Tanking is a thankless job...

[Nick]

It sucks, but its nice to hear "great save" and "way to go" from the occasional completely impressed group.

But impressing/wowing people out just ain't the same as someone who's showing general gratitude. The easily impressed people make me smirk/laugh/shake my head, the ones who are grateful make me smile. I get a lot of "OMG WOW IMPRESSED" comments, a handful of compliments, and if i'm lucky i'll get an actual "thanks" once or twice a month. XP

The only person who's thanked me in the lats month was a respectable hunter pulling 18k dps.
"[Arikon-Bladefist] whispers: ty and nice tanking" - I'll remember that guy's name for quite a while.
(Just out of curiosity, are you allowed to name people when giving someone praise and not saying something bad?)

Aye, I can agree with that. And they usually are like "omfg I'm glad we have you in group, you saved us from a painful wipe and run back and thankyouthankyouthankyou" though it is rare... For me, at least.


The only way I impress people is if I fall on my chubby ass by slipping on soggy, rain-soaked grass on my way to the bus after school (like I did today, actually ;x).

(And I don't see why it wouldn't be. As long as you aren't wailing hardcore on some poor soul, it should be okay.)

[Aeladrine]

I think that pugs in general just suck.

I remember one run, I don't remember what it was, but it was a Vanilla dungeon, where the tank died and I (as a BM hunter with a cat out) tanked until we burned down that mob. Well, obviously I didn't tank, but Gwyn sure as hell did. He and I somehow kept the group from wiping. Of course, it wasn't the tank's fault he died (this stupid mage went ahead and pulled a crapton of mobs), and he was grateful I kept us from wiping because the druid rezzed him and he was saved a corpse run.

But later in that same dungeon run, there was a wipe (where I feigned and the mage ice-blocked or something), again because of the mage. I apologized for feigning, but I was flat broke and didn't want to pay for repairs. It was a long corpse run and for some reason they all got lost, so I was sitting with the mage for a while, about ten minutes. At one point, he goes pulls again, even though there's only two of us. I drop an ice trap and set Gwyn on another, expecting the mage to take care of the last one. Instead, he breaks my ice trap and ice blocks again. I feigned and stayed feigned until the rest of the group returned, because I was not ver ywell going to die because he's an idiot. He then proceeded to complain that he and I weren't making any headway. In the end, I said bye to everyone and just left, because it was taking enitrely too long and I was sick of an idiot getting me killed.

He's the reason I'm wary around mages because, seriously, who is so stupid as to break CC?

I've had some pretty bad times as a healer, too. I've had to be a healer in shadow once or twice, because our main healer died. I switched specs to holy once and did a dungeon. It was probably the worst experience of my life.

That's why I'll never tank. Because healing is supposed to be easier and it's too much of a pain in the rear for me to ever want to deal with.

So tanks out there, I respect and love you for what you do. Just keep the frost mages away, kthxbye.

[Nubhorns]

I can't tank because it is a thankless job, and the amount of scrutiny you're under coupled with the responsibility makes me anxious - and I play WoW to stop anxiety attacks, not start them. One mob strays from the pack and punches a hunter for two seconds and all of a sudden everyone's hackles are raised and it's all about this 'bad tank'. I've seen it happen and I'm always unable to do jack whether I'm healing or DPSing, because I'm only one out of four people who suddenly hate someone for making a mistake.

Healing is fun at the lower levels, but it's starting to catch up to me on my Shaman and I'm beginning to notice that earth shield isn't doing as much, that accidental mistargets can cause things to really go funny-shaped. Yet at the same time the occasional "OH ANCESTORS HAVE MERCY ON MY LATENCY" moments make it a damn sight more entertaining than tanking.

If it comes down to it, and the tank dies mid pull, I used to have a shield and a line of macros on my fury warrior just for those moments. They were awesome and I loved knowing that nameless dps #3, me, just saved the group, because I didn't have to, and because I wasn't being judged on my tanking skills nearly as harshly as someone who signed up for it. People would whisper me with 'You're a better tank than the real one' and 'You should tank for us' and I really wanted to try, but I was sitting at the then-level cap(80) still in heirlooms and I had no experience tanking seriously. If I were to try a tank, I'd probably have to pick out the 'easiest' one and go about leveling it from scratch, and do it with my friends, because PuGs can and will rip you a new one.

[Ana]

I have a real hard time tanking on Chili, and making that little tanking warrior made me appriate tank sooo much more. Its a real hard job, specially for aoes if ppl go gun crazy and try to outdps eachother every sec. Sometimes i wish i made chili a dk or a paladin.. seams like they got better aoe tanking then my litlle warrior.. or maybe i get there later Chilie is just lvl 70 atm

Kudos to all the tanks out there. You do a GREAT job. I love you as a druid healer, and i love you as dps.

