Aggro for the non-Warrior

So, I'm playing tourist in a Hyjal raid last night and we end up with, like, five freakin' tanks. Which might be fine at 70, but all of them were above that and three of us were 80. The MT was a really good, Naxx geared Pally. This was definitely a "Gee, haven't seen this, let's go on a tour" kinda run with several 70-suches hoping for a lil' gear boost in tow.

Biggest problem?

DKs pulling aggro. We also had a Mage that was WAY more geared than anyone else there and she was rocking the place. The difference was, she was trying REALLY hard not to pull aggro off the MT. The DKs were nuts. They died a lot.

I got to tank the second boss, and plenty of the trash, and I was working overtime to keep threat up. I don't raid, so maybe that's how it always is. Great practice, though, and lots of fun!

Regardless, it got me thinkin'. A disturbingly large number of players don't understand HOW a tank holds aggro. They may understand the basic principles of threat and aggro, but they don't get (or don't care to get) how it's done.

There's an important distinction in that line of thinking. It's the tank's job to generate threat. It's EVERYONE'S job to MANAGE threat. The tank can't manage your threat for you. We don't have those tools.

How does a Warrior tank generate threat? Here's an easy cheat sheet:

Attack Power

The stronger the tank, the more Attack Power (AP) they have. The more Attack Power they have the more threat they generate. Strong tank = lotsa threats. There's lots more to it than just Strength and AP, but it's a good start. Many Warrior abilities are based on AP.
Thing to Remember: If the Warrior's gear is several levels lower than yours, her AP is gonna be lower and she'll generate less threat than a tank at your gear level. Adjust accordingly.*

Shockwave

I've written about Shockwave before. It's the one where the tank stomps the ground and a big cone-shaped dust cloud shoots out in front of her.

Things to Remember: If the mob is outside the Shockwave cone, the Warrior gets no threat. Don't hit the mob outside the cone. This has a long cool down, 20 seconds unmodified.

Thunder Clap

This is the one where the tank stomps the group and lightning shoots out all around her in a circle. It generates threat and damage, which equals more threat. Many Warrior tanks have Improved Thunder Clap. Yah, Warrior tanks do a lot of stomping.

Things to Remember: If the big meanie is outside the circle, no threat. The base cool down is six seconds. If you out threat the Warrior, she can't use this again until it cools down. Be mindful of the timing.

Damage Shield

This one is based on Block Value. Check the Warrior's shield. The more block value they have, the better this works. It is a VERY GOOD, constant threat generator in melee. (Note that block value is not Block Rating. Different animals.)

This is one very few people actually get.

Things to Remember: The mob must be actually hitting the tank in melee for this to work. It doesn't work on caster mobs unless they hit the Warrior with their funny little sticks. More important, if the mob is hitting you, Damage Shield isn't generating any threat. Um, yah that would be a Bad Thing.

Timing
Warriors are subject to the GCD just like you. Unlike you, Warriors have few instant attacks.

Things to Remember: The best way to control threat is timing. Let the Warrior build up threat for as long as you can stand it. I grew up as DPS, so understand the ants-in-the-pants feeling. Zen a bit and let her do her job.

Position

Warriors' main threat generators are melee based and include Shield Slam (GCD, but can be proc'd), Revenge (proc), Heroic Strike (swing timer, check the weapon speed), and Concussion Blow (30 second cooldown and AP based). Thunderclap, Heroic Throw and Shockwave add a bit of range, but not much.

To Remember: If it's not in range, the Warrior isn't getting its attention. No touchy. Specially with anything AoE. Watch the AoE. Seriously. No, really.

Some final things to remember:

- If it's hitting you, stop hitting it. Just stop generating threat. Yes, your Warrior has panic buttons to equalize threat, but even then you've gotta give 'em a second or two to build it up before you start blasting away again.

- Never run away from your Warrior tank. Yes, your Warrior can run you down very quickly. But those chase 'em down abilities are on cool downs and it's better not to have to use them. Always move with the tank.

- If you cast, stay out of melee range. You generate way more threat in melee range than you do outside of melee range. I know, everyone wants to get close to the lovable, huggable Warrior. Understandable. But in a fight, give her some space.

- Warriors (all tanks, actually) prioritize. We prioritize threats, problems and abilities. Learn how your Warrior does this, talk to her about it, and listen when she points it out. Your Warrior is the best source of information. She's very smart and knows all about doing Warriory** things. :)

Remember these things and you'll find that, like magic, your adventures with Warrior tanks suddenly work flawlessly. Just like you nuke bad things in your own sweet way, just like you pew pew your lasers in your own joyous fashion, Warriors generate threat and hold aggro in their own unique way.

Get to know your Warrior a little better. It won't hurt.... much. :)

-Fri

* I'm not even getting into a fight about degrading oneself so horribly as to run with a lesser tank who's gear doesn't match or out do your own. I'm talking about reality here, not a little epeen fantasy world. :P

** YES! Warriory is a word. It is.

Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place

Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place
Revisited for WoW 3.x

Intro: What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?
Part 1. Arms, Lords and Ladies of the Battlefield
Part 2. Fury, The Fast and the Furyious
Part 3. Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place


[Note: After rereading this for billionth time, they still need a ton of work. So much has changed and I've only really put a lot of time in Wrath on Protection spec. I can't wait to get back to Arms, but now that Dual specs are in I'm giving Fury a whirl first. So much more for me to learn. However, I've been sitting on these for, oh, ever and it's time to set 'em free. With reservations and promises to revise as much as possible. ;) What I hope is that I've got the flavor down and the specifics I can add in more as I go.]

Are you rough and tough and like to being up front, the point girl for the whole adventure? Dark dank places full of evil make you feel all squishy and excited inside? Do you just like to smash things in the face? Do you thrive on getting whispers every 30 seconds, begging you for assistance with some big bad baddie? Are you truly the original go-to-guy/girl? Do you just like armor with really big glowy shoulders?

Well... who doesn't?

Our final look at "What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?" is at Protection. In many ways, these Warriors are The Warriors. The pure, front line soldiers. They're the ones that carry a big stick in one hand and a massive shield in the other, and stand toe-to-toe with the bad guy (or the bad guy's crotch, as the case may be).

