Starting a warrior So , you ' re thinking of playing a Warrior ? This page is intended to give a short overview of what to do over the first 10 level s or so , just to get you started on the right path . If you ' re looking for more of an overview of the class ' s abilities , see the main warrior page . For more advanced topics , see the Warrior Tactics . Introduction . If you like action , Warriors are at the front line of battle , either tanking or dealing DPS . However , they are a very gear - dependent class , and don ' t have many survivability skills to help with solo leveling . When soloing , expect to rely heavily on healing items such as potions , bandages and food as you level ( in raids , the healers will top you off ) . Many first time players have expressed frustration with the warrior class due to their frequent death rate early on . If you do choose to be a Warrior it is likely you will do some tanking . Keep this in mind : Protection specced Warriors do much less damage than Arms / Fury specced Warriors , but can take far more damage . This becomes vital as PvE becomes more and more challenging at the end - game . Your main job as a tank is to make all the enemies focus their attention on you ( and survive ) , not to kill them ! If you want the glory of the big kill and bragging rights to high raid DPS , Protection Warriors are not for you ! On the other hand , Arms / Fury Warriors can dish out as much DPS as any other class . If you want to be in large part responsible for pacing the raid and managing aggro appropriately to keep the raid alive , then as a Warrior tank you can become very popular ! For tanking , as for DPS , gear is crucial , but more than perhaps any other party role tanking requires skill . If you want to tank end - game content , consider running low - level instances as you level . Doing so will give you invaluable practice in managing aggro , especially in large packs full of casters . Warriors use Rage to fuel their abilities . By taking or giving damage , warriors accumulate rage to activate their abilities . You will accumulate a great deal of rage from tanking because you are being hit by multiple mobs . You will also accumulate rage from DPS as dealing damage gives rage as well . Race Selection . If you ' re a power - player , you ' ll want to consider the various Racial Traits when choosing what race to play . You might also consider the racial stats , but after the first 20 levels or so these become largely irrelevant , as the items you ' ve gained will far outstrip any racial bonuses . For more casual gamers , there ' s really no major difference between the races — choose the race that you want to play , whether for its looks , its voice , or because its simply good fun ! Below is a quick overview of Races from the warrior ' s perspective — see the Race s page for more detailed information which isn ' t of specific interest to warriors , and the Racial Traits for more detailed explanations of the traits mentioned below . In Cataclysm , all races will be available for warrior . Note that beginning racial stats ( Draenei having more strength than Gnomes , or Orcs having more stamina than Forsaken , for example ) have practically no effect once you reach mid - level ( 30 + ) , and only minimal effect before then . Early Leveling . The easiest way to progress through the early levels is to simply do any and all quests you can find . Not only will you breeze through the first 5 to 10 levels , but you ' ll get useful gear and precious money . Money is particularly important so you can purchase new abilities and equipment . You will spend levels 1 to 5 in your starting town . Make sure you get all the abilities you can from your trainer . Between level 5 and 6 you ' ll find yourself heading off to your second town and a new trainer who can teach you various things . At the second town , repeat the process — do each and every quest you can find . It ' s important to keep up with your abilities and your gear . Now is also an appropriate time to start training in your chosen professions . For more advanced information see the Warrior Tactics page . Levels 1 - 3 . Initially , you ' re equipped with a melee auto - attack and one melee enhancement , Strike . Engage mobs from melee range with auto - attack , and use Strike whenever available . If you have enough rage for the next mob , open combat with Strike . At level 3 , you can learn Charge . This will be a very useful move throughout the whole game . Use it whenever starting combat . Levels 4 - 5 . At level 4 , you can learn Charge . Open combat with Charge . Levels 6 - 7 . At level 6 , you can learn Victory Rush , Thunder Clap and Parry . Parry is a passive , so it does not require any sort of activation . Thunder Clap does moderate damage , reduces the damage you take , and at lower levels is a more efficient use of rage than Heroic Strike . Victory Rush is very strong and should be used whenever possible . Notable Early Quests . " The intention is to link into the Quests page here with a few low - level quests once they are added , with particular emphasis on including quests with nice rewards for the class ; especially any class - specific quests . Wondering if this section should be moved to a separate page of its own as it may get quite long ? I won ' t take offense if someone moves it ! " The following lists are not intended to be comprehensive , but cover a selection of the best quests in the starting areas from levels 1 to 10 . The only quest that you really need to do is your level 10 quest to get Defensive Stance - it ' s the only way to get that ability . On Soloing and Grouping . Soloing . Warriors rely on rage , so it helps if you can move quickly from one mob to the next . In the first 5 levels or so , you shouldn ' t really need to stop killing . Later on you may find your health starts getting low - then you will have to stop and rest , and perhaps eat some food until you ' re ready again . Use all your abilities as you get them , and don ' t neglect your Battle Shout . Grouping . Grouping isn ' t all that different from soloing . At these levels any class can pretty much look after itself , but be ready to help out a weaker caster class if you see them under attack — always protect your healer ! Ask your group to " assist " you to ensure you focus your party ' s firepower on one mob . They can do this by selecting you ( use the F1 - F5 keys to target group members ) and then pressing " F " . This way , mobs will die faster . Another way to do this , and one which avoids the problem that a warrior sometimes needs to switch targets to keep aggro , is to be the group leader , and bind a hotkey to the skull Raid Target Icon . For instance , you could bind Ctrl - K ( K = Kill = sKull ) , and use this key to identify the " kill target " . In most high - level dungeon parties , the main tank is group leader for this purpose , and marking is a useful skill for a tank to learn . Other marks have common meanings , such as the star for Sap or Sheep , and blue square for Freezing Trap . The use of these marks should be established at the start of an instance run . Useful Professions . The warrior can benefit directly and indirectly from many of the professions available . Start your profession early at level 5 , or if not , before you reach level 10 if possible . It ' s not too expensive to start , and you want to ensure that the gear you create with your skills is applicable to your level . If you ' ve waited until after level 10 to start , you may want to spend some time improving your profession skills until you can make items that are appropriate for your level . Secondary Professions . As a Warrior you have four ways to heal : time , eating , potions , and First Aid . Fishing is useful in that it provides you with something to cook . Cooking lets you make better food and when " Well Fed , " you gain a boost to stamina and spirit for fifteen minutes ( more powerful bonuses are available at higher level ) . More stamina equals more hitpoints . First Aid is indispensable to a Warrior as it can really reduce your down - time between fights when soloing as well as removing those nasty poison effects with Antivenom . You will also level faster with First Aid as you have less downtime . If your gear is on Par for your level , you should be able to fight several enemies before needing to bandage up again . By the time you kill the enemies , your debuff should have finished , allowing for another quick 6 - 10 second bandage up , and off you go again ! Long - Term Goals . The warrior is a very gear - dependent class . Different situations will call for different items to equip . Many warriors find themselves collecting several entire suits of armor and many different weapons to use in a variety of situations . Try to ensure you ' re always using the best equipment for the job that is available for your level and budget . Since the gear you have is often dependent on how much money you have , focus on earning money from an early level . Don ' t be afraid to be stingy . If you spend money frivolously , you might not be able to afford the things you need down the road . Make sure you keep your armor repaired , as you ' ll be taking a lot of hits as the main tank in a group . If you go into an instance with your armor at only 50 % durability , you could inconvenience the entire group as you run to repair a broken item . As a warrior you don ' t spend money on poison s or reagent s , but you do have a responsibility to spend money on repairing your items . Deciding where you want to go with your Warrior Talents early will make a big difference . Do you want to be more defensive ( Protection and Arms ) or offensive ( Arms and Fury ) oriented ? Many warriors choose Fury talents to level quickly , then respec into Protection to tank in endgame instances . Others choose Arms and spend their time PvP ing , or go Protection right away and focus on tanking in PvE instances with their friends in order to level . Remember that talents are never set in stone , but it does cost money to unlearn them . Many warriors end up finding themselves spending dozens of gold uncomfortably often as they switch between roles . See Warrior Tactics for more advanced information on Warrior s , taking you beyond the first 10 levels .