So it was an exciting night last Thursday night.  We downed 5 of 6 bosses in BWD.  As some of you know, my raid leader is one of the hosts of the Stopcast podcast.  It’s a very good podcast that pretty much sorts out views on upcoming WoW things as well as a good discussion regarding what the hosts have done in game throughout the past week.  Just before I logged off, Ryar (said raid leader and podcaster) asked if I and the main tank would be willing to guest host on the next podcast episode.  He had received an e-mail from a listener and wanted us to attack it.  I ended up being too ill to actually make an appearance on the podcast, however I e-mailed a pretty good response.  Below is the e-mail and my response when it comes to wanting to become a new tank:

Dear Stopcast,

Have a few question for your next podcast:

1) I want to start tanking ( and wanna be good at it) (have prot specs on my 84 pally, 83 warrior and 85 DK)….haven’t tanked anything since LK on 10 man NAXX as a OT. I know what stats i need for my gear however is Mastery one those?, ie in the line with Stamina, dodge parry etc etc…also any other tips would be great.

Again thanks for the game and keep up the great work on the podcast.

My personal response:

Dear listener,
Tanking has changed dramatically since the days of Wrath.  You’re very fortunate to have such an assortment of tanking options though!  Here’s a few tips that should help get you off on the right foot!
1)  Surf around your server in a main city and find a tank.  Look at his gear.  How is he gemmed?  How is he enchanted?  How is he Reforged?  This will give you the best basis on identifying what type of gear to use and how to manage it.  If the tank you inspect has a bunch of epics, you’ll know he’s obviously a raiding tank and has done the research to make sure he has tweeked himself out to be the most effective at his job.  This will save you hours of forum research and reading posts that say “Reforge to Dodge” “Don’t Reforge to Dodge”, “Stack Stamina” “Don’t Stack Stamina”.  It gets crazy confusing that way.
2)  Install the mods that are going to work for you.  I recommend Omen threat meter, tidy plates and an addon that’s called ”quickmark”.  That will allow you to quickly mark targets without having to right click their portrait, scroll down, accidentally click the wrong marker, and repeat.
3)  So you wanna be GOOD at tanking huh?  Ok, my biggest recommendation is to go into the LFG tool and click on the “Specific Instances” tab.  You’ll notice you have a few low level green ones.  START THERE!  I’d also maybe recommend running with guildies if it’s an option.  It’s much more forgiving that way.  If you have somewhat decent gear and you want to relearn your roll, start at the easiest level.  You’ll take less damage from the lower level mobs which will make your healer happy.  You’ll also have lower level dps so the chances of them pulling aggro off you decrease significantly.  That will give you the general feel of tanking and you can slowly work to the yellow dungeons and when you’re geared, your first heroic.  The problem with a lot of tanks right now is that they get a little bit of tanking gear and think they can just walk into a heroic and do this job.  That’s NOT going to happen.  The more you learn in lower levels about controlling mobs, using your abilities and cooldowns at the right time and leading a group to a successful ending, the better off you’ll be!
4)  Learn your abilities and READ YOUR TALENT TREE!  If you really learn your talent tree, it will make all the difference in the world.  Think about each ability and why it is there.  “This particular talent increases this ability”.  Ok, so if that ability is increased, and it procs off of another ability, then I can use it in “this” particular situation and that will either generate more threat or possibly save the group from a wipe.  It’s confusing I know…..just start reading and you’ll see what I mean.
5)  Get ready to take a beating.  Yes, physically, but also verbally.  You’re going to have “know-it-all” dps that decide they are going to pull for you or tell you how to do your job.  They’ll criticize you and you call you every name under the sun.  Don’t forget, you hold the key to the insta-queue so if they give you crap and aren’t willing to work with you, don’t be afraid to drop group.  There ARE still good people out there that want a successful outcome as much as you and not just a “speed run”.
6)  The biggest tanking difference in Cataclysm is that you’re not stacking stamina anymore.  All the gear you get now already has a TON of stam on it.  You’re now gearing for damage mitigation and avoidance.  If you can avoid an attack or make it not hurt so bad, you’ll save your healers mana as well as possibly proc an ability.  Lots of Cata tanks have special things that happen when you dodge or parry an attack so THAT is the stuff you want to stack!
7)  There is an excellent podcast called “The Guardian Tank” available in iTunes.  The host talks about tanking specifics as well as boss encounters and tips.  It’s a GREAT source of information.
So there’s a good path to lead you down the ways of tanking!  I hope that this has been helpful in answering the questions of people who want to give it a whirl and not look like a “noob”. (I still hate that word with every fiber of my being).

***** Also, on a side note, there is a person on twitter who I’ve become good friends with.  He currently resides in the Little Rock AR area.  As you know, the majority of the entire south absolutely got ROCKED by vicious storms and tornadoes (it doesn’t look like it’s spelled right, but it is.)  He wanted to reach out to my readers and give them this message which I fully support:
“In light of the events of the past 2 weeks I would like to ask for everyone to help out those in the storm ravaged states. These storms have killed many people and left 100’s homeless. Many of these states/cities have been hit repeatedly by storms & violent Tornadoes. I know in Arkansas we had a tornado almost completely wipe out a community of of 3,000. I would ask that you not just donate to Red Cross in your area, but to check with local news stations in the ravaged states and donate through there. That way it is sure to go to the people that need it. I know In Arkansas you can go to www.KATV.com to donate.” *****
So if you’re looking to make a difference and help out some people who are stateside and need it, put your money there.  It’s not only a good cause, but you’re looking after your own.
Twizz out.
Follow me on Twitter @TwizzleTank or if you’re looking for an excellent raiding and social guild, look into <Violent Apathy> on Emerald Dream US.
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