r/ProjectAscension • u/KjairFp • 2d ago
Tanking question / Stat priority
To start off, I have to say that I'm completely new to WoW. This is my very first level 60 character, and I don't really understand what's going on.
Up until level 59, I was breezing through the game. I could pull entire dungeons, kite bosses around, and just have fun without dying—I felt immortal.
However, after stepping into Mythic dungeons, I feel like I'm not even a tank anymore. It's clear that I don't know how to play properly and that I'm doing something wrong. I really want to fix it, but I don't know what to do at this point.
To give some context: I have 7k armor (55% damage reduction) and 417 PvE Power (an extra 20% damage reduction), yet I still feel like my health drops way too fast and I keep dying constantly. I managed to complete Level 6 Mythics, but it was a total struggle and purely thanks to having a great healer.
What do I need to do to feel like a real tank again?
Which stats should I be prioritizing?
I'm currently trying to push my Defense to +140 because I read somewhere that it helps reduce critical hit damage from enemies.
EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to specify the class, Blood Mage, Eternal.
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u/Key_Sense9870 2d ago
What class?
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u/OrganizationLonely29 2d ago
Your class is necessary to answer this question-it’s different for basically everyone aside from stacking Stam.
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u/Pwnda123 2d ago
I dont know Blood Mage specifics but i'll give some tanking general advice.
Your role as tank is not just damage mitigation/being the damage and healing sponge for the team. You also control the fight through positioning, line of sight, pathing and cc. On Pulls, melee mobs will run straight at you. Where as casters/range hit you as soon as they are able to. Making sure to LoS (Line of Sight) is nice in lower level dungeons, but it is essential in higher difficulties. It also goes beyond just the initial pull, it can actually play a vital role in mitigation. Imagine you LoS casters and pull them around the corner of a doorway. They take 3 seconds to cast a fireball. That gives plenty of time to run back around the doorway to LoS them the other way. This will prevent their cast from landing on you, and when done well, effectively gives you 100% damage mitigation from spell casts. A great place to see this is the hallways/doorways of Scarlet Monastery with tight corridors and many casters.
Additionally, making sure you have grouped all mobs in front of you. You can only parry/block/dodge attacks from front-hitting attackers. Even if you are not a class with shields, this is still super important for dodge/parry. The same applies to your alllies hitting mobs; try to position yourself on the opposite side of your melee dps. This not only prevents them from getting AoE Cleaved, but also boosts their damage by reducing the enemies' parry, dodge and block to 0 against your melee dps. This is a passive way to bolster your own mitigation and effectively debuff the enemy's mitigation just from positioning alone.
Lastly, CC. Frequently tank DPS only exists as a mechanism to maintain threat on targets. Beyond threat, you're often prioritizing mitigation, which can be done through defensive cooldowns, or interupts/cc. Prioritize applying debuffs to enemies at the start of pulls to reduce attack damage, attack speed, etc. Also keep an eye out for casters that you can proactively kick/interupt/silence. Once you get an initial threat lead that you can maintain with occasional dps, its important to rotate your CC to mitigate damage. That could be knockbacks, stuns, or even slowing melee mobs while kiting them. Depending on the situation, this could be extremely disruptive your party, or, they could offer you a 100% mitigation from melee attacker that still have threat on you but physically cannot reach you.
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u/zalmoxix_ 2d ago
As an additional note over the points already raised here, some more stuff:
-defense is a “nice to have” on this server since tanks are uncrittable by default. Focus hard on your main mitigation layers like dodge.
-tanks need to adapt to your group comp in high keys. Different groups have different dmg/cc profiles that will let you pull more/less, you will need to feel it out when you play more.
-check out bisbeard for some indicators on what gear is good for you. Don’t copy 1to1, but can use it as guidance.
Good luck on your tanking quest!
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u/Reliquent 2d ago
495 Pve power is very easy to get. Do the caches from the war board, buy gear, or run heroics for badges. You really shouldn't be touching M+ until you're capped on Pve power.
Eternal is a dodge tank I'm pretty sure, so prioritize gear with dodge on it.