DeathKnights about to out-tank Northrend
Yesterday our first DeathKnight hit 70, and after picking up some basic tanking-greens we decided to go have a test run in the Nexus. I would be a DD and jump in should there be any huge problems. Now here is a review and outlook on how DeathKnight tanking will influence your WotLK endgame experience.
Some basic information first. Our DK is an experienced and clever player, however never played a tank before. So yes, he knows how to use abilities and can figure out what’s to be used for what, but there’s no active tanking experience whatsoever. The gear was all greens, no crit immunity, almost no avoidance, about 14k health fully buffed and roughly 14k armor. And he never saw the Nexus before.
How did he do?
Surprisingly well. We wiped once, when he accidentally ran into the group before the first boss and added same. With the whole throwing around in the air there wasn’t much we could do. But besides that accident everything was fine. No problems whatsoever, neither regarding survivability, nor threat. The healer was a Kara equipped 71, and while that helped it most certainly wouldn’t have been necessary. Only on the last boss did he go down during the enrage when the healer got kicked away, but that was more bad luck than insufficiency.
We don’t know much about our DKs yet, but they look pretty awesome. Great effects and loads of neat damage abilities are coming with those guys, as well as very decent group buffs. They seem to have a solid arsenal of abilities that make them viable for many a task.
Did he hurt?
We had a 74 rogue, equipped with a mix of Badge and Zul’Aman gear, who got out with roughly 1.1k dps as our top DD for that run. The DK-tank did about 900dps. Read that again. About 900dps. In greens. At 70. This is pretty awesome and leaves us warriors far, far behind (yes, 800dps are possible – but not on 70 in greens, mind that). I only got to about 600dps, due to a lack of damage-equipment that was. And I have to catch up on the whole DD-role, I’m out of training. Dual-Specs, where art thou?
Did he get hurt?
While the abilities do a great job of keeping mitigation up and running, they are all on a cooldown and there are, and will always be, some moments where the DK tank will receive enormous dmg-spikes. It’s somehow like shield block and crushing blows worked before the patching madness began, just for DKs this is what tanking is all about: Proactive mitigation. Their armor doesn’t do a lot due to the lack of a shield, avoidance isn’t as good as a prot warrior’s, and there sure is a lack of emergency buttons. In short:
- Avoidance: Warrior/Pally > DK > Druid
- Mitigation: Druid > Warrior/Pally > DK
- Survivability: Pally > Druid/Warrior > DK
- Damage: DK > Pally/Druid/Warrior
- CC/Mobility: Warrior > Pally > Druid/DK
Summary
In my opinion we’ll see a lot of DK tanks in the future and endgame. Due to their high dps they will be the perfect 5-man tanks, so get dps gear and wait for dual-specs to come in, you’ll be the DD in many a heroic badge farm run as soon as those DKs catch up leveling-wise. Talking raids I think we’ll see a lot of DK offtanks, especially until dual specs are actually in the game. They can tank and they do solid damage. But when there’s the opportunity to bring a dual-specced warrior or pally who can do just as much damage, but is somewhat superior regarding the tanking-thing, the DK tanks will loose some popularity.
All in all I really like the outlook. Chances are we’ll all be in the progression raid game soon enough. And as the primary main tank, which I still see us warriors being, we will still tank those progression fights. But for the farm-status bosses and trash it’s, simply put, better and more effective to let that DK tank have his getting-bashed-on-fun.
All that being said, keep in mind that the DK is brand new and we’ll for sure see some more patching going on as the endgame becomes daily business and real numbers start to flow in at Blizzard’s balancing department.
DK dps is pretty solid, tanking or dpsing. I’ve topped meters in most heroics I’ve run. Only retadins and hunters have been higher. This includes full Naxx-10 and Obsidian Sanctum clears. I ran blood since I really enjoyed the playstyle leveling, but am unholy for raiding now. All three specs can do solid instancing dps. They are probably about the fourth best aoe class and probably about the fourth best single target class, making them solid if not op.
My GM is a frost DK tank and has been doing very solid dps and has no problems controlling mobs and allowing aoe trash clears. I’ve run pretty much every heroic now (and he’s tanked them all including ones I missed) and only dies to the same things our ferals and warrior tanks die to. Can’t speak for tankadins since or DK tank WAS our tankadin.
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