Arms Warrior DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Dragonflight 10.0.7

Last updated on Mar 20, 2023 at 14:16 by Archimtiros 57 comments
General Information

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Arms Warrior in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.0.7.

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Arms Warrior rotation.

1.

Arms Warrior Rotation

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.

1.1.

Easy Mode

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.

1.2.

PvP

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

2.

Arms Warrior Single-Target Rotation

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 Icon Battle Stance is always toggled on!

Talents Talents
Avatar Icon Avatar
Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion
Rend Icon Rend Tide of Blood Icon Tide of Blood
Sudden Death Icon Sudden Death
Storm of Swords Icon Storm of Swords Crushing Force Icon Crushing Force
Blood and Thunder Icon Blood and Thunder Warbreaker Icon Warbreaker
Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm

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

  1. Cast Rend Icon Rend if less than 4 seconds remain on the debuff.
  2. Cast Avatar Icon Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
  3. Cast Colossus Smash Icon Colossus Smash.
  4. Cast Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike.
  5. Cast Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion during Colossus Smash.
  6. Cast Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar during Colossus Smash or Test of Might.
  7. Cast Skullsplitter Icon Skullsplitter near the start of Colossus Smash to trigger Tide of Blood Icon Tide of Blood.
  8. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower with two charges off cooldown.
  9. Cast Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain as an off global rage dump.
  10. Cast Whirlwind Icon Whirlwind as a large rage dump.
  11. Cast Thunder Clap Icon Thunder Clap as a rage dump, which also reapplies Rend.
  12. Cast Slam Icon Slam as a regular rage dump.
  13. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower with only one charge off cooldown.
  14. Cast Slam Icon Slam as a low-priority filler.

Keeping Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike and Overpower Icon Overpower on cooldown and managing Rage forms the bulk of the single target rotation. Outside of the Execute phase; this will be done by rotating a variety of fillers to dump larger amounts of Rage quickly to spend more globals on Overpower. During the Execute phase, it will instead replace those fillers and take up the majority of the rotation.

2.1.

Execute Phase

Execute Icon 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 Icon Massacre talented, taking the place of other spenders. When Executioner's Precision Icon Executioner's Precision is talented, Mortal Strike will continue to be used with two debuff stacks.

  1. Cast Rend Icon Rend if less than 4 seconds remains on the debuff.
  2. Cast Avatar Icon Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
  3. Cast Colossus Smash Icon Colossus Smash.
  4. Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion during Colossus Smash.
  5. Cast Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar during Test of Might or In for the Kill.
  6. Cast Ignore Pain Icon Ignore Pain as an off global rage dump.
  7. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower below 40 rage.
  8. Cast Skullsplitter Icon Skullsplitter when below 40 Rage.
  9. Cast Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike to maintain Deep Wounds or at 2 stacks of Executioner's Precision.
  10. Cast Execute Icon Execute as the primary Rage spender.
  11. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower as a filler.

While Execute appears to have a low priority, it becomes the main filler, secondary to using cooldowns, while Whirlwind and Slam are dropped entirely from the rotation. Mortal Strike is still used intermittently to maintain Deep Wounds, but does not have a powerful role outside of Executioner's Precision.

2.2.

Opening Rotation for Arms Warrior

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

3.

Multiple-Target Rotation for Arms Warrior

There are two multitarget 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.
3.1.

2-3 Targets

The two-target rotation is very similar to single target, with the addition of Sweeping Strikes to cleave attacks onto a secondary target. Because it will also apply Colossus Smash to a second target, Warbreaker is not needed. When there are no more targets available, Warlord's Torment is also typically stronger than Blademaster's.

  1. Cast Sweeping Strikes Icon Sweeping Strikes immediately before Colossus Smash Icon Colossus Smash.
  2. Cast Colossus Smash Icon Colossus Smash.
  3. Cast Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion during Colossus Smash.
  4. Cast Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar during Test of Might or In for the Kill.
  5. Cast Skullsplitter Icon Skullsplitter to trigger Tide of Blood.
  6. Cast Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm during Test of Might or the Colossus Smash debuff.
  7. Cast Cleave Icon Cleave.
  8. Cast Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike.
  9. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower.
  10. Cast Whirlwind Icon Whirlwind as a filler.
3.2.

