Now if you want a weapon that will change you form, then this is simple the best for you. I feel that this just isn't worth farming for.
If you have any questions or comments you'd like to make on this topic, please feel free to comment. I will respond to any and all questions posted here. If you like this or any of my other topics, please follow me. You can also find me on twitter @neosroar.
Here is Fandral's Flamescythe:
Fandral's Flamescythe
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1428 - 2143 Damage Speed 2.40
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 276 (1.54% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 265 (1.48 @ L85).
We also know that the unlisted trick to this weapon is that druids using it get a new fiery cat form. Now, the stats are nice, very high and in the right spots. The mastery on it is nice and the critical strike always helps. But is this really worth going crazy to go after?
Well, if you like your fair share of PvP, another weapon in your grasp can be:
Ruthless Gladiator's Staff
Season 10
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1190 - 1786 Damage Speed 2.00
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Classes: Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 272 (1.52% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your resilience rating by 272 (3.44% @ L85).
or
Ruthless Gladiator's Pike
Season 10
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Polearm
2142 - 3215 Damage Speed 3.60
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 272 (1.52% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your resilience rating by 272 (3.44% @ L85).
Now, you do lose out on the mastery on these 2 choices, but although mastery is a nice stat to have, it's not the top stat in most builds at the moment. You can always reforge to get some mastery back, but ultimately, the 265 mastery that the Fandral's Flamescythe gives you does not actually translate in to that much of an improvement. You have to remember that 265 does not translate in to actually 265 more mastery. It gets tossed in to the conversion tables like all other stats and then the correct amount is added to your stats.
Now, if you do not have access to or do not like to PvP, there is always "
Witch-Hunter's Harvester
Binds when equipped
Two-Hand Polearm
1614 - 3000 Damage Speed 3.50
(659.2 damage per second)
+361 Agility
+541 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 365
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 241 (1.34% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 241 (1.34 @ L85).
Ok, I know what you are going to say. And yes, the ilvl and stats are lower. But look at the big picture here and not the numbers on the polearm. You are only losing out on 47 agility, 70 stamina, 35 critical strike and 24 mastery. If you were to add these missing amounts to your stats you would see almost no change in your over all stats. For example, 70 stamina is only going to give you about 700 more health over all. In today's WoW, 700 health doesn't make a ton of difference, or really any at all.
If you sit back and do that over all math and run that numbers in your stats, you can see that, unless the staff drops while you are in there anyways, it does not seem that Fandral's Flamescythe is the end all/be all of weapons in the game for druids at this point. Sure the higher stats and ilvl numbers all make it the "best" weapon in game for druids. But if you stand back and look at it for what it really is, the shine on it seems to die down and it's not really that awesome of a weapon. Now if you want a weapon that will change you form, then this is simple the best for you. I feel that this just isn't worth farming for.
If you have any questions or comments you'd like to make on this topic, please feel free to comment. I will respond to any and all questions posted here. If you like this or any of my other topics, please follow me. You can also find me on twitter @neosroar.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Racism in Warcraft? Really?
Todays blog is going to be a bit off topic as far as tanking information is concerned.....
I read a paper someone had written for a class of some sort about racism in the World of Warcraft. I read the article and was just totally taken back. First off, the persons information was based on what other people thought and said. Out of all that, half the information was completely wrong. For example, "The Darkspear trolls are clearly portrayed as weak since they were defeated by little merlocs and driven from their home." This was just a small part of how they are portraying a section of our population in a negative way (I'll link the article at the bottom of this blog.). Now I'm not one to nitpick stuff too badly, but when you are going to make a claim that anything is racist, you had better make sure your facts are in order and verified. I think the biggest comment made by the author that condemned the entire paper was when he stated "I'd buy this game if they made some changes to remove the racist elements". This right here states that he has not played it or not for any length of time that would allow a person to gather data to form a conclusion based on first hand knowledge.
Ok, now with that aspect out of the way.....
