Tanking Etiquette Tips #1: Do Not Want, er, Taunt

turmoil

Hey, you know what’s more fun than fighting a mob? Fighting off another tank at the same time!

If you’re a tank, I’m sure you’ve been in that situation before: you have aggro on something in a multi-mob pull. The other mobs start going down, and one tank is suddenly unoccupied. Those angry little lightning bolts pop up over his head, and suddenly that Bile Wretcher isn’t so interested in you anymore.

There is absolutely nothing ruder than this. It is, with minimum cliche intended, a slap in the face.

It’s like turning to the tank that’s currently holding the mob and saying “hey, I don’t trust you to tank this so I’m taking over” or, more appropriately, “hey, I have the attention span of a gnat, gimme.”

In my guild’s Naxx runs there is a DK tank that has a terrible, terrible habit of doing this. I swear Dark Command (or whatever their taunt is called) is part of his normal tanking rotation. Invariably I find myself engaged in taunt tennis with him, because he will just. not. give. up. on tanking that damn mob.

If you don’t have something slamming its face against your shield, it’s ok, take a deep breath. Just auto attack, apply judgements, hang on in case the guy tanking it goes kablooey.

Just don’t taunt, (pardon the language) it’s a dick move.

2 Comments to “Tanking Etiquette Tips #1: Do Not Want, er, Taunt”

  1. Anea 21 February 2009 at 1:57 pm #

    Seems like this would be a given, but it isn’t sometimes. Similar to raid healers healing your tank when you’re assigned to him. Grrr.

  2. Rhidach 21 February 2009 at 10:40 pm #

    Ugh that’s terrible. Basically another player saying they don’t trust you to do your job! What jerks.