Tanking Time - Training Resumed [TDP]

[@TheGuitarIsLife]

The part where your son came in was so fucking wholesome

[@not_anton]

It was horrible! A creature that does not have brains to even understand he is interrupting work of his parent. Child free is the only way.

[@lucass7696]

@@not_anton for someone such as yourself, i sincerely agree. though you don't strike me as a man who'd ever get the chance of procreating..

[@not_anton]

Sadly I too had a child. Lived in hell until she was 4, stopped seeing her completely at that point and never looked back. Hearing kids voices still gives me PTSD.

[@mrk1ng5had0w]

@@not_anton Sounds like she's better off.

[@DystopianCreativity]

@@not_anton I've never seen anyone as proud of being a garbage person as you are.

[@jacklamont9052]

The boys made this video. So wholesome.

[@ternel]

Giant shield in the thumbnail Plays a tank that doesn't have a shield. I feel lied to

[@BabyRhino]

Real tanks have shields!

[@jeromevent4548]

Ah but the shield's in the first part of the video!

[@ternel]

@@BabyRhino as a bear tank I am insulted

[@Kittsuera]

@@BabyRhino but Bliz wont let bears wield shields. prob because "we" are the shield. a meat shield.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

Brewmasters, Bears and Vengeance dont use Shields, that's like half the tanks.

[@jeremynoel2545]

Quick tips for those who want to look for +2 keys: the search engine will always look for key numbers one above and one below what you enter in your search. So the trick is to search for +3 and it will list all +2, +3 and +4s that it can find, while filtering out the +20s

[@borodmislovich8239]

I literally just decided to try maining a tank yesterday and now you come out with this new series. You are a prophet, truly.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

it's a good time to tank now that PVE buffs have been given to Tanks to make them less squishy.

[@truetype80]

Seeing preach in dad mode is never not cute. Love when the kids jump in

[@Wyrsa]

Every time you do a tanking video, I get the thought of "yeah I'll go do some tanking" and then I get a run that belongs on Drama Time and put the tank back on the shelf.

[@Kittsuera]

sounds like you should be recording your tank misadventures so "we" can get more single run drama time dramas. a lot of the time it feels like long drawn out drama involving guilds or years of build up. ;D

[@HerculeSatan]

Same, only mine is for healing. I'd much rather tank/dps. Just when I feel confident enough to do higher content, I get shown in some nasty dungeon run, that I can't heal. Or at least cover up massive grp dmg f ups.

[@SimplyConeh]

@@HerculeSatan I honestly feel like healing is the toughest role to pug on... Tanks can generally get a feel of the group and judge how much or little to pull as well as cc/kite/interrupt/purge to manage the dungeons. DPS have many of the same things, on top of optimizing their numbers and knowing priority targets a lot more. As a healer you're kind of stuck in a situation of catch up if people mess up, which significantly impacts your ability to spare GCDs for the "extracurricular" jobs. Speaking as a tank main, so I wouldn't say I'm biased...

[@HerculeSatan]

@@SimplyConeh I mean its really all subjective about what you find more difficult. A large part of the dps/heal community don't bother themselves with learning the routes or individually dangerous mobs. Especially in pugs, it's not expected that everyone do all that homework to coordinate ideal runs and safe pulls. You're more of an exception as a tank main but even in my 15s, whether I'm tanking or dps. Usually only the tanks have more than a vague idea of how/what to pull. After that it comes down to responsible dps, those f-ups happen for tanks too. Dps/heals pulling extra, not interrupting, or using utilities like cc's soothes, backing into pats when you're running low on defensives or dropping mechanics in shit locations.

[@LlibertarianGalt]

Helping fill the WoW community with competent tanks AND being a good dad, we love it.

[@treecat125]

One of the most important aspects of improving as a tank is having a plan. Don't pull randomly. You'll end up with tough combinations of mobs, extra or missing %, or having patrols walk over you. It's all cool to take your time learning, but keep this in mind if you want to tank high keys. Also, have a route for Prideful keys or you'll almost certainly fail. Possibly the most important factor in the entire game this season.

[@SimplyConeh]

Yes, having a plan is important for prideful, but if you're gearing a tank alt or main, I think it's more important to experiment with your major cds and what packs you can pull together. I believe experience teaches more than finding a route on Raider.io or something, so as long as you don't have to deal with prideful, it's an opportunity to learn when to hold a cd because you know something will hurt you or your team. I'd also recomment keeping you group fames pretty centered so you can get an overview of resources, dispellable debuffs and instant feedback when something hits the group. But yeah, having a nice route that considers pulling more every 1.5-2 minutes to line up with your and your dps' CDs is very important as you get into higher keys

[@thetruesir1003]

have you thought about getting some team members on NA side to see how much easier or harder it is to get into small keys as a starter toon as well? as NA and EU have shown sometimes being very different with their player types

[@Xsetsu]

Thanks so much Preach. These videos may not get you the views, but I swear they are my favorite.

