Tanking 101: Have you thanked your tank today?

This week WoW Insider is giving some love to an under-appreciated MMO class: the tanks. For those of you who are unaccustomed to MMO nomenclature, Blizzard defines a tank as “a character designed to take a lot of damage from enemies and thereby protect the rest of the party.” In WoW, tanks include Protection Warriors, Protection Paladins, and Feral Druids.

In short, the purpose of a tank is to take enemies’ attention away from the group, absorbing damage for the party and keeping enemies away from members of the party who are not suited to take much damage, such as Mages and Priests. To do this in WoW, tanks must use often unique abilities, such as “Taunt” or a ranged attack, to lead enemies to them and away from everyone else.

WoW Insider brings up some interesting points about tanking in the article:
- There is a huge responsibility that comes with tanking; tanks are often blamed when things go wrong for the group.
- Tanking can be a repetitive task relative to other roles in an instance/raid.
- Between repairs and respeccing, tanking can be costly, even though the rewards to being a tank are the same as for the rest of the members of an instance/raid
- It is even more crucial for tanks to do their recon work before jumping into an instance/raid than other members of the group, because they often have to lead the group into battle.


A great tank is truly an unsung hero. If they’re doing their jobs right, everyone moves onto the next obstacle whether its a simple raid or a heroic instance. If the tank dies and cannot be resurrected, then you can pack your bags and start again.

As an ex-raider myself, I can tell you for certain that making the jump from casual to raider takes a great deal of dedication and patience on your part, whether you’re the main tank, DPS, or healer. Every experience is a learning experience, and everyone can learn something new.

I surveyed some tanks to see if I could pick up any tips or tricks, and here are some key takeaways:
- Turn your mob - Scout classes find it a pain when they have to do the “Circle Dance” around a mob, because you have not successfully pulled all of the enemies or positioned yourself correctly. It also risks pulling anything extra that your healer might not be ready to handle.
- You are the tank - Your job is to get hit. You’re doing your job if you top the “agro” charts, not the DPS charts.
-Listen to your Group - Warriors are tough, but they aren’t expected to solo. The group is only as fast as its slowest man, which is usually the healer. If you see that your Priest has half his mana left, and they say to hold, HOLD.
-Rolling Wardrobes – You need to have an ample supply of extra gear to make it through long raids or instances, if you are doing your job right. Unfortunately, this takes a great deal of time and gold.

Anyone can button mash. What distinguishes a good player from just a player, is the dedication and time you put into reading up on different techniques, gear, and builds for your character. Remember the simple tips above, and you’ll rarely be without a group. Few players have the mentality to be a tank, so tanks are in high demand.

Special thanks to some of my favorite tanks: Salvore – Eonar Server (WoW); Machene Drakkenbane – Befallen Server (EQ2); and Crabbok – Bazaar Server (EQ2)