Which Taught More -- Upper Blackrock or Naxxramas?
UBRS and Naxxramas are the only two instances that taught me tanking. Everything else I've done has been fluff. While Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, and Ahn'Qiraj all brought their own imprints to confidence, raid leadership, and various other aspects of raiding, they didn't teach me mechanically.
Upper Blackrock Spire
-Rapid pulling
-5+ mobs at a time
-Split DPS
-Burst aggro
-Rapid movement
-Line of sight
-Kiting
-Bonus: Solo pulling from stupidly long distances
-Bonus: Learning what didn't need to be tanked or cc'd.
Naxxramas
-Complex rotations with other tanks
-Rapid decisions with other tanks
-Cooldown management
-Bonus: Increased carpal tunnel threshold
-Bonus: Killing an end boss without understanding any of it's threat mechanics
Time is the only commodity
Had I been patient with slower parties, I never would have become a superior tank. I never would have seen Naxxramas, much less finish it. UBRS was not simply an instance I happened across; it was the foundation of everything.
UBRS taught me instinctive cooldown management: I never knew Shield Block was on it's own separate cooldown, for instance, even though I used it simultaneously w/ other abilities; the GCD was something I'd never looked at; and it didn't matter, because I performed and used them as second-nature. It wasn't until much later -- Naxxramas -- that I actually looked at how cooldowns worked.
Fighting against time is the only way to push yourself. Skill is determined by the rapid recognition of goals and the reactions to reach those goals. It is not skill to sit around and mark every target in every pull; for healers, it is not skill to wait every pull for mana. At that point, it is simply repetition. It is worthless and slow.
You may be concerned that by pulling faster you increase the chance of failure. If you assume that any issue in a pull will cause failure, then you shouldn't be working to be a main tank. Recovering from the impossible is what made me, it is necessary to become better.
If you want to be a better player, and you're with players who also want to be better, there is zero justification for not speed pulling. Regardless of whether your goal is loot or personal improvement, pushing yourself and your party to pull faster, more chaotically, and with more tenacity will be a boon.
Of course, none of it matters if Blizzard keeps making everything pre-scripted gimmick-based garbage.
Upper Blackrock Spire
-Rapid pulling
-5+ mobs at a time
-Split DPS
-Burst aggro
-Rapid movement
-Line of sight
-Kiting
-Bonus: Solo pulling from stupidly long distances
-Bonus: Learning what didn't need to be tanked or cc'd.
Naxxramas
-Complex rotations with other tanks
-Rapid decisions with other tanks
-Cooldown management
-Bonus: Increased carpal tunnel threshold
-Bonus: Killing an end boss without understanding any of it's threat mechanics
Time is the only commodity
Had I been patient with slower parties, I never would have become a superior tank. I never would have seen Naxxramas, much less finish it. UBRS was not simply an instance I happened across; it was the foundation of everything.
UBRS taught me instinctive cooldown management: I never knew Shield Block was on it's own separate cooldown, for instance, even though I used it simultaneously w/ other abilities; the GCD was something I'd never looked at; and it didn't matter, because I performed and used them as second-nature. It wasn't until much later -- Naxxramas -- that I actually looked at how cooldowns worked.
Fighting against time is the only way to push yourself. Skill is determined by the rapid recognition of goals and the reactions to reach those goals. It is not skill to sit around and mark every target in every pull; for healers, it is not skill to wait every pull for mana. At that point, it is simply repetition. It is worthless and slow.
You may be concerned that by pulling faster you increase the chance of failure. If you assume that any issue in a pull will cause failure, then you shouldn't be working to be a main tank. Recovering from the impossible is what made me, it is necessary to become better.
If you want to be a better player, and you're with players who also want to be better, there is zero justification for not speed pulling. Regardless of whether your goal is loot or personal improvement, pushing yourself and your party to pull faster, more chaotically, and with more tenacity will be a boon.
Of course, none of it matters if Blizzard keeps making everything pre-scripted gimmick-based garbage.