[@undacoval3rotha]

Hell yea Preach tanking?!? Im all here for it! iv been thinking of tanking myself so it will be great to watch Preacher do his thing and pick up some tips.

[@mitchellkraemer9099]

the one demon hunter tank that waits for you to drink, then he doesn't even drink

[@shrubninja6444]

As a person who's played a tank in WoW for longer than I'd like to admit, this is a fantastic video that really goes into what you have to pay attention to as a tank. Grouping enemies, positioning them for your allies, and managing your cooldowns for the big damage windows are what really make a good tank. It's important to do your own damage to kill the boss quickly, but it means nothing if your dps aren't able to hit the boss as effectively as they should be able to.

[@Catjamfan]

+ being aware of surrounding and not pulling extra (like preach pulled) + not stand in poo (like preach did on same pull) + face mobs and bosses away from group. Bonus if you share route or special ideas for the instance before you start so people all are on same page. Interrupting and CC + marking is big important things too. Marking is a lost art to most tanks now and 1 skull can make difference between a good kill or a stressy one. Helps people focus dmg if needed. Good tanks are so much more than these basics that Preach pointed out.

[@shrubninja6444]

@@Catjamfan Fair, but I consider those basics you should be doing on every class, not specifically as a tank.

[@BaptistaMartins1985]

As a father of Two...That encounter sound soooo familiar 🤣😂 during meetings in my case 😍🥰

[@Phleshhh]

I got triggered when mike only oiled one of his weapons and not both. Its obviously not a big deal. But I can't un see it.

[@jeremyscottkerth7751]

I totally agree on everyone tries tanking at some kind of point because u can learn a lot of key things that can help you on your other classes etc! 10 thumbs up on that for sure!

[@RyanFGroth]

thanks for rolling this back man. have really wanted to focus on tanking this xpac after being so long as dps.

[@dyllanmiller4267]

I envy Preaches' kids. They'll get to see these vids in years from now and see how cool their dad was not only with them but in general.

[@jazzdomi4364]

Oh yes i'm gonna make myself a Hotdog when i'm Home, good Idea ty

[@justinkanak2806]

Just made a tank alt, this couldn't come at a better time. Thank you!

[@Iranex1]

Gonna main a tank in TBC, so this is a great refresher. Reminded me of your old tank series in Legion? I think it was. Thanks for the vid!

[@asimpletrashgoblin8109]

I just watched that series. I enjoyed it, and it really helped

[@Iranex1]

@@asimpletrashgoblin8109 yeah it really helped me at the time too, it's a good series.

[@conkey4]

Legion style tdp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love these I know you don't make shit for them and time invested is well to high but damn I do appreciate it. Cheers Mike

[@austinosborn3873]

May want to DL the Premade Group Filter, especially when pugging. Really helps with weeding out irrelevant groups.

[@mikkelrw]

That Frostpunk soundtrack in the background gotta love it

[@treecat125]

Please, please encourage people to actually use their DR. I've healed so many tanks in low keys that take absurd amounts of damage because they have 10% uptime on Shield Block or don't use Ironfur or something. It really sucks for everyone else.

[@Ecrious]

The first double pull is one of the hardest pulls in the dungeon damage taken-wise; I normally kite that pack when not with a group I know.

[@dbr0k4w]

Your videos have inspired me to start leveling alts thru dungeon spam. I used to love 5-man's when I could play with friends and I want that magic back.

[@SimplyConeh]

You can't play with friends anymore? :'(

[@dbr0k4w]

@@SimplyConeh friends don't play anymore

[@keydri8372]

Preach, for your other characters that you do this on, filter m+ with +3, it will show you +2s and +4s as well. +2 shows 20+ since there is a 2 in the number, which is annoying. but that's how it is. Great video keep it up man!

[@TheSilverwing999]

Good tip

[@craynak]

So if I want to pug 15/16’s is there a way I can just see them?

[@dtulip1]

Also you are spot on about looking out for healers oom, and pulling mobs out of sh*te so that melee aren't standing it :) Top tip for any ranged if mobs hit you run TO the tank :)

[@Warraxbaa]

Felt close to home when your kid came in. My oldest does it in some weird attempts to get online on my channel even though I do what I can to keep her away from it. Always the most random questions too.

