Protection Warrior Tank Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within (11.1.5)

The best gear you can find will come from the Weekly Mythic+ chest, now known as the Great Vault, and from Mythic Raiding. In addition to these, you can also place crafting orders once you have the necessary pieces.

While a definitive BiS list is hard to create, there are cases where specific gear can be best in slot. For example, some trinkets have extremely powerful special effects, and you will want to seek them out regardless of the item level. Sometimes, some rings have special effects that outweigh item level increases or the benefit of specific secondary stats.

As a general rule of thumb, any increase in item level is an upgrade. For Protection Warriors, the value of all the secondary stats is close enough together that you should only look at what secondary stats a piece has if you are comparing across the same item level. Not only that, but Stamina and Strength increases are significant as well.

All in all, if you come across gear that is an item-level upgrade (or has a socket and your current piece does not), equip it. If two pieces of equipment are the same item level, equip the best piece according to the stat priority. Finally, be aware of gear where the item level does not matter as much, which is the case for specific trinkets, rings, and gear with special effects, etc.

Simulation tools are used to simulate which piece of gear would provide the most damage output. While this might seem irrelevant as a tank, it is the opposite. A good tank will be tanky while contributing to the best of their abilities to the group's overall damage output.

Simulations as a tank should be mainly used to figure out which piece of gear of similar item level you should equip. Always follow the item level rule of higher item level = better first when choosing gear.

3.

BiS Gear for Protection Warrior

Overall BiS List Mythic+ Gear BiS List Raid Gear BiS List

4.

Overall BiS List for Protection Warrior

This list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Season 2 of The War Within. BiS lists are created in a vacuum, so for the best result, always sim yourself.

Slot	Item	Source/Note
Helm	Fullthrottle Facerig	Vexie Fullthrottle in Liberation of Undermine
Neck	Semi-Charmed Amulet	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Shoulder	Enforcer's Backalley Shoulderplates	Rik Reverb/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Cloak	Enforcer's Backalley Allegiance	Any cloak,Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Chest	Enforcer's Backalley Vestplate	Sprocketmonger Lockenstock/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Bracers	Everforged Vambraces	Crafted — Blacksmithing
Gloves	Enforcer's Backalley Crushers	Cauldron of Carnage/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Belt	Everforged Greatbelt	Crafted — Blacksmithing
Legs	Enforcer's Backalley Chausses	Stix Bunkjunker/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Boots	Pyroclastic Greatboots	K.U.-J.0in Operation: Mechagon
Ring #1	The Jastor Diamond	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Ring #2	Miniature Roulette Wheel / Cyrce's Circlet	One-Armed Bandit/Siren Isle
Trinket #1	Tome of Light's Devotion	Baron Braunpyke, in Priory of the Sacred Flame
Trinket #2	Eye of Kezan	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Weapon	Tearing Sawtooth Blade	Head Machinist Sparkflux in Operation: Mechagon
Shield	Titan of Industry	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine

4.

Mythic+ BiS List for Protection Warrior

The below list consists of gear, which is only found in Mythic+ dungeons. This does not mean that these items are the best for Mythic+, but that they just drop from dungeons instead of anywhere else. BiS lists are created in a vacuum, so for the best result, always sim yourself.

Slot	Item	Source/Note
Helm	Waxsteel Greathelm	Blazikon, in Darkflame Cleft
Neck	Strapped Rescue-Keg	Brew Master Aldryr in Cinderbrew Meadery
Shoulder	Enforcer's Backalley Shoulderplates	Any shoulders,Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Cloak	Enforcer's Backalley Allegiance	Any cloak,Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Chest	Enforcer's Backalley Vestplate	Any chest,Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Bracers	Stonefury Vambraces	Azerokk, in The MOTHERLODE!!
Gloves	Enforcer's Backalley Crushers	Any gloves,Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Belt	Venture Contractor's Floodlight	Demolition Duo, in Operation: Floodgate
Legs	Enforcer's Backalley Chausses	Any legs, Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault
Boots	Sabatons of Rampaging Elements	Azerokk, in The MOTHERLODE!!
Ring #1	Cyrce's Circlet	Siren Isle
Ring #2	Footbomb Championship Ring	Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler, in The MOTHERLODE!!
Trinket #1	Tome of Light's Devotion	Baron Braunpyke, in Priory of the Sacred Flame
Trinket #2	Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker	Keeza Quickfuse, in Operation: Floodgate
Weapon	Tearing Sawtooth Blade	Head Machinist Sparkflux in Operation: Mechagon
Shield	G0-4W4Y Crowd Repeller	Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler in The MOTHERLODE!!

