Loading ...Vigilance for the Forgetful
If you’re like me, you’ve forgotten to put up Vigilance more than your fair share of times. How do we deal with that?
1. We don’t
“Who cares. I don’t need the extra threat anyway.”
Even if the threat reduction isn’t required, there are still opportunities to gain extra taunts or at the very worst, provide extra damage reduction to one of our squishier teammates. Stop being lazy.
“Paladin threat is so stupid. I shouldn’t have to use my abilities.”
2. Get a Partner
“I remember half the time and so does the guy I tank with.”
Definitely one of the easiest ways to remember to put up your Vigilance is to tank with another Protection Warrior. In other words, you remind each other. What if you forget to remind the other guy even when you remember? Well, you could use this macro:
/cast Vigilance
/raid Vigilance on %t
Of course, now you’ve gotta learn to watch who they’re Vigilancing because sadly, 2 Vigilances are not better than 1.
“Hey, I called him, first!”
3. Get a Buddy
“Hey, I’m missing my Vigilance!”
Perhaps the most effective way to remember to use Vigilance is to create a relationship with a person that you can frequently Vigilance. When you find the right person, they’ll never let you forget that you haven’t buffed them yet. Of course, the downside is breaking the news to them when you’ve gotta use your Vigilance on someone else.
“It’s not you… it’s me. Well actually, it’s you.”
4. Do it on the Fly
“This stupid macro always rats me out.”
It’s amazing how as soon as you pull the boss you’ll always remember you forgot to use Vigilance. It’s still worth putting it on at this point just remember to get some decent threat first before you use your global cooldown on something that won’t generate a high amount of threat immediately.
Also, always error on the side of giving it to someone you know will be in range. It’s not worth dragging the boss all over the instance in order to get the ideal Vigilance target. You screwed up. You forgot. Just give Vigilance to that annoying rogue.
“Hey, Vene forgot Vigilance, again!”
5. The Old String on the Finger trick
“Uh guys, do you think the string is too tight if my finger is turning purple?”
No, I’m not recommending actually playing with string tied around your finger. Use a Vigilance tracker. Vigilant to be precise.
“This addon is so amazing! So simple. So awesome!”
“Couldn’t you just play with a string tied around your finger?”
“Shut up, annoying rogue.”
December 4th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I had this last week actually. We;d just killed the beasts in the coliseum, and one of our paladins who doesn’t normally go ret was apologising for getting so close to me on threat and saying that he doesn’t usually do that and I was like … ooops.
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December 4th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I use SpellReminder to remind myself to renew vigilance.
Another, more useful trick I think is worth doing is to use Clique or (insert your click-casting mod of choice here) and bind vigilance to a mouseover macro. That way if your original vigilance target is dead or not doing as much threat as you expect, you can flip it easily to someone who’s top on threat.
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December 4th, 2009 at 11:51 am
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December 4th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I’ve set up Grid to show me Vigilance and Commanding Shout, just have to remember to look at the frames before a pull.
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December 4th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I suggest Auracle. I use Auracle to do a number of useful things, including required tanking buff/debuffs (See Xav’s UI for an example).
On my DK, I use auracle to tell me if I am not in a specific presence, which happens whenever you switch specs. I use a great big blood presence icon for this.
If I am in a group/raid and in my tank spec and I am not in frost presence, I show a very transparent, but large frost presence icon, to remind myself that I might not be appropriately setup for tanking.
On a warrior, I suggest setting it up to tell you when you are in a party/raid/combat and don’t have your shout up. If you are in your tanking spec and you are in a party/raid and you don’t have vigilance up.
On a paladin, I suggest setting it up to tell you when you are in your tanking spec and do not have Righteous Fury up.
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December 4th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I actually love the utility vigilance provides. 3% decreased dmg taken is always sweet and for example, when I’m MT/OT tanking Gluth in Naxx I like to put it on the other tank, it makes the taunt smoother (helps to rebuild threat faster) and if it gets resisted vigilance refreshes my taunt as soon as the previous tank takes a hit.
Sadly, a lot of tanks I run with tends to be really possessive and jealous about their threat… they feel I’m stealing that big 10% chunk from them (10% is nothing btw) and I get a lot of : Don’t put vigilance on me nub. Only get this kind of reaction from non-warrior tanks
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Dreador reply on December 7, 2009 5:56 am:
I’ve gotten that from every class. Just wait until they are busy with something and pop it on them. If I wanted threat, I’d get someone who didn’t suck complete rear (I pug a lot, this is not guildies I’m talking about).