How in the wide wide world of sports could a game be racist? It is based in a fake world where fake events happen based on fake evolutions/intergalactic nudging or evolution or species and how they interact with the world around them. To say that anything in a game such as WoW is, in my opinion, racist is completely absurd. People create things by taking elements from the world around them. If you look at every character in WoW, you can see a mixing of cultures in each race. They all have good sides and dark pasts, this is what gives things in the game a bit more depth. But to sit back and say that the troll race represents 1 specific race here in the real world is ludicrous at best. Why does it have to be about race in everything? Why? Please, to all my readers, please just enjoy the game you are playing. If you still play WoW, enjoy it. If you are getting ready for SW:TOR, then when you get it, enjoy it. Don't pick apart a game and try to compare it to the real world. It's a game, a place to leave the world around us to play in a totally different environment where we can just have fun. Picking it apart only ruins and destroys a apart of the game that you can never get back. Once you go down the path of picking things apart, you will not be able to look at the fun world you play in the same way again.
Here is the paper that was written: http://www.cjritter.com/dissertation/ Please feel free to express here in the comment section if you agree or disagree with me. All comments will be posted here as long as they are not rude or profane.
Please remember that this is my opinion and not to be taken as fact. This is my feelings and opinions on the subject and I felt the need to express it here. If you enjoy my blog, please take a moment to follow me, I'm also on twitter @neosroar.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Firelands and you. New Shinies things for feral tanks.
With the release of The Firelands raid in 4.2, please are all climbing over each other to get in there and see what they can get off each boss. Now sure, the new dungeon journal gives you a full loot table off each boss, but I've taken some time and made up what I call my "Firelands Shopping List" full of new shinies that would make any feral tank smile. Here are the drops that bears would love to make use of in order of what boss they drop from...
drops off Beth'tilac <The Red Widow>
Cinderweb Leggings
Binds when picked up
Legs Leather
1592 Armor
+368 Agility
+611 Stamina
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 212 (1.66% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 284 (1.58 @ L85).
Spidersilk Spindle
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: Spidersilk Spindle (1)
Trinket
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 383 (2.14 @ L85).
Equip: Melee attacks which reduce you below 35% health cause you to gain a protective shield which absorbs 17095 damage for 30 sec. Cannot occur more than once every 1 min.
Drops off Lord Rhyolith
Dreadfire Drape
Binds when picked up
Back
695 Armor
+212 Agility
+341 Stamina
Red Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your hit rating by 138 (1.15% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 95 (0.53 @ L85).
Hood of Rampant Disdain
Binds when picked up
Head Leather
1478 Armor
+348 Agility
+611 Stamina
Meta Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +30 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 295 (2.30% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 172 (5.73 @ L85).
There are no drops off Alysrazor
Drops off Shannox
Gloves of Dissolving Smoke
Binds when picked up
Hands Leather
1137 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 55 / 55
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 172 (0.96% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 208 (1.16 @ L85).
Drops off Baleroc
Breastplate of the Incendiary Soul
Binds when picked up
Chest Leather
1820 Armor
+368 Agility
+611 Stamina
Red Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Durability 165 / 165
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 231 (1.80% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 267 (1.49 @ L85).
Shoulderpads of the Forgotten Gate
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Leather
1365 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your hit rating by 210 (1.75% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 153 (0.85% @ L85).
Drops off Majordomo Staghelm <Archdruid of the Flame>
Mantle of the Fiery Vanquisher
Binds when picked up
Classes: Rogue, Death Knight, Mage, Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
The above tier item will get you:
Obsidian Arborweave Spaulders
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Leather
1365 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 157 (0.88% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 216 (1.20 @ L85).
(2) Set: Your attacks with Mangle, Maul, and Shred deal 10% additional damage as Fire damage over 4 sec.
(4) Set: Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per combo point to extend the duration of Berserk by 2 + (20 * ComboPoints) sec and when your Barkskin ability expires you gain an additional 10% chance to dodge for 12 sec.
The Hungerer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: The Hungerer (1)
Trinket
+383 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to grant you 1532 haste rating for 15 sec.
Fandral's Flamescythe
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1428 - 2143 Damage Speed 2.40
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 276 (1.54% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 265 (1.48 @ L85).
Sandals of Leaping Coals
Binds when picked up
Feet Leather
1251 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 75 / 75
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 133 (0.74% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 230 (1.28 @ L85).
Drops off Ragnaros
Choker of the Vanquished Lord
Binds when picked up
Neck
+240 Agility
+360 Stamina
Requires Level 85
Item Level 384
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 162 (1.27% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 156 (0.87 @ L85).
Matrix Restabilizer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: Matrix Restabilizer (1)
Trinket
+406 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 384
Equip: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to grant 1532 critical strike rating, haste rating, or mastery rating, whichever is currently highest.
