Bear Tanking

Ok so you want to be a bear tank? COOL!

Its really quite simple. Here are what I consider to be the most important tips for a bear in the making.

Gear up for agility and stamina. Agility = crit which is the main factor in a bear keeping or losing aggro. Stamina is important for survival (I did say this was really basic right? ). Dodge helps with survival and strength is good with aggro but both are secondary to agility and stamina.

There is NO reason to gear up defense/parry/block (like every other self respecting tank build) or any other stat in particular. Bears CANNOT parry or block (so gear that has parry or block doesn't do a dang thing for a bear - don't get it unless the other stats are better than what you already have )

So to sum it up, get more agility (or strength) if you can't hold aggro and get more stamina (or dodge) if you can't survive being hit.

Thats it for gear! Easy right?

Next I want to talk about the actual playing mechanics.

Keeping mobs in front of you is VERY important. You can't dodge mobs that are not in front of you. You also can't hit stuff that isn't in front of you. Pallys and DKs can keep aggro on stuff behind them to some extent but bears CANNOT (unless you count your shouts which either expire quickly or don't hold aggro off a fly).

So keeping this in mind, maneuvering and bar set up are very important.

The way I do this is as follows: I steer with the left hand WASDQE keys and have all my aoe skills (bash/swipe/demoralizing shout) set up for my right hand on the number pad. I also have my damage mitigation skills (barkskin/survival instincts/etc.) set up on my number pad. This allows you to "dance" around and make sure that everything you are trying to tank stays in front of you, all the while doing your aoe and survival skills as needed.

For single targets like bosses or last surviving mobs dancing is less important so I have my single target skills set up for left hand use in the normal number slots.


Sound difficult? Nah its actually easier than it sounds! The dancing is pretty fun when you get the hang of it! Give it a try and let me know if you have any questions.

Pally and warrior tanks are a dime a dozen. I would love to see more bear tanks out there!

BEAR DANCE FTW!!!

Want more info? Check out these sites for more than a bear can chew on

http://www.wowwiki.com/Druids_as_tanks

http://www.wowwiki.com/BC_tanking_equipment_(druid)