On the importance of skill

It is amazing the difference that running in a good group makes. I ran DK heroic last night - my second time in the instance having done it on normal while levelling. We had a paladin healer in (gasp) blues and purples who really impressed me. Very professional, knew the instance, and the healing was flawless. We cleared the whole place in about 45 minutes with no wipes. On the raptor boss (who apparently hits hard) I don't think I went below 50% health at any point - and I was tanking an add plus the boss for most of the time.

The rush from an instance like that is the reason I got into tanking, and is something I hope to get more of. Grabbing an epic ring from the last boss rounded the evening off nicely.

I have decided to group only with skilled players who have good gear in future.

I also think that it is possible that my early trouble with heroics may have had something to do with my gear. Since I have added about 4k health and armour, and about 5% avoidance (now sitting at 23k-ish health and armour and 37% dodge+parry) I have started to find the whole experience significantly easier. This I find heartening.