Warrior Arena Guide

Warriors have almost always had only one viable spec for arena and pvp, which was arms. Warriors Fury tree became effective in WoTLK when they added the ability to Dual Wield two handed weapons. They also added a similar ability to Mortal Strike in Fury which finally made Fury viable for arenas.

Warriors are commonly known to not be the first target of arenas because you will "Feed them rage". However, sometimes this saying isn't true. Warriors sometimes need to be the first target, you just have to make sure you actually kill them quickly. As a Warrior you will be very susceptible to movement impairing effects and roots. A mage and almost fully control a Warrior, if they know what they are doing.

It's very important as a warrior that you pay attention to all of your enemies and know when to use what abilities. You have some of the best abilities in the game to stop a healer and save your own team mates. Be sure to put Pummel on an easy to reach - quick to use key binding. This is one of your best abilities that will stop a healer dead in his tracks. A commonly used second is Intercept, this will interrupt another heal locking a healer down for even longer.

As a Warrior you will also have to learn the range of your whirlwind, not only to make sure you hit everyone but to also make sure you don't hit anyone who is Sheeped, or similar CC effects.

Warriors also can have an "Oh Shit" button and equip a sword and shield to eat up a lot more damage. With a Shield out they are also able to reflect spells back at their caster with their Spell Reflect ability. To get a good Shield you should probably make a healthy combination of Arena and PvE. Aside from just a shield from PvE you can also grab some gear, this will reduce your survivability but greatly increase your damage.

 

Tips

- Make sure you get a good shield as soon as possible, you'll need it to survive and for Spell Reflect

- Don't forget to battle shout right before the match begins.

- ALWAYS START OUT IN BERSERK STANCE. Only switch to Battle Stance right before you charge, otherwise you will be vulnerable to sap. Be ready to use "Berserk Rage" the second you see the Rogue pop out of stealth, if you do it before the Rogue will generally wait until your Berserk Rage fades, and re sap you.

- DON'T LINE OF SITE YOUR HEALER

 

Specs

Arms: Arms is the most common spec you will see a Warrior in a Arena. Their Mortal Strike ability makes them highly desired on any team. Aside from just mortal strike arms warriors also put out a great amount of burst damage. Their biggest weakness is Crowd Control and Snares. They have things that can help them avoid the snares and CC like Intercept, Berserk Rage, Bladestorm and their pvp trinket. It's also important as an arms warrior that you choose the right weapon. The most popular choices are Maces and Swords. I prefer a sword for more "Shock" burst damage.

To defeat a Warrior it's very important that you stun the crap out of him and try to keep him away from anyone squishy on your team.

Fury: Fury is the other spec that a Warrior can be for arena's, it isn't very popular now but it is growing. Fury allows warriors to put out an insane amount of burst damage in a short period of time. Fury warriors seem to be a tad more squishy then Arms warriors, they also don't have a reliable Mortal Strike like Arms warriors do.

Protection: No.

 

Tactics

As a Warrior you will have to play both offense and defense, putting pressure on the enemies healers and keeping pressure off yours. It is very important you understand your role as a Warrior and execute it correctly, don't worry about having to be constantly in your targets face to put out damage. Warriors are much like ret pallies where they can put out a ton of damage instantly, then they have to wait 2 or 3 seconds for rage and cooldowns.

One of your toughest challenges as a warrior will be trying to stay in Line of Site with your healer(s). You will have to make split second decisions to try and kill that healer at 25% and not get the healing touch, or get the healing touch and possibly let the healer get away.

You will need to remember as a warrior you are just as much of a defender as a attacker. You will need to be fully aware of all of your surroundings, for example if you see a mage channeling a frostbolt at you pop out your shield, switch to defensive stance and reflect that shit. Even if the mage notices what you are doing and interrupts his frostbolt at least you caused him to waste time.

One good tactic that I enjoy as a Warrior is if you're being kited by say a mage and you're running by another squishy caster unload your rage onto him. This will cause them to stop what they're doing and react by defending themselves, some times healers will also "Freak" and interrupt their heal on someone else and heal that player.

It's very important that you remember your defensive abilities (I know I keep repeating it, that's how important it is!!) So, to help you remember I'm going to name them!

Spell Reflect
Intercept
Intervene
Disarm
Intimidating Shout
Pummel
Shield Block (Pop this if a lot of melee are on you and you're taking a lot of damage)

If you would like to learn more about the Warrior class click here to see my Warrior class guide.