You can do the same thing on private servers now, it just takes using the class as more than a tank/healer/dps and using all your utility, including kiting, CC, interrupts, Loss, exc.
I played a private server for a little bit to get a feel for classic. I could solo WC at lvl 22 as a hunter.
It took a long time, with a lot of consumables, but I did it. Solo killed devilsaurs at lvl 52.
Basically, if you know what your doing, you can do a lot more than what people expect. Heck I even soloed DM tribute and that’s with the private server having messed with the mobs move speed by +40ish% so you can’t out run them even with cheetah. But hay, I’ve been hunter for 12 years, so I know the class quite well.
That’s not actually what that means. It’s a very popular argument, but it doesn’t stand up.
You purchased a limited license to access a game. That game could and would change, and you were not promised a static experience. As such, your purchase provided an account license, the subscription provided access to content with that license, neither of which are a purchase of the contents of the game or it’s server structure.
Which means, at best, you’re illegally reproducing “content” that you didn’t pay for the right to use, and technology that you didn’t pay for the right to use.
You paid for access to that content, not ownership of it. That doesn’t entitle you to private servers because you’d need to own the content itself.
Edit: Side note Ive been a shaman tanking advocate for years. The first time I ever tanked in game was on a shaman. I eventually switched to warrior but because that ended up being my og main, but I digress.
I’m a burning crusade upstart. But I remember running cathedral strictly on level 38 and higher. It was just too punishingly difficult otherwise. Maybe library was okay at 30. Definitely not cathedral.
Oh, I tanked Sunken Temple on my shaman. It was a bit rough, but not unbearable.
My argument is that at high levels it’s a huge burden on your healer. To the point you can’t really call them a tank. Also that their threat generation is kind of weak at high levels, when you consider having a hunter, rogue, and mage just laying into the damage, especially in the absence of a taunt.
If your a kitted out 60 burning aoe consumables, food like dragon chili, using flasks and pots, then sure, you could tank 5 man content.
But for that effort, if you really didn’t want to be a warrior and tank, you would be better off tanking that same content as a Druid in blues and greens.
I understand what your getting at, but for me the fun is in the challenge of it. Honestly, Ive been advocating for shaman tanking and a return of 2 hand enhancement for so long its really a strange feeling for even the possibility of it returning with classic.
Just like players that asked for classic servers for years met the wall of no, and ridicule, I too was met with the lol shaman cant tank, and 2 hand sux wall of no, and ridicule.
The likely scenario for any serious shaman tank, after leveling, is getting bis slot for healing, while building a tank set on the side for guild runs in brd, dm, scholo, and strat, and later zg.
And then on alt nights, attempting harder fights. Just to push the limits is where the fun might be imo.
I’m not saying no. I’m just saying don’t give players, especially new ones, the wrong impression of the capability of the class in your typical leveling scenario in a 5 man pug.
You’re essentially making the same argument as advocates for Paladins as MT on farm content.
As a general rule, those one-off stand out performances aren’t what you recommend to someone asking these questions. Almost anything can be done in WoW if you prepare the right way. For the average player or people considering it, shaman tanking beyond level 50 is not really a thing. Its an oddity if someone happens to get exactly the right setup and skill.
Shaman tanking will never be a thing until they can wield swords and equip thunderfury (seriously that is SO a shaman weapon, why could they not use swords?)
Most non-warrior tanks get a bad rap mainly because the skill/gear checks are tighter and groups typically treat them like warriors when it comes to threat pulling. They will cry when you can’t pull off them due to having no real taunt when they go ham the millisecond you tap the mob.
If groups actually wait 2-3 sec longer than you would with a warrior then yhe run will go smoother. Now the most a non-warrior could realistically tank would be a 40 man raid trash mobs/boss adds simply due to warriors having a hard taunt and easily achieving uncrushable status. Any tank is viable in 5 man, 10, or even most 20 man content provided they gear correctly and the group is aware of their weaknesses.
It was before youtube was a thing lol. I’m sure it’s on a hard drive that that got melted for scraps a decade ago? Ill be sure to post vids here once classic goes live as ill be a,shaman.