Single Target TPS (Pet Tanking)

My earlier guides recommend a croc or bear for tanking. But when I started my pet tanking guides, I had no aspirations beyond Northrend heroics, and the guides were geared toward that. And in heroics, AoE threat is our biggest concern, so bear or croc remains your best bet.

But my last entry here on the WHU showcased my new bear for single target tanking. But then WHU reader and Big Red Rhino contributor Durante posted a big Wall O’ Numbers about the bear probably not being the best single target threat. And the great thing about doing science to things is that there’s very little subjectivity; either you’re right or you’re wrong. And it turns out he was right. The small, small number of hunter tanks out there ensures that the few of us writing about it will often be feeling around in the dark, so I’m always happy to see other contributions, even if it’s to point out that I’m wrong. So let’s revisit the topic.

The Candidates:

All our potential tenacity pets have a base damage ability: Claw, Smack, or Bite. All of these do equivalent damage. Problem is, some pets’ special abilities do less damage than this ability, and use up GCD’s in the process. A bear’s Swipe for example is great for AoE’s, but will actually waste a GCD on a lower-damage single target ability than his base attack (Claw). So we need to find a pet whose special ability exceeds the base attack, or provides the same damage with less focus cost. These include the Boar, Rhino, and Worm. None of these are bad choices, but we’d like to narrow things down a bit. I also looked at the croc, because while his Bad Attitude ability uses a GCD, we get multiple attacks from a single use of it.

I’m assuming for the purposes of this that focus isn’t a problem. The recommended tanking build includes 2 points in Go For the Throat, and most of the raid tanking we’re able to do is largely or entirely stationary. We’ll be critting a lot, thus generating focus. So while our pets won’t be attacking every second for the entire fight, there will be very little downtime in activity.

The Winner:

The two winners are Crocolisks and Worms. And why not a single winner? Because, frankly, it’s very close between the two. A lucky run with the RNG could put either one on top on a given fight. It’s also hard to approximate data for the croc, because while we can generate an average for their Bad Attitude hits, we can’t account for boss attack speed or BA’s uptime, which are wildly variable depending on the boss and fight length. But suffice it to say it’s close enough that either one is a viable single target tank.

Bears are still great heroic tanks (maybe even the best) because the downtime for the croc’s ability can hurt you for an entire pull occasionally. But for single target, croc it is, or a Worm if you’re without an armor reducer (Warrior or Rogue). I’m sure my bear Archibald will be devastated, but Witwicky will undoubtedly be a happy croc.

Swiss Army Tank:

Turtles are great backup tanks for their damage mitigation. Bears are good AoE tanks for heroics. Worms can be useful in the right setup. But if you’re hurting for stable slots and want a single pet for all your tanking needs, level a croc. Excellent single target, AoE, and all the survival talents that come with any tenacity pet. And please remember that tanking isn’t soloing (a surprisingly common mistake), where you want a turtle.

Tanking News & Notes:

1. As stated earlier, bears are still great for tanking heroics. But turn off Swipe for boss fights. Taking it out of the rotation will increase your single target threat.
2. The 2-piece t7 set bonus is still essential to tanking. But the 2-piece t10 makes an excellent complement. Most of us have the badges for this by now, so it’s something to look into if you tank.
3. This article, and indeed any of my pet tanking articles, shouldn’t just apply to those who are trying to tank Northrend raids/heroics. For example, a while back some guildies and I wanted to run MC. There was only 4 of us, and we had no tank, so I tanked it. Yes, I know, Frost solos MC. That’s not my realm of badassery. It wasn’t an epic achievement, but we had fun. So regardless of your level of tanking, I hope anyone who is attempting to tank is finding some fun outlets like this to showcase their talent.
4. In a small nod to the roleplayer in me, I name all my pets after Transformers (my original WoW guild was Transformers-themed). But I haven’t settled on a name for my new Worm. A genuine WHU pat on the back to whoever comes up with the best Transformers-themed suggestion.
5. Thank goodness Rhinos didn’t come out on top here. They’re loud, they’re smelly, they make targeting a nightmare, and as we see below they can’t defend themselves from aerial assault. Judging by the level of hatred Frost harbors for elves and bows, as well as other writers like Euripides hating feral Druids, I can increase my readership exponentially by loathing innocuous aspects of the game. So add Rhinos to the list.

Happy Tanking!

-Arth