Tanks stand very toe to toe with each other in overall defensive power in the current meta of 9.2 when compared to earlier in the expansion. Each of the 6 specs is fully viable in terms of their overall capability for clearing Mythic raids. The key differences between them include damage output, unique buffs, and overall utility.

6. Protection Warrior

Warriors specced into Protection bring with them several critical abilities for solid group utility. Battle Shout provides a 5% Attack Power bonus to raids, Rallying Cry is a fantastic raid cooldown, and those equipped with the Necrolord covenant will be granted Conqueror’s Banner, providing a substantial boost in damage for many of the classes during burst moments.

Strengths

• + Excels in scenarios where there are high rates of blockable and physical damage.
• + Smooth intake of damage.
• + Great mobility with the aid of Heroic Leap, Intervene, and Charge.
• + Decent dungeon and raid utility with abilities like Rallying Cry, Shockwave, Intimidating Shout, Battle Shout, and Spell Reflection.
• + Highly effective AoE.

Weaknesses

• - Most unforgiving for improper rotations or gameplay mistakes in comparison to other tanks.
• - Reduced self-sustainability in comparison to other tanks.
• - Struggles against magical damage or damage that can’t be blocked.
• - Lacks meaningful crowd control.

See Protection In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcxaQbsuf1k

5. Vengeance Demon Hunter

Vengeance provides Demon Hunters with a very well-rounded toolkit that combines powerful self-healing with effective damage mitigation. They provide superior passive reduction against all magical damage through the combination of Viscous Ink and Demonic Wards. Another incredibly useful defensive cooldown includes Metamorphosis, where their Fel Devastation and Fiery Brand provide decent options to handle high periods of damage.

Strengths

• + Great mobility.
• + Powerful utility set for Mythic+ key runs.
• + Massive damage output.
• + Sufficient sustainability through self-healing.
• + Unique tools to handle magical damage and provides a magic debuff.

Weaknesses

• - Reduced uptime for active damage mitigation.
• - Inferior legendary choices.
• - Lack of worthy talent options.

See Vengeance In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDkIAgYbWHw

4. Guardian Druid

One of the heaviest tanks in 9.2, Guardian Druids are packed with a ton of passive abilities for damage mitigation. Furthermore, they’re equipped with lots of useful talents with high Ironfur uptime, making them one of the better options for raiding and Mythic+ alike. 

A competitive ability across all Tank specs in the game belongs to this class, yet Survival Instincts manages to only last for 6 seconds with an added bonus for the targets. While their main mitigation is from Ironfur, they do have Frenzied Regeneration and Barkskin at their disposal.

Strengths

• + Great mobility.
• + Short cooldowns and a high pool of health allow for a stable intake of damage.
• + No cooldown for the stackable action mitigation (Ironfur).
• + Flexible capabilities for off-healing with Heart of the Wild and Affinity talents.
• + Exceptional utility in raids with the help of Stampeding Roar and Rebirth.

Weaknesses

• - Low threat output and DPS in bear form.
• - Weak mitigation for magic damage.
• - Lack of a unique debuff or buff for raids.

See Guardian In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4Q4R92-zo

3. Blood Death Knight

Blood Death Knights have an outstanding toolkit to use, including Rune Tap, Anti-Magic Shell, Vampiric Blood, Icebound Fortitude, and Dancing Rune Weapon, amongst many more. In defense alone, they are incredibly strong, especially when it comes to mitigating magic damage when compared to other specs. Most notably, they also have Gorefiend’s Grasp and Death Grip in their arsenal. These represent signature abilities that are particularly effective when managing large groups of adds.

Strengths

• + Extensive array of cooldowns to handle all situations.
• + Snare with 90% success, ranged interrupt, in-combat resurrection, and temporary immunity to magical debuffs.
• + Simple and predictable rotation with many abilities to get the best of the spec for skilled players.
• + Self-healing that is based on the current damage taken (reactive).

Weaknesses

• - Highly dependent on EHP.
• - Extremely low overall armor value.
• - Weak modifier for stamina.
• - Active damage mitigation with Bone Shield requires damage taken prior to use.

See Blood In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4Q4R92-zo

2. Brewmaster Monk

Using a potent set of tier gear, Brewmasters are an exceptional choice for this patch. Their ridiculously high pool of health, masterful self-healing and effective damage mitigation with the aid of cooldowns like Stagger make them one of the best defensive choices. Damage output still does not compare to Protection Paladins, however.

Strengths

• + Guaranteed intake of smooth damage for both magic and physical damage with Shuffle and Stagger.
• + Unmatched mobility with the help of Transcendence, Roll, and Chi Torpedo/Tiger’s Lust.
• + Unique abilities that can reposition enemies like Clash, Ring of Peace, and Summon Black Ox Statue.
• + Crowd control through the use of Leg Sweep and Paralysis.
• + The only class that can provide the debuff known as Mystic Touch.
• + Easy for beginners and tolerant of mistakes.

Weaknesses

• - Low base health across every specialization.
• - Weak self-sustainability outside of the 4-piece bonus and Expel Harm.
• - May require addons for proper tracking of Stagger.
• - Offensive cooldowns are shared with defensives. To maximize damage, you must also take a lot of damage.

See Brewmaster In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b47k2k7wWcA

1. Protection Paladin

With the help of a Prot Pally, raids can expect a reliable and solid tank. Generally speaking, damage intake is quite smooth and predictable, with many attacks blocked by the shield or reduced through effective mitigation. No other spec in the current patch has a strong barrel of tricks like a Paladin.

Strengths

• + Strong cooldown kit and active mitigation against incoming damage that is predictable.
• + Unique damage reduction and group utility with the help of Auras and Blessings.
• + Capable of a quality burst with cooldowns to generate threat and inflict meaningful amounts of damage.
• + Unmatched cooldowns like Divine Shield and Lay on Hands in dire straits.
• + Helpful group and self-healing with Word of Glory.

Weaknesses

• - Active mitigation is weak for extended periods of time, especially given the long cooldown for Shield of the Righteous.
• - If you step outside of your Consecration, you’ll be missing lots of damage reduction.
• - No good mobility save for Divine Steed.

See Protection In Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDV8-hcwPsk

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