Protection Warrior Tank Gear and Best in Slot — Dragonflight 10.2
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Protection Warrior in World of Warcraft Dragonflight 10.2.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Protection Warrior gear and best in slot.
Gearing in Dragonflight
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 for it.
Gearing Strategy for Protection Warriors
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 special effects that are extremely powerful, and you will want to seek them out regardless of 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, 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.
Using Simulations as Protection Warrior
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.
BiS Gear for Protection Warrior
BiS List for Protection Warrior
The following list consists of the best gear you can gain currently in the game. Since we favor item level, loot from Amirdrassil and the Great Vault will be the best you have access to, at 489 item level.
The items that are mentioned to be dropped from Dungeons are only relevant if you can obtain them at Item level 489 through the Great Vault and the Mythic upgrade Track.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Helm | ![]() |
Tindral Sageswift, in Amirdrassil |
Neck | ![]() |
Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle, in Amirdrassil |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Council of Dreams in Amirdrassil |
Cloak | ![]() ![]() |
Crafted by Tailoring |
Chest | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing, in Amirdrassil |
Bracers | ![]() ![]() |
Crafted by Blacksmithing |
Gloves | ![]() |
Igira the Cruel in Amirdrassil |
Belt | ![]() |
Heartsbane Triad, in Waycrest Manor |
Legs | ![]() |
Larodar, Keeper of the Flame, in Amirdrassil |
Boots | ![]() |
Yalnu, in Everbloom |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Rezan, in Atal'Dazar |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Illysanna Ravencrest, in Black Rook Hold |
Trinket #1 | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing in Amirdrassil |
Trinket #2 | ![]() |
Smolderon in Amirdrassil |
Weapon | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing, in Amirdrassil |
Shield | ![]() |
Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle, in Amirdrassil |
Mythic+ Gear BiS List for Protection Warrior
The following list is put together from items that drop only from the current seasons Mythic+ dungeons. While the highest Item level that drops from Mythic+ is 470; you can still obtain 489 pieces from the weekly Great Vault, and 486 from various crafting professions.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Helm | ![]() |
Iridikron the Stonescaled, in Dawn of the Infinite: Galakrond's Fall |
Neck | ![]() |
Lady Naz'jar, in Throne of the Tides |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Any Shoulders, modified by Revival Catalyst |
Cloak | ![]() |
The Amalgam of Souls, in Black Rook Hold |
Chest | ![]() |
Any Chest, modified by Revival Catalyst |
Bracers | ![]() |
Ancient Protectors, in Everbloom |
Gloves | ![]() |
Any Gloves, modified by Revival Catalyst |
Belt | ![]() |
Heartsbane Triad, in Waycrest Manor |
Legs | ![]() |
Any Legs, modified by Revival Catalyst |
Boots | ![]() |
Yalnu, in Everbloom |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Illysanna Ravencrest, in Black Rook Hold |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Rezan, in Atal'Dazar |
Trinket #1 | ![]() |
Manifested Timeways, in Dawn of the Infinite : Galakrond's Fall. Requires Fury/Arms lootspec |
Trinket #2 | ![]() |
Rezan, in Atal'Dazar |
Single-target Weapon | ![]() |
Raal the Gluttonous, in Waycrest Manor |
AoE Weapon | ![]() |
Vol'kaal, in Atal'Dazar |
Shield | ![]() |
Chrono-Lord Deios, in Dawn of the Infinite |
Below, you can find other noteworthy trinkets from the current Mythic+ dungeons.
Gore-Crusted Butcher's Block — Waycrest Manor;
Writhing Heart of Darkness — Darkheart Thicket;
Nightmare Egg Shell — Darkheart Thicket;
Spores of Alacrity — Everbloom.
Raid Gear BiS List for Protection Warrior
The following list is put together only from items which drop from the Amirdrassil Raid.
Slot | Item | Source/Note |
---|---|---|
Helm | ![]() |
Tindral Sageswift |
Neck | ![]() |
Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle |
Shoulder | ![]() |
Smolderon |
Cloak | ![]() |
Gnarlroot |
Chest | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing |
Bracers | ![]() |
Igira the Cruel |
Gloves | ![]() |
Igira the Cruel |
Belt | ![]() |
Tindral Sageswift |
Legs | ![]() |
Larodar, Keeper of the Flame |
Boots | ![]() |
Smolderon |
Ring #1 | ![]() |
Igira the Cruel |
Ring #2 | ![]() |
Larodar, Keeper of the Flame |
Trinket #1 | ![]() |
Smolderon |
Trinket #2 | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing |
Weapon | ![]() |
Fyrakk, the Blazing |
Shield | ![]() |
Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle |
Below, you can find other noteworthy trinkets from Amirdrassil.
Branch of the Tormented Ancient — Gnarlroot.
Gift of Ursine Vengeance — Council of Dreams.
