Arms Warrior DPS Spell List and Glossary — The War Within (11.1.7)

This page describes the basic spells and passives all Arms Warriors have at Level 70. It goes over the main aspects of the specialization to help understand the remainder of the guide. It can also be useful as a quick reference.

If you are leveling an Arms Warrior, you likely will not have access to all of the abilities and passives listed here. However, our leveling guide can help specify when you will unlock access to everything.

Warriors use a unique resource called Rage, which works very similar to Hunter Focus and Rogue Energy, except Rage does not regenerate on its own. It always starts at zero and is built up during combat through auto attacks and certain abilty casts, with important damaging abilities consuming the resource. Outside of combat, Rage slowly depreciatates back down to zero.

Warrior Rage has a default maximum capacity of 100, although this can be modified by unique talents. While the resource is only generated in combat, there are certain abilities such as Charge which will help jumpstart that flow of incoming Rage, while other talents and abilities can increase your Rage generation further.

As a general rule, you should want to both avoid Rage starving or overcapping the resource, so that you do not find yourself in situations where you are either unable to cast important abilities on cooldown, or waste resource generation due to maximum capacity.

For more information on how to use these abilities together in your rotation, please read our rotation page.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Seasoned Soldier	-	Passively increases Rage generation and the value of Critical Strike.
Mastery: Deep Wounds	-	A strong and reliable damage increase, triggered by Mortal Strike, Cleave, Colossus Smash, Warbreaker, and Bladestorm.
Battle Shout	BS	Very important group buff which will increase the attack power of all players and should always be applied.
Berserker Rage	BzR	Removes incapacitate and fear effects.
Charge	-	An important Rage generating and mobility ability used to close distances with and engage moving targets.
Victory Rush	VR	A very useful healing ability, which triggers when an enemy is defeated. Instrumental for self-sustain in solo content.
Whirlwind	WW	The main multitarget attack, which can be enhanced with various talents to allow other attacks to hit multiple targets as well.
Execute	Exe	A powerful Rage spending attack meant to increase damage towards the end of an encounter.
Slam	-	A basic damage-dealing attack, which serves as Arms' main spender.
Hamstring	-	A basic single target snare.
Heroic Throw	-	A ranged pull with little to no practical damage impact.
Taunt	-	Forces the target to attack you! Seldom used by DPS specializations.
Shield Slam	-	A basic attack which will only be used during the initial leveling process before choosing a specialization.
Shield Block	-	A basic defensive ability which will only be used during the initial leveling process before choosing a specialization.

As part of the The War Within overhaul to the talent system, every specialization has received numerous new passive effects and active abilities throughout the new Class and Specialization talent trees.

