Warrior tactics The topic of the " best " tactics for a Warrior seems to generate more heat than other WoW debates . As is usual when this happens , a lot of the heat is thrown between people who are not always talking about the same thing . You can ' t really have the " best " warrior until you answer the question , " Best at what ? " As with other classes , the only " correct ' path for a warrior is the one most enjoyed by the player ; though in high level ( endgame ) instances and in raids the warrior ' s teammates will have particular expectations . A word about equipment . The importance of good equipment for a warrior cannot be overstated . Other damage - dealing classes will often outdamage warriors . This is especially true as players approach higher levels near 60 and 70 . The warrior does not gain significant damage output as he or she advances in level . This is not to say a warrior is not a dangerous opponent , and indeed the warrior talent tree has many damage - enhancing options , but warriors do not have " super abilities " like the rogue ' s Cold Blood + Eviscerate or a mage ' s powerful area effect spells . However , there are certain warriors who masterfully match or surpass the damage capabilities of other classes - this takes intense involvement in all aspects of acquiring gear , from running high level dungeons many times in a row to purchasing and maintaining tradeskills ( especially blacksmithing . ) Offsetting the warrior ' s difficulty in achieving damage is the wide spectrum of gear from which they can choose , the widest in the game . This allows them to move between specialties more effectively than other classes . It is common for high - level warriors to maintain different sets of gear , e . g . one specifically for tanking and another for PvP ( often along with macros to switch between them ) . By selecting equipment carefully the warrior can more than compensate for the lack of super - DPS abilities enjoyed by other classes . Plate equipment in particular can offer the most armor , the highest bonuses to traits ( Strength , Agility , Stamina , etc . ) , and the best bonuses to combat skills - - often simultaneously on a single item . Since gear is so important , many warriors try to build a full armor set to take advantage of the extra set bonuses . The set bonuses can be generic , or be specific to a particular type of activity . The Battlegear of Wrath , the Field Marshal ' s Battlegear and the Conqueror ' s Battlegear are examples of desirable level 60 + sets . The heavy reliance on good equipment also means that the warrior is one of the most expensive and time - consuming classes to equip . The adage that " warriors are only as good as their gear " is not entirely correct , but there is more than a kernel of truth there . You may end up buying much of your equipment as you level in the auction house as well as spending a lot of time grinding for gear in instances . At level 60 and above , the problem only compounds as needs increase , as tanks usually need not only high stats and armor , but also defense and resistances , and often many sets of armor for different raiding situations . Since warriors can learn many different kinds of weapons , it benefits a warrior to skill up as many weapons as possible , because one never knows what will drop in an instance . This means keeping and swapping out a large number of weapons as well as having the best armor available . Ultimately your equipment should be chosen to best suit the role your warrior intends to fill . Warrior Roles . Warriors can be roughly divided into at least four basic concepts , each of which requires a different approach : Tanking . " For more information , see Warriors as Tanks . " In group quests and in elite instances , enemies are generally much stronger or more numerous than in normal situations . A group of players must work as a whole to defeat these powerful opponents , which best be done through players each taking a specific role in the group . Many player characters are unable to take the immense amount of damage these enemies deal out without dying rapidly , but it is here that a tank excels . A well - outfitted Warrior can certainly deal out a great amount of damage , but if you are the group ' s tank it is not your job to deal the most damage . Rather , your role is to take damage for your party members , and to reduce this damage as much as possible . There are two main reasons for this . Given the warrior ' s ability to wear extremely tough armor , to build up a huge amount of health , and large array of abilities that allow them to build up a lot of threat , a Warrior is an ideal tank . Warriors choosing to play this role in a group should focus on equipment and talents that emphasize defense rating , mitigation such as armor or block , and avoidance ( dodge and parry ratings ) , Stamina and to a lesser extent Strength and Agility , and threat generation ( generally through weapon DPS rating ) . Warriors will generally need to use a shield and a one - handed weapon when they tank . Get the best you