05-26-2005, 04:42 PM
Hi all.
There's an extensive discussion on defense skill going on on the blizzard warrior forum right now. It's quite good.
As for defense in PvP, I've had what I feel is acceptable success given the level of derision that persists for Protection spec. However, you should keep in mind that the zerg-like nature of PvP pre-1.5 lends itself to a build where getting in, scoring a quick kill, and escaping are the only things of true importance. Without objectives, control is meaningless, the only thing that matters is that you out DPS your approaching death.
However - when there is an objective is when the protection warrior shines. "But I can't taunt!" you say. Poor man's excuse. Your job isn't to tank (take damage) as much as it is to control the victim, just like you control a mob - limit who they can hurt and how. All of the tricks rendered worthless in Onyxia and Molten Core rise to the fore in PvP battlegrounds - mainly, that is Improved Shield Bash and Concussion Blow - suddenly shine.
Too many Protection spec warriors forget they can do everything a regular warrior can, except MS. They forget to Hamstring, don't Rend, and haven't figured out how to use Intimidating Shout to give yourself a bandage window.
My Protection spec is fairly standard, with 33 points in the Protection tree. Where I have deviated somewhat is that I didn't bother with improved shield wall.. instead, I went 13 points in Arms, far enough to get full TM, AM and crucially, Improved Overpower.
My primary tactic in PvP is to go dual wield and exploit a dodge to land an overpower. It's really handy that I have 1h weapon specialization to play right into the dual wield style. If I am fighting a caster target, a quick offhand swap to a shield, followed by a shield bash (silence) puts all kinds of casters in a dicey situation. Concussion Blow is handy on everyone except mages who just blink right out of it.
With the advent of battlegrounds and objective-driven PvP I think that battlefield control will rise in importance. It won't rival simply being able to slaughter with impugnity, but it won't be completely worthless either; I shudder to think what I would do about mages and shadow priests if I couldn't silence them at least some of the time. I quite like my role, which is largely about controlling engagements and providing supporting damage and harassment. I leave the lion's chunk of the damage to everyone else; with high defense tank gear I am very difficult to hit (crit is a different story; read the thread).
In the PvE arena, whenever i'm not tanking I bust out the dual wield and go to town. I hardly ever bother with my doomsaw.
There's an extensive discussion on defense skill going on on the blizzard warrior forum right now. It's quite good.
As for defense in PvP, I've had what I feel is acceptable success given the level of derision that persists for Protection spec. However, you should keep in mind that the zerg-like nature of PvP pre-1.5 lends itself to a build where getting in, scoring a quick kill, and escaping are the only things of true importance. Without objectives, control is meaningless, the only thing that matters is that you out DPS your approaching death.
However - when there is an objective is when the protection warrior shines. "But I can't taunt!" you say. Poor man's excuse. Your job isn't to tank (take damage) as much as it is to control the victim, just like you control a mob - limit who they can hurt and how. All of the tricks rendered worthless in Onyxia and Molten Core rise to the fore in PvP battlegrounds - mainly, that is Improved Shield Bash and Concussion Blow - suddenly shine.
Too many Protection spec warriors forget they can do everything a regular warrior can, except MS. They forget to Hamstring, don't Rend, and haven't figured out how to use Intimidating Shout to give yourself a bandage window.
My Protection spec is fairly standard, with 33 points in the Protection tree. Where I have deviated somewhat is that I didn't bother with improved shield wall.. instead, I went 13 points in Arms, far enough to get full TM, AM and crucially, Improved Overpower.
My primary tactic in PvP is to go dual wield and exploit a dodge to land an overpower. It's really handy that I have 1h weapon specialization to play right into the dual wield style. If I am fighting a caster target, a quick offhand swap to a shield, followed by a shield bash (silence) puts all kinds of casters in a dicey situation. Concussion Blow is handy on everyone except mages who just blink right out of it.
With the advent of battlegrounds and objective-driven PvP I think that battlefield control will rise in importance. It won't rival simply being able to slaughter with impugnity, but it won't be completely worthless either; I shudder to think what I would do about mages and shadow priests if I couldn't silence them at least some of the time. I quite like my role, which is largely about controlling engagements and providing supporting damage and harassment. I leave the lion's chunk of the damage to everyone else; with high defense tank gear I am very difficult to hit (crit is a different story; read the thread).
In the PvE arena, whenever i'm not tanking I bust out the dual wield and go to town. I hardly ever bother with my doomsaw.