Now, I may not exactly be tanking with the big boys yet, but I have spent some time on both sides of this discussion and in talking about the intricacies of Misdirection with one of my authors today, I realized I was about to hop up on my soapbox. Soapboxes make for great post fodder, so here we go!

First, the problem that hit the Pissy Button for me was a tank blaming a Hunter for pulling threat after a Misdirection pull. Let me explain why that bothered me.

Threat Is a Tank’s Responsibility

The name of the game for tanks is making sure they maintain threat, above all else, so that no other players (DPS or Healers) have a mob’s attention. The concepts of Effective Health, Avoidance, Damage Mitigation… all of these things are important aspects of tanking, but they’re concerns for tanks because they’re performing their primary function: maintaining threat. They need to stay alive in order to continue holding threat off others.

That being the case, a Hunter’s Misdirection should be seen primarily as icing on the cake. As a tank, it’s already your job to make sure you’re maintaining aggro on your assigned target(s), so any added threat you get is a favor, not someone else’s responsibility, per se. (I’ll explain this further below.)

The Role of DPS in Managing Threat

When it comes to threat, a DPS (or Healer, for that matter) player’s primary concern is to throttle their damage output in such a way that it prevents them from generating more threat on a mob than their tank. Hunters are uniquely capable of using multiple means to manage their threat output, and through the use of Misdirection are also equipped to further help tanks maintain a higher level of threat than other players.

Now, this is not to undermine the utility of Misdirection in helping to facilitate difficult pulls and mob placement. However, Misdirection is not intended to be used as fool-proof aggro on a platter. There are simply too many things that could go awry for Misdirection to be a tank’s primary means of establishing initial threat on a mob, especially a boss.

Tanking With Misdirection

The primary purpose of Misdirection, as it affects tanking methodology, is to help you get more threat, not supply your threat entirely on a pull.

Now, this is not a statement that assumes a tank isn’t trying to establish threat on a mob at all, that would be pure stupidity (so if you’re doing that, cut it out!), but rather relying entirely on Misdirection for the pull itself. Just because a Hunter can supply you with threat, does not mean it’s their responsibility to do so.

A Hunter’s primary function in a raid environment is to supply damage. A tank’s primary function in a raid environment is to establish threat. Misdirection does not change this. As such, as a tank, it’s your responsibility to also use whatever means necessary during a pull to ensure you have enough threat to keep a mob or boss from running roughshod over your raid.

For Warriors, this means using Heroic Throw or Taunt in tandem with a Hunter’s Misdirection to facilitate a clean pull. For Druids, this means using Faerie Fire in tandem with a Hunter’s Misdirection to facilitate a clean pull. For Death Knights, this means using Death Grip or Strangulate in tandem with a Hunter’s Misdirection to facilitate a clean pull. For Paladins, this means using Avenger’s Shield or Hand of Reckoning in tandem with a Hunter’s Misdirection to facilitate a clean pull.

While the details change for each tanking class, you should see what I’m getting at here: a tank should be using their threat-generating pull mechanics along side a Hunter’s Misdirection in order to make a clean pull rather than relying solely on the Hunter. Why?

Because Explosive Shot can proc after all Misdirection charges have been used and pull threat from the tank. Because Feign Death can be, and often is, resisted in a raid environment. Because there’s always one player that begins their damage rotation before the tank is ready. There are many reasons, a fair number of which can be chalked up to player error, but as a tank it’s your responsibility to account for all of these possibilities and act accordingly in order to keep your raid safe.

Place the Blame Where it Belongs

Threat generation in Wrath is easier than it has ever been before. Tanking classes all have numerous means to maintain ample threat throughout boss and trash encounters. As a tank, if you’re losing aggro, rather than place blame on a wayward DPSer, first take a closer look at your threat rotation to identify possible flaws. There’s no reason for you to be losing threat, unless it’s the result of improper DPS throttling at the start of a fight before you’ve had a chance to run through your rotation and secure your place at the top of the threat meter.

Additionally, during a raid is not the time to address any potential issues you may have. If you’re having trouble maintaining threat, don’t immediately blame another player for the issue, simply state your needs briefly (you need a Misdirection, or you need DPS to switch to white damage for a short time) and make a mental note for later.

Related posts:

1. Paladin Tanking Through the 50s You’ve had the ability to wear plate now long enough...
2. Paladin Changes in Patch 3.2 Part three of my Paladin AoE Grinding Guide will be...
3. The Silver Hand: Paladin Community Round-Up Having finally gotten my RSS feeds under control (somewhat), I’d...
4. Healers are Harlots An idle comment made on Twitter today caught my attention:...
5. Paladin AoE Grinding Guide, Part 1 I’ve been seeing a lot of searches recently looking for...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.