Tanking instances in dps trees in Cataclysm

[Mazar]

I wanted to post this question in the official US forums, but my account is EU, and thought maybe someone here heard something about.

I'm not sure but I recall sometime ago a blue post saying that, as defense going out, they will let warriors, druids, dks and paladins tank the easier instances in their dps talents, provided they got some survival talents and tank gear. Anyone else remember something like this, or if something has been said?

[Errvalunia]

This is currently the standard in old-world levelling content and more than possible in heroics unless your healer is barely able to keep up a fully survival-oriented tank. Literally a retadin can put on Righteous Fury and tank.

I have healed a naked warrior using just axe and shield through VH. You can tank with just about any spec and gear, depending on your healer

[Taelas]

Yes, it's been said.

People do it already, only in heroics they actually jump in tank gear. This is because most people simply overgear the content and threat isn't an issue in 5-mans. The primary beneficiaries of this are new people levelling to 85 and people in 85 heroics.

Errvalunia, by that standard, anyone can tank heroics. People who do what you're saying are overgearing the instances by a lot. Not talking about levelling, obviously.

[desolation0]

They would really have to make tanking gear from questing much more available, as far as I've seen. At the moment I'm leveling yet another toon through level 70ish on the way to 80. Most of the "tanks" decide to pop in not only without a tanking spec, but without tanking gear as well (besides sword and board for warrior/pally (other than that 80 warrior who decided to suck at tanking a lvl 70 dungeon in fury but I digress)). As a modestly good healer, I figured it would be just finally going from healing enhance and popping the 1k needed for actually healing in spec to deal with them, hadn't even expected needing to do that what with having heirlooms out the wazoo on myself now as opposed to the last time I leveled a healer through, but several fights have required pushing 2k+ healing to barely keep everyone alive in the group if I'm lucky. Hopefully having more tanking gear available from questing would make having the second set of gear available more common and more common sense. Either that, or the strain on the healer/tank combo from damage in leveling dungeons would have to be lessened fairly significantly to not be more difficult than healing ICC.

Of course, I could just be over estimating my own healing abilities. : p

[Grindleguts]

At about level 40 the dps specs work perfectly fine, if not even better for the tanking classes. I am leveling an arms warrior and am able to tank just fine with tank gear (mostly but not completely) UK and Nexus at 71. Same for a feral druid in bear form, and as posted on wowwiki some feral druid specs are viable for both dps and tanking with very minor end losses. DKs can obviously tank in either spec already. Paladins are probably the ones that suffer the most since a retri specced wont be able to make much use of the shield or 2h abilities for threat.

And as posted below - gear wise you often dont have much choice at lower levels. There arent much tank-specific gear, and even when there is, you still have to obtain it somehow. Heck... leveling my DK, I think I kept the plate chest from HF ramps for like 13 levels due to the awesomesauce of 3 sockets.

[Mazar]

Sorry about the confusion, I was not talking about leveling and overgearing, but heroic 5-man instances when nobody is overgearing it (the first days of expansion, gearing days and such).

[Kyoki]

Ya that wont ever happen and i dont think blizzard would ever state that. They probably said that they want people to be able to tank 5 man instances as a dps spec but with some tanking gear on. You know how its been every single expansion so far you can tank every regular instance in dps spec and only go prot once your ready for heroics.

[swelt]

Sorry about the confusion, I was not talking about leveling and overgearing, but heroic 5-man instances when nobody is overgearing it (the first days of expansion, gearing days and such).

According to the info posted recently on WoR, warriors get crit immunity from the safeguard talent (which is currently quite deep in prot). So unless that changes, or safeguard moves a lot lower in the tree, a warrior in anything other than a fairly deep prot build would be getting crit. If you massively overgear an instance, that might not be a big deal, but in the scenario you describe I think you will have to be prot.

[Fetzie]

according to blue posts paladins will get crit immunity from righteous fury and deathknights from frost presence, I would no be surprised if this is carried over to warriors getting -6% crittable chance in def stance.

[Mazar]

Then that means they discarted the idea. Oh well. :P
Thanks for the replys.

[PatrikL]

according to blue posts paladins will get crit immunity from righteous fury and deathknights from frost presence, I would no be surprised if this is carried over to warriors getting -6% crittable chance in def stance.

Actually the latest news about the presences says that we will in Cata be tanking in blood presence which is much more logical as the blood tree will be the tanking tree. Dont have the link at hand but this was said by someone who had played the beta at the press event.

[swelt]

All of this stuff about crit reduction from talents vs stances is of course subject to change, but it seems quite likely to me that they are following the feral model. It stops the situation where a DPS spec can get 6% crit reduction in pvp just by switching stance. The specific quote from WOR is here:
http://www.worldofraids.com/topic/17...lass-changes/?

Improved Blood Presence - Now causes you to become crit immune at 2/2.
...
Safeguard - Now also provides crit immunity at 2/2.