Tank LFG: Are You Ready for that Raid?

Are you ready for that raid? You may want the gear. You may be able to find a group. But you may fail if your stats aren't where they need to be. Check yourself before you make the attempt - and avoid getting lambasted in vent.

To see stats for tanking Naxx, EoE and Uld, refer to Are You Ready to Tank That Yet? For all other Wrath instances, keep reading:

Crusaders' Coliseum, located in the northeast area of Icecrown, can be found at the center of the Argent Tournament Grounds. Tier 9 items drop here.
Trial of the Crusader (ToC): Five encounters playable on 10- and 25-man versions. To tank this, you'll want to see yourself sitting at 36k health at least (unbuffed). Many groups use 3-4 healers for this raid, so survivability is key here. Be sparing with your healing potions and spells and hold out as long as you can to succeed. A high dodge rating (35%+) can help bears avoid some of those blows.
Trial of the Grand Crusader: Hard mode. To successfully tank this, you'll want to have a great understanding of the fights and something very close to 40k health.

Onyxia's Lair is in Dustwallow Marsh, a single-boss fight that was upgraded in a Wrath of the Lich King patch. This instance is playable on 10- and 25-man settings. If you can tank ToC, you should have no problems in Onyxia's Lair.

Upcoming in next patch:

Icecrown Citadel will be found in Icecrown when it's finally released. This will be the end-game Wrath raid and the place where every tank wants to go. Though this raid is still a bit unknown, it's safe to assume that bears will want to get as close to 40/40 (40k HP, 40% dodge) as possible to tank it successfully - anything in excess of this amount will only help.

Bear Tanking Visual Aids: ToC

The bear faces its opponent head-on, using AoE to defeat extra mobs as they pop out, doing everything it needs to do to survive and defeat the enemy. At least...that's what bear tanks do in ToC. Watch the video above to get a better idea of how to tank Trial of the Champion.

Bear Tanking Talent Builds

Don't know where to put that last point? Why you've got to have so many points in the resto tree? Whether you want to focus on high damage or survivability? Don't forget that all the info is on our home page The Bear Den (that, and much more).

Here, you can check out different 60/11 talent builds, and find out what you need to know about your tree.

Tank Weapons: Where to Get Raid Drops

Do you know which raid bosses you should be focused on? It's true that feral bears don't use their weapon - our damage is inflicted with tooth and claw, baby - but you can certainly use the stats those high-level staves provide. Find out where to get high item level weapons (230 and up), and get yourself tricked out.

Twisted Visage Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 446-670 Damage +120 Agility +121 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 232 +2488 feral attack power Improves hit rating by 70. Increases critical strike rating by 86. Increases attack power by 160.

Where to get it: The Deconstructor drops this bad boy in Ulduar 25 (about 40% of the time).

Dreambinder Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 469-705 Damage +112 Agility +105 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 239 Yellow Socket Blue Socket Socket Bonus +8 Agility +2657 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 86. Increases armor penetration rating by 85. Increases attack power by 140.

Where to get it: Defeat Freya (Ulduar 25, hard mode) after defeating Algalon the Observer to win this prize.

Lupine Longstaff Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 490-736 Damage +128 Agility +136 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 245 Blue Socket Socket Bonus +4 Agility +2808 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 90. Increases armor penetration rating by 82. Increases attack power by 181.

Where to get it: Defeat Twin Val'kyr on the 25-man version of TOC to get a chance at the drop (Alliance).

Twin's Pact Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 490-736 Damage +128 Agility +136 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 245 Blue Socket Socket Bonus +4 Agility +2808 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 90. Increases armor penetration rating by 82. Increases attack power by 181.

Where to get it: Defeat Twin Val'kyr on the 25-man version of TOC to get a chance at the drop (Horde).

Gearing Up to Tank: Do You Know Your Options?

There's more than one way to gear a bear, and nothing says you've got to follow the same formula and get the same gear as everyone else (though there are precious few choices). Bears who want to tank can choose three different routes when gearing up for PvE. Do you know your options?

The Stam Bear

Bears have one big advantage over other tanks: naturally high HP. Almost any bear will have higher health than any pally, warrior or DK in the raid. The stam bear takes advantage of this by pushing the envelope even further, stacking up all the stamina they can get to amass whopping amounts of health. Obviously, taking this route gives tanking bears amazingly high HP, therefore helping them last longer when engaged in boss fights. At the same time, however, they're going to be take a heck of a lot more hits.

The Dodge Bear

Feeling a little bit rogue, or just want to screw with your leather-wearing DPSers? Some bears choose to stack agility, dodge and defense in order to pad their one and only mitigation stat. High dodge helps bears deflect and defend against blows, which helps negate the need for massively high HP. Stacking nothing but dodge, however, means those blows will hurt a whole more when they do land...and eventually, they will land.

The Hybrid

The hybrid bear focuses on both stam and dodge (really, the only two things a PvE bear can focus on) to achieve fairly high percentages in both health and mitigation. This is the route most bears take as a matter of course, achieving a combination that allows them to both absorb and deflect blows as they come. Gearing hybrid helps bears remain versatile in the game, as well, as this can be somewhat beneficial in PvP as well.

Are You Ready to Tank That Yet?

You're a bear, so you're pretty naturally bad...but that doesn't mean you can hit level 80 and fall into Ulduar, either. Are you ready to tank that instance yet? Find out what you need, before you go in and fall flat.


Naxxramas

To effectively tank in Naxx 10 or 25, a bear tank should be sitting at 30% dodge or more and have at least 30k health. Use buffs to bring up your numbers if you find you're a little low.

Eye of Eternity

There's a certain school of thought that says only Death Knights should tank Malygos, but this is bunk. Druids can tank through EoE with ease, though they may need help maintaining their threat. Use misdirections to make it a little easier. Tanks who are Naxx 25 ready should be able to get through Maly 10; for 25, try to reach at least 32k health.

Ulduar

Tanks have to be versatile and fast-acting in Ulduar, as this raid offers many very long, multiple mob boss fights. You want to be at 34k health comfortably if you're going to tank here, with a high mitigation of 30% dodge or more.