#0 - April 2, 2010, 5:29 p.m.
Updated: February 12, 2009
I wrote this as a guide for every cub out there who wants to learn to be a Bear!! I will include Gearing, Specs, Rotation and threat issues and Stat conversions.
Table of Context:
Part 1: FAQs
Part 2: Basic Stats and the Benefits they provide
Part 3: Specs, Glyph, and Idol choices
Part 4: Rotation, Cooldowns, and Threat Generation
Part 5: Consumables, Gems, Enchants, and Profession Bonuses
Part 6: Macros
Part 7: Gearing for ICC 10 / Toc 25 without raiding?!?!
Part 8: Q & A
What's New?
Patch 3.3.2 - Nothing major changed for the bears, just some new loot to lust after!!
Part 2: Updated information on Expertise caps for heroics and for raids
Part 1: FAQs
These are the currently most common questions asked in our forums about bear tanks.
Who is Alamo?
Alamo teechs u 2 play DURID! For more information see the link!
http://www.wowwiki.com/Alamo
Can a Bear be a main tank/ do they make good tanks?
Absolutely!! When WotLK was first released the developers made it a core goal to bring all tanks in line with each other and for the most part do away with gimmicks that didn’t allow certain tanks to perform. Ghostcrawler, beta forum CM extraordinaire, has posted a big (well, big for a blue post) overview of some of the goals and decisions for tanking in Wrath. It goes something like this:
• All four tanking classes should be viable.
• Tanking should be "a little more fun."
• Most characters in tanking classes (Warriors, Druids, Paladins, Death Knights) should be able to tank a normal five-man just fine, with heal specs (for Druids and Paladins) being the exception.
• Heroics and raids will require investment in tanking talents, but all tanking classes should be able to tank them if appropriately specced. Ghostcrawler notes that this is a change of strategy for Blizz; previously, for instance, feral druids were positioned by the devs as being better off-tanks than main tanks. Now, he says, "If nearly all guilds want the same class as their MT, we've failed."
This is great news for us and so far has definitely proven to be true. A bear is completely capable of tanking all content currently in game as a main tank or as an off tank!!
How much Defense do I need to be crit Immune?
NONE!! Druids don’t use Defense or resilience to become crit immune in PvE. We have a talent called Survival of the Fittest (SotF). This talent reduces the chance to be critically struck by 6% and a raid boss only has a 5.6% chance to crit you! So we are crit immune through talents. Defense is still a decent avoidance stat but it’s not a must have stat for a bear to tank like it is for all the other tanking classes.
Do weapon and enchant procs work in bear and cat form?
Yes! Ever since patch 3.0 druid have been able to benefit from weapons that have a proc or from proc based weapon enchants such as Mongoose.
Does my weapon skill out of form affect me in Bear form?
No. You are always at the equivalent of maximum weapon skill while you are in bear or cat form.
I heard that Bears can't use potions, is that true?
Nope!! Ever since 3.0 the developers have blessed us with the ability to use potions while in form!
Can I still be a Hybrid bear and cat?
Depends on the content… There are specs that will allow you to perform adequately as a tank and as a cat but when it comes to progression content (first kills) you have to give up too many dps talents or too many tank talents to really maximize either role. The name of the game in Wrath is specialization, especially when it comes to tanking. The Feral tree has been changed so that you pretty much have to choose to have a bear or a cat spec to truely maximize either role.
What Addons do I need for tanking?
Any raider worth their salt will be running Deadly boss mods or Big Wigs. These addons will help you know when to expect big damage or other significant events while tanking in raids.
As a tank you also have to have Omen threat meter. Since WotLK, the designers in blizzard now allow Omen threat meter to get exact numbers on threat levels for a target. Previously they were just estimations. As a tank, you have two main jobs. Keep the attention of all the baddies and not die. Omen help you make sure you are doing part one.
Am I ready for Heroics, Raids, etc?
Do you have quest blues from icecrown and stormpeaks? If yes, then you're good to tank Heriocs
Do you have iLvl 200 blues? If yes, then you're good for Naxx.
Do you have iLvl 200 and 213 epics? If yes, then you're good for Ulduar.
Do you have iLvl 219 and 226? If yes ,then you're good for tanking ToC
Do you have iLvl 232 and 245? If yes, then you're good for tanking ICC
If no to any of those. you are not geared for tanking said instance.
There are also a few good sites that can give you a general idea of your readiness for raiding.
be.imba.hu
www.wow-heroes.com
Where can I find more information about Bears?
wowthinktank.blogspot.com - Great blog with math to back up the information
The Druid Wiki: http://druid.wikispaces.com - Druidism at it's best
Elitist Jerks Druid pages: http://elitistjerks.com/f73/ - Great detailed posts
RAWR: www.codeplex.com/Rawr - For gearing questions
www.tankspot.com - For good how to videos for encounters
http://druid.wikispaces.com/ToskksDPSGearMethod - Toskks gear analyzer. For the kittys, not us bears.
Patch 3.3
Icecrown Radiance is nerfing my dodge by 20%!! That means Druids are dead doesn't it?
Not at all. Actually we should be affected LESS than any other tank. The idea behind the debuff is that they can tone down the damage per hit and we will just be hit more often. This is a actually a very good thing for raiding in general. It should end the days of getting randomly instagibbed and allow for a less bursty raid environment.
The key to remember is that druids are likely the least affected tank by this debuff not the most. All tanks capable of tanking in ICC will have >20% dodge. This means that they are losing the same amount of avoidance as we are. WE WILL BE FINE. Amazing even. I look forward to seeing each of you as we battle the Lich King in ICC.
http://wowthinktank.blogspot.com/2009/10/general-druid-icewell-radiance-bears.html
Is a fantastic in depth look at how bears will fare in the new raiding environment!