[@BDFProtector]

Everyone should play a Tank/Healer Class, like every motorist should ride a Motorbike on the roads, you will learn and understand all the difficulties they face in that given task

[@pietsnotty8283]

As a tank, learn what NOT to interrupt and what abilitiies YOU NEED to interrupt

[@Blackwidow391]

this all of this the amount of people who will interrupt a nothing damage abity but forget to kick the bk mechanic is wild

[@TheNewTimeGamer]

Lol that druid running away from the decapitator instead of soothing it..

[@jakeharrison6603]

Lovely IRL interlude at 9:18.

[@iceqca]

You can filter by key level by simply putting the number (don't put the '+'). It will show you all keys 1 lvl bellow and above the number you entered.

[@dianak6537]

One of the main reasons bosses have so much downtime where they’re not meleeing you is so that necrotic stacks can drop during that M+ affix. If it weren’t for that, tanking with my druid would be a nightmare since you’re punished on a lot of bosses for leaving melee range.

[@Byhythloh]

12:46 "Now that starts to happen later on..." You would think Preach, you would think...but no. The amount of Pug +12 to +15 tanks that join groups, and don't know ANYTHING about routes or affixes is absolutely Shocking.

[@MrDANISHcraft]

Mike, your kids are precious.

[@thunder9236]

Been helping underrated characters do mythics on my shadow priest that is 209. Lots of groups need help and more are participating in mythics. Tanks are especially needed lol

[@astrealove2247]

I've tanked for 15 years, that's the only thing I've ever done, other than a few occasions where I've had to play Melee dps. But now for the first time ever I'm challenging myself to play a class I've never played before, so I've rolled Warlock, and for the first time ever I'm playing Ranged Dps. The main reason for that is that Shadowlands have made tanking so much worse than it used to be in previous expansions, I'm so sick of it right now, and this is coming from someone who love to tank, but I just can't stand it anymore.

[@denis_ds]

I am also passionate about tanking but I no longer play the game. If this is not much of a hassle , would you describe to me the differences between tanking gameplay on expansion by expansion basis ? What was the fun times, best times, specs, raids, weight of the role, difficulty, how it changed throughout the years etc all that stuff ?

[@astrealove2247]

​@@denis_ds That's going to be long, but sure. But for me it started in TBC when I was still new to the game, and my first character had been a Feral Druid, I had joined a small guild that was raiding Karazhan, our usual off-tank was away, so out raid leader asked if I knew how to tank, I reluctantly answered that I had tanked a few dungeons before, it didn't go as well as I had intended, but we somehow made it to the Curator that day. After that I was pretty much hooked on tanking, so the coming weeks I kept tanking the Kara runs until we made it to Malchezaar which was the first raid I cleared as a tank. However it wasn't until Wrath that I started to take tanking more seriously, when Death Knights arrived as a playable class was when I had a really great time tanking, I love the way DK's tank, and to this day Blood is still my favourite spec in the game, that'll never change, it was also in Wrath that I started to look up guides on how to become better at tanking, and it was also here I started to widen my perspective and I learnt how to tank on at the time all 4 tanking classes, however I still only felt comfortable as an off-tank in raids, it wasn't until Cata that I moved up and started main tanking in raids as well, which is a whole other experience. As a main tank you set the pace, you decide what's pulled and what to skip, and you're also the one who initiate the boss fights, being the main tank in a raid is so different compared to off tanking. And it was in Bastion of Twilight that I was able to main tank for the first time, I remember that we initiated Halfus and we wiped in 11 seconds on the first pull, because the Hunter who was supposed to misdirect forgot to do so, and the boss did a frontal cleave on the whole raid, and I didn't have time to adjust the boss or taunt him away in another direction, second pull went way better and we had him down at 15.6% when his enrage timer hit, and on our third pull Halfus went down. I had a blast tanking though Cata, it was such a fun experience and during this time period I grew a lot as a tank. Then Mists came and I was stoked to learn how to tank as a Brewmaster Monk, unfortunately I didn't play much of Mists due to personal reasons, but with that said tanking in this time period was excellent, in Mists tanks had been buffed, for instance as Blood you out-DPS'd other melee specs and you out-healed the damage you took, this might seem odd, but Mists really improved a lot for us tanks, I wouldn't rate Mists as highly as I do if it weren't for the fact that tanks had so much utility, while also dealing a lot of damage. Warlords made tanking a bit harder for tanks, it was a needed nerf tbh, but this expansion also introduced more tank busters than previously, while yes mitigation have always been a big part of the tanking gameplay, Warlords made it more interesting by making dungeons & raids have more mechanics than before which of course meant a more proactive role for tanks. The same thing happened again in Legion, and with the introduction of Mythic+ dungeons, tanking became more important than ever, some of the nerfs that had happened in Warlords were reverted in Legion, and once again I felt that I had to up my game, imo Legion was an outstanding time to play tank, I had amazing fun in Legion, there were so much for us to do, and it was Legion who really sorted out the subpar tanks from the good and amazing ones, Legion was also the time period which introduced our 6th tank, Vengeance Demon Hunter, VDH is the type of utility tank that you'll notice really who's on top of things and who isn't, a good VDH will hardly take any damage at all, but a mediocre one will be paper-thin. Overall, I'd say that Legion was my favourite time to tank, all 6 specs played really well, everything felt viable and they were all in a solid spot, Blood & Brewmaster were borderline OP at the time as well, and I had a really fun time doing Mythic+ dungeons almost daily, and Legion raiding was really amazing as well. BFA made slight nerfs to all tanking specs but still kept the core intact, and they also made changes to how threat was generated, in BFA tank threat was slightly nerfed, but they had also buffed our survivability and utility, tank's CC was better than Legion during BFA, and they improved Mythic+ (although the dungeons were subjectively worse), but the overall feeling felt better, raids on the other hand felt worse than in Legion. And then Shadowlands rolls over and once again tanks are nerfed, our utility and CC is also nerfed, and the changes made to Mythic+ made tanking worse as as side-effect, Shadowlands crippled tanks to abysmal levels, I know many of my tanking friends are furious because we keep getting pummeled, sometimes we have to tank hits that deal more damage than we have HP, meaning we have to kite away because we simply can't take that amount of damage sometimes even with mitigation we can't take all the damage thrown at us. That type of tanking isn't fun, if I use a mitigation I do so to make sure I survive, but in Shadowlands you simply just get busted because you took a hit you weren't supposed to, that's not a fun way to tank.

