But i do say, being able to solo the boss’ last 10% when all the rest of the group lost hope (and sometimes dead too) is revigorating to me ^-^

I still remember having difficult 5 man groups in Vanilla, such as the pulls immediately after The Beast in UBRS. Until the players could significantly outgeared it, most groups would just wipe on that corner door pull to take it out in two tries. I prided myself on toughing my group through that pull without a wipe (and boy did the target markers make that easier). Players would listen when the tank spoke up, and often that tank wasn’t putting people down in the process (those negative attitudes go both ways).

For the last couple of expansions now, it feels like PUGs are simply not as malleable as they once were. Everyone thinks they know how best to do the instances and they know exactly what’s gone wrong.

Discouraging is putting it lightly.

Here, you’ll see my project management background come out as for me, this little gesture is about mitigating the risks. Worst is, that tank is probably getting yelled at by some group for not go go going.

When tanking, just like you noticed that little gesture, I will usually push the first two three pulls in an instance harder as I’m learning how fast my healer is, does he keep up, will he use cooldowns or do I rely on my own, etc. I also asses the dps, who will be the one working to pull from me, who will be carried, will the mage go invisible, will the warrior pop all of his cooldowns before I even hit the pack, etc. Then it’s using my experience to see how fast I can this group without breaking it.

If you’re interested in this idea of snap judgement, by the way, I suggest the book called Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.

I love those little details like the tank waiting to ensure the party went through. It’s really the mark of someone who knows what he’s doing and cares about the success of this group.

That is one of the reasons I do not tank randoms. In randoms you need to be excellent. Not all the time but enough that it could be stressful if you where not. I prefer the safety of my guild when tanking.

I might never become a great tank but I can surely spot one from a mile away. You can tell when you get one in a random almost instantly. They do things, even small things, that show you they are more then just your meat shield for the day.

I remember the first little thing I saw a tank do that raised an eyebrow and made me realize there is more to tanking then just tanking.

It was a guild tank I had never run with before and we where walking past some mobs and he stopped there facing them as we walked past and I asked him on vent what he was waiting for. He said, he was waiting to make sure everyone got by safe. He said, although it is extremely rare they will get pulled, it was worth making sure.

As small a thing as that was it has since become a sign for me when doing randoms. If the tank does that, they are more then just a “good” tank, they are something better. I’ve also adopted that when I tank. Whenever passing mobs now, even if it is unlikely they will pull, I always wait until everyone is past before I move.

The little things make a difference.

Maybe if there were enough folks online in my guild to run a guild dungeon then my attitude to tanking might change.

For now though, I relish the chance to heal random heroics on my Druid. The fact its my tree form which brings the group back from the brink of a wipe is fantastic, I can’t wait for my Paladin to reach maturity and get his holy light in to random five mans.