u/AdUnfair9248

Edit: This was not written with AI. I was a keyboard warrior before I was a tank. If you don't read this and comment with something like "I’m not reading that but I’m sorry that happened to you" that is truly only slapping yourself in the face. If that is a good use of your time, then you are lost.

There is no tank shortage in 25 man content.

There are just enough tanks for 10 man content.

There are not enough tanks for 5 man content.

I've leveled both feral and prot paladin tanks to 70 so far. Everyone knows that paladins have an easier time in 5 man content but that doesn't explain the lack. There are still a lack of paladins tanks in 5 mans even if they're overflowing in 25 mans.

The issue begins at the team composition and the burden each player carries.

Tanks: Everyone expects the tank to move as fast as they can with the healer in mind. The tank is expected to know where to go. The tank is expected to survive single-pack pulls (with healing). The tank is expected to mark mobs in the kill priority and is responsible for DPS deaths when DPS are doing their job correctly (waiting for threat to build).

Healers: Healers are expected to keep the tank and the party alive. Everyone expects the healer to drink after pulls if their mana is below 50%.

DPS: Everyone expects DPS to do damage. Some DPS are expected to CC, but that's mostly mages and maybe rogues. Shamans are expected to drop totems. Everyone is expected to buff.

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The healer and DPS roles might look very reductive, but this is ultimately what people expect when they join a group. People get upset with mages when they don't make water or sheep or when shamans don't drop their totems. As a DPS, your job is mainly to DPS. Secondary objectives like CC are completely optional when the tank and healer are good enough. This means that as DPS, your job in 5 mans is easier. While this is the opposite for 25 man DPS. In 25 mans, DPS are the shining stars and there is competition to get good DPS in your raids.

The biggest issue is the expectation of the role.

The truth is that there are enough tanks. They simply do not (or cannot) deal with the mental burden of being a safari tour guide. These tanks could be DPS who are offspeccing as tank in 10 and 25 man content.

If we scaled a party to 25 players, there would be 5 tanks. You might be able to find 5 tank specs in those 5 people, but you might only find 2-3 people who actually tank 5 man content.

What is the real problem? Personally I would say it's an almost complete lack of initiative from some DPS. If you see that your tank or healer is struggling: you should ask yourself if there is a mob you can CC or a spell you can kick or a cooldown you can use. I've healed countless heroics where the DPS trade usefulness for a damage increase. This is so common that I am genuinely surprised when a non-mage uses a CC. I am ecstatic when rogues are using blind and gouge. I absolutely lose my Righteous Orbs when a hunter freezes something with a trap.

The solution for me is to form my own groups. I grab a DPS with CC incase we need it. If things go sideways then I will be asking them nicely (at first) to use their CC. Fast forward to 10 man content where kicks are barely needed. Then look at 25 man content where kicks are critical to keep the raid alive. It might have been unintentional, but it has a huge effect on group content. The average skill of your DPS scales with the number of players in the group.

Another suggestion is to use the "New players welcome" box as a way to indicate that you are a knowledgeable healer or DPS. When you join the group, ensure that it succeeds by taking charge where needed. People tend to use that as an indicator that they don't have to be told where to go, but it should really be used to indicate that you are willing to ensure a successful safari.