[@SimplyConeh]

@@astrealove2247 That was quite a tale indeed, I'm curious of what tank you were playing during Shadowlands? I've played all of them a fair bit by now and I started out as a Blood DK. Blood's typical damage intake of taking a rough hit and healing it back has been significantly impacted by the hard hitting kite meta - way more than any of the other specs and still today there are some pulls you can't survive enough to get aggro without major cds up. It seemed like Blood and BM were the classes you had the closest relationship to, so that might be why you felt like that? I honestly really enjoy tanking dungeons this expansion - on anything but the DK, even Warriors feel better imo. If you like the "in your face mitigation" style of tanking, I'd recommend you revisit your Guardian and get the Ursoc's Fury Remembered legendary. It might lack some of the rotation flavor of many of the other specs, but you're basically invincible during incarnation, you have loads of utility and you can even opt into Heart of the wild with Convoke and do some pretty cool owlweaving shenanigans :P

[@denis_ds]

@@astrealove2247 Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It was nice reading it.

[@astrealove2247]

@@SimplyConeh I've played all tanks except for Bear in SL, and if it matters I played them in this order Vengeance, Blood, Prot Pala, Brewmaster, Prot War. I didn't level up Bear in SL because I didn't enjoy how it played during Beta. That being said, I could always try it out later and see if I change my mind, but as it stands I don't enjoy the current feel of the M+ dungeon meta and tanking dungeons feels worse than ever.

[@Dalle9000]

Preach, if you are going to do this by pugging on all these alts, I would really suggest you get "PremadeGroupFilter" addon for the lfg tool to filter your grps. For starters you can make it only show grps that have a spot for your role, but it also have way more advanced option if you would like.

[@brandonbyrd3173]

The guy that pats going to gorechop room that does the breath. You can tank him at bottom of ramp and he breaths into nothing and range doesn't have to move at all.

[@voodoo1069]

If your completely new to tanking your only job is to get from start to end as smoothly as you can. Aim to interrupt anything you think is important because dps are likely not going to if not told. Don't over pull slow and steady will generally get you a win over fast and reckless. Learning your groups speed and adjusting a bit slower or a bit faster can really be seen by your group. Lastly use your big cooldowns and think a pull or two ahead when you will want to use them and why. If your always saving your cd for oh shit moments your almost never going to use them instead of using them 5-8 times in a key like you want to be to smooth out or handle harder packs. If you want to be more advanced play with MDT (mythic dungeon tools addon) and practise good pack pull habits as early as you can so when you need to transfer into something like prideful spawns you are playing around it without thinking. Same goes for knowing when you can go big or you should go small with pulls. If you want to pull two packs together but they have more then 2 interrupts try a different double pull. If you know your going to need to kite a big pull maker you have an area cleared leading up to it so you have room. Think around 2-4 min gaps of big damage from your group this also is good because you know if you have a big defensive CD your group likely has a dps cooldown if your planning around stuff like that. The difference I find running keys with friends tanking verse me tanking is very noticable if you ask the healers because I'll really play with route making like it is a mini game and you notice this big time in smoothness of a key.

