Stop using Thunder Clap. It’s trash for dungeons. It’s only seriously utilized at the raid level to mitigate damage.
If you need AoE threat generation, open with a Demoralizing Shout, this generates a bit of AoE threat to all targets, and reduces their damage a bit, all good things.
After that your main AoE threat driver isn’t thunder clap, it’s Battle Shout. Battle Shout adds threat for every single person in the vicinity that receives it. It’s a very strong threat skill, if not entirely intuitive or well explained.
Also stop sundering so much. Sundering on trash is a waste of Rage. On boss fight? Sure. On trash? No. if you’re sword and boarding, you really just need to spam Battle Shout, and weave in Shield Block with the express purpose of tab/Revenging.
The problem is that you can’t rely on a pug to adapt to/support this style, so the practical thing to do is straight tank-style with dps talents. Besides, it’s good preparation and practice for later. Get familiar with your tanking macros, add-ons, and keybinds ahead of time.
I’ve had very good dungeon experiences. Dps not going crazy with aoe, players actually cc’ing things. My biggest complaint would be tanks not waiting for casters to drink for mana. I’ve experienced a lot of that.
Don’t use heroic strike while tanking in dungeons It REPLACES your next auto attack, which means less rage generation because no auto attack, and then uses more rage (so it actually uses more rage then it says) for not too much threat generation. Heroic strike is used in the early levels while questing but shouldn’t be touched while tanking in a dungeon
Sunder armor and revenge are your top two threat generation abilities, with revenge topping the charts. Mocking blow is just your battle stance’s version of taunt.
Maybe if you’re tanking with a 2hander.
But Defiance and Improved Sunder are huge threat per second increases, as is 1hand spec and Shield Slam, assuming you’re equipping a shield. Improved Taunt and Concussion Blow are also nice for controlling packs of mobs when DPS is undisciplined and stuff is running around and you’re trying to corral them.
This is good advice. Heroic Strike is your lowest priority ability while tanking, and I never have enough rage for it in dungeons.
It doesn’t become important until endgame when you’re tanking a raid boss, and then you’ll be swimming in rage and spamming the $hite out of it on top of your main rotation.
I’ve noticed that druids have extreme threat issues as well. I think everyone can agree that a druid should easily be able to hold agro on a 3 pack of mobs but this is rarely the case. Even single target, with critting mauls I’ve seen people take threat off of me which should be close to impossible. In random 5 man’s a druid should pretty much be able to hold threat from any class through simple white hits let alone mauls. That’s why they excell, because of the high threat generation. But that simply doesn’t seem to be the case.
Also rage generation in general seems extremely poor on a druid. Something seriously doesn’t seem right the more I tank on my bear
You should view the “2-hander tanks. Why?” thread.
This post backs a lot of the controversy “If your not using a shield your not the Tank” & “Daggers hold better threat at level 35” bs people who aren’t playing warriors spew.
Go Protection when you start farming your Pre-Bis @ Lv55+ imo.
Sounds like a “you” problem.
Stance dancing is key. Talent into arms. Ignore prot.
Charge if OOC demo shout. Tab Sunder Armor. Rend on each target. Cleave and more Sunders.
Charge > Sweeping strikes > Thunder clap > protection stance > Demo Shout> Battle shout > rend >sunder > cleave> battle shout > cleave> and weave in taunts on cd.
I use this and i have no problem holding aggro on 6+ mobs.
assuming ur DPS are all attacking the same target, its not that bad. If ur an engineer (and u should be if ur a tank) throw in a damage bomb in ur pull as well.
Battle Shout gives GOOD aggro if you can buff your whole party with it.
To be fair, it isn’t even just modern WoW and LFG. Most modern MMOs are nothing like classic. And so it’s taking people longer then a week to adjust.
Even for us that played back in the day, it’s going to take some adjusting too. Playing a DPS I try not to pull off a tank, but at these low levels it’s hard to manage due to the way I react to things now-a-days.
Improved sunder is 15 points deep, and defiance is 10 points deep. Sure along the way you get some cool survivability talents but lets look at Arms. You get Tactical Mastery which lets you use abilities outside of defensive stance without losing all your rage, Anger Management which gives you passive rage generation, Deep wounds and impale which are both massive threat increases. That is why pre mid 50’s Arms is the far superior tanking spec. Plus you dont have to sacrifice your questing speed in the process.
Its different mentality. 1 extreme is mark everything, cc>focus skull and then maybe x>finish everything else with aoe/cleave. The other extreme is aoe everything and leave it to heals to kerp everyone up, go go go. Not going to get into discussion about which is the right way, as that really depends on the group. I think tanks can ask before joining how the group wants to handle things, and if its not to the tank’s liking (whatever their peeference) decline politely and look for another group. Would save everyone from stress and wasted time. Just imo. Personally I enjoy mark and focus approach for big groups or bosses with adds. If its not a particularly hard group of mobs, 2hd it, and switch to S&B if things get dicey.
To be honest, I have found the Shield Block/Revenge combo has been best for me tanking in the teens to Lvl 20’s, especially given the low Rage generation at that time. I tend to just tab target through mobs I have focused on me using that combo and pop in the Sunders when the become available. And I agree with most are saying, it’s absolutely OK to let a mob peel off onto DPS so long as you keep half an eye on their health etc. That was no different in Vanilla. And yes, marking mobs is a godsend. Chances are without it out you’ll end up DPS each targeting separate mobs. Probably the difference between co-ordinate Guild run and random group.
It REPLACES your next auto attack, which means less rage generation because no auto attack, and then uses more rage (so it actually uses more rage then it says) for not too much threat generation. Heroic strike is used in the early levels while questing but shouldn’t be touched while tanking in a dungeon