Warlock Tanking Part 2

Tactics:
Aggro management will be one of your biggest issues when Lock tanking. As VW lacks any AoE attacks, you will have to rely largely on single target attacks and Crowd Control (CC) from your group. The use of tab targeting and VW’s AoE taunt can be used for groups lacking CC but you will need to be extra vigilant to ensure VW stays on top of the threat meter. Additionally, any means of threat transfer such as a Hunter’s Misdirection or Rouge’s Tricks of the Trade should be used as often as possible. Demonic Empowerment can also provide temporary threat boosts to VW.Should a mob still get away, or CC break early, it now becomes your job to pick up and tank that mob either until it is down, or VW has established aggro on it.

This can be done in a variety of methods:
1. Threat transfer, again utilizing one of the earlier techniques, one of your party members can direct the mob back to VW (provided their ability is not on cooldown
2. Use your VW’s Sacrifice ability to give yourself a damage absorption bubble and quickly establish threat on the target yourself. Once threat is established, you can then kite the mob until it is dead, or back to VW for your minion to reestablish aggro through direct attacks (soul shatter can be used to drop your aggro back down, though there is a longish cooldown associated with its use)
3. Activate Metamorphosis, taunt the target to you and tank it in normal fashion. While this may split your healer’s focus between 2 tanks, there shouldn’t be too much concern if it is just trash mobs. Activate VW’s Sacrifice ability in conjunction with Metamorphosis if you are short on heals for extra insurance.
4. If there is no space limitation/ worry about pulling the next group of mobs, you can always fear the loose mob (though this is probably a rare occasion and as such should not be counted on).

Positioning of mobs will be your second biggest challenge. Some mobs require tanking facing away from the rest of the group. Depending on the situation this can addressed as simply as having the group reposition themselves behind the mob or through more challenging techniques. In fights where space is limited or very specific positioning requirements exist (think: Ingvar in UK) a more creative approach must be taken. In these instances you can position the mob yourself before sending VW to tank. To do this, activate VW’s Sacrifice while placing VW on passive, body pull the mob into position and quickly have VW taunt it off you. Since VW will have been on follow he should now be facing the proper direction and tanking can continue as normal. Alternatively you can position the after activating Metamorphosis, however Cromm recommends saving Metamorphosis till later on in most boss fights, as the access to the extra taunt that comes with it is too valuable to use at the front end (in case VW loses aggro or goes down for some reason).

Other Tips:
Knowing when big damage spikes are coming, and using Improved Health Funnel during them, will go a long way to keeping VW at full health. (20% damage reduction while channeling).

There are a lot of tools at your disposal to refund health, Drain life, Death Coil, Healthstones, etc., use them!

Don’t underestimate Demonic Circle: Teleport. This can be used effectively when kiting, or to get yourself back out of harm after a body pull/ positioning VW pull. Cromm puts one up before almost every fight.

Cromm hopes you have enjoyed this little guide to 'lock tanking, and Svenn will be back to business as usual on Monday.