Oh, that hasn’t changed either. I would be surprised if your guild/friend group is suddenly more rude and impatient than before.
I thought we were both talking about the PUG experience in dungeons. And from my perspective, when measuring the PuG heroics back in the day to PuG M+ now, the player attitudes are generally the same.
Absolutely, OP. I’ve played tanks in other games before, but just the thought of the stress I’d have to face when playing one in this game gives me an anxiety attack.
everything you said is exactly why I dont tank even though I find it fun. I did some mythics as dps, but I cant quite break that mental barrier to try tanking a m0 (i know there’s no timer)
Im sure alot of the bad attitudes Ive ran into in lfg are just trolls who think its hilarious to fakerage or VTK because they can and most arent like that. However, its enough to keep me from wanting to put myself out there unless Im running with family/friends/guildies
I was in a +2 yesterday and did the dungeon in like half the allotted time. Yet, I dared moved the pack of mobs out of the holy paladin’s ashen hallow or whatever that spell is called. Dude threw a fit and called me the worst tank ever.
I had my own death and decay down and didn’t even see his spell. And I moved to grab more packs because I was trying to go fast.
At the end of the run, he got a 210 ilvl pair of pants that was an upgrade to me, and he had like 252 ilvl pants and ignored me after I asked if I could have them.
Some folks take this game way too serious lol.
They do and I’m sorry that happened. The concept of being decent is becoming a rarity.
That’s why I do miss the good old days. “No problem, bro” “it’s cool, stuff happens” “all good”. Antique phrases
You’re not alone at all, no worries.
However, given what the tank does – redirect all damage to the group and pulls packs – it makes sense they are sort of given the mantle of group leader, even if you’re not the party leader.
Having someone else “lead” in a dungeon seems really odd, especially in some dungeons where anyone who isn’t a tank will get squashed if they get hit first.
So in a manner, you sort of will have to just get used to leading if you want to keep tanking.
Decent people though will understand if you have questions. I’ve seen tanks in 10+ who needed to ask if they should clear an area or not or which pack they should skip. Must have been hard to ask given how many people would easily snap at them.
Keep on doing your thing and remember, if the pressure leads to people being jerks, you can always just leave and there will be 100+ groups needing a tank =/
I recently started tanking again, but only after I did every dungeon at 10+ as dps to watch more experienced tanks and learn from their route/process.
If you ever wonder why your group is languishing around waiting for a tank… this is it. Very few people want the pressure that comes with it.
Been playing nothing but tanking classes for years.
Yeah, people who die/fail will always rage at tank/heals/whoever is still standing. It’s odd, will never change and the least fun part of being the most visible part. Being said there’s always a pressure to do good and not let people down.
I just wish when people followed my lead, they actually followed my lead. See me raging? No. Don’t rage. Follow and have fun. 
I started my WoW life as a tank and hated every minute of it. I switched to healer for most of TBC and loved it until I got burned out on it. Now I dps and haven’t been happier.
Part of the reason I don’t tank is because I may not necessarily have the route(s) memorized and am definitely new to the role. (There’s a whole different thought process compared to being DPS)
And when you’re running with other people who are used to the tanks just being practically on autopilot, it can quickly develop into an “all eyes on you” feeling which just isn’t fun.
If DPS screws up, they pay for it. (And might get someone else killed.)
If the tank or the healer screws up, it’s probably a wipe for the party. That’s not a fun feeling.
I’ve determined that the only way I would enjoy tanking enough to get over the hump of learning the role, the routes, and the timings is if they created a shaman tanking spec.
(Which is not likely to happen, so… a DPS I shall remain. I got burned out on healing altogether because that’s all Shaman were allowed to do any progression guilds in classic.)
Yes the pressure is real as tank, I was always the tank in my raids back in wrath and a bit after in cata but now days I wouldn’t even try to tank because of the way I see people treat tanks in dungeons.
I also think that being a tank does mean you should know your way around a dungeon and be able to lead unless you are on voice chat otherwise it really drags out a dungeon if someone else has to type out what you need to do and where to go next, so the expectations also add pressure.
Very reasonable post. I have similar feelings sometimes. I think there’s a huge problem with -mostly- dps players thinking it’s acceptable to let the tank worry about everything. Very frustrating.
I just don’t like it when my in LFR off-tank either,
Sometimes I get ones that are taunt’holics then when I tell them to stop taunting on cd, they never taunt again. Even if I ask for one.
For Mythic + I usually run with friends and by the time I decide to tank for pugs, I have 1-2 routes laid out for each dungeon. Trial and error is good. Looking up recommended routes is good as well. Raider IO usually has as 1-2 weekly routes for dungeons. One where skips are used (like say invis pots) or one where you don’t skip mobs using those methods. Low keys are good ways to practice routes without having too many consequences.
Tanks are also the only role in LFR where you need to know what you are doing. There have been quite a few bosses that punish tanks if they don’t do their taunt swaps correctly. Orgozoa being a personal favourite of mine. Perfect boss to punish those annoying taunt’o’holics. But then you have bosses that require them to be split otherwise they don’t take damage, or something nasty will happen. Tanks screwing up their roles can lead to a wipe real quickly. That said it is annoying when I tend to get kicked because the other tank screwed up and the group just blames me because I was talking in chat about what happened. Ah well. That is LFR for you. Facts go to die.
They are the mechanic to make sure the car is working correctly.
You get used to it, it’s all about confidence and researching routes.
Warrior is also the most punishing tank to make mistakes on, but far from bad.
You know what you remind me of? Me. Me driving. I usually am a passenger now days, and when you’re a passenger you’re just sort of off in your own world not really paying attention. When you’re driving - it’s totally different. I feel like tanking is like driving and dps is like the passenger (who occasionally backseat drive). Not sure where the healer falls into the scenario.
Tanks are usually the first ones to get shat on.
Personally, I love tanking, though now I just queue as DPS for the high level M+ because I don’t care to deal with the stress.
The only time I ever enjoyed tanking was when I played City of Heroes.
Healer would be the guy in the back where you can say “hey, pass me one of those sweetart ropes” then you say “aahhh all better”.
I don’t tank above heroic dungeons so there’s generally nothing that resembles pressure. That said I tank at my own pace and if the group feels the need to boot me I’ll take it on the chin and just queue again.
An apt analogy actually.
When driving people you don’t know. (Friend of friend… or if you’re an Uber/Lyft driver there’s a lot of pressure on you performing perfectly… regardless of what the passenger actually feels like.)
With your friends/family… nobody actually cares if you stop a little faster than is comfortable at a stop sign.
Good analogy.