Everyone is standing around the glowing stone. Excitement buzzes in the air. The adventure is about to begin! The gnome rogue tries to get nekkid and dance with the night elf hunter, who is ignoring him and who's cat is thinking "tasty treat." She's halfway flirting with the gorgeous paladin healer, who removes his helm long enough to straighten a single stray piece from his otherwise perfect hair. The frost mage is jumping up and down and running in circles. No one is exactly sure why. With the summoning done, they wait. The stone flares bright, blinding them momentarily. And out steps the biggest hunk of meat and metal any of them have ever seen.

The Warrior squints and takes in his surroundings and fellow adventurers in one glance. Every one shifts uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze. In less time than it takes to blink, he's already assessed and cataloged every strength, and every single weakness, of each person there. What can you do? What can't you do? Will you be a liability or an asset? You're not sure. He knows.

Everyone is still now, waiting for the Warrior to speak. Even a simple greeting would be good. His shield alone weighs more than you. The massive, magically enchanted weapon at his side glows menacingly. He holds his hefty helm under one arm like it's a loaf of bread. There's bits of gore from his last battle with the minions of the Lich King still splattered on his expansive shoulder guards. He's completely encased in Titansteel and has been fighting non-stop for three days. He smells a little off.

Not to worry. A little Old Spices thrown his way isn't going to offend this monster.

He trudges over to the night elf and looks straight at her chest. "Great," he says. "Can you hit anything with those." The night elf crosses her arms over her chest and glares. The warrior pats her giant cat on the head. "You'll do, though." The kitty purrs and the night elf, if possible, looks even more offended.

He moves on to the the gnome and says, "Disappear on me little man and I'll hunt you down and eat you myself." The gnome grins and salutes.

To the mage he says, "Try not to blow your load too soon." The mage just giggles.

He then stands toe to toe with the Pally. The Paladin crinkles his nose a little, but manages to hold his ground. "Just stay at the back, heal, and keep your yap shut. We'll be fine." The Paladin starts to retort... and then thinks better of it.

The warrior hefts his shield, pulls his sword and plods toward the evil lair. "Let's do this," he says softly.

This is the guy that has no fear. He walks into the scary place without batting an eye. He makes sure everyone is set. Then he charges into the group of vicious monsters. Suddenly dust and lightning explodes from around him and the mobs are standing there stunned out of their pants. With a mighty blow from his shield he smashes one in the face and the fight is on. He's very skilled at pissing off bad guys.

Think 300 with more armor. Protection warriors use their shield, sword and even their entire body to dish out death and destruction to their foes. These are the guys and girls that really are ten feet tall and bullet proof and can, literally, shoot lightning bolts out of their arse.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from the lithe Blood Elf to the hulking Orc. They have a wide variety of temperaments. Many are the calm, cool and collected type. Situational awareness is key to their success and survivability. They go with the flow and take care of business, magically appearing in the right spot and the right time when all seems lost. Others are hot heads or control freaks. Expectations are high and to impress this leader you have to be perfect. To this guy, precision and accuracy in a fight are simply what's expected. "Everyone does their job, no one quits, or I'll kill you myself."

These guys and girls are tanks, and if Warriors had a hero class, Protection Warriors would be it. They stand up to the bad guy and take the shots that would kill any other character. They get burned by fire, frozen solid, shot with arrows, pummeled with giant maces, stabbed with all manner of terrible implements, and tossed around like rag dolls by the biggest and baddest monsters in Azeroth and beyond. Then they get up, dust off and go back for more. Getting beaten up is what tanks live for.

They aren't just aggro dummies, though. To hold a group of nasties requires tremendous skill. They can dish out as much as they take. They know precisely where to strike and when to smash to completely obliterate an opponent. There's a huge difference between a good Protection Warrior and an Awesome Protection Warrior. The great ones can get the job done and lead their fellows to victory at the same time. In many ways, this is most trying Warrior type to play. If you want to test your mettle and skill, this is the spec to choose.


Are you a Protection Warrior?

The job is to be as bad ass and threatening as possible. Every enemy you encounter has to see you as the greatest threat to their personal well being. You have to leak "Danger" from your pores. You're the one other players will unconsciously scooch over a bit when you sit down at a table. Protection talents focus, to a large extent, on being threatening. Threat is a Protection Warrior's DPS. Knowing a few choice curses and creative insults about a monster's mother and a group of ogres, a gnome, and some sticky spider silk is handy as well.

Protection Warriors can take massive amounts of damage. Hits that would one-shot most classes are nothing to a Prot tank. This kind of Warrior is fast and agile, as well. Despite the impossibly heavy armor they wear, they can dodge, parry and block, using everything they have - sword, shield, arms, legs, toenails - to avoid damage. They know how to turn, how to position and how to roll with a fight to take less while dishing out more.

They're also incredibly strong. If there's a Superman or Wonder Woman of this game, it's Protection Warriors. Lifting a Mechanostrider over their head and tossing it would be child's play for these warriors. When they hit something, it generates all kinds of attention. These guys and girls dish out hurt in all kinds of interesting ways.

That sound like you? You're a Protection Warrior.

The Good Stuff

* I'm not afraid to say it, even with my obvious bias: Protection Warriors are the best tanks in the game. Always have been. Period. Argue if you like, but it won't change the fact. :) /trolloff

* You're invincible. Pretty much, anyhow. With a competent healer, a Protection Warrior can stay on their feet longer than any other class. Even without healing, if you're planning on taking down a Prot, you'll wanna bring a lunch. And maybe dinner, too. And a snack.

* Some of the best and most wicked Warrior abilities are in the Protection tree. Shield Slam is awesome. Sword & Board makes it better. Improved Thunderclap rocks. Spell Reflect is the ultimate "Ha!" Strip your enemies nekkid with Sunder/Devastate and then beat them stupid with Revenge. And what instrument of destruction wouldn't love Shockwave? Wargasm!

* High mobility. You can move around a fight quickly with abilities like Charge, Warbringer and Intervene. Taunt and Challenging shout, combined with Area of Effect abilities like Improved Thunderclap, Damage Shield and Shockwave, give you control of the flow of the battle and ensure all bad guy eyes are on you (and not your friends!).

* In most cases, you get first pick on loot. :) Everyone wants a well dressed tank.

The Bad Stuff

* These days? Not Much.

