Tanks have it easy in WoW: Legion to hold aggro from single targets and even whole groups. Usually, one ability is enough, and the standard enemies stick to the tank like glue. In Battle for Azeroth, this will change.
Less threat in Battle for Azeroth: Blizzard is introducing a change to all tank classes with Battle for Azeroth. Each protection specialization will then only generate four times the normal threat.
This is how tanking works in Battle for Azeroth: Characters with a tank specialization will continue to generate more threat than DPS classes. For every point of damage, tanks generate 4 times more threat than other specializations.
In general, this is a reduction of about 80 percent. For comparison: The affix “fickle” reduces threat generation by 75 percent. So you can already get an idea of what awaits groups in Battle for Azeroth.
This is how tanking works in Legion: Currently, threat increases in Legion for tanks by a factor of 10 – with the right artifact weapon, even up to 20. For every point of damage a tank inflicts in Legion, they generate 20 times more threat than a damage dealer.
Additionally, tanks in Legion, like in Battle for Azeroth, have abilities available that generally generate more threat to compensate for their lower damage. You can take a closer look at what that means in the table below:
|
Attack | Threat/100 Damage Points (Legion) | Threat/100 Damage Points (BfA) |
| Automatic Attack | approx. 1,400 | 400 |
| Automatic Attack + Taunt | approx. 7,000 | 2,000 |
| Throw Glaive | approx. 5,600-8,000 | 1,600 |
| Throw Glaive + Taunt | approx. 28,000-40,000 | 8,000 |
This is what tanks have to do differently in Battle for Azeroth: Not much will change for tanking bosses and single opponents. Melee characters would have to build 110 percent of the tank’s threat, and ranged characters even 130 percent, to be chosen as targets. In BfA, tanks should still be able to hold this without difficulty.
For groups of enemies and adds in raids, tanks will have to try a bit harder. Tanks should ensure that they do not lose aggro on any target and build threat on all enemies by switching targets. Damage dealers should also give tanks the time to build sufficient aggro.
In Battle for Azeroth, it probably will not work to quickly lay down the consecration and then go grab a coffee…
