You learn it from observing and practical experience to learn timing a queues in the game. Kind of like how you learn the pattern of a boss fight in any video game.
Why do you need all these excess tool to play a game would be my question?
because the game doesn’t give you tools to do things like measure your threat
Sure it does. You get all the info you need to know to play in the default UI and diagetically.
All you have to do is pull all the way to the first boss and win.
Tanking isn’t what it used to be and with this younger crop of “players”, there might as well not even be tanks. I say go old school and make these youngsters learn how to manage their agro and cc and tank. Of course, most would quit because that is just too hard.
Semper Fi! 
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Now I could be wrong but just the way you said that I would like to add
If you are a bear tank than you should be mixing your mitigation in with your damage in your general rotation.
It creates terrible habits if you put everything on the healer and just spam the dps. Much better to get used to the defensives as a part of the general rotation.
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What even is tanking in wow?
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Run as fast as you can.
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tap everything in site, but dont worry about holding it.
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giggle out loud when your DPS wipes because of the trash you didnt deal with.
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chain pull so your healer has no chance of a break between fights.
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This one is VERY crucial…always always ALWAYS make sure to hit the boss BEFORE your team makes it thru the closing door.
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This one is optional. Scream at your healer for having CDs and through put limitations, talk to him like hes an idiot and if he responds vote to kick just for the spite of it.
There ya go…thats modern WoW tanking in a nutshell 
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Yes it’s a guardian Druid. And yeah I had been thinking that might be the best approach. Ironfur has a short cooldown and looks like I should just be keeping it up all the time. I’m guessing iron bark is the situational damage mitigation?
Also I’m a bit confused about Regrow since it takes me out of bear form. I thought it would work like with moonkin.
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For most levels of content, tanking is just a slightly lower dps player who wants things to be hitting them. Raid tanks have to manage aggro a little bit, gather adds, taunt and swap for certain mechanics. Mythic+ tanks have to know the route, percent, use interrupts/cc, and get a feel for how big of a pull they and their group can handle.
A good tank sets an appropriate pace, mitigates and prevents as much damage as possible, and does as much damage as possible. Most people get hung up on the idea that tanking is hard because they don’t want that quasi-leadership role, but if you can get over that, tanking is easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Ironfur stacks and managing them is your situational active mitigation, barkskin and incarn are your major defensive cooldowns.
Guartdian is commonly referred to as the “All or nothing” tank, given the relative strength of incarn compared to all other tanks major cds and mitigation options. It’s also typically been the simplest one.
It’s also pretty important to remember that friendly AoE is a secret mitigation nerf. So when your friends drop their stationary AoE it is your cue to immediately move the pack out of it.
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Tanks are more macro orientated, generally setting the pace and strategy, making callouts etc.
You also tend to have the most stops/interrupts/utility which is a huge factor
Other than that just don’t die obviously
Please no
Quite possibly the least engaging or compelling thing about tanking.
Tanking means just be able to take more hits before dying in dungeon. That’s the whole purpose of tanks. And be able to keep aggro easier.
That would be nearly impossible today how much some classes can do damage. And meta dos wouldn’t love this. They would have to actually worry about what they’re doing instead just smashing buttons and pump the meters
Duder. WoW is geriatric.
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Tanking in WoW is insanely boring. Not sure why that’s the case but it has always been boring.
It’s because it’s easy.
What do you mean? It’s all those things and what you said you wish it would be about…
Just because you’re new and haven’t done any challenging content yet… please relax.
Does the challenging content add more?
Place face on keyboard, roll left, roll right, repeat.