Tanking in Pugs.

[Sevynn]

Armory: The World of Warcraft Armory (http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Thunderlord&n=Sevynn)

Ever since 3.3 I have been doing the random pugs everyday. Some runs will go extremely smooth but lately I have been having issues with threat. I switch between DW frost and 2h Blood quite frequently. Generally i find its easier to hold threat with DW frost but I feel more comfortable tanking bosses as Blood.

I have major issues holding threat on well geared Rogues, Feral Druids and Hunters. Now I almost NEVER see MD or ToTT on me when I am with pugs. I am mostly in truimph gear or lower so I was wondering if DPS actually gets to a point where if they aren't using there skills like ToTT and MD they will pull more threat then me? Also is this a gear issues. I am definitely guilty of stam stacking on my gear but until now this hasn't been an issue.

I notice a lot of dps dont /assist which forces me to juggle between 2-3 targets...Its driving me insane. Is there something i should be doing that eliminates this problem?

Also with beginning rotation on frost on AoE fights I use DnD, HB, BB,FS if i have the RP to get initial aggro on everyone. After I do this I have a time when i cant really cast anything. All my skills are macrod with a /cast !Rune Strike.

Are any other tanks having this issue with aggro in PuGs? Also I know my specs are a little odd. They change about 4 times a week because i tend to experiment.

depending on what I logged out in my tank weps are: 2 Black Iccicles, or 1 Tyranical Beheader. They have the def/stam runes on them. I have been meaning to get 2 1h tank weps to experiement.

Please leave suggestions, Thanks.

Sevynn

[Arvandor]

Rogues and hunters? Really? Those have never been trouble classes for me even if they don't use TotT or MD. It's those bloody fury warriors and their WW I can't keep threat over.

If DnD + glyphed HB isn't keeping threat over FoK, kittyswipe, and... The hunter must just be attacking the wrong freaking target, tell him to l2p... then I don't know what to tell you. Either the dps outgears you by a huge margin, is starting dps WAAY too early (like before HB goes off,) or they're not assissting you. Or maybe you forgot to turn on frost presence? Honest mistake, I've done it more than a couple times =)

[Reev]

Hunters put out incredible threat. If they aren't feigning as they should it's not hard for them to pull aggro from a tank. They are often a good class to throw Vigilance on because the 10% threat they give you is so high. Similar to warlocks that way.

[veneretio]

All you can do is throw up a skull whenever it's convenient, ask for misdirects/tricks and talk to your party members. Remember your party members can also mark targets now too which is what I encourage them to do if they want me maximizing my threat.

Most groups really aren't out to make your life hard, they are just playing carefree since they know even if they pull aggro that the healer can heal them through most mobs damage. Just take a few moments to talk to your party and encourage them to play in such a way that you are comfortable with.

After all, 5 mans are suppose to be PvE not PvP ;)

[Rominoodle]

Ahh..pugs...Well to reitterate what has already been said, you can try and talk to your party or put marks up. I don't have too much a problem with threat other then when I pug with a bunch of antsy aoe'ers. I must agree with the fury warrior comment, got a 6k dps warrior in my guild who drives me nuts in heroics! Heroics nowadays are a joke, and people just want to burn through them fast...I get the "I'm going to go boomkin and hurricane the mobs down and heal you after they die" all the frickin time because people are impatient! If you have one dps that continues to pull aggro even through marked targets, switch to DPS spec and tell him to tank it. I've done it before...(then looked like a jackass when the hunter kited the last boss in UP around the room )

......Anyways :)

[Sevynn]

k, so i'm not really insane. Its just frustrating time to time. I tank because I like to be in control of the situation but in pugs it can be hard to control everyone. I agree heroics are a joke for the most part and likewise i want to blast through them it just seems like pally tanks do infinitely better then I do in heroics. Ill keep at it tho.

[saranna]

If I'm in a bad mood I'll only taunt off the healer, after they die I'll say something to the effect of "let me pull" and "watch you're agro" in a polite way and I will mark a skull most of the time as well, I use a quickmark addon.

[Packy]

Yeah I am one of those bad Fury warriors and I have learned to use BT and HS over WW in a lot of the pug heroics. The worst one is H HOR. If I start to spam WW, I usually pull aggro and die or get close to it, especially if the healer isn't on his game. I read in a previous post where assisting the tank helps, but I find it better to stand back a bit and mark a target (priest) with a skull and maybe the rogue with an X and try and single target each down. It helps everyone focus on one. Once there are only 2 or 3 up and the tank has them locked to him, then I start in heavy with my rotation including ww.

Good luck.