Personality.

Keredria recently had a post regarding the relationship between one’s personality and the type of character they play. My friend Wutan recently forwarded me a fun post from World of Matticus (nice blog btw, when do I get to do my 20 questions?) regarding the 10+3 personalities every guild leader needs around. Since our guild is a bit small right now several of us are going to need to have multiple personalities I guess. I am going to have a good time thinking about who is what.

Mmmmm…mongoose.

I’m feeling that the time may come soon to put the ultimate chant of chants on me axe. Right now I have a rather unexciting +7 damage on my axe and new threat mace. I think many folks would wait for a better weapon but we’re not progressing very fast right now and I have some extra gold. Unfortunately I don’t think the mongoose “effect” will be visible on Grom’tor’s Charge as it has it its own built-in glow. I’m not really that big on weapon glows, but having a visible endgame enchant is a nice signal to others that you are serious about tanking (like when I whip out my gyro-balanced khorium destroyer). It’s not just how you look but also the message you send to other players by your appearance.

Nature Documentary Narrator: “Today we are tracking the elusive female Night Elf Protection Warrior, a very rare specimen. The one we are watching today, which researchers have named “Jessika,” has only recently reached maturity as we can tell by her equipment — a mixture of rare and epic armor and weapons. And oh look! That distinct greenish white flashing on her main-hand weapon is the distinct sign of a mongoose enchantment. It’s a clear sign that she is in defensive stance and is ready to tank. And just in time too! A human rogue has noticed the enchantment is slowly approaching in an attempt to invite Jess into a PUG. This is a rarely witnessed event in nature. Attempts to PUG “nelf” tanks in captivity have been largely unsuccessful. He will need to be careful though, because even when in her own element she will be reluctant to group outside her guild.”

A nice PUG.

Yesterday I had written an entry about a couple of bad PUG experiences (well, specifically two players), but immediately after posting it I decided to delete it. That just isn’t my style. Instead I’d like to write about a good PUG experience.

I was invited to tank a group through the Shadow Labyrinth by a human holy priest I had met a day or two earlier when I helped her and some others with that elite Gronn in the Barrier Hills above Shattrath. They had lost their tank after killing the first boss in SL. She was very polite and I had been meaning to try to tank PUGs more so I figured that this was a good opportunity for me to be more social. You should understand that while Jess has done PUGs before it’s always been with at least one, and usually two or three other people I know very well, and almost always with Keredria healing. So this was a very new experience for me. I joined the group (rogue, warlock, hunter, and the priest) and we made good progress through SL until we got to Murmur. After some bad luck and a few wipes we decided to call it a night and let folks grab the fragment, but everyone was in good spirits and appreciative of each other — overall a very nice experience. A few ty, yw, and lol go a long way.

A little bonus for me was that I picked up the Blackout Truncheon which, once properly socketed, may make a good threat weapon for trash (my tanking weapon is Grom’tor’s Charge).

There she goes…

…there she goes again.

So less than a week ago my Draenei frost mage Aksana dinged 58 and headed to Outland. I’m in no hurry to level her, but groups for old world instances after Blackrock Depths are nearly nonexistent (I feel very sorry for paladins and warlocks trying to get groups for Dire Maul, Scholomance, and Stratholme for their epic mount quests), so I figured it was time for her to step through the Dark Portal. It’s a strange feeling. Every hurdle with Jessika (first mount, 58, epic mount, 70) seemed like such a big deal. I miss that excitement, but she still has quite a bit to do, including very soon funding Aksana’s epic mount!

A tank healing!?

I love healing. I have a human holy priest (level 41) who was shadow until about 38, but after doing a PUG as a healer in the Scarlet Monastery I respecced her to holy with all talent points in healing-related talents. Since then I’ve done PUGs in SM so many times that Keredria decided that she is going to call me/her “Scarlet.” I even did a very successful PUG through Zul’Farrak. There are many advantages to being a healer: you get more PUG invites, you (usually) get heaps of praise, and you get into higher-level instances earlier since level restrictions matter less for a healer than a tank or DPS class/spec. But what is it that is so addictive about healing? When it comes down to it healing is somewhat like a very complicated game of whac-a-mole, except instead of moles a healer “whacks” damage, and gets their choice of “mallet” — i.e., healing spell. For example, you can hit slow and hard (e.g., greater heal), fast and light (e.g., flash heal), or maybe hit all the “moles” simultaneously (e.g., prayer of healing). There are even different kinds of “moles” to whack other than damage: disease, magic, curses, and/or poison, depending on the class. Of course there’s much more to it than that (e.g., mana and threat management, buffs, and utility), but when we’re knee-deep in Scarlet Crusade zealots — well, all I can say is that I am going to win me that over-sized teddy bear.

Tanking…it’s all the rage.

