World of Warcraft is awesome, World of Warcraft is frustrating.
Patch 12.0.5 has been a bit of an inflection point for the game of late. The latest World of Warcraft update introduced a variety of fresh content, including Void Assaults and catch-up mechanics for gearing up alts and the like, but it also introduced a megaton of new bugs and other problems into the game.
World of Warcraft: Midnight has been a bit of a mixed bag so far. The story pacing and delivery have been particularly irritating in World of Warcraft, with Blizzard's self-imposed patch cadence taking precedence over quality. This can be felt nowhere more heavily than in the polish department, where bugs and other anomalies seem more rife than ever. Is this World of Warcraft's AI vibe coding era?! Perhaps that's an article for another time.
In any case, Blizzard has been speaking out about the problems, acknowledging bugs and polish, but also balance. A new interview offered some hints about what we might see for the state of the meta going forward, and it's actually a bit worrying.
Crazy idea: Maybe tanks being weak is why nobody wants to tank OR heal?
A new interview with Associate Game Director Paul Kubit (via WoWhead) covered a range of topics, including the bugpocalypse that has been plaguing World of Warcraft for some time. Kubit offered usual platitudes that "lessons would be learned" and the like, acknowledging that the patch cadence had been perhaps a little over ambitious.
The interview didn't offer a ton of new details about what's on the horizon for World of Warcraft, unfortunately. Next patch will introduce a "flexible" option for Mythic raiding, allowing guilds to experience harder content without the hard requirement of specifically finding 20 players. In an era where players are getting older, having kids and such ... some flexibility with the most challenging content is probably a smart decision.
Blizzard also said it has "heard feedback" on playable Forest Trolls, which was honestly frustrating to read. I feel like people have been asking for playable Forest Trolls for decades ... yet Blizzard's M.O. for adding new races all too typically revolves around adding stuff nobody asked for, for some reason.
Similarly, Blizzard seems to be hinting that a nerf to Brewmaster Monk tanks is on the cards. Blizzard says it will make "light touches" to prevent disrupting the "meta," but I feel like there's a bigger problem at play here.
I'm by no means a super-hardcore M+ player, but through mostly quite painful pugging with random players and enduring all the toxicity therein, I'm very close to a 3K rating and have managed a 2.1k PvP rating as well this season. But what I have noticed more than usual is the lack of tanks at moderately higher keys. Finding a tank for a +13 seems more difficult than ever, as more and more players seem to opt out of playing what is arguably the game's most challenging role in Mythic+ dungeons.
Tanks are not only often expected to lead the dungeon, but also have to manage the ebb and flow of the run on top to make the timer. They also have to execute their own damage rotations, manage one-shot tank-buster mechanics — all while getting smashed to bits by all the mobs and adds along the way.
Players have been gravitating to Brewmaster Monks for higher-end play more than usual, and it's not just because it's perceived to be (or actually is) the most powerful — any opportunity to reduce stress on the group is what's creating this meta. Since Brewmaster Monk got reworked, it is now in a good place. Other tanks like Blood Death Knights and Protection Paladins can get squashed in 0.1 seconds far too easily with only minor lapses in near-constant concentration. Every tank has (and should have) strengths and weaknesses, but when things are too punishing even in moderate keys, it can actively discourage tank players but also healers from active participation. Poor DPS can also make and break a M+ key, but responsibility is diluted between the three DPS players in the group. Brewmaster, right now, is the spec that introduces the least amount of "stress" on the group comp all up.
Blizzard, in my view, needs to do more to make tanking more pleasant in general, without disrupting the reasons people play tank in the first place. Some players like the leadership role and the challenge ceiling that is associated with the role. But there has to be a way to maintain that without making the role completely unappealing to the vast majority of players.
More tank specs might help (shaman tanks plz?). But I think bringing all other tank specs up to Brewmaster level, in terms of mitigation, pressure reduction, and utility, should be the strategy. Nerfing Brewmaster absolutely should not be the goal here.
More healer and tank specs would be nice too ...
Druids have long been the only class with four talent specs, but maybe it's time to break that tradition. Warlocks and Shamans have had "tanking" abilities in previous incarnations of the class, and WoW: Season of Discovery introduced concepts like Mage healers as well.
I think it would help solve the tank and healer shortages if more players had access to those kinds of roles as part of their current mains. I have a Blood Death Knight alt that I do enjoy, but with such limited free time on my hands these days, I try to focus on my 20+ year Warlock main. Faster queues as a Warlock "tank" would be fantastic, and I'm sure others feel the same way about their classes.
What would a Shaman tank with Rockbiter weapon look like in 2026? A Rogue tank with shadow copy images to mitigate damage? A Death Knight healer that uses necromantic energy to repair wounds? Evokers with draconic earth and magma shields? Or a new class like Tinker with gnome and goblin tech armor ... okay, I'm just fantasizing now.
Point is, I've found the pressure of grouping to be more difficult as I've gotten older, and I'm sure other players have, too. Nerfing tanks should never be the answer, in my view. It should be more appealing, not less, to play one of the game's most crucial roles.
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