It Takes One To Know One

It's hard to understand the intricisies of the game, especially the tank-healer relationship without having first played the other person's role. This is difficult because it requires having leveled a second character to 80.

I lucked out because my wife happens to have a druid and has been building up it's tanking gear. I occasionally play her druid to help her get those pieces that just seem never to drop. I decided that I would run her character as a feral tank instead of boomkin dps which I usually do.

I learned a few tidbits about tanking that will help me be a better healer in the future. Mainly, that the hp required to tank a regular lvl-80 instance is much lower than that required to tank a heroic instance. That seems obvious, but you don't realize exactly how much the difference is until you're the tank.

We tried to have her druid tank Heroic ToC with 25k hp. We're a pretty skilled group of players, but it was still too hard. However, her druid can tank normal dungeons without any problems, even when being healed by a lower level character.

So, how much hp does a tank really need?

"If you ask the tank forums - Any HP is fine
If you ask the healer forums - You can't step into H UK until you have 32k unbuffed
If you ask the DPS forums - It will get lost in the PvP QQ"

-Greymare on Shattered Hand

I find that quote to be right on target. Most tanks think that they need a decent amount of hp, but after that, it doesn't matter -- that the healer will make up for less hp simply by healing faster. They think that the solution to low hp is to get a better healer with more mana and more +spell power. However, this is just not the case. A healer recognizes that there is a limit to how fast one can heal, and that if the tank takes more damage than that, there is no amount of hp that will suffice.

We pulled in a paladin tank with aproximately the same amount of hp, and he managed to tank through it with only small problems. What was the difference? It wasn't the amount of hp. It was the additional avoidance mechanics of the pally tank. He wore a shield and could parry in addition to dodge. I alluded to this fact in a previous post (WoW's Not What It Used To Be) regarding death knight and druid tanks. I'll be posting again on this topic discussing each tank's avoidance mechanisms and which tanking class to select for the job... yes, there is a difference.


However, you must consider some factors while tanking other than just yourself:

Can your healer keep up with the amount of damage you take, even if you don't die instantly?

Will pulling more mobs cause additional AOE or other combined effects that will wipe the group, even though you can take the damage?

Can you see anything once you pull a group of mobs?

Can you chase after a mob if one gets loose?

How good is your group? Can the DPS pull mobs off you? Are they attacking the mob you're directly attacking, or one that you're only hitting occasionally?

Is your group going to AOE, or single target each mob?