As you can see, there is some really nice gear to be had in The Firelands. My only real recommendation would be to make sure that you are well geared for this raid before you step foot in there to kill bosses. These bosses are considerably harder then previous raid bosses (beyond the obvious reason that it's the next raid tier, they are really stepping up the game in this one). Don't rush in and end up being more of a problem then a help. This raid is not going anywhere anytime soon. You will find that your raiding experience in there will be far better if you are truly prepared. (flashes on Illidan: "You are Not prepared!" lol)
Keep up the good work and lets show those other tank classes how tanking is really done!
drops off Beth'tilac <The Red Widow>
Cinderweb Leggings
Binds when picked up
Legs Leather
1592 Armor
+368 Agility
+611 Stamina
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 212 (1.66% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 284 (1.58 @ L85).
Spidersilk Spindle
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: Spidersilk Spindle (1)
Trinket
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 383 (2.14 @ L85).
Equip: Melee attacks which reduce you below 35% health cause you to gain a protective shield which absorbs 17095 damage for 30 sec. Cannot occur more than once every 1 min.
Drops off Lord Rhyolith
Dreadfire Drape
Binds when picked up
Back
695 Armor
+212 Agility
+341 Stamina
Red Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your hit rating by 138 (1.15% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 95 (0.53 @ L85).
Hood of Rampant Disdain
Binds when picked up
Head Leather
1478 Armor
+348 Agility
+611 Stamina
Meta Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +30 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 295 (2.30% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your expertise rating by 172 (5.73 @ L85).
There are no drops off Alysrazor
Drops off Shannox
Gloves of Dissolving Smoke
Binds when picked up
Hands Leather
1137 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 55 / 55
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 172 (0.96% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 208 (1.16 @ L85).
Drops off Baleroc
Breastplate of the Incendiary Soul
Binds when picked up
Chest Leather
1820 Armor
+368 Agility
+611 Stamina
Red Socket
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +20 Agility
Durability 165 / 165
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 231 (1.80% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 267 (1.49 @ L85).
Shoulderpads of the Forgotten Gate
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Leather
1365 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your hit rating by 210 (1.75% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 153 (0.85% @ L85).
Drops off Majordomo Staghelm <Archdruid of the Flame>
Mantle of the Fiery Vanquisher
Binds when picked up
Classes: Rogue, Death Knight, Mage, Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
The above tier item will get you:
Obsidian Arborweave Spaulders
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Leather
1365 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Druid
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 157 (0.88% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 216 (1.20 @ L85).
(2) Set: Your attacks with Mangle, Maul, and Shred deal 10% additional damage as Fire damage over 4 sec.
(4) Set: Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per combo point to extend the duration of Berserk by 2 + (20 * ComboPoints) sec and when your Barkskin ability expires you gain an additional 10% chance to dodge for 12 sec.
The Hungerer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: The Hungerer (1)
Trinket
+383 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to grant you 1532 haste rating for 15 sec.
Fandral's Flamescythe
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand Staff
1428 - 2143 Damage Speed 2.40
(744.1 damage per second)
+408 Agility
+611 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 276 (1.54% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 265 (1.48 @ L85).
Sandals of Leaping Coals
Binds when picked up
Feet Leather
1251 Armor
+282 Agility
+454 Stamina
Red Socket
Socket Bonus: +10 Agility
Durability 75 / 75
Requires Level 85
Item Level 378
Equip: Increases your critical strike rating by 133 (0.74% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 230 (1.28 @ L85).
Drops off Ragnaros
Choker of the Vanquished Lord
Binds when picked up
Neck
+240 Agility
+360 Stamina
Requires Level 85
Item Level 384
Equip: Increases your haste rating by 162 (1.27% @ L85).
Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 156 (0.87 @ L85).
Matrix Restabilizer
Binds when picked up
Unique-Equipped: Matrix Restabilizer (1)
Trinket
+406 Agility
Requires Level 85
Item Level 384
Equip: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to grant 1532 critical strike rating, haste rating, or mastery rating, whichever is currently highest.
