Protection Warrior Tank Spell List and Glossary — The War Within (11.0.5)

Last updated on Oct 21, 2024 at 21:00 by Mwahi 49 comments
General Information

On this page, we present you with all spells and procs that you need to understand as a Protection Warrior in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.5).

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Protection Warrior spells.

1.

Introduction

This page goes over Protection Warrior's various abilities and passives, explaining what each does and how they function in detail. It is recommended that you read through this page in order to have a basis for the various topics that are discussed throughout the rest of this guide.

If you first start leveling a Protection Warrior, you will not have access to all of the abilities stated below. To get a better understanding of when you will get all the abilities mentioned on this page, you can go over our Leveling guide.

2.

Baseline Abilities for Protection Warriors

In the table below, you can find the baseline abilities. You will have access to these without having to Talent into them.

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam SS Deals Physical damage to a single target on a 9-second cooldown (reduced by Haste). It generates 15 Rage.
Devastate Icon Devastate Deals Physical damage to a single target. It has no cooldown and generates no Rage.
Charge Icon Charge Makes you sprint towards an enemy. It generates 20 Rage and has 1 charge with a 20-second cooldown.
Execute Icon Execute Deals heavy single-target damage but is only usable on enemies below 20% HP. It has no cooldown and costs 20-40 Rage.
Whirlwind Icon Whirlwind WW Deals Physical damage in an area around you. It costs 20 Rage and has no cooldown.
Deep Wounds Icon Deep Wounds DW Makes your Devastate Icon Devastate and Revenge Icon Revenge apply a debuff that causes Bleed damage over 15 seconds.
Pummel Icon Pummel Interrupts spell casts or channels and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 3 seconds. It is on a 15-second cooldown.
Slam Icon Slam Causes physical damage to a single enemy. Costs 20 Rage.
Heroic Throw Icon Heroic Throw HT Deals Physical damage to a single target and generates an increased amount of threat. It has no cooldown or cost. It has a minimum range of 8 yards and a maximum range of 30 yards.
Battle Shout Icon Battle Shout BS A pre-combat group buff on a 15-second cooldown. It increases the Attack Power of all party or raid members by 5% for 1 hour. It has a maximum range of 100 yards.
Taunt Icon Taunt Forces a target to attack you for 3 seconds on an 8-second cooldown. It increases your threat generation significantly for its duration. It has a maximum range of 30 yards. It can be reset with Heroic Leap Icon Heroic Leap.
Vanguard Icon Vanguard Increases your Stamina by 40% and increases your Armor by 70% of your Strength.
Berserker Rage Icon Berserker Rage Both removes and grants immunity to Fear, Sap, and Incapacitate effects for 6 seconds on a 1-minute cooldown.
3.

Class Abilities for Protection Warriors

Below, you can find abilities that can be obtained through the Class Talent tree sorted by the Rows. For a more detailed view of the best talents and when to use them, take a look at our Talent Page below.

3.1.