4.

Raid BiS List for Protection Warrior

The below list consists of gear that is only found in the Nerub-ar Palace Raid. This does not mean that these items are the best for Raiding, but that they just drop from there instead of anywhere else. BiS lists are created in a vacuum, so for the best result, always sim yourself.

Slot	Item	Source/Note
Helm	Fullthrottle Facerig	Vexie Fullthrottle in Liberation of Undermine
Neck	Semi-Charmed Amulet	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Shoulder	Enforcer's Backalley Shoulderplates	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Cloak	Undercircuit Racing Flag	Vexie Fullthrottle in Liberation of Undermine
Chest	Enforcer's Backalley Vestplate	Sprocketmonger Lockenstock in Liberation of Undermine
Bracers	Revved-Up Vambraces	Vexie Fullthrottle in Liberation of Undermine
Gloves	Enforcer's Backalley Crushers	Cauldron of Carnage in Liberation of Undermine
Belt	Cutthroat Competition Stompers	One-Armed Bandit in Liberation of Undermine
Legs	Enforcer's Backalley Chausses	Stix Bunkjunker in Liberation of Undermine
Boots	Cutthroat Competition Stompers	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Ring #1	Miniature Roulette Wheel / Faded Championship Ring	One-Armed Bandit / Cauldron of Carnage in Liberation of Undermine
Ring #2	The Jastor Diamond (639)	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Trinket #1	Eye of Kezan	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Trinket #2	House of Cards	One-Armed Bandit in Liberation of Undermine
Trinket #2 — Defensive option	Chromebustible Bomb Suit	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Weapon	Remixed Ignition Saber	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Shield	Titan of Industry	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine

The War Within Season 2 brings a new currency, Puzzling Cartel Chip. These can be used to buy specific items from the Liberation of Undermine, allowing you to bypass the randomness of loot drops. As a limitation, you can only buy the items which drop from the bosses you have already killed, at the appropriate difficulty. If you have killed a boss on Heroic difficulty, you can buy the specific item on Heroic item level. In addition to this, you can buy up to 3 items in total.

In the list below, you can see the best items to purchase as Protection Warrior. As everyones gear is different, the items below are in a random order. To ensure that you will purchase the best item for your current gear, you should always sim yourself.

• The Jastor Diamond – A very rare ring, which everyone is after.
• Eye of Kezan – Strong main stat trinket as long as you can remain in combat.
• House of Cards – On-use mastery trinket which goes well with our cooldowns.
• Titan of Industry – A solid shield, if one has not dropped yet.
• Chromebustible Bomb Suit – One of the few decent defensive trinkets.

As of now, you will not replace your Cycre's Circlet before you get 2 Mythic level rings. To get the most precise estimation on when to swap this ring out, you should sim yourself.

Cyrce's Circlet has 3 gem slots for specific gems. These gems belong into one of three categories: Thundering, Sea and Wind. You can have only one of each socketed at any given time. In total, there are 12 different gems, 4 for each category.

As for the best gems, you can find the list below. This list will be updated as the Patch evolves, as the gems are expected to get adjusted.

