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Leveling a Warrior – Specs, Gear, and Play-styles
By Thomas Ford | December 22, 2009
Looking to start a new warrior but unsure of how to go about it? Well, put aside your worries, because we’ll tell you everything you need to know to get your new warrior on the way up. This guide will teach you the ropes of warrior, and tell you all you need to know for your first forty levels.
Gear is the first thing you need to know about as a warrior. And the first thing you need to know about gear is : Cap your hit ASAP. But don’t get more than you need (5%) if you can avoid it, as it is worthless beyond this point. Otherwise, get as much Strength and AP as you can; Strength is better, one Strength is worth about 2.25 AP for leveling purposes. Agility and Stamina aren’t horrible, but are nowhere near as good as the others.
So you know what to wear, now how should you spec? We’re going to ignore the conventional wisdom here, because these days it is wrong. So instead of a DW Fury spec, we’re going to go Prot and use a one-handed weapon and a shield, at least for these first forty levels. Not only is it the best questing spec, it is the best spec for taking advantage of the new DF System to run instances while you level.
Something like http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#LZZi0trx0dV:bZc will have you plowing through mobs without ever needing to rest, while dealing equal or greater damage than comparable Fury or Arms builds. Not to mention there is more to do as a low-level Protection warrior, making it much more fun to play than other specs.
Now after 40, things begin to change some, and you’ll probably want to re-spec to one of the damage trees; they begin to out-damage Protection around here, and they gain much-needed survivability in the form of Plate. Although if you enjoy Protection, it is still perfectly viable as a leveling spec.
Now, you know you should spec Protection, but there is a lot to keep in mind to play Protection to it’s maximum, so pay attention! First of all, stay in Defensive stance. You may lose a tiny bit of damage, but a ton of amazing reactive abilities are D-stance only, meaning you need to stick to it! The only exception is switching over to Battle stance, Charging or Victory Rushing, then switching back.
Bloodrage>Shield Block>Concussion Blow>Revenge>Mocking Blow>Battle Shout(If down)>Heroic Strike is the priority list you should be using. In other words, use whichever of these abilities is available, starting with Shield Block, as often as it is available. If Shield Block and Concussion Blow are on cool-down, but Revenge is up, use Revenge, for example. The only reason to diverge from this is if you want to save Shield Block for big multiple-mob pulls.
Obviously there is more to Warrior than just this, but these basics will get you started. When pulling extra mobs, don’t forget to go Battle Stance and use Retaliation, and use Demoralizing Shout and Thunderclap when damage gets too heavy. Keep Battle Shout up; Bloodrage is handy for this. And don’t forget long emergency cooldowns like Shield Wall and Last Stand–they’ll save you a long run back to your corpse.
Want to read more articles and guides by me? Be sure to read my blog, WoW Gold Spot, for all my latest tips and tricks for everything World of Warcraft related. For more on Warriors specifically, read my farming guide for Warrior Gold.
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