#13 - Feb. 18, 2010, 7:28 p.m.
I am emphatically *not* saying here that there are a lot of bad DK tanks, because heaven knows I'd never live that down. But here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) This is a new class. Not only are players not necessarily familiar with how it plays, but we don't have 5+ years of theorycrafting and experimentation on what works and doesn't. Furthermore, we've had to change DK mechanics over the course of LK so players are hitting a moving target.
2) It's an easy class to level, because of the generous quest rewards and innate class power as well as the obvious starting at high level. There is a lot less barrier to getting to high level with a DK. There are a lot of alts.
3) Some players picked up the class when it was overpowered. We don't think it's overpowered anymore, but some players were probably coasting on overtuned abilities rather than really learning how the mechanics work. I would guess this isn't as big a deal these days because anyone who has been playing a DK through all of LK probably gets the mechanics by now.
4) The shield-using classes have a big benefit on dungeons that they overgear because blocks can strip away almost all damage. Note that this does not translate to content of an appropriate difficulty for your gear. We don't like this mechanic, but until we change block, it's hard to make wimpy mobs hit harder.
5) One of the quirks of Dungeon Finder is that tanks generally have a shorter queue time. This isn't necessarily a terrible thing (though I understand it can be frustrating) because it builds in a little bit of a bonus for more players to try tanking, therefore evening out the queues a little more. The risk is that you get a player who is undergeared or perhaps under-experienced trying to tank a dungeon. It might feel punitive, but in some ways the gear checks for heroics need to be more stringent on tanks (or at least check to see that you have legit tanking gear).