Rows 1-4 Class Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Fast Footwork Icon Fast Footwork Increases your movement speed by 5%.
War Machine Icon War Machine WM Causes your auto-attacks to generate 1 extra Rage. Killing an enemy generates 10 Rage and increases your movement speed by 30% for 8 seconds.
Leeching Strikes Icon Leeching Strikes Increases your Leech by 3%.
Intervene Icon Intervene Sprint towards an ally and intercept all melee and ranged attacks against them for 6 seconds. It has a 30-second cooldown.
Impending Victory Icon Impending Victory IV Heals you for 20% of your maximum health. It has a 25-second cooldown, which can be reset when killing an enemy that yields experience or honor. Costs 10 Rage.
Heroic Leap Icon Heroic Leap Makes you leap through the air towards a target location. When you land, you deal Physical damage to all enemies in an 8-yard radius. It is on a 45-second cooldown, has a minimum range of 8 yards and a maximum range of 40 yards. It also resets the remaining cooldown on Taunt Icon Taunt.
Storm Bolt Icon Storm Bolt Stuns a single target for 4 seconds on a 30-second cooldown.
Intimidating Shout Icon Intimidating Shout Causes a target enemy to cower in fear (the enemy does not move) and 5 additional enemies to flee. Both effects last 8 seconds. Targets are technically disoriented, and there is a damage threshold at which that disorient breaks. It is on a 1.5-minute cooldown and has a maximum range of 8 yards.
Second Wind Icon Second Wind Restores 6% of your health every 1 second when you have not been damaged in the last 5 seconds. Also heals you for 1% health every second if you are below 35% health, regardless of combat status.
Frothing Berserker Icon Frothing Berserker Revenge Icon Revenge has a 20% chance to refund 25% of the Rage spent on it.
Bounding Stride Icon Bounding Stride Reduces the cooldown of Heroic Leap Icon Heroic Leap by 15 seconds and causes it to also grant 70% movement speed for 3 seconds.
Pain and Gain Icon Pain and Gain Heals you for 2% of your maximum health when you take damage. Can only occur once every 10 seconds.
Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap TC Deals damage to all enemies in an 8-yard radius on a 6-second cooldown (reduced by Haste). Deals reduced damage beyond 5 enemies. It generates 5 Rage, and reduces enemy movement speed by 20% for 10 seconds. Also applies Rend Icon Rend to enemies hit if you have Rend talented.
3.2.

Rows 5-7 Class Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Cacophonous Roar Icon Cacophonous Roar Intimidating Shout Icon Intimidating Shout withstand 200% more damage before breaking.
Menace Icon Menace Intimidating Shout Icon Intimidating Shout knocks back all nearby enemies except for your primary target. In addition, the enemies now cower in fear instead of fleeing.
Spell Reflection Icon Spell Reflection SR Grants a buff that reduces magic damage taken by 25% and will reflect a single spell cast at you. The buff lasts 5 seconds or until a spell is reflected. It is on a 20-second cooldown. A spell that is reflected returns to the caster and deals damage to the caster as if you had cast it.
Rallying Cry Icon Rallying Cry Grants 10% temporary and maximum health to all party or raid members for 10 seconds on a 3-minute cooldown. It has a maximum range of 40 yards.
Shockwave Icon Shockwave Stuns all enemies in front of you within 10 yards for 2 seconds and deals damage. It has a 40-second cooldown.
Crackling Thunder Icon Crackling Thunder CT Increases the radius of Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap by 50% and reduces the movement speed by an additional 20%.
Honed Reflexes Icon Honed Reflexes Reduces the cooldown of Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall, Pummel Icon Pummel, Intervene Icon Intervene, Spell Reflection Icon Spell Reflection and Storm Bolt Icon Storm Bolt by 5%.
Crushing Force Icon Crushing Force Increases the damage and Critical Strike damage of Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam by 5% per rank.
Bitter Immunity Icon Bitter Immunity Heals you for 20% of your health and removes all disease, poison and curse effects on yourself.
Overwhelming Rage Icon Overwhelming Rage Increases your maximum Rage by 15 per point, up to a maximum of 30.
Rumbling Earth Icon Rumbling Earth Increases the range of Shockwave Icon Shockwave by 6 yards, in addition it reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds as long as Shockwave hits 3 or more enemies.
Reinforced Plates Icon Reinforced Plates Increases your armor by 10%.
Shattering Throw Icon Shattering Throw Deals damage to enemies, ignoring Armor, and removes any magical immunities. Damage dealt to absorb is increased by 500%. 1.5 second cast time and 3-minute cooldown.
Wrecking Throw Icon Wrecking Throw Deals damage to the target, ignoring Armor. Damage dealt to absorbs is increased by 500%. Has a 45-second cooldown.
Sidearm Icon Sidearm Your auto-attacks have a 20% chance to hurl a weapon at your target and 3 other enemies, dealing damage.
Barbaric Training Icon Barbaric Training Revenge Icon Revenge deals 25% more damage while also costing an extra 10 Rage.
Double Time Icon Double Time DT Provides an additional charge to Charge Icon Charge and reduces its cooldown by 3 seconds.
Seismic Reverberation Icon Seismic Reverberation Causes Revenge Icon Revenge and Whirlwind Icon Whirlwind to hit one additional time for 30% damage if the initial cast hits at least 3 enemies.
Concussive Blows Icon Concussive Blows Reduces the cooldown of Pummel Icon Pummel by 1 second. After a successful interrupt, you deal 5% increased damage to the target for 10 seconds.
Berserker Shout Icon Berserker Shout Removes and grants immunity to Fear, Sap, and Incapacitate effects for 6 seconds on a 1-minute cooldown for all group members.
Piercing Howl Icon Piercing Howl Snares all enemies within 12 yards, reducing their movement speed by 70% for 8 seconds.
3.3.

