Arms Warrior DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Season 4

Welcome to our Rotation page for Arms Warriors. On this page, you will find everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raiding and Mythic+ scenarios.

If the rotations below seem overwhelming to you, you might benefit from visiting our Easy Mode page, which outlines a close-to-optimal rotation in simpler terms.

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

The Arms rotation is a conditional priority list, which can change depending on talent choice. Use the checkboxes below to make the appropriate customizations and make sure that Battle Stance is always toggled on!

Recommended	Other Talents
Avatar	Warbreaker
Thunderous Roar	Champion's Spear
Blood and Thunder	Skullsplitter
Storm of Swords	Bladestorm
Season 4 Tier Set	Season 3 Tier Set

This rotation focuses on the period above 35% health before Execute takes over the rotation, as noted in the following section.

1. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
2. Cast Thunderous Roar on cooldown.
3. Cast Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
4. Cast Warbreaker.
5. Cast Colossus Smash.
6. Cast Mortal Strike on cooldown.
7. Cast Thunder Clap to apply Rend or if less than 3 seconds remain on the debuff.
8. Cast Rend to apply Rend or if less than 3 seconds remain on the debuff.
9. Cast Whirlwind to spend extra Rage during Colossus Smash.
10. Cast Bladestorm during Test of Might.
11. Cast Champion's Spear during Test of Might or Colossus Smash.
12. Cast Skullsplitter while both Rend and Deep Wounds are active.
13. Cast Execute during Sudden Death procs.
14. Cast Overpower on cooldown.
15. Cast Whirlwind even if Colossus Smash is down.
16. Cast Thunder Clap as a higher Rage spending filler.
17. Cast Slam if nothing else is available.

In simple terms, the Arms Warrior rotation revolves around keeping Mortal Strike and Overpower on cooldown while spending Rage with either Execute or Storm of Swords and Thunder Clap. Because it spends less Rage, and therefore giving less returns on Anger Management and Test of Might, Slam is pushed down to the bottom of the priority list.

When using the legendary axe, Fyr'alath the Dream Render does not benefit from class buffs such as Avatar or Colossus Smash, so it is best not to use it during major cooldowns. Using it either immediately on the pull or after the Avatar buff has worn off is acceptable, because it is more important to use the legendary when the three-second channel will not put you in danger of enemy mechanics.

Execute deals very high damage and a portion of the Rage spent if the target does not die, helping maintain the high Rage cost. It will become the primary Rage spender once the target drops below 20% health, or 35%, with Massacre talented, taking the place of other spenders.

1. Cast Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
2. Cast Warbreaker.
3. Cast Colossus Smash.
4. Champion's Spear during Colossus Smash.
5. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
6. Cast Skullsplitter near the start of Colossus Smash while both Rend and Deep Wounds are active.
7. Cast Thunderous Roar during Test of Might or In for the Kill buff windows.
8. Cast Mortal Strike to maintain Deep Wounds and Rend, or at 2 stacks of Executioner's Precision.
9. Cast Overpower below 40 rage.
10. Cast Execute as the primary Rage spender.
11. Cast Bladestorm as a filler.

While Execute appears to have a low priority, it becomes the main rotational spender, while Whirlwind and Slam are dropped from the rotation entirely. Due to our talents, Mortal Strike is still used regularly, automatically maintaining Deep Wounds and Rend while dealing strong damage through Executioner's Precision. Overpower now becomes the fallback filler, when Execute cannot be cast.

The Arms opener is functionally identical to the standard rotation, using Charge to initiate combat to start with more Rage, applying Rend, and then opening with buffing cooldowns and Colossus Smash, as outlined in the single target rotation above.

There are two multi-target Arms rotations, a two-target setup similar to the single target rotation, and another using Cleave to focus on sustained damage against a high number of targets. Use the checkboxes below to make the appropriate customizations.

Talents	Talents
Bladestorm	Skullsplitter
Thunderous Roar	Champion's Spear
Storm of Swords	Fervor of Battle
Warbreaker	T31 Tier Set
Blood and Thunder
Cleave

The two-target rotation is functionally identical to single target, with the addition of using Sweeping Strikes on cooldown to cleave attacks onto a secondary target. Because it also applies Colossus Smash to a second target, Warbreaker is not needed unless there are more targets.

The most common multi-target talent build is a hybridized setup, which trades some of the single target build execute abilities for additional multi-target attacks, such as Warbreaker, Cleave, and Bladestorm.

1. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
2. Cast Whirlwind during Colossus Smash and while Sweeping Strikes is not active.
3. Cast Thunder Clap to apply Rend or if less than 4 seconds remain on the debuff.
4. Cast Sweeping Strikes when Bladestorm is not about to be cast, in order to not waste duration.
5. Cast Avatar aligned with Warbreaker.
6. Cast Warbreaker to apply Colossus Smash and Deep Wounds.
7. Cast Colossus Smash, preferably during Sweeping Strikes.
8. Cast Cleave against 3+ targets, or 5+ targets if Sweeping Strikes is active.
9. Cast Mortal Strike with two stacks of Executioner's Precision up to 4 targets while Sweeping Strikes is active.
10. Cast Thunderous Roar during In for the Kill or Test of Might.
11. Cast Champion's Spear during In for the Kill or Test of Might.
12. Cast Bladestorm to apply Hurricane.
13. Cast Overpower during Sweeping Strikes.
14. Cast Whirlwind during the Hurricane or Merciless Bonegrinder buffs following Bladestorm.
15. Cast Whirlwind
16. Cast Overpower
17. Cast Mortal Strike with two stacks of Executioner's Precision or if there are less than three targets.
18. Cast Execute anytime during Sweeping Strikes, or if there are less than three targets.
19. Cast Thunder Clap as a filler against 4+ enemies.
20. Cast Mortal Strike even if all other conditions fail.

