Draft Mode Start (Tank)

## **Draft Mode Tank**[1]

### **What is a tank?**[2]

A tank is a common RPG role, essential for group activities such as PvP, Dungeons and Raids.
The role of a tank is to be the frontline for the group. He will take the hits while his party members dish out damage and the healer keeps him healthy.
The primary task of a tank is to make he holds what is known as "Aggro" or "Threat", this is vital as it allows your other party members to fulfill their roles unimpeded.
In PvP there's no need for the tank role, however having a lot of survivability can be really useful.

## **Starting out**[3]

If you checked out the draft mode guide, you'll know that you start out with 4 abilities.

So let's go over what good starting abilities are for tanks.

### **Defensive Stance**

Defensive stance makes your character become more resistant to damage, while dealing less damage but generating more threat with attacks.
It's also what's known as a gateway ability: taking this ability allows you to learn more abilities that are not available without it. Such as, but not limited to, Thunder Clap.

***No you can not have both Bear Form and Defensive Stance active at the same time.***

### **Thunder Clap***Requires Defensive Stance to be learned*

Thunder Clap is an essential part of your deck as a tank if you're going for a defensive stance focused tank. It deals damage in an AoE and generates additional threat. This ability costs Rage to activate, a resource used mainly by tanks and melee DPS.

### **Taunt***Requires Defensive Stance to be learned*

Taunt is, you guessed it, a taunt ability. Designed to immediately grab an enemy's attention, giving you as the tank the ability to deal damage to it and regain theat control.

### **Shield Block***Requires Defensive Stance to be learned*

Shield Block is a great defensive cooldown for a tank with Defensive Stance to have. It allows you to be more durable for a short period of time, allowing your healer more time to keep you alive in difficult situations.

### **Bear Form**

Bear Form transforms your character into a very tough bear. In Bear Form your character will get extra value out of cloth and leather armor, generate more Threat. Bear Form, just like Defensive Stance, is also a gateway ability. It allows you to learn abilities that you only have access to when Bear Form is learned. At level 1 these consist of Maul, Swipe and Growl.

***IMPORTANT: only abilities that say "Able to use while shapeshifted" and abilities that requires Bear Form can be used in Bear Form.***

### **Maul***Requires Bear Form to be learned.*

One of the three Bear abilities you can roll at level 1. A good filler ability to generate rage, but less essential than Swipe because it's only single target.

### **Growl***Requires Bear Form to be learned.*

The bear variation of the two taunt abilities you can get at level 1. It will immediately force a target that is not attacking you to start attacking you for a couple of seconds. This gives you breathing time to deal damage to it and regain its attention.

### **Swipe***Requires Bear Form to be learned.*

Swipe is the bread and butter ability of the Bear Tank. It hits multiple enemies for bonus damage. It is very useful to keep threat high on groups of enemies. Just like other bear abilities, this costs rage to use.

### **Demoralizing Roar***Requires Bear Form to be learned.*

Not a needed pick at level 1, but can be useful. Demoralizing Roar lower nearby enemies' attack power for a short duration.

​​​

### **Charge**

Charge is one of the most important abilities to get at level 1, besides your Bear Form or Defensive Stance. Charge allows you to quickly close the gap to your enemies and while doing so also Generate a bunch of Rage. This allows you to start a fight with enough Rage to deal quick AoE damage with either Thunder Clap or Swipe, allowing you to grab Threat on every enemy.

### **Bloodrage**

Just like Charge, but without the gap closer Charge gives you, Bloodrage gives you Rage (a portion instantly, another portion over time) at the cost of some health.
It's very useful if you lack other forms of Rage generation. Not essential for a tank roll, but definitely useful if you do get it.

### **Victory Rush**

An attack that only becomes available after killing an enemy. It will deal extra damage and heal you for 10% of your maximum health. This doesn't sound fantastic, however there is a talent called "Deflection" you can learn at level 10 that allows the use of Victory Rush every time you Parry. This makes this ability a great one for a Defensive Stance tank.

### **Divine Protection**

Divine protection simply reduces all damage you take by half for a short period of time. Just like Shield Block it is an ability designed to make you more durable in times of need.

### **Righteous Fury**

Righteous Fury increases all threat generated with attacks and abilities that deal any other damage besides physical.
These types of magic are: Holy, Nature, Arcane, Fire, Frost and Shadow. Useful for tanks that want to focus more on gaining threat with paladin abilities or if you want to get wild and roll a mage tank. (*Yes a Mage Tank is possible, but very difficult so I don't recommend it*.)

### **Heroic Strike**

The warrior version of Maul, it is designed to generate more threat on a single target. Good for doing bosses, but not an essential roll at level 1.

### **Other abilities of note**[4]

There are several other useful abilities worth taking as a Tank to fill out your starting kit.

These abilities are:

Aspect of the monkey - Giving you some extra dodge chance.

Shield Bash - An interrupt ability, stopping the enemy's spell cast.

Devotion Aura - Extra, party-wide, armor.

Frost Armor - Self buff that gives armor and slows attackers

Mark of the Wild - Bonus armor and at later ranks basic stats.

Thorns - A buff that deals damage to enemies that strike you in melee combat.

Stoneskin Totem - A party wide armor buff

Power Word: Fortitude - Buff that gives extra stamina.

Demon Skin - Self buff that gives extra armor and makes self-heals more potent.
​​​​​​

## **Threat Mechanic[5]**

​What is threat? Well in the simplest terms, when you attack an enemy (non-player) character, you accumulate what is known as Threat. Threat determines what the enemy will attack. Generally a tank is designed to generate as much threat as possible so that they are able to maintain the attention of the enemy and have their attacks focused on him. This allows the damage dealers to actually deal damage and your as healer to heal without risk of being attacked by the enemy.

Regardless, there will be times where you as the tank lose aggro. This could be because you pulled a group of monsters and didn't hit all of them yet, because of a boss mechanic that resets threat or simply because a DPS just did enough burst damage to grab threat from you.

You will need to keep a constant eye out for this happening. And when it does happen, using a taunt ability will allow you to hold that enemy's attention in place for a few seconds while you deal damage to it to regain threat control.

## **Suggested Combinations for Tanks** [6]

*Note that all these builds can be complimented however you want and are merely suggestions.*

### ​​​​​**For Feral Druid (Bear) focused builds:**

```
Bear Form, Charge, Swipe

```

### ​​​​​**For a Protection Warrior build start:**[7]

```
Defensive Stance, Charge, Thunder Clap

```

### ​​​​​**For Protection Paladin focused builds:**[8]

```
Righteous Fury, Seal of Righteousness.
This will be very hard to tank with early on. I suggest filling this out with Defensive Stance and Thunder Clap.

```

### ​​​​​**For Parry focused builds:**[9]

```
Victory Rush, Charge, Defensive stance, Thunder Clap.

```