So…Ya Wanna Tank, Huh?

Yes, I know I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. Yeah, yeah.

Life, work, wife, blah blah blah. I don't wanna talk about it now. I have a gleam in my eye.

I have a project. And here it is. I wanna talk about...you.

Maybe your guild needs more tanks, and they’ve asked you to put down your polearm and pick up a shield...

Maybe you’re tired of the e-peening, crowded and competitive world of DPS, and you’d just like to be wanted and needed for a change...

Maybe you’re taking advantage of the dual spec changes, and you want to have more options for getting into raids or instances...

Whatever your reason, welcome to the world of tanking, of standing there and letting things beat the living crap out of you. It’s hard, thankless work, but an absolute rush, to be there on the frontlines, the first to attack, and usually the first to die. I love tanking, and I hope you will too.

But whoa there, Skippy! You’re not ready to just launch off and run amok yet! You need some edumacation about your new role, and I just happen to know enough about tanking to get myself laughed at by people who know more.

Luckily for you, I'm also willing to share the misguided information I've accumulated as I've traveled through Azeroth, culled from blogs, forums, and the various Yodas (Yodi?) I've met along the way.

So, for the next few weeks I'll be delivering a multi-part series on the hows and whys of tanking. For some of you this may be rather boring. I'm imagining my audience as someone who has turned 80 and decided to tank with his or her toon. The reader has seen it done, but now wants to try his or her hand at it. Thus, the discussion will be pitched at that level.

I hope to be talking about some of the things that I as a young tank had to pick up on the job, stuff that I wish someone had explained a little about before I began my tanking adventure.

I may get stuff wrong. If I do, please help me with a polite message. If you think my UI sucks, or that I'm a total noob, please enjoy this finely formed middle finger thrust right into your face, and watch your post get deleted. My blog, my rules, bite me if you can't hang. I will have polite, thoughtful discussion, or I will have no discussion at all.

Stay tuned!