Total Comments 11
Comments
 | UBRS, but only because I never saw Naxx. Also, tanks arent the only ones who learn a lot on a UBRS speed run. Healers learn how to get the most out of their mana bar, and how to rotate healing duties so one can drink through a pull if need be. DPS learns how to focus fire and burn quickly, though technically they should have been doing that since Mara at the least. Your speed runs pushed my Hunter's trapping abilities to the max, but I could chain trap a mob 4-5 times if needed. Everyone who went through those runs came out a better player, or they quit halfway through. I still have an SS of the Beast in Rend's Arena from way back then. |
Posted 02-12-2008 at 12:26 AM by Kaganda  |
| | I agree, the worst pulls are the best in a way. The week before last we pulled about three trash groups in Kara and killed them all. There was a time when one of those trash groups would have wiped us. I know this isn't related to UBRS or Naxx, but it's the same deal. My guildies have become better players because of our tendency to face pull mobs. Nearly every week when clearing to Shade both rooms of 4 Spell Shades get face pulled because someone gets too close, and we kill them every time. Going back to the topic at hand, I would also say UBRS taught me more about tanking than MC did (also never did Naxx). MC was actually quite boring for a tank because most mobs were solo anyway and those that weren't could have another tank on them. I found UBRS much more stressful to tank, and I became a much better tank for it. |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 12:43 AM by Arrivan |
| | I never tanked in anything higher than UBRS pre TBC. And every heroic I do now is speed pulled. It does irk me somewhat to do a heroic slowly and methodically, which I why I wish that badges could be transferred between characters on the same account. My mage has half the repair bill of my warrior, but in the vast majority of cases, the speed is what makes me want to play my warrior in almost every heroic. |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 03:43 AM by Finelle |
| | Speed runs teach so much more than regular runs. Personally I learned to tank by solo tanking UBRS pugs, normally at a high rate of speed. The ability to adapt is really the key to playing this game successfully at a high level. A lot of my guild didn't really get this until we started doing Hyjal. Large groups of unmarked mobs that are coming whether you're ready or not do wonders for people's ability to react on the fly. Not that Hyjal trash is particularly hard, but since we've been doing it our ability to survive oops pulls in other instances has gone way up. Now to figure out how to kill constructs.... |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 06:43 AM by maddfez |
| | Cider I have to agree that UBRS was the first instance that I came to realize that I was becoming a capable tank. This was way back when you could 15 man UBRS. There was me and another warrior. We had very little CC. I was running it for a chance to get my Draconian Shield. The other tank was a member of the most progressed guild in the server. This all hapened in the pulls in Drak's room where multiple mobs are pulled. We had no cc due to an untimely death and I tried to round up as many of the mobs I could- after the dust settled I had 3 mobs on me as the main tank had one and everyone was focusing on his target. I maintained aggro on all 3 while the other tank just taunted them one by one as they killed them. Right after that pull the progressed tank pst'ed me: "You rock- glad to see warriors that know how to tank." Coming from him this was big compliment and I realized what my true calling was in this game. Ever since that day I have been a tank and progressed to becoming the Main Tank of my guild as we progressed from MC-Naxx. So wherever you are Gob (the name of the previously mentioned tank), THANKS!! Elio/Dozer |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 07:00 AM by elio |
| |  Without a solid foundation, everything crumbles so it stands to reason UBRS would be where those cornerstones are set and built upon. However, I never ran UBRS much. The first guild I was in was the standard leveling guild. UBRS was a huge event that required 15 of the guild's best, such as they were, and I was a late come to the game(but not THAT late) I did Strat, Scholo, BRD alot but only then was I getting the first emerging understanding about tanking. I changed guilds and started MC. It was funny because the first day I was in the new guild, I subbed into a guild run into UBRS "at Drak, need a tank" and got my [item]Draconian Deflector[/item] I miss that shield..... I picked up bits and pieces along the way mostly from getting my head kicked in by MC trash. I hate to say it but I seldom used shield block unitl later on in BWL...I was an avoidance tank, and comparatively, I had ungodly high dodge. I got by with alot of luck but got rocked plenty. At least early on I learned to use Shield Slam and spam the crap out of Sunder/HS when rage permitted but I hardly ever used Revenge "It only hits for like 90 damage" ...../sigh.....if I knew then what I know now.... |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 07:34 AM by Horacio |
| | I became a good instance tank in TBC. I was Ok before, but in TBC doing heroics in marginal gear - you better learn to do it right or you are dead. That is what finally sent me looking for some theory craft instead of killing myself trying to get it right. When I remember how hard I worked to be a good tank and how difficult everything was - "if only I knew then what I know now," is the best description of my wow career lol. |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 10:22 AM by Blackfriday |
| |  no naxx for me but UBRS was a steep learning curve. I loved it =] |
| Posted 02-12-2008 at 11:25 AM by Kazeyonoma |
| | This reminds me fondly of my PuG philosophy - running with an "X factor" (or four) in a group imbeds a deep learning-adaptibility reaction, almost as keen as instinct itself. When reacting to unknown danger becomes second nature, your concerns will be much more managable. Mind you, I don't believe in pugging things that require strict execution, but even that holds a bit of merit to those who are willing to give themselves a knee-jerk test to see how quickly they bounce back. |
| Posted 02-14-2008 at 09:32 AM by Radhja |
| | I'd say UBRS cuz I never saw Naxx and never really main-tanked 40man raid. I'll also say PUG. When you are in perfect group, you learn nothing. I had to learn to improve my tps because of that dps-crazy rogue/mage/lock. I had to learn how to reduce incoming dmg for that undergeared healer. I had to learn multi-tanking because of those CC'er no able to keep their target CC'ed or multishoting hunter, ww warior, bladefury rogue who keep breaking CC. I had to learn positioning to be able to spam TC without breaking CC because hunter/mage keep CC'ing their target right beside me. All those pug group made me a better tank and in almost ALL my pug, when we walk out the dungeon, ppl say "damn, that run was fucking fast and smooth" and I'm proud of it. And then, when I run with guildie, it's a walk in the park. |
| Posted 02-22-2008 at 11:09 AM by djiss |
| | My big breaking in to tanking was when I started tanking heroics for the A team (class officers) while I was still in blues. I was quickly forced to maximize my threat in order to keep the mobs off the 1k dps'ers. It was insane since they refused to hold back on me. It has made me a better tank now and I am now pushing the dps and healers in the same fashion as they come up the ranks. |
| Posted 10-29-2008 at 11:32 AM by Shadevarr |
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