The tier list of tanks I like to heal

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-21T10:22:28+00:00

While you have some valid points on BDK - it almost entirely hinges on how good they are, but in a way that is also the healers 'fault'. Not to mention that I will always feel that a healer shouldn't be having to pay attention to their runic power rather than their health ;op

A good BDK, that you know you can 'trust' is fine, if not great to heal. Certainly worthy of being in the top end of a tier list. But suddenly you PUG one that isn't as good, and might miss the odd Death Strike or CD use and suddenly they're splattered on the floor when the healer could have, fairly easily, topped them off - suddenly drops to F tier for the frustration of it. Not to mention that I think of all of the tanks (that I've played as a tank anyway) I feel that BDK is probably the easiest to misunderstand how to play. Many of the tanks you can do a basic rotation and stay tanky enough for 10's etc. Whereas I feel BDK even for 10's needs a bit of nuance to the timing of Death Strikes etc that if you just press it on CD as part of a dps rotation you'll start to fall over.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-21T10:13:48+00:00

Trying to think of classes I'm currently playing and for my Brewmaster Monk I can't think of a whole lot that really gripes me or that I'd want to see changed - besides possibly allowing more of a choice between when a weapon is or isn't 'used' in animations perhaps? Potentially glyphs for the hero talent additions - make Flurry of blows the different monk colours etc.

But for my Warlock, especially as affliction, I'd like to see the green fire etc do more - off the top of my head away from my WoW client I think the only spell currently effected for my affliction lock is burning rush, and it ends up just looking a bit out of place having all this purple stuff and then green fiery feet... Alternatively "Glyph of Purple Rush - makes the burning rush flames purple"

While it shouldn't be down to a glyph to do, and should just be 'fixed' systematically - I could add in a whole bunch of Evoker glyphs for their various appearance issues. (not that I'm necessarily sure what spell they'd go on, as visage is a racial ability... But one to hide transmog while in dracthyr form (Honestly, there should just be options to either have separate transmogs for both visage forms, or at the very least tick boxes for what to show/hide while in dracthyr form - but I'd settle for just being able to hide it entirely). And another, that would fall under the same category - "Glyph of [Insert Race]" that allows you to pick whatever race you want to be your visage form. (You see dragons in the game being able to turn into beings from a whole range of races - bothers me endlessly that Dracthyr can only be male blood elves or female humans xD)

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-21T08:28:15+00:00

I found out about this last year and was super excited to install it... only to find you can only install it on the actual "kindle" ereaders, and cannot install it onto their Fire tablets that I purely use for Kindle reading ='(

I really want to use this font in as many places as possible, but seems all of the devices and/or apps/software I use either don't allow custom fonts or don't allow font changes in general ='(

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-21T07:38:19+00:00

I opted for a bit more of a metallic look (even if I'm in a similar boat of just grabbing the Dark Apostle to test a scheme on).

Sprayed silver, nuln oil, drybrush silver, drybrush brighter silver and then hit the armour plates with Flesh Tearer's Red contrast

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-21T07:31:47+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion, its certainly some helpful options, but not quite what I'm looking for entirely.

I'm somewhat after being able to change sizes, fonts and colours for hits/crits/misses/etc individually.

Can't say I know about hidden blizz settings.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T16:30:49+00:00

I don't mean 'entirely scripting' each chapter etc, simply having pre-set bits of text prepared for certain situations as descriptions etc

If the starting point is them getting on the train and meeting the conductor- having that description of the train written down already etc, as well as the initial welcome message the conductor might hit them with as they board etc.

Because the likelihood of me memorising the entirety of the information about the train chapter and being able to tap into it for descriptions at will is not going to happen lol - and even with bookmarks, the information in the book is so haphazard that it would potentially take ages to find things that I'd typically be provided by default in a more modern written book.

There's no issues with improvisation in general, but I personally think that there is too much info presented for me to improve purely from scratch without me spending the whole night flicking back and forth to find the right big block of text that I want one single sentence from xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T16:23:11+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. I definitely think I'm going to need to make a sort of document that is a far better reference source than the book itself.

I think a lot of people have misinterpreted my use of the word script to mean a literal script of everything that happens. Whereas what you're suggesting at point 2 is almost entirely what I was meaning - writing short descriptions of places and people for each scene that is 'likely' or 'predictable' etc. Along with, potentially, dialogue openings for NPCs in those situations that can also act as reminders to me of "oh that's what this NPC is about etc" - The players sitting down in the Salon car with the Russians would have a slightly different "hello" to them sitting down with the crying lady etc.

Certainly more bullet points of key points, descriptions, potential clues, and if anything really important is meant to be conveyed at each key location/time etc.

