What do you think makes a good tank?

[Lightstrike]

As I'm sure like a lot of you guys who visit this site, I'm here to better myself as a player, whether it is reading other peoples tactics, learning from other peoples mistakes, or simply keeping up to date on the latest theorycraft.

So here I am posing what I think is the question to end all questions, what makes a good tank?

Here's my view:

To be a good tank, I feel you need to be a good player overall.. min/maxing is good but not required.

I think I can make up a checklist off the cuff for what makes a good player.

1. Is the players spec missing anything essential?
2. Is the players spec grabbing something useless that isn't filler?
3. Is the players gear gemmed correctly?
4. Is the players gear enchanted correctly?
5. Is the player glyphed correctly?
#The rest are in action rather than preparation
6. Is the player combat aware?
7. Does the player have good reactions?
8. Does the player use the appropriate ability at the right time?
9. Does the player take into account their own shortcomings?
10. Does the player manage their cooldowns well and with foresight?
11. Does the player know when to use non-essential abilities?

The two in bold I think separate the truly great players from the good ones..

Anyone can research a 9696 rotation and put into practice, but I feel that only the truly good players can see their shortfalls and think of a way around them, and conversely put their non-core abilities to good use. As a paladin, I feel that we have many many abilities that can be used to an advantage in a raid which a lot of us just don't think to use.

So.. what do you guys think?

[Lightstrike]

Reserving for possible consolidation.

[Invisusira]

1) Do they have Thunderfury?
2) Do they have Time-Lost Proto-Drake?
3) Do they have White Kitten?

If answer is "yes" to all three then they are a good tank

[Grehn|Skipjack]

1) Do they have Thunderfury?
2) Do they have Time-Lost Proto-Drake?
3) Do they have White Kitten?

If answer is "yes" to all three then they are a good tank

They said good tank, not god tank.

[agnara]

1) Do they have Thunderfury?
2) Do they have Time-Lost Proto-Drake?
3) Do they have White Kitten?

If answer is "yes" to all three then they are a good tank

They said good tank, not god tank.

I got a white kitten, does that make me a demigod?

[Lightstrike]

For once I was hoping for srs bsns input too... dman spammerses

[Grehn|Skipjack]

What makes a good tank is situational awareness, foresight, and a cool head in dicey situations. This is true of all players, regardless of role.

[tuberon]

1) Do they have Thunderfury?
2) Do they have Time-Lost Proto-Drake?
3) Do they have White Kitten?

If answer is "yes" to all three then they are a good tank

They said good tank, not god tank.

I got a white kitten, does that make me a demigod?

I've had my white kitten outdps mages.

[agnara]

For me the most important trait someone can have is that they want to improve how they play. If they do that it is likely that they will pick up most of the skills eventually. Knowing what you do wrong, and figuring out ways to do so is equally important. So my list would look something like this.

Skillz
1) Having good awareness of your suroundings.
2) Quicly figure out what to do when something unexpected happens / reflexes.
3) Multitasking, reading chats, watching mobs, watching health bars and more at the same time.

Knowledge
1) Beeing able to seek out knowledge when there is something you don't understand / or when you're unsure
2) Actually wanting to seek out knowledge. Through tests and experiments etc

Cooperation
1) Identifying where problems occur
2) Letting other people understand what you are doing (You may be good at your role, but if no one knows that you're doing it, it wont help much)
3) Warning others when they need to know something. (like warning someone about a wall of X moving towards someone that is unlikely to see it in advance)



We had a similar(ish) thread 3 months ago, it was about what you would answer if you were asked if you were a good tank

[tullock]

I have the time lost protodrake, the white kitten, and one binding, does that get me anything?

[Tandors]

I got Quel'Sarrar. Can i count that instead of Thunderfury?

[cakeftw]

good armour plating, tracks, a large turret mounted gun and camo painting to suit the terrain is usually a good start

[Tev]

Patience, Tolerance, and Good judgement.

[inthedrops]

What makes a good tank is situational awareness, foresight, and a cool head in dicey situations.

I agree with this highly. However, I would add a slightly different category which I feel I fall into that also makes a good tank.....it's where my strength comes in:

What makes a good tank is situational awareness, foresight, and consistency.

My main flaw is that I am not very good at on the fly situations, which I know is a big flaw. But it's just something I've come to accept. I make up for it by never repeating mistakes and very quickly learning. This is what I bring to my raid. I have occasional moments of on the fly brilliance but it's rare compared to another tank we have

[Asterial]

As was said above... situational awareness is one of the most important factors in being an "effective" tank.
I would never say good.. because being good isn't something you should decide yourself.. its something your style will say about yourself to the other members of your raid/group.

Being pre-prepared for a boss strategy. Making sure everyone is ready before making a pull.
Rotating your camera whilst tanking to see where the next add is coming from.
Being aware of where your support is and if they have to contend with adds/trash.

Its not a case of a list of how and what you do.. its a case of each individual instance, boss, raid and even group makeup will determine that you might have to tank in a different way. A group with extremely high dps (well equipped hunter/mage for example) you might have to alter the way you tank to enhance your threat (unless the mage/hunter are experienced enough to know when to drop off dps when they get dangerously close to getting the aggro).

Above all.... what makes a good tank is someone who ENJOYS being a tank.
Personally i love it... its great being able to take a massive whack from a raid boss and know you are still up and around to hit him back.

I know of people who have been forced into a tank role because thats what their guild needed at the time... or because they are trying to do a HC daily or quick raid (OS/Naxx/Voa) and can't find a main/offtank.

Those are the dangerous tanks. The ones who are tanking but would rather be providing dps/heals...
Some have got their mind on the job at hand.. others havent.

This is the reason I have left my paladin out of my dual talent list... because in my eyes.. she is my tank.
She is our guilds main tank and I'd feel a little strange using her for something else.