[@SimplyConeh]

Yeah, a long time ago Preach said something to the tune of "never let your DPS/healers become bored" which really resonated with me. Having a plan for setting up nice pumping for dps is one of the best feelings as a tank. You can always measure how much fun a mage is having by the amount of jumping fireturrets you see during your runs :P

[@J50143]

Oh gosh, the dps pulling in a M+.

[@koti8353]

This right here is what triggers me the most while tanking mythic plus. I don't care if your main character does +18s and higher unless i ask you to pull don't even think about it most of the time it fucks your route or you simply arent prepared for a suddenly huge pull(no big cds or you need them for a planned future pull but have to use that cd to survive the extra mobs the monkey dps who decides they know better then the tank pulls)

[@shrubninja6444]

@@koti8353 The biggest problem with dps pulling (in my experience) is that now the mobs aren't grouped together since some are running to melee and some are ranged, so getting aggro on everything and pulling them into the deathball is much harder. Most tanks have one or two good aoes on a 20-30 second cooldown, like death and decay or consecrate or something, and so having two groups spaced out is way harder to manage than one big one that you can hit all at once.

[@koti8353]

@@shrubninja6444 very true the only dps who should assist a tank with pulling if they ask for it should be rogues/hunters since they got their tricks/misdirect^^

[@movntn]

Very stoked for new tanking content!

[@scrummpybear]

I think the issue is more that tanks are expected to lead the dungeon and know all routes for all weeks and affixes. For new tank that is too much pressure as well as trying to survive while pushing keys.

[@bravepotatoe7513]

and rightfully so you're the one in front and pulling if someone else has to stop to tell you what to pull everytime it's not gonna work tanking is the most important job in m+ by quite a margin.

[@scrummpybear]

@@bravepotatoe7513 you can expect the tank to know but so should the rest know, as well as dps need to know what to kick and what to cc but they never do, so a tank then questions if the route is right. Its NOT the tanks responsibility alone its everyone's.

[@SirSnoozebutton]

3:55 if you want to look for +2 keys you actually need to type +3 in the filter, since it will always display keys one level below an above what you type in there - typing +3 will show keys from +2 to +4.

[@Kittsuera]

as a work around sure. but it would be nice if the ui was updated to make it more targeted and obvious. like a drop down. 2-15 and 16+ as the final filter. (0 being plain Mythic)

[@HorusHeresy1982]

Started levelling my Blood DK as my first tank of the expansion. They're pretty durable since I've not tanked the encounters on this expansion, figured I'd start with something that can bounce back.

[@SimplyConeh]

Blood really starts to struggle on higher keys, I've played all the tanks and Blood has been the only one where I've experienced going 100-0 within a second after pulling. You can do it, but you really need to plan out your CDs and for tough pulls it's often important to put up IF or VB before you pull if you don't have DRW for threat

[@SimplyConeh]

@@KaninBunny I think I went 13-15 on all keys for him back before nerfs and I'll. I sort of gave up on him for the reasons mentioned :) I'm sure you can outscale much of what happens on 15 and lower by now, but I'm too much of a boomer to keep up with the millisecond spikes worth 50%+ of your health... I think I'd recommend to go prot pally if you'd want a similar playstyle to DK, with some pretty good group utility

[@Elvenbane1520]

Highly Recommend you install the Premade Filter addon. Will let you filter out all groups that already have a tank etc.

[@Ozo194]

Filter by +4 now I guess if you want low keys cause +2 counts teens since those start with 1 and +3 counts 20's since those start with 2 and the lfg look up -+1 to what you search

[@pietsnotty8283]

druid that doesnt use soothe = bad druid (these things you spot instantly as a tank, who is good and who is bad). Eventually as a tank I mostly carry all the dungeons i do.

[@Vyomesh839]

Question for my tank bros: On my MM Hunter I usually MD on CD and start blasting. Is there any situation where I shouldn't do this? I haven't got any complaints so far but there might be some situations where this isn't beneficial. Or can I just use it all the time?

[@Joel-xd8lk]

For those of you looking to get into tanking or to improve your tanking, I really recommend going and checking out Naowh's (multi-MDI champ tank) channel. He just released a bunch of videos on how to improve as a tank. Actually really helpful content.

[@maddy02_]

I can vouch for that!

[@tyrannosaurus696]

The level of frustration Preach experiences during this video is why I don't tank anymore. Melee ninja pulls, healers who don't need mana... Low M+ pugging is usually fine because it's so forgiving, but anything +10 and over and suddenly everyone is an expert at tanking, and all wipes are the tank's fault. Nah.

