Remote control tank explored

With the new-ish interact with target working pretty well for positioning. I thought I would try something out of the ordinary with a new team I was leveling up (easier to just level 5 at a time right?) I brought up 4 DKs and another Pally I had from classic.

Non instance mode - 1x Ret, 4 dps blood/unholy DKs (the very odd blood worm - perma ghoul build).
Instance mode - 1 DK tank, 3 dps DK, 1 Holy Pally.

The odd thing is I control the Holy Pally in instances and use IWT to run the Tank and dps. Which is totally different than my two other teams (one mixed and the Pal/Sham classic).

I have DG on rotation and a nice frost tanking rotation with the auto rune strike macro. Mid 70s I ran a few instance and it seemed to go ok. Upon hitting 80 I was able to clear a number of the easier normal level 80 dungeons. I ran mixed groups to get some of the obvious badge gear upgrades to push through the gear bubble for heroics. I got pretty comfortable with mixed melee and caster teams, which can have some advantages too.

Last week I was pretty comfortable with my gear, still in some quest blues, but overall a mixing of better gear, so I tried my hand at some of the more harder content. I can do some of the heroics, but what impressed me was how far I got in the new ICC. Yes it was on normal, but ICC 5 mans are fairly tough and I got all the way through FoS, and PoS, and to the escape part of HoR before calling it due to abom spew :eek:.

I think with even more gear this team will be viable for pretty much anything. But the really cool thing was that I figured out that you don't HAVE to control the tank now. I just wanted to post this to help people think outside the box. By no means is this team comp easy or recommended. Heck I have two new battle chests on the shelf for RAFing 3 more pallys up when I feel like it since I think that sounds like a fun combo.

I hope that this inspires people to look for new ways to play the game.

A few of us already do this. But you are correct. Alot of the fights don't require much movement so I switch over to my healer (if the group has a healer) and heal while IWT does the rest. I do use some virtual buttons with hotkeynet but found it was just easier to swap to my healer via pip and work the fight thru that angle and use healbot.

For the most part all of my mixed play has been from the Healer PoV. I can switch and control from any toon, however it's by far the easiest when doing it from the main character. The ONLY significant problem I've run into is runaway issues in areas like Forge of Souls... nothing says wipe like your tank plummeting off the catwalk.

Guess I never saw anyone discuss a full remote control tank. I don't switch or do PiP. Even with the movement fights like Ick it was fun to hit IWT then follow healer (at range during AoE) then back to IWT to avoid AoE stuff.

Lol Zanthor. I have done that a couple times in a heroic nexus. Somehow my tank falls off those platforms at the boss that does those chaotic rifts.. worse part is he cant be rezzed. So I have to run back with him.

Yeah I was watching zanthor's vids on youtube and was wondering if that might be a better option for my mixed teams, but it's always a PITA to change multiboxing setups....

But how would you do fights like in Azjol nerub 2nd boss where you have you move out of the green stuff? Also, how do you position the boss with your tank from the healer perspective? Like for bosses (several) that have nasty frontal cone effects. Do you just switch to your tank, position, then switch back to your healer?

AN moving out of the green stuff? Bah you should not even have to, you should be downing the boss asap, if you move that's time wasted. And if you got the classic Pally/Shaman team, slap down cleanse and nature resist totem and dps away. But I guess for your newer teams you would have to move out of the way. I dont even move out of the way when I do AN spider boss.

That's why I don't lead with my healer on heavy movement fights. However Offive did say something that I may try. Have your team follow your healer so they move then switch back to IWT. That way they move out of whatever is underneath them. Then with IWT they can go back to hitting the boss. While the healer positions elsewhere for the next movement effect.

With mouse broadcasting via window regions, I never need to be on my healer's screen. In effect, my healer's "screen" is on my tank's as I have the healer's healbot window overlapped with the paladin.

I'd rather be driving the paladin for anything challenging (managing aggro of multiple mobs, movement intensive fights, etc.).

I'm with Greythan, my healer is my most hands-off character, I don't have anything I need to manually manage on her. My healing is all mouseover via my main's window, or "auto-pilot" with solid macros.

On the other hand, my tank leads everything. She has more to keep track of with setting up pulls and CC, movement, positioning for my melee DPS, random cooldowns, preventing runaways/out of range, not to mention agro-grabs, which are much easier to handle with mouseover from the tank.

I could see this being very useful if someone wanted to run some very proc-heavy DPS, like a Boomkin or a Surv hunter, but for me, I get the most control by micromanaging my tank and keeping all her tools within easy reach, leaving everyone else on auto-pilot.

Just like greythan, with isboxer there´s just no need to be at your healer (unless you find it fun). I´d rather be on one of my dps chars to see big numbers popping, but all in all playing the tank gives you more agroo management and is easier to taunt mobs that eventually run for you healer.

As I said, it's just something different to think about or try. On my mix and pal/sham teams I have a couple buttons to cover healing and dont even think about it. Just mixing it up trying something new.

You don't need to be on the healer's screen to heal.

That doesn't mean, you don't want to be there sometimes.
A step back from the action, can give you a generals view, rather then a foot soldiers.

With IWT/CTM, you don't need to be on the tank's screen to tank.
At least not for a whole bunch of fights.

Having the flexibility to lead from any screen, and effectively control the team is nice.

Paladin tank? Yep I would do remote tanking
DK tank? No way in hell, I already have to fight with my dps when they overaggro in AoE packs.
Warrior tank? Maybe, he's got a lot more buttons to push though. (spell reflect, charge, etc)