Tanking the Coliseum: (Part 4) Anub’arak Main Tank
This big guy is all that stands between you and the tribute chest.
Hard mode Anub’arak is a truly difficult boss. He requires a lot of AoE and single-target DPS, precision healing, and at least two solid tanks. In fact, the off-tank requires a special set of gear to successfully handle the encounter. Next week, I’ll talk about how to OT this encounter, but this guide will cover the job of MT.
Make sure your DPS can reach the adds and anub with AoE.
Positioning
Getting Anub’arak in the right place can be tough. You want to make it easy for the off tank to pick up the adds and get them on the ice, while also letting your DPS damage Anub’arak and the adds at the same time. Optimally, he’ll be facing away from the raid (to avoid cleaves), with his back-end on the ice. Remember that you want Anub between you and the off tank, otherwise the adds might jump on to you from thunderclap, or other area threat abilities you put in your standard rotation. This can be very dangerous.
When moving him, be sure to pull him away from the raid. Every moment that he faces the raid is a risk because of cleave. Death Knights should be pulling any ice you need behind you, so you never have to pull him towards the raid. This is key to a clean kill.
Frozen slash is the biggest risk to you as a tank.
Freezing Slash
On a timer, Anub’arak will use Freezing Slash. This the biggest danger to the main tank, since you can’t avoid attacks while frozen. Have enough Effective Health to survive the onslaught in phase 1, but be ready with a cooldown rotation when Leeching Swarm comes into play. Note that percentage based damage reduction cooldowns are best during the swarm, because increasing your health just makes it hit harder.
It's better to lose DPS by moving Anub than to risk burrows from broken ice.
Entering Phase 2
Before phase two (the burrow phase) begins, you will want to pull Anub’arak away from the ice. While it is important that you do a lot of damage to him, it’s equally important that the rest of the raid can avoid his impale and the adds don’t burrow. Pulling him away from the raid gives people time to move when he targets them, and also lowers the chance of the add tank’s ice getting shattered.
It is very possible that you will have to move over ice to get Anub away from the raid. Make sure your paladins know this, and have a Hand of Freedom ready for you. Those extra seconds of movement can be the difference between a clean burrow phase and an epic wipe.
Anub keeps aggro between phases, picking him up after a burrow is just a matter of standing in the right spot.
Leeching Swarm
Leeching Swarm can ruin your day. The healers will have their hands full keeping the raid alive, and you will have a 30% health DoT on you, ticking constantly. Nature resistance will help a lot. Make sure that you have a Nature Resistance Totem, back enchant, and maybe even a head enchant to reduce that incoming damage. Look back at the Freezing Slash section, since he’ll keep doing that even with the swarm going.
Concluding Remarks
All in all, the main tank has a pretty routine job on this fight. Check in next week for off tanking tactics.