* If thrown into a DPS role, you will most like under-perform. You need to be front and center, hitting and getting hit to generate Rage, which allows you to use all those nifty abilities. You can't do that from behind the mob. This is very much the sort of spec you'll choose to be hitting things face first.

* To offset the "Best tank" comment above, I'll also throw in this: Protection Warrior is probably the hardest kind of tank to play. There's a wide variety of abilities that you have to learn to use at exactly the right time. It is somewhat unforgiving as a spec. Miss a sunder and someone could die very easily. Thunderclap too soon and your healer will pull aggro from the caster you missed. It's not really a class/spec you can play on auto pilot. Ya gotta be on top of it, all the time.

Leveling

Traditionally, leveling a Protection Warrior was . . . how shall we say? A pain in the ass? It was slow and took forever. Protection Warriors in the past were all about absorbing or mitigating damage while generating Threat. That's changed recently.

In many respects, Protection may (arguably) be the BEST leveling spec for a Warrior. Prots have great damage output now. Blizzard recently made a shift to Threat generation being more dependent on DPS. To make Prot tanks viable, they up'd the amount of DPS they can do. Poof! Leveling is easy-sauce now.

Simply round up a pile of mobs and beat them silly while you watch your health bar remain relatively unchanged. If you want to level or grind quickly and without a lot of down time, you won't go wrong with a Protection Warrior.

You should complete the quest for Defensive Stance (at Level 10) as soon as possible. For the most part, you'll just stay in Defensive Stance. You may switch to Battle Stance on occasion to boost DPS a bit, but you loose a lot of your abilities. Stance-wise, Protection Warriors are a bit limited because most of their best abilities are only available in that stance. No matter. They work fine in Def and the others are there for those situations where you'll need them.

Talent-wise, many leveling Prot Warriors will go to the Arms tree first, even if just for Deflection. You can start right in the Protection tree, though, and do fine. By the time you're hitting levels 30-40, you really start seeing the power and survivability of this tree.

Solo

Solo'ing is really nothing to a Prot Warrior. For a specialization that's designed to be group oriented, these days they do astonishingly well on their own.

Early on, if you go into the DEF tree at the start, you're just wicked tough and hard to kill. It won't take long for you to be rounding up two or three mobs at a time. By the mid levels, you've got all sorts of tricks up your sleeve to stay in the fight longer. You're killing mobs in groups and then going straight to the next batch without bothering to stop and heal. By the top levels, there's not a lot left that can touch you and you'll be solo'ing wild quest bosses that would crush other classes.

Groups (Questing/5-Mans)

Not a whole lot to say here. You're perfect for groups. In instances, you're required. If you prefer to play in a group, going Protection is the way to do it. You'll never be wanting for friends. :)

In groups your job is to keep all the nasties off the other players, and thus keep the other players alive. Grouping requires mastering skills and concepts such as pulling, holding aggro, threat rotations, and situational awareness.

For the most part, you get the hang of these concepts as you level, but practice makes a huge difference. No one likes a lazy tank.

Raiding

You'd think, by the same token, there would be people falling over themselves to get you into raids! Not so, unfortunately.

In raids, Prot Warriors are the best of the best. And to get into raids, you'd better be the best. If there's two slots open for a 10-man, there's going to be Druids, Death Knights, and Paladins all competing for those slots along side you. Of all the Warrior types, raiding as a Protection Warrior is probably the most challenging and competitive slot available. It requires a huge amount of skill, ability and even leadership to be a raid tank. Main Tank in a 25-man raid group is the top of the ladder for the Warrior class.

Just be the best and you'll be fine. :)

PvP

This part will probably change considerably as WoW continues to develop. It always does. As I write this, Protection is probably the best way to go if you're going to PvP with a Warrior. The simple explanation is survivability. With most other classes doing massive amounts of burst damage, Prot warriors are the only ones that can survive long enough to get anything done.

And killing DKs who are overzealous with Death Grip is all kinds of funny. :) Getting up close and personal in a fight with a Prot Warrior is a Very Bad Idea.

Your main tools are your mobility and ability to stun an opponent in quick succession. Many times this is just giving your burst happy teammates time to take the enemy down, but it works. The longer you stay on your feet, the better your chances. Prot Warriors have a wide variety of skills to defend against just about any sort of attack.

The "Types" of Protection Warriors

I'm a big believer in "the spec how you want" way of playing WoW, though you'll want to read the first post in this series about how I qualify that belief. Shop around for some of the "top" specs and study them when you're ready to get serious. All I'm going to talk about here are some general themes for Protection. I'll leave the math and perfect specs for those more qualified. No matter what spec you choose, you DO have to practice it. You have to use what talents you've taken to best advantage.

Each of the two spec's here are just demonstrations to show the idea, as well as give a general feel for what playing a Protection Warrior is like, and not necessarily optimal builds! Big. Grain. Of. Salt. Yum.

Your Basic Prot Warrior (15/3/51) - This is pretty much your standard, generic, does the job Protection spec. It's primary concern is loading the 51 points to the Protection tree and getting the big items. Then it takes Armored to the Teeth for a bit more punch and Deep Wounds, both of which help increase threat. This is also called the Deep Wounds Tank, or a Bleed Tank. You won't have many threat problems with this build.

The Balanced Protector (5/8/58) - This is probably the most popular Warrior tank build, and for good reason. It has an excellent balance of defensive and offensive capabilities. It takes all the major goodies from the Protection tree and adds on nice damage boosters from the Fury tree. This one offers up a few more survivability options to keep you on your feet longer.

The PvP Damage Tank (12/8/51) - This build offers up more damage, but maintains some of the situational and panic button survivability of the other two specs. It is often used in PvP builds. It is, of course, perfectly acceptable for basic tanking duties, as well.

More than any other Warrior class, though, I think tanks tweak and customize their builds to their play style. One tank may love the extra rage from Improved Charge, while another could care less and would much rather have more damage from Cruelty. Some tanks never bother with Last Stand, preferring to panic button with trinkets and such, while others swear it's saved their asses more times than they can count. And so on...

In addition, raid level tanks often spec specifically for certain encounters. So which bosses you'll be MT on and which you'll be OT on come into consideration. Which abilities better fit the mobs and bosses you'll be fighting? Raid tanks have a tough job because they'll often need to respec, re-glyph, and put on new cloths to fight in certain situations. While way outside the scope of this guide, careful study of both the encounters you'll be going into and the various specs, abilities, and techniques used to conquer those encounters, will be required.

