Tanking level 70-80 in instances.

[Obsessed]

Well, I currently have a level 70 warrior alt. Most of my gear is DPS gear (I was prot, but respecced fury and back to prot now.) and I was wondering if I'd be able to tank instances from 70-80. I have about 2 pieces of tanking gear and I don't know if I will be able to tank with my DPS gear. If not, what do you suggest I do? (I find fury and arms to be not much fun.) and if you say questing, well I'd rather just do instances and I have rested XP at the moment so I can get the most out of instance running.

Also, what rotation should I be using in instances?

Edit: Already got the answer to the gear, I can get the Cobalt set. Any tips on rotations etc?

[ivan017]

Go for it, Just make sure to keep track of your health and use your cooldowns when necessary. I did 70 - 80 on a DK as blood and was able to do it and just built up a tanking set along the way.

[Obsessed]

Go for it, Just make sure to keep track of your health and use your cooldowns when necessary. I did 70 - 80 on a DK as blood and was able to do it and just built up a tanking set along the way.

Alright thanks, although I have a tanking set now (knowing blacksmiths ftw xD)

[iindi500]

this is what i did as a warrior tank 70-77
charge/throw (i pref charge but some people like throw) thunderclap, demoralizing shout, the Shock wave, Devastate/cleave till thunderclap is off cd hoped i helped

After a few dungeons you'll get your own grip on a rotation that works for you.
Charge -- Thunderclap -- Demoralizing shout -- Shock wave -- Cleave

[Obsessed]

hmm thanks, but I'm kinda nervous about tanking incase I screw up. Although, it's through the random LFG system (Cross-server.) so should I just go for it?

[Sadchaos]

On my warrior I had the same kind of nervous worry and I ended up going dps (before lfg system) and I wish I started practicing tanking in the 70s.

Honestly, it's not that hard. If you can get full cobalt, then great, you're set for tanking. There isn't really a rotation for prot (well in some ways I guess) sometimes it feels more like what buttons light up first. I wouldn't suggest charging at mobs unless you know there are no patrols around. Usually you can start with a heroic throw. Once they run in, if you're low on rage use Bloodrage. Then I would use Thunderclap. Then I'd suggest maneuvering them around until they're all in front of you then shockwave. This will give you a decent amount of threat and stun them all. If you have the rage, use Cleave a lot. As a warrior aoe tank, cleave is one of your best friends. Try to drop some sunders, but unless you're marking them (which I must say is a lot of work) some dps will pull aggro. If they do, taunt. Put Vigilance up on the highest threat causer. This could be a dps or maybe even a healer, just don't forget Vigilance. Don't forget your taunt glyph.

For single targets like bosses, I'd say start off with a shield slam, then use sunders while using revenge when it procs, then shield slam and revenge procs. You can work Concussion Blow and Shockwave into single target, but I find it's not as efficient. Actually with the death of CC, Concussion Blow doesn't have too much usage for me anymore. Hopefully the boss should be dead soon enough, but make sure sunder gets refreshed! Warriors have no trouble at all with single-target, it's AoE tanking that gets us. Just work on it, it might take a bit, but you'll get the hang of it. I'm not a great tank, but I think I'm OK. If you want a good guide on tanking, go to Tankspot. You should find all the info you need.
But to actually answer the question the previous post, definitely start tanking before 80. I can almost guarantee you that the people you will run with will be 10x as forgiving as most of the 80s you'll meet in queues. Just go for it. You won't learn any other way.

Sorry for the walls of text. You'll be glad you decided to tank. Tank queues are practically instant whereas DPS queues range from battlegroup to battlegroup but they're usually along the lines of 15 minutes. I guess it's like gearing up 15x as fast

[Starcraft1535]

Ive have never played a warrior but just make sure you Def capped before u go out and tank :P, being def cap make u uncrittable.

Def cap is 540

[Obsessed]

Ive have never played a warrior but just make sure you Def capped before u go out and tank :P, being def cap make u uncrittable.

Def cap is 540

Def cap at level 80 is 540 and it doesn't matter for normal dungeons. The def cap is for HCs afaik. (Although, I'm pretty sure my 70 warrior is def capped (not 540, as that's at level 80, it's 480 or something @ 70.)

@SadChaos thanks for the wall of text, helped alot. I'll give it a shot. Although I might go DPS @ 80, depends how things go.

[Starcraft1535]

Def cap at level 80 is 540 and it doesn't matter for normal dungeons. The def cap is for HCs afaik. (Although, I'm pretty sure my 70 warrior is def capped (not 540, as that's at level 80, it's 480 or something @ 70.)

@SadChaos thanks for the wall of text, helped alot. I'll give it a shot. Although I might go DPS @ 80, depends how things go.

Then you should be fine (i forgot thats only cap for 80s lol)

[Trollblod]

Of course you can tank, I leveled retri on my pala to 68 and then went prot, just had a shield in my bank for that moment, required level 62 shield too. You will be fine, trust me, you can't really screw up and you will get gear as you go : ) Good luck.

[Mr. Clean]

There is a basic rotation for tanking as a warrior.

Multiple Mobs:
Charge -> Thunder Clap -> Devistate (+Tab) Every mob, -> Thunder Clap -> What ever you want

Single Mob:
Charge -> Devistate (5 stacks) -> Shield Slam -> Rend -> What ever you want

[d tgm k]

I leveled from 10-80 as prot on my warrior, so I never really had to make the transition from dps to prot,

Tanking while leveling is quite easy for anyone as long as you are spec'd for it.

[rawillkill]

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[Nick9k1]

tanking the beginning instances doesn't require much more than a sheild and prot spec lol

[tycho76]

You should be fine, like Nick said as long as you have prot spec and a shield it shouldn't be too difficult. The main thing I would look out for is your healer. Unless you have a healer that you know, random healers can be iffy. Make sure the healer is with you when you pull, don't pull too many mobs at once, and don't pull if you notice the healer is low on mana. I've seen lots of pug tanks die just because the healer is afk for 10 seconds when they pull. If the healer is good, you can take more liberties in your tanking; the same goes for once you get better prot gear. Basically, just be careful and you'll be good to go.