So I got a lot of good feedback from my first blog. I said my second blog was going to be me talking about my experiences leveling my warrior. Well, I started writing that post and I just couldn't finish. I didn't like it. It was boring (just like leveling!). Maybe another time...

I talked about the synergies that warriors had with other classes in my first blog. I'll reiterate. Warriors and tanking are unique because the tank is the only role in the raid/group where everything really is tied to you. Your actions affect the DPS by giving them a threat ceiling to stay below. Your actions also directly affect the healers in how much damage you reduce and how healable you are (this is where we get into more complicated topics like effective health vs. avoidance).

I got some requests from some asking about more "tank" tricks and synergies that I have with other classes. I'll go over some of those, and things that I notice in players to determine their skill. Some players just do things instinctively to make the objective quicker and smoother. Take a look at the mage pyroblast trick in my first post if you want a specific example.

Since this is a site for warlocks, let's start with our evil counterparts.

Any retard can pass out healthstones and put a soulstone on a healer. But what separates competent locks from ones that go on my friends' list for a future heroic/Kara PuG? One way that I can distinguish a good lock from others is their usage of DoTs. I tend to not run with too much CC and just tank most of the pull since I like lots of rage. A 1.5 second DoT is almost always going to be a better investment of time than a Shadowbolt on the main target. Good locks will DoT up off-tanked mobs and not pull aggro. Generally every Sunder Armor debuff on a mob means that they can put up one DoT without pulling aggro. Overall they're doing more damage and the pull ends up being done quicker. This is how Affliction locks shine in 5 mans and on trash. Another way I can tell how skilled a lock is is through their use of curses. I really appreciate locks that put of CoT on casters and those that can fear/CoR kite are a godsend. Seducing is another example of a kiled warlock. Something that I do as a tank to help out when I want a seduce is either to pull by shooting/throwing at the seduced mob first so when the seduce first breaks it goes back to me instead of gibbing the Succy.

Hunters. I've seen hunters control 3 or so mobs in a pull before with freezing trap, kiting one, and his pet OTing one. A good hunter is an absolute amazing asset to a heroic or 10 man. They just have so many tools including great burst damage. It's a shame though that many of them can't handle more than just trapping the blue square. If we're using freezing traps, I've noticed that a good hunter will lay his trap well before I'm going to pull so his next trap will be off CD. That's pretty obvious though. Good hunters also know instinctively to misdirect and help build threat on OFF-TANKED mobs rather than the first DPS target. This helps a ton in Kara against the harder double pulls like the mini-Curator guys or the Fleshbeasts before Prince. One other thing that I've seen good BM hunters do is save their Intimidation stun for a critical moment like a heal or if someone pulls aggro. And this just in...all hunters from now on must be Engineers for cables. But seriously, jumper cables being non-engineering exclusive would be the biggest buff to hunters in a long while in all seriousness.

A great rogue is pretty easy to distinguish because there are just so many shitty ones like hunters. A great rogue can easily solo and tank a caster mob with all the tools they have. Nothing ticks me off more than saying in party chat "ok sap...(20 seconds later) gogogo sap" so I just tend to not use it in most cases. Some rogues insist on sapping, and that's fine by me as long as they can do it before I pull. I like to pull really quickly so I've noticed some rogues really try to hurry and sap before I can pull. Another thing that I've noticed good rogues do is really good use of blind. Blind can save someone's life if I'm slacking. I've never seen a bad rogue use Blind in an instance ever. Good rogues use it often and wisely.

I talked about the mage trick I did in my first post. What are other things that great mages can do besides hitting their sheep button? Good mages can AoE really effectively without getting killed. Honestly, I'm not going to hold perfect aggro on the mana worms in Magister's Terrace or the pulls before Moroes in Karazhan...I'm a warrior. A good AoEing mage though has his Ice Block button close but uses it only when he knows that the mobs that get off him won't go straight for the healer. Good mages also Frost Nova mobs that break away and are timely on their Counterspells.

Priests are probably my favorite healers to group with. I've noticed good Priests use Prayer of Mending always before pulls because that helps me build threat on everything that hits me. I've noticed really pro priests will ProM and Renew me, then MC an offtanked mob and kill another mob with it. So instead of killing one mob, then the second then third. By the time we kill the first, the second and third are killing each other both at half health. Mind Control isn't just for shadow priests. Mana efficiency is also a good way to tell a good priest from a bad one. I hate having to stop and drink too often and a good priest and healer in general I find can heal just fine on low mana.

Shaman can do the same thing as priests by giving me threat with Earth Shield. There's really no excuse for it ever being off. A good shaman will also help interrupt spells with Rank 1 earth shock. That saves them more mana and time from actually healing me through it. Resto shamans can also put out some respectable DPS with CL and ES. I don't mind a shaman DPSing a little if I'm good on health.

In my opinion, resto druids are probably the hardest class to determine a skilled one from a bad one in PvE. It's just hard to be bad at it to be honest. I really don't know if I've ever come across a time where I thought I had some exceptional resto druid in the group. They are insanely mana efficient though, and I find that good ones (although this does depend on gear) will rarely if ever need to drink.

Holy pallies are another pretty simple healing class to play. Like druids, I find good ones pretty mana efficient, especially for big pulls. I run with a holy pally a lot and this is what we do often on the first DPSed target. I go in and Devastate the first mob to be killed, which if I do nothing else, will make sure I have threat for about 4 seconds. Next I'll taunt the mob, diverting it's attention for 3 more forced seconds. Next, the pally will HoJ the mob, followed by my Concussion Blow, which is 9 seconds of that mob being stunned when you include diminishing returns. I will taunt it once more, and that's about 20 seconds of that mobs attention for a minimal 24 rage. Not bad. Obviously that takes some time of playing with the pally to do something like that, but the concept can be applied to other classes (rogues can do a similar thing with their stuns). But like druids, I find that there's not too much to playing a Holy Pally. Managing blessings and mana is pretty easy.

There are too many average players. Going the extra mile doesn't mean just with getting the best gear possible. What also I think is really noticeable is who PvPs and who doesn't. A good PvP mage will be timely on his Counterspells or a rogue will be quick on cloaking that incoming Sonic Boom from Murmur or fear from a caster. Hopefully those of you with alts (or mains) other than a warlock can take something away from this on improving your small scale grouping skills and how you can improve your synergy with your tank.