Warrior Class Overview

Warriors are a melee oriented class, having a unique resource system called Rage. Rage is generated through combat from both dealing and taking damage. The more damage you deal or take, the more Rage you generate. Most of the abilities available to Warrior cost Rage to use, so always be mindful of how much you have available at all times.

In addition to Rage, Warrior also has a second unique mechanic, stances. Each of these stances offers a different buff and has a general, unique purpose. Mastering these stances and utilizing them properly is required to unlock the full potential of your Warrior. 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. This is the main stance for Arms and Fury.
• Defensive Stance — Decreases damage taken by 25% and significantly increases threat generation, but you generate no Rage from damage taken or damage dealt. This is the main stance of Protection.
• Berserker Stance — Grants some Rage from melee damage, less than Battle Stance generates, but also grants Rage from damage taken. You will use this whenever you are taking high damage as a DPS.

Warriors can fulfill either the damage dealing role, or the tanking role depending on which specialization you choose. Having the option to tank if needed can make it much easier to find groups, as the tanking role is often in short supply. Warrior is able to choose from three specializations: Arms, Fury, and Protection.

• Arms — An Arms Warrior is a battle-hardened juggernaut, wielding a massive two-handed weapon with brutal precision. They specialize in powerful, deliberate strikes that cleave through armor and bone alike. Masters of battlefield tactics, they channel their Rage into devastating blows like Mortal Strike and Overpower, crippling foes and turning the tide of battle.
• Fury — A Fury Warrior is a whirlwind of unbridled Rage and relentless aggression. They charge into battle wielding two massive weapons, on in each hand, striking with a ferocity that few can withstand. Fueled by bloodlust and adrenaline, they become a storm of steel, unleashing flurries of brutal attacks like Bloodthirst and Rampage. Every wound only drives them deeper into their frenzy.
• Protection — A Protection Warrior stands as an unyielding bulwark, clad in heavy plate armor and wielding a massive shield that absorbs the fiercest of blows. They demonstrate an uncanny knack for blade and shield, nullifying an opponent’s advances and creating opportunities for counterattacks. Fearless and relentless, they unleash terror upon their foes with sword and shield alike, smashing them down with attacks like Shield Slam and Thunder Clap. Fearless and relentless, they are a living fortress of protection for their allies.

Each specialization available to Warrior is unique and has its' own playstyle. Ultimately the spec that you find the most enjoyable to play will come down to your own personal playstyle; we recommend trying out each spec on your own to get a feel for them and see how much you enjoy them.

Arms is the primary spec in Mists of Pandaria for both PvE and PvP content, focusing on dealing damage with 2-handed weapons. This spec has multiple different procs, giving it a very active playstyle that will keep you always watchful and ready to act. In addition, this specializations playstyle revolves around small "burst windows", where you will have multiple, powerful abilities ready to use back-to-back. This makes Arms especially deadly in PvP, as you can easily burst down your target by catching them off guard.

Rather than using a single weapon, Fury chooses to wield a weapon in each hand. You can choose between Titan's Grip, which allows you to wield a 2-handed weapon in each hand, or Single-Minded Fury, which increases your damage dealt when wielding two 1-handed weapons instead. Fury has a very active play style, always having an ability ready to use. Unfortunately, this spec does not start off strong, and requires a lot of end-game gear to fully unlock its potential in the later phases of the expansion.

Protection is the tank specialization, where you will focus on taking damage as your primary goal rather than dishing it out. Protection can be classified as easy to learn, hard to master. This spec only has a few main abilities in its rotation, but it also has multiple procs that require quick reactions to utilize. The nature of a tank also requires high awareness of the situation at all times, as you will need to be ready to adapt to anything the content throws at you. If you are playing a Warrior at all, we suggest you that you at least give this spec a try. Learning to tank will vastly improve your skill in the game, while also allowing you to get into grouped activity such as dungeons much quicker.

Warrior is very viable in Mists of Pandaria. Arms is one of the strongest DPS classes in the game throughout all phases. Fury is fairly weak starting out and only really does well towards the end of the expansion in full end-game gear, but remains a decent "middle ground" DPS option otherwise. Protection is in a good position during Mists of Pandaria, being one of the stronger tanks throughout all of the content; your main weakness is lack of self-healing, which some other tanks excel at.

Warriors are the only class in the game that can be played as any race, giving you a very wide selection of options to choose from. For both Fury and Arms specs, we suggest playing Worgen as Alliance for their as Viciousness grants a full 1% crit chance, giving more total stats than any other racial; and as Horde we suggest Orc for the 1% expertise from Axe Specialization, and the mini-trinket activation from Blood Fury.

For Protection we suggest either Night Elf or Pandaren, depending on your preference. Pandaren offer Epicurean, doubling your food buff stats, while Night Elf brings Nature Resistance and Quickness, making it a strong defensive option.

Below you can find the racial benefits of every race available for Warriors, just in-case you are unsure which to pick!

• Pandaren:
  • Bouncy — You take half falling damage.
  • Epicurean — Your love of food allows you to receive double the stats from Well Fed effects.
  • Gourmand — Your Cooking skill is increased by 15.
  • Inner Peace — You earn twice as much rested experience.
  • Quaking Palm — Strikes the target with lightning speed, incapacitating them for 4 sec.