If you would like to know more about which of these talents to select for your own Arms Warrior, please see the builds and talents section of our guide.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Battle Stance	-	Increases Critical Strike chance.
Defensive Stance	-	Reduces damage taken at the cost of dealing less.
Impending Victory	IV	Replaces Victory Rush with a more reliable version that costs Rage.
War Machine	-	Provides increased Rage generation and a minor burst of movement speed.
Intervene	-	Charge an ally, though be wary of targeting tanks.
Rallying Cry	Rally	A very important group defensive tool used in most organized raid content.
Berserker Shout	-	Removes fear from the entire party, though very rarely necessary.
Piercing Howl	-	A strong AoE snare, limited by its cooldown.
Fast Footwork	-	Passive speed increase.
Spell Reflection	-	Very useful for reducing damage taken, dealing some back to an enemy, and occasionally ignoring debuff applications entirely!
Leeching Strikes	-	Passive leech increase.
Second Wind	-	Provides passive healing, which is usually broken by incoming damage, but occasionally ignores it, making the heal situationally overpowered.
Frothing Berserker	-	Provides a small irregular Rage refund, though not enough to greatly influence the rotation.
Heroic Leap	Leap	Burst mobility tool.
Intimidating Shout	-	More often used as a pseudo-interrupt, it tends to scatter enemy groups.
Thunder Clap	TC	Useless on its own, but has follow-on talents that increase its efficacy.
Wrecking Throw	-	Rarely useful when enemies have absorption shields.
Shattering Throw	-	Even more rarely useful when enemies have breakable immunities.
Crushing Force	-	A passive damage increase for Mortal Strike.
Pain and Gain	-	A small amount of passive self-healing, which can add up over the course of a long encounter.
Cacophonous Roar	-	A PvP focused talent which has little to no practical effect in PvE.
Menace	-	Improves Intimidating Shout by not forcing targets to run away, but rarely worth the talent point.
Storm Bolt	-	A ranged single target stun on a short cooldown.
Overwhelming Rage	-	Increasing maximum Rage increases performance by reducing resource waste due to overcapping.
Sidearm	-	A minor passive damage increase.
Concussive Blows	-	A niche single target damage increase, only useful when frequently interrupting.
Reinforced Plates	-	A notable defensive boost, which synergizes with its follow-on talent converting armor into strength.
Bounding Stride	-	Allows Heroic Leap to be used more frequently.
Crackling Thunder	-	Provides minor utility, though not generally necessary.
Barbaric Training	-	A moderate damage increase for both Slam, Whirlwind, and Cleave.
Honed Reflexes	-	Reduces the cooldown of Overpower, which is not overly useful due to already frequent resets.
Bitter Immunity	-	An on-demand heal which also removes certain debuffs. Situationally useful, but very useful when it is.
Double Time	-	A must-have increase in mobility, which leads to an even more important talent.
Seismic Reverberation	-	Whirlwind normally deals damage three times, which this talent increases to four when also hitting multiple targets, effectively a 10% damage increase. Also works with Cleave, for a much more impactful 30% damage increase.
Armored to the Teeth	-	A surprisingly strong damage increase and additional avenue of Warrior gear scaling.
Wild Strikes	-	A surprisingly powerful auto-attack damage and Rage generation increase, though its internal cooldown keeps it from triggering too often.
Two-Handed Weapon Specialization	-	A must have passive damage increase that now also slightly increases survivability.
Cruel Strikes	-	A small Execute damage increase, which synergizes well with other talents.
Endurance Training	-	A moderate survivability boost, although the crowd control reduction is rather unimportant in PvE content.
Avatar	Ava	A very important cooldown, which aligns nicely with others.
Thunderous Roar	TR	A powerful AoE attack and bleed.
Champion's Spear	Spear	Another powerful AoE attack, with a lingering DoT. Also, tethers enemies in place, which can be useful in a variety of situations.
Shockwave	SW	An AoE stun, very useful in small group situations.
Warlord's Torment	-	Causes Avatar to trigger a reduced Recklessness.
Blademaster's Torment	-	Triggers Sweeping Strikes, increasing its overall uptime.
Uproar	-	Greatly reduces the cooldown of Thunderous Roar.
Thunderous Words	-	Increases bleed damage while Thunderous Roar is activate.
Piercing Challenge	-	A moderate AoE direct damage increase.
Champion's Might	EM	An important burst damage effect, allowing the Spear to increase the damage of other follow-on attacks.
Rumbling Earth	-	A very strong talent which makes Shockwave much more frequently useable.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Mortal Strike	MS	Arms main attack, which forms the basis of its rotation.
Overpower	OP	A free filler which also greatly amplifies the damage of other attacks.
Martial Prowess	-	Causes Overpower to greatly amplify the damage of other attacks.
Die by the Sword	DbtS	Arms' major defensive cooldown very useful for its automatic parry.
Improved Execute	-	A must-have talent, which allows Execute to refund Rage.
Improved Overpower	-	A rather underwhelming damage increase.
Bloodsurge	-	A very nice to have talent, which helps passively generate Rage..
Fueled by Violence	-	A minor heal, but can contribute a great deal over the course of a long encounter.
Storm Wall	-	Triggers a heal anytime an attack is parried, which synergizes well with Die by the Sword but does not actually require it to be active.
Sudden Death	SD	A powerful proc allowing Execute to be used outside its normal phase.
Fervor of Battle	FoB	Increases the direct damage of Whirlwind and Cleave, while also allowing them to contribute to Collateral Damage.
Tactician	-	A must-have talent, which resets the cooldown on Overpower.
Colossus Smash	CS	Arms major offensive cooldown.
Impale	-	A moderate damage increase, which also increases the value of Critical Strike.
Skullsplitter	SkS	A Rage generator which greatly enhances bleed effects.
Rend	-	A must-have talent and one of the fundamental parts of the Arms rotation.
Exhilarating Blows	EB	A fun but rarely used effect which allows Mortal Strike or Cleave to be chain cast.
Anger Management	AM	Reduces cooldowns by spending Rage, one of the core elements of Arms gameplay.
Massacre	-	A very important talent which allows Execute to be used much more frequently.
Sweeping Strikes	SS	A must-have talent in two-target situations, allowing otherwise single-target attacks to hit a secondary target.
Cleave	-	A must-have talent in sustained multitarget content, replacing Mortal Strike as the main attack.
Bloodborne	-	A powerful passive bleed damage increase.
Dreadnaught	DN	Adds a second charge to Overpower alongside moderate AoE damage, making it more useful in multitarget situations.
In For The Kill	IFTK	Increases Haste, allowing more abilities to fit inside cooldown windows.
Test of Might	ToM	An incredibly powerful ability, creating a lengthy damage-increasing buff after Colossus Smash ends.
Blunt Instruments	-	A predominantly single target bonus that synergizes extremely well with Test of Might.
Warbreaker	WB	A must-have multitarget talent, converting Colossus Smash into an AoE attack.
Improved Mortal Strike	-	A very underwhelming damage increase, which is nonetheless required pathing for single target builds.
Storm of Swords	SoS	Turns Whirlwind into a powerful Rage dump on a moderate cooldown, which works well alongside Cleave as the priority filler.
Collateral Damage	CD	Synergizes well with Fervor of Battle to create a powerful burst of damage after Sweeping Strikes ends.
Deft Experience	-	Causes Tactician to trigger much more frequently.
Valor in Victory	-	Reduces the cooldown of Die by the Sword, which is very useful when threat is an issue in multitarget content.
Critical Thinking	-	Causes Execute to refund even more Rage, helping sustain the rotation.
Bloodletting	-	Makes sustaining Rend and Deep Wounds much easier while also serving as a powerful damage increase for Thunderous Roar.
Battlelord	-	Creates an engaging proc loop with Tactician, though unfortunately devalued by much greater rotational emphasis on spending GCDs on Slam instead of Overpower.
Bladestorm	BS	Arms major offensive multitarget cooldown.
Ravager	Rav	An alternative to Bladestorm, dealing damage passively while generating Rage, at the cost of less direct damage.
Sharpened Blades	-	A moderate Mortal Strike, Cleave, and Execute damage increase.
Executioner's Precision	EP	Adds Mortal Strike back into the Execute rotation.
Fatality	-	A curious talent, which passively builds up a single large instance of damage that triggers during the Execute phase.
Dance of Death	-	Allows Bladestorm or Ravager to be used more effectively even when targets die very quickly, creating opportunities to funnel damage into longer-lived targets.
Unhinged	-	Causes Bladestorm and Ravager to automatically cast Mortal Strike several times, greatly increasing the single and two-target effectiveness.
Merciless Bonegrinder	-	A significant multitarget damage increase during Ravager or following Bladestorm.
Juggernaut	-	A major sustained Execute damage amplification, although it has less benefit in very short encounters.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Demolish	Demo	Very powerful three-hit combo, slowing movement speed by 99%. Defensive and mobility abilities do not interrupt the attack.
Dominance of the Colossus	-	Grants cooldown reduction and applies a debuff that increases all damage dealt, including that of the Demolish that applies it.
Boneshaker	-	More of a PvP talent than a PvE one, as larger slows are easy to come by.
Earthquaker	-	Very useful for its reduced cooldown, while the knock-up allows disruption in spite of diminishing returns.
One Against Many	-	Very powerful multitarget damage bonus, greatly contributing to the value of Cleave.
Steadfast as the Peaks	-	Variable, though passive damage increase, better used against single targets.
No Stranger to Pain	-	Increases the value of Ignore Pain, though the ability itself is rather small.
Veteran Vitality	-	Small automatic emergency heal, though it combines well with other effects.
Martial Expert	-	One of several critical strike damage boosts.
Colossal Might	-	Effectively doubles the damage of Demolish.
Tide of Battle	-	Variable Overpower damage increase.
Practiced Strikes	-	General damage increase.
Precise Might	-	Further emphasizes using Mortal Strike regularly and getting critical strikes.
Mountain of Muscle and Scars	-	General damage/defense, and almost unnoticeable size increase.