Fyrakk's Tainted Rageheart — Fyrakk, the Blazing.
Pip's Emerald Friendship Badge — Council of Dreams.
Embellishments for Protection Warrior
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 which 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:
Shadowflame — this can be placed on any crafted armor piece except for neck and rings. It provides a decent chunk of overall damage and is currently one of our best Embellishments.
- For the second embellishment, you have 2 options. The most beneficial
option would be a second
Shadowflame embellishment.
Unstable Frostfire Belt is a decent follow up option.
While the Mythic Amirdrassil and the Great Vault drops 489 item level pieces, the highest you can craft is 486. As such, we suggest to craft your embellishments on the lower-stat budget pieces as shown below.
Vibrant Wildercloth Shawl with
Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch.
Primal Molten Vambraces with
Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch.
Tier Set for Protection Warrior
Within the new Amirdrassil Raid, every class will once again earn pieces of a gear set that is uniquely class-themed with its own two- and four-piece bonuses for every specialization. For Protection Warrior, these set bonuses are:
Warrior Protection 10.2 Class Set 2pc — Spending Rage has a chance to cause your
Shield Slam to consume and instantly deal 40% of the remaining damage on your
Deep Wounds and
Rend, and 100% of the remaining damage of
Thunderous Roar. Also reduces your damage taken by 10% for 5 seconds.
Warrior Protection 10.2 Class Set 4pc — For each bleed effect consumed, your damage taken is further reduced by an additional 2%. When
Shield Slam consumes a bleed, the cooldown of
Thunder Clap is reset, and
Thunderous Roar's cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds.
Both tier bonuses are straightforward and benefit us in Raids and Mythic+. You want to get the entire 4 pieces as soon as possible to gain the perks it provides. There are a total of 5 tier pieces that are dropped from Amirdrassil; any combination of them will work just fine. In addition, you can use the Revival Catalyst to convert gear into Tier pieces.
Protection Warrior Gear Upgrades in Dragonflight Season 3
To upgrade your gear, you will use Flightstones and
Dreaming Crests, both obtainable from practically all forms of content in
the game. They can be used to upgrade gear up to Item Level 486, which is
only 3 item levels behind Mythic Raid items.
For more information on the new 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
- 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.
Other noteworthy Gear for Protection Warriors
In the following section, 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.
Weapons and Shields
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 the available ones from current dungeons and raids.
Defender of the Ancient, looted from Gnarlroot in Amirdrassil.
Verdant Matrix Beacon, looted from Nymue, Weaver of the Cycle in Amirdrassil.
Murozond's Timeless Scale, looted from Chrono-Lord Deios in Dawn of the Infinite: Murozond's Rise.
Disc of Indomitable Will, looted from Rezan in Atal'Dazar.
Desiccated Husk Shield, looted from Yalnu in Everbloom.
Barnacled Shell Buckler, looted from Lady Naz'jar in Throne of the Tides.
Use the highest item level shield you can, regardless of its secondary stats.
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.
Gholak, the Final Conflagration, looted from Fyrakk, the Blazing in Amirdrassil.
Volcoross's Barbed Fang, looted from Volcoross in Amirdrassil.
Servant Splitter, looted from Raal the Gluttonous in Waycrest Manor
Adulation Enforcer, looted from Vol'kaal in Atal'Dazar.
Quel'Zaram, High Blade of the Lion, looted from Time-Lost Battlefield in Dawn of the Infinite: Murozond's Rise
Corrupted Knot, looted from Oakheart in Darkheart Thicket.
As with shields, use the highest item level weapon you have, regardless of the secondary stats.
Enchanting
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.
Changelog
- 30 Nov. 2023: Added Branch of the Tormented Ancient as a trinket suggestion.
- 23 Nov. 2023: Upgraded the Mythic+ gear list Neck.
- 21 Nov. 2023: Added mention of advised Embellishment crafting slots.
- 07 Nov. 2023: Removed Sporecloack from suggested embellishments.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.1.7.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed and updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 24 May 2023: Added Cataclysm Timewalking section for trinkets.
- 11 May 2023: Added Mark of Dargul into the trinket section.
- 09 May 2023: Updated Primordial Gem stones.
- 01 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.0.
- 24 Mar. 2023: Updated the Primordial Stone list.
- 22 Mar. 2023: Added Humming Arcane Stone as a viable gem and updated the Onyx Annulet use cases.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Added information about Primordial Stone Gems and reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 26 Dec. 2022: Added Whispering Incarnate Icon to the trinkets list.
- 23 Dec. 2022: Added some Vault of the Incarnate trinkets to the noteworthy trinket list.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated the gear suggestion, added tier set and embellishment suggestions.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Warrior Guides
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This guide has been written by Mwahi, a Protection Warrior theorycrafter and moderator of the Skyhold Warrior Discord.
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