As you can see, there is some really nice gear to be had in The Firelands. My only real recommendation would be to make sure that you are well geared for this raid before you step foot in there to kill bosses. These bosses are considerably harder then previous raid bosses (beyond the obvious reason that it's the next raid tier, they are really stepping up the game in this one). Don't rush in and end up being more of a problem then a help. This raid is not going anywhere anytime soon. You will find that your raiding experience in there will be far better if you are truly prepared. (flashes on Illidan: "You are Not prepared!" lol)
Keep up the good work and lets show those other tank classes how tanking is really done!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A few things that will make you a better tank. Part 3
Ok, when we last left off I was talking about playing the role of caster dps. Some people think I'm completely off my rocker for saying that to be a better tank, you need to do everything BUT tank. I have found that the best way to become a better tank is the ability to empathize with the other members of your group. If you understand what they are having to deal with, it will always help you to be able to make a pull better, get a boss down faster and make the run go smoother.
On that note, Melee is next!
No, some tanks out there have done this. Some have a melee spec and they go to town killing stuff. HOWEVER.....they usually do it in their tanking gear and have no fear of pull off the tank. This does nothing to make you a better player. All this does is give you a bigger epeen and make you the group pain in the @ss.
So, as stated in the last couple of blogs, start up a new toon, I recommend a warrior as this class is perfect for this. With a warrior, you can't step back and cast a heal on yourself to pull your butt out of the proverbial fire (or real fire if you were standing in it, lol). You will have to rely on paying attention and your healer to keep you alive. Level to 10 and then jump on BGs. This will give you the perfect place to learn to watch what is going on. If you can develop eyes in the back of your head, you will have learned a skill that will make you a good dps and a great tank, extreme situational awareness. This is a skill that you will find a great number of people are lacking. Even dps should know what is going on at all times with stuff in the room.
Once you hit 15, jump in to dungeons with both feet and learn new fun features such as "The tank keeps him moving when he doesn't need to....I CAN'T HIT HIM!!!!" or my favorite "Why does the tank keep turning him? I keep getting him by the mob since the tank faces him to me! AHHHH!!!" Watch closely at what your tank is doing and remember or even write down the things he/she does that drive you nuts. Don't yell at them in chat, it won't do any good. Just make a note of it and remember it.
So, now that you have played the roll of healer, caster and melee dps, you have a firm grasp on what the other members of your group go through on a daily basis. You know what they have to deal with trying to keep you alive and how the strive to keep themselves alive. Remember, you are the tank. It if your job to not just grab mobs and make fast pulls to show off your epeen. It is your job to keep the group alive. It is the healers job to keep you alive so that you can do your job. This means do not be afraid to CC something or to make a LoS pull or to kill that extra group of trash so that it does not get accidentally pulled. It's your job to keep them alive by setting up the run. You are the first one in there and it is your job to set up pulls so that no one gets killed (there are some exceptions such as people standing in fire. Cause you just can't fix stupid, lol.). You will find that once you try this technique of playing all the different rolls until about lvl20 or 30, you will have much better understanding of the real group dynamic and you will become a much better tank for it.
I hope this has helped out. I have done this and I can say that it gave me a lot of insight and makes my runs much smoother and with less repair bills. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment below and I will respond quickly. If you enjoy this blog,. please become a follower and spread the word about Neo's Challenging Roar!
On that note, Melee is next!
No, some tanks out there have done this. Some have a melee spec and they go to town killing stuff. HOWEVER.....they usually do it in their tanking gear and have no fear of pull off the tank. This does nothing to make you a better player. All this does is give you a bigger epeen and make you the group pain in the @ss.
So, as stated in the last couple of blogs, start up a new toon, I recommend a warrior as this class is perfect for this. With a warrior, you can't step back and cast a heal on yourself to pull your butt out of the proverbial fire (or real fire if you were standing in it, lol). You will have to rely on paying attention and your healer to keep you alive. Level to 10 and then jump on BGs. This will give you the perfect place to learn to watch what is going on. If you can develop eyes in the back of your head, you will have learned a skill that will make you a good dps and a great tank, extreme situational awareness. This is a skill that you will find a great number of people are lacking. Even dps should know what is going on at all times with stuff in the room.
Once you hit 15, jump in to dungeons with both feet and learn new fun features such as "The tank keeps him moving when he doesn't need to....I CAN'T HIT HIM!!!!" or my favorite "Why does the tank keep turning him? I keep getting him by the mob since the tank faces him to me! AHHHH!!!" Watch closely at what your tank is doing and remember or even write down the things he/she does that drive you nuts. Don't yell at them in chat, it won't do any good. Just make a note of it and remember it.