[Tilo]

I got a tank I'm workin on, & if it isn't one dps face-pulling one group it's another, with me running around with my head cut off grabbing everything; & I'm pretty darn good at it, so far

Now about it being thankless...don't have expectations & you won't be disappointed?

Mind you, at 85, majority of the time the generalization at the end of a decent group is someone saying "good run", or "good group". That's pretty much all you can 'expect' if anything at all.

[Lisaara]

I got a tank I'm workin on, & if it isn't one dps face-pulling one group it's another, with me running around with my head cut off grabbing everything; & I'm pretty darn good at it, so far

Now about it being thankless...don't have expectations & you won't be disappointed?

Mind you, at 85, majority of the time the generalization at the end of a decent group is someone saying "good run", or "good group". That's pretty much all you can 'expect' if anything at all.

But thing is....I wasn't qued as a tank. I took up a job that wasn't mine because others couldnt do it. I would've been happy if it was even just "good group".

[Worba]

I got a tank I'm workin on, & if it isn't one dps face-pulling one group it's another, with me running around with my head cut off grabbing everything; & I'm pretty darn good at it, so far

Now about it being thankless...don't have expectations & you won't be disappointed?

Mind you, at 85, majority of the time the generalization at the end of a decent group is someone saying "good run", or "good group". That's pretty much all you can 'expect' if anything at all.

But thing is....I wasn't qued as a tank. I took up a job that wasn't mine because others couldnt do it. I would've been happy if it was even just "good group".

And that was an exceptional achievement.

But it sounds like your fellow groupers either 1) pretty much assumed anyone whose class includes a tank *spec* IS a tank, 2) too intellectually challenged to get their front door open let alone tell whether another player is exhibiting exceptional skill or 3) figure other players such as yourself owe them your time and so awesome performance is merely to be expected.

I think another poster said this but it's worth repeating - sometimes when people are bad enough, even their compliments don't mean much (e.g. "Pearls before swine"). On the other hand Petopia is full of awesome intelligent people, so here is where your appreciation really counts - and lots of people are giving it.

[Lisaara]

You do have a valid point Worba. I'm glad I got you guys. *snuggles everyone* and my friends on wow too. My fiance was even impressed because I didnt have a shield(He said next time just keep a shield and onehander with me, even if they suck, just in case.).

[Kalliope]

That's generally a good idea for anyone who can off-tank. The same goes for healers. People kind of expect hybrid classes to be able to step up into other roles. And really, on some level, it's a justified expectation (though one would hope that other party/raid members would still be polite). Why limit yourself to one role when you can play at least one other? Makes you more flexible.

This is general advice, not directed at anyone in particular. I've been in that position before myself, and things improved greatly once I had a wider range of abilities.

[Lisaara]

That's generally a good idea for anyone who can off-tank. The same goes for healers. People kind of expect hybrid classes to be able to step up into other roles. And really, on some level, it's a justified expectation (though one would hope that other party/raid members would still be polite). Why limit yourself to one role when you can play at least one other? Makes you more flexible.

This is general advice, not directed at anyone in particular. I've been in that position before myself, and things improved greatly once I had a wider range of abilities.

This is true. I just was thinking to not worry about that til higher levels but apparently I better worry about it now cause of derpfaces becoming more frequent. Granted, on my hunter, I tanked crap....more often than I should've. XD

[Setanta]

That's generally a good idea for anyone who can off-tank. The same goes for healers. People kind of expect hybrid classes to be able to step up into other roles. And really, on some level, it's a justified expectation (though one would hope that other party/raid members would still be polite). Why limit yourself to one role when you can play at least one other? Makes you more flexible.

This is general advice, not directed at anyone in particular. I've been in that position before myself, and things improved greatly once I had a wider range of abilities.

this...during LK I made sure that my dk had a full set of tanking gear in her bags, and made frost my off-spec just in case I got called into duty as an emergency tank. I didn't mind tanking in small doses even as a utility backup as a dps in a dungeon..but heavier doses reminded me too much of my main tanking days in a raiding guild in EQ.

[Fafnir]

If you spec tank to be appreciated, I think you have the wrong idea in your head. Granted you technically didn't queue as tank, but eh whatever.

You don't even need a tank in lowbie dungeons, my friend could solo pretty much all the classic dungeons on his frost mage in only a little more time it would take an entire dungeon group to kill them. He usually pulls in the groups too, because classic dungeons are trivial and boring but good xp.

The best you can expect is starting from mid-BC content when if a dps decides to tank they'll probably get neglected to death by the heals, and sympathy when you bitch them out for being stupid. In Wrath content you might get that and some gg comments as long as you aren't playing retard.

