Glad you're taking on the project. I got too busy playing my war to finish my talent guide on the Basin Wikki.
For the purpose of writing a tank guide, I would advise against locking into an exact talent build (at the very least label it "example"). Tanking isn't an exact talent spec, it's a state of mind. As long as you're focusing on keeping everything attacking you, and not dying before a healer can repair you, you're a tank, and there are many ways to accomplish the task. Within the range there are options that have better damage output / rage generation, and options that have better damage mitigation.
For instance, my warrior is going for a Unbridled Wrath, Piercing Howl, Enrage, Flurry (only 3 points), Imp. Revenge, Defiance, Imp. Shield Block (1 point), Concussion Blow, and Imp. Shield Bash (other obvious choices omitted) build. I certainly consider her a tank despite being 23 Def. 28 Fury. Perhaps a lighter model tank than a pure protection build (a bradley fighting vehicle maybe?), but still a toon quite capable of keeping monsters on her and not giving the healer too many headaches.
[edit: other good tank archetypes would be:
- Sweeping Strikes + Conc Blow + Imp Shield Bash + Cruelty + 2 unbridled (yes, you can tank in Battle stance... on some pulls),
or
- Deep Wounds + +4 Tac Mas + Imp Overpower (quick stance swap required) + Conc Blow + Imp Shield Bash + Piercing Howl. (Stay in def most of the time, but a Dodge = overpower = deep wounds = nice extra aggro lock.)]
The most useful contribution, which no-one has taken up yet but would be very appropriate to come from a LL source would be a comparitive study on aggro generation of warrior skills, along with rage efficiency of the top hate generators. Word on the street is that sunder armor is one of the best aggro builder's for the rage, but nobody (that I know of) has published rigorous testing of the various skills & aggro.
Complete agreement on leaving Imp. Shield block at one talent point. I can't think of the last time I used Sheild block and didn't have both blocks used within the time allowed with just one talent point placed. If it takes longer, I'm probably not in danger and a healer won't notice the difference.
If you're discussing stuns in a PvP context, don't forget to discuss the diminishing returns and what that means for the order you want to use your stuns in. If you lead off with charge, you're using your 100% duration stun on the crappiest stun in your arsenal. Better stun for the money (assuming you can still close-in / engage) would be using concussion blow first for the full effect and then revenges / intercepts if the opportunities are there. Obviously, the right choice of stun order depends on the tactical demands of the particular situation.
As for build order, I prefer going to Piercing Howl first thing as the extra crit damage is nice for leveling and having two AoE taunts instead of one helps hold aggro. I did Piercing Howl then Concussion blow to reach 41 and felt it went well. In retrospect, I may have even gone all fury at first just to speed up leveling and tagged on the prot skills at the end, but that would have made me a less durable tank in the interm (and I'm too cheap to respec for a change in order).
Another thing that would be good is a few examples of how you lock aggro (assuming the rest of the group is somewhat competent) against pulls of various sizes. For example, single pulls are pretty straight forward, but 4 or more it makes sense to toss in a Whirlwind before switching to defensive stance, and a 2-3 pull with hard hitters can be tricky due to rage management (that's where I most often pop a rage potion for quick demo/piercing h/sunders for everyone). Don't forget challenging shout + revenge for cleaning up pulls gone wrong (or for specific spots where it makes sense - the mobs at the door outside of thermaplug's room in Gnom. are prime candidates for this sort of aggro lock.
A quick note on pulling casters back to the group for the more clueless warriors out there never hurts. You can't always depend on a ranged interrupt/silence from a group member. :P
P.S. I :wub: the new improved bloodrage. Picked it up ASAP after the patch that changed it and keep being reminded of how great it is to get rage without dropping a ton of life each time I use it in combat. Talents that scale as you level never grow old.
For the purpose of writing a tank guide, I would advise against locking into an exact talent build (at the very least label it "example"). Tanking isn't an exact talent spec, it's a state of mind. As long as you're focusing on keeping everything attacking you, and not dying before a healer can repair you, you're a tank, and there are many ways to accomplish the task. Within the range there are options that have better damage output / rage generation, and options that have better damage mitigation.
For instance, my warrior is going for a Unbridled Wrath, Piercing Howl, Enrage, Flurry (only 3 points), Imp. Revenge, Defiance, Imp. Shield Block (1 point), Concussion Blow, and Imp. Shield Bash (other obvious choices omitted) build. I certainly consider her a tank despite being 23 Def. 28 Fury. Perhaps a lighter model tank than a pure protection build (a bradley fighting vehicle maybe?), but still a toon quite capable of keeping monsters on her and not giving the healer too many headaches.
[edit: other good tank archetypes would be:
- Sweeping Strikes + Conc Blow + Imp Shield Bash + Cruelty + 2 unbridled (yes, you can tank in Battle stance... on some pulls),
or
- Deep Wounds + +4 Tac Mas + Imp Overpower (quick stance swap required) + Conc Blow + Imp Shield Bash + Piercing Howl. (Stay in def most of the time, but a Dodge = overpower = deep wounds = nice extra aggro lock.)]
The most useful contribution, which no-one has taken up yet but would be very appropriate to come from a LL source would be a comparitive study on aggro generation of warrior skills, along with rage efficiency of the top hate generators. Word on the street is that sunder armor is one of the best aggro builder's for the rage, but nobody (that I know of) has published rigorous testing of the various skills & aggro.
Complete agreement on leaving Imp. Shield block at one talent point. I can't think of the last time I used Sheild block and didn't have both blocks used within the time allowed with just one talent point placed. If it takes longer, I'm probably not in danger and a healer won't notice the difference.
If you're discussing stuns in a PvP context, don't forget to discuss the diminishing returns and what that means for the order you want to use your stuns in. If you lead off with charge, you're using your 100% duration stun on the crappiest stun in your arsenal. Better stun for the money (assuming you can still close-in / engage) would be using concussion blow first for the full effect and then revenges / intercepts if the opportunities are there. Obviously, the right choice of stun order depends on the tactical demands of the particular situation.
As for build order, I prefer going to Piercing Howl first thing as the extra crit damage is nice for leveling and having two AoE taunts instead of one helps hold aggro. I did Piercing Howl then Concussion blow to reach 41 and felt it went well. In retrospect, I may have even gone all fury at first just to speed up leveling and tagged on the prot skills at the end, but that would have made me a less durable tank in the interm (and I'm too cheap to respec for a change in order).
Another thing that would be good is a few examples of how you lock aggro (assuming the rest of the group is somewhat competent) against pulls of various sizes. For example, single pulls are pretty straight forward, but 4 or more it makes sense to toss in a Whirlwind before switching to defensive stance, and a 2-3 pull with hard hitters can be tricky due to rage management (that's where I most often pop a rage potion for quick demo/piercing h/sunders for everyone). Don't forget challenging shout + revenge for cleaning up pulls gone wrong (or for specific spots where it makes sense - the mobs at the door outside of thermaplug's room in Gnom. are prime candidates for this sort of aggro lock.
A quick note on pulling casters back to the group for the more clueless warriors out there never hurts. You can't always depend on a ranged interrupt/silence from a group member. :P
P.S. I :wub: the new improved bloodrage. Picked it up ASAP after the patch that changed it and keep being reminded of how great it is to get rage without dropping a ton of life each time I use it in combat. Talents that scale as you level never grow old.