Threat Per Second

From Game Theory

Tanking is complicated. One key component of being a good tank is being able to maximize aggro generation in a variety of situations (AoE, rage-starved, rage-rich, etc.), as measured in threat-per-second, or TPS. This page provides some benchmarks for acceptable threat generation, and resources to help tanks produce enough aggro for their party/raid to be successful. The focus is on single-target tanking.

1 TPS Targets
- 1.1 Warrior
- 1.2 Druid
2 External Resources
3 Internal Information
- 3.1 Macros
- 3.2 General Advice

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TPS Targets

Some example, ballpark TPS numbers to shoot for on various fights. While we always expect GT members to continually hone their playstyle, if a tank is unable to generate comparable numbers to the examples below, there is probably a fundamental problem with that tank's approach to generating aggro.

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Warrior

Attumen: 400-500 TPS, in high-end tanking blues, subject to disruptions based on the Intangibility curse.
Post-Curator robot trash: 500-700 TPS, in mostly Kara-level epics.
Prince: 500-750 TPS through phase one, 400-650 through two and three, in mostly Kara-level epics.

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Druid

Attumen: ?? TPS, in high-end tanking blues.
Post-Curator robot trash: ?? TPS, in mostly Kara-level epics.
Prince: ?? TPS, in mostly Kara-level epics.

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External Resources

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Addons

All: Omen

Omen is an Ace2 threat meter that does a better job of tracking threat in multi-mob situations than KTM. There are a number of options; in particular the sound that indicates aggro gain might prove distracting (and be better turned off). Omen is highly recommended for all tanks (and may become required should the guild switch away from KTM).

All: KLH Threat Meter

KTM is the classic / first threat meter. Old standby, etc. However, it doesn't handle off-tank / multi-tank situations as well as Omen. KTM is required for all tanks (all raiders, actually).

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Forum Threads

Warrior: http://elitistjerks.com/showthread.php?t=10756

Warrior: http://elitistjerks.com/showthread.php?t=12157

Elitist Jerks run a nice forum, while the posting volume is pretty high, they have some fairly heavy-handed moderation, and the signal-to-noise ratio is pretty good. The threads above discuss optimal ability rotations, relative threat generation between abilities, how to handle low-rage fights, etc.

Warrior: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=75381044&sid=1

Official WoW forums, yes, but there's a lot of good advice regarding gear, spec, and playstyle to be found within that thread, laid out in an easy-to-read, chapter marked guide.

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Websites

Warrior: http://www.tankspot.com

Run by the author of the Fortifications guide linked above, Tankspot has many useful articles and an active forum to help any tank, but a definite warrior focus.

General/Warrior: http://evilempireguild.org/guides/

Math! Includes Kenco's threat analyses, though these are slightly out of date now thanks to mechanical tweaking in patch 2.1.

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