So, now that you have played the roll of healer, caster and melee dps, you have a firm grasp on what the other members of your group go through on a daily basis. You know what they have to deal with trying to keep you alive and how the strive to keep themselves alive. Remember, you are the tank. It if your job to not just grab mobs and make fast pulls to show off your epeen. It is your job to keep the group alive. It is the healers job to keep you alive so that you can do your job. This means do not be afraid to CC something or to make a LoS pull or to kill that extra group of trash so that it does not get accidentally pulled. It's your job to keep them alive by setting up the run. You are the first one in there and it is your job to set up pulls so that no one gets killed (there are some exceptions such as people standing in fire. Cause you just can't fix stupid, lol.). You will find that once you try this technique of playing all the different rolls until about lvl20 or 30, you will have much better understanding of the real group dynamic and you will become a much better tank for it.
I hope this has helped out. I have done this and I can say that it gave me a lot of insight and makes my runs much smoother and with less repair bills. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment below and I will respond quickly. If you enjoy this blog,. please become a follower and spread the word about Neo's Challenging Roar!
Monday, June 27, 2011
A few things that will make you a better tank. Part 2
So, in my last blog, I covered that one thing that will make you a better thank is to put yourself in the healers shoes for about 20 levels. Now, lets move on to dps. Every tank should play two different dps classes. One should be a melee and the other should be a mage since you get the ability to CC at a very low level.
Like before, level up to 10 and run BGs to get a better feel for shooting things that want to kill you more then spiders in Elwynn do. However, don't take off your heirloom. In fact, you should have the highest and strongest possible enchants on that heirloom gear. As soon as you hit 15, queue for dungeons. This is again where you will learn some good information and help you out as a tank. You should have gotten Polymorph at lvl14 so every chance you get in a dungeon, CC something near the group that might be or was accidentally pulled. Watch how the tank tends to ignore your CC and either hit it anyway or after the group is dead, walks past it like there is supposed to be a sheep walking around in Ragefire Chasm.
Now, you might be noticing that you are probably doing crazy dps with your heirloom gear on at this point and pulling mobs off the tank may be a bit on the easy side. You are now starting to understand that you might be under the tank on threat but it only takes 1 good crit to blow past him to make you run from the giant earth elemental screaming like a little girl as it pounds you in the face (ok, maybe that's just me that does that, lol).
Remember, dps are usually not totally fail or dumb. They don't CC stuff to annoy you but rather to help out. They don't mean to pull off you, sometimes a abnormally high crit happens. Trust me, normal dpsers don't want to pull mobs off you and tank them. They know that they can't take a hit like you can and don't want to try. You can always tell the good dps from the crazy epeen maniacs by whether they pull off you all the time or not. You are always gonna run in to the epeen maniacs at some point or another, it can't be avoided. That's what the pick feature is for.
Keep up the good work tanks, the world won't get anything done out there without you. Keep your eye out for the next part of this series on how to become a better tank. Remember, no one is perfect and we all have room for improvement.
Like before, level up to 10 and run BGs to get a better feel for shooting things that want to kill you more then spiders in Elwynn do. However, don't take off your heirloom. In fact, you should have the highest and strongest possible enchants on that heirloom gear. As soon as you hit 15, queue for dungeons. This is again where you will learn some good information and help you out as a tank. You should have gotten Polymorph at lvl14 so every chance you get in a dungeon, CC something near the group that might be or was accidentally pulled. Watch how the tank tends to ignore your CC and either hit it anyway or after the group is dead, walks past it like there is supposed to be a sheep walking around in Ragefire Chasm.
Now, you might be noticing that you are probably doing crazy dps with your heirloom gear on at this point and pulling mobs off the tank may be a bit on the easy side. You are now starting to understand that you might be under the tank on threat but it only takes 1 good crit to blow past him to make you run from the giant earth elemental screaming like a little girl as it pounds you in the face (ok, maybe that's just me that does that, lol).
Remember, dps are usually not totally fail or dumb. They don't CC stuff to annoy you but rather to help out. They don't mean to pull off you, sometimes a abnormally high crit happens. Trust me, normal dpsers don't want to pull mobs off you and tank them. They know that they can't take a hit like you can and don't want to try. You can always tell the good dps from the crazy epeen maniacs by whether they pull off you all the time or not. You are always gonna run in to the epeen maniacs at some point or another, it can't be avoided. That's what the pick feature is for.
Keep up the good work tanks, the world won't get anything done out there without you. Keep your eye out for the next part of this series on how to become a better tank. Remember, no one is perfect and we all have room for improvement.
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