• For Raid:
  • Stormbringer's Runed Citrine / Thunderlord's Crackling Citrine
  • Legendary Skipper's Citrine
  • Fathomdweller's Runed Citrine
• For Mythic+:
  • Stormbringer's Runed Citrine
  • Squall Sailor's Citrine / Legendary Skipper's Citrine
  • Fathomdweller's Runed Citrine

For more in-depth information about Cyrce's Circlet and the various gems, take a look at our dedicated page below.

6.

Other noteworthy Gear for Protection Warriors

In the following sections, you can find some additional noteworthy gear.

To better understand the secondary stat prioritization for gear, look at the guide below, where each of the stats is broken down into bite-sized pieces.

Protection Warrior Stat Priority

Trinkets Shields Weapons

7.

Trinkets for Protection Warriors

Trinkets are some of the more unique items in the game due to their various effects. They can either help bolster your defenses or assist in dishing out even more damage. Regardless of which you will choose, below you can find a list of other noteworthy trinkets for us.

Item	Source	Note
Eye of Kezan	Chrome King Gallywix, in Liberation of Undermine	While it has no main stat by default, it has a really strong effect. As you use your abilities in combat, you start gaining a stacking strength buff. It starts off small, but once it is fully stacked, it provides you with a considerable amount of strength. The only downside is that as soon as you leave combat, you also start losing stacks of the buffs.
Tome of Light's Devotion	Baron Braunpyke, in Priory of the Sacred Flame	This trinket has 2 parts, one is the "defensive" mode, which grants you armor and a magic absorb, the second is a "offensive" mode, which grants you a lot of Critical Strike and a damage proc. The trinket switches between the two modes depending on how many stacks you have currently. You gain stacks by being attacked. You can also use the on-use effect of the trinket to switch to the other mode. This trinket is one of the strongest single target trinkets, as long as you stay in the "offensive" mode.
Improvised Seaforium Pacemaker	Keeza Quickfuse, in Operation: Floodgate	Provides a significant guaranteed Critical Strike buff on a 1-minute cooldown, which can be further extended with critical hits. As we are already stacking Critical Strike, this trinkets value is great.
House of Cards	One-Armed Bandit in Liberation of Undermine	On-use mastery trinket on a fairly short cooldown. This pairs well with our other offensive abilities.
Zee's Thug Hotline	Mug'Zee in Liberation of Undermine	Potentially decent trinket, especially on short fights thanks to the bloodlust passive.
Chromebustible Bomb Suit	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine	One of the few decent defensive trinkets. Has an on-use, which grants you with damage reduction up to a cap, and also deals damage back to the enemies.
Scrapfield 9001	Stix Bunkjunker in Liberation of Undermine	Solid alternative as a defensive trinket. This one is fully passive.
Signet of the Priory	Captain Dailcry in Priory of the Sacred Flame	This trinket can be a decent option if you have multiple other party members who have it equipped. The on-use provides you with a lot of your highest secondary stat while also granting other people who use the trinket the same stat.
Reverb Radio	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine	While not the flashiest of trinkets, it does have main stat and a solid passive haste buff.

7.

Shields for Protection Warriors

A good shield is the most important piece of gear. Shield upgrades provide a much larger defensive boost than upgrades to other slots.

You can acquire high item-level shields from dungeons, raids, and the Great Vault weekly chest. The following shields are available from current dungeons and raids.

Item	Source
Titan of Industry	Chrome King Gallywix in Liberation of Undermine
Frontman's Wondrous Wall	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Galebreaker Bulwark	Stormguard Gorren, in The Rookery
G0-4W4Y Crowd Repeller	Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler, in The MOTHERLODE!!
Barricade of the Endless Empire	Kul'Tharok, in Theater of Pain

Use the highest item level shield you can, regardless of its secondary stats.

7.

Weapons for Protection Warriors

Just as shields are important, so are weapons. They increase our damage output, allowing us to provide more to the group's performance. Below, you can find a solid selection of weapons.

