The View From Down Here

Achieving the Impossible

Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
- Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Not so long ago, in fact, only last week, I said that Sartharion with three drakes up was still almost impossible for a prot warrior to main tank. Funny how these things work out.

Pretty much exactly the same as last week, we downed Yogg early in the evening and again had the qaundary of what to do for the rest of the night. Once again being without Feral tank or DK, I was unceremoniously plonked down in front of the dragon, a Gnomish sacrifice. This time, though, we had a Plan, deserving of the capital P. It was  Plan that required careful communication between myself and the healers, but not much else. If you too want to main tank Sartharion as a warrior, here’s what you will need:

• Two Priests – one  Discipline, one Holy
• One Paladin (spec doesn’t really matter, but don’t use your paladin offtank for this)

Tanking is much the same as with two, one or no drakes still up.  There is only one pain point through the entire encounter, and it’s at the moment that the second drake lands. At this point, if you’re lucky, the first drake will be dead. If not, it’s still achievable but you’ll need to be even more on the ball. At this point you need to call whenever there’s an incoming firebreath, for the appropriate cooldown to be used:

• Guardian Spirit
• Shield Wall
• Pain Suppression / Last Stand
• Hand of Sacrifice

By the time four breaths have come and gone, the second drake should also be dead, and you can (more or less) stroll to victory. Surprisingly the Tier 8 set bonus doesn’t help so much as you might expect, because the breaths come so often and unpredictably. Cooldown spec is, I think, more of a hindrance than a help here (by the time things are back off cooldown you’re a lot safer anyway).

So the moral of the story is – nothing’s impossible. It just takes careful application of your abilities, most especially the ability to communicate. Hav faith in your abilities and the rest will follow.

If you’ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliway’s, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?
- Douglas Adams