Arms dps questions

[Eidyam 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I have some question for you experimented warriors about arms dps. I have the impression that I really underperform as arms warrior, and slowing my guild. I watched and compared my logs and couldn't find any clue. So I came here to seek some answers on arms in general.

 

1) I read that rend should be refreshed when 5 seconds are left, but the tooltip says that at the end of rend, there will be a final burst. Refreshing it earlier would make me lose the final burst, right?

 

2) In execute range, should I wait and only do 40 rage execute, or should I spam it whenever I can?

 

3) In execute range, in a fight like imperator when there is a lot of adds to AoE, should I focus on execute, or should I whirldwind the adds?

 

4) My dps rotation goes like this (simplified):

MS -> WW -> WW -> downtime -> MS

Should I use another whirldwind during the downtime (it will delay the next ms) ? Or maybe it's a haste issue, how much haste should I aim for to be optimal?

 

5) How does bloodbath actually works? Is it 30% dot of my highest attack, or does it stack with all my attacks? How to make the best out of these 12 seconds?

 

 

Thank you soooooooo much for your help!

 

 

[Sajakain 104]

Good evening, Eidyam. 

 

I apologize that this took so long for me to reply. I hope that I'm able to help you out by answering your questions. Overall, I would like to start by pointing you to my Arms Guide. It does answer some of your questions above.

 

1. I read that rend should be refreshed when 5 seconds are left, but the tooltip says that at the end of rend, there will be a final burst. Refreshing it earlier would make me lose the final burst, right?

• The short answer is you can refresh Rend when you have 5.4 seconds (or less) left without losing the final burst that comes with Rend.

 

2. In execute range, should I wait and only do 40 rage execute, or should I spam it whenever I can?

• Further along in my guide, you can find some napkin math on this question - along with the answer you're looking for.

 

3. In execute range, in a fight like Imperator when there is a lot of adds to AoE, should I focus on execute or should I whirlwind the adds?

• This is truly fight dependent as to what is priority and what strat you're using. If the adds are not being kited then I'd say they are of high priority to AoE down before the next add spawns. If they're being kited then you can probably ignore them.

 

4. My DPS rotation goes like this (simplified):

• There are two resources that clearly and in nice detail explain how to prioritize your abilities to maintain an optimal "rotation". My Arms Guide is one and Icy Veins has a very clear Guide as well. I'd study both.

 

5. How does Bloodbath actually work?

• I'm not 100% sure on the nitty-gritty details of this talent but I can tell you that you need to make sure it's always lined up with Colossus Smash when you use it. With their respective cooldowns you can use both Colossus Smash and Bloodbath together with every third cast of Colossus Smash (provided you use them upon availability).

[Eidyam 0]

Thank you very much for you answer, and for your guide that is very well writen!

 

About my 4th question, I'm still not sure what to do. I understand the skill priority in the rotation but my issue is this: between 2 mortal strikes, I can chose to use 2 or 3 GCDs. If I use 2 GCDs, I will have like 1sec downtime not using any skill, if I use 3 GCDs, it will delay my next mortal strike by around 1sec.  I'm trying to figure out what is the most optimal use of this time interval.

 

Thanks!

[Amputate 1]

Honestly for single target I wouldn't spec Arms either.

But for single target get glyph of thunder clap for sure.

I'm not sure what the exact name for it is but it increases the dmg of thudnerclap by 50%

Clap does around and about the same damage as WW (maybe even a tiny tiny bit more) but for half the rage so that's good.

 

And unless you're on a single target boss don't ever spec bloodbath... just don't.

If there's more than 1 target you get bladestorm for sure.

 

On imperator specifically I personally spec bladestorm and anger management.

That sounds like something blasphemous to do but in reality anger management makes my storm come back online pretty much exactly when we have a new add spawn which in the last phase becomes super useful.

 

Truth be told, you almost always want to spec bladestorm... the only times you won't is when the fight only has 1 target at all times (butcher, gruul).

 

As for the GCD, don't worry about it too much.

Start off by getting the thunder clap glyph which should already give you a tiny bit more rage and a GCD to spend.

MS doesn't do that much damage so I wouldn't lose any sleep over using it half a second late.

And if Smash is about to come off CD you might even want to hold on to that MS

[Sajakain 104]

Thank you very much for you answer, and for your guide that is very well writen!

 

About my 4th question, I'm still not sure what to do. I understand the skill priority in the rotation but my issue is this: between 2 mortal strikes, I can chose to use 2 or 3 GCDs. If I use 2 GCDs, I will have like 1sec downtime not using any skill, if I use 3 GCDs, it will delay my next mortal strike by around 1sec.  I'm trying to figure out what is the most optimal use of this time interval.

 

Thanks!

 

You're welcome. I'm glad I can help.

 

As far as your question goes, the best way to handle a "what if" when questioning your next GCD priority is to simply use a check list. Keep in mind, we're strictly talking single-target rotations here - things are obviously adjusted for multiple target. Other factors can come into play too such as saving for Hero / Execute / burn phases in a fight.

 

Generally speaking, you can take your GCD and go through a check list of sorts:

 

1. Is Colossus Smash available?

2. (Pending Sudden Death is taken): Do I have a proc?

3. What's the remaining time of Rend? Does it need to be refreshed?

4. Is Mortal Strike on CD?

5. (Pending Ravager is taken): Is Ravager available?

6. Is my Tier 4 Talent available?

7. Do I need to dump rage?

 

Going through a check list like this can enable you to effecient with your GCD usage to such an extent to where you're not wasting it.

 

As it's been said - there are obvious things that can change your check list, of course. Use a little common sense and you should be fine.

 

There are other fine points to managing your rotation such as aligning them with cool-downs but that's another topic.

 

This may be a bit long-winded but I hope it helps. If you should have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.