WoW Classic Tips & Tricks - Dungeon Tanking

Let's Tank!

Hey dudes - Silvite Soltis here. And today, I'm continuing my Tips & Tricks series with my next Dungeon installment.

Have you gotten tired of waiting around in a party of four for ages, only to have the group fall apart before ever setting foot inside the dungeon? Do you want to be loved and revered by everyone on your server? Does the idea of free items and loot reserves in dungeons appeal to you? Well then, you're probably ready to play a tank!

So, shine up your shield and get your face ready to be pummeled, because today I'm going to share with you some of the tips and tricks I've learned about dungeon tanking. So whether you're just starting out in Ragefire Chasm or preparing to spam Strat and Scholo at endgame, I'm sure you'll find this post useful. If you do, remember to add yourself to my mailing list below, so you don't miss out on more tips & tricks in the future - and check out my YouTube channel as well!

Here we go:

Pre-Dungeon

So, before you rush your tank over to a dungeon, there's a couple of things you should do...

Tip #1 - Get a Threat Meter

As a tank, it's really important to have a threat meter installed so that you can tell who will likely pull threat at any given time. ThreatClassic2 is good for this, but it seems like in Classic everyone in any given group needs to have the same addon in order for it to work properly. So, it's not perfect, but still better than not having one!

Tip #2 - Establish Perks 

What Can You Get?

As a tank, it's very likely that you'll be offered many incentives to run dungeons for or with people. As such, you should make sure to take advantage of these perks, if you're ok with being that guy. For some dungeons, you might be offered gold to tank, while for others you can potentially ask for specific item drops in order to secure your services. With so few tanks in the game, compared to dps and even healers nowadays, you really can get a lot out of fulfilling this role for people.

So yeah, reserve that first Righteous Orb, roll on offspec gear, and pickup a few mining nodes or herbs - you deserve it! Just make sure everyone agrees with it first!

In-Dungeon

Ok, so now that you're making your way through the dungeon, there's a few things you should keep in mind:

Tip #3 - Be Prepared to Lead

First and foremost, as a tank you should come to every dungeon prepared to lead the group - even if you're not the leader. That means that you should try to have a general idea of where to go once inside, as well as what people expect to do there. To that end, it may be useful to download some dungeon maps or similar addons. If it's your first time running the dungeon, however, or if you're generally not very familiar with it, don't be afraid to ask others for guidance. You'd be surprised how fast you can pick up the dungeon's layout with just a little help to start, so just be honest about it.

Tip #4 - Establish Marks and Kill Orders 

Typical Marks

Next up, you need to establish what marks mean what. Typically, Skull is first kill target and X is the second, but the other marks vary from group to group. Some priests like to shackle Star while others prefer Moon. Hunter traps are often assigned to Square, but I've also seen Circle and Triangle used in various groups. As the tank, it's typically expected that you'll set the marks, crowd control assignments, and kill order, so get used to doing it as soon as possible.

To that end, it's a good idea to set keybinds for the different target markers - especially Skull and X. This allows you to quickly set or change targets as needed. Personally, I use the period, comma, semicolon, apostrophe, and bracket keys for this purpose, as they don't really do much else otherwise, but choose whatever keybinds suit you.

Tip #5 - Crowd Control

Polymorph

Speaking of marks, it's really important to remember that often times marks are used to designate crowd control (cc) assignments. And while the meta of most dungeon tanking nowadays is AoE everything and hope for the best, it's still a good idea to utilize CC - especially if you're squishy like my Tankadin, or if your group lacks AoE.

So yeah - don't be afraid to ask your party members to use their polymorphs, saps, and hunter traps. Just make sure to assign and mark properly when you do.

Tip #6 - Use Line of Sight (LoS)

Alright, now for the super tank-specific stuff. One of the most common pulling tactics that all tanks should know about is using Line of Sight (LoS) to pull packs of enemies back to your party. In many dungeons, you'll face casters, patrols, and other dangerous mobs that may or may not be too close to other enemies. In order to better position, and allow time for crowd control spells and abilities to go off, you should attack the first kill target, then run behind a corner, pillar, or other visual obstacle.

Look, you could just charge in and hope for the best - that's definitely what a lot of tanks do. But if you want to actually stand a chance at succeeding in a dungeon, you should probably pull a bit smarter, Einstein...

Tip #7 - Focus Next Kill Target

While common sense might dictate that you should focus on building threat on the current kill target to make sure the DPS don't pull aggro from you, in dungeons it's actually much more effective to pull the first target, then focus on building threat on the next kill target. Even though the DPS might peel that first target off of you, a quick taunt (if you have one) is usually sufficient for getting it back - assuming it's not dead already by the time you notice it moving away. 

