Emergency Tank!: Or, When Things Go Really Wrong

I've always been enamored with the idea of an Arms tank, not because I want to do it but because I think Arms Warrior is the best class/spec in all of WoW and we should be able to do everything and anything and be completely OP all the time. I still don't understand why we can't run up behind a tank and heal them. Really? I make an wicked good band-aid!

Ah well, you can't have everything . . .

So, three times so far in Cataclysm, I've had to take over the tank roll mid-fight. In one case, the healer went nuts and tried to top everyone off in Blackrock Caverns and promptly went OOM. One time in Stone Core when the tank pulled without any cc. And then last night the tank missed running into the 'lectric triangle in on the last boss in Vortex Pinnacle.

er... um.... yah... k.... Might would be good. Yah. And a freakin' nuke if ya got one.

In each case it was a good healer and good tanks. First time for all over them in those dungeons and after the initial mistake they learned and didn't repeat the error.  In fact, everyone of those runs was freakin' awesome fun! 

Things go all f#$ckity more often in Cata dungeons, so if you find yourself suddenly without a tank and the ball is passed to you, here's some thoughts for how be a backup quarterback.

The most important things to take care of, in order, are: Staying alive (Def Stance), getting everything under control (Challenging Shout, or Taunt), and then start hitting stuff to generate threat (Thunderclap and Sunder Armor being your initial priorities). 


After that you can start getting fancy.

Well . . . That's not good.

#1. Pay Attention.  The days of ignoring what's happening with the tank and the healer and just flailing away on bad guys are gone. Fugitaboutit.  Two things you need to know all times: healer's mana and the tank's health.  You need to combine these two things with what the healer is doing and what's going to happen to the tank next (for example:  is she at quarter health and about to take a 40K shot in the noggin?).

You absolutely must know when the tank goes down.  You have only a few seconds to react before everyone is dead. Anticipation is the first trick to pulling this off.

#2. Get into Defensive Stance. That's F2 normally. Do not tank from Battle Stance. You will die.

#3. You need a sword & board swap macro. In many cases you can tank with a 2-Hander, but it's not pleasant for the healer. So swap out for a shield and a one-Hander.  You're gonna have trouble with making cute little threats quickly, so make it a fast weapon if possible, because you want to stack Sunder Armor (and hit Revenge whenever it comes up) as quickly as possible. 

Here's an easy-peasy weapon swap macro, though there are all-in-one solutions out there. Type /macro into your chat to open the macro maker thingie.

/equip [nomodifier] Vir'naal Guardsman's Axe
/equip [nomodifier] Catapult Loading Scoop
/equip [modifier:shift] Axe of Earthly Sundering


Change the names of the items to whatever you have. (Just open your bag and shift click them to copy the name right into the macro and don't forget to update the macro when you get better gears.)  Now when you click this button, it'll swap in your one-handed weapon and shield. Holding shift and clicking the button will bring back your 2 handed weapon.

No really! It's epic enough! It is! Really! AAAAAAAHHHH FUUUUUU . . .

#4. Keybind your basics. You need Challenging Shout, Taunt, Intimidating Shout, and Demoralizing Shout to get things under control.  To keep them under control you'll need Thunderclap, Sunder Armor, Revenge,  Shield Block, and Rend (particularly handy if you're using Blood & Thunder). Maybe Bladestorm will work but I've never gotten to the point where I could try it. Theoretically . . .

#5. Screw everyone, you first priority is to pry any mobs off your healer. You need to know which mobs are on your healer so that when you peel them off with Challenging Shout you can lock them down fast. Everyone else can wait.

#6. A warning macro is handy. Something like "/yell Friday is TANK. Heals on me! Shouting in 3... 2... 1..."  I bind something like this to Shift-F2, so that when the bad stuff hits the fan I hit F2, Shift-F2, Challenging Shout (or Taunt on a boss fight), Weapon Swap.

All of this happens incredibly fast!  Don't be surprised if it doesn't work, at all, the first few times you try it. Mainly, get into defensive stance and shout. Worry about staying alive and holding everything long enough for your healer to figure out what's happening.

Turtle, turtle, turtle, lalala!

Things to think about from an Arms Warrior what is not a tank (proper tanks already know this stuff):

Challenging Shout only lasts for 6 seconds and has a ten yard range. After that the mobs will go back to whatever devious plans they had before you scolded them. So, if you use it to pull multiple mobs, you need to stack threat on each target to continue to hold them. It also has a 3 minute cool down, so you won't get another shot at it. As an Arms warrior you might be able to stack threat using Sunder Armor on two or three targets at best.  So prioritize quickly. Anything going after your healer, that is.

Taunt is better but only effects one target at a time. You can yank the target to you, smack it, and lock it down pretty effectively. Use this on boss fights, particularly.  It also has an 8-second cool down, so after your initial shout, you can pick a high priority mob and lock him down quickly.

