Long-term, the paladin manner of generating AE damage and threat is probably too good, especially given how simple it is. To be honest, we have very mixed feelings on the whole AE tanking game. We brought the druid and warrior more in line with the paladin for fear of recreating the Shattered Halls / Mount Hyjal experience, where other tanks just weren't competitive. What that has led to of course is the AE tank + AE style of damage for almost every pull. You need the tools to be able to tank legitimate adds fights (imagine lots of incoming mobs), but does that mean every pull needs to devolve into that? We'd like to see less AE overall, so buffing everyone's AE tools isn't going to be tops on our agenda. That does however mean that we really can't afford to have a "best AE tank", and while things are more fair there than they were in BC, they aren't fair enough.So basically, once they gave AoE tanking to one class, they had to give it to all, and now it has become too good.
Personally, my tank just reached a level of gear I'm really happy with. Some guild mates helped me run the Halls of Reflection on normal, until I finally got the Splintered Door of the Citadel shield I had been trying to PuG for in vain. And I'm wearing 4 pieces of T9, shoulders of equivalent iLevel, and the cloak you buy from emblems of frost. Only the jewelry and trinkets are still iLevel 200, but good ones for that level. Even with not putting a pure stamina gem in every slot, but looking for things like hit rating, parry, and dodge as well, I have 35k health unbuffed, and get up to 45k fully buffed, depending on buffs, while of course being defense capped. So running heroics is really comfortable now, especially since I did it a lot and now know them well. I'd love to try him out in Naxxramas, but nobody goes there any more, except for weekly quest.
When running pickup group with my other characters, I have the opportunity to see other tanks in action. Curiously (and I know I will get complaints about this comment), all pickup groups which ended due to wipes had a Deathknight tank. When I play my healer, the DK is hardest to heal too. That missing shield really hurts. But then of course the DK and paladin tanks deal over twice the damage of an equally geared protection warrior tank. Having a paladin tank for me is easiest. Not sure about druids, because all those druid tanks seem to have disappeared, I only see trees and boomkins any more.
Excuse the lack of focus of this post, this is just a random bunch of thoughts on tanks, not leading anywhere. Feel free to add your own thoughts on tanks to the discussion.
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