Protection Warrior guide for WoW Forever

The Protection Warrior in WoW Forever is the classic knight: heavy armor, a big shield and no magic, only shouts, stomps and blows. New talents give Rage for every block, dodge and parry, and Vanguard lets you Charge in Defensive Stance. This guide covers the level 30 build, threat rotation, debuffs, Rage, stats, gear and races.

Role	Tank with a shield
Build at level 30	26 points in Protection, with the 5 extra points from Talented
Key talents	Shield Specialization, Anticipation, Master of Defense, Defiance, Last Stand, Vanguard
Strength	Strong defensive cooldowns, a lot of control over the fight
Weakness	Little to do when you are not tanking, needs Rage
Leveling	Warrior leveling guide, Warrior level build
Other specs	Arms Warrior, Fury Warrior

What changes for Protection

• Shield Specialization gives 5% more block chance and 5 Rage on every block at 5/5.
• Master of Defense is new. 5 Rage on every dodge and parry while you carry a shield.
• Vanguard is new. Charge works in Defensive Stance.
• Focused Rage is new. Your offensive abilities cost 3 Rage less at 3/3.
• Defiance gives 15% more threat in Defensive Stance with a shield at 3/3.
• Last Stand now gives 30% of your maximum health for 20 seconds.
• Bastion gives 10% more damage while you carry a shield at 5/5, and Shield Slam also dispels a Magic effect half of the time.
• Improved Shield Wall takes 11 minutes off the cooldown of Shield Wall at 2/2.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
Shield Wall and Last Stand can win a fight	Weak when you are not the tank, and a two-handed weapon does not fix it
Shield Bash, Intercept, Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout set the pace	Needs Rage, and gets it mostly by being hit
Rage from blocks, dodges and parries	Against casters you quickly run short of Rage

Because Protection does so little outside tanking, many Warriors play a damage spec with Dual Specialization, or take the role of main tank for good.

The level 30 build

This build uses 26 points: the 21 points of level 30 plus 5 from Talented in the Legacy system. Without Talented, stop at 21 points; the Warrior level build gives the order per level. Open the build in the talent calculator.

Talent	Points
Improved Bloodrage	2/2
Shield Specialization	5/5
Anticipation	5/5
Improved Revenge	3/3
Last Stand	1/1
Master of Defense	2/2
Defiance	3/3
Vanguard	1/1
Concussion Blow	1/1
Focused Rage	3/3

After level 30 come Bastion, Improved Shield Wall, Improved Thunder Clap, Improved Sunder Armor and Shield Slam at the bottom of the tree.

What the key talents do

Talent	What it does in Forever
Shield Specialization	More block chance and 5 Rage per block
Anticipation	20 more Defense Skill at 5/5
Master of Defense	5 Rage per dodge and parry with a shield
Improved Revenge	60% more damage from Revenge, so more threat
Defiance	15% more threat in Defensive Stance with a shield
Last Stand	30% extra maximum health for 20 seconds
Vanguard	Open every pull with Charge, without leaving Defensive Stance
Focused Rage	3 Rage less for your offensive abilities
Shield Slam	A strong instant attack that can also dispel. After level 30

Rotation

1. Spend extra Rage on Heroic Strike, or Cleave against several enemies, so it is never wasted.
2. Keep Battle Shout up.
3. Keep Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout up.
4. Stack Sunder Armor.
5. Revenge whenever it is ready.
6. Put Rend on the target and keep it there.
7. Shield Slam, once you have it.

Cooldowns and utility

• Shield Wall and Retaliation are very useful, but Retaliation needs Battle Stance.
• Last Stand is a strong defensive cooldown.
• Berserker Rage ignores Fear and Incapacitate effects, but only in Berserker Stance.
• Recklessness is the strongest damage cooldown in the game, but also needs Berserker Stance.
• Bloodrage freely, for extra Rage.
• Challenging Shout makes enemies attack you, unlike Taunt, so you keep tanking through immunities.

Movement

Stay on the boss. Open with Charge for Rage and an instant start, in Defensive Stance thanks to Vanguard. In combat you have Intercept, but only in Berserker Stance, which costs your Rage and makes you take more damage.

Debuffs and Rage

Debuffs. Keep Sunder Armor on the enemy for more damage and more threat. Keep Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout running all the time: if they drop, you take a lot more damage. Rend scales well and adds a fair amount of threat.

Rage. Plan ahead and keep enough for your important attacks. If Heroic Strike leaves Shield Slam or Revenge waiting for a second or two, that was a mistake. Keep your Rage moving: never full, never empty.

Stats and gear

The exact order at level 60 follows after the launch. These stats help a Protection Warrior:

• Hit chance. A miss deals nothing and gives no Rage.
• Stamina, Armor and avoidance. More health is always better for a tank. Balance defense with enough offense to hold threat.
• Strength and attack power. 1 Strength gives 2 attack power.
• Critical strike chance. More damage and more Rage.
• Agility. Some critical strike chance and Armor.

Armor. Your armor matters a lot. Mail until level 40, Plate after that. A lighter armor type costs you so much mitigation that you struggle to survive. Blacksmiths make good leveling gear, and dungeons have plenty more.

Weapons. Your weapon still matters for threat. Always carry a shield, for Bastion and Shield Slam. A ranged weapon only counts for its stats.

Races and professions

Every race can play a Warrior. Every pick works, but some are stronger.

Faction	Race	Why
Alliance	Human	Ruthless: 2% more critical strike chance
Alliance	Dwarf	More critical strike damage, and Stoneform is an excellent defensive cooldown
Alliance	Gnome	A burst cooldown that can be very strong
Alliance	Night Elf	Elune’s Light for Rage and damage on demand, plus extra dodge chance and movement speed
Alliance	High Order Skyborne	Wind Blessed: Haste, which is rare and strong for you
Horde	Orc	Blood Fury, extra critical strike chance and a strong cooldown against magic damage
Horde	Troll	More damage to Beasts, Berserking for attack speed and faster health regeneration
Horde	Undead	Touch of the Grave deals damage and heals you a little
Horde	Tauren	The most health of any race, War Stomp and Plainsrunning for speed while you keep moving
Horde	Windshaper Skyborne	Haste and a speed cooldown that comes in handy

Professions. Blacksmithing makes some of the best Mail and Plate gear, much of it only for Blacksmiths. Engineering has useful gadgets for every spec.