You have very little in the way of threat generation other than raw strength. Thunderclap works, but it's very easy for DPS to pull them off you if that's all you've hit the mobs with. If you're feeling fancy, macro or use an add-on to slap a raid marker on the one you want DPS to hit. Hopefully they see it before they die. Better, they figure out you're suddenly tanking and use target-of-target. Fingers crossed.

Thunderclap is also useful because you don't have the Dodge, Parry, and Block mitigation of a proper Protection Warrior.  Thunderclap slows all the mobs down, making it easier to get a handle on them. It also decreases their attack speed, which can really help your healer out.  If the opportunity presents itself, use Demoralizing Shout, as well. Popping Shield Wall is pretty much a must ASAP. It gives everyone a few seconds to change their underwear and figure out what's going on.

After running a dungeon, go back through and look around. Beautiful!

If you need a few moments to get your head around the issue, so to speak, Intimidating Shout can scatter 'em for a few seconds.  Just be carefully not to send them running into another pack and make the situation worse. (You can glyph to fix this, but since you're not a proper tank that glyph is not really one an Arms warrior goes around packing for PvE stuff.)  I'd really only use this on Boss-With-Adds type fights where there's no chance of bringing friends. Yelling for everyone to CC the crap out of everything is not a bad idea, though, just to buy time.

There's plenty more such as Spell Reflect and interrupting with Shield Bash. . . but those are super fancy moves that you probably aren't going to get a chance to use anyhow. If you PvP as Arms you're at an advantage here because you probably use all of this stuff already. If not, just practice a bit while you quest. Maybe jump in some PvP and just practice staying alive as long as possible in Defensive Stance.  You'll get it.

There's no chance you're ever gonna be a proper tank playing Arms. You can however, use your wide variety of abilities and versatility to be the hero of the day in a pinch.  Pay attention, practice using those abilities you rarely even think about, and stay calm.  What's the worse thing that could happen? So you die a little. :)

-Fri

Yo' Mama!

Bonus Section: Selected Taunts from the old Tank days

"I can see your ass crack you worthless son/daughter of a Trogg!"

"I'm rubber you're glue, your frostbolt bounces off me and sticks on YOU!" /cast spell reflect

"Your Mama is SO FAT they call her Therazane, Part 2!"

The NEW Arms Warrior

 

Stronger. Faster. More Experienced. Better.

The new Arms Warrior post Patch 4.01 is just a joy to play. Two years ago I though Blizzard made Arms even more fun to play when Wrath released, and now they've gone and done it again!  But there will be plenty of time to rave about how freakin' awesome we are (again) later. Let's get into the juicy stuff...

A Spec is a Spec

Frist up we gotta look at Talent trees. With only 31 points per tree, I'm thinking this is the worse thing about 4.01/Cataclysm. With a few (mostly insignificant) variations, Blizz just basically said "Here's your spec... no picking any more."

No real big, honestly. Everybody wore the same spec before, so it wasn't like variety was in abundance. Sure you could choose something other than the optimal spec, but no one ever did. Now you'd have to work pretty hard to mess up your spec. Click randomly and you'll get something decent. I'm just a little disappointed that the designers couldn't come up with something better than "we give up, you get one spec and here it is."

So we'll all have the same basic spec, same basic gear, same basic glyphs, same basic enchants, with the same basic gems. I suppose you could say that it takes out the guesswork and lets you focus on playing more.

That little QQ aside, though, Arms got some wicked good talents. The little bit of customization you can do is pretty neat and adds a little flavor. Which is technically a lot more flavor than we had in Wrath, so we'll be happy about it.

All my awesome stuffs no good after Cata launches. Which means NEW stuffs!

Opening a Can of ...

Here's what I'm using pre-Cataclysm and why. It's working out pretty good. (This is going to be a long one, so settle in.)

I've removed Slam from my priorities list and replaced it with Heroic Strike and the occasional Cleave. Side by side, I'm not seeing the benefit of Slam at the moment.  Spamming on a target dummy, I'm getting better numbers with Heroic Strike, and since it's instant cast now (thank God!), it's the perfect filler.

Opener: Battle Shout, Charge, Rend, Mortal Strike, and then Overpower. Demoralizing Shout if called for.

Priorities: Execute, Mortal Strike, Overpower, Heroic Strike. If Mortal Strike, then Overpower or Execute thanks to Lambs to the Slaughter. Keep Rend up with Thunderclap via Blood and Thunder.  Follow Heroic Strike with another ASAP to take advantage of Incite. Rage burn or fill with Cleave on multimobs or Slam on single target.  Keep Sweeping Strikes up on multiple mobs, but let it drop on single target. Bladestorm as soon as it's safe to do so and pop it as soon as it cools down.


Fun, eh? :)


Being Talented

So we have to put 31 points in Arms before we can go to the other trees. Easy enough. Spec straight to Bladestorm and you're good.