To Protect and Defend!

Deciding to play a Protection Warrior is a big step. You're literally stepping into the leadership position, whether you intend to or not. No other Warrior type is more dependent on being tuned into the ebb and flow of a fight. While DPS Warriors may rely on situational awareness to kill stuff, it does tend to focus on what they're killing. A Protection Warrior has to have an expanded awareness, to be able to take in not only what's getting killed, but also keeping track of every other player at the same time. The up and down applies to a Prots game-life, as well. I've literally had nights where nothing went right and went to bed completely deflated and depressed. I've had just as many nights where everything went perfect and couldn't sleep because the whole experience was so full of awesome. Tanks are a passionate lot and they like it that way. This is the specialization for those Warriors that revel in the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory!

-Fri

Fury, The Fast and the Furyous

Fury, The Fast and the Furyous
Revisited for WoW 3.x (Wrath of the Lich King)

Intro: What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?
Part 1. Arms, Lord and Ladies of the Battlefield
Part 2. Fury, The Fast and the Furyous
Part 3. Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place

[Note: After rereading this for billionth time, they still need a ton of work. So much has changed and I've only really put a lot of time in Wrath on Protection spec. I can't wait to get back to Arms, but now that Dual specs are in I'm giving Fury a whirl first. So much more for me to learn. However, I've been sitting on these for, oh, ever and it's time to set 'em free. With reservations and promises to revise as much as possible. ;) What I hope is that I've got the flavor down and the specifics I can add in more as I go.]

You? You're mad, bad and dangerous. You're all kinds of contained wrath. Ya like it hard? Ya like it fast? Then maybe you're a Fury Warrior! But... you ask... Is it any good for PvE? What about the stigma of sucking for PvP? Will you ever get to raid? Why is that twinky gnome mage laughing at me???? Can I eat him for that?

Yes.

Our second look at "What kind of Warrior Should I Be?" is going to be at Fury and what you can expect if you go the way of the Zerker. This is the specialization that I've played the least so, as always, take it with a large does of skepticism until you've had a run at it yourself.

You know That Guy. The one who just stands there after the tank pulls the mobs in a dungeon. He is probably jumping up and down and spinning in place. Then, finally, he goes zooming off! And for the next few minutes, it seems like he's all over the place. The giant two-handed weapons are flying like crazy, an angry dwarf keeps materializing above his head, and he seems to be shouting an awful lot.

And then, just as you're getting into the swing of the fight... everything is dead. And That Guy is standing over a big pile of bodies, jumping up and down and spinning in place again. Usually he's laughing in a disturbing manner, or eating a sandwich. That's a Fury Warrior.

They aren't ADHD, they're just practicing restrained enthusiasm. They can dish out such high and consistent DPS that they have to put a pause in occasionally to keep from pulling aggro. They wield two blades at a time, and past level 60, they're very large two-handed blades thanks to Titan's Grip. They zoom and twirl around the fight using Intercept and Whirlwind. Bloodthirst chops enemies to itty bitty pieces and Rampage just adds the icing to the oops-you're-dead cake. All the screaming is the Warrior popping some pretty devastating SFX. But they aren't just wailing around in there being a spaz.

It may look chaotic but a good Fury Warrior is a shining example of precision. Everything he does is aimed at systematically building his capabilities to kill stuff. Every strike is timed and short-term buffed to perfection. The more the Fury Warrior swings, the more deadly he gets. It's probably true of any Warrior, but this is the one they're talking about when they say "Get too close and he'll pwn your face." Hard.

Are You A Fury Warrior?

Fury Warriors love to deal damage. They're very good at it, too. Fury talents tend to be oriented toward making weapon strikes faster and more potent. Fury Talents feature dual wielding specialization and buffs to enhance damage as they fight. In addition, all that screaming Fury Warriors do is because all the improvements to a Warrior's shouts are in this tree. If you like to kill mobs fast, and look good doing it, this is the spec!

The Fury Warrior an awesome adventurer. For going on epic quests, braving the wilds of Azeroth alone, or exploring a dank recess of Lower Blackrock with a party, the Fury Warrior is there, always ready to meet the next deadly challenge.

This Warrior isn't crazy, though. (Okay, some of them are...) They make tearing enemies into shreds an art form. It may look easy, but it requires a great deal of timing and precision. And, yes, for the truly great ones, a nice heap of talent as well.

Those whirling blades of death, spinning and whirling through a fight with a gleam in your eye, cheerfully and methodically cutting down anything that gets in your way...

Sound like fun? You're a Fury Warrior.

The Good Stuff

* Fury Warriors are all about dealing damage. And then they get serious about dealing damage. And once they're properly serious, then they get to work and do some damage. With the right gear and the right rotation, Fury Warriors ARE the DPS of the Warrior Class.

* Some of the best Warrior abilities and enhancements are in the Fury tree. From Cruelty to Rampage there aren't really any "bad" Fury Talents. Might be some that are better than others, but they're all good.

* Fury Warriors are the toughest DPS class in the game, sans self-healing abilities (and yah, they have a little bit of that, too!). They wear plate, and they usually gear at least some Stamina. They're often jokingly referred to as Rogues In Plate (RIP), but when you look at the way WoW has progressed, it's really the other way around. This is the original tough-guy.

* Two words: Titan's Grip. Two two-handed bad ass blades of destruction. What's not to like?

The Bad Stuff

* Tough they may be, but they aren't as tough as Arms or Protection Warriors. Fury Warriors tend to gear Haste (to swing faster), Hit (for accurancy), and Attack Power (for raw hitting power) rather than Resilience or Defense. The Fury Warrior isn't there to soak up damage, she's there to give it. She can take hit... but she's better at giving.

* Fury Warriors can tank, but they tend to be at the very bottom of the wish-list for that role. Building aggro will be very slow and the healing will have to be HoT and heavy. Sympathy is often given to the healer who has to keep a Fury Tank upright. :)

* Like all Warriors, Fury Warriors have limited crowd control. Fury Warriors do DPS. That's what they do. Kill it before it becomes a problem is the Fury Warrior way. That's appropriate sometimes... but many times, not so much.

