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• Trixman's Guide to PvP for Protection Warriors.
  Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:13 am
  by trixman
  Forum:  Warrior

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  Trixman's Guide to PvP for Protection Warriors.
  
  
  Disclaimer: This is by no means a complete guide... just a helpful tip to those that need it.. And don't judge my current noob arena rating... I've merely been trying out some (bad) combinations (sometimes with some retarded players)...
  
  
  So after some brief scanning of the internet, I've not found a single uptodate dedicated guide to PvPing as a protection warrior... Despite what the majority of people say, there is a place in pvp for protection warriors... You should have massive amounts of health, and your goal in PvP is not to be a mean lean killing machine, but to simply be a survivor that will outlast all your competitors..
  
  Unlike every other dps'ing class out there... Prot warriors have a different approach to PvP... They are basically a big rock that can't be destroyed, whilst doing damage little by little.. Therefore, the longer you survive, the more damage you do...
  
  Here is a spec that I find works well for pvp prot warriors... - it is by no means the best spec out there.. just something i've found works for the way I play... I'll admit I'm not a pro at PvP, but I'd like to think im fairly decent...
  WorldofWarcraft.com -> Info -> Classes -> Warrior -> Talent Calculator
  
  GEAR:
  PvP is evidently heavily orientated around gear... No matter what your spec.. At the moment, there is no easily accessible prot gear for pvping.. Everything that is available focuses on crit + talents that aren't core to a protection warriors rotation (shield slam, concussion blow, etc)...
  
  If a prot warrior were to wear the current PvP gear... they would have an increased crit % (still low nonetheless)... However, as Prot warriors our damage in general is never very high... So we'll merely be critting for 1.5 - 2k or so... Therefore, some guides out there that suggest stacking your crit are pointless IMO....
  
  I find that the key difference between Prot warriors and fury/arms warriors is that Prot warriors need top tier PvE gear... The PvE gear increases all your damage mitigation drastically... Evidently, you will not be uncrittable (like you will be against raid bosses) but it definitely helps... I, for one, can say how frustrating it is to hit a well-geared prot warrior... blocks here... dodges there... parries here... With PvP gear on, all that mitigation is lost.
  
  But if you are not in the top end of PvE gear, you will stand no chance... Your health will be dramaticaly minimized, and high burst damage classes will make mincemeat out of you.
  
  MITIGATION:
  As a tank, mitigation is your bread and butter... WIthout all that useful Block/Dodge/Parries, you are worthless... Again, reiterating the fact that PvE gear is very useful... I've not seen any pvp gear out there that offers as much mitigation (admittedly I have not looked around that much, as I mainly play PvE)... But don't disregard all that mitigation, it greatly reduces both white and yellow damage from melee classes... It again increases how long you will survive... Don;t forget to spam shield block as soon as you engage... almost every white hit will just be *block* *block* *block* hehe
  
  TACTICS:
  
  Casters
  Casters are a warriors worse nightmare, our mitigation is significantly reduced against spells. Having said that, we have a few talents and abilities that will dramatically improve your survivability:
  
  Shield Bash & Heroic Throw
  These are your main abilities to interrupt and silence casters... Firstly, Shield bash acts as a not-so-effective-hamstring.. With the Gag Order spec (requires 20 points in prot), this can silence your target for 3 seconds, buying you valuable time after you've been frost nova'd or feared... They are highly annoying to casters. The only problem is the CD's on them.. Try and make sure you always have at least one available, saved for when you are Slowed, or frost nova'd and the casters about to kill you with a 10k hit like a Frostfire Bolt. However, circumstances change, and if both are not available, you have...
  
  Spell Reflect
  This is probably your most effective ability against spell casters... Without it, you won't stand a chance against Mages or Shamans or even Death Knights... As prot warriors you have the advantage of nearly always having a shield equipped (unless you had a 2Hder equiped to fool the enemy into thinking you were arms specced)... The CD on this is highly annoying at times, but imp Spell reflect spec should be quite helpful especially in arenas or BG's...
  
  Obviously, try and time your spell reflect and cast it whilst the caster is almost finished casting his potentially lethal hits... Sometimes, seeing as you hit for much less compared to fury/arms you won't have enough rage built up to cast it... That is when i usually save Bloodrage.. hit bloodrage + spell reflect can bring a shaman from 50% health down to 2%... Speccing into Improved bloodrage could also be a lifesaver out in arena and an interesting route to follow...
  
  Spell reflecting with Dk's is essential... You should be casting it as soon as the CDs done... as you will never know what the DK is about to cast... better to be safe than sorry...
  
  With smart casters, they will always keep you out of range, which is where Charge is very important..
  
