Updated for 4.3
Single Target (Boss) Tanking – This build takes the Deep Wounds talent from Arms. With the threat changes from patch 4.3 this talent should be unnecessary as its primary value is added threat. 3/3 Blood Craze, from Fury, is a generally better choice now.
AoE Tanking
Note: Some aspects of this guide may not apply to your Warrior until you reach higher level. If you need to get your character to max level quickly, take a look at this leveling guide, now.
Glyphs come in three varieties, Prime, Major and Minor. Prime glyphs enhance core aspects of your class and generally provide the greatest benefit of the three types.
Major Glyphs, while not quite as powerful as Prime Glyphs, are still useful and continue to provide a myriad of benefits.
Minor Glyphs often times provide small quality of life improvements or visual changes, such as the Glyph of Shadow Form for priests which makes the character more visible through Shadow Form. However, a few are known to provide more significant benefits such as the warrior glyph of Berserker Rage.
Prime Glyphs:
Major Glyphs:
Minor Glyphs:
Here are your highest priority abilities.
During a fight you’ll want to keep rend, thunder clap and demoralizing shout active at all times. Rend can be refreshed by thunder clap if you have the talent blood and thunder, otherwise simply reapply it directly using the ability.
Your primary offensive ability’s are Shield Slam, Revenge and Devastate, as well as heroic strike when you have excess rage. Anytime Sword and Board procs you should use shield slam, as well as whenever it comes off cooldown.
AoE Rotation
When dealing with multiple mob situations you’ll want to start the fight with Thunder Clap, unless you’re using a Blood and Thunder build in which case you would Rend followed by Thunder Clap to apply Rend to all targets.
Otherwise your single target rotation remains pretty much the same except for using Revenge before Shield Slam when possible.
Cooldowns
As a tank, your cooldowns largely relate to your own survival. Determining when and how many to use depends on a number of factors from fight mechanics to how much mana your healers have left, making it a sometimes difficult and important personal judgement call.
In smaller 5-man situations cooldowns make things easier on healers, but are generally not mandatory, whereas in raid settings there are mechanics that demand the tank use his cooldowns or die. Proper use of cooldowns requires anticipation of, or quick reaction to damage levels that your healers can’t keep up with or are incapable of handling at that moment due to being dead, mind controlled, etc.
Generally speaking if you feel threatened it’s better to blow a cooldown or two rather than potentially die, because if you do die your team will more likely than not follow soon after.
Threat
With the changes to threat in patch 4.3 (everything you do generates more threat than before) it becomes less necessary to focus on generating threat and allows more emphasis on mitigation (survival.) With that in mind, your recommended stat priority becomes:
- Stamina >= Mastery > Parry >= Dodge >> Hit, Expertise >> Str > Crit
Stamina is your primary stat as a Protection Warrior, increasing total health and as a result enhancing the effects of Vengeance. Vengeance and your other abilities should be more than enough to maintain threat.
Mastery – Critical Block: Protection Warrior Mastery increases the chance to block as well as critically block, making it the most effective secondary stat for survivability. Stack as much Mastery as possible.
Parry & Dodge are two methods of avoiding damage. Parry triggers the Hold the Line talent, which is why it has a bit more value than dodge, but they are otherwise equal.
Reforging
When reforging gear, it’s important that you look to reforge from your least effective stat into the most effective for whatever gear goal you are currently aiming for.
Mastery > Dodge & Parry
Your most important stat to reforge into is Mastery for the increased block chance. If a piece of gear already has Mastery, look to reforge into Dodge or Parry, preferably keeping the two as close in value as possible in the process.
Your most important aim is to achieve the block cap of 102.4% above all else.
Hit, Expertise, Crit, should all be reforged into Mastery, and then to Parry or Dodge.
Gems
Both the gems and then enchants listed below assume that you’re gearing for mitigation, rather than threat. With the threat changes in 4.3 threat should not be an issue, but survival still is.
- Red – Fine Ember Topaz
- Blue – Puissant Dream Emerald
- Yellow – Fractured Amberjewel
- Meta – Eternal Shadowspirit Diamond
Enchantments
- Main Hand: Windwalk
- Shield: Enchant Shield – Mastery
- Helm: Arcanum of the Earthen Ring
- Shoulders: Greater Inscription of Unbreakable Quartz
- Cloak: Enchant Cloak – Protection
- Chest: Enchant Chest – Greater Stamina
- Bracers: Enchant Bracer – Superior Dodge
- Gloves: Enchant Gloves – Greater Mastery
- Belt: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
- Leggings: Drakehide Leg Armor
- Boots: Enchant Boots – Mastery
Our class guides for whichever class you’re playing:
Death Knights – Druid – Hunter – Mage – Paladin
Priest – Rogue – Shaman – Warlock – Warrior
The GotWarcraft Gold Guide
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