Protection Warrior PvP Guide (Dragonflight 10.1)

Protection Warrior and tanks, in general, are often considered niche specializations for PvP, and especially arena, with very few regular players. However, Protection Warrior has seen high ratings in the past and is currently capable of dealing high amounts of damage while averting great pressure from enemy melees. The main struggle is magic damage-dealing specializations, as you have little passive sustain or defense against this type of damage.

Protection Warrior plays primarily as a bodyguard, averting dangers off of a serious damage dealing teammate and trying to stall out a game long enough for the enemy team to run dry on Mana. By using powerful damage-reducing abilities such as Bodyguard, Morale Killer, Shield Bash and Shockwave, Protection Warrior can single-handedly ruin the enemy team's chances of killing your team.

This guide is inspired by Troma's talent build and tested around his setup. You can find a link to his character, Twitch, Twitter and Youtube here.

1. Rebound has received a redesign, it now reflects two spells for bonus damage, but increases the cooldown of Spell Reflection.
2. Warbringer damage has been reduced by 65%, but range increased by 10 yards.
3. Shield Bash is no longer a separate ability, and now has its effects merged into Shield Slam.
4. Thunderstruck now roots for 4 seconds and is affected by Diminishing Returns, as well as break on damage.
5. Sword and Board has been removed.
6. The 2-set PvP trinket bonus no longer provides CC reduction. To compensate, most CC in the game has received nerfs. For warrior, Disarm now lasts 5 seconds and Storm Bolt and Pummel now lasts 3 seconds, but Shockwave has been buffed to 3 seconds.
7. Critical strikes now deal 150% of base damage instead of 175%
8. The new 2-set PvP trinket bonus is a 25% increase to primary stat and 5% to stamina.

• Incredible peeling abilities.
• Great damage for a tank.
• Almost impervious to enemy melees.
• Strong utility.

• Struggles to keep up with consistent ranged slows.
• Vulnerable to magic damage.
• Lack of Bladestorm means high vulnerability to being hit with CC.
• Tanks sustain 50% more damage from all sources in PvP.

This guide ended up being very long, so we split it into different pages.

• On the Protection Warrior PvP Talents page, you will find an analysis of each PvE talent row to help you decide which talent to pick on each row, as well as an overview of the PvP talents, which advice on which ones to take and under which conditions.
• On the Protection Warrior PvP Rotation and Playstyle page, you will learn how to use your spells, depending on the situation (dealing damage, surviving, controlling enemy players, etc.), and what is generally expected of your class and spec in PvP.
• On the Protection Warrior PvP Stat Priority and Gear page, you will find the stat priority to follow in PvP, as well as advice for choosing your gear, particularly trinkets.
• On the Protection Warrior PvP Best Races page, you will find lists of the Alliance and Horde races, ranked by how good they are for Protection Warriors in PvP, as well as explanations regarding why and how their racials benefit you.
• On the Protection Warrior PvP Useful Macros page, you will find a collection of useful macros for PvP for Protection Warriors.
• On the Protection Warrior Arena Composition page, you will find the list of the most powerful Arena compositions featuring Protection Warriors in both 2v2 and 3v3 modes.