No.
Ranged (as in: have to stand away from mob) vs Melee (as in: have to get up close and personal with mob) is the distinction.
“Caster” is a description of what the character does (as in: casts spells). You can be up close and personal with the mob and still be a caster. The only reason a caster is usually also ranged, is bc they fold like a wet paper towel if you as much as breathe on them. Make them able to withstand the beating, make their spells only work at short range and voila you have a melee caster.
I think the misconception is that by “caster” we collectively mean someone who uses non-instant abilities, ie. abilities that have a cast time, and not a character that “casts” spells. This is inherited from way older videogames and tabletop D&D where usually abilities used by Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks etc. had a cast time component and were susceptible to interruption.
The difficulty in implementing a ranged tank lies in the following:
- What will keep the tank at a distance / what will keep the tanked mob(s) from running to the tank?
- How will the tank move the tanked mob(s) to a new desired location?
- If the tank is at range, how will melee damage from enemies translate to damage to the tank?
- How will kiting be implemented?
Yes, I very much mean that a caster is
But I also very much mean that a caster doesn’t have to be ranged. They usually are (that’s 99% of the reason I don’t play mage in WoW), but they could just as easily be a melee class (if by “melee” we mean “close to mob”).
Giving a caster (or a hunter for that matter) a tank spec isn’t the same as making a ranged tank.
The only way I’d play tank is if they added the Warlock tank spec from SoD to retail.
Other than that I have zero interest.
Out of curiosity, how does it work?
I understand where the logic comes from but I don’t think it will bring enough people to play tank or heal since both roles have bigger reasons why they don’t get played.
Generally I like the idea of getting more specs to bring not only tank and heal to classes that can’t do that but also bring range specs to pure meele classes or meele specs to pure range specs just like they did with survival but maybe not by reworking existing specs
Anyways, got him. Now I can take it easy for a many weeks. My reliable golden boy can go back to the bench so my shammy can have her turn in the spot light
The Tank Shortage: Causes and Considerations
The persistent shortage of tanks in World of Warcraft is not due to a lack of classes capable of filling the role. Simply giving the tanking option to more classes will not solve the issue in any meaningful way, as the root causes go far deeper.
Let’s take a step back and examine the history of tanking roles in WoW. During The Burning Crusade (TBC), there were only three viable tanking classes: Druid, Paladin, and Warrior. Fast forward to today, and we have six viable tanking classes, with the addition of Death Knight, Demon Hunter, and Monk. Despite this increase, the pool of willing tanks hasn’t grown proportionally. If anything, the shortage persists or has even worsened in some situations. This suggests the issue lies elsewhere.
Root Causes of the Tank Shortage
I believe there are two primary reasons for this enduring problem:
- A smaller active player base overall.
- The tanking role has become increasingly frustrating over time.
1. Player Base Decline
World of Warcraft’s player population has naturally ebbed and flowed over the years, with expansions and gameplay changes influencing engagement. A smaller overall player base inherently means fewer tanks are available. This isn’t the whole story, though, because even during peak population periods, tanks have been scarce.
2. Frustrations with the Tank Role
This is where the heart of the issue lies. Tanking used to be a challenging but rewarding experience. From TBC through Cataclysm, I personally mained tanks and loved it. The role was engaging, strategic, and cooperative. Over time, however, the expectations placed on tanks have shifted, making the role more of a chore than a joy.
Here are some factors contributing to this frustration:
- The “Go, Go, Go!” Mentality: In recent expansions, the meta has shifted toward rushing through content as fast as possible. This “rocket up the bum” pace means tanks are constantly pressured to move faster, often at the expense of careful pulls, route planning, or even enjoyment.
- Impatient Players: If a tank doesn’t know the optimal route, skips, or tricks, they are often met with frustration, impatience, or outright hostility from group members. This creates a toxic environment that discourages new tanks from learning and experienced tanks from engaging with random groups.
- Players Pulling for Tanks: Another infuriating trend is when overzealous DPS or healers pull mobs instead of letting the tank control the flow of combat. This not only disrupts the tank’s gameplay but also leads to unnecessary chaos.
As a result, many tanks, including myself, prefer to play only within trusted groups of friends or guildmates where the experience is more cooperative and enjoyable. Tanking in random groups has simply become too stressful.
