Tanking questionaire

I swear I just did this for healing......

What is the name, class, and spec of your primary tank?

Amathalanea, Paladin, Protection

What is your usual tanking environment?

Raids baby, raids. 10 anything, and some 25 PUGs from time to time. And PUG heroics. I love running PUGs. It keeps me sharp, and gives me something to gripe about later. I've met a lot of great players PUGing, but it definitely makes me appreciate my guild more.

What is your favorite encounter to tank, and why?

So many choices....in Vanilla it was probably Broodlord. Having to stack so much stam and juggling threat was great. In BC it was solo tanking Hydross as a warrior - though that was more about the mini-game of getting enough resistance gear while staying alive. For Wrath...hard mode Jaraxxas I think. There's adds, there's cleanses and interrupts, movement...this fight really has it all. A close second is Firefighter.

What is your least favorite encounter to tank, and why?

Kologarn - hands down. So boring. At least with Patchwerk I can Salv the OT to get a melee killed if I get bored.

What do you think is the biggest strength of your class, and why?

I have a bag of tricks for me and the raid. Threat reduction, immunities, AoE threat, damage redirection...The biggest thing though is the instant AoE agro. If I can get a shield out, a quick HotR and Consecrate....it takes a lot to pull a target off.

What do you think is the biggest weakness of your class, and why?

No closer. I have no way of covering (or moving a mob in the case of the DK) a lot of distance in a hurry if I need to get to a mob. I have Nitro Boosts on a set of tank boots, but that is a poor fix.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel is the best tanking assignment for you?

Right now it would be MT on anything. I've done every aspect of tanking, but as the MT on the boss I can also raid lead much more effectively than if I'm running around looking for adds. I can do any of those jobs though, but given the free life of AD, MT duty is kind of a given.

What tanking class do you enjoy tanking with the most?

If you mean playing, then I'd say my Paladin right now. If it wasn't my favorite, I'd be playing my warrior. If you mean to be partnered with, my current tank partner is a feral druid. This works really well because he's DPS at heart, and does a great job of switching to DPS as needed.

What tanking class do you enjoy tanking with the least?

If you mean playing, I'd say a druid. So boring. And I totally sympathize that they look the same in T9.5 as they do in starter gear. If you mean as a partner, I'd say a warrior, but that's just because they want my block gear.

What is your worst habit as a tank?

Getting over eager or cocky. I've had great healers my entire WoW carrer, and by great healers - I mean phenomenal. Between Tobias, Monger, Sebi, and a handfull of others - I've been able to pull of some tanking stuff that seems to boggle folks. Because of this I'm always looking for ways to single tank as much as possible, or to speed things up as fast as possible - sometimes wiping the raid.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while tanking?

I need 5 seconds - 3 GCD. If you give me that, the mob is mine. I respect the guy that can do 18k DPS, but you're useless if instead of doing 17.99 you pushed for that extra bit, and caused your (or worse, someone else's) death. In a party (5 man) if we're taking the time to mark a target, please - with sugar on top - kill the marked target first..

Do you feel your class/spec is balanced with respect to the other tanking classes?

Other than AD - yes - and I think AD fits in lines with the Paladin tank. Rhidach mentioned that we're a face-rolling 9/6/9 class - our rotation is set in stone. GC has stated that they like having classes with lots of options/buttons (Priests or Warrior tanks) and those that have fewer - say smaller, but more powerful, toolboxes (Paladins in general).

I really wish I had some sort of interrupt on a shorter CD though. A talented 40 sec HoJ, 30 sec on AS, and (because I'm a delicious Belfadin) 2 min CD on Arcane Torrent.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a tank?

World of Logs, TankadinTPS, Recount’s Deaths tab - and most recently - Fraps. Mongrr records them, and then posts them up. I've managed to pick up a few things that we (and I) can do differently, just by watching the fight from another viewpoint.

What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have with your tanking class?

There's no ability use decision - which often times is true. On a single tank fight I run a 969, and substitute in additional abilities on a Judgement rotation if I need to do something like refresh my SS, or Avenger's Shield again for more threat.

Of course that's on a fight like Patchwerk. For everything else you're constantly looking around, checking Omen, dropping abilities from the rotation if mana is becoming an issue (never on bosses, but still), etc.

What do you think is the toughest thing for new players of your class to learn about tanking?

Situational awareness. It's not enough for me to know what the boss is doing, I need to know where the Bad Stuff(TM) is, who's got a debuff or buff I might need, where the light pillars are. Back when Hodir 3min kill was tough, something as simple as moving Hodir 3 steps to put your melee in a better position could significantly boost your DPS output. As soon as I settle in to a fight, I know the raid is moments from wiping.

If someone were to evaluate your tanking ability via tools like fraps, recount, and World of Logs, what tendencies would they notice?

Probably very little, other than I use my Hands a lot. If the change to LoH goes through, I'll be using that on the raid a lot more.

Stamina or Avoidance, and why?

I stacked Stamina when Stamina wasn't cool. I've always been a Stam tank, and back in BC avoidance was just bad for a protadin until a certain level of gear. When you're depending on Redoubt to make you uncrushable, and you have to get hit for Redoubt to proc...yeah, that's a problem. I salute the the tanks that can build unhittable sets, and who can get the 15k Shield Slams - but I'm a lover of the blue gems. Between plate armor and a deep HP pool, I can take a lot of hits.

Plus, you can't dodge a fireball - even if you can dodge a wrench.

Which tanking class do you understand the least?

DKs, or maybe druids. Druids at least use rage, which is a mechanic I'm familiar with. I know our bear tank has expertise issues, and his reliance on dodge as his only avoidance stat almost cost us a Tribute run. GG Rage. DKs confuse the hell out of me, only because the runic power/rune thing. From what I understand they are a cross between a Paladin (specific rotation) and a warrior (on proc abilities like Rune Strike).

What addons or macros do you currently use to aid you in tanking?

Oh man...I'm using Ice Hud again to keep my screen clear, BT for some keybinds, Grid, recount omen, FCFS, Beacon Tracker, Big Brother, DBM....the more info I can get the better..

Do you strive for a balance in tanking stats, or do you stack some higher than others, and why?

Stam > Str > Agil....Hit > Expertise Parry > Dodge > Block. .

Stamina is still king, Str gives block value and parry, and Agility gives Dodge.

Hit capping has to happen with the level of DPS my guild pumps out, same for Expertise.

I like Parry over Dodge, simply because it looks good and shortens my swing timer (hey, that 1.5 is slow). Dodge is also nice, as it's 100% avoidance. Block is a good backup to lessen the hit, and with Holy Shield is some nice threat on multiple mobs.