Heralded as one of the best expansions in the history ofWorld of Warcraft, players of the Classic version of the game are currently experiencing a return to Wrath of the Lich King. Heroes return to the frozen wastes of Northrend to push back the undead Scourge.
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Along the way, there are a ton of giant monsters that someone needs to stand in front of while other people do damage. Tanking in WoW has evolved a lot since the original Wrath days, but the expansion is a huge moment for Classic players as it introduces the first new class to add a wrinkle to the standard tank rankings.
6Unholy Death Knight
The original pitch of the Death Knight class was that all three specializations could either serve as tanks or damage dealers. While this notion was abandoned fairly quickly, Unholy and Frost Death Knights do have some interesting tanking tools during Wrath. Unfortunately, Unholy becomes outclassed by other tanks very quickly. While the spec holds up alright in dungeons and early raids, it lacks the survivability to really challenge more difficult content. But even more than these weaknesses, it’s almost a waste to leave a class with such strong DPS potential in a role any other tank could fill better. While it’s a fun challenge, if you’re playing Unholy you’re doing so to kill things, not tank them.
5Frost Death Knight
In the early stages of the expansion, Frost is a fairly promising tank, particularly in raids. While it lacks the survivability to main tank the toughest bosses, it can be one of the best secondary tanks in the game due to its high damage output. Some other specs feel virtually useless when they are not actively absorbing damage, but Frost Death Knights can maintain a respectable damage output when only one tank is needed.
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Especially during the progression of a new raid, this is a vital piece of the puzzle as every bit of damage can make the difference between getting the kill or wiping at 2%. Unfortunately, the survivability becomes more and more of a factor as damage numbers get higher, and off-tank damage only matters if the tank can live during the big hits.
4Protection Warrior
In Wrath of the Lich King, Warriors are working very hard just to stay in the middle of the pack. Were it not for two specs that eventually will have their ability to tank removed entirely, Warrior would be at the very bottom of the pile. Although a great choice in dungeons, and completely serviceable for casual groups, other tanks just bring more to the table. There are better off-tanks to bring damage while staying alive, there are better classes at reliably absorbing big hits, and there are easier ways to control large groups of enemies. While it’s a fun class to play this expansion, anyone prioritizing strength or success will leave their Warrior on the bench.
3Blood Death Knight
While it was eventually the only specialization that could tank as a Death Knight, it was clear from the very start that Blood had a lot more to offer in this role than Unholy or Frost. Its fantasy is built entirely around self-healing and vampirism which just naturally gives it some of the best sustainability in the game. That said, to heal damage you have to first take damage, so Blood struggled more than some other tanks in the early days of the expansion.
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However, once properly geared Blood became one of the best main tanks for holding aggro on a boss. Healers may take some time getting used to how much a Blood Death Knight’s health bar jumps up and down through self-healing, but once the group gets the hang of it Blood is one of the most reliable tanks in the game.
2Feral Druid
Feral Druids are highly valued for the exact same reason Frost Death Knights performed well early in the expansion — damage. As an off-tank, a Feral Druid can shift into cat form to greatly increase their damage done, but bear form’s survivability won’t fall off the way Frost did. Even in bear form, Druids put out some of the highest damage numbers of any main tank. The one downside to a Druid tank is that its damage mitigation works best on a single enemy or a very small pack. As such, while their off-tank damage is by far the best, there are some fights where the bear will struggle to stay alive when they need to pick up big groups of smaller enemies. But whenever you need to race down a single giant monster, the Feral Druid will shine.
1Protection Paladin
Protection Paladin is easily the best tank in Wrath of the Lich King for the simple fact that it’s a Paladin. In this particular expansion, the defensive cooldown Divine Guardian is the strongest mitigation tool in the game, so powerful that top guilds will often stack as many Paladins as they can get away with in order to have more access to this one spell, not to mention the other auras and utility they bring. Paladin is simply a must-have in a raid, and putting one in the tank position allows you to save more valuable raid slots for other classes. What’s more, you aren’t really sacrificing anything in the tank role as Paladins still provide solid damage, great control of big groups, and plenty of survivability. It’s common at the highest level to see guilds running two Protection Paladins as their tank core as you get all the upsides of bringing a Paladin without really sacrificing anything other classes might offer.
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