How to Address the Tank Shortage
The solution isn’t to add more tank-capable classes; we already have plenty. Instead, the focus should be on making tanking fun again. Here’s how Blizzard could achieve this:
- Encourage Cooperative Gameplay: Design dungeons and raids that reward teamwork and strategic pacing, rather than pure speed and efficiency.
- Combat the “Toxic Meta”: Introduce tools or systems to discourage impatience and punish players who pull for tanks or otherwise undermine their role.
- Educate the Community: Create better in-game resources to help new tanks learn the role and navigate dungeons without fear of backlash.
Ultimately, the solution lies in fostering a culture where tanking feels rewarding and enjoyable, rather than stressful and thankless. When tanks are having fun, more players will take on the role—and the shortage will naturally begin to resolve itself.
1 Like
This was already a problem in regular dungeons.
Then the Elitist Jerk at Blizzard HQ decided to validate it with the M+ format and the many poor fools decided to clap their fins like seals at the timer + keystone nonsense.
2 Likes
I’m not even sure what this means, its just word salad. It takes teamwork to run dungeons quickly and efficiently doesn’t it?
Heres my own word salad for your 5 a day
“Create an environment where all roles can be their best and people can meet their goals and expectations while having fun!” - Yea, means nothing but sounds awesome!
2 Likes
monk and dimon hunter wear light armour and can tank
why rogue cant ? he is more evasive in lore
From what I heard in the vanilla wow alpha they had a tanking spec and their shields were called bucklers. Shamans, and maybe warlocks also had tanking specs at that early development (which is they they had high threat skills for a while)
1 Like
It uses Metamorphosis.
1 Like
So it is like the warlock semi Illidan form from MoP/WoD?
it should happen in retail tbh
and dractyr guards as a third spec for tanking 
1 Like
The “Go, Go, Go!” dungeon mentality traces its origins back to the later stages of Wrath of the Lich King. During that time, gear scaling and the proliferation of powerful AoE abilities began to trivialize dungeon content, encouraging players to speed through encounters. This shift in gameplay ethos, while not as pronounced as today, laid the groundwork for the rushing culture we see now.
When Cataclysm launched, Blizzard made a conscious effort to reign in this mentality by designing dungeons with higher difficulty and mechanics that required careful pulls and coordination. For a time, this slowed the pace of dungeon runs, but as the expansion progressed and players began to outgear the content, the “Go, Go, Go!” mindset resurfaced. Overgearing once-challenging dungeons allowed players to bypass mechanics and blitz through content, reigniting the trend.
The Mists of Pandaria expansion marked a pivotal moment in cementing this playstyle. With the introduction of Time Trials for Challenge Mode dungeons, speed became an explicit design objective. Although Challenge Modes were optional and targeted at more competitive players, they introduced a reward structure centered around efficiency, further normalizing the concept of speed-running.
The situation escalated dramatically in Legion with the introduction of Mythic+. This system transformed Time Trials into a core endgame activity, complete with scaling difficulty and timer-based rewards. Mythic+ incentivized speed and optimization, encouraging players to skip non-essential trash mobs and adopt hyper-efficient routing strategies. Over time, this approach to dungeons became the norm, not just in Mythic+ but in all dungeon content, as players brought the same mentality to standard runs.
P.S to my original post…
Also, another issue that I initially overlooked is the fundamental difference in playstyle preferences between tanks and DPS players. These roles often attract players with contrasting approaches to content, which can create a mismatch in expectations during group play.
The average DPS player tends to favor fast-paced, action-packed gameplay, making systems like Mythic+ highly appealing. The speedier nature of Mythic+—with large pulls, constant action, and the opportunity to see big numbers from their abilities—aligns well with this preference. For many DPS players, the emphasis on efficiency and adrenaline-fueled gameplay is a core part of the fun.
Tanks, on the other hand, often gravitate toward a slower, more methodical, and measured playstyle. Tanking requires control over the pace of the run, careful management of pulls, and strategic decision-making. Tanks are not just responsible for their own performance but also for the success and safety of the entire group. As a result, many tanks prefer a pace that allows them to assess situations, plan optimal pulls, and react to changing circumstances without feeling rushed or pressured.
This inherent difference in playstyle preferences can lead to friction. DPS players may push for larger, faster pulls, or even take matters into their own hands by pulling additional mobs, while tanks may feel overwhelmed or irritated by the disruption to their intended pacing. This mismatch creates a stressful dynamic for tanks, discouraging many from engaging in content like Mythic+ outside of trusted groups.
