Warrior Build

[Boutros]

I realize this information is already on the boards but it is buried in the hunter thread on the crossroads and I'm not sure what kind of response it might generate there.  This seems like a more appropriate forum.

My warrior has now hit level 32 and I've come up with a build idea for making a solid tank for the upper levels.  Considering this is the farthest I have ever taken a tank class I am very open to suggestions though.  There has been a bunch of talk lately about fury and arms for warriors and just mentioning going small chunks into Protection for certain skills.  The opinions on which of these skills are particularly useful seem to vary though.

My current build plan looks like this:

Arms:
Deflection -5
Tactical Mastery - 3

Fury:
Cruelty - 5
Unbridled Wrath - 4
Improved Demoralizing Shout

<Future Points>
Improved Demoralizing Shout - 4 (to max)
Unbridled Wrath - 1 (to max)
Piercing Howl

Protection:
Anticipation - 5

<Future Points>
Shield Specialization - 5
Toughness - 5
Improved Shield Block - 3
Improved Revenge - 3
Improved Taunt - 2
Improved Sunder - 3

I'm currently putting all of my points toward getting piercing howl, then going to drop the last one into Unbridled Wrath and then build up my Protection spec as I keep hitting higher level instances.&nbsp; By going the way I have my warrior has been a solid soloer and with the help of my main has had decent equipment such that I can stand up to a lot with just a healer to back me up (although taking on more than 10 gnolls at once didn't quite work out&nbsp; :P )

One skill that I've seen mentioned a bunch is Improved Bloodrage->Last Stand.&nbsp; I originally thought of getting this but in the end I decided that things like Imp. Taunt and Imp. Sunder would probably be more useful.&nbsp; I honestly don't use Bloodrage very often and my rage generation is still reasonable.&nbsp; I can't stand heroic strike and slam so without using those I don't need as much rage either.&nbsp; With my 3 points in Tactical Mastery I have enough to get an execute off if I'm switching from Defense->Battle Stance.&nbsp; Last stand seems like it could be useful in a few situations, but it seems like that point could be better spent elsewhere and solid group play will minimize where I might have used Last Stand anyway.&nbsp; In my experience times When Things Go Wrong ™ things usually really go wrong and Last Stand might not save us anyway.

Still, my experience with tanking at the high end is nonexistent.&nbsp; I only have experience healing tanks and that's certainly not the same thing.&nbsp; Any comments or criticisms are welcome.&nbsp; Even if you want to say that I'm an idiot and should be going arms/fury or something I still welcome the ideas if you have reasons to back them up.&nbsp; Note that I am on a PvE server so PvPing is not as big of a consideration (although I certainly enjoy some PvP from time to time).

- mjdoom
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Though I am a firm believer in Arms/Fury I think I can give your build a fair evaluation. First, I think 3 in Tactical Mastery will probably be enough since you don't use improved charge. You won't have enough rage to get a whirlwind off, which is frequently nice, but as long as you let off a demoralizing shout before you switch to defensive stance you won't be wasting rage.

I can take no issue with getting piercing howl, it is amazingly useful both while tanking and soloing. But, I have never really been sold on Unbridled Wrath. It might be a noticable difference, especially if you use a quick weapon (not Thrash Blade) and really it's a matter of opportunity cost, you probably aren't losing a lot of amazing options by taking it, since it's really the only way to improve rage generation.

You are only using 50 talent points, so I assume you meant to put your last point in concussion blow. If not, you should. Though you aren't going to be using it much in molten core or any such thing it's still one of the best talents in the tree. I do take issue with two things in this tree. First, putting more than one point in improved shield block is a questionable investment. Kalgan himself admitted as much. You don't gain any extra blocks for points beyond the first, you just go from getting 2 blocks in 5.5 seconds to 2 blocks in 7 seconds. Another questionable investment is anticipation. When there exist items that grant more than twice the bonus of the 5 talent point investment in anticipation, I begin to believe the talent sucks. No item grants 10% parry or 10% increased chance to crit, so +10 to defense seems to really not be worth 5 talent points, simply as a matter of opportunity cost. If you were to take 2 points out of improved shield block and 5 out of anticipation you could get 2 improved bloodrage, 1 last stand, max out tactical mastery, and put 2 points in improved shield bash. Or you could do a number of other things with those points, and nearly all of them could be more useful.

With a few modifications I think this is a fine build. You really get the best tanking skills out of each tree with a build like this, and you should be at least slightly more efficient than a 31/20 or 31/5/15.