[@iceee420]

The wholesome preacher

[@nojabhere]

I now play ranged and even i forget sometimes that if I actually moved all of the time when the ability is cast I too would stop the jumping packs 😅 great video as always Preacher

[@Fabian-dd2bo]

@preach gaming what talent are you running in the last row? you should have last resort there mate

[@avidcollector869]

knack to tanking......dont die and if by some incredible misfortune you do happen to wipe ......just blame the healer

[@Catjamfan]

Tip for tanks; Face mobs + bosses AWAY from group. This basic thing gets missed a lot. Also, yes Preach - You pulled, they patrol in where you were and then you stood in boom-aoe. :p The dps in this group annoyed me since they pull mobs. Its one of the biggest reasons of deaths when someone but the tank or someone who can literally solo something - pulls. If you aint able to solo it - do not pull instead of tank. Also - Pride is a bish.

[@cr1spbeatzplz]

I love Preach, he’s like the champion of the average gamer... not a very good player, but not terrible either 😄

[@Harry-dh2pm]

What are you in about? He's been at the cutting edge of the game for like a decade lol

[@klausjackklaus]

yeah im leveling up my first pal tank and is super pissing me off on atal'dazar when people dont group for the saurids

[@juros1545]

Preach, I assume you built the fiery brand legendary - in that case you shouldn't be running spirit bomb as it only benefits from consuming soul fragments via soul cleave

[@markushelt8227]

Doesn't really matter if he's running FB or the sigil leggo, in a +2 you just wanna pump some damage and spirit bomb is huuuuge dam

[@juros1545]

@@markushelt8227 agree that in a +2 it's not important and SB is better dps-wise but considerig that this series is supposed to provide advice for new players, one should probably point this out as a "kids, don't do this at home" decision

[@phen6075]

biggest thing that i see most tanks do wrong is not pooling their resources. You don't need to have 3 stacks of ironfur vs the last mob alive of the 7 mobs you just tanked. Keep the rage/runepower/whatever for next group.

[@Kiwicrack]

Tanking while dad, BIS.

[@vojtechbrezik2998]

Also, play a warrior! Cmon, Mike.

[@spaz128]

its fortified, so using meta on first pull, even if the boss is pull 2 is fine right ?

[@treecat125]

The first pack is rather tough on the tank, honestly. However, you have Fiery Brand, both charges of Demon Spikes, both charges of Internal Strike, and Fel Devastation off CD. Usually you won't need Meta, but use it if your DR is gone and you can't run.

[@SimplyConeh]

And bring a druid or hunter to soothe the big'un :P

[@Zanra_]

I assume that druid had no water to drink

[@Kelio22]

First pull you facetanked the enraged mobs, either druid had to soothe or you had to kite

[@AdrasAdraki]

I loved variety tdp in older expacs, loving it in sl as well.

[@sadmann4222]

I kinda liked tanking on a DK way back when, but I always hated healing. Unfortunately given that I usually play spellcasters these days the only class that has both are Druids, which I personally don't care for.

[@dus1663]

you can get pretty much a full set of 180+ in like a day through the covenant campaign, and the set bonuses can actually be quite nice. another way to bypass normal and heroic

[@bravepotatoe7513]

yeah there's no reason to not just grind the campaign right away you can upgrade the gear to 197 and need to do it for all your soulbinds anyway

[@tylerhouseknecht4788]

Dad goals

[@drew7319]

your rant about using defensive CD's on cooldown if i had to venture a guess maybe due to ppl using tools like wowanalyzer and seeing how its ranking there cd usage as it doesnt take into account mechanics and grp dynamics IMO

[@zombiejesus7445]

9:17 I remember when you used to try to teach everyone that is it about your skills and abilities not your gear. You even talked about it in your last video about improving dps. You just did the complete opposite, judging a player on the base Ilvl they have

[@Kittsuera]

5:57 or "im going to die" *dies on que* perfectly timed deaths. could even say it was planned. planned by fate for visual aid.

[@pietsnotty8283]

Also Preach, more familiy (gaming) content?

[@brenhawk9199]

I have been doing a good job of staying away for shadowlands... but after watching preach talk about tanking stuff my $15 might as well already be gone.

[@bigyin109]

with the game just throwing renown at you now, my fresh mage was 200 ilvl in about 6 hours played with the campaign rewards / upgrades and WQ drops, and a couple of AH pieces... honestly they need to make the upgrader ALOT more obvious, its a real shame that players even now are still thinking they have to grind normal's, then grind hc's to even get started on m+

[@spriggs_fm]

Ah, Just what I needed today.

[@beawriting]

Wholesome.

