Trying to get into warrior. Help Needed

[NoobWarrior 0]

Hello! the name is Nick and i recently decided to get into and level with a warrior, I'm currently lvl 102 and have leveled through content exclusively with the Protection Specialization, though i am not good at tanking nor am i good at Protection i managed to make it through dungeons without dying too often, now that i am dabbling in Legion content i wanted to branch out and really get a feel for what this class as a whole is capable off. Unfortunately being extremely excited for something does not make you automatically good at it, i honestly have no idea what I'm doing with this class, I started playing WoW at the end of Mists of Pandaria so I'm not what you'd call a veteran and the I've only ever played Retribution Paladin seriously/progressively but damn it! i want to be confident in playing something else but a Ret Pally! I've tried doing an extensive amount of research in hopes of learning how to play either Arms or Fury(Both look bitchin to me) but all the information I've found Isn't exactly "I'm brand new to warrior, explain things to me". So i am here in hopes that someone may possibly give me some tips on the proper Rotation, what a typical opener consists of,  the best talents to choose if i wanted a simple build, or some beginner tips in general for the class. I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me or any direction you could point me in. Thanks for your time!  

Edited July 27, 2018 by NoobWarrior

[Allseye 96]

Hi NoobWarrior

Did you already have a look at the prot-warrior-guide here on icy-veins? It seems to me this would already answer your quetions. If you are interested in arms and/or fury, just have a look at the specific guide too. If you need some deeper advice or do you have specific unanswered questions, feel free to ask ? 

[technitaur 3]

This isn't a complete list of information, but here are a few things that I'd say if someone asked me 'what is something you wish you knew when you first started out playing prot?'

These points are in no particular order and typed out somewhat hastily.

- Learn your thunder clap radius. It can be really helpful when gathering up lots of mobs very quickly - with TC, you don't have to be turned to or directly targeting a mob to pick it up, particularly if you're with a group that is able to restrain themselves from blasting all their DPS cooldowns as you take a few seconds to gather.

- However, don't let your back be turned towards a mob for very long. NEVER let your back be turned towards a boss, as you will take greatly increased damage this way. This is much easier said than done on fights where there are moments where you must make a long range movement quickly.

- Heroic leap helps mitigate the above problem, and is also the most fun skill in the game. Learn to abuse the hell out of heroic leap whenever you possibly can. You can do fun stuff with boss mechanics that the plodding bears and DKs can't do!

- When gathering up a mob pack, you'll notice that the way they gather around you can seem rather erratic and odd. It can be difficult sometimes to get them standing to where they're not to the side or behind you. For this reason, whipping around and blasting them with Shockwave is a great way to freeze them in place for a second so that you can adjust to where they're all in front of you, and it's also mentally a very helpful little 'breather' where you can take a second to collect yourself before you start your rotation.

- On mobs that can be stunned, Shockwave doubles as an interrupt. It's immensely satisfying to blow away multiple cast attempts by crushing an entire group of casters at once. This is particularly important in BFA, where it feels like there are a LOT more very important things to interrupt than there ever have been before.

- Hitting shield slam on cooldown and when it procs is so, so important. No matter how important you think it is, it's more important than that. A large amount of a prot warrior's personal ability is dependant on being able to hit that shield slam instantly every time it's up. This is harder than it sounds, because we're constantly having to interrupt our own muscle memory of the rest of our rotation in order to accommodate those sudden shield slams procs.

- Do not cast revenge unless you get the free proc, unless you're in a situation where you're taking little to no damage. Proc-less revenge is somewhat of a luxury for when you can afford to squeeze extra DPS in.

- It's amazingly easy (for me, anyway) to become caught up in the frenzy of the mechanics of a complex fight that's going on around me and I end up mentally locked in a state of just spamming 'devastate,' forgetting the rest of my skills. If something like this happens to you, try to be aware of when it happens and break yourself out of your loop early.

- Shield Wall should not be used as an 'oh shit' response. If you're at low health already and getting shredded, it's very unlikely that Shield Wall will save you. It is best used pre-emptively on packs of mobs or boss attacks that you know is going to hurt a lot. This goes for Last Stand as well, although somewhat less so. Of the two skills, Last Stand is much more of an 'oh shit' than Shield Wall because it gives you a burst of health.

- Intercept can be used on allies, and if you can click fast enough, it can save your life if you find yourself caught in a sea of shit and your heroic leap is down. There have been many a time I thanked raid members for simply being where they were when I was in a very bad place.

- Intercept also gives the allied target a damage resistance buff, transferring some of their damage to you, which can occasionally be useful to cast on an off-tank with big boss attacks. However, it isn't always practical, especially if the boss's attack is a big AoE. You can theoretically position yourself just 'behind' the threshold of the attack while helping your co-tank, but in the frenzy of a tough fight, it's probably better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to maximize Intercept's damage-sharing aspect, but it's nice to be aware that it exists. Can't say I've ever actually saved a struggling co-tank or raid member with it, though.

- Intercept/Heroic Leap can be used to make most knockback/knock-up effects completely useless. It's very fun to see the rest of my group flying a thousand miles away behind me while I just bolt right back up into the mob's face from midair.

- Heroic Leap makes it possible for a warrior to fall from literally any height without dying. Just make sure you click a valid spot on the ground before you impact! (Note: Unreliable if ping is 300 or higher. I speak from experience. Since getting actual good internet, my success rate with this is above 95%.)

- When you are fighting a boss that requires an active mitigation response (you'll know it when DBM says something like 'Hindering Cleave - defensive'), keep at least one charge of Shield Block up as much as you can, so that you always have one charge available for that active mitigation. Use your other charge for general purpose damage smoothing. It is easier said than done to remember to keep your rage pooled enough to use your SB for active mitigation, so this is something you have to pay attention to. If there is no AM skill, feel free to use both charges of shield block freely.

- Don't let your rage overcap. This is a waste of resources and defensive potential. If you're near cap, dump that rage into Ignore Pain and/or SB. More Ignore Pain is never a bad thing. However, as I mentioned earlier, if you're in a situation where you're taking little to no damage, you may also use a non-procced revenge if you like, but be mindful of whether or not you're going to need that extra rage in a few seconds.

- And perhaps most importantly, don't be hard on yourself. I've been playing warrior tank since the beginning of Legion (and I had played it in Cataclysm as well) and even after a great deal of practice, everything in this list where I said not to make a mistake of doing something? I make those mistakes all the time. I hate it when I realize my rage bar is pulsing at 100, or when I hit thunder clap when I needed to hit shield slam, etc.

The important thing is that you're aware of these mistakes when you make them - it is a long process to train yourself out of making them, but as long as you're aware they're happening, you'll improve, one fight at a time!

Edited August 23, 2018 by technitaur