4 Likes
Yeah and when you change your spells like shadow bolt become tankiong abilitys.
Im sure that sitting in melee range casting 1 or 2s spells is a good idea.
There is a reason why melee specs all have instant cast spells. Its geometric: a swirlie next to the boss dosent give you much room to move if you want to keep a high uptime on the biss. The same swirlie in Narnia, does. Its geometry.
So. If you DO have casters at melee range as you say you need to nerf mechanics at melee range. But if you do, then all the melee specs will have 100% uptime and simply sit there. And every boss would become a Parchwerk style boss. That would make melees OP and boring to play.
But if you dont nerf melee mechanics then those “caster melee specs” will need to constantly move. And will never be able to cast.
But wait. There is a solution. Casting on the move ! No problem. Well yes. There is also a reason melees dont cast anything. Because it gives uptime problems. Like moving out of a swirlie while casting, getting out of melee range and failing to land the hit.
Well, give spells some range then. Well now its not a melee spec anymore.
As you can see. Its a catch 22. You cant cast anything at melee range. And that is why warriors used to cast things like “slam” but they turned all those spells to instant cast.
So i disagree with your definition.
What we see in WoW and M+ is not 100% speedrunning, but there is a significant overlap between them.
Speedrunning is finding the fastest/quickest path through something. It doesn’t mean the most optimal or the most rewarding, just the fastest. Speedrunning does not “require” or imply to be moving like Sonic in his games. And the issue (that I have at least) with the design of WoW’s combat and instances is that it puts a lot of emphasis on “Never stand still” and extends it in M+ with “You must be pressing buttons every 0.5 seconds from start till finish, no breaks”.
If that was limited to M+ there wouldn’t be as much issue as there currently is. But what happened is that Blizzard designed classes and the combat system to “default” to enabling this frenetic pace. And since players, by default, will try to find the quickest solution/path to everything, then needing to play at a high pace became the norm and the expected.
And the issue with the above is now two-fold: Both the players that prefer the slower pace as well as newcomers, who are still struggling with the controls and do not know the dungeons, are finding themselves in groups that move throughout dungeons at faster rate than actual running speed. This is not a hyperbole. In Timewalking dungeons I struggle to keep up with the tanks without using Ghost Wolf form and Wind Rush totem; I don’t even have time to loot enemies!
-=EDIT=-
I missed some explanations above.
-
Speedrunning does not mean frenetic movement. Even in Vanilla and TBC and WotLK and early Cata we were speedrunning dungeons. It’s just that the fastest path to our target combined with the available tools and combat designs and mana regeneration rates required smaller pulls of enemies, crowd control and mana breaks.
-
What “caused” the slow pace in the older expansions were, in order of importance, the healer’s mana, the tank’s ability to take much damage and finally the damage dealers output. This is still true today, except massively less pronounced: Most dungeons do not have a single mana break, tanks do not ask for long-duration crowd-control because it actually hurts progression rate and finally damage dealers also have infinite resources.
1 Like
It takes teamwork and strategic pacing to complete a M+ keystone, especially at higher levels. Players need to coordinate their CC, interrupts and defensives in order to survive. Pull sizes are planned to be in sync with the players’ DPS cooldowns.
I’d say the difficulty of the current M+ season has proven that “just mashing buttons” will not get you anywhere.
And if the “Strategic pacing” means some sort of TBC HC dungeon style, where you deal with one pack of five mobs at a time by using Sap, Poly and Roots on 3 mobs at the pack so you fight only 2 mobs at a time, turning a 20 min dungeon into a one hour speedrun, then that gets a resolute No from me.
The Diablo-like cleaving we have now is much more fun to do and watch.
Non-tanks pulling mobs and surviving only works in easy content where tanking, just as much as healing, isn’t necessary. I’ve been there, it is frustrating, but it is what it is.
The only way to “fix” this is to make all content really hard so DPS and healers will simply get one-shot if they pull. I’m not sure if your average HC-dungeon Andy would appreciate that.
You also have to take level scaling into account. In Timewalking dungeons, a level 11 fury warrior can tank exponencially better than a level 75 Prot Paladin simply because of that. I am of the opinion that low levels should be nerfed to the ground in TW dungeons because their massive amount of power creates a really gross experience for others but that’s a different discussion.
1 Like