Basics of Warrior Tanking

[Duranin]

Introduction :

15/3/53 is the current all-inclusive spec, I recommend. It’s high damage/threat, but also makes room for 2 minute Shield Wall. The major glyphs that best compliment this spec are Blocking, Devastate and Shield Wall. The minor ones are Bloodrage, Thunderclap and Command.

How much Defense do I need for tanking Raids/Heroics?

535(HC Instances ) /540(Raids) Defense is the minimum amount you need. It’s okay to get more than that, but extra Stamina is going to benefit you more when you’re first starting. If you’re struggling to hit 540 Defense skill talk to a Blacksmith, get Wyrmrest Accord rep and run regular Halls of Lightning over and over again until you get Seal of the Pantheon.

What gems should I use?

Blue: Stamina (blue)
Yellow: Defense + Stamina (green) or just Defense (yellow) if you’re under 540 Defense
Red: Expertise + Stamina (purple) or Dodge + Stamina (purple)

If the set bonus isn’t great, just ignore the colour and throw Stamina in it.

Meta: Austere Earthsiege Diamond (Yes, I realize Eternal Earthsiege Diamond exists and no, you should not take it instead even if you’re under 540 Defense. Find the Defense elsewhere. No, it’s not worth the little bit of threat it gives you either.)

What enchants should I use?

Head: Arcanum of the Stalwart Protector
Shoulders: 30 Stamina or 20 Defense / 15 Dodge
Back: If you need Defense, 16 Defense rating, otherwise, 225 Armor.
Chest: If you need Defense, 22 Defense rating, otherwise, 275 Health.
Bracers: 40 Stamina or 12 Defense if you’re poor/cheap.
Gloves: 240 Armor
Belt: Get an extra socket.
Legs: Frosthide Leg Armor or Jormungar Leg Armor if you’re poor/cheap.
Boots: 15 Stamina + Run speed or 22 Stamina.
Shield: If you need Defense, 20 Defense rating, otherwise, 18 Stamina.
Weapon: Blood Draining or Mongoose. If you’re cheap/poor, Titanium Weapon Chain.

If you need Defense, it’s best to enchant your Back for Defense first then your Shield and finally, your Chest.

What professions should I take?

Any 2 of Mining, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Jewelcrafting and Enchanting.

My Hit and Expertise are really low though!

Don’t worry about that stuff. Survive first, generate crazy amounts of threat second. If you’re struggling with threat, it rarely has anything to do with gear. It’s usually because you aren’t pulling fast enough, you’re pushing the wrong buttons or you’re pushing the right buttons too slow.
How do I generate Single target threat?

Heroic Strike, a lot. You can Heroic Strike at the same time as your priority system.

The priority system is: Shield Slam > Shockwave > Concussion Blow > Revenge > Devastate
When you’re first getting started, it’s okay to use this as well: Shield Slam > Revenge > Devastate
Or even: Shield Slam > Devastate

The easier the rotation gets though the less damage you’re doing. If you find you’re not Heroic Striking enough, consider binding Heroic Strike to the wheel on your mouse. Spin to win.

How do I generate Multi-target threat?

Shockwave, Thunderclap and Shield Block.

When those are on cooldown, generate single-target threat except try to move to a different mob for each ability in the priority system. Cleave also replaces Heroic Strike in multi-target threat situations. If DPSers don’t wait a bit and your Shockwave is on cooldown, sometimes, you’re going to lose aggro. That’s just the way it goes. This can usually be solved just by pulling faster. Not only will this get the run done faster, but it’ll also force DPSers to use their mana correctly rather than nuking and drinking. Never wait for a DPSer to get mana back unless it’s a boss. Challenging Shout and Taunt should also be used aggressively if things feel like they’re getting out of control.

A final note on Shockwave: If you don’t need it for a pull, don’t use it. A lot of tanks get in trouble because they constantly keep it on cooldown. This is the wrong way to use it especially during a multiple wave fight. The event in Halls of Stone is a perfect example of this. Save Shockwave for when you know you’re about to lose aggro or for when Thunderclap is on cooldown and you need AOE threat.

What instances should I do?

Halls of Lightning
Do it on regular until you get the defense trinket. Loken is also an important boss to learn to do. Don’t use the cheaty method of standing in for his nuke. If you find your groups always insisting on doing this then start doing it on heroic to learn it the real way.

