A Guide to the Protection Warrior (in PvP)

[Artega]

2. Weapon Enchants

Lifestealing

• Lifestealing frequently (roughly 5 ppm) hits your target for 45 Shadow damage, and heals you for the damage it does. This healing effect also generates threat.

• Pros: Heals more than the Crusader enchant, and will cause more damage than the Crusader enchant against high-Armor targets.

• Cons: Does less damage than the Crusader enchant, the damage effect can be resisted (which also prevents any healing), and it’s somewhat expensive.

• It generates a medium purple glow.


Crusader

• Crusader occasionally (roughly 2 ppm) activates, healing you for 90 and increasing your Strength by 100 for 10 seconds. The healing effect generates threat.

• Pros: Can cause a large boost in damage against low-Armor targets, and the Strength boost translates into an additional 4 damage blocked.

• Cons: Does less damage than Lifestealing against high-Armor targets, and heals less. It’s also somewhat expensive.

• It generates a strong white glow.


Fiery Weapon

• Fiery Weapon frequently (roughly 5 ppm) hits your target for 40 Fire damage. The damage done is nearly identical to Lifestealing (against high-Armor targets with little or no Fire Resistance), though it doesn’t heal you.

• Pros: Consistent damage against high-Armor targets, and it’s fairly inexpensive.

• Cons: Still slightly less damage than Lifestealing and Crusader, and it won’t heal you.

• It generates a strong, orange flame.


Strength or Agility

• Strength and Agility increase the stat in question by 15.

• Pros: Permanent increase to a single stat, and it’s a fairly large increase. Strength translates into an additional 30 Attack Power (or a bit over 2 DPS), while Agility is worth .75% Dodge and .75% Critical.

• Cons: Very expensive

• They both generate a strong green glow.


Striking

• Striking increases the minimum and maximum damage range of your weapon by 7.

• Pros: The most consistent damage boost available, and it’s reasonably priced.

• Cons: It deals less damage than all of the other enchants listed (except perhaps Strength), and it’s not so inexpensive it makes up for that.

• It generates an intense blue glow.


Steel Weapon Chain

• Steel Weapon Chains are made and affixed by Blacksmiths, and render you immune to Disarm.

• Pros: Immunity to Disarm is handy against Riposte Rogues, other Warriors, and any of those excruciatingly annoying mobs that like to spam Disarm. It’s also very cheap.

• Cons: It offers absolutely no damage boost or stat boosts, and is pointless against enemies that can’t Disarm.

• It does not produce a visible effect.


Choose the best enchant, based on your budget (Agility or Strength if you’re rolling in the cash, Crusader or Lifestealing if you’re reasonably wealthy, Fiery Weapon if you don’t have a lot to spare, and a Steel Weapon Chain if you’re downright broke), and based on what you spend most of your time beating on. If you find yourself fighting high-Armor targets frequently (Paladins, Hunters, Shamans, and other Warriors), Lifestealing or Fiery Weapon are going to be your best bets. Against everything else, Crusader and Agility are going to be better.