[@Tyraelsama]

Oh my god, that was soooo adorable when your boy came in

[@Dacijo]

DH can purge as well? What do they not have

[@SmugHomura]

Having recently pugged myself to gear a tank, I too was pleasantly surprised with the quality of midrange keystone groups (+4 to +10). I'm assuming that's in part since it's alt gearing season now that raid progress is mostly over. Although you always have people with ludicrous standard. I got declined for a +5 and then +2'd a +7 of the same dungeon right after. Some people just don't get it still ^_^". Also, not to backseat but you're not taking Last Resort? I'm assuming you've just not looked into it rather than made an actual decision not to take it?

[@SimplyConeh]

You shouldn't really die on +2's, so I'm guessing that's the thought process. Emphasis on shouldn't :P

[@SmugHomura]

@@SimplyConeh But that's not how Last Resort works per se. It's a tanking CD just like any other because you get a full meta out of it. The difference being you have to die in order to activate it. It may sound stupid but I often use Last Resort as tanking CD, it allows you to do a big pull even when your real Meta is on CD because you have a spare one. Also the other 2 options in that row are so laughably bad that you gain pretty much nothing by not speccing Last Resort.

[@SimplyConeh]

@@SmugHomura I guess you're right, but this was in a pug, so wouldn't that just put pressure on a healer trying to top you up? I haven't played my VDH a whole lot, but I went with Ruinous Bulwark until I hit +10s for the smoother damage intake, but I guess you have a point since Fel Devastation is already a strong CD in itself, so the additional heal/shield you'd get might be wasteful...

[@SmugHomura]

@@SimplyConeh The problem with Ruinous Bulwark is that Demonic is a must-have talent. Demonic means your Fel dev. gives you Meta and during Meta you are at your strongest. So a shield on top of your strongest form barely has any use. Additionally, Fel Dev's healing is a bit pathetic. For me, on ilvl 223 it heals like 8.8k when I have 70k HP. That's only 12%. So with +15% that only brings it to 13.8% max health healing, only 50% of which can turn into a shield (so that's a limit of 6.9% max HP). TL;DR this talent barely does anything at all. Bulk Extraction is your second best option and it's worth at best 30% of damage taken in the last 5 seconds, or 5% max HP (whichever is higher) every 90 seconds. This sounds good but is basically 1 Death Strike every 90 seconds (given that a BDK's Death Strike is 25% of damage taken). The souls are consumed immediately so you can't even use them for Spirit bomb or Soul Cleave. Again, this talent barely does anything at all. DH tanking style is all about CD management because with them up we're gods and with them down we're nothing. Having Last Resort means that you always have an ace up your sleeve for when you're out of cooldowns or when the healer is sleeping.

[@SimplyConeh]

@@SmugHomura I'm gonna be a little bit cheeky - that's kind of what I said, though I didn't recall Demonic as a talent, thought that was baseline :P My point was mainly meant to be that Preach might've not picked last resort because it was a pug for easy content and thought ruinous bulwark made for some more reliable self sustain :) Anyway I understand him not min/maxing everything for that level of content on a character he's just getting into playing

[@thunder9236]

Hey man, I'm a new dad, have a beautiful 4 month old baby boy, and love world of warcraft. How did you balance playing wow and being a father and husband? Any tips are helpful. I stopped playing for about the first 5 weeks after he was born and that helped but I find i have enough time on weekends and some nights during the week to play and I'm doing more M+.

[@SimplyConeh]

I don't think Preach is the best person to ask that, since playing it is his job :P I think he got one of his kids during ToT or SoO and had to tune down raiding a bit, but still back then WoW was also his job. Congratulations on the kid :)

[@grumpyolegamer]

As the father of a 25 and 26 year old who started gaming during the UO/Everquest days. The games will be there for years; your children during that remarkeable time will not. Always prioritize the time you might spend with kids over a video game. My kids saw a lot of the back of my head growing up (my wife had it under control , I would tell myself) Your kids go through a very demanding stage which requires both parents to fulfill.. it lasts years. Helping with the kids will help the relationship with your wife in more ways than you can imagine. Embrace it. It will not take long as they grow up fast that they either want all of your time (Dad come throw the ball) or do not want to have anything to do with you (they have their friends to replace you_. I regret some of the lost time spent raiding, etc. Gaming will always be there; wait until they are asleep or you are not needed. Never say, "just give me a few minutes".

[@jasonerb3785]

Any Prot Warriors out there? Just wondering how much of a rage and SL proc loss it is if you don't take the Devastator talent? I don't like not having a spell to spam lol.

[@omuky1196]

Hi, do you usually dont have time to spam devast. becouse you have sl/thunderclap/revenge/etc gcds, plus devastator is the best dmg option dont cost you nethir rage or a gcd. Maybe you are low on haste thats why you dont find something to spam. You can spam revenge when you have SB up if you have a lot of rage left.