3+ Targets

Cleave is the primary attack while facing many targets, dealing good damage, and maintaining Deep Wounds. However, a great deal of the overall damage comes from layering cooldowns. In this situation, Warbreaker and Bladestorm, alongside Blademaster's Torment, adds up to a great deal of burst damage.

  1. Cast Warbreaker Icon Warbreaker.
  2. Cast Spear of Bastion Icon Spear of Bastion during Colossus Smash.
  3. Cast Thunderous Roar Icon Thunderous Roar during Test of Might or In for the Kill.
  4. Cast Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm during the Colossus Smash debuff.
  5. Cast Sweeping Strikes Icon Sweeping Strikes when less than 4 targets are remaining or when priority damage is needed, preferrably within Execute range.
  6. Cast Cleave Icon Cleave.
  7. Cast Overpower Icon Overpower as a filler.
  8. Cast Whirlwind Icon Whirlwind as a filler.

For maximum burst AoE, stack Avatar Icon Avatar with Warbreaker Icon Warbreaker, and cast Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm on as many targets as possible. Do not use Sweeping Strikes Icon Sweeping Strikes if you are about to use Bladestorm unless Unhinged Icon Unhinged is also talented.

4.

Mastering your Arms Warrior

4.1.

Aligning Cooldowns

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

4.1.1.

Avatar

Avatar Icon 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 Icon 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 Icon Warlord's Torment is extremely powerful in single and some multitarget situations, as it allows fairly high uptime on Recklessness, despite not normally having access to the ability. Blademaster's Torment Icon Blademaster's Torment is more tailored for extended multitarget, allowing an extra use of Bladestorm, alongside all of its talented benefits, though care should be taken to ensure that Avatar is used after damage-enhancing cooldowns such as Colossus Smash and Spear of Bastion's Elysian Might have been applied in order to maximize its benefit.

4.1.2.

Bladestorm

Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm is Arms main multitarget 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 Icon Hurricane and Merciless Bonegrinder Icon Merciless Bonegrinder, both of which combine nicely with Storm of Swords Icon Storm of Swords to create an extremely high burst of damage. With Blademaster's Torment Icon Blademaster's Torment, this can be done twice quickly, leading to very high burst potential.

4.1.3.

Tide of Blood

Tide of Blood Icon 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.

4.1.4.

Managing Deep Wounds

Maintained by Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike, Colossus Smash Icon Colossus Smash, Bladestorm Icon Bladestorm, and Cleave Icon Cleave, keeping Deep Wounds Icon 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.

4.2.

Rage Management

Arms generates Rage purely from auto-attack swings and Charge Icon Charge casts, and nearly all abilities cost Rage to use. Ensuring you always have enough Rage to use Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike on cooldown is paramount, both for damage and to keep Deep Wounds Icon 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.

4.3.

Heroic Charge

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

4.4.

Movement and Mobility

Warriors have several active tools through Charge Icon Charge and Heroic Leap Icon 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 Icon Double Time and Bounding Stride Icon Bounding Stride are particularly useful in any encounter which demands heavy movement.

4.5.

Defensive Abilities

Arms' primary survivability tool is Die by the Sword Icon 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 Icon Defensive Stance can be used for more mitigation when expecting more frequent spike damage.

Warriors also have access to Rallying Cry Icon 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.

4.6.

Group Buffs

Arms also brings Battle Shout Icon 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.

5.

Mythic+ Rotation

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.

6.

WeakAuras for Arms Warriors

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.

7.

Changelog

  • 20 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7 with better default checkboxes.
  • 27 Feb. 2023: Fixed misnaming of Bladestorm.
  • 02 Feb. 2023: Updated rotation tool.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Fix talent selector formatting.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 18 Nov. 2022: Update Fervor of Battle use and description.
  • 09 Nov. 2022: Corrected Overpower's position in the rotation.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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