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General Warrior Guide
Author: BlacKhell
I originally posted this over on my guild site. The link to the original
thread is here.
After playing the Warrior for the last month and a half I've decided to write
up a guide from my knowledge of the warrior. I'm a Gnome Warrior, which most
would consider a small threat, but I find it funny when I take down Orcs and
Taurens, who are considerably larger then I am. This guide will include
everything you need to know about a warrior.
Introduction
Warriors are the most important class in World of Warcraft, with the exception
of Priests. Warriors can be used to as melee attackers, doing some of the best
damage in the game. They can also be used to tank for a party, protecting not
only their healers and damage dealers, but also party members low on HP. They
can do this with their ability to aggro the many enemies in the PvE world.
This role mainly takes place in instances, but sometimes used for Elite named
monsters, in the world outside of instances. Being able to do both of these
things makes warriors a nice addition to any party. Not only are warriors good
in parties, but they are excellent at soloing. They have the ability to solo
enemies 3 or more levels higher then themselves if played well.
Stances
There are 3 stances currently used by the Warrior in World of Warcraft. Those
stances include Battle Stance, for dealing lots of damage, Defensive Stance,
used for tanking, and Berserker Stance, used for killing enemies quickly.
Battle Stance
Battle Stance, probably the most used stance by Warriors in World of Warcraft.
While in this stance, you have the ability to do massive damage, which is
quite an important thing for a Warrior. The Warrior uses a certain set of
abilities in Battle Stance which can only be used in Battle Stance. 2 Handed
Weapons are the best choice for this stance because of the high amount of
damage they can pull off with the abilities in Battle Stance.
Attack - Attack pretty self explanatory. Basically the normal warrior
attack without using a specific skill. Has the chance to do a critical hit
sometimes but normally does whatever the regular weapon damage is.
Shoot - Shoot triggers the use of the gun. Guns aren't used a whole lot
in Battle Stance other then occasional pull. Warriors don't really rely on
range but it's nice to have some equipped just in case.
Heroic Strike - Heroic Strike allows you to extra damage. An extremely
useful ability that I often use in the majority of my fights. It helps me get
that extra damage I need to take down enemies at a higher level then me.
Charge - In my opinion, this is the most important of all warrior
abilities. On charge, it stuns the target for a second or two and gives you
rage, something essential for warrior success. Getting off a Charge gives you
that early advantage in the battle because you have rage to use your
abilities, do some quick damage, and get the upper hand in the battle. Not
getting a charge off makes gaining rage more difficult, making a battle harder
then it needs to be.
Rend - Rend is a DOT (Damage over time) ability. It basically makes the
target bleed for a certain amount of time and they take a certain amount of
damage every 3 seconds. It can also it stop rogues from vanishing, it belongs
on every warriors main battle stance
Pummel - Pummel is a very nice and useful ability. The main use of
pummel is to interrupt a spell being cast by an enemy, not allowing them to
use the spell for a couple additional seconds. It can also occasionly daze the
target, slowing down their attack speed which is very nice. I love using this
ability vs enemy casters.
Battle Shout - Battle Shout is one of the few abilities that can be
used in every stance. Battle Shout increases your attack power, as well as
anyone near you in your party. It helps deal huge damage, which is why I often
like to use it.
Thunder Clap - Thunder Clap is an AOE (Area of Effect) attack meaning
it can attack multiple enemies at once. Not only does it attack the targets,
but it also slows them down for a short amount of time. This is an ability I
don't really use often. I'll use it once in awhile for fun but it really
doesn't do enough damage to be truely effective.
Hamstring - Hamstring is another one of those extremely useful abilties.
It slows enemy movement speed for a pretty good amount of time. I like to use
it in instances, because many elite humanoids like to run to other mobs when
they are low on health and cause aggro. It's also extremely useful in PvP,
eliminating the chance for an enemy to escape from you while you deal massive
damage to them.
Overpower - Overpower is an ability that can only be used after an
enemy dodges your attack. However, when you do get an oppurtunity to use this
ability, it does amazing damage and can really take a lot out of your enemy. I
use it whenever I get the oppurtunity too.
Demoralizing Shout - Demoralizing Shout is another one of those
abilities that can be used in all three stances. It is also an AOE ability,
making it even more useful. What it does is lower the enemy's attack power. In
Battle Stance, I mainly use it to lower enemy attack power or as a light AOE
taunt, although its not extremely effective.
Mocking Blow - Mocking Blow does what it's name says, taunts. I use
this in situations where one of my party members is in trouble and I don't
have enough time to switch into Defensive Stance and taunt. It pulls the enemy
right off them and onto me for about 8 seconds. I don't use it a lot but it
gets the job done when I need it. The cooldown on it is about 5 minutes.