Rows 8-10 Class Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Cruel Strikes Icon Cruel Strikes Increases your Critical Strike chance by 1% per point. Further increases the Critical Strike damage of Execute Icon Execute by 5% per point.
Wild Strikes Icon Wild Strikes Increases your Haste by 1% per point and also causes your auto-attack critical strikes to increase your auto-attack speed by 10%, also per point, for 10 seconds.
One-Handed Weapon Specialization Icon One-Handed Weapon Specialization Increases your damage done and Leech by 5% as long as you have a one-handed weapon equipped.
Endurance Training Icon Endurance Training Increases your Stamina by 5% per point and reduces the duration of Fear, Sap, and Incapacitate effects on you by 10%.
Armored to the Teeth Icon Armored to the Teeth Increases your Strength equal to 4% of your Armor, 2% per point.
Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar TR Damages all nearby enemies within 12 yards and also puts a bleed on them for additional damage over 8 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown.
Uproar Icon Uproar Reduces the cooldown of Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar by 45 seconds, down to 45 seconds.
Thunderous Words Icon Thunderous Words Increases the duration of Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar bleed effect by 2 seconds while also granting 30% damage to all bleed effects during the Thuderous Roar's bleed duration.
Avatar Icon Avatar Increases your damage dealt by 20% for 20 seconds on a 1.5-minute cooldown. It generates 10 Rage and removes all roots and snares currently on you. This ability is not on the global cooldown.
Unstoppable Force Icon Unstoppable Force UF Avatar Icon Avatar further increases the damage of Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap and Shockwave Icon Shockwave by 50%. It also reduces the cooldown of Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap by 50% while Avatar Icon Avatar is active.
Immovable Object Icon Immovable Object IO Casting Avatar Icon Avatar also grants Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall for 4 seconds and casting Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall grants Avatar Icon Avatar.
Champion's Spear Icon Champion's Spear Throw a spear to a targeted area, damaging all enemies hit and tethering them to the spear's location for 4 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown and generates 10 Rage.
Piercing Challenge Icon Piercing Challenge PV Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion initial damage is increased by 50%, and the Rage generated by 100%.
Champion's Might Icon Champion's Might EM Adds 2 seconds to Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion duration. Your Critical Strike damage is increased by 25% when attacking enemies tethered to the spear.
4.

Specialization Abilities for Protection Warriors

This section is dedicated to abilities which are unique to Protection Warriors. These aim to provide us with some of our best defensive and offensive tools.

To get a better grasp of which are the best options to pick, take a look at our Talent page.

4.1.

Rows 1-4 Spec Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain IP Grants an absorb, which prevents 50% of the damage taken. It stacks up to 30% of your maximum health and costs 35 Rage.
Revenge Icon Revenge Deals Physical damage to all enemies in a cone in front of you; it has no cooldown. Deals reduced damage beyond 5 enemies. It costs 20 Rage to cast and has a chance to become free to cast when you successfully parry or dodge an attack.
Demoralizing Shout Icon Demoralizing Shout DS Applies a debuff to all enemies within 10 yards, reducing the damage they deal to you by 25% for 8 seconds. This is on a 45-second cooldown. This does not apply a buff to you. Any enemies that were out of range for the initial cast does not deal reduced damage.
Devastator Icon Devastator Replaces Devastate Icon Devastate, enhancing your auto-attacks with increased damage and a 20% chance to reset the cooldown of Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam.
Last Stand Icon Last Stand LS Increases your maximum health by 30% for 15 seconds on a 3-minute cooldown. It heals you for that same amount. This heal can critically hit.
Fight Through the Flames Icon Fight Through the Flames Defensive Stance Icon Defensive Stance grants you 6% extra magic damage reduction.
Best Served Cold Icon Best Served Cold BSC Increases the damage of Revenge Icon Revenge by 10%, or by 20% if you have the Revenge! Buff.
Strategist Icon Strategist Gives Devastate Icon Devastate, Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap, Revenge Icon Revenge and Execute Icon Execute a 30% chance to reset the cooldown of Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam.
Brace For Impact Icon Brace For Impact BFI Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam deals increased damage and the amount of damage you block is increased by 3%. It stacks up to 5 times and has a 16-second duration.
Unnerving Focus Icon Unnerving Focus Buffs Last Stand Icon Last Stand to also increase your Rage generation by 50% for its duration.
4.2.

