I tanked all through Vanilla. I even wrote a tanking guide at one point… here’s what I think most tanks are still figuring out in classic…
You can’t tank Classic like you tank retail.
The big question seems to be whether you can tank using a 2H. The answer is sometimes, but usually a shield is better.
Damage doesn’t equal threat. Threat generation is higher when you use your tanking ABILITIES (while in defensive stance) than any amount of DPS you can possibly produce otherwise. And generating more threat means the GROUP can produce more DPS.
Sunder armor produces good threat and increases the DPS from everyone on that mob.
Heroic strike has a lot of threat. 1H means faster swings, which means way more HS. 2H is slow which means way less HS.
Your shield procs revenge, and revenge is the absolute best threat generating ability HANDS DOWN.
Shield also reduces crushing blows, which will become more important in end game.
Does this mean you should NEVER tank in 2H or DW? Definitely not. But most of the time, it’s generally better to use a shield. At least until you become really geared. A good rule of thumb would be this… use a shield unless rage generation is a problem.
It’s not all about DPS. Your job is to absorb and mitigate damage and control mobs. If you’re generating more threat, then your DPS in the group are free to do more damage, and your healer heals less. This means less time in between pulls for mana, and a smoother (faster) run overall.
Obviously AoE runs are a different thing, but for content that’s actually hard on the group, this is (generally) how it goes.
So, doing less DPS might feel slower, but it can actually sometimes make your group better and faster overall.
Is it less satisfying? Yes.
Welcome to being a good tank.
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Edit: for general grammar and adjusting wording based on replies.
I just had a warrior 2h tank UBRS and he was #1 dps, if you know what you are doing it works just fine as long as your healers are up to par. WF helps too.
Yes. It is CONDITIONAL. There are multiple variables that go into deciding which is better for any given situation. But what we seem to have in-game are a bunch of people who are sold on the idea that 2h tanking in PUGs is completely viable, if not all around BETTER - hands down!
It definitely is completely viable! BUT you gotta know when to swap to shield. Full time 2H tanking is a struggle and not really necessary or that helpful.
Actually damage can end up pulling more threat than spamming abilities with innate threat.
Defensive Stance multiplies all threat by 1.495x with 5/5 Defiance, including that generated from dealing damage. Since damage scales with gear and innate threat doesn’t, well geared Warriors can end up having damage builds produce more threat.
The trade-off that makes it situational is that it makes your healers have to work harder to keep you alive without the added block/armour of a shield.
Yes, and not all warriors are geared or leveled equally. Some are more capable than others. In fact, the majority of tanking warriors should probably be wearing a sheild about 90% of the time. Trust me, some of these baddies cant even take on trash.
I feel, and this is just my opinion on the matter, that the pro 2H tank crowd have their own best interests in mind, whereas the pro 1H + Shield crowd has the group’s best interest in mind.
I am pro 1H + Shield because I love protecting the group and making sure everyone has an enjoyable, stress-free run. I don’t need to flex with 2H tanking. Seems a lot do though.
If you are leveling you should be using a 2h 100% of the time. If you understand your rotation well enough you can top dps meters from the bonus rage while holding agro on all mobs. The only downside is you take some extra dmg., but it is never to the point where it is unhealable as long as you are doing one group at a time.
TL;DR: I completely disagree with your entire post for leveling.