Why Cross Server Dungeons Means the Rise of Lowbie Tanks
Enter the tank.
I’m just going to throw this out there, I hate questing. Often I’ll frame this opinion in some other way, like “I hate dailies,” “I hate grinding out loremaster,” or most regularly, “I hate leveling alts.” The fact is, though, that it’s not the dailies or the leveling that I hate, it’s the solo nature of questing. I legitimately have fun leveling, when I can do so with a group. Similarly, dungeon dailies are a fun diversion, in the midst of all the solo dailies that feel like absolute chores.
This brings me to the topic of this post, lowbie tanks. Low level dungeons are a different ball game than those at cap level. In general, you don’t even need a tank. Everyone takes damage, and the healer keeps you from dying. In fact, often no one takes damage, because some level 80 is with you, obliterating the whole instance. Of course, this assumes that you can actually find a group. Putting together a party, at least for me, is nearly impossible without a group of friends/guildies all leveling together.
This is all going to change with the advent of cross server dungeons. It’s never been so convenient to queue for an instance, continue questing on your own, and hop in when the queue fires off. For those of us that love to group, it’s a godsend. Moreover, high level characters can’t queue for low level dungeons, so we’ll get to experience them the way they were meant to be played! On top of that, you’ll get level appropriate gear to go with what drops in the instance! I welcome this new era of group leveling with open arms.
The tool, for those unfamiliar with it, will let you pick your role(s) and then assign you to a group. It tries to put together a balanced tank/healer/3xDPS group, and will pull players from multiple realms to make that happen. Those familiar with queueing theory will already be aware of th advantages of such systems, and those who are not should be reminded of how much shorter battleground queues have been since the introduction of cross server queues in that area of the game.
This leaves an opening for dedicated lowbie tanks. The tool simply won’t put together a group without one in the queue. Instead of sitting around all day, you’ll be able to weave instances into leveling. Maybe it’s time for me to dust off that paladin alt I have sitting around.
