The best compliment I got from a healer was on my alt Warr tank in H UK, it went something like (who am i kidding, i ss it, it went exactly like):
“wtf i go from having hsit tanks with crazy good gear scores to one with less than 5k that takes f*** all damage and can hold threat”

After Ulda, I took a few months off druid tanking and focused on my mage instead. When I returned to try for a few Heroic Runs, I was so woefully less geared than the ICC raid ready players that I could not hold aggo no matter how focused, well read or experienced I was.

Unfortunately, this led to me dropping tanking for the rest of Wotlk and I was only able to pick it up again once Cata emerged.

If the best way to get pre-raid gear is through VP farming heroics, and our community is still experiencing long queues waiting for tanks in LFG, then this change can only be seen as a positive.

It means new players trying tanking at 85 and new undergeared alt tanks have one less thing to be abused about in groups, which might actually mean more people enjoying tanking.

Tanking is not hard, its really not. Its pathetically easy now in raids. The myth that tanking is stressful or hard or even interesting anymore needs to be dispelled.

Shannox – main tank just has to hold aggro and move from traps…yawn.
Beth – main tain goes up top, holds boss, drops down, repeat. repeat. taunt swap….yawn.
Rhyo – aoe add that dont need tanking, tank big add for 30secs. die of boredom. tank boss in phase 2 for 20secs…..yawn.
baelroc – hold aggro on boss, oooooh thats hard. Yawn. yawn. tab out, read wow blogs, tab back, loot.

Alys – ok, I like this one, multi phase, have to interrupt occasionally, have to position adds, and make them eat grubs, dodge tornadoes, taunt swap. Dps challenge (easy bit still nice idea) for tank. Good fight.

Major – stand in middle aggro boss, um, oh wait thats it. Everyone else has to stack and spread and whatever, do I? nope, stand there al fight…..yawn.
Rag – tauntswap, occasionally move from fire, and meteors…..yawn.

Is this good raid design? is is bollox.

I tank and dps on my feral druid. I like threat, if should matter more not less. The game is descending into a race to cater to the most blinkered, tunnel visioned playtstyle.

An encounter should involve a tank fighting for threat, the dps doing their best dps, whilst both managing aggro so that the tank keeps the boss whilst still allowing the enrage to be beaten. I like that cower is necessary on the pull for me, it should be necessary after that as well.

The problem is not threat. Its bliz messing up game design, its the stupid levels of gear inflation which means dps ramps up like it does. It happened with healing in wrath, and the knock on effects on tank gearing and health, its happening with dps in cata with knock on effects on threat.

As a long time tank or dps, I just fail to see why this is necessary, or desireable. Yes it makes things easier, and simpler, but I play this for fun, not to be bored senseless.

Then again, I’m not a dps whore. I dont care about topping meters. I like fights like rhyolith where my dps sucks, but the important job (pre mega nerfs) was to stear the boss. In dps races, like Baelroc threat should matter to make the encounter interesting, because its tediously boring to tank or dps.