How to suck and earn the MT spot
Posted 02-09-2009 at 09:37 AM by Tenraiel
I'm reflecting back upon joining my guild, and I find the road to becoming their MT amazing. I didn't start my warrior until Dec 2007. I was raiding as a holy priest, which I loved, but decided that I wanted to control my groups more - that good tanks were just too hard to find. I was 70 by March and xfered to the server where my roommate had an AF toon. Tankspot taught me how to be awesome. Long and short of it is that I came to be looking for a more progressed guild than the one I was stuck in and started apping in July to our guilds that were in t6 content. In my t4 guild, I was able to come across a guild that was 4/5, 0/9 that needed tanks ... bad. I had a reputation for having extremely high threat and being a fast puller. I get in and was gear sponge ... my priority NEVER caught up! They had a pally tank and a feral, both of whom had been there forever.
First, I have a quick spurt though, we have a feral curse. We do not have druid tanks. We've gone through 7 between July and November. They just won't stay ... stupid droods -_-
Anyways, as the new guy, I expected to be benched ... and I was alot at first. But they gave me a chance. The pally and I (the only tanks left) started sharing boss responsibilities, he receiving the harder bosses due to gear level. By the time I was fairly geared, I was the goto tank for just about all encounters - having lead us to 4/4, 6/9, and finishing Kael/Vashj before 3.0. Raiding 2 hours, 3 nights a week. (Sadly & Proudly, we were the #5 horde guild ... slow server) Not because the pally was worse (he is the best pally I've played with), but because the whole guild had gotten behind me, assumed a mindset that I was the one they wanted out front. So fun. This is where I've begun to enjoy the story.
Wrath comes out, I burn to 80. On our way to our first Sarth kill, my graphics card dies and I get stuck in non-WoW world until the end of January. I came back, and this time we have no shortage of tanks and I am again significantly undergeared. Before long, I am AGAIN referred to as our MT. The hiatus gave me time to reflect. ... I am not the most skilled tank on the server. I am not the most geared. I have not been around forever. I am not perfectly aware of what's happening to our raid. I am not impervious to standing in fire. I am not putting out the most threat. ... Why do I still have a great reputation on my server, and why does my guild still elevate me? I pull fast. I pull very fast. I make decisions ... I lead. I am not the raid leader, but apart from him I singularly have the most influence.
This is great supporting evidence to the case that being MT is much less about class / gear / tenure than most people assume, and is instead very much correlated to who is prepared, ready, competent and willing to lead.
How did you earn your MT spot?
First, I have a quick spurt though, we have a feral curse. We do not have druid tanks. We've gone through 7 between July and November. They just won't stay ... stupid droods -_-
Anyways, as the new guy, I expected to be benched ... and I was alot at first. But they gave me a chance. The pally and I (the only tanks left) started sharing boss responsibilities, he receiving the harder bosses due to gear level. By the time I was fairly geared, I was the goto tank for just about all encounters - having lead us to 4/4, 6/9, and finishing Kael/Vashj before 3.0. Raiding 2 hours, 3 nights a week. (Sadly & Proudly, we were the #5 horde guild ... slow server) Not because the pally was worse (he is the best pally I've played with), but because the whole guild had gotten behind me, assumed a mindset that I was the one they wanted out front. So fun. This is where I've begun to enjoy the story.
Wrath comes out, I burn to 80. On our way to our first Sarth kill, my graphics card dies and I get stuck in non-WoW world until the end of January. I came back, and this time we have no shortage of tanks and I am again significantly undergeared. Before long, I am AGAIN referred to as our MT. The hiatus gave me time to reflect. ... I am not the most skilled tank on the server. I am not the most geared. I have not been around forever. I am not perfectly aware of what's happening to our raid. I am not impervious to standing in fire. I am not putting out the most threat. ... Why do I still have a great reputation on my server, and why does my guild still elevate me? I pull fast. I pull very fast. I make decisions ... I lead. I am not the raid leader, but apart from him I singularly have the most influence.
This is great supporting evidence to the case that being MT is much less about class / gear / tenure than most people assume, and is instead very much correlated to who is prepared, ready, competent and willing to lead.
How did you earn your MT spot?
Total Comments 11
Comments
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Great read. You bring up really good points about what it takes to tank... what it means to lead. I come from a similar place, but took a different route.
It's embarrassing, but I have to admit when I first started tanking I was not a leader at all. At all. My main of 2.5 years was a holy priest, and I was just used to the passive playstyle that engenders.
So learning a new playstyle as dictated by the class mechanics was the first challenge. The second obstacle to becoming a great tank was that I'm a passive dude in general. I know myself well, and in real life I'm a follower. That's just my personality. I am most comfortable when I have a boss telling me what I need to do, not when I have to delegate work to juniors. I don't like to lead, or be in charge. At least not initially.