have available to you . Some weapons are especially designed with tanking in mind – they may have extra armor , agility , defense and / or dodge rating , etc . when equipped . Fast one - handed weapons are generally considered superior for a tanking Warrior due to the threat output of Heroic Strike and Cleave when there is an abundance of Rage . In some ways , tanking can be thought of as a form of Crowd Control . The primary responsibility of a tank is to remain the target of the enemy while the others in the group kill it or heal the group . However , it may also be necessary for the tank to move the enemy , by kiting it towards a specific position , or to turn it in a certain direction , to keep certain attacks from affecting other members in the group . A Warrior tank can also prevent the enemy from casting spells , or at higher levels reflect them back toward the mob that is casting them . Warriors who tank generally use Defensive stance , and dedicated tanks emphasize the Protection talent tree , particularly in endgame PvE . This combination helps the Warrior generate more threat and tolerate more punishment . The Protection talent tree also provides invaluable abilities and bonuses necessary for tanking endgame instances and bosses , some of whom deal many thousands of damage in a few seconds . The descriptions of many of Warrior abilities and talents refer to an increased amount of threat generated . A tank will normally attempt to generate as much threat as possible with all the enemies that the group faces . The higher the tank is on an enemy ' s " threat list , " the less likely it is that enemy will run off to attack someone else . In particular you will want to watch the group ' s healer ( s ) . When the group ' s healers die it is potentially a sign that you may have ( or are ) a poor tank . Using a wide camera angle can help provide the necessary situational awareness to react to a changing situation as warrior If you are a group ' s main tank , don ' t try to compete with other classes in your group as a damage dealer . Instead concentrate on keeping the enemies focused on you . It is your responsibility to make sure each enemy considers you a serious threat as quickly as possible . This means switching targets , if necessary , to deliver threat - producing blows . A warrior will often switch to each enemy in turn at the start of a fight , building up threat with each ( usually with abilities like Devastate or Sunder Armor ) , before finally settling on one for the kill . Area - of - effect threat generation abilities such as Thunder Clap and Shockwave are also quite useful . Demoralizing Shout has had its threat generation heavily reduced and should be used as a damage reducing debuff rather than a threat generation ability . Producing threat on all enemies in combat with the group is important due to the game mechanics of healing threat generation . Finally , tanking is a concept that has meaning only in PvE groups . Since tanking depends on the game mechanics of threat , it has no meaning in solo play and practically none in PvP . Off tanking . Off - tanking usually happens when a party is attempting kill a group of enemies with more than one serious threat . While the main tank is busy holding aggro on the main threat , the off tank makes sure any secondary threats don ' t attack the healers and casters . For practical purposes , an Off - Tanking Warrior has exactly similar itemization needs as a Main Tank Warrior ; in fact , a Warrior Off - Tank will generally be a Warrior who has inferior gear compared to the group ' s Main Tank . Raiding Off - Tanks will be well - advised to carry a set of DPS gear and have a secondary DPS spec ( preferably not a PvP spec ) for fights in which either a secondary tank is impractical or DPS is of paramount importance ( e . g . Prince Malchezaar ) . Depending on the particular fight , an off - tank may hold a weaker enemy or enemies that the group as a whole focuses on killing quickly while the Main Tank holds aggro on a more dangerous enemy , or they may pull weaker enemies off healers , casters , etc . that the Main Tank has lost aggro on ( common when large groups of mobs are pulled , or a bad pull is made ) . During modern raids , these secondary targets often require gear on par with a Main Tank ' s , and so the role of part time off - tank is rare due to fight mechanics either requiring no extra tank or a well - equipped one . DPS . Warriors that spec deep into the Arms or Fury talent trees can be formidable damage - dealers in PvE content . With proper skill , gear , and talents , Warriors can DPS as effectively as Rogue s or any other DPS class . Also , in Patch 2 . 