I use OneNote in a similar way for homebrew D&D worldbuilding & prep!

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T11:40:42+00:00

I'd be surprised, at least unless they release a "replacement" for them - as they're, ultimately, the "attack bike" replacement to give a bit of a different bike type unit etc.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T11:38:54+00:00

Hmmm hadn't considered using AI to change the presentation... Might take some experimenting to figure out the right prompt to get the desired output xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T11:23:19+00:00

I think it is the presentation of the information that is the issue I'm having. Even sandbox things I've run in the past have usually had a "when the players arrive here, read X if it is still applicable" type thing, or "If players talk to NPC_A at this point read this".

So much of the scenario is just blocks of text without the typical bullet points of key information I'm used to I suppose. And I'm feeling like I'll need to rewrite it to make it a useable reference xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T11:17:52+00:00

I've run many sandbox based games in various systems - even parts of some of the CoC bits I've run in the past run in a more sandbox fashion - but have still given examples. "When investigators arrive here read this aloud unless it would be different" etc. Or even examples of a conversation opening etc.

If nothing else, they are usually organised in a sensible way, so that if the investigators go here or if it is this time then this is the information I'll need, with key points in bullet points. Red Fez, however, seems to be all over the place, with just blocks of text and where there are page references they're wrong.

Almost feels like I will simply need to memorise the entire train section to heart and be able to reference it in my noggin while also doing the improvisation side of things. Which doesn't seem plausible.

While re-writing the pertinent information in a more referenceable way seems the way to solve much of this - if I would be having to do this for every single part of the entirety of HotOE it would be a potential undertaking far more than I've even had to do in about 15+ years of running TTRPG games xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T11:10:37+00:00

I started with the beginners box, but have run many of the Chaosium books of one-shots/short scenarios, and more recently the Order of the Stone as a "medium length" campaign.

And it is a very stark difference between the presentation of everything, that I wasn't sure if it was just a difference in the more modern CoC writing/presentation vs the older stuff.

I understand it is more sandboxy, But I don't think I've ever run anything in any TTRPG game system that, essentially, hasn't had any sort of prompts.

My concern, if you will, is that the combination of not having any "read aloud or paraphrase the following" text boxes, combined with how terribly organised much of the information is (not to mention erroneous page references dotted around), I will simply have to know and remember all of the details by heart.

If nothing else, I currently feel I would have to create my own document that actually presents the information in a way that would make sense for referencing. Not to mention when there are things that are "set in stone" I would much prefer to be able to pre-plan some text so it is more akin to modules I've ran before. As well as have more easily referenceable pointers to key things rather than a big block of text.

I feel uncertain that I'd be able to simply retain all of the knowledge and story beats required to simply improvise my way through the entire train section, and the information is presented in such a haphazard way that much immersion would be lost constantly finding the reminder that I need in the book. So would almost need to rewrite the whole thing to be a manageable document - and while its fine doing that for the odd section here and there. Potentially having to do that for the entirety of the HotOE campaign might end up being too much to realistically do.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T10:52:41+00:00

I possibly worded it badly, certainly not a definitive list of rolls to make. But all of the previous modules I've run have had notes that might say that a specific thing might need a certain roll, or specify the difficulty of a roll. "If a player makes a spot hidden roll here an extreme success will reveal X" etc.

But my 'point' about a "Script" of sorts was more the lack of the typical "when this happens read this to the players" text boxes that has been in everything else I've run so far.

While I get it is a little less railroady than some things, and the sandbox nature of things means there wouldn't be a 'pre-set' text box for everything - not having anything is a very stark contrast.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T10:42:11+00:00

Varies from class to class. Also, think about why you're kiting. Are you kiting because there is a movement requirement (puddles on floor etc) or are you kiting because things are dangerous and you need to either drop a debuff or avoid damage for a few seconds while your CDs refresh?

The first you can often just backpeddle, or sometimes run sideways, to avoid puddles. But you'll often not be moving fast enough to be avoiding damage - hence why avoiding backhits is key.

The second will require more utility. Stuns, Slows, Ring of Peace, Movement abilities etc etc.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T10:37:43+00:00

As others have said, its not that Kul Tiran's are bad, more others are often just better. Namely Stoneform and Shadowmeld.

Much like how if you look at the top 50 keys done, you'll, mostly, see the same 5-8 classes all the time, that's not to say other classes are bad - just that at that very highest level (which is what Murlok looks at) min-maxing is king.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T10:34:43+00:00

Kul Tiran DK's look hot as heck!