In WoW, when I first started tanking I would always ask if people were ready, I'd ask questions all the time, I'd never do anything, pull anything, until people told me it was OK. Guildies got tired of it and started saying things like "You're the tank, you decide." as a gentle way of pushing me to step into the lead role. My guildmates are awesome like that, they're supportive and know exactly what they need to say to get me to step it up. So, while they are encouraging me, I'm starting to get better gear, and more experience. At one point I logged in and realized I knew all the dungeons and raids by heart, knew all the killorders, knew all the little tricks about which mobs needed to be turned, kited, turned against the wall -- whatever. When I realized I knew everything there was to know... I became supremely confident. I knew there were no more surprises. I tanked with newfound confidence, pulled with newfound audacity, and really felt like I was playing "in the zone." Do that for long enough and people notice.
Basically -- all it took for me to become a good tank / good leader (in my humble estimation) was to reach a certain threshold of experience, after which it was all gravy. Every boss was ours to loot. I wasn't scared and I stopped asking questions.Posted 02-09-2009 at 10:28 AM by Skyborn 
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This.Quote:When I realized I knew everything there was to know... I became supremely confident. I knew there were no more surprises. I tanked with newfound confidence, pulled with newfound audacity, and really felt like I was playing "in the zone." Do that for long enough and people notice.
This attitude has earned me Main Tank position in my guild. If you can go into a new encounter with confidence and also show it to your guildies, they are going to trust you and rely on you.
Be the beacon of trust. Be the one who always is confident in a positive outcome in the end and you'll be a true main tank.Posted 02-09-2009 at 02:09 PM by orcstar 
- It's not even about knowing everything, it's all about confidence. I don't know how many times I've not had a clue where I was going or what I was doing (my guild likes to try something at least a few times before we resort to looking at how others have done it) but if I start moving in a certain direction, everyone is always right behind me... even if I've told them I don't know which way to go.
Posted 02-09-2009 at 07:48 PM by Kashak - I couldn't agree more about the power of mentality over aggression. The irony is that an aggressive mentality is exactly what it takes to survive. Lovely post, =)
Posted 02-09-2009 at 10:22 PM by Arideni - I started my warrior, with my gf starting a healing priest, just pre-BC after having to spam "LF tank & healer" all the time for runs. Our mains are hunters. We'd get people that didn't want to run a 5 with 2 hunters (since they assumed we both sucked, I guess?). So, we made our own.
We ran a pretty casual guild, not focused on any raids at all through a good chunk of BC, until we decided that we were sick of not seeing things like Kara. A really late jump, but we had an enthusiastic group of people. We started literally running almost very night, for a few hours, working on bosses, etc. It was when you needed the key, so we were at least geared THAT much for those runs, but not over-geared from heroics, etc, to go in. Everyone was average, so it took a lot of patience. From the start, I too was really hesitant. Sure, I was guild leader, but never put myself in a take-charge mode. So we were approaching every fight carefully, planning out things, analyzing them. We were measuring our growth by how far we could get in Kara the first night. We'd clear Curator, it was a huge success.
We had a night one night, where we got a late start for the 2nd half. A couple members had to go soon, so basically it turned into a "Let's go as fast as we can, see if we can get Prince" race. Low and behold, chain pulling, etc, and we got to him, and downed him in record (for us) time. From then on out, it was like a huge confidence boost for not only me, but the team. I realized that I could move quicker and count on them to (usually) know what their roles were. And it also let them know that I was going to be pointing them in the right direction most of the time.
Now, the people I run with regularly know how I run, and enjoy it. I run quick enough to make it not last all night, but I also have an idea of where mana is, and where it should be before a pull. If they need a break, they know to ask, otherwise, I pull when I feel we're good. And as the tank, I also have an idea of how much I can handle. So I can go in knowing my priest still has to drink another 10 seconds, and know that I can stay alive on trash long enough for her to get back up and start healing me.
I've also used this site a lot, as well as the wow forums, and tried to make myself a better tank. I have no problem using my cooldowns proactively, and trinkets as well. I see no problem giving my healer a break when I can, even though I might not HAVE to. Could they keep me up on a heroic boss without a shield wall? Sure. But hey, why not let them get a short break, let them catch their breath. She knows how I play. It's why she, and my other healers, like how I run, as opposed to other people they know.
The best compliments to me though, are the random puggers on heroics, etc, that tell me I'm easy to keep up, or getting the whisper "Great tanking that run". Having the confidence sure helps. The only way to get it, is to take a deep breath, and plunge in. Now that I have, I ain't gettin outta da pool.Posted 02-09-2009 at 11:55 PM by CharlzO - 1. I research fights, I do as much as I can to learn about my opponent before I step in the ring. I also research gear lists, and how to perpetually improve my gear on my own outside of raid. Even if it shorts me thousands of gold for one more point of stamina. I have people counting on me to be at my best.
