Myths About Bear Tanking
In my quest to be an effective bear tank, I've been told a lot of things from druids and non-druids alike. Most of which involved theorycraft why bears are bad tanks, and that I should respec restoration. Here are some of them:
1) Armor has diminishing returns:
This is false. While the % mitigation has diminishing returns, the effectiveness does not. Here is the chart that shows how armor/damage mitigation works:
The columns are:
armor, % mitigation, dmg taken from 100, dmg required to do 100 dmg.
2500 31.25% 68.75 145.45
3500 38.89% 61.11 163.64
4500 45.00% 55.00 181.82
5500 50.00% 50.00 200.00
6500 54.17% 45.83 218.18
7500 57.69% 42.31 236.36
8500 60.71% 39.29 254.55
9500 63.33% 36.67 272.73
10500 65.63% 34.38 290.91
11500 67.65% 32.35 309.09
12500 69.44% 30.56 327.27
13500 71.05% 28.95 345.45
14500 72.50% 27.50 363.64
15500 73.81% 26.19 381.82
16500 75.00% 25.00 400.00
The simple version is: The more armor you have, the less mitigation you will get from 1000 more armor. However, each % point is more effective than the last. That is, 70 to 75% makes a much bigger difference in damage taken than 50 to 55%.
This chart shows for every 1000 armor, someone will have to hit for about 18 more dmg than he
did before to still hit you for 100 dmg.
Each 1000 armor provides the same protection as the 1000 before it!
The only valid argument that armor "diminishes" is the same one that says just about any stat diminishes. Whats 100 more hp when you already have 9000? Whats 50 more attack power when you already have 1200?
There are no artificial diminishing returns on armor until you reach the hard cap of 16500. (Although at lvl 70 the cap will be higher I'm sure)
2) Bears dont hold as much aggro as warriors:
A bear's aggro is closely related to his crit percentage.
Pre 1.8, bear aggro was acceptable but often touchy in the short term. Bears had to have a very high crit to hold aggro during those parries/dodges.
In 1.8, rather than add an instant attack like sunder to give bears acceptable short term aggro (faire fire and swipe dont really count), bliz has upped bears aggro in general. With 15% aggro increase, 9% passive crit chance, and close to double the dps previous to 1.8, We now have good short term aggro and incredible long term aggro (with swipe always available as a rage dump).
A crit maul creates a huge amount of hate, and I have yet to find a warrior (even protection) who generates more hate on average long term. Its usually only a matter of time before 1-3 consecutive crit mauls pulls the mob off of him, and the it is mine forever. The best protection warriors I know generate roughly equivalent amounts of hate.
3) Bears make bad tanks because they dont have defense skill:
Defense skill is really important for warriors. In my experience, this is NOT TRUE for druids. Things may change when my guild gets going in BWL, but for now a large hp pool (8-9k) more than makes up for those big crits (I cant recall being crit in MC for over 2k, most crits are in the 1500-1600 range). Also, remember everyone is succeptible to crushing blows (+50% dmg) regardless of defense skill. Crits (+100% dmg) are only one source of burst dps.
There are two reasons why druids gimp themselves if they focus on defense:
o defense skill was scaled for warriors who get parry, block, AND dodge. Since druids cant parry or block, the relative cost of getting defense skill is higher. (this became even more true after the general defense nerf)
o itemization - there is a severe lack of GOOD leather with defense on it. A bear trying for a respectable defense skill gives up a lot. This isnt to say defense skill isn't helpful. But dont stress over it. Focus on what a bear is good at (armor + hp).
4) Bears primary stats should be strength and stam.
For tanking, strength is nearly useless. Agi is superior in every way. It adds to dodge and increases aggro/rage generation through crits (primal fury is a must).
The balance you will need to find comes between agil, armor, and stam. This really depends on the fight. Finding a healthy mix depending on the situation is the key. Some fights you want to generate as much hate as possible (onyxia, azuregos). Other times your hp is going to be more important. Once in a while I give it all up for maximum armor. When tanking an add on domo for instance (hits like a weakling--max armor saves my priest mana).
Basically you want just enough crit to ensure that aggro is solid, and the rest into hp/armor/resists depending on the fight.
The first time I tanked azuregos, I was really nervous about holding aggro. I saw the way he can "get loose" after a teleport. I used a mongoose pot (3.25% crit), and ate some squid (10 agi = .5% crit). Also got a shaman to lay grace of air (another 3.5% crit or so).
At the end of the fight I was second on the dps chart. Part of this is accounted for by the "extra" swings I get on Az after every teleport, but also because I was critting so often (since then my gear has improved and I feel comfortable tanking him without any extra buffs).
For big fights dont neglect consumables, especially those that add to stam or crit. When a bear takes a lung juice cocktail, for instance, he gets 600 hp, while a warrior only gains 500. If a warrior drinks a mongoose pot, his aggro wont change much. A bear, however, will notice a big difference. This is part of your advantage as a bear tank, so use it.
A warrior's aggro is more or less static. It depends on his weapon, talents and skill level.
A bear's aggro depends mostly on your crit %, and your ability to press maul after every swing (i know its complicated, but thats where 90% of my hate comes from).
Which is the best? Well... that depends on the rest of your gear. I actually carry all 3
around with me. Ash covered are used most of the time, but the high agi and +hit on bloodrenched are good for fights where aggro stability is difficult. Because we dont have instant attacks (swipe doesnt count, because if it misses u still lose rage) +to hit is not a bad way to improve your short term aggro.
(although in the long run you'll get more aggro from 1% crit, than 1% hit, bears already excell at long term aggro)
5) Demoralize isn't very useful
Even in MC, there is a BIG difference in the damage I take when a mob is demoralized. When tanking places like ZG, it can also be used as aggro on a large number of mobs. I dont currently have improved demoralize, mostly because a warrior's demoralize is stronger. But make sure to keep demoralize up on the target you are tanking. Or ask a warrior to. You will also need a warrior to keep up on sunder armor (he'll never pull aggro off you with sunder), as this will increase your raid dps significantly, and actually improves your aggro generation relative to the casters.
6) Important Points
Some important points have been brought up in this thread. And I think they deserve a spot up near the top.
- Defense skill is not useless for druids. My point there is an attempt to get druids to stop worrying about defense gear at the cost of other stats.
- A bear doesnt RELY on huge crits to hold aggro. Without critting a bears aggro is acceptable. The extra damage and rage from crits however is what makes a bears long term aggro amazing.
- There is more to tanking that just waiting there hoping for big crits. You need to use every ability available to you to hold aggro. However, the best way to up your aggro (assuming you're doing all you can), is to increase your crit.
- A large hp pool does more than just let u survive burst dps. Hp also helps healers be more efficient with their heals.
- One caveat inspired by some of the other posters. This information is assuming you understand the basics of tanking in general, and how bears hold aggro. My experiences come from a full tank spec (11/33/7).
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