Tanking mobs so DPS are behind them?Follow

I always try to make the mobs face away from the group, just in case they have some sort of AoE attack, cleave, etc. However, I typically leave it up to the melee DPS to position themselves correctly. The tank has enough to do already. I'm not going to worry about it if they have to take a few steps to get into position. If they're stupid enough to stand in front of a mob I'm tanking, I'll tell them to attack from behind.

It's not so much that you'll burn them down much quicker, it's really only about 5% more DPS (nothing to sneeze at, but not necessarily noticeable), but rather I really don't feel like eating extra attacks from mobs because they're parrying attacks from the DPS. It's usually not a big deal on trash, but it can be an issue on bosses, large pulls, or mobs that attack fast/hit hard.

Ah, cool. I think I'll start trying to do that.

Mobs with cleave I most certianly face away (or in Romelo's case... face his back away- Back cleave).

I'll have to run it by our #1 tank, see what he thinks... it is only trash mobs... but on ZA timed runs it might help getting that extra 5% dps and healing mana from not having him parry and hit faster.

Looks good on paper anyway

During trash (esp. in SSC/TK) you don't have the room to try and tank them facing away from the raid. With the CC and lack of room, its best for you to hold the aggro as best you can without having to try and move the mob. With that being said it's just easier for the melee to run around the back and dps. Now in SSC there are big Boglord guys that you will have to turn away from the raid, but other than that there are like 5 and 6 mob pulls and you just tank where you can (if you want to position them a certain way, I'm not telling you not too).

In TK there are always multi-mob trash pulls and some have a whirlwind and others have an Arcane Flurry which can be countered by Sheeping, so facing them from the raid doesn't really work since they do AoE dmg anyway.

Good luck in SSC/TK, I can't wait to hear your stories!

It's not necessarily easier to run TO it, but easier to see it. Off the top of my head, here's all the reasons to face a mob away from the group:

1. Meleers get more DPS. If they're hitting from behind, the mob can't parry, can still dodge (but hey, at that point any DPS warriors can OP), and can't block. DPS warriors may get some rage by getting hit by cleaves, but it's easier on your healers if they aren't, which brings me to...
2. Cleaves hitting DPS is bad if they can avoid it by standing behind. This is why only if mobs back-cleave you want the DPS in front.
3. Back to the point in 1 about parry...if the mob can't parry nearly as often, you'll take less DPS.
4. It's easier to see when mobs run away from you toward another party member if you're facing away.

I always face mobs away from the group (or have smart DPS who run behind them). Rogues and cats get more DPS from behind anyway by way of backstab and shred (or any higher level variants) so they will benefit from that anyway.

If the mob has some ability that requires me to face it away from the group then I do that. If the mob has a knockback then I usually position myself with my back to a wall. If the mob has no other special requirements, I position myself where I can see the other CC mobs. Melee DPS is responsible for their own positioning though I do try to remain stationary if possible when working with melee DPS.

It doesn't matter where you tank the mobs as long as you have some smart melee dps and understand that dps'ing behind the mob will reduce the chance of Parry and Dodge effects thus increasing overall dps.

You will have tanks that want to turn the mob and others that don't really care where the mob is tanked or what kind of position it's in. If the mob has an AoE attack, sure face the mob away from the group, if not..who cares right?