Rows 5-7 Spec Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Challenging Shout Icon Challenging Shout Forces all targets around you to attack you for 6 seconds on a 4-minute cooldown. It has a 10-yard range.
Instigate Icon Instigate Makes Devastate Icon Devastate deal 20% more damage and generate 2 Rage. If you have Devastator Icon Devastator talented, it instead increases its damage by 10% and also makes it generate 1 Rage.
Rend Icon Rend Places a strong bleed on the enemy for 15 seconds. This bleed is automatically applied by Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap, so you never need to cast it. Costs 20 Rage.
Bloodsurge Icon Bloodsurge Gives your Bleed effects (Deep Wounds Icon Deep Wounds, Rend Icon Rend, Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar) a 10% chance to grant you 5 Rage.
Brutal Vitality Icon Brutal Vitality BV Adds 10% of your damage dealt to your active Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain.
Fueled by Violence Icon Fueled by Violence FbV Heals you for 110% of the damage dealt by Deep Wounds Icon Deep Wounds.
Disrupting Shout Icon Disrupting Shout Taunts all targets around you, interrupting any spells being cast. If it successfully interrupts a spell being cast, it silences the enemy for 6 seconds. It has a 90-second cooldown.
Sudden Death Icon Sudden Death SD Gives your attacks a chance, approximately 1.7 procs per minute, to make your next Execute Icon Execute cost no Rage and be usable on any target, regardless of health.
Show of Force Icon Show of Force SoF Increases the damage of Revenge Icon Revenge by 10% and each cast of Revenge increases the damage of your next Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap by 20%.
Thunderlord Icon Thunderlord TL Demoralizing Shout Icon Demoralizing Shout gains 5 yards extra range and causes each enemy hit by Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap to reduce the cooldown of Demoralizing Shout Icon Demoralizing Shout by 1.5 seconds, capping out at 4.5 seconds.
Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall SW Reduces all damage taken by 40%, on a 4 minute cooldown.
Bolster Icon Bolster Reduces the cooldown of Last Stand Icon Last Stand by 1 minute and makes it also, grant Shield Block Icon Shield Block for its duration. This effect can break the usual Active mitigation gap (18 seconds for Protection Warriors).
Spell Block Icon Spell Block Lets you block spells for 30 seconds. It has a 1.5-minute cooldown. Damage reduction is calculated the same as for regular Shield Block Icon Shield Block.
Tough as Nails Icon Tough as Nails Blocking an attack deals physical damage, ignoring Armor.
Bloodborne Icon Bloodborne Increases the damage dealt by Deep Wounds Icon Deep Wounds, Rend Icon Rend and Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar's Bleed effects by 10% per point, 20% maximum.
Heavy Repercussions Icon Heavy Repercussions HR Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam generates 2 more Rage and also extends the duration of an active Shield Block Icon Shield Block by 1 second.
Into the Fray Icon Into the Fray ITF Grants you 2% extra Haste for each enemy or ally within 10 yards, up to 8% Haste.
Enduring Defenses Icon Enduring Defenses ED Extends the duration of Shield Block Icon Shield Block by 2 seconds.
Massacre Icon Massacre Lets you use Execute Icon Execute starting from 35% health instead of 20%.
Anger Management Icon Anger Management AM The cooldown of Avatar Icon Avatar and Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall is reduced by 1 second for every 10 Rage spent.
Unbreakable Will Icon Unbreakable Will UW Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall gains 1 extra charge and its cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds.
Impenetrable Wall Icon Impenetrable Wall Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam generates an additional 4 Rage and reduces the cooldown of Shield Wall Icon Shield Wall by 6 seconds.
Punish Icon Punish Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam deals 10% increased damage and reduces enemies damage against you by 2% for 9 seconds. It stacks, but each stack has its own duration.
Juggernaut Icon Juggernaut Execute Icon Execute damage is increased by 3% for 20 seconds each time you cast Execute Icon Execute. Stacks up to 20 times.
4.3.