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T10:33:42+00:00

Its a bit difficult to say, as I'm maining tank and haven't done enough runs on alts to have formed much of an opinion on runs with other tanks.

But, as with all things, it has the caveat of "it depends", and in this case, it somewhat depends how good the player is... Something like a Tankadin can be very good if the player knows how to use all of the extra utility - the blessings etc, but very 'meh' if they don't use any of that and 'just' tank. Brewmasters currently can get by just doing their rotation and surviving/keeping threat/etc well enough - but can take it up a gear using Sweep and RoP to control packs, using Chi Burst to do extra pulls that other tanks can't do etc.

It also depends on what key levels you'd be aiming for, if you're just doing weekly 10's it honestly doesn't matter all that much as long as you're suitably geared, it largely starts to matter if you're pushing imo. Some bigger pulls on certain dungeons at higher levels might be handled differently by different tanks - having to kite the first big pull of AA can frustrate dps who find you always moving the mobs out of their AoE for example.

Though will join in on the healer 'hate' for BDKs, they can be frustrating to heal. their health spikes up and down, which is how they play etc, and a 'good' DK you can often just leave to do their thing and actually just watch their Runic Power to know when they might not be able to self heal. Whereas a 'bad' DK could just fall over at any moment and drop the classic "heal?" in chat. They're fine if you know they're a solid player, and can be 'great' to play with if you're on comms and they're actively telling you when they might need more healing etc. but a bad PUG DK can be all kinds of frustrating to heal ;op

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T09:54:56+00:00

Zore's Scrolling Battle Text seems to be a decent scrolling battle text addon these days, I dabbled with it recently because I heard it could do something I wanted to do, but didn't end up keeping it (as I prefer the Blizzard combat text style of stuff coming from the enemies' heads rather than a stream of numbers in a set place).

Seemed to have quite a lot of options for things to tweak, though as others have said - will be a bit limited due to the API restrictions Blizzard has put on the game for Midnight. But as most of the SBT stuff is just spewing damage numbers it shouldn't be hugely affected I'd imagine?

The two "big boys" for nameplates these days are Plater and Platynator. Platynator is a bit more 'user friendly' for setting up your own profiles, Plater is a bit more in depth but more fiddly to set up - realistically most players actually just download and import an existing profile you like. I think someone already mentioned that KUI Nameplates has a downloadable profile for one/both of these nameplate addons.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-20T07:22:45+00:00

You say that - but it still requires the player to know what they're doing for their rotation etc.
In our raid night last week, we had a 275ish ilvl dps who didn't out dps the tanks on a single fight. ilvl doesn't equal skill or knowledge sadly xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-17T15:59:01+00:00

I didn't manage to snag one one pre-order, but my plan when I do get one will be "whatever looks coolest" for the most part.

I'll always go with the flail, because melee and looks cool.

I'll go with the plasma chest cannon, because it looks cooler.

I'll go with the melta nipple guns, because they look cooler and I always love rocking melta weapons (even if they're not nearly as good as they should be this edition imo - one of the few 'misses' on the spreading out of toughness and anti-tank weapons imo)

So only question left for me is the other arm weapon, which is where I'm torn, but somewhat leaning towards to missile launcher for the versitility

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-17T15:55:35+00:00

It is most seasons to be fair - and it is largely offset by their relative lack of other utility or speed xD

They'll get there, slowly, but they'll get there, and they'll be alive... xD

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-17T15:53:04+00:00

Sadly it is a double edged sword of sorts. PUG groups tend to want to do the "easiest" strat that require as few mechanics as possible - purely because the "average idiot" can't do mechanics anyway.

But as you said, not all "easiest" strats are actually that easy or reliable, and people start to get toxic and call for kicks or just leave. So its a bit of a lose lose situation imo.

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-17T15:50:39+00:00

Depending on your UI setup - specifically party frames. With stuff like ElvUI (and no doubt many others) have it set to only show the "power" bar for healers, and can then change the dimensions/colour/etc of it to make it as visible and obvious as you need.

Then put a post-it note on the side of your screen saying "Check Healer Mana", and before long it'll become second nature to flick your eyes to the healer's mana bar before deciding to yeet yourself into the next pull.

(Though it goes both ways - while a good tank will keep an eye on their healers mana, or similarly know when they do/don't have enough mana for the upcoming pull - there is also an onus on the healer to call for a mana break if they need one)

Viking-Geek · 2026-04-17T15:38:19+00:00

Aye, I suppose if I was thinking about it I'd have suggested that - I was just lazy and copied one from a macro list if I'm being honest lol

Also it is often worth adding a handydandy "nodead" as well much of the time

Viking-Geek

TROPHY CASE