Intimidating Shout - Intimidating Shout is yet another ability that can
be used in all three stances. It is an AOE ability, and when used, puts all
enemies in fear for about 8 seconds, making them unable to fight. This ability
is extremely useful but can also be extremely fatal if not used correctly. If
you are by a ton of mobs and you use this ability, all the enemies it's used
on start running into mobs, aggroing a ton of enemies, and most likely getting
you killed. However, in PvP its quite a different story. I can use this early
in the battle to get some damage on the enemy before they even get a chance to
fight. This can often turn the tide in a battle, giving me that extra time I
need to take the enemy down. It's cooldown is around 3 minutes.
Inner Rage - Inner Rage is the last ability that can be used in all
stances. This ability has one simple purpose which is giving you instant rage.
This ability is extremely useful, especially when I don't get a charge off in
a battle. Instead of being stuck with doing plain melee attacks and waiting to
gain enough rage I can use this and start attacking the enemy as if I had got
the charge off. It has a cooldown of around 5 minutes.
Recklessness - Recklessness is one of my favorite abilties on the
warrior, except for that fact that is has a cooldown of 30 minutes. When you
use recklessness, you are guaranteed a critical strike on every attack for
about 10 seconds. I only use this when I'm in a hopeless situation and it's
the only solution I see possible to take down an enemy. It can sometimes be
the difference between living and dieing.
Challenging Shout - Challenging Shout is an ability that does a mass
taunt but it has a long cooldown. It's usually only used when things go out of
control in its the only hope to get guys on you.
Sweeping Strikes - Sweeping Strikes is an ability learned from the Arms
section of the talent tree. It allows your strikes to hit an additional enemy
for 15 seconds or 5 strikes. I find it extremely useful when I get 2 or 3
enemies on me at once. I use Heroic and Mortal Strikes and easily take out 2
of the enemies quickly, leaving only 1 left to dispose of. The cooldown on it
is only 6 seconds, so it can be used multiple times in one battle.
Mortal Strike - Mortal Strike is the most powerful ability in the game.
It is the last thing you get in the Arms Talent Tree. It allows you to do 220%
weapon damage and reduces healing effectiveness on the target by 50%. This
ability is also instant cast with a short cooldown, so it's effectiveness is
obvious. It allows you to make quick work of enemies your level and also lets
you to quickly dispose of any unexpected distractions.
Defensive Stance
Defensive Stance is used for the main purpose of protecting and tanking. This
stance is mainly used in a party, particuraly in instances. It has an
occasional use in PvP, but its mainly used in PvE. 1 handed Weapons and a
Shield are the best way to go when you are tanking in an instance. Shields
give you extra armor and buffs that help you last longer as the group
Attack - Attack is not as important in this stance as it is in Battle
Stance. Sure attacking helps, but it's not your main priority like it is when
you are in Battle Stance.
Shoot - Shoot is extremely useful in Defensive Stance. It allows you to
pull elite monsters in instances, helping reduce the amount of enemies you
have to fight at one time. Shoot also gets the enemies on you first when you
pull, which is perfect since you are the one who has to take all their
attacks.
Taunt - Taunt is one of the most used abilities when you have the role
as tank. Taunt is used to pull enemies off you party member's who are being
attacked. Sometimes you have to do use it over and over until the enemy gets
on you because it has been weakened in past patches.
Battle Shout - Battle Shout plays the same roll as it does in Battle
Stance. It raises the attack power of nearby party members as well as
yourself.
Sunder Armor - Sunder Armor is used to lower enemy armor. When used it
can lower the enemy armor by 180+. It's not incredibly useful, but I like to
use it once in a while when I'm fighting something thats hard to do big damage
to.
Bloodrage - Bloodrage is an ability that allows you to gain rage over
time in return for losing some HP. I like to use this ability in instances
when my party is regenning mana and hp so I have plenty of rage when we get
going again.
Shield Bash - Shield Bash is an attack that requires a Shield. is the
defensive version of pummel, it is very useful. It grabs lots of hate toward
the enemies, from stopping their casting so helps tank. Also by stoping their
casting it saves you life, and your healers mana, a must use. When you
interupt casters casting they lose their whole chain of that type. For example
you pummel a mage casting a fire spell, all fire spells will be un castable
for a brief period of time. So when fighting in PvP it is best to know which
spell type you want to stop from each caster type.
Shield Block - Shield Block is an ability used to greatly increase your
block skill for one enemy attack. I like to use it some, since it sets up
Revenge if you get a block.
Revenge - Revenge is a counter attack that does extra damage. It can
only be used after a defensive action such as block, so Shield Block works
well with this ability. I like to use this ability if I'm not having to taunt
too much. It does decent damage and is nice support for the damage dealers in
the group.
Disarm - Disarm is one of the funnest abilities in the game. It allows
you to disarm any enemy with a weapon for 10 seconds. This greatly reduces
their damage and can really get you ahead in the battle. This is great for
boss battles or tough elites who wield weapons because it gives you some extra
time to damage them before they can start doing their normal damage again. It
can also be useful in PvP, especially against rogues who rely on their weapons
a lot.
Intimidating Shout - Intimidating Shout plays the same role in
Defensive Stance as it does in Battle Stance.
