Cataclysm and AoE Tanking

[tethealla]

AE Tanking skills cooldown
We just didn't like the direction we were heading where every tank had an ability to guarantee that incoming adds would head right for them, and every tank had an ability to do reflective damage that had literally no decision or skill on the part of the tank to employ.

Use your Consecrates, Shockwaves, Swipes and Death and Decay when they would have the most impact, not on cooldown. Get adds to stick to you because you use abilities at the right time, not because once a mob hits you, you generate free threat.

and

* Swipe (Bear) now costs 15 Rage. Down from 20 Rage. Now has a 6 sec cooldown.
* Consecration now lasts 10 sec (down from 15 sec) and has a 30 sec cooldown.

I was enjoying the way aoe tanking happened wrath, but I do agree with the top blue post, it was a bit on the easy side. Not only was it on the easy side for tanks, it allowed DPS to get hellishly lazy. Back pre-wrath, we had to worry about assisting the tank (Do you know what your 'F' key does?). Now we just go all out. Tanks put out enough AoE threat, that for the most part it doesn't matter. If you pull a mob, the tank will likely get it back before it reaches you.

I bear tank, so I don't know the mechanics of the other classes all that well. I do have a problem with swipes 6s cd. It's a problem of timing of initial aggro.

HoR is a very good example of an AoE taking fight and proves my point well. The mobs spawn around the circular room, so they will take different amounts of time to arrive at the players. If I usually swipe ferociously for the first few gcds when the mobs start arriving to get them all on my (and well for the rest of the fight).

If we move to our new model of only using the AoE abilities when they really count, then I'm a little more screwed. If I swipe with the first couple of mobs arrive, what do I do when more mobs arrive? Allow them to squish dps/healers until swipe is off cd? Now of course bears ARE getting another aoe tanking spell, some mass-bleed thing. I don't know how that will fit into this.

Pallys and DKs have lingering AoE threat generation. They likely wouldn't suffer from this issue of initial threat gen.

I really don't know warrior mechanics well. I think they have two CDs though (thunderclap/shockwave).

Of course I suspect Pallys/DKs will have a different problem with threat gen. Since their CDs are longer, they won't have access to their aoe threat gen abilities more consistently throughout the fight (I'm assuming D&D has a longish CD). This will hurt them more on more mobile aoe tanking fights as well.

This is of course just their initial take on this change. I'm sure it will be fine tuned by the time cataclysm is released.

[Werehamster]

Also, as someone who has actually tanked Cataclysm dungeons... just running in and aoe tanking and burning is not going to work anymore. (This was even before the imposition of the cooldown on Swipe.) Crowd Control and/or single target focusing is going to be useful again, otherwise trash will be running all over killing people if they just Hurricane/Volley/Blizzard/etc. everything down or attack the wrong target. AOE abilities (including the tanking ones) have their damage horribly neutered right now in the beta -- it is even more important that people attack the same single target as the tank, and the AOE threat generation is just used to keep the other guys off of the healers.

I'd actually be happy if they kept the AOE abilities in line with where they were, and changed the way AOE tanking worked (which it feelsl ike where they're headed). Let all those over-zealous AOE dps die during each pull. It's the only way they'll learn.

[Pocky]

Warriors have Thunder Clap (6 second cooldown) and Shockwave (20 second cooldown), and we also have Cleave (2 target on-next-hit attack).

Usually for HoR I use TC on cooldown and save Shockwave for the big group (i.e. when they're all in melee range), with cleaves and such going all over. Generally, warriors do a lot of tab-targeting or mouse targeting to keep aggro.

[Texaporte]

I AoE tank HoR by hitting like a truck. When I shield slam something, it LISTENS. :O

[Dorian]

For Dk's the CD on death and decay is about 30 seconds unless you cheat like I do and talent it so it's only 15 seconds. Pre-Cata Frost is the ultimate AOE threat build for Dk's IMO. You drop death and decay, howling blast, and blood boil and you've pretty much pissed off everything in sight. Now with blood becoming the tanking tree (no I'm not bitter at all, really) I'm not quite sure how it will work.

[hung]

It wont be so bad. Any tank from pre-wrath days should be able to pick it back up with no trouble. Warriors certainly seem the least impacted, since we never really had broken AoE to rely on. Though i'll admit i've been spoiled by this expansion like everyone else.

As Andy said though, prepare for the return of lucky charms on trash, and woe to the silly DPS that break CC because they're not paying attention to the kill order.

[Daewen]

Soon after someone mentions "Lucky Charms" I think of the order, "Skull Ecks Moon Garr".

[Akane]

Ahhh, the lucky charms....good thing I still use that and expect people to follow it when I tank. Btw, Scott and I are on Cataclysm Beta Test Realm - Lost Isles....we're playing around with the worgen there. I've also copied a pre-made gnome warlock to like try out the class at a high level and then Tsukiki is on there too..as is Chayin(but a different name) Our worgen are like level 12-13 and are Arcalian(Scott) and Atraxis(Me). He's a druid and I am a Hunter.

[Norfolk]

I have 2 characters on lost Isles. Norf (copy of my main), and a lvl 22 Worgen hunter Marmaduke

[Akala]

Back when swipe only hit 3 targets in front of me I use to HoT myself up and then pull with Hurricane. That would usually help keep the mobs stuck to me. Though pulling in Cata when not in bear form might get a little costly, as in very high repair bill.