Arms Warrior Patch 9.1 Changes Analysis

Here we will go over the changes between patch 9.0.5 and 9.1, how they affect Arms Warriors, as well as their impact on the playstyle, best Legendaries, Covenants, etc. If you are simply interested in what the current changes are for Arms Warrior in Patch 9.1, you can instead read our full list of changes to the entire Warrior class on our dedicated page below.

Arms Warriors have received a handful of targeted buffs in Patch 9.1, increasing the damage of Mastery: Deep Wounds by 20%, while the damage of Mortal Strike, Overpower, and Execute is increased by 10%. This buff does not include Condemn, however, leading to less of a gain for Venthyr players.

So far, there no talent or interaction changes in Patch 9.1, so Arms Warriors will continue to use the same talents they are already used to.

Warriors have four new covenant-specific legendaries coming in Patch 9.1, which interact with each of the different covenant abilities. Although they are covenant-specific, they are not universally strongest for each, largely doubling down on what the covenant ability already excels at.

• Venthyr's Sinful Surge allows 100% uptime on Colossus Smash during Condemn windows, but the cooldown is relatively weak and giving up Signet of Tormented Kings takes away Rage generation that the covenant depends on for damage. For that reason, it is not currently recommended.
• Night Fae's Nature's Fury is a somewhat overly complicated increase to the pulsing ground effect damage from Ancient Aftershock, which has some strong multi-target potential, but is dependent on keeping targets within the area of effect for even longer than normal. While it may have some very specific burst AoE uses, Signet of Tormented Kings will continue to be the go to multi-target legendary in Mythic+ dungeons.
• Necrolord's Glory benefits both the Warrior and an extra ally, although the duration increase does not extend to the buff applied to friendly players. While the extension also makes Veteran's Repute last longer, it only amounts to a moderate personal damage increase, still behind Enduring Blow. That said, buffing an extra ally makes the legendary's total group damage contribution much higher, to the point where Necrolord competes very well with other covenants, albeit with less of a personal damage gain.
• The Kyrian Legendary has not yet been announced.

The new legendaries have a hard time competing against Signet of Tormented Kings (Venthyr/Mythic+) or Enduring Blow (non-Venthyr single target), with the exception of Glory, which can add up to a very competitive amount of additional group buffed damage, but comes at a personal cost to the Warrior. It is also generally harder to use, requiring the coordination of four players positioning and cooldowns instead of just one, making Glory more prone to failure.

Covenant balance has changed, with the buff to Execute causing other covenants to overtake Venthyr, even in sustained single target encounters. Because of this, Night Fae is currently the prominent covenant due to its strong advantage in multi-target.