Ill be the first to admit I don’t put a ton of effort pushing the top of the top keys nor do I choose to raid Mythic. I do like to tank and am a bit of an altoholic. I have played each tank read up on rotations and have done a decent amount of play with each getting at least Keystone master with each tank. So I have a decent understanding and feel for the style of each tank from an average players perspective. These are my takes on each one. (short version)
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Warrior - probably the most fun and most forgiving tank in my opinion as when you play it well you FEEL indistructable. I felt that I could handle large pulls the easiest out of any of the tanks from begining to end as they are incredibly tanky, but feel very weak against mobs that do a lot of bleed damage, but suprisingly not against magic damage. I wish they had more utility such as a lust or a battle rez or a buff that benefits all classes. They do have great mobility and threat generation a ranged silence would be great as well to help gather the stragglers.
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Druid - Druids feel really good to play (with the exception of season 3 tier set). If they have sufficient rage generation they are tanky but it doesn’t seem to scale as good as the other tanks, You feel unkillable at the lower levels but then your rotation needs to get better and better as mobs hit harder. Their utility kit is great and has everything you need. The instant heal works great to help out the group and the group speed boost is fun. I feel like they could scale better and maintain the level of tankiness as they take on harder and harder content. Raze helps with this but I think there is something missing as they get higher and higher. They are just too dependant on their tier sets at the moment.
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Demon Hunter - This is the meta tank mostly due to the sigils but this is probably the weirdest tank of all. They can feel squishy at the beginging of the pull but Once the rotation get rolling its like no damage is done to you. There feels like something is broken because its like you become harder to kill the more mobs are attacking you and you don’t feel like you are even doing anything to mitigate the damage. It just feels weird. But they are tanky and the double sigils is definately overpowered. But while the feeling of godlike power is great at the beginning the rotation is repetitive and the tanking doesn’t feel the best. It was hard for me to keep the motivation to want to continue without some sort of end goal. I think they could use some enjoyment tuning.
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Death knight- A seriously fun and powerful tank with some amazing strengths and some big weaknesses. For single target fights DK’s feel the best. So raiding with them feels pretty good. Like DH they take a bit to get going but once you do you feel unkillable. In fact if you use the Deathstrike generated shield more than retroactive healing your constant feeling of pressure subsides. I think the pooling of Runic power for Death Strikes doesnt feel the best but you get used to it. Their biggest weakness is on the beginning pull. if not done right you will get deleted quick. that and you have to strafe while pulling to keep hitting the mob because your survivability is tied to hitting a mob. That creates some issues, like storming where you could get deleted while in the air or while stunned. Definately a tank that if played well has a ton of potential. With that said, I would like to feel a little more tanky (as they do wear plate), and have Death strike heal a bit less. There is too much feast or famine in its current state. And DND should not have a survival aspect to it. Ground affect to improve survivabilty or damage = NOT FUN.
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Paladin - This in my opinion is probably the least fun and worst designed tank by FAR. Coming from a long time Pally fan and tanking since the Burning Crusade. I feel as if the developers have destroyed Prot Pally. Sure some exceptional people can make them work and maybe have some fun doing it, but that cannot be the majority. They are the squishiest and least forgiving of the tanks from start of the pull all the way to the end. They are so bad IMO that I cant give any recommendations as to how to fix them beside reverting to a previous version. Im sure I will get some disagreements but I really want to play a Pally tank, but its just no where near the other tanks. Or where they have been in previous iterations. Sure they have an amazing toolkit. But everything about them feels really bad. If you need to hardcore multitask this is your tank. ( The rotation reminds me of someone sitting on the floor arms wrapped around their knees rocking to sooth themselves ).
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Monk - Monks could use a rework. They are in need of ability consolitation and buffing. They can do really well, but the one thing they had going for them (damage) was nerfed. Made absolutely no sense, but whatever. The lowest health pool also doesnt make any sense either. That is I guess the phrase that encompasses monks= They just don’t make any sense. They are fun to play but hopefully they could get some needed attention. the Love bat needs to swing their way. This is a complicated tank but the rotation is just ok but not terrible. Could be a lot of fun for the right person that enjoys complexity and niche utility.
Anyway
Not asking for a crucifixion. I just want to be honest in the hopes that some of the issues get addressed or if someone is wanting to take on tanking.
I do want to say that ALL of the tanks are viable. ALL can get keystone master, there are just some tanks that do it significantly easier that others.
I didn’t go over everything as I wanted this to be short so I just covered some points.
Hopefully some will find the info value added.
But I like that we can all enjoy different specs according to our personal preferences.
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