DK tanking advice after a FoS fail...

[winterbourne]

"If the tank dies, the healer has failed"
"If the healer dies, the tank has failed"

"If the dps dies, the dps has failed"

Seeing as how Mister Rogue was dps.... Yeah.

(They are the least favorite class to tank for, for me. Very possibly, just the trickiest)

I think rogues are worse than hunters by a large margin. They call them 'huntards", but most of the ones I've run with (even on LFG) know where the FD and MD buttons are and use em.

I bet you never saw the little pocketknife icon of happy tanks, the beloved Tricks of the Trade buff.

*edited for spelling

[Fetzie]

I "backpeddle" all the time...it's called positioning. I don't want those buggers behind me. I'm not crit immune if they are behind me. The positioning bug makes it harder. The DPS aren't affected by the bug, so what the hell do they care, all they see is you backing up.

What is it with people thinking that mob positioning changes crit chances? If you have more than 535 defense skill in 5 man heroics or 540 defense skill in raids you cannot be critted unless the boss or trash has a special ability or you sit down. Caster mobs CANNOT crit with spells. The Lich King could hit you in the back, you would not be critted, he could cast a shadowbolt at a level 1 bank alt, it would not be critted.

What you DO lose when a mob is hitting you in the back is avoidance (and block if you are a paladin or a warrior). NOTHING ELSE.

[KnThrak]

The rogue said garbage. Crushing Blows no longer exist, and the only thing which can happen if you position wrong is that you get mobs behind you - where you are unable to Parry.

That is exactly what backpeddaling is for though, to make sure the mobs stay in front of your char while you move around. And at James Brown you have to do exactly that to get more distance from the orb (also try to Chains of Ice the orbs).

And if you have someone like that rogue, do what I always do:
Educative Deaths. They help make better DPSers :P

I can be very stoic and let the same DPS die 30 times, telling him only "Watch your threat, don't attack too much too early." every time, nothing else. It's my threat-fault if the DPS has to stand around doing nothing, yes. It is their fault if they die from overaggro because they failed to stop attacking.

[KnThrak]

The rogue said garbage. Crushing Blows no longer exist, and the only thing which can happen if you position wrong is that you get mobs behind you - where you are unable to Parry.

That is exactly what backpeddaling is for though, to make sure the mobs stay in front of your char while you move around. And at James Brown you have to do exactly that to get more distance from the orb (also try to Chains of Ice the orbs).

And if you have someone like that rogue, do what I always do:
Educative Deaths. They help make better DPSers :P

I can be very stoic and let the same DPS die 30 times, telling him only "Watch your threat, don't attack too much too early." every time, nothing else. It's my threat-fault if the DPS has to stand around doing nothing, yes. It is their fault if they die from overaggro because they failed to stop attacking.

[Chamenas]

Crushing blows do exist, but only for mobs 4+ levels above you. It's a level check now, not something to hurt tanks.

[Synapse]

Crushing blows do exist, but only for mobs 4+ levels above you. It's a level check now, not something to hurt tanks.

well, to be fair a tank without maxed base defense will be crushed by a raid boss
Not that it is expectable for a tank that finished two heroics to not be at 400 defense :x

[Banterloft]

Ever noticed that rogues are the first to say..." I died! Sh*ty heals or sh*ty tanking. There is a reason. Rogue unload everything very fast, pull aggro, the just keep going. They have an aggro wipe but never use it because it would nerf their DPS. Granted, they are doing LOTs of dps now and that makes them happy... This one was particularly a dick... Shake it off. You can command the group if your not the leader. Most of the people in there have been waiting a few minutes for you and they will not let you go. A simple "You pull off me again and your out" will be sufficent in most groups.

[Hatchetman240]

Macro:

/s Oh good a DPS has volunteered to tank! I'll swap to DPS spec next break!
/cast blood presence

When the DPS (or party) wipes you can use the downtime where res/release is going on to suggest they allow you to tank.

[Banterloft]

Macro:

/s Oh good a DPS has volunteered to tank! I'll swap to DPS spec next break!
/cast blood presence

When the DPS (or party) wipes you can use the downtime where res/release is going on to suggest they allow you to tank.

HA!

[Evilcabell]

Thanks, guys, for all of the tips, advice, and support! I'm normally not so easily bothered by in-game antics so it's ridiculous how upset this episode caused me to become. I enjoy tanking because every opportunity to tank is a learning experience and a chance to improve my skills. I'd like to share a few of the ways that I have adapted from the experience.

1. I've become a lot more assertive in pugs and raids. I start out by just saying hello and then make a few comments about how I'll keep an eye on everyone's mana but to let me know if I need to slow down. No one ever tells me to slow down and I almost always balk at commands to speed up. This really just helps to establish my presence in the group.
2. I've made many, many macros of comments and warnings. Here are a few examples: “/s Please give me few moments to grab aggro. Thanks!”, “/s Please allow me to do the pulling. We'll all be happier that way”, etc. Part of the problem with what happened was that I literally did not have time to type anything because I was rushing to grab mobs. I won't have this problem again. In making these macros, I also made several raid specific macros. I've found this to be very helpful---just be careful not to step on a raid leaders toes with them (though tanks and healers should have a fairly big voice in most raids).

Thanks again!