[@jasonerb3785]

@@omuky1196 Thanks. Yea I need more haste for sure. Im still leveling so........ I was just wondering . Thanks for the reply.

[@SimplyConeh]

@@jasonerb3785 Shield Slam procs a bunch with Devastator and Warrior becomes one of the most spammy tanks lategame. Also try looking at the numbers you get from devastate - spoiler, it hits like a wet noodle and is one of the most unsatisfying abilities to press in the game

[@schintus]

I have yet to find out what "TDP" means. Never explained anywhere...

[@SimplyConeh]

Totally Dope Plays. No, it started as the daily preach, but it's become a meme to name it whatever fits.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

when i'm leveling characters, there's one of two songs playing in my head: Heart's On Fire from Rocky IV Live to Win from South Park: Make Love, Not Warcraft

[@markvanwormerjr8947]

Using the meta. That helps.

[@pietsnotty8283]

Always tell your group to prio necrotic bolt volley (it went off people died (always))

[@snibbzorp9548]

"Blizzard is pretty generous with threat" me on my Blood dk losing threat all the time to a warr because we do no damage

[@Kittsuera]

i thought he was talking about timing a key. as in. you can mess up and wipe a few times or go slower/ safer and still time it. fewer mobs = easier threat control.

[@shadowlife15]

@@Kittsuera For every other tanking class yeah, blood dk's have threat problems at all levels, the spec is very weak right now.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

sounds like more a you problem, Blood needs a buffing but you still have to use the moves to keep aggro.

[@Chiefsia]

As a fury war main I can confirm that out of all the tanks, I have to basically gimp my opener to not out threat a blood DK tank. Why TF do we generate so much threat😂😂

[@shadowlife15]

@@Chiefsia Fury does generate a ton, but blood just generates the least out of all the tanks. Its kinda a bad combo haha.

[@Amnar23]

Holy moly, how cheap are the weapons/rings on your server that you´ve got all that for 100k? I´ve bought basically the same stuff for my rogue without weapons and spent 200k

[@maddy02_]

high pop probably all cheaper.

[@skylarius3757]

I have often joined groups with hybrid leaders that have waited a long time for a tank. I don't get it. Why not step up and tank?

[@bravepotatoe7513]

because they don't enjoy it , don't know how to play it , don't have the legendaries for it , don't have the right stats for tanking here's just a few reasons why they don't ''step up''

[@johnsonmcbig9157]

I wish you would've tracked healing... I really miss the gluttony build and I'm wondering if vengeance is anywhere near the same self sustain capacity

[@UltimateGamerCC]

they must be because they only got a +5% PVE Resistance buff while all other tanks got +10%, but i dont believe that we're as immortal as we were back in Legion.

[@SadBirbHours]

@@UltimateGamerCC Didn’t a DH just solo ShriekWing?

[@UltimateGamerCC]

@@SadBirbHours that took multiple attempts by the REAL literal god himself, Rextroy and he had to cheese it quite a bit.

[@mariushaugen414]

@@UltimateGamerCC VDH is very suited to current flow of tanking due to Fel dev/Meta making you essentially immortal for the first seconds of a pack, and after you're the best tank in the game to kite out the pack. You are NOT "immortal", not even close.

[@mariushaugen414]

The self healing is nothing to sneeze at, but you cannot keep yourself alive outside of meta for anything except fortified bosses and pridefuls in my experience. (talking keys at or around +15) Particularily running spirit bomb you can see some nice hps, but for very high keys i think the consensus is running burning flesh over SpB

[@ausfoodgarden]

I haven't tanked since MoP so I need lots of help. I'm aiming for adequate. Hope I make it😊 Oh on a warrior - the original and obvious tank spec. (Well I played it from vanilla to MoP so...)

[@zoddlhunter1934]

You can also buy expensive gear and not equip them to get in better grp and sell them after again in the ah

[@Speeds_Gaming_Corner]

Tanking game aggro and son aggro

[@MrOPD]

MIKE, for the love of Saint Christ, PLEASE, get multiple details windows. Not being able to see HPS when you're in danger of dying is really ew.

[@jerryshadley8977]

preach says most popular tank being dh tank...laughs in blood dk edit: preach should do one of the tanks without buying gear. so many times ive seen people do that an have the gear an not the knowledge behind it

[@bravepotatoe7513]

You can get even more geared than preach rn 190-195 just from completing the campaign and upgrading that gear with anima to 197 you also unlock all your soulbind rows so it should be done anyway. unless you have literally 0 gold everyone can buy those blues they're like 10k total for the whole set.

[@shadowlife15]

All those times the dps pulled because they were impatient infuriated me. If you are dps you don't pull unless asked, that's just the rule.