  Charge (w/warbringer spec)
  Charge automatically interrupts any spell and breaks any immobilization you may have on you... Its a great alternative if Heroic Throw is down.. Sometimes the charge is so long that Shield bash is avaiable by that time.. Charge + shield bash is a great combo... Very useful...
  
  Stuns
  Protection warriors have been given the benefit of a heap ton of stuns available to them... imp Revenge, Concussion Blow, Shockwave.... All provide openings for you to immobilize your opponent, and start stacking devastate on them... Or even bandage up... These stuns are also very useful against casters, it is effectively, yet another option to silence them... This is beneficial against both Casters, and melee... These stuns
  
  Sunder Armor
  Sunder armor is your friend... against all classes.. Against clothies, it shoots their armor to crap, and the might as well be fighting naked.... and against plate wearers, it gives you a decided advantage... Try and stack the sunder all 5 times, although this is easier said than done... I suggest the glyph of sunder armor as it provides 2 stacks of sunder everytime u devastate...
  
  
  Melee
  With a well geared Protection warrior, there should be no excuses to losing out to any melee class... Unless of course you're against a noob paladin (lay on hands)...
  
  Rogues
  Rogues are usually a nightmare in pvp... with all their saps... its highly gay.. However, as a prot warrior... at the opening of a fight, i'd suggest casting bloodrage and spamming demoralizing shout to reveal the rogue... Alternatively, you can cast berserker rage, making you more immune to sap.. But if you have enough health you coudl alwys just stand there.. take the sap... wait for the rogue to blow his stuns... then use [Every Man For Himself] (if you're a human) or just wait for the stuns to go... you might be as low as 50% health... but just cast enraged regen... and stun the crap out of the rogue.. give him a taste of his own medicine, and with enough stuns... he should be screwed...
  Of course the deep wounds spec really helps here as it prevents the rogue from going all stealthy again... If you don't have the deep wounds spec, just spam demoralizing shout and hit him with a rend... always make sure you have a rend on him.. as that will make sure he cant stealth...
  
  Hunters
  Hunters are easy peasy usually... Depending on their spec, i find that beastmaster hunters are hardest... But all you have to do is take out their pet, and then crush them... (you may want to cast shield wall so you can concentrate on the pet without taking boatloads of damage)... The aforementioned stuns will help counteract any frost traps or jump backs that hunters take advantage of... Shield bash also slows em down... But be warned of their "enrages" where they become immune to slowing effects and stuns..
  
  Warriors
  Unless you are up against another, better geared Prot warrior, there should be no problem... Your mitigation and health circumstances will simply protect you from anything they throw at you... Just remember you have Shield Wall and Last stand if things get hairy....
  If it's another prot warrior, it will just be a long drawn-out battle and only the most talented/lucky warrior will win...
  
  Paladins
  Depending on the opponents playstyle, i find that pallys are the hardest melee class to beat as a protection warrior.... Their bubble + heals is very anonying, but i guess its sort of the same purpose as enraged regen... However Lay on Hands... now THAT is very anonying... I have had mixed experiences with Ret Pallys.. their high burst damage is very anonying... But again, apply the stuns and spell reflects up... And you will stand a chance... Also, Shield Slaming will dispell any seals they have up on them.. and if they waste mana recasting it... they will soon be OOM and their dps will drop dramatically...
  If you are facing a prot Paladin whose Lay on Hands is not on CD... you practically stand no chance... unless your gear is muchhh better... Killing a prot pallading with 30k health is no easy feat.. However, even if you do do it... lay on hands... just replenishes all that hard work... and you wil inevitably lose..
  
  COOLDOWNS:
  Shield Wall + Last Stand
  I know some players like to cast shield wall straight into a fight (arena or BG) when they are up against a large number of opponents and will be taking more damage... But personally, I save it... In PVE shield wall is an "OMG" last resort button, and i stick to that mentality in arena or duelling... last stand increases ur health, but it also works as a demoralizer against the opponent... Usually, battles against prot warriors are lengthy and drawn out... if they don't know what Last stand is.. and they see your health suddenly shoot up to 48K... they are usually just like wtf....
  
  
  
  I hope this has been an insightful view into the world of a Protection warrior, and perhaps some of you might be convinced enough to give it a go in real Arena battles... I strongly believe the power of a protection warrior is greatly underestimated in PvP... I have included more detail in fighting melee, as that is what I have most experience in... Stay tuned for Part 2 where i will cover the Casters in more depth... Again, as I have said, I dont proclaim to be an authority on PvP Prot Warriors... But I have thought about it, and see some very very viable options for its purpose in Arena..
  
  thanks all!
  
  Don't flame me too much!
  
  Trix