Snow
01-30-2009, 12:06 AM
Repost since Pete wanted everyone to be reminded why he wasn't as pro as he could have been!: =p
When I looked at tanks in the past (pre tbc) I'd rate them based on:
1) situational awareness of what is going on around him in the raid (like mobs not tanked, but also directions like which way is North South etc)
2) ability and speed at picking up loose mobs -- pete was one of the better ones at this in a 40-man raid with lots of mobs; recognize may be one of the fastest I've seen at it in a smaller 10-man setting (I havent seen him in 40-mans)
3) talking -- too much is annoying but too little (AKA PETE =p) is really bad imo too
4) tps on a single mob / good skill use rotation (fairly easy to teach, but sugoda was always better at it than me)
5) tps on multiple mobs -- keeping them all there; harder to explain how to do this well (yes this changed a lot apparently -- I've yet to play wotlk so I havent experienced it first hand); In the past ya kinda just have a gut feeling with experience of what is about to deagro and what to prioritize and to ignore and use taunt on instead
6) ability to use timers smart and quickly -- It isnt just a healers job to keep you alive! It's a tanks job too! -- too many people blame healers first when the tank was equally at fault. I havent seen this mentioned anywhere here and I think it is pretty huge. Old saph would pwn a tank that didnt use them at the right time (example = blizzard spawning/hitting the tank or 2 crushes/large hits + regular hit would be insta death if no timer was used); maybe all the fights now are just that much of a joke, but I'd consider this high up there for a MT.
7) availability -- ya cant have the MT missing a ton or afk a ton
8) spec/enchanting/gemming/gearing -- should be easily fixed if you theory craft and talk about it
9) void zone / misc stupid stuff like missing thad jump -- that's a huge negative in my book
10) ability to tank and move at same time -- this was more important for some fights in Naxx.
11) how well they fit in and got along with other tanks in the guild
12) connection -- MT drops = wipe almost always; dps drop not as big of a deal in the past unless its a dps race
random bonus stuff that other tanks rarely ever did:
13) kiting ability (with not exposing back) -- you can actually get good damage mitigation in some situations kiting a bit since a lot of mobs swing, pause, and then chase (so you can get separation and added time between swings, even more if u can hamstring or ph). You have to really know the situation to do this well. A good example was the trash after hydros in ssc around release before nerfs: you could easily solo heal the big guys if the tank kited, or you could tank 2 guys at once with 2 healers. If you didnt kite this didnt seem possible with our gear at the time.
14) repositioning by "getting in his grill." If you walk into a mob it will eventually inch away. When it starts the inching processes of backing up you can continue to inch forward and reposition it really fast without drastically getting out of range of healers or exposing your back to the mob. Not many people seemed to figure this out.
15) stance dance ability (moot now of course but I think it showed the tanks ability to do additional things)
When I looked at tanks in the past (pre tbc) I'd rate them based on:
1) situational awareness of what is going on around him in the raid (like mobs not tanked, but also directions like which way is North South etc)
2) ability and speed at picking up loose mobs -- pete was one of the better ones at this in a 40-man raid with lots of mobs; recognize may be one of the fastest I've seen at it in a smaller 10-man setting (I havent seen him in 40-mans)
3) talking -- too much is annoying but too little (AKA PETE =p) is really bad imo too
4) tps on a single mob / good skill use rotation (fairly easy to teach, but sugoda was always better at it than me)
5) tps on multiple mobs -- keeping them all there; harder to explain how to do this well (yes this changed a lot apparently -- I've yet to play wotlk so I havent experienced it first hand); In the past ya kinda just have a gut feeling with experience of what is about to deagro and what to prioritize and to ignore and use taunt on instead
6) ability to use timers smart and quickly -- It isnt just a healers job to keep you alive! It's a tanks job too! -- too many people blame healers first when the tank was equally at fault. I havent seen this mentioned anywhere here and I think it is pretty huge. Old saph would pwn a tank that didnt use them at the right time (example = blizzard spawning/hitting the tank or 2 crushes/large hits + regular hit would be insta death if no timer was used); maybe all the fights now are just that much of a joke, but I'd consider this high up there for a MT.
7) availability -- ya cant have the MT missing a ton or afk a ton
8) spec/enchanting/gemming/gearing -- should be easily fixed if you theory craft and talk about it
9) void zone / misc stupid stuff like missing thad jump -- that's a huge negative in my book
10) ability to tank and move at same time -- this was more important for some fights in Naxx.
11) how well they fit in and got along with other tanks in the guild
12) connection -- MT drops = wipe almost always; dps drop not as big of a deal in the past unless its a dps race
random bonus stuff that other tanks rarely ever did:
13) kiting ability (with not exposing back) -- you can actually get good damage mitigation in some situations kiting a bit since a lot of mobs swing, pause, and then chase (so you can get separation and added time between swings, even more if u can hamstring or ph). You have to really know the situation to do this well. A good example was the trash after hydros in ssc around release before nerfs: you could easily solo heal the big guys if the tank kited, or you could tank 2 guys at once with 2 healers. If you didnt kite this didnt seem possible with our gear at the time.
14) repositioning by "getting in his grill." If you walk into a mob it will eventually inch away. When it starts the inching processes of backing up you can continue to inch forward and reposition it really fast without drastically getting out of range of healers or exposing your back to the mob. Not many people seemed to figure this out.
15) stance dance ability (moot now of course but I think it showed the tanks ability to do additional things)