Halls of Stone
The wave event is an important fight to teach you how to properly use Shockwave in multi-target situations. If you’re struggling with this encounter, you are probably wasting a lot of Shockwaves by overuse or just missing with them. Don’t forget about Challenging Shout.

Utgarde Pinnacle
You’ll probably be told to go here because of the sweet tanking sword. Lucky for you, this instance will actually teach you something as well. The gauntlet is another great multi-target tanking test. If you’re struggling with it, you’re once again probably Shockwaving too much.

Violet Hold
There’s an ugly pull late in this instance that splits 4 mobs in two groups of 2. You need to learn to handle that situation.

How to handle it #1
Thunderclap the mobs closest to the entrance while using Heroic Throw on one of the far mobs then Taunting the final one. Once the Taunted mob is in range, be sure to hit it with a Shield Slam. Now that they’re all bunched up, you can backup and Shockwave them all followed by Thunderclap.

How to handle it #2
Thunderclap the mobs closest to the entrance then run over and Shockwave the other 2. Thunderclap as soon as it’s off cooldown. This is easier, but generates less threat.

This instance also has the chance for you to fight a boss named Xevozz. The best way to tank him is kiting him away from the spheres he spawns ensuring to keep those spheres out of his line of sight. It’s a great fight for learning how to generate threat on the run. It’ll really test how well you can generate threat while paying attention to something else.

Occulus
The most hated instance in WotLK which really just means it’s going to test you more than any instance in WotLK. It’s got a number of challenging boss fights and add packs, but probably it’s biggest test is not having a mental breakdown when your group mounts up on dragons and runs in 4 different directions. Your whole group being on Ventrilo is a huge bonus for this instance.

How do I know if I’m ready to raid?

Complete all of the Heroics multiple times. 3 is a good number. Yes, you will have the gear to raid before that, but you won’t be comfortable with your character yet. I highly recommend watching all of the Naxx videos at Tankspot.com and then leading your own Naxx run. Yes, you’re going to get called a noob because frankly, you are one, but you’ll also learn a lot as you struggle your way through the raid. It’s not the easiest or fastest way to get gear, but it is the fastest way to tanking end-game content. It’s the experience you need, not the gear. You learn far more from your failures than your successes.

You haven’t really talked about Gear

You’re right. I haven’t. Tanking is more about how you use your gear than the gear itself. So, training yourself in how to tank, how to enchant, gem and spec are all more important than how to find the loot you want. The reality is once you start raiding, you aren’t going to get exactly what you want. You take what you can get and you make the best of it.


Source : TankingTips.com

[Wowfx]

Nice guide

[Reflection]

Pretty nice guide, but it's boring. Add some colours, images, etc and it'll be a lot better.

Add that and I'll rep you.

[Smirdzius]

Oh look Back to Basics: I am 80, now what? - Warriors - TankingTips.com it looks same
Copy paste, without giving credit

[Duranin]

Oh look Back to Basics: I am 80, now what? - Warriors - TankingTips.com it looks same
Copy paste, without giving credit

Sorry i was not aware ( and not mentioned in the Post guidelines of this forum ) that you need to give a source ofcourse i will edit it to remark the source.

I just saw extremely little posts about warriors and thought this would be a nice start

[t1mPan]

Good guide, thnx

[Reflection]

Now, copy pasting a guide isn't as nice. No rep from me.

[Pietje]

Sorry i was not aware ( and not mentioned in the Post guidelines of this forum ) that you need to give a source ofcourse i will edit it to remark the source.

I just saw extremely little posts about warriors and thought this would be a nice start

Really? How old are you, <12? Ever heard of copyrights? Generally, you must ALWAYS post a source if there is one. Now, as this isn't your nmr1 legal forum, I could see what you wouldn't do it, but atleast do it to give some credit to whoever took the time to write it...

[Duranin]

Generally, you must ALWAYS post a source if there is one. Now, as this isn't your nmr1 legal forum, I could see what you wouldn't do it, but atleast do it to give some credit to whoever took the time to write it...

Don't ya think this is kind of ...... uhm late after i already stated that it was no problem and even after editing in the source ?

I know what you are trying to say but the addition you give to the other posters and me already putted the source in makes your remark totally not necessary and even obsolete

[DisturbingEffect]

Copy paste fail!