Item	Source
Remixed Ignition Saber	Rik Reverb in Liberation of Undermine
Wiseguy's Refused Offer	Mug'Zee in Liberation of Undermine
Capo's Molten Knuckles	Mug'Zee in Liberation of Undermine
Tearing Sawtooth Blade	Machinist's Garden, in Operation: Mechagon - Workshop
Gorestained Cleaver	Xav the Unfallen, in Theater of Pain
Behemoth Kneebender	Voidstone Monstrosity, in The Rookery
Rail Rider's Bisector	Ol'Waxbeard, in Darkflame Cleft
Profit Divider	Goldie Baronbottom, in Cinderbrew Meadery

As with shields, use the highest item level weapon you have, regardless of the secondary stats.

Embellishments are various additional effects on craftable items. These can be either baseline effects on certain items like Shield of the Hearth or other effects that can be added by optional reagents when crafting an item.

While there are multiple embellishment options, you can have only two active at any time. For Protection Warriors, we recommend the following:

• 2x Dawnthread Lining / Duskthread Lining — they provide either Critical Strike or Versatility as long as you are above the health threshold. They lose to Elemental Focusing Lens in pure single-target scenarios but make up for it as soon as a second target is introduced. Only equip them if you can keep yourself above the health threshold regularly. Which of them to pick depends on your current stats; we advise you to sim yourself.

If you are unsure if you can keep yourself above the health threshold for Dawnthread Lining / Duskthread Lining, or would like a more forgiving embellishment, then you can always use:

• 2x Elemental Focusing Lens — provides a passive damage source that procs off just using your abilities.

The Mythic Raids and the Great Vault generally drop higher item-level pieces, once fully upgraded, compared to crafted ones. As such, we suggest crafting your embellishments on the lower-stat budget pieces, as shown below.

• Everforged Greatbelt
• Everforged Vambraces
• Consecrated Cloak
• Everforged Sabatons

Tier Sets are pieces of gear which are uniquely class-themed with its own two- and four-piece bonuses for every specialization. For Protection Warrior, these set bonuses are:

• Warrior Protection 11.1 Class Set 2pc — Taking damage has a chance to cast Shield Wall for 4 seconds, and buff you with Luck of the Draw!, increasing your damage by 15% for 12 seconds.
  • A random chance of gaining Shield Wall and a slight damage buff to pair with it. It does not have a very high proc rate, but considering that the buff is procced on damage taken, it should always be useful in mitigating damage. Be sure not to cast Shield Wall if you proc the tier set, as you will just overwrite the 4 second buff with the regular one, not extending it.
• Warrior Protection 11.1 Class Set 4pc — During Luck of the Draw! Shield Slam critical strike chance is increased by 75% and each time it critically hits, reduce the cooldown of Shield Charge by 12 seconds.
  • A decent offensive bonus, as it provides us with more Shield Charge casts. You only get the cooldown reduction if your Shield Slam crits during the 12 second buff window, so stacking Critical Strike is even better now. It is however tied to the RNG of Shield Slam resets. Considering the buff lasts for 12 seconds, and the average cooldown of Shield Slam is about 7 - 8 seconds, you need some good luck in procing a reset for Shield Slam.

Mediocre tier set, which is tied to a lot of randomness. The tier set does not change how we play the class, so it is just a passive bonus to our defensive and offensive values.

To upgrade your gear, you will use Crests, like Gilded Undermine Crest, obtainable from various forms of content in the game. They can be used to upgrade gear depending on which track they drop in.

For more information on the Gear Upgrades system, check out our dedicated page for it below.

Below you can find a list of rough priority on which items to upgrade first. For the best upgrade option for your character, be sure to sim yourself.

• Weapon / Shield
• Chest / Legs / Shoulders / Helm
• Trinkets
• Feet / Hands / Waist / Wrist
• Back / Neck / Rings

The cost to upgrade scales differs per slot but now also increases quickly as item levels go up.

Whenever you get a new piece of gear, enchant it if possible. The best enchants for us can be found on the page linked below.