Leveling

Many people consider Fury to be the choice for leveling a Warrior (regardless of what the final spec will be). Fury Warrior may spend more down time healing, but a solid amount of pots and high First Aid skill can help that along nicely. You do have to be pretty careful about taking on too much in one bite. Regardless, killing mobs fast is the way Fury Warriors do things and that makes leveling up a bit faster than the other two types of Warriors.

To start with, you'll want to go with a one-handed sword, axe, or mace and a shield. Most Fury Warriors duel wield. So your one-hand skill will need to be your top priority. At level 20 you can drop the shield and go with another shiny instrument of death in your other paw. At level 60, you can do it with two-handers. :D

There's two lines of thought to leveling, and I'm not particular to either myself. I've tried it both ways and it works both ways.

Way #1. You start in Arms. You're going to be taking some of these talents eventually anyhow. Improved Heroic Strike is just terribly handy when it's the only main attack you have. So you start by filling it in.

Way #2. You go straight into Fury and start with Cruelty. This gives you a better chance to crit, but it's still low enough, and your damage output is low enough, that it will only make a difference every once and while. On the other hand, it also gets you on the path to some of the great stuff further down the tree. AND when your damage output does improve and you've got gear that helps your crit chance, you've already got Cruelty stacking on there and it's all kinds of win win win.

I really don't think you can go wrong either way. If your first ten levels were mostly in black and white, and you want to hit things harder, fill in IHS first. You'll be able to get that HS off a little sooner. If you're doing fine and eager to get into the spec, start right in with Fury. Easy enough.

Solo

As mentioned, Fury is considered by many to be the "best" solo leveling spec, though there's plenty of Arms and Protection Warrior that would argue that. The ability to take most mobs down quickly, and to react to situations fast, helps a lot. Like all Warriors, Fury is still very much a stand, fight and either win or die class. With Fury it's mostly about "I get you, before you get me." Because of the talents you take in Fury, this actually works quite well.

When you solo, you'll discover very quickly that you need to pull with a ranged weapon, so start leveling the weapon of your choice early. When you've got multiple targets you'll fight very differently than when you fight against one. You may need to Sweeping Strike, Cleave and Piercing Howl multiple mobs while at the same time keeping Thunderclap and Demoralizing Shout on them to limit damage. In this respect, Fury Warriors get more complex. Doing all this while keep Bloodthirst and Rampage up can wear your fingers out. This is where a great deal of the fun comes in for most Fury Warriors.

I've said it before... no Warrior is "Easy Mode."

Using a Fury spec is easy. Being really good at it is extremely challenging.

Groups (Questing/5-Mans)

In a group, the Fury Warrior is a support role. Your main job is chop everything up into itty bitty pieces as quickly as possible. In group questing, you'll get in there and DPS. You make a good puller too, because you can hit back AND survive aggro for more than a few a seconds.

For running instances, Fury Warriors make great Main Assist (MA). This is where everyone sets their assist macro (or manually uses /assist [player]) to one player and then unloads everything on that player's target. Because the Fury Warrior is right there in the thick of it, all you have to do is hit the Tab key to cycle through the targets, while everyone else hits their assist key, and burns mobs down in a nice systematic order. Of course, you make great DPS working with someone else being MA as well!

And yes, in a pinch, you can quickly switch to off tank. So keep that shield handy and updated, because eventually it'll happen. :)

Raiding

Honestly, I've seen and read both ways on this one. On my Realm, raid guilds only want Fury Warriors. Others? Only want Arms. So, your mileage may vary somewhat. I think most raids want Fury Warriors for melee DPS. They're just better at it. Sometimes only slightly, but for top end raiders, slightly counts. Only the best make it. Fury is the best for that. So, yah, as a Fury Warrior, you've probably got as a good a shot as anyone to get a raid slot as any DPS Warrior.

PvP

Fury is no good for PvP. That's what you'll hear. Meadow muffins. Fury is fine for PvP. It's fun and quite functional and can add a lot to World PvP and Battlegrounds. The main thing to remember is that, in PvP, Fury is a support role, just like in a group. You're there to push as much DPS as you can, shout, slow, and generally wreck havok. If you get focused, you're toast. Rez and get back to work. It's a blast. :)

The "Types" of Fury


[Fury specs in testing. I'll letcha know. ;)]

Some to browse. These'll getcha started.

-Fri

Arms, Lords and Ladies of the Battlefield

Arms, Lords and Ladies of the Battlefield
Revisited for WoW 3.x (Wrath of the Lich King)

Revised: 4/16/09, 4/19/09

Intro: What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?
Part 1. Arms, Lords and Ladies of the Battlefield
Part 2. Fury, The Fast and the Furyious
Part 3. Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place

[Note: A special thanks to Pix and everyone else who has commented on these posts. I love the interactive nature of blogging and hope comments and suggestions of this series keep coming. My goal is to improve and update these entries continuously. Suggestions are always welcome. That, and well, I get it wrong a lot. :)]

So you wanna be an Arms Warrior? Need to know what roles they play in a party? What spec should you choose? Is it good for soloing? Can you raid? Can you PvP? Can I get through the game without people spitting on me???

The only time you'll get spit on is when you gank three enemy players in a row, or kill every mob in the area all at once. That's livable. :)

In part one of this "What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?" series, we're going to take a look at Arms Warriors in World of Warcraft 3.x. Please take what I say here with a large grain of salt. I'm definitely not an expert, so all this is based on my experience, what I've read, and what I've talked about with other Warriors. There's plenty more to it than what's written here. I recommend reading the introduction to this series, first.

Anyone who's ever played a little PvP in World of Warcraft knows there's nothing more intimidating that seeing that HUGE Tauren Warrior with the giant glow-in-the-dark sword and massive shoulders come rushing out of the bushes. It's an imposing sight. Intentionally. What's worse, it's not just looks. Suddenly this beast is looming over you, you're stunned, he swings and a quarter of your health bar disappears. That's white damage from a powerful and enchanted 2-hander. It's the warm-up. He's just building up a bit more Rage.

The stun from his Charge ends and you turn to run as the second swing comes down and he starts spinning around like some demented top . . . and find yourself in black and white and staring at the Spirit Guide. Yah, you just got ganked hard. That second swing was the main event, also known as Improved Mortal Strike, followed up by a devastating Bladestorm. That's an MS Warrior.

And he's spec'd Arms.

Are You An Arms Warrior?