Arms multi-target rotation is extremely dynamic, changing frequently based on the number of targets, what specific buffs are available, and whether Sweeping Strikes is active. In Season 4, Cleave also helps maintain the powerful tier set bonus in addition to Deep Wounds, almost completely passively thanks to hitting multiple targets.

Arms cooldowns align fairly naturally, thanks to Anger Management. Still, it is important to ensure that Colossus Smash and Deep Wounds are active on as many targets as possible before going into the cooldown cycle.

Avatar is a potent cooldown in its own right but becomes extraordinarily more powerful in combination with the follow-on Tormented talents. These function similarly to Signet of Tormented Kings, but with a guaranteed effect rather than a random one, allowing you to choose what cooldown is triggered. Warlord's Torment is extremely powerful in single and some multi-target situations, as it allows fairly high uptime on Recklessness, despite not normally having access to the ability. Blademaster's Torment is more tailored for extended multi-target, allowing an extra use of Bladestorm, alongside all of its talented benefits, though the talent is currently not in favor.

Bladestorm is Arms main multi-target cooldown, which should always be used alongside Warbreaker and Avatar whenever possible. Although it is not the strongest AoE ability by itself, it can trigger several powerful buffs, such as Hurricane and Merciless Bonegrinder, both of which combine nicely with Storm of Swords to create an extremely high burst of damage. With Blademaster's Torment, this can be done twice quickly, leading to very high burst potential.

Tide of Blood is an interesting ability that causes Rend and Deep Wounds to instantly tick out on the target, dealing several instances of damage in rapid succession. This high burst of damage can be extraordinarily powerful when combined with Colossus Smash, Warlord's Torment, and several bleed enhancing talents, though it does have an awkward effect on the rotation, requiring Rend and Deep Wounds (via Mortal Strike) to be reapplied after each use.

Maintained by Mortal Strike, Colossus Smash, Bladestorm, and Cleave, keeping Deep Wounds on the target or targets is paramount to maximizing damage, as it can significantly increase the damage taken from your abilities. Because the debuff lasts a minimum of 12 seconds, this should happen naturally throughout the rotation, but when facing multiple targets, take care to keep the debuff on as many targets as possible for maximum benefit.

In Season 4 tier set bonus, maintaining Deep Wounds in multi-target situations becomes easier, since Cleave also helps maintain the powerful tier set bonus, though Mortal Strike also contributes to both of these things as well.

Arms generates Rage purely from auto-attack swings and Charge casts, and nearly all abilities cost Rage to use. Ensuring you always have enough Rage to use Mortal Strike on cooldown is paramount, both for damage and to keep Deep Wounds on the target. Choosing not to spend Rage on a filler ability and letting a global cooldown go unfilled is better than letting the debuff drop off.

This is far less of a concern in Dragonflight than it has been in the past, however, as both high gear and new talents have significantly inflated Arms' Rage economy. In many cases, this can result in it being difficult to spend Rage faster than it is generated, and so it is often worth prioritizing spending Rage on Execute or Slam over using Overpower as a free filler.

A small optimization can be made by moving out of range of the target and using Charge to generate extra Rage during your rotation. Care should be taken to do this between autoattack swings, when Colossus Smash is not active. Heroic Leap can be also be used to create enough room to Charge for bosses with large hitboxes.

Warriors have several active tools through Charge and Heroic Leap that allow for instant movement across large distances. Finding ways to maximize your uptime on a target through the intelligent use of these is crucial, as downtime is extremely detrimental to the flow of the rotation. The talents Double Time and Bounding Stride are particularly useful in any encounter which demands heavy movement.

Arms' primary survivability tool is Die by the Sword, which is exceptionally useful for immuning direct physical damage and can even be used to tank raid bosses for a short time. The talent Defensive Stance can be used for more mitigation when expecting more frequent spike damage. As Ignore Pain no longer contributes offensively; the ability is still useful to mitigate predictable bursts of damage in high-level content.

Warriors also have access to Rallying Cry, one of the few defensive group cooldowns in the game. It is typically used to help the group survive key encounter mechanics rather than as a personal cooldown. Keep in mind that it is on the global cooldown, so be ready to use it when needed.

Arms also brings Battle Shout, increasing all party and raid members Attack Power by 5%, which should be applied before combat begins. 5% Attack Power translates to roughly 5% damage for melee classes and Hunters. However, the actual impact is slightly reduced due to the prevalence of non-scaling sources of damage, such as trinkets and potions.

For information about Mythic+ as an Arms Warrior and the rotation you need to use in this game mode, please refer to our Mythic+ page.

WeakAuras can tremendously affect your performance, helping you track important buffs, debuffs, and cooldowns. Since this is a broad topic, we dedicated a page to it.