Warrior builds?

[7F]LarryBoy

[7F]LarryBoy

New Member
So i'm playing around with the idea of leveling a Warrior, and I'm wondering what is a good DPS leveling build for 1-60, and what is a good hybrid tank/DPS build for 60-70, something that is mostly for DPS, but with enough tanking talents that I wouldn't be completely useless in a dungeon.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
 
I leveled a pure arms warrior (with 5 points in cruelty for crit) and at about 50 or 55 I started putting points in protection, enough for last stand and improved shield block. (I think you only need 14 points to be a fairly effective tank) It worked for me, and I enjoyed it. Threat generation was the biggest thing that got easier when I went to full prot (and survivability too I guess)

I have been told that generally, fury is better for PVE and leveling.

Now I'm full protection spec, which is fun, but I do miss all the little things about arms.... I'll probably go back when the next expansion comes out, and leveling starts again.
 
Level as either Fury or Arms, both will serve you well. To maximize pve leveling speed just go for a 2H fury build. When you get to the Outlands getting +hit items is easier and there is a more compelling reason to go dual wield. Improved slam is a wonderful thing for 2H fury, you may need to get an addon like Quartz if you want to maximize your dps with slam though (hint: use slam just after your hit procs, Quartz will tell you exactly when that happens).
 
Now that I have reached 70, I am concerned about the role of a tank with our guild. Right now I am mainly arms with 5 in Fury and 14 (I think) in Protection to get the shield spec (Slam) and Last Stand. Is this a viable profile for DPS and Tanking as necessary? I know I want to get defence to 490 via armor, etc - can it be done as is?

And by the way - I am the newb!
 
One thing that I do when I want to know what a good PvE spec would be is look at what people in the top raiding guilds are specing. They usually know what they are doing.
 
Other than the point in improved intercept, it looks fine to me. I'm not sure where else I'd put that point though. Maybe disciplines.... or not. I just didn't find myself waiting for intercept to be up much.

I'd say save the points in fury for the end, except for cruelty. Take that first, then drop it for MS at 40, and then get it back again by 45..... I think its worth the respec to have the extra 5% crit for lvls 15-40. Then you can decide whether to drop Cruelty at 50 again for Endless rage, or just wait till 55 for it. It didn't make that big a difference that I noticed, but I hear now its working properly... smack! makes me want to respec to arms again :D

Oh, and Sam, Your spec should be fine for tanking most instances, once you get 490 defense... I'm not sure about heroics or raiding (I haven't tanked them yet, even though I switched to prot) And yes, 490 def is possible just from gear, you only get 20 points from talents anyway. The biggest thing I found with the switch was ease of holding aggro. Defiance, 1-handed specialization, and Devastate spam all make it much easier. And Shield Slam too. But you can definitely tank lots with that spec :) Good luck!
 
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The arms/prot spec got a fairly significant buff to threat generation with the new improved tactical mastery talents. They add an improved threat component to mortal strike and bloodthirst. As long as you get defiance in prot you can tank any 5 man content. It was previously mentioned, but 490 defence is easily attainable via gearing.

With the 42/5/14 spec you can effectively off tank in kara or whatever, all it takes is gear.

If you want to forgo the tanking option, you can go arms dps with a 33/28 spec and use improved slam with a swing timer (again, previously mentioned).

With player skill and appropriate gearing you can probably still tank with this spec. I personally used the 42/5/14 route and was able to tank anything without much difficulty, and pump out pretty sick dps when that was called for. That being said, the 33/28 route is much better for dps.

Anyways, for leveling either fury or arms is fine till 40, at which point you will want to spec for mortal strike. Rebuild your cruelty and go from there. It is not worth another respec just for endless rage, even with the bug fix. With +hit dual wield fury becomes viable, again as was previously mentioned.

Anyways, my two cents from lvling and playing pandacution.

Sean
 
Very interesting discussion, but I am still wondering after seeing Rhys almost forced to go back to Prot. I love running instances with guildies and anxiously await each chance and am drooling over raids. The dps is strong, but nothing like - say - a warlock. Two questions still bug me:
1) Which is needed more? My current 42/5/14 or another tank?
2) Is the 42/5/14 viable for PvP without roxors skills? Is a tank needed in pvp?
 
I don't pvp very much, so everyone correct me if i'm wrong. I think that in PvP a prot warrior doesn't necessarily have the same role as in PvE. In PvE of course, your job is to hold aggro on the mobs. Obviously, against other players this doesn't work so well. They can simply chose to attack your healers (and often do).

However, a tank with tons of hp and armor can be a real thorn in the side. You can really help to hold a key point simply because you're hard to kill, especially if you do have healers. :) You might not be able to do a lot of dps, but you have other abilities. You can hamstring. You can shield bash to interrupt (if you use sword and board). I'm sure others could suggest tactics too.
 
warrior own pvp. the fact they are wearing plate and have too many hitpoints make them a target you want to ignore. couple that with intercept/charge -> hamstring, then whatever else -> execute. throw in escape artist (gnome) or pvp trinket and your a menace. I know you want to root/snare them and nuke but that is where escape artist comes in.. crafty little gnomes. oh an little gnomes are hard to see and target. somehow this post because focued on gnomes...
 
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