Arms warriors have a reputation for being top-end damage dealers. They are also the most versatile style of Warrior. All the weapon specializations are in the Arms talent tree. So you can get bonuses for wielding a two-hander AND get a bonus for sword, mace, axe or polearm, depending on what strikes your fancy. Anyone can "Grab a sword and fight the Horde" but Arms Warriors do it particularly well and, I like to think, with a certain amount of style. I might be a little biased. :)

In a fight the Arms Warrior is often center stage. Everyone on your side is relying on you to dish out death and take heaping spoonfuls of every type of damage. Every enemy is studiously figuring out how to take you down.

But it's not a rock star position.

In and out of the fight you're the calm, cool, unassuming master. You know what's going on around you all the time. You never let them see you sweat. Taunts, insults, spitting and the occasional tea-bag don't bother you in the least. A pile of mobs that would make a clothie wet themselves is nothing to you. You're cool. You're in control. You take everything in stride and do your job quietly and unassuming. And you're a killing machine because of it. You are truly a Zen master of death and, in your disciplined paws, your weapon is a living instrument of destruction.

That you? You're an Arms Warrior.

The Good Stuff

* Arms is, obviously, an excellent damage spec. Massive top-end damage and survivability are the keys. The ability to take focus and live through it, while doing something useful at the same time, are the hallmarks of an Arms talent build.

* Arms is all about enhancing a Warrior's ability to fight head-to-head and at close range. You can do damage, you can take damage (with the right gear), and you can debuff or slow opponents when necessary.

* Arms Warriors can fill multiple roles in a party and switch roles in the middle of battle very effectively. In a dungeon, you might be DPSing a mob, then suddenly need to slow one down, then switch into a temporary off-tank role, then quickly back to DPSing. This is child's play for an Arms Warrior and they're very effective at it.

* Arms warriors are the best multiple target melee dps class in the game right now. You can heap damage on 2-4 mobs at a time with awesome abilities like Sweeping Strikes, Cleave, Whirlwind and Bladestorm. You can slow and debuff multiple targets at once, as well.

* Arms Warriors are masters of their chosen weapon and know just where to strike for maximum effect. As such, they have the choice to apply a huge bleed debuff. While you're killing those multiple mobs at once you're also bleeding them out. Gruesome, but effective.
The Bad Stuff

* Arms does not do sustained DPS as effectively as Fury. The DPS is strong and consistent, but it's not quite as much and takes a little longer to get it going. This takes effect particularly at higher levels and with proper gearing. Under 60 there's not a huge difference. Some but not terrible. Over 70, and properly geared, the difference is definitely there. While Wrath has certainly fixed this somewhat, it could be a contributing factor in some fights, specially where you have to move a lot.

(Aside: At the start of Patch 3.1, Arms warriors are definitely closing this gap. It'll be difficult to tell for a bit, at the writing. It will scale up with gear. Whether it will scale down, as well, is unknown at the moment.)

* Arms can tank most mobs, but not all. They just don't have the damage mitigation and threat generation tools like a proper Protection Warrior. Resilience (protection against critical hits) is great for taking spell fire from multiple casters at once, and for staying upright while you Overpower some ADHD Rogue, but it's not as effective against mobs that'll squash you like a tin can on the first shot. Carry a good shield and some +DEF/+STAM Armor and tank when necessary, but you'll need to respec for the big fights.

* Arms Warriors are almost constantly in flux as Blizzard tweaks their abilities. This is probably true of most classes, but for Warriors, Arms and Fury get the most. This leads to many different tweaks you have to make to specific rotations and abilities, but also opens up plenty of new opportunities. For example, as I write this there's a bit of excitement about and Arms tanking build going around. Fun! Regardless, the basic flavor stays the same. Versatile and tough!

* Like all Warriors, you have limited crowd control. You can upgrade your crowd control abilities through Arms talents. But they are not really an effective form of cc because of the short duration. They can certainly help a fight when used properly, though. An Arms Warrior's best form of cc is their body and their ability to put damage up on multiple targets.

Leveling

Leveling an Arms Warrior is pretty easy. No, it's not nearly as fast or easy as some other classes. You want effortless leveling? Then Warrior isn't for you, anyway. We work for a living, soldier! You have to pick your fights somewhat. Or at least approach them with some thought. Mostly you can go in there and smack things around, but you'll need to use your brain a bit, too.

Early on you'll want to switch to a 2-hander (if you don't start with one) and start leveling that skill as soon as possible. You have to keep up with your 1-hand skill as well, because you'll want to be able to switch to sword and board when needed. At this point it won't matter which 2-hand weapon. If you like Axes, get an axe. Swords, Polearms, and Maces are available, so choose something you groove on. Many times it'll be whatever you can afford or drops first. You can change later, so no worries.

So, you're running through the forest and you see the lovely Night Elf girl, jumping and traipsing her way among the trees. She looks a little odd, she's lithe and agile but she has a huge sword strapped to her back. Suddenly, a pack of ugly dog men jump out and attack. You run to help, but before you get a few steps the elf shifts slightly and two of the mobs fall over dead. Another three seconds and two more are dead. Then she starts spinning around in a circle, that huge blade held before her, chopping through the dog boys like butter. When she stops, there's a nice, neat semi-circle of bodies laying at her feet. There's still two of the dog men left, but the elf continues on her happy little way. A few seconds later the remaining monsters clutch their throats and fall over dead, while you stand there gaping.

That's multiple target dps and those nasty bleed effects doing their work.

The most useful abilities you will use while leveling are the ones that let you increase damage against multiple targets. It's much easier to level when you can round up two or three mobs, mow them down and move on to the next batch.

I do recommend skipping the bleed effects at early levels. To me, the first priority is getting, enhancing and learning to use those base skills, including the multi-target abilities. You can always spec down to Bladestorm and then go back and enhance your specializations with bleed debuffs.

As, research and learn more about Arms, however, your mileage may vary. At some point, after level 60, you definitely want to take the bleeds unless there's a specific reason not too.

Solo

Arms is a great solo spec. Nice damage output, solid survivability. Like all Warriors, once you're in the fight your chances of escape are pretty low. It's stand and win, or stand and die. Arms has many tools to help the former. And occasionally, even offers the opportunity for some creative escapes. For example, slap Hamstring on 'em, pop into Defensive Stance, and run like hell!

