[veneretio]

Source: Kazeyonoma I use challenging shout a lot, but surprisingly I don't use Mocking Blow often, I think I need to create a macro that will quick change me to Battle stance and mocking blow for me to click on if taunt is on CD. Thanks for the feedback though guys, helped me realize that I wasn't doing anything terribly wrong at all. ;]

Mocking Blow macro

And for a bit of a laugh, but also some perspective.

[Kazeyonoma]

Heh, to further my story rants, I tanked Heroic Mech and Heroic Setthek Halls last night without losing agro much at ALL, with basically the same set up

fury warrior, stealthy rogue (hell if I know his spec), druid healer/dps, priest main healer, and myself. Both went smooth, and still, no sun eater =( but 6 badges is always good =] And I think I picked up... an Epic Gem or two. and 2 void crystals =D

[snoopj]

I do believe there has to be a confidence factor that comes into tanking, especially being the MT of MTs for your raiding guild.

Personally, it wasn't until I finally got mad and snapped at my 40 man group back in MC. We were partnered with another guild about our size and we put our best together for early MC exploration. We were having an off night and on our way to Gehennas, we did some stupid stuff and wiped on a Destroyer/Giant/Lava Annihilator/Lava Surger pull (stupid pull with tons of confusion). Now, up to this point, I kept my mic on mute and barely typed in /raid. I finally got on vent and without being condescending to the raid, I calmly pointed out that it was time for our group to get their collective heads out of their asses and get this stuff done.

From that point, I finally grew the pair I needed to become a true raid leader on top of adding more and more confidence to the mix. I put them on my shoulders and in return, they kicked their performance up a few more notches than before. From that point on, I used more Vent time to discuss a few things and after a while, I was appointed the raid leader of the mix.

All it took was opening my mouth (in a correct way, mind you) and from there, it bloomed into something more and I went from just being a silent MT to a vocal raid leader (without putting a big head on my shoulder....always reminded that while our first kill of Ragnaros was a feat for our guild, many had already done it before us).

--snoopj

[Kazeyonoma]

If only my guild gave me a chance to lead. They think my gear is subpar because they compare me to our two MT's and instead give priority to another player, who although he has slightly better gear, his skill and understanding of mechanics is flawed, and they also don't understand much about 490 def, crushing blows, or avoidance vs. Stam/ac tanking.

They think you can become CB immune with 563 defense, they think you need 495 defense to get uncrittable, they say avoidance is the best way to tank, and blah blah. Its frustrating really.

[snoopj]

I guess what I did is backed it all up with my performance. It's not like I became a raid leader over night. I did have to follow up what I was saying with a performance that proved I was right.

--snoopj

[Criss]

Source: Kazeyonoma If only my guild gave me a chance to lead. They think my gear is subpar because they compare me to our two MT's and instead give priority to another player, who although he has slightly better gear, his skill and understanding of mechanics is flawed, and they also don't understand much about 490 def, crushing blows, or avoidance vs. Stam/ac tanking. They think you can become CB immune with 563 defense, they think you need 495 defense to get uncrittable, they say avoidance is the best way to tank, and blah blah. Its frustrating really.

Haha, story of my time in raiding. So many tanks in high positions know so very little, and it kills me. Not that I know a whole lot more, but I don't think I'm perfect, and I'm always working on learning more. There's a difference in that.

[Kazeyonoma]

yup, true that.

[Mylk]

Slightly OT:

Ok ok ok ... I admit it ... I'm a lurking non-warrior non-tank. I'm a firmly planted resto druid, and while I have the gear and ability to tank I prefer to heal (besides, I have Groundchuck to tank for me :P)

I noticed many people mentioning that women tend to like to play Healers to "help other people" and because they tend to be "more passive," and I'm here to offer another perspective. I like to heal b/c I like to be in control. I view healers as the "first ladies" of raiding (everyone knows that if you want something done at the White House you call the President's wife - she's the one that gets things done.) A good healer can manipulate an encounter, control the speed of dps, and help to teach raid members (god help the warlock that pulls aggro or the melee dps that stands in a cloud of green ... when has a green cloud ever been a good thing?!) In fact - I heal for many of the same reasons that many of you tank. I also heal, because I have a very hard time relying on someone else to keep me alive

In short - healing and tanking can be done for many of the same reasons. The main difference is that many guilds "cover up" lack luster healing by throwing more healers at the problem, while a MT is still the only one in the spot light.

[veneretio]

Source: Mylk In short - healing and tanking can be done for many of the same reasons. The main difference is that many guilds "cover up" lack luster healing by throwing more healers at the problem, while a MT is still the only one in the spot light.

Great points.

Although I hate to break it to ya, but you are relying on your tank to keep you alive too. The only difference is, as you've hinted towards, most of the time no one can cover for us

[Mylk]

Source: veneretio Although I hate to break it to ya, but you are relying on your tank to keep you alive too. The only difference is, as you've hinted towards, most of the time no one can cover for us

Quite true - but my MTs ability to keep me alive is directly related to both my ability to heal and their ability to tank. By healing my MT I'm in a small way helping to keep myself alive as well.

Slightly back on topic ....
There has to be a level of trust between a tank and their healers, but there also has to be a level of respect as well. As a healer, the best tanks to heal for are the ones that realize when it was their responsibility to stay alive (keep SB up, have the right resist gear on, take Ironskins when needed, have cooldowns/timers up for when healer mana is getting low, etc). I'm 50x more likely to do whatever I can to back up a tank that has an oops moment if I know they'll own up to it. On the other hand, if all I constantly hear is "omg why couldn't you keep me alive - its all your fault" I'm not entirely motivated to prop that tank up.

It all comes back to confidence. Yes sitting in front of a boss getting wailed on is nerve wracking, yes knowing that you are in the spot light if something goes wrong is intense, but it is admitting to the small things that takes real confidence. Being able to acknowledge the mistakes as well as the triumphs of yourself and those backing you up will make the missed pulls inconsequential. People generally look to the tank to make the first move, and if your first move is to make it ok to screw up as long as you learn from it ... you'll have an avid throng of healers ready to save your arse.