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December 4th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I use Cork written by Tekkub. Reminds me to use Vigilance and tells me who my last Vigilance target was. Also, my ret pally friend whose main is a prot warrior will always ask for Vigilance.
There’s another addon solution, RaidbuffStatus. It checks if everyone has every possible raid buff, including Vigilance.
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Clint reply on December 4, 2009 3:17 pm:
RaidBuffStatus is pretty awesome. Been using it for most of WotLK. Being able to whisper everyone that is responsible for a missing buff at once is amazing. Way better than spamming raid chat or vent. And it is extremely easy to ignore buffs that you might not care about for farm content or something. Add-on link on name.
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Dreador reply on December 7, 2009 5:57 am:
Going to check that out after work!
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December 4th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
i used to forget a lot. mostly, it would be the dps who would remind me.
i actually haven’t had it in my spec for months. i know, i know - it’s a good talent. but quite honestly, i’ve not really missed it.
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Verata reply on December 4, 2009 5:14 pm:
just a little off topic but LOVE THE NAME
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December 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I use healbot to show who I have Vigilance and Commanding Shout on. I like it because it also shows if they are in range to make sure they will get the buff and make sure everyone one is here. I have setup healbot to left click on a person for vig and right click to Intervene which makes it easier to do on the fly.
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Vivilros reply on December 6, 2009 9:06 am:
Me too, but I still haven’t figured out how to differentiate between in range and out of range people
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blackmambism reply on December 6, 2009 1:53 pm:
there should be an option in healbot where you can change transparancy/colour etc based on if they are within range or not
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Dreador reply on December 7, 2009 5:58 am:
Might as well just use grid.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Hey Mr. Warlock, would you mind stepping forward about 6 yards?
Thanks!
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Verata reply on December 4, 2009 5:41 pm:
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December 4th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
As soon as the talent became available, I’ve just always used it and trained myself to not forget to - whenever I hear the sound of buffs going up, I just join in and cast it on whomever is appropriate for the encounter. We all love our forts, paws, kings, might, etc … icons popping up, it’s only courteous to pop the golden shield of love on someone in return.
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December 4th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I love this site and the info that is discussed. I used to have this problem till I came across a mod, ZONG buffs. It puts a button onscreen that can be moved to wherever. Cool thing is it has a timer attached to it and announces to you when it is about up.
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December 4th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I use PowerAuras to pop a big red shield on top of my character if 1) I’m in a group 2) no one in the group had Vigilance cast by me. Combined with Clique, it’s easy to reapply if it drops during a pull or if the target dies, or if my original choice is not doing the expected threat.
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December 4th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I use the addon Warrior Vigilance Tracker. Not only is it ALWAYS telling me who has my Vig on them, it lets me know how long till gone AND allows a one click re-apply.
I highly reccomend putting Vig on at least a main DPS’r if nothing more the damage reduction is worth it.
Remember, we are not meant to deliver the kill shot. But if the person that can deliver it is dead…. what’s the point?
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December 4th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
and on a side note… Vigilance lasts for 30 mins… so always.. always.. always use it. But ALWAYS refresh it before the boss pull…
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December 4th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
one more side note… Commanding Shout like Battle Shout are AoE talents.. I only use those when DPS’ers are “around”… much more focused on threat gen and mitigation when the “excrement hits the fan”
remember what the doorknob said…. feed your head
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December 4th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
on an unrelated topic…. Vene…
The “home page” graphic is KILLER…
What better image to represent a TANK than an “armoured” face..
Well Done.. Good Form.. Good Form..
V..
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Veneretio reply on December 4, 2009 9:26 pm:
Glad you like it.
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December 5th, 2009 at 3:01 am
I use warrior vigilance tracker and another addon called raid buff status. Raid buff status tells me if there are people below 80% mana, who is below 80% mana, what buffs arn’t out, who is giving said buffs, and in the case of a paladin who hasn’t buffed yet, and when people forget to put on things like water shield, aura’s, seals, aspects etc, and who hasn’t eating the fish feast or isn’t well fed and who isn’t flasked. IT also tells me when I am scaning it if I haven’t vigilanced someone, get the addon it is awesome and helpful. OH it also announces when people set down fish feasts, tables, soul wells and the like.
