What a Hunter Tanking Tree Would Have to (and Could) Look Like

Eidotrope at OutDPS: The Hunting Party Podcast and WoW Insider have each brought up the idea of getting rid of pure dps classes and making everyone a hybrid.  While taming a pet that enables a healing tree is conceivable, our having tenacity pets already (and our not having mana) suggest that we hunters would most likely end up with a tanking tree were we to be hybridized.  It would not be a simple transition, though, as I discuss below the cut.

Before we get into this I suppose I should provide some credentials.  You already know that I know hunters, but you may not know that I have an alt tank that I’ve used for progression raiding and some hard modes.  I follow tanking news, know prot warrior tanking thoroughly and have a decent awareness of what the other tanking specs can and can’t do.

In brief, here are the things that hunter pet tanking is good at already:

  • soaking AoE damage – This is largely thanks to Avoidance.
  • snagging adds – If the hunter is free to MD adds to the pet then it is arguably easier for a hunter to grab them compared to a real tank.
  • aiding healers – Hunter pets take more damage than real tanks, but they also get more healing via Mend Pet, Spirit Bond, 2t5 (if worn) and Blood of the Rhino.  The extra healing taken does not at all make up for the increased damage taken though.
  • DPS – Hunter tanking has the potential to yield more dps than a player tank.  And, yes, tank dps does matter so it is worth mentioning.

Here are the things that hunter pet tanking is currently bad at compared to player tanks: … Read Full Article.

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