So, no matter how many mobs you're pulling in a pack, always focus on building threat on the next kill target, rather than the current one. You'll see that losing aggro will become a non-issue very quickly.

Tip #8 - Watch Runners

Basically Every Humanoid Mob at 20% HP

We've all been there: an enemy mob gets low on health and starts to run away, but all the dps focuses on the other targets instead. That enemy runs over to, and pulls, the next pack before anyone is ready. The group wipes and who do they all blame? The tank, of course!

Well, in addition to pulling back and being mindful of positioning, it's vital that the tank (as well as the dps, mind you) is aware of any runners. You can stun them, slow them, or spam execute if need be, but do anything you can to make sure they don't escape! 

Personally, I love to use Hammer of Justice and Hammer of Wrath on them as they flee from my tankadin.

Tip #9 - Defensives & Cooldowns

As a tank, it's your job to hold enemies and to make sure you stay alive while they pummel your face. To that end, you have several defensive abilities and cooldowns at your disposal that you can make good use of. So, use them! They are your friend!

While you should definitely try to save your biggest cooldowns, such as Shield Wall, for difficult boss encounters if possible, shorter cooldown defensive abilities, trinkets, and the like are great for difficult trash packs, or just situations in which someone makes a small mistake. Don't risk a wipe just to hold onto an ability that will be up before the boss anyway!

Oh, and this tip applies to DPS and healers as well!

Tip #10 - Watch Healer Mana

Self-Explanatory

Have you ever seen a tank charge headfirst into another pack just as the healer sits down to drink? Well I have! And just like in Captain Grim's video here, it doesn't end well.

Tanks, be mindful of your healer's mana! It's a simple tip, but it can't be repeated enough. If they don't have the blue, your gear will soon be red.

Tip #11 - AoE Taunts!

If you find yourself in a tanking situation where you've got too many adds running amok, do everyone a favor and pop your AoE taunt ability. Challenging Shout and Challenging Roar are sometimes the only way to save your party from a terrible wipe, so don't forget that they exist in those situations!

Oh and sorry Tankadins. It just sucks to be you. Keep spamming that Rank 5 Consecrate, I guess!

Tip #12 - Keep Moving!

One of the most important tips to being a good tank versus a mediocre tank - keep moving! If your group overall has around 60% mana or more, keep pulling! Unless the next pull is really tough, too close to another pack, or a boss, it's a waste of everyone's time to sit and drink after every pack. So rather than sitting around twiddling your thumbs, keep the pain train moving!

That being said, be careful not to over pull - as being too trigger happy can lead to disaster. Also, be mindful of healer comfort and discomfort. If they really want to be topped up after every pack, then you can slow down a bit. Just don't expect your dps to sit idle for too long...

Tip #13 - Pool Your Resources

I Need More Rage!

Finally, it's also important to note that in order to keep moving at a steady pace, you, the tank, need to know how to pool your resources. If you're a warrior or bear tank, you can build up your rage on the last mob or two in every pack and try to keep it high for the next pack. If you're a tankadin, you can make good use of Seal of Wisdom to keep your mana fairly high, then drink as soon as the last mob falls. And if you're tanking on a Shaman...um....drink a lot too, I guess...

Post-Dungeon

Tip #14 - Get Feedback

Feedback is Important

Alrighty! After the final boss is slain and your group's goals have been met, it's time to head out! As a tank, you don't really need to worry about adding great players to your friends list unless you really enjoyed playing with them, but one thing you definitely should do is ask for feedback - especially from your healer. You can also get feedback during the dungeon as well (usually while the healer is drinking), but just don't ask too many times. You do need to keep the ball rolling, after all.

In asking for feedback, try to find out what you did well, and what you need to work on. If you died a bunch, try to figure out why - whether it was a defensive, gearing, or healer issue. If your damage dealers kept pulling aggro, try to find the reason. Any and all feedback you can collect and attempt to utilize will help you grow into a more competent tank. And in the World of Warcraft, those are always highly sought after.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - 14 tips and tricks for how you can effectively tank Classic dungeons. Overall, tanking isn't as difficult as people make it out to be. So if you're considering trying it out, I highly encourage you to do so. There's a lot of perks to being the one getting hit in the face constantly, and it goes without saying that you'll have groups for days if you take up the role.

Anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this guide, or found it useful, then leave a comment down below, and add yourself to my mailing list so you get updated about more content like this in the future. Follow me over on Twitter for updates as well, and consider checking out my videos over on YouTube too! Finally, if there's any particular Classic or TBC content or guides that you'd like to see in the future, let me know by leaving a comment down below as well, as I love getting ideas like this one from readers like you! In any case, thanks for reading, have an awesome day, and as always...

Take it easy!