Okay, so that's not terribly creative... but it'll save ya a repair bill and a bone run. :)

To solo well you'll want to take a ranged weapon as early as possible. Guns, crossbows and thrown weapons are available to Warriors. I like guns. Big guns. :) Engineers may want to take guns because you can make your own weapon and the ammunition for it. Blacksmith's will probably like thrown weapons early on because you can a) make some nice ones, and b) they don't run out of ammo.

Beyond Level 50 the Arms Warrior becomes a wicked solo killing machine. At 70, it's about improving your stats to be an even better killing machine. At some point (probably around 1000 AP and 75 Hit) you start mowing down any regular mob you come across while looking around for more. You start chain pulling the mobs, just to move things along.

Groups (Questing/5-Mans)

Arms is excellent if you group a lot. The ability to DPS and tank is a nice balance. If you like the balance, then this spec is better than the other two. If you prefer one or the other, then you'll want to look at Fury or Protection. Arms Warriors, however, offer many advantages to groups, so don't be afraid to offer up your services for dungeon runs and group questing.

For questing, there's not much an Arms Warrior can't do in a group. Slap on a shield and dance into Def if you need to hold aggro a bit. Break out the 2-hander if you need some extra DPS. Stay flexible and practice switching roles in combat. Use a stance macro or add-on to switch weapons/shield in mid-fight.

In a dungeon, you'll usually be tasked as DPS. OT (Off Tank) roles for warriors in 5-mans isn't used much any more, but MA (Main Assist) is and this is a great role for an Arms Warrior. If you're MT (Main Tank) you'll need a very good Healer. A good healer is one that understands threat and how to time their heals for best effect. Spam healing won't work with a Protection Warrior or Feral Druid bear, it certainly won't work with an Arms Warrior, so avoid healers that do that. You'll also have to have DPS that understands threat and how to fight with a Warrior Tank. (That's a whole other post.) Basically, your threat generation is going to be slower than a Prot Warrior, Prot Pally or Bear, and the party needs to understand how to deal with that.

Raiding

For raiding, it's really a toss up for Arms Warriors. You bring a lot of utility to a raid. The bleed debuffs alone can significantly increase the entire raid's dps on a boss, for example. You can also pump out respectably high dps. Whether you get into your raid group or not will largely depend on what your raid leader needs and what other classes are available. Which is pretty much true for any class/spec outside of dedicated healers and tanks.

The downside is that an Arms Warrior's main abilities can be handled by other classes. For example, it's true that an Arms Warrior is the best muti-mob dps'er available. But why bother with a melee dps'er that will need another raid member to heal them, when you can just tank those mobs and have ranged dps burn them down without taking any damage at all. Both techniques work, but the former is (as of this writing) easier to pull off than the latter. (The answer is that the Arms Warrior tanks and does dps at the same time. But that concept isn't quite there yet.)

That said, since Wrath of the Lich King, Arms Warriors are slowly gaining acceptance as a vital and important component in a raid. It's not a confidence thing. If you're chosen to go into a 10 or 25 man raid, get in there and show off. I think most raids will appreciate how useful an Arms Warrior is these days. :)

PvP

While Wrath changed PvP significantly, Arms is still a very powerful PvP spec. While it was terribly important back pre-Wrath, it's even more important now: You. Must. Dance. Being able to switch stances and weapons quickly and at the right time is now no longer optional for Arms Warriors (if it ever was). To be good in PvP, you'll have to work hard for it.

This is just commentary, of course, but I also think that Arms Warriors have been forced to think outside the box a bit now. You can't just run up to another player and smack 'em until they're dead. (I know - over simplification, but you get the idea.) You really have to set up situations to your advantage, which means being an even better player. For example, you can't just pop Bladestorm and expect to win. Your opponent will just step out of it. You have to get your opponent to burn cooldowns, stun 'em, and keep them from running first. Then Don't Panic! When everything's right, push the "I Win!" button.

While that sort of thing has always been true, and distinguishes the good from the truly great players, it really is forced on Arms Warriors. It requires brains and brawn. This is a thinking girl's kind of Warrior.

The "Types" of Arms

I'm a big believer in "the spec how you want" way of playing WoW, though you'll want to read the first post in this series about how I qualify that belief. Shop around for some of the "top" specs and study them when you're ready to get serious. All I'm going to talk about here are some general themes for Arms. I'll leave the math and perfect specs for those more qualified. No matter what spec you choose, you DO have to practice it. You have to use what talents you've taken to best advantage.

Each of the two spec's here are just demonstrations to show the idea, as well as give a general feel for what playing an Arms Warrior is like, and not optimal builds! Big. Grain. Of. Salt. Yum.

I'll add that, as of WoW 3.1, these build are slightly out of date. Again, just getting the flavor. Research for what's more current. And then research again, cause it'll change. Because of this, I've removed the build links to the post temporarily until things stabilize a bit and just throwing out some general theory.

The Swiss Army Knife with Teeth - This one focuses on utility first. The main focus is getting to Mortal Strike, Sudden Death, and Bladestorm as quickly as possible and then pick up enhancements to the core abilities. Take your Overpower enhancements. Go back, after hitting the big stuff, and pick up Rend, Impale and Deep Wounds. You might even pop a little in Defense if you find yourself in the GY a lot, though you sacrifice a lot to get to Anticipation, Last Stand, and Toughness. Probably too much unless you're tanking a lot. It makes a good all around leveling concept. You'll gear for Strength (AP), Hit and Crit, but you won't completely ignore Armor Penetration and Stamina.

Blood and Guts - This buildis a kind of a staple of Arms Warriors. The focus is on damage, primarily. It sacrifices survivability, but when you can bleed a target to death and chop 'em into little pieces before they barely get started, who cares? :) The main idea, though is to use Arms and Fury talents to increase Deep Wounds, Overpower, straight damage (STR, AP, Expertise, Hit, Armor Pen, anything that makes you hit better), and Crit.

You will notice that the main components of any Arms build are Improved Mortal Strike, Sudden Death, and Bladestorm. I'll also throw in Rend (though not necessarily Improved Rend), Improved Overpower, and Taste for Blood. Overpower is just too yummy to ignore, so grab it and enhance it early.

To Arms!