Rows 8-10 Spec Abilities for Protection Warrior

Ability Abbreviation Description / Effect
Focused Vigor Icon Focused Vigor Increases your Strength and Armor by 5% and increases your Critical Strike chance by 1%.
Shield Specialization Icon Shield Specialization Increases your Block chance by 6% and your Block value by 12% per point spent, maximum increase of 12% Block chance and 24% of Block value.
Enduring Alacrity Icon Enduring Alacrity Increases your Stamina and Armor by 8% and your Haste by 2%.
Shield Charge Icon Shield Charge SC Charges to an enemy, stunning the main target, dealing damage to it and all nearby enemies. It generates 20 Rage and has a 45-second cooldown. Unlike Charge Icon Charge, this ability has no minimum range.
Booming Voice Icon Booming Voice BV Demoralizing Shout Icon Demoralizing Shout generates 30 Rage and increases the damage you deal to affected targets by 20%.
Indomitable Icon Indomitable Increases your maximum health by 6% and heals you for 1% of your maximum health for every 20 Rage you spend.
Violent Outburst Icon Violent Outburst Gives you a stack of Seeing Red Icon Seeing Red every 30 rage you spend. Once you reach 8 stacks, it turns into Violent Outburst Icon Violent Outburst, increasing the damage your next Shield Slam Icon Shield Slam or Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap by 200% and the Rage they generate by 100%. Also grants a free Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain.
Ravager Icon Ravager Throw down your weapon, dealing damage to any enemies within the area over 12 seconds. It grants 10 Rage each time it deals damage. It has a 1.5 minute cooldown.
Battering Ram Icon Battering Ram Increases the Critical Strike chance and Critical Strike damage of Shield Charge Icon Shield Charge by 20%. Shield Charge Icon Shield Charge will also grant you 10% increased auto-attack damage and speed for 20 seconds.
Champion's Bulwark Icon Champion's Bulwark Shield Charge Icon Shield Charge grants you Shield Block Icon Shield Block, a free Revenge Icon Revenge and generates an additional 20 Rage. Also increases the damage of Shield Charge Icon Shield Charge by 20%.
Battle-Scarred Veteran Icon Battle-Scarred Veteran BSV Reduces the damage you take by 80% for 8 seconds and healing received by 100% for the same duration when your health is brought below 30%. Has a 3-minute cooldown.
Dance of Death Icon Dance of Death If an enemy dies while affected by Ravager Icon Ravager, the duration of Ravager is increased by 2 seconds, stacking up to 3 times per cast, for a maximum of 6 second increase.
Storm of Steel Icon Storm of Steel Reduces the damage dealt by Ravager Icon Ravager by 30% but grants it 2 charges and makes it generate 15 Rage, instead of 10, each time it deals damage.

Most of our rotational abilities interact with each other in some way. Knowing these interactions is very important, as they will provide you with a better understanding of the class. To fully comprehend how all of these spells work together and when to actually use the correct one, you can go over to our Rotation page linked below.

More details about which abilities can be macroed to make casting them more efficient can be found on the following page:

5.

Changelog

  • 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
  • 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
  • 21 Aug. 2024: Updated for The War Within.
  • 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
  • 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
  • 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
  • 18 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.6.
  • 22 Jan. 2024: Updated the Vanguard and Ignore Pain abilities.
  • 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
  • 06 Nov. 2023: Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.2.
  • 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7.
  • 19 Aug. 2023: Updated Vanguard and Spell Reflection.
  • 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
  • 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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