Bear Tanking 101

New to tanking? Haven't done it in a while and need or refresher course? Or maybe you're just willing to take whatever advice you can get. Whatever it is, perhaps you could benefit from a little Bear Tanking 101.

Pulling

Tanking always starts with the pull. This is what starts the fight and it's essential. There are, in the main, two different ways to pull: bring targets toward you, or rush up to them. Most bears achieve this through Faeire Fire (to pull back), or Feral Charge (to rush right in). Either way, even when you use your charge you should still hit your targets with Faerie Fire for threat-building purposes.

How you pull depends on the rest of the room and the placement of the mobs. If other mobs are likely to pat toward you while you're fighting, you want to pull your targets back toward you. In some cases you might even need to move forward, pull your targets and move backward to reduce possible interference from added enemies.

Placement

At all times, face what you're fighting. Only when absolutely necessary (because you literally have to run away quite quickly) will you ever turn your back on a target. This is because you'll take very heavy damage if you ever turn your back to a mob - it also reduces the effectiveness of your attacks (the only one that will even work, in fact, is Swipe). There may be times when you're required to kite a target around (to kite is to move. This means you'll maintain threat and keep up attacks even as you move the target from place to place around the move), but even so face what you fight.

Unless there are special circumstances involved, it's a good rule of thumb to run in front of your group to pull and attack any target. Then, turn around so that the target is facing you, with the rest of your group arrayed behind the mob. Even trash mobs might do damaging attacks that could seriously harm your group, so try to always place yourself so that you're the only one in front of the enemy (or enemies).

Building and Holding Threat

Being a bear tank is no walk in the park, and you should be doing something every single second. There's no time when all your cooldowns will be spent all at once, so you can always attack or cast a debuff. If you aren't busy as hell, you aren't doing your job. There are lots of little tricks you can use to build and hold threat, so learn them all to tank successfully.

Mitigation

Crisp pulls, good placement and threat management are all part of tanking, but don't ever forget about your mitigation. Even when a healer or multiple healers are assigned only to you, it's possible that you'll die. Keep one eye on your own health even as you watch your threat meter, keep up your damaging attacks and pay attention to the mob you're fighting. Remember, bears can take potions, use warlock stones, pop trinkets and take advantage of important abilities such as Barskin and Frenzied Regeneration. You've got healers, sure, but you've also got personal responsibility to keep yourself up. That's why you have certain abilities and items in the first place.

Leading

A tank is very much a leader in any sort of group. This means you have to be aware of everyone else even as you're aware of yourself. As a tank, you will very often find yourself in front of the group and controlling the pulls. Pay attention! Make sure your dps players and healers have mana before you start a new fight, and pop a Ready Check before boss fights to be sure that everyone is prepared and well-armed for what's to come. This doesn't mean you should move at a snail's pace, however. Maintaining a good speed through dungeons and raids is part of your responsibility as a tank, so always be pushing forward. Just remember to include pauses to be sure everyone's up to speed before you fight.

Be Prepared!

Whatever you do, don't show up for a group or a raid unprepared. Make sure you've got potions, bandages and food so that you're capable of self-healing. You might not always have an excellent healer or a friendly mage, so always have what you need to take care of yourself even if you're just going on a quick dungeon run that should be a cake walk. Keep your regeants stocked and double-check to be sure you've got on the right gear (everyone's accidentally walked into a raid wearing their fishing pole or some other item, but you don't want to start a fight that way). Also, check your own buffs to be sure you're good to go before everything begins.