Instance grouping guide for a tank

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Instance grouping guide. Please see the discussion page for reasoning.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Tank. Please see the discussion page for reasoning.

Instance grouping guide
Main Roles
Instance tanking (Tank) Instance healing (Healer) Instance damage dealing† (Damage dealer) † Currently a stub.
Other Roles
Instance leader Instance puller Crowd controller† Instance main assist Instance off tank Instance scout Instance rezzer† † Currently a stub.
Class Roles
Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest	Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
Other Topics
Marking up mobs Crowd Control Combat Cycle Dying and Wipe prevention Role Assignment How Not To Do Things Additional Tips
Related Topics
Aggro Crowd control Looking For Group	Meeting stone Pickup group Wipe

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The Meatshield

Classes: Warrior, Druid, Paladin

Regardless of which class is Tanking, it must be remembered that the primary job of the Tank is to hold Aggro. Much as healers must avoid the temptation to Nuke, the Tank must avoid the temptation to try and duel one mob at a time. The Tank absolutely must realize that they are there to keep the mobs off of all other party members if possible. If you see an Add go after your healer, it's your job to pull it off. Far too often Tanks will just stand there, slugging it out with one mob, while the rest of the party dies. A tank in a good group should be able to keep aggro on every mob attacking except under special circumstances where someone else is chosen to have aggro. As long as you have damage dealers to dish out damage and a healer to keep you alive, the one and only thing that you need to worry about is making sure that every mob in the fight is hitting you, not someone else.

What you need to know as a Tank

• Your job is to hold Aggro. Period. Especially keep mobs off your Healer, as the Healer is the one person keeping you alive. Use Taunt, Growl or Righteous Defense if you lose aggro, then immediately build up threat through Maul, Sunder Armor, Revenge, Judgement of Righteousness or whatever else is available to you.
• You need to do your best to mitigate damage so that the healer isn't streaming their mana into you. Increase your dodge, parry, block and melee defense ratings the best you can and most of all (if you are a Warrior) wear a shield and sit in defensive stance. In addition to this, you should not be using spells like Death Wish when you are the main tank, especially for boss fights and larger battles. These skills and stances have their value, just not when you are the main tank.
• Remember to change your targets. Once you have generated sufficient aggro, you should move onto the next in the attacking group (not an idle mob out of combat) so that when the rest of your party is done killing the primary target, you have already instilled some aggro in the next one.
• Keep an eye on every mob and make sure they are all attacking you or possibly the secondary tank(s), and not someone else. Watch for remarks such as "add" or "on me" in the party/raid channel. "Add" means that new unexpected mobs have just joined the combat. Not managed properly, adds often lead to wipes. "On me" (or "aggro") means that one of the mobs broke aggro and is attacking someone who's not supposed to be attacked, usually a healer or a caster.

What the other group members need to know to assist the Tank

• Do not pull Adds. The Tank has a hard enough time without you pulling extra mobs on to him. Assist the Tank, and kill what he's fighting. If you're a Healer, know the Tank's health bar better than your own.
• Avoid unplanned AoE damage, as the tank will usually be anticipating high damage on one target at a time. In encounters where AoE is ideal, plan the fight with the rest of the team so that everyone has the same priorities.
• If you're under attack, do not run, unless it is to go straight to the tank and wait. Running does nothing but make it harder for the tank to target the mobs attacking you. Stand still and only use threat-reducing abilities.
• If the tank doesn't notice you're being attacked, say something. The phrase "on me" or "aggro" is commonly used in this situation.
• Allow time for the tank to build aggro before attacking. Generally, healers should try to avoid healing the tank for the first few seconds of the fight, and other classes should avoid doing massive amounts of damage or threat at the outset.
• If you are a caster with a lot of spell damage or spell crit gear and/or higher level than your Main Tank, damage from your critical hits will occasionally outweigh threat caused by the Tank, and the mob will go after you. In endgame instances such as Molten Core it usually means instant death unless the Tank can regain aggro in 2-3 seconds it takes the mob to cross the distance between tank and you. If this happens, STOP ATTACKING.
• Warlocks and Hunters, turn off auto-torment/auto-growl on your pet or voidwalker, since this draws mobs away from the tank and prevents him or her from being able to build aggro. Remember that while your pet could absorb some damage, the tank is the player chosen for that role for the party.
• Attack only the mob selected by the leader, or by assisting a the party's selected Main Assist; the tank will not anticipate high damage on other targets. Here is the simplest macro possible for assisting another character:

  /assist <CharacterName>