Starting on the first row, War Academy and Blitz. Field Dressing is an optional talent you can decide on later. War Academy for the 10% buff to Heroic Strike and Cleave. Blitz because it's initial Rage, and it's fun to stun that crap out of multiple targets at once.  Just make sure your tank has them where he wants them BEFORE you Charge. K? kk.


Second row: Deep Wound and Drums of War. Deep Wounds because it's a super hot DoT!  Drums of War because you're gonna be shouting a lot.  No Second Wind or Tactical Mastery. Maybe Second Wind for a PvP build, but it doesn't look like it'll help much if you're stunned and getting stabby stabby in the butt from some over-caffeinated Rogue. Tactical Mastery is just a filler spot in the tree now and kinda disappointed Blizz didn't give some utility.

Now that Battle Stance has a component that decreases damage, the additional 5% you get from switching to Defensive stance isn't going to be needed much.  If you need that little bit, something has gone seriously wrong.  Berserker Stance same thing. The 5% increase in damage isn't worth the abilities you loose by swapping stances.  Again, Blizz just kinda said "We give up, here ya go" and didn't really make Stance dancing sexy or even needed.  Ah well.

Third row: Taste for Blood to get Overpower, Overpower, Overpower and more Overpower! Sweeping Strikes for those multi-mob pulls. Impale straight up buffing Mortal Strike and Overpower (and Slam if you're into that sort of thing).  Imrpoved Hamstring if you want it. It's one of the "I like that" talents that's only necessary so you can get enough points to get to Bladestorm. If you PvP some, it's worth it. If not, you might pick something else.


Forth row: Deadly Calm and Blood Frenzy. Again, if you use Slam then this is an obvious one. If you don't, it frees up two points to play with somewhere else.  Deadly calm is neat if you're running low on Rage, but I haven't had that problem yet. Maybe when Cata hits. Blood Frenzy for the bleed buff (and a wee bit of extra physical damage). Plus the little proc bonus of extra Rage from auto-attacks.

Fifth row: Lambs to the Slaughter and Juggernaut.  LttS is an obvious one and affects your priorities. After you Mortal Strike, you definitely want to smash Overpower or Execute. This makes Mortal Strike coming before Overpower every chance you get, and it takes a little practice with Overpower proc'ing repeatedly thanks to Taste for Blood.  Alas, Sudden Death isn't going to do anything until Colossus Smash becomes available, so skip it for now and pull in two points from your optional stuff after Cata launches.

Sixth Row: Wrecking Crew is a Duh one. Yes, have that please. Throwdown is just plain fun. Arms Warriors went from no interrupts to TWO interrupts in one patch?!?  Yes, please and thank you!

And of course, Bladestorm, I love thy whirly goodness.

Other Trees

In Fury, I only took Cruelty because Friday is one mean bi... um, I mean it's a straight damage buff. The other two choices, Battle Trance and Blood Craze, just didn't do anything for me.  Battle Trance if you're running low on Rage, I suppose. Blood Craze if you were trying to build a self repairing Warrior. Not so sure how that will work out, though, so we'll wait until Cata to entertain those two selections.

In Protection, I chose Incite because I'm using Heroic Strike so much. HS is doing so well right now, I just don't see any reason not to give it everything we can, even if I do start using Slam more.  Blood and Thunder is just wicked. Being able to pop Rend up on multiple mobs with one button and keep it refreshed non-stop? That's blood rushing to your head and a thunderous Warrior-gasm!



Options

Blizz didn't leave us entirely without options, and I suppose that's the point.  In the Arms Tree you're basically left with decisions to make about Field Dressing, Tactical Mastery, Second Wind, and Sudden Death. I took Field Dressing just because, as a Herbalist and Alchemist, I have several self heal abilities I pop all the time, and I'll take the free boost to healing effects as a bonus. Not necessary, at the moment, but it is a nice customization to tie in with my professions.

I also took Improved Slam because I do hit it occasionally and nothing in the the other two trees looked better.  I took Improved Hamstring just for grins in the battle grounds.  I'll more than likely be pulling four to six points from these optional ones when Cata arrives, but we'll jump off that troll bridge when we get there.

Wake up Friday! Fight! Wait... oh it's just the Headless Horseman. Dead in 49 seconds.

We'll talk about Glyphs some other time, but my current choices are on the linked Talent spec page at Wowhead.

For gems I'm sticking with straight Strength for now. No changes to Enchants. My gear has an aweful lot of Haste on it, which is fine, but I'm switching a lot of it, and a chunk of excess Hit, over to Mastery to see how good Strikes of Opportunity is going to be. So far, I like.

Like I said at the beginning, being an Arms Warrior is just too much fun.  The priority rotation may look a little daunting, but it's quite easy when you get some practice with it.  Having those options in combat is way more fun than some set rotation where you punch the same buttons over and over again in sequence.

Welcome to the New Arms Warrior. It's wicked good! :D

-Fri