Anyone can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not easy. — Aristotle

Non-tanks need to understand the importance of rage to a warrior or (bear form) druid tank. Rage is for us not unlike mana or energy — it is the currency we spend to use our abilities. But unlike mana or energy we start with none of it whatsoever. For the warrior at rest and at the beginning of combat rage is zero and so all of her abilities are unavailable except for the three stance-dependent 30-minute cooldowns, three abilities that are used to assist in generating rage (charge, bloodrage, and berserker rage), and taunt. A tank gets most of their rage from hitting and getting hit. The amount of rage gained depends on damage, and since the DPS of a protection warrior is usually pathetic, most of their rage comes from being hit. Something to keep in mind is what I like to call the “Cycle of Tanking” which is aggro -> rage -> threat -> aggro. Help keep the cycle going! With that in mind here are some things for non-tanks to consider:

• The beginning of a fight is a critical time with respect to rage generation. Although some rage can be generated by using bloodrage (or less often charge), it is very important that the tank get to engage the mobs in melee to generate sufficient rage to generate enough threat to secure aggro. Other players should NOT engage the enemy before the tank unless they are doing crowd control. Without this initial input of aggro from mobs beating on the tank they will be incapable of generating sufficient threat.
• A rogue’s stunlock is a fantastic technique, but in group PvE it should be treated as kind of off-tanking method. A mob that is stunlocked while attacking the tank is not contributing rage. Doomilias has a very nice post about stunlocking and tanking.
• There is a tendency for some players to attempt to help “protect” the tank by pulling one or more mobs off and engaging them directly. However tanks absolutely love being targeted by several melee mobs because it generates a good deal of rage. Tanks have the gear, abilities, and talents to take a serious beating (with a good healer). Do not off-tank unless that is your job.
• Respect the kill order. Not only is a good kill order an efficient way to take down a group of mobs while minimizing damage, it also maximizes the tank’s rage since usually all or most mobs will be attacking the tank.

Tanking from the perspective of my alts.

Lately I’ve been spending a bit of time with my alts. I am having a good time leisurely leveling them mainly by doing PUGs. I never had the confidence to PUG with Jessika, and I am still very reluctant to PUG her, but with my caster alts I have been having quite a bit of fun. It seems like it is harder to find PUGs before endgame than it used to be, maybe because many folks have either left the game or are focusing on endgame, but I do find that when I do get in a PUG that the other players are very often also on their alts and so are experienced and professional but also relaxed.

I’ve wanted to write about the adventures of my alts for some time, but since this is a tanking blog I will also mention what I have learned or experienced about tanking from their perspective.

• Aksana the Draenai Frost Mage (54). Aksana has been doing Sunken Temple and Blackrock Depths. Frost AoE works very well in these instances, particularly with 3 points in improved blizzard. The chilling effect or rooting effects of my spells helps prevent mobs from getting away from the tank, and with ice barrier, ice block, and my water elemental I am able to hold my own if he loses it (for a time). A couple of times I have run with one or two other mages. Talk about AoE madness!
• Sula the Blood Elf Affliction Warlock (44). I have only recently had the opportunity to PUG with Sula, and it has taken me some time to figure out how play her effectively in a group. Usually I’ll have the imp out passive and phase shifted for Blood Pact and Dark Pact, so that I am free to DoT and nuke as I please. For pulls where mobs need to go down fast I will summon my succubus for some extra DPS. I haven’t quite figured out if Curse of Agony is worth it given that it does its damage over a long period of time, with most of the damage near the end. One aspect of the affliction warlock that is fun is that by drain tanking I can make a reasonably good off-tank. I’ve even off-tanked a few bosses when things got crazy.
• Muriel the Human Holy Priest (40). Muriel is 100% healer. All talent points are currently in healing-oriented talents in the holy tree. I am having a lot of fun running her through the Scarlet Monastery. My objective now is to get Whitemane’s Chapeau because I think it would look great with my Robe of Doan and Mantle of Doan! LOL! I am very fashion-conscious, in part to make-up for the fact that Jessika looks like she got her gear from Goodwill. I am very much enjoying healing. Keredria told me that she overheard somebody say that the best gear item for a tank is a (good) healer. It’s certainly true. One bit of advice I can give (and remind myself) is that THE most important statistic to a tank is not health, armor, or defense, but their healer’s mana. Keep her mana bar blue and she’ll be true to you.

Update from the twinked 70 protection warrior.

I must apologize for not writing more lately. I’m a horrible blogger I guess. But having been recently plugged on Tanking Tips I feel it’s time for an update. Jessika hasn’t been very active lately due to the periodic absences of some key personnel. However this has given time for our paladin (Wutan) to level up. He is nearly 70 now and will be a valuable asset in either a hybrid/utility role or as a tank or healer replacement as necessary. We did FINALLY do Escape From Durnholde Keep in preparation for The Black Morass. OMG am I rusty! Unfortunately we wiped on the final boss, and even though Keredria was able to run back in time to nuke him down (healer nuking FTW) the escort quest was not completed so we’ll be going back again soon.

As I have mentioned in earlier entries I have been gradually upgrading Jessika’s gear via items I have purchased off the AH or had crafted. Veneretio has an excellent post about very good protection warrior gear you can get without setting foot in Karazhan. If you are like me and haven’t been earning badges from heroics yet there are still some nice BOE items that you can purchase or have crafted. So far I have bought the Gyro-Balanced Khorium Destroyer, the Bracers of the Green Fortress, the Cloak of Eternity, and yesterday I was very fortunate to find the Band of Impenetrable Defenses for sale for 180g which is a very good price. The extra defense will allow me to move some items and gems around in favor of stamina or other means of damage avoidance/mitigation. I suppose that with enough money it is possible to twink a 70! Head on over to Tree of Life and look at Keredria, our twinked 70 resto druid.