2. I know my team. I know what they can handle, how many, how soon, and for how long before they need a break. I know what their limitations are and what they can't do. I also push them on occasions, keep them awake and make things interesting.
3. I'm calm, collected, and ready for anything.
4. I know that any fight I didn't walk out of alive, I gave 110%. The best fights are those done for the first time. I will wipe as many times as needed to make it 'the first kill.'
It sounds kind of preachy, but it has been my creed and has made me MT for guilds that have taken my rusty arse in. I might not be the best in skill, but I know the powers at my disposal and how to use them effectively. I know my limits, and what I can't do.
Speaking of limits - I do all the above and I don't have a microphone, yet I'm still the one they turn to to defend them from the big nasty scary things that want to rip their faces off. Yay for macros.
(right now I'm taking a break with dps...as it's something I'm relatively new to and is kinda fun fooling around with a few toys defaulted my way)
Edit: If you've ever heard the song "Enter The Cage" by Adema, it's the song I like to listen to to get me in the zone (even if it's more about that ufcw stuff.)Posted 02-10-2009 at 12:09 AM by Conreeaght
Updated 02-10-2009 at 12:24 AM by Conreeaght - I got MT back in TBC not because I was the best, or the best geared, or the most reliable, or any "because I was the bests". I got it because two or three people thought I was the best, and pushed it. I've been really lucky to have 3-4 skilled players who see me as a friend follow me around where ever I go and genuinely believe I'm the best there is.
I don't think I suck, but I think my friends supporting me is what keeps me afloat as much as my own drive to succeed. I get the job done, but I do it because they're there and I don't want to ruin their day by not being the best I can be.Posted 02-10-2009 at 01:23 AM by Petninja - I liked be OT, didn't have to do anything complicated, just came and tanked and did my job. Then the MT left the guild, a couple of months later in TBC the new MT started not showing up when we got stuck on Gruul, so I MT'ed in his place. Gruul downed, hydross and Lurker downed we had gotten past the hump, the old MT made several comebacks but could never reestablish himself again eventually gquitting.
It's funny tho I have never said a word of vent 2 years with this guild, MT from Gruul, vashj, kael, illidan, archimonde through sunwell and 3d drake sartharion and nobody knows the MTs voice. "your MT doesn't spreak on vent!?" yea get that a lot..Posted 02-10-2009 at 02:10 AM by bludwork - I remember when i first lernt how to tank back in TBC in underbog, and listening to all your storys has just took me back to then, it was great haveing all that aggro and all the mobs on me, and knowing that im keeping my team alive, it was quite late into TBC when i started to raid, but i still did it, i geared up for kara doing all the normal instances, then steped into kara with my then guild, the rush was amazing my dedcation and passion for tanking got me to MT status for 3 guilds that ive been in, and like everyone has said and what u will be thinking when you read them is you know how it felt when it was you, when people tell you great tanking that makes all the work worth while. Not only do i have a passion for tanking but i share that love for it like all you guys do aswell this is what we do and who we are. now that im in a 25-man raiding guild and im a TanKadIN i am MTwhen i need to be same has the druid war and me who all tank for our guild we MT when our class is best for doing so, bbut reading back at all your posts realy took me back and it was a great read from all of them
Posted 02-10-2009 at 03:05 AM by slashtankadin - For me it was:
1) I'm there - always. Thick & thin. Even when the guild was on the verge of collapse. Even when every warrior rerolled after the great rage nerf. Even when i dont really want to tank that day.
2) I research. I dont lead but i know exactly what i need to do. I also go over WWS logs & find out what's wrong
3) I dont quit. Wipe after wipe, i'll be there, never whining, never accusing, never waiting for a res, always ready first, potted, wellfed, boss targeted.
I guess you could say i've become "reliable".Posted 02-10-2009 at 03:57 AM by Fledern - Hello everyone love the reads i just joined and like i have read my tank wasnt my main. i have been playing almost 2 years now and my main was a hunter.i join a guild when i was 21 and have been there ever since.i surpassed my fellows in that i was looking for more allways i did everything and then weent end world but like most when ur guild doesnt have a tank it becomes hard to do raids.So after 16 months or so and after haveing my wife give me arggo on the time i played i introduced her to my gm.Finnaly the 2 hit it off right from the start so we made a tank-healer team warrior - Priest great team .now i have taklen the roll as raid leader witch is like my work i run a construction crew i dont want to b a boss but will encourage u to do ur part and b the best u can b. they come to me for advice and look to me to know what i am doing this comes easy my wife now been playing 5 months or so we r running naxx 10 man and soon to finish we have hit a wall with grobblus and just cant seem to get past the 15% mark
but that will come. well enough i tend to talk alot so i will b quite and yes i am not good at writeing but i can build u a beutiful house LOL if u ever in azjol-nerub send a tell.Posted 02-10-2009 at 10:14 AM by FTWiamtank