3 Warriors gained a 10 % threat reduction while in Berserker Stance , raising the DPS ceiling for Fury Warriors in PvE content . However , although DPS itemization is better post - Burning Crusade , DPS warriors may still find themselves competing with enhancement shamans and rogues for mail or leather DPS gear . Fury Warriors tend to dual - wield two one - handed weapons or two two - handed weapons when they have the Titan ' s Grip talent , while Arms Warriors generally use a slow two - handed weapon . Although historically the Fury tree has been the premiere damage - dealing Warrior tree , Arms has achieved a rough parity . Itemization is similar for both , emphasizing Strength , Agility , and Critical Strike Rating , and to a lesser degree Stamina , but a Fury Warrior will require more Hit Rating than a similarly - geared Arms Warrior , due to the lower hit % from dual - wielding . Depending on the fight and group composition , DPS Warriors may be expected to interrupt spellcasting with Pummel or Shield Bash . PvP . Generally speaking , a Warrior ' s role in player versus player is to engage and destroy the enemy in melee combat , ideally with a healer on hand to assist . Properly backed up with a healer ( or two ) a Warrior can become a fearsome killing machine – as the enemy attacks the Warrior , the Warrior takes damage , but also gains Rage . The damage may be healed , but the Rage remains , allowing the Warrior to perform more powerful attacks and do more damage . Without a friendly healer nearby , however , warriors are often at a disadvantage , especially versus ranged damage types . Thus an excellent tactic in group player versus player combat is to stay with friendly caster s and healers and protect them from melee types like Rogue s and other Warriors . Arms and Fury Warriors again are both popular in PvP . ( However , a Protection - specced Warrior can also be useful in battlegrounds such as Alterac Valley . ) Itemization is similar to that of the DPS Warrior , however Stamina gains a much increased role among PvP Warriors . Mortal Strike - specced Arms Warriors are extremely popular in the Arena PvP system . Anti - Root : Warriors must be particularly ready to prevent root actions , which can effectively prevent melee combat , taking away the primary means by which the warrior inflicts both effects and damage to the opponent . General tactics . Melee range and movement . Common Root Abilities : Common Root Counters : Gnome escape artist is very useful if you are trapped or rooted . This does not work when you are frozen though . Free Action Potions are the best - - 30 seconds with the user immune to both root AND snare . However , the potions do not dispel effects that are already active . Drawbacks include cost ( 1 gold each ? ) as they are consumable , shared potion cooldown with rage / heal potions . ( " Note : as of game patch 1 . 7 , Free Action Potions will be able to be dispelled , and their reagents easier to find , which may lower costs as well . " - Solaerl ) Spider Belt and Ornate Mithril Boots must be equipped before the battle begins , as you cannot change armor while in combat . On the positive side , these provide you with 5 seconds of immune to root only ( not snare ) . The cooldown timers are not shared , but they are each long – 30 minutes of cooldown before the next usage . Other drawbacks include a 30 - second delay from the time that you first equip these to when their ability can be used , and bonuses that you are giving up ( additional armor , or + stats ) as trade off for the ability . If you have closed to within melee range on a druid , it may be better to use your anti - root effect before you become rooted , because if it takes you 0 . 5 seconds to react to the root ( plus perhaps 0 . 5 seconds from server lag ) , that will typically be enough time for the enemy to get out of melee range ( even snared ) . Druids may have nature ' s grasp , which is an ability that causes anyone who hits them to have a chance of becoming rooted ( doesn ' t apply if your 5 - second immunity to root is active ) . Managing melee distance falls into two categories – obtaining melee distance when not in range , and keeping melee range once you ' ve got it . Other than simply running to an opponent , a warrior has only these abilities to affect combat distance / maneuvering : In most cases , Warriors will use Intercept when outside of melee range , and Hamstring when inside it . In Pvp , if you are close enough , an enemy should always be afflicted with Hamstring . An opponent should be Hamstringed before Disarm or other debuffs , to help ensure melee range is maintained while the warrior has an advantage . ( Rogues are the exception , as you can possibly avoid their slowing poisons by disarming them first , and it is wise to Rend them to prevent against a Vanish . ) Intercept is to be used to re - engage once the Warrior is out of melee range . It has a significantly large cooldown , and requires a " minimum " opponent distance . Intercept causes a three - second stun which is enough time for the warrior to use an ability or two after melee range has been re - established . Hamstring should almost always be used immediately after an Intercept to ensure that the opponent does not get away , or at least doesn ' t get away quickly , in these situation . Intercept is often used when a spellcaster is casting spell that is worth interrupting , as the stun from Intercept also interrupts