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December 5th, 2009 at 4:19 am
My solution is number three - it’s typically the same person (when she’s in the raid, which is nearly always) and, furthermore, she understands EXACTLY what Vigilance is and what it does.
That means she knows there’s a reason if she doesn’t get it, and has even been known to remind me to put it on the right person that ISN’T her.
Still… A blog on Vigilance? You must be scratching for inspiration, dear Vene. I’m assuming you read Kadomi’s “Radio Silence”?
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Veneretio reply on December 5, 2009 11:21 am:
Lots of inspiration, it’s just what I felt like putting out. I like to talk about the little things on occasion because the little things are what are taken for granted the most. (back in the day, I talked about hitting rats for rage) Not to mention, inevitably when we talk about the little things, we get a lot of great discussion on how they affect the big things.
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Zellviren reply on December 6, 2009 5:24 am:
On this occasion, it certainly seems you’re right; what started as a discussion on Vigilance, has become a more obtuse discussion about raid buffs in general - which, considering the outcry over buffs I see every time I PuG, is evidently a big thing.
Touche.
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Uthamog reply on December 7, 2009 9:33 am:
I remember your post on rats for rage. It sure helped me on Kara.
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thebitterfig reply on December 8, 2009 10:03 am:
You can take the Rats-for-Rage a step further. Charge, but turn aside and deselect the rat as quickly as possible and, with practice, you can avoid killing the critter. The great thing (potentially) is that you don’t leave combat immediately, and thus the rage does not decay. Repeat again in 15 seconds for more rage. With practice, you can start any pull near a critter with almost full rage (seeing as you’ll want to leave combat at some point in order to start your potion cooldown when double-potting).
December 5th, 2009 at 7:45 am
ZOMGBuffs will let you assign a vigilance target and keep track for you. It gives you a button that you can click to rebuff the person, and will remind you when it falls off. It’s also handy to have as a raid leader because it lets you assign (in the case of Pally buffs) and keep track of other raid buffs.
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December 5th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Oh, and ZOMGBuffs will link up with Pally Power if any of your Pallies are still using it.
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December 5th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I also use zomgbuffs. except ive mapped the buff button to one of my mouse buttons, and I also use the same button for PTT on vent, im sure the same thing can be done on these other addons that I havent tried.
I usually rebuff without thinking about it!
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December 5th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I was excited to finally get something like a raid buff with LK but I’d still like something that’s a more significant contributor unique to the prot tree.
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Veneretio reply on December 5, 2009 4:19 pm:
I just don’t think that’s going to happen. They really only hand out significant raid buffs to entire classes not singular specs. (unless of course a few other classes share the buff in some way) That said as a class, we already have Commanding Shout which is a very significant buff with no decent alternative. On a 10 man level, it’s one of the best reasons to bring a Warrior along.
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Bhig reply on December 6, 2009 4:27 pm:
HA HA HA..
Warriors have two buffs… and somehow I still either forget or get the wrong one active at the wrong time… When will I learn!!!
But yeah. Comm shout in 10 man is pretty invaluable.
Mixed in with our pally tank between Might, Kings, Sanct we can cover most situations nicely.
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mister six reply on December 6, 2009 5:33 pm:
It depends on what you count as a “significant raid buff” I suppose. They’re certainly plenty that are spec specific (e.g. Feral droods / Fury warriors providing the melee crit strike chance) while some are a mix (e.g. all shaman having access to melee haste but only frost dks having the same) while, yes others are available regardless of spec.
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December 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Hmm. I often forget… And I’m lazy… But it is such a nice added “buff” to have floating around in use.
Save that squishie who has threat.
(Target mob)
/cast [target=targettarget, harm] vigilance
/cast taunt
For on the fly vigilance moving, watch omen, mouse over target in grid…
/cast [modifier:ctrl, target=mouseover, exists][modifier:ctrl, exists] Vigilance (modified because I use the same button for something else)
Use those two macros all the time, but found them particularly useful as an OT on Ony25… Vig the highest threat person (moved it around as needed), and then during whelps if a taunt didn’t work I’d get another one pretty quick.
We also use Vig a lot of fights like NR beasts, and Koralon for the damage reduction. Vig + BoSanct = ~6% (I think)
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mister six reply on December 6, 2009 5:33 pm:
Vig and bosanc don’t stack. That’s part of the reason people only think of Vig for it’s threat component.