Ability	Abbreviation	Description/Effect
Slayer's Dominance	-	Frequent random single target damage proc that inflicts the much more important Marked for Execution.
Unrelenting Onslaught	-	Typically desyncs Bladestorm from other major cooldowns, though the increased frequency is worth the tradeoff.
Relentless Pursuit	-	Very useful for keeping up with moving targets, especially when charging on the pull.
Vicious Agility	-	Less regularly useful outside of specific encounter timing, though minorly better for open world content.
Culling Cyclone	-	Increases the single target value of Bladestorm, but does not further increase damage by hitting multiple targets.
Brutal Finish	-	Better against multiple targets due to the damage bonus applying to each target hit.
Fierce Followthrough	-	Only triggers off crits against the primary target, though the resulting damage bonus affects every target.
Opportunist	-	High value due to the frequency of Tactician procs.
Imminent Demise	-	Allows the consumption of Marked for Execution, even without Sudden Death talented, while also making Bladestorm much more powerful. Has strong synergy with Unhinged.
Overwhelming Blades	-	Universal damage increase with a very high uptime.
Death Drive	-	Very minor and largely random, which means it will not always be effective healing.
Show No Mercy	-	Another damage increase tied to Marked for Execution and Sudden Death procs.
Reap the Storm	-	Helps apply and maintain Overwhelming Blades.
Slayer's Malice	-	Basic Overpower damage increase.

Since nearly every single major ability for Arms Warrior interacts with each other, it can be difficult to figure out how they are meant to be prioritized. But now that you know what they do, our rotation page will help you balance your rotation, cooldowns, and Rage bar effectively!

For more information on the best combination of talents and how to use them, please read our talent page.