To be blunt about it, Arms is not particularly easy to play well. Yes, you can use the Arms abilities by just pushing buttons randomly (/faceroll) and do fairly well. To be truly good at it, though, requires a huge amount of practice and awareness. Playing an Arms Warrior will force you to be a much better player. The reason is, more than any other Warrior specialization, an Arms Warrior is played in a situational mode. You use the abilities that best suit the situation. I can't say enough that Arms is about utility.

Being able to calmly assess the situation and react accordingly is what Arms Warriors are all about, and they can adapt to just about any situation. On the Battlefield, in the Dungeon, or in the field, and Arms warrior is literally a master of each situation. No other melee class can switch roles and do it very well like an Arms Warrior. This is the specialization for the player that not only likes to do it all, but can do it all.

-Fri

What Kind of Warrior Shall I be? (3.0)

What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?
for WoW 3.x (Wrath of the Lich King)

Revised 4/16/09, 5/2/09

Intro: What Kind of Warrior Shall I Be?
Part 1. Arms, Lord and Ladies of the Battlefield
Part 2. Fury, The Fast and the Furyious
Part 3. Protection, The Rock and the Hard Place


I don't know why, but I get asked this question a lot. Usually by newer players, of course, so maybe that says something. We won't go there. It probably has to do with my hot and frequently changing hair style choices. Yup.

I do get asked "What kind of warrior should I be," or "What warrior spec is best," frequently enough that, awhile back, I started a post on the subject that turned into an unintentional series, with the Protection Warrior version never getting published. (It was Blizzards fault for changing everything in 3.0, I swear!) Now that I've been a-warriorin' in Wrath for a bit, I felt it was time to update it. Mainly because I still can't walk through Stormwind without the "can i ask u a ?" tell at least once or twice.

I still get a lot of "whar u get blak hors?" as well, but that's a totally different post.

Anyhoo, while a lot of the information in those original posts still works, what follows is the updated versions, including this introduction. I hope someone finds it useful, and welcome comments, corrections and enhancements on these thoughts.

Picking your Talent Specialization is very important for any class. You'll even get familiar with several different specs. I'll letcha in on a little secret... /whisper If you're just playin' WoW and having fun, with specific exceptions aside, it really doesn't matter. ;)

Of course it matters for those specific exceptions. If you're gonna do one thing primarily, then yes, you need to spec for that one thing. If you're going to tank raids, you need to spec Protection and you need to do it properly. If you're going to DPS instances you need to spec Fury or Arms. If you're going to fight in PvP then you'll probably seriously consider a spec that optimizes survivability and fast, hard damage.

That's what you'll read about most when you go to research "Warrior Theory." It's called min/max'ing. Which means minimizing bad stuff that can happen to your toon, while maximizing the bad stuff you can do to other toons. If you're creating a Warrior for one of those things, then you really need to read the spec guides and practice, practice, practice. The very high end of the game is unforgiving of mistakes in these roles. Perhaps a little less so in Wrath, but that will change as the expansion grows. So get that practice in now while you can.

The number of players that actually need one of the optimized specs and gear lists, however, are in the minority. Heavy, hardcore raiders need to spec appropriately. Arena fighters need to spec and gear to min/max. That's, what? Probably less than 10% of WoW's 11 million plus player-base?

In one play session I do a quest or two, farm for mats, run dailies, make a quick instance run, help guildies, play a few BGs, do a little world PvP, tank a wild boss, etc. Most players are like that and most players will have neither the resources nor patience to respec every other night. even with dual specs. You don't have to do that. When to respec is another discussion entirely, but for the time being, pick a Warrior spec that appeals to you and enjoy.

That's what this guide is about. It's not a How-To Warrior guide. This is intended to give you a rough idea of what to expect when you choose a particular Warrior talent specialization. The goal here is to give you a feel for each spec, rather than tell you which spec you need to take. Then you can make your own decision, based on what appeals to you as a player!

With the release of World of Warcraft 3.0, and Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard made Warriors fun again. By the end of The Burning Crusade, being a "good" warrior revolved around having precisely the right spec, exactly the same gear as every other Warrior, and using the correct and same ability rotation. While that is certainly emerging again, the gap between being a Good Player and a Rock Star has narrowed a little. You can literally now play whichever type of Warrior you like, how you like, and get good results . . . as long as you play well. There's still plenty of room to be a "bad" player. But it does come down to the player and (slightly) less about gear and talent spec.

That does not mean the gear and talents aren't important! You do need to carefully consider your talent build, and work hard to acquire good items that enhance that build. You can not spend your talent points willy-nilly on stuff that just looks good, crossing multiple trees on a whim. The talent trees are intentionally built to create a certain flavor of Warrior, with each Talent enhancing previous talents or trainable skills that type of Warrior is most likely to use. Without those talent trees, all Warriors would be bland carbon copies of each other. Blah!

There is a certain amount of "less about what you have and more about how you use it" in WoW these days. I think a lot of players, many Warriors included, got a shock when they entered WoW 3 and suddenly their gear no longer compensated for their inadequacies as players. They got mad about it, too. Fury Warriors who didn't understand threat and aggro. Arms Warriors who relied on their resilience and couldn't fight multiple targets at once effectively (guilty here, learned fast). Protection Warriors who thought all they needed was a little more AoE threat to be great.

Doesn't work that way. Just cause ya got it, doesn't mean you're good. There's still plenty of room for Blizzard to improve that concept, but the game is definitely heading that way. Getting great gear and sexy new items should be a reward because it's fun. It should not be a task, something you have to plod through to get to the fun part.

If you keep that mentality, you'll enjoy your play time as a Warrior regardless of what talent spec you're playing and what gear you're toting around. On the other hand, if you're only interested in toting around imaginary armor to enhance an imaginary epeen, this guide probably isn't for you. If you're interested in playing a Warrior and want to know what it's like, read on.

Of course, study and practice are the cornerstones of becoming truly great at any profession! With that in mind, take a look at the links on the right. These are starting places, but they'll lead you to all sort of information about being a Warrior in WoW. More importantly, though, as you browse through some of the sites (specially the blogs), you'll discover there are many different types of Warriors. Even if they have the same talents, in many respects they are very different from each other. Read what these players have to say about playing a Warrior. Take what works for you and leave what doesn't. You'll get the idea.

Most importantly, make being a Warrior fun... for YOU!


-Fri