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Bhig reply on December 6, 2009 8:54 pm:
Hmm.. that’ll teach me for not looking it up…
We always thought that it was stacking since in the early days Vig would appear to cancel BoSanct, and now you can (reliably) have both….
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December 7th, 2009 at 1:54 am
No way ill stop being lazy and thats exactly why i hardly ever forget vigilance (and i have the +5% glyph)
In Sovjet WotLK agro makes you :O
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December 7th, 2009 at 5:58 am
I’d kill for the ability to target someone by clicking on their name in Omen. That would make on the fly Vigilence switching so simple!
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Bhig reply on December 7, 2009 2:08 pm:
Grab grid and make a mouseover macro (see above).
I watch omen, then find the person on grid and using macro swap Vig around to whoever it’s best on.
With the mouseover macro you don’t even need to actually target the person, just hover over their grid square.
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Belak reply on December 8, 2009 6:10 am:
I don’t have problems moving vigilance once I find the person on my raid frames, but the idea here is to cut out the middle man. I don’t want to look at Omen to find the top name and then have to find that name again in my raid frames. I demand 1-stop shopping!
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December 7th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Like one other commenter, I use Power Auras to manage my vigilance. It pops a huge yellow shield on my screen if no one in the raid has Vigilance cast by me active on them. The advantage of this is it also tells me when my vigilance target dies so I can give it to someone else mid battle.
It’s normal for me to choose power auras since I use it to monitor most of my cooldowns from telling me when revenge is up, my shouts have run out, spell reflect is available, has my flask/food run out, etc.
I’ve changed my interface so I rarely have to look down at bars and I keep all the info I need near the centre of the screen but not in a way that obstructs my view of the battle or adds coming in.
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December 7th, 2009 at 9:40 am
so i have finally got my warrior to 80 and after reading this site for several months I actually have something to say…..from experience too! =) (all 5 toc runs and a hol run)
Ive forgotten vigilence once but im working on a ‘pre pull ritual’ where i check my buffs, vigilience, shouts, decide on the pull strategy, mark, and then one last “am i forgetting anything” check.
so far its working out pretty good.
Thanks for all you posts vene, especially the ‘what to do at 80′ post.
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Dreador reply on December 7, 2009 11:11 am:
Do the pre-RUN check, do a buff and vig check. Hit your shout after or during each pull to make sure it doesn’t fall off, skip marking and do your runs in under 20 minutes.
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December 7th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I tend to Vig someone more for the taunt than the threat. I typically tanking heroic pugs and the occasional 10 ToC.
An example is H ToC 5 man. I tend to drop Vig on the melee dps for the first three fights, then on the healer for BK. That lets me get unlimited taunts on the Phase 1 add, keeping him with me in the center and not chewing on my healer.
Del
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December 7th, 2009 at 10:57 am
We were using Vigilance last night because both myself and the other tank are a bit under geared for ToC. I’d put it on him and he’d put it on me. That’s 6% less damage the healers have to manage and it kept both our taunts up all the time. No resisting taunt Mr. Gormok!
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December 7th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I hear ya there Foxtrot, I always like being with another warrior for Gormok to trade vigi with for the taunt. If I’m with any other tank I always get that feeling of dread as I call out for them to taunt, praying that it doesn’t get resisted.
Its not that I don’t trust the other tank, I know he’ll do his job, but there have been a few times that I’ve ended up with an extra stack (3 extra once when a truly bad string of resists happened). Knowing that I’m just one hit in the head away from my partner getting his taunt refreshed helps keep my blood pressure down.
As to always remembering to use vigi, I rather fail at it
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December 13th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I use powerauras to track vigilance. I have an aura set that checks for my vigilance, and puts up a really annoying picture of vigilance until I cast it on someone.
The problem I run into is like last night, tanking TOC 10, I Vigilance’d the offtank (Acidmaw was kicking his butt so I thought he could use 3% less damage more than 8% more threat). Well, I wanted to put it on someone else, but by then Icehowl was out and everyone was always getting knocked to the wall etc etc before I could put it back on a DPS.
*sigh*
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January 8th, 2010 at 9:43 am
So… I cast vigilance on a priest in Mana Tombs the other day, who then cancelled it and said “Don’t cast vigilence on me please”. Why would a priest not want vigilance?
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Wohngebietsuwe reply on February 5, 2010 5:41 am:
Hmm, why don’t you ask him or priests in your guild?
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