TLDR Don't expect to be praised for tanking well. Your personal benefit for fulfilling the tank role is near-instant queues. If you happen to like tanking, all the better.

[Sookie]

I think I've been healing & tanking too long, because expecting anything other than negative comments is so foreign to me I'm actually surprised you made a thread saying you want people to be like that.

A lot of people don't have any appreciation that the tanks or healers are doing anything more difficult than they are doing. They will say 'oh i can tank too its not hard' and blow you off, pulling more mobs. And I wish I had a penny for every time I heard someone say 'It's only <insert name of non-max level dungeon here>, I could solo this place' showing a complete lack of desire to even let the tank do his/her job, they just want to do whatever they want 24/7 and consider you at best an accessory to their adventures.

I am just used to it. And honestly if you want people to thank you for tanking you should probably just never ever tank because people will pretty much never treat you as an above-average member of the party for it, or thank you for the above-average amount of effort required for the job. The best you'll probably get is an occasional 'Thanks guys' at the end of a dungeon that's not really directed at you, and maybe one real compliment to your tanking after months of thankless instances :/

[Kalliope]

*nods to Sookie* If you're doing your job as a tank or healer, most people don't notice. They WILL notice the bad ones.

For that matter, people don't notice when players do utility things like dispel, interrupt, or CC when unasked either. Oh well.

[Lisaara]

If you spec tank to be appreciated, I think you have the wrong idea in your head. Granted you technically didn't queue as tank, but eh whatever.

You don't even need a tank in lowbie dungeons, my friend could solo pretty much all the classic dungeons on his frost mage in only a little more time it would take an entire dungeon group to kill them. He usually pulls in the groups too, because classic dungeons are trivial and boring but good xp.

The best you can expect is starting from mid-BC content when if a dps decides to tank they'll probably get neglected to death by the heals, and sympathy when you bitch them out for being stupid. In Wrath content you might get that and some gg comments as long as you aren't playing retard.

TLDR Don't expect to be praised for tanking well. Your personal benefit for fulfilling the tank role is near-instant queues. If you happen to like tanking, all the better.

Eh I think you read my post completely wrong or didn't read it at all....^^; I never once said I specced tank to be praised.

I was just saying cause I went seriously out of my way to do this for em, I expected atleast a 'ty guys'.

[Fafnir]

I read it, and I'm reiterating that you're making much ado about pretty much nothing.

Your typical pugger is going to be totally apathetic, especially knowing that they'd likely never meet any player in that group again. Just lower your expectancies of your average WoW player's social skills and you'll realize that being thanked for tanking is a bizarre circumstance indeed.

[Lisaara]

I read it, and I'm reiterating that you're making much ado about pretty much nothing.

Your typical pugger is going to be totally apathetic, especially knowing that they'd likely never meet any player in that group again. Just lower your expectancies of your average WoW player's social skills and you'll realize that being thanked for tanking is a bizarre circumstance indeed.

A shame to have to lower the bar so low to assume no one has manners in this world.

[Aeladrine]

^This.
It's like when I was an art aid and the students didn't know (and didn't care) that it's both extremely impolite and rather dangerous to hold the sharp end of something (scissors, knives, exacto-blades) out to a person. You[/] hold the sharp end and hand them the handle.

Manners seem to be slowly dissappearing. /:

[Sookie]

I don't mean this to be rude at all, it's just kind of amusing to look at but this thread feels like it can be summed up as:

You felt like you overachieved, and people ignored it and did not give you a polite or respectful response in a dungeon.

I'd like to hold on to manners too (I'd say theyre VERY RAPIDLY DISINTEGRATING Aela lol...) but I have also been social via internet, games or otherwise, for years now, and frankly the pure fact of anonymity behind a computer screen means you should never expect respectful or even basic civil human beings (I pretty much always expect something worse...). So I guess that's why a bunch of us are like why are you disappointed? Because why on earth would you expect or even hope for that kind of reaction? I probably sound jaded but I think it's a more realistic assessment to expect apathy or worse, and I'm not surprised or upset about it when I run into that 99% of the time...

For the record these internet douchebags are probably worthwhile human beings in real life, so I don't live my life cynical about the human race or anything like that. It's just the internet... it creates this (and yes it's probably starting to rub off a lot in real life for people too....)

It is like a little gem in a sea of darkness when someone is actually polite on here

[Lisaara]

I guess some of you are used to it. I'm not and I'm not the type of person to not give credit when it's definitely due, internet or otherwise.

*shakes her cane* Back in my day, if I didn't say please or thank you(etc.), my mama popped me in the mouth til I got it right! Believe me, you learn after the first or second one....