Demoralizing Shout - Demoralizing Shout is quite useful in Defensive
Stance, especially when tanking. If you use Demoralizing Shout on enemies
before they have been attacked, you will get all the aggro. With this
technique, it can be used as an AOE taunt.
Shield Wall - Shield Wall is an ability used very rarely. It reduces
enemy attacks on you by about 75% for a short amount of time. I don't use this
ability often but when I do it's because I'm stuck in a mine or something
where the only way to get out is to run. It is quite a good ability but the
cooldown is so long I don't like to bother with it much.
Berserker Stance
Berserker Stance is a stance that allows you to kill things faster then usual,
but at the same time makes the warrior take more damage from attacks. This
stance is basically for when you want to level quickly. This stance has not
been completed, with only a few abilities in for it so far. I expect to see
more by the time retail is released.
Attack - Attack is important in this stance. 2 Handed Weapons are a
good choice here since you are trying to kill things quickly.
Shoot - Shoot is not very important in this stance. Maybe the
occasional pull but it is rarely used.
Cleave - Cleave is a sweeping attack that is used to damage multiple
enmies at once. It does weapon damage plus some extra damage to your targets.
This one is great, especially when you are trying to quickly kill enemies,
since you can attack more then one with it.
Slam - Slam is an ability that does extra damage to an enemy along with
a short stun. Slam is the best ability I've seen so far in the Berserker
Stance so far. It really lets you kill the enemies quick, especially if you
use the Fury Talent Tree.
Talents
Talents are an important part of the Warrior Class. Each talent tree benefits
a different stance. I've decided to go with the Arms tree, which allows me to
do tons of damage and gives me the abilities Sweeping Strikes which allows me
to attack two enemies at once and Mortal Strike which is an instant cast and
does 220% weapon damage to an enemy. The chart below should give you a better
explanation of the Warrior's Talent Tree.
Arms Tree ----------> Battle Stance ----------> Best for PvP
Defensive Tree -----------> Defensive Stance ----------> Best for
Tanking
Fury Tree -----------> Berserker Stance ----------> Best for Leveling
Quick
You can mix between trees but I recommend putting all your talents into one
over mixing them up a bunch. The more talents you get in one tree, the more
you will dominate from that aspect of the Warrior.
PvP
Warriors are one of the strongest classes when it comes to PvP. They can do
tons of damage and also are tough to kill. When in PvP, you mostly stay in
Battle Stance, using Defensive Stance here and there. The most important
abilities to me in PvP are Charge (Stun/Rage), Pummel (Slow Down Enemy
Casting), Heroic Strike (Do Extra Damage), Hamstring (Don't allow your enemies
to get away from your attacks, and of course, Mortal Strike (Do insane damage
and weaken enemy healing). Inner Rage (Instant Rage) and Disarm (Makes Enemy
Weapon Unusable) can be important in certain situations also. Out of all these
abilities Charge, Hamstring, and Mortal Strike are the most imporant to me. If
you can pull off a charge, followed by a hamstring, then a Mortal Strike, you
are already off to a really good start in battle. Once you pull these off the
battle opens up more and you can use the rest of your abilities. Charge really
helps start things off in your favor. If you don't happen to pull it off, its
much harder to recover. And with Mortal Strike, the battle just gets easier.
Mortal Strike is only avaible if you get to the bottom of the Arms talent tree
so if you don't happen to use the Arms tree, these battles can be tougher,
substituting Mortal Strike with Heroic Strike. One thing that really benefits
Warriors in PvP is a Mount. With a mount, you can catch almost every enemy you
have in your sight. You can get right by them and when you are close, dismount
and hamstring them, and start pounding on them. Mounts kind of give warriors
that speed they don't normally have, so having a mount is kind of like a
bonus, and makes Warriors one of the most dangerous classes in the game. I
recommend purchasing a mount for the Warrior as soon as you can because it
really does turn the power of the Warrior up a notch.
Professions and Secondary Skills
Warriors have a nice selection of Professions to choose from that are helpful
to them. Professions are really a personal preference with the Warrior. There
is not one Profession that is a must with the Warrior. I went with Mining and
Blacksmithing for my Professions. Mining gets all the Gems/Ore you need to
make stuff in Blacksmithing. The reason I went with Blacksmithing is because
it lets me create Armor and Weapons that are useful to the Warrior. It is also
quite profitable, getting you a pretty decent amount of gold. Herbalism/Alchemy
and Mining/Engineering are some other professions that work pretty well with
the Warrior. As for Secondary Skills, I highly recommend picking up either
Cooking or First Aid. Those two Skills are extremely helpful to a Warrior
since they have no way to heal themselves without one of these two skills.
This is my first guide I have written in World of Warcraft so please feel free
to give me suggestions on what I should add to this guide like new sections. I
know I didn't include specific vs Class details for PvP but that is something
I plan on adding in the future. If you are looking for screenshots of my Gnome
Warrior, you can find them in the thread linked below.
http://www.clantt.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6457
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