Want Attention? Be a Tank
There seems to be widespread speculation about the recent drop in tank availability. If you’re not familiar with the term, tanks are members of the party that will keep a monster’s attention on themselves so that you can blow them up/stab them to death without getting pummeled. Typically tanks are warriors, paladins, and druids (apparently warlocks can tank instances they outgear by a large margin).
Unfortunately there seems to be a shortage of tanks in warcraft these days. The reasoning? You could point to a whole slew of reasons why someone would not want to tank. It’s a lot of responsibility, and even if it isn’t your fault, you’ll often be blamed by rogues, mages etc. who go all out too early and pull aggro off of you, resulting in their untimely death. You need to be alert and on your toes at all times, making sure sheeped/sapped mobs don’t break loose and make a B-line for the healer. You are the shield of everyone in the group, and like it or not.
A lot of people prefer the more relaxed, less stressful role of being a damage-dealer. After all your only job is to do damage, and if something bad happens? Must’ve been the tank. The addition of arenas and increased number of battlegrounds gear available has led many warriors to pick up a 2-hander and rip other players a new one rather than tank on the PvE (player vs environment side).
As such, tanks are currently in high demand, and if you want to never be short a group, roll one! I’m currently leveling up my first tanking class, and thus far it has been a total blast (paladin). With a few exceptions, most people appreciate a good tank, and it’s one of the last slots to be filled in your typical pickup group.
So throw on a shield, get out there, and do some serious taunting.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
A good tank will always be the rock star of a raid … unfortunately there is a flip side, where their egos can grow to unmanageable proportions. If you can find a good tank who is not an ass, it is a rare treasure to hold on to for as long as possible!
December 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Haha, I definitely agree with that sentiment pennumbra. If someone’s class is in demand they tend to be a bit demanding of their party-mates . I’ve found this to be particularly true of healers, another class in short-supply.