Mists of Pandaria Classic Arms Warrior Rotation and Cooldowns

Warriors have three different stances, each having unique functions that are needed in certain situations. In Mists of Pandaria, all spells can be used in any stance, meaning you should only choose a stance based on your needs at the time.

• Battle Stance — Grants you high Rage when you deal melee damage. Since all abilities can be used in any stance, you will use Battle Stance most of the time.
• Defensive Stance — Decreases damage taken by 25% and significantly increases threat generation, but you generate no Rage from damage taken or damage dealt. Use this only to reduce the damage of major raid abilities.
• Berserker Stance — Grants some Rage from melee damage, less than Battle Stance generates, but also grants Rage from damage taken. Use this whenever there is high raid-wide damage going out.

If you have not already, we recommend reading the Spells Summary page first. Knowing how each spell and ability works in detail will greatly increase your understanding of the topics discussed on this page. Arms is one of the strongest DPS specs in the game while having a very active, fun rotation.

In Mists of Pandaria it is crucial to utilize Charge as often as possible, especially when combined with Glyph of Bull Rush. This will grant you a large burst of Rage, allowing you to keep pumping out high damage. Wait until right after you use an auto-attack and an ability before you run away and instantly Charge back into combat with a nice Rage boost.

As an Arms Warrior you will need swap between Battle Stance and Berserker Stance depending on the incoming raid damage to manage your Rage. Play around Colossus Smash by pooling high Rage up when it is about to come off cooldown, and burst as hard as you can during the debuff time-frame. Your rotation will change depending on Colossus Smash:

When Colossus Smash is not active on the target, this is the rotation you will want to follow until Colossus Smash is off cooldown:

1. Colossus Smash use as soon as its available;
2. Bladestorm / Dragon Roar;
3. Mortal Strike;
4. Overpower;
5. Slam if you have over 80 Rage;
6. Battle Shout or Commanding Shout;
7. Heroic Strike if you are Rage capped.

When Colossus Smash is active on the target, you will want to follow a higher-burst rotation. Never use Colossus Smash while the debuff is still on your target, as you do not want to waste the debuff.

1. Mortal Strike;
2. Slam;
3. Overpower;
4. Heroic Throw;
5. Heroic Leap.

During the execute phase you will want to save Rage almost exclusively for Executes as this will provide the most damage, espeically if you can get several off during a Colossus Smash debuff window.

1. Colossus Smash if debuff is not up already;
2. Mortal Strike;
3. Execute;
4. Overpower costs 0 Rage thanks to Sudden Death;
5. Dragon Roar if you took this;
6. Battle Shout or Commanding Shout.

When facing only two enemies, simply use Sweeping Strikes and follow your single-target rotation. Against three or more enemies you will want to use a full AoE-rotation as follows:

1. Sweeping Strikes
2. Thunder Clap use to refresh Deep Wounds on all targets.
3. Bladestorm if you took this talent;
4. Colossus Smash if debuff is not up already on high health target;
5. Mortal Strike;
6. Slam;
7. Dragon Roar if you took this talent;
8. Heroic Leap;
9. Battle Shout or Commanding Shout;
10. Overpower.

Arms Warriors has a number of personal cooldowns and a few raid-wide cooldowns for both offensive and defensive purposes.

• Berserker Rage — 30-second cooldown, triggers Enrage. Use this to help with Enrage up-time.
• Recklessness — 5-minute cooldown, gives 30% increased crit chance. Use this in combination with other offensive cooldowns.
• Shattering Throw — 5-minute cooldown, reduces targets armor by 20%. Use this in combination with other offensive cooldowns.
• Skull Banner — 3-minute cooldown, increases the critical damage of all nearby allies by 20%. Use this in combination with other offensive cooldowns.

• Rallying Cry — 3-minute cooldown, grants you and all nearby allies 20% increased max health. Coordinate this with your raid to help the group survive raid mechanics.
• Die by the Sword — 2-minute cooldown, Increases your parry chance by 100% and reduces damage taken by 20% for 8 seconds. New defensive added in Mists of Pandaria, use it as needed.
• Shield Wall — 3-minute cooldown, 40% damage reduction. Can be used in any stance and no longer requires a shield to use. Great for surviving major raid abilities.
• Vigilance — 2-minute cooldown, 30% damage reduction to targeted player. This is your Tier 5 talent and is an amazing defensive cooldown to use on your tanks.
• Demoralizing Banner — 3-minute cooldown, Throws down a banner than decreases the damage dealt by all nearby enemies by 10% for 15 seconds.
• Enraged Regeneration — 1-minute cooldown, instantly heals you for 10% of your max health, and an additional 10% over 5 seconds; this healing is doubled if you use this while Enraged. Great for personal survival if you ever find yourself low health in a bad position.