spellcasting . Healing classes like Priest s , Druid s , and Paladin s should have healing spells interrupted , while damage - dealing classes like Mage s and Warlock s should have their largest attack spells interrupted . Against most spellcasters , the warrior must become aware of what spells are being cast by the motions and colors of the caster . Be sure you have checked the box in Interface Options labeled " Show Enemy Cast Bars on Portrait " . This will display a bar that will be labelled with what spell your target is casting . Try to save your interrupt cooldown for a healing spell , or a large , powerful damage spell such as a Mage ' s Pyroblast or a Warlock ' s Shadow Bolt . Counterattacks or Opportunistic Abilities . Warriors are a " reactive " class . Their most powerful abilities are enabled by situational or chance happenings of combat , and since these opportunities have several requirements such as stance , weapon , melee range , time window , and rage , correct usage of a warrior is complex . Given the time - constraints to react , pre - planning ( macro setup and strategy ) are required for success . The first 4 abilities are critical for all warriors , but by far , overpower is a warrior ' s greatest ability . It should be used whenever it is enabled by an opponent ' s dodge . Overpower is so good that it is often worthwhile to dual wield in order to gain more opportunities for the opponent to dodge . Its + 50 % chance to crit ( with 2 talent points ) means that at level 60 , a warrior overpower will deal a pessimistic damage of 300 damage against a plate wearer when it doesn ' t crit , but 600 - 800 when it does , which is quite often . Execute also regularly does huge damage and is next in line for should be used whenever possible . This hits normally for 500 - 700 damage . In the table below , stances are B = Battle , D = Defensive , Z = Berserker . Spell Interruption . It should be noted that melee spell interruption abilities Pummel and Shield Bash share a common cooldown . Therefore , it is not possible to prevent a caster from casting one class of spells , since the prevention portion of the ability lasts 6 seconds , but the ability to interrupt has a cooldown of 12 seconds ( assuming the warrior has enough rage to perform the action ) . This is where the warriors secondary interrupts become very important . These secondary interrupts include intimidating shout ( you ' ll need to re - target ) , intercept , concussion blow , and revenge . The Tauren special ability War Stomp is also an excellent spell breaker . Keeping a spellcasting class locked out of a particular class of spellcasting is a key to winning . Skills . For discussions , advice and strategies relating to the many and diverse individual Warrior Abilities , see the entries listed from the Abilities page , here . Talent Strategies . In addition to choosing a talent mix that matches your main role ( see above ) , there are a few general things to know about specific talents : Last Stand : You lose the full amount of health you gain from it afterwards ( it will NOT kill you but it will drop you to one hit point as it wears off ) . An additional use for Last Stand is to give healers an extra few seconds to catch up on healing while grouping , or have enough time to defeat your enemy . Mortal Strike : This talent causes and instant strike for weapon damage plus a static modifier . It also causes a debuff that reduces healing by 50 % . This talent is especially useful in PvP areas such as the arena where healing is a large part of the strategy of many teams . General Solo PvE Tactics . The warrior is designed to take a lot of punishment from mobs while dealing decent amounts of damage . At the beginning , the warrior is limited to a few abilities , namely Heroic Strike , rend , and charge . In the beginning , a warrior will usually be confined to charging , rending , casting shouts , then heroic striking to death with the occasional overpower thrown in when it becomes available . However , at level 40 , the warrior will gain access to their 31 - point talents Mortal Strike , Bloodthirst , and Shield Slam . These abilities drastically increase a warrior ' s soloing ability . Endgame , any of the three trees are viable soloing specs , given the right gear . Arms specialization is good for warriors who lack a lot of + hit ( necessary for duel wielding fury ) , and block value ( necessary for shield slams as protection spec ) . Arms Warriors . Arms warriors fight in Battle Stance for most of their ability procs . Warriors should always open with a Charge to gain rage . If the mob is among other patrolling mobs , Warriors should always pull with their ranged weapon or Heroic Throw and use Beserker Rage to gain the rage from charge . In Patch 4 . 0 . 