• Draenei:
  • Gemcutting — Jewelcrafting skill increased by 10.
  • Gift of the Naaru — Heals the target for 20% of the caster's total health over 15 sec.
  • Heroic Presence — Increases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.
  • Shadow Resistance — Reduces Shadow damage taken by 1%.
• Dwarf:
  • Explorer — You find additional fragments when looting archaeological finds and you can survey faster than normal archaeologists.
  • Frost Resistance — Reduces Frost damage taken by 1%.
  • Crack Shot — Expertise with ranged weapons increased by 1%.
  • Mace Specialization — Expertise with Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 1%.
  • Stoneform — Removes all poison, disease and bleed effects and reduces all damage taken by 10% for 8 sec.
• Gnome:
  • Arcane Resistance — Reduces Arcane damage taken by 1%.
  • Engineering Specialization — Engineering skill increased by 15.
  • Escape Artist — Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect.
  • Expansive Mind — Mana pool increased by 5%.
  • Shortblade Specialization — Expertise with Daggers and One-Handed Swords increased by 1%.
• Human:
  • Diplomacy — Reputation gains increased by 10%.
  • Will to Survive — Removes all movement impairing effects and effects which cause loss of control of your character.
  • Mace Specialization — Expertise with Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 1%.
  • Sword Specialization — Expertise with Swords and Two-Handed Swords increased by 1%.
  • The Human Spirit — Spirit increased by 3%.
• Night Elf:
  • Nature Resistance — Reduces Nature damage taken by 1%.
  • Quickness — Increased your chance to dodge melee and ranged attacks by 2%.
  • Shadowmeld — Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence.
  • Wisp Spirit — Transform into a wisp upon death, increasing speed by 75%.
• Worgen:
  • Aberration — Reduces Shadow and Nature damage taken by 1%.
  • Darkflight — Activates your true form, increasing current movement speed by an additional 40% for 10 sec.
  • Flayer — Skinning skill increased by 15 and allows you to skin faster.
  • Viciousness — Increases critical strike chance by 1%.

• Blood Elf:
  • Arcane Affinity — Enchanting skill increased by 10.
  • Arcane Resistance — Reduces Arcane damage taken by 1%.
  • Arcane Torrent — Silences all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec and increase your power.
• Goblin:
  • Best Deals Anywhere — Always receive the best possible gold discount, regardless of faction.
  • Better Living Through Chemistry — Alchemy skill increased by 15.
  • Pack Hobgoblin — Calls in your friend, Gobber, allowing you bank access for 1 min.
  • Rocket Barrage — Launches your belt rockets at an enemy, dealing Fire damage.
  • Rocket Jump — Activates your rocket belt to jump forward.
  • Time is Money — Cash in on a 1% increase to attack speed and spell haste.
• Orc:
  • Axe Specialization — Expertise with Fist Weapons, Axes and Two-Handed Axes increased by 1%.
  • Blood Fury — Increases your melee attack power and your spell power for 15 sec.
  • Command — Damage dealt by pets increased by 2%.
  • Hardiness — Duration of Stun effects reduced by an additional 15%.
• Tauren:
  • Cultivation — Herbalism skill increased by 15 and you gather herbs faster than normal herbalists.
  • Endurance — Base Health increased by 5%.
  • Nature Resistance — Reduces Nature damage taken by 1%.
  • War Stomp — Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 2 sec.
• Troll:
  • Beast Slaying — Damage dealt versus Beasts increased by 5%.
  • Berserking — Increases your melee, ranged, and spell haste by 20% for 10 sec.
  • Dead Eye — Expertise with guns, bows, and crossbows increased by 1%.
  • Da Voodoo Shuffle — Reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%.
  • Regeneration — Health regeneration rate increased by 10%. 10% of total Health regeneration may continue during combat.
• Undead:
  • Cannibalize — Eat a nearby Humanoid or Undead corpse to restore health and mana.
  • Shadow Resistance — Reduces Shadow damage taken by 1%.
  • Touch of the Grave — Your attacks have a chance to drain the target, dealing Shadow damage and healing you for the same amount.
  • Will of the Forsaken — Removes any Charm, Fear, and Sleep effects.

Warriors are able to wear Cloth, Leather, and Mail armor by default, and are able to wear Plate after reaching Level 40. While you can wear any armor, you will want to primarily focus on wearing Plate armor exclusively to take advantage of either Plate Specialization if you are specced as either Arms or Fury, and Plate Specialization if you are playing as Protection.

Warriors are able to equip all weapons in the game. This allows many different weapon choices, such as choosing a weapon that matches your specific racial bonuses, if you have any. In Mists of Pandaria you will typically want to aim for the highest item level weapon with Strength on it as this will usually be the highest DPS weapon you can get.

Both Arms and Fury Warriors desire the same stats, letting you mostly use the same gear if you are interested in playing both specs. While the gear these two classes will vary slightly, both specs follow this stat-line:

1. Hit Rating (7.5%);
2. Expertise Rating (7.5%);
3. Strength;
4. Critical Strike Rating;
5. Mastery Rating.

Protection Warrior will want to focus on balance of both damage and tank stats. In Mists of Pandaria it is very important for tanks to never miss an ability, making the following your ideal stat priority as Protection:

1. Hit Rating (7.5%);
2. Expertise Rating (Hard-cap 15%);
3. Parry Rating;
4. Dodge Rating;
5. Mastery Rating;
6. Stamina;
7. Strength.

Addons and Macros can greatly improve your quality of life during Mists of Pandaria. Listed below you will find our Warrior guides for addons and macros, aiming to improve your time playing the game.