1 , Bloodrage has been removed , and replaced by rage generation from Booming Voice and Glyph of Berserker Rage . When the enemy is on the warrior , open with Rend . Then hit them with Mortal Strike for damage and the healing debuff . Overpower should always be used whenever it becomes active on an enemy dodge ( parry with Glyph of Overpower , Rend tick with Taste for Blood . Slam becomes useful in between Overpower procs , and Mortal Strike cooldowns , even more so with Improved Slam . If the warrior has invested points in Sudden Death , then Execute is also useful in between Overpower and Mortal Strike . Bladestorm is usually saved for multiple mobs , but has shown use against single mobs and raid bosses . Many warriors will be left with a full rage bar when Bladestorm expires , making it a viable way to stack rage while simultaniously dealing damage . Heavy Arms Warriors should also consider useful talents like Improved Overpower , Unrelenting Assault , Wrecking Crew , Deep Wounds , Impale , Blood Frenzy , and Trauma . Warriors who do have the Unrelenting Assault talent have an additional panic button at their disposal . The warrior can switch to a 1H Weapon and a shield , use Shield Block and spam Revenge until the effect expires for massive burst damage . This tactic has proven effective in PVP , but is not effective without the Unrelenting Assault talent , making it less popular against other specs . Near end game , a typical Arms warrior ' s ability rotation will look something like this : Fury Warriors . By dual - weilding 2H weapons with Titan ' s Grip , Fury warriors will rarely find themselves without rage . Fury Warriors will almost always be in Berserker Stance , meaning the lack a normal opener . With points in Improved Bloodrage , and Improved Berserker Rage , Fury warrior do have the ability to open a fight with a whopping 50 rage . Whenever you open with this tactic , allow both your weapons to strike before throwing out abilities so you have a near full rage bar . Strike with Bloodthirst and Whirlwind as your opener , combining these abilities with Heroic Strike to maximize damage . Due to dual wielding 2H Weapons , Fury warriors can often spare the rage to use Heroic Strike several times in a fight . If you have points in Bloodsurge , then it is even more incentive to use Heroic Strike . Keep an eye out for the buff ( or install an addon to warn you when it procs ) to apply an instant Slam . With this talent , Slam becomes much like an Arms warrior ' s Overpower . Against multiple mobs , Cleave can be spammed in replacement of Heroic Strike ( made more effective with the Glyph of Cleaving ) . Whirlwind is even more effective against multiple mobs , as you will strike with both weapons rather than one . Panic buttons for Fury Warriors consist mostly of Enraged Regeneration for healing , and Death Wish to finish off en enemy before it kills you . Death Wish stacks with Battle Shout for even more power . At the end game , a Fury Warrior ' s ability rotation will look something like this : Protection Warriors . Protection warriors may start with a charge and alternate between revenge and shield block , using shield slam to burn excess rage . While not the fastest way to kill mobs , the warrior can round up mobs and unleash Thunderclap followed by a Shockwave . The warriors health loss is mitigated by shield block and the extra damage from revenge . Even while soloing , shield slam is a very large part of a prot warrior ' s DPS . Also worth mentioning since it is vastly underrated by most , is that when grinding solo the spirit stat actually comes to have some use . No class gains as much health regeneration as a warrior from spirit so having some spirit will in fact cut down on your time wasted eating to an extent that is useful ( troll and human warriors especially should look into this ) . Bear in mind that the health you regenerate stated in the tooltip is easy to disregard since it ' s in health points per 1 second instead of per 5 seconds for mana . PvE Grouping . With the changes in several classes and increased itemization for formerly ' off - trees , ' many formerly shunned talent specs are now considered viable . With a rise in the number of druid and paladin tanks , there is more room for warriors to play a DPS role in groups . Often , Karazhan raids will have one main tank , and one off - tank . The main - tank will typically be specced deep into protection to get the necessary Shield slam , and the helpful attack Devastate . The off - tank often uses a more DPS oriented build such as 31 / 30 / 0 in order to contribute to the amount of DPS done to a target and not being dead weight for the group except in a few certain areas . In 25 man raids , all tanks will usually be specced deep into prot , though this does not prevent warriors from DPSing . Warriors can also fulfill the role of pure DPS . By speccing deep into the fury or more rarely arms tree , a warrior can be just as powerful as a rogue or mage in terms of DPS . Also , warriors scale better with gear than most classes , so DPS warriors in SSC or The Eye can be incredibly powerful . However , due to fury itemization being incomplete and many of the tier pieces not being fantastic , many warriors will find themselves competing with rogues , or enhancement shamans for DPS gear such as trinkets , weapons , rings , etc .