The Protection Warrior is a high-threat generating and highly mobile tank specialization inWorld of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King Classic. They have seen many new abilities and talents and changes from how they work in TBC that are necessary improvements to the way the class is played. This guide is intended to cover level 80 end-game content for Prot Warriors inWoW Classic: WotLK.
Life As A Warrior Tank
Like all Warriors, they bring a couple of buffs, eitherBattle ShoutorCommanding Shoutand apply some useful debuffs to the target as well in the form ofDemoralizing ShoutandThunder Clap. These are used to reduce the attack power and attack speed of their targets and provide and Protection sometimes chooses to improve both of these with talents. They are also usually responsible forSunder Armor, freeing up DPS Warriors of that task.
Their damage is fast and higher than other tanks and can sometimes even compete with DPS in Multi-target encounters. They have great mobility and lots of controlling effects with taunts, stuns, kicks, silences and a disarm.
However, they don’t have great defense against magic damage and with only few defensive cooldowns they need to rely on the support of other classes more than Paladins or Death Knights.
Rage generation is vital to all Warriors but for Protection it is especially crucial, as they need to be hit in order to effectively build more. It can sometimes be a problem with tanking weaker targets as their hits won’t generate as much rage for you.
Defensive Stanceis the go-to stance for Protection as it generates the most threat. With the inclusion of the new talent,Warbringerthere will never need to be inBattle StanceorBerserker Stancewhen tanking.
Best Race Choice For Protection Warrior
For theAlliance, the top races available to Protection Warriors are as follows:
For theHorde, while Arms and Fury see great DPS benefits, they are not nearly as powerful as Protection Warriors:
Draenei provideHeroic Presencewhich not only benefits the player, but also their party members
Best Talent Build For Protection Warriors
The standard build for Protection Warriors is provided in the image below.
Variations
If rage generation is low then players should make the following changes.
For more defensive cooldowns, remove2Points fromCrueltyand place them intoImproved Disciplinesfor moreShield Walluses orSafeguardforInterveneusage. This worksespecially well when paired withGlyph of Shield Wall
Best Glyphs For Protection Warrior
Major Glyphs
The standardMajor Gylphschose above can be changed depending on the scenario.
Stat Priority For Protection Warrior
There are 2 important metrics for tanking that players should consider when choosing stats.SurvivabilityandThreat Generation.
For Survivability, the most important factor is:
Players can also look for stats such as block, dodge, parry, and stamina to further improve their survivability.
ForThreat Generation, players are relying on their healers more to keep them alive and their DPS more to finish the fight quicker. If the tank can’t hold aggro, then the rest of the party will be the target of big damage.
Important stats for Threat Generation are:
Hit RatingandExpertiseare important to verify that your attacks land and effectively generate threat. It may be necessary to get more Hit Rating (to446 Hit Rating,17%) to make sure thatTauntnever misses in cases where multiple tanks need to step in or swap bosses. For this, always make sure to useGlyph of Taunt. If there is aBalance DruidorShadow Priestpresent they can provide an extra3%withImproved Faerie FireandMiseryandDraeneifor an additional1%withHeroic Presence.
Expertise has two thresholds, one forDodgeand one forParry. Most players will aim for the Dodge cap, and only increase it towards the Parry cap once their healers and damage dealers are competent and geared enough to complete encounters faster.
Skill Rotation For Protection Warrior
Just like we’ve seen with many other classes getting more abilities receiving procs all specializations of the Warrior are no different. The majority of the time players will be using 4 key abilities:
For Multi-Target encounters utilize the following:
Players should also keepVigilanceandDemoralizing Shoutup at all times and use their many taunts;Taunt,Mocking Blow, andChallenging Shoutaccordingly.
For the initial pull of an encounter follow this sequence of abilities:
The Defensive Cooldowns that all Protection Warriors should know when to use are:
Consumables For Raids
Protection Warriors in end-game content would benefit from the following buffs in order to easily complete the content.
Best Gems For Protection Warrior
Blue sockets are the best gems for Protection Warriors. They will be filled with Stamina Gems. For the Meta gem, as it only requires 2 Blue Gems and 1 Red Gem, use a prismatic gem.
+32 Stamina and 2% Increased Armor Value from Items
-
+6 to All Stats
+10 Expertise Rating and +15 Stamina
+10 Defense Rating and +15 Stamina
+10 Hit Rating and +15 Stamina
Blacksmithing (400) provides 2 extra sockets withSocket BracerandSocket Gloves
Best Enchants For Protection Warrior
Following the stat priority principles outlined above, there are a number of different enchants that players can choose from depending on their preference ofthreat, ordamage mitigationwith more defense rating, armor, or health.
Chance to increase Agility by 120
+81 Block Rating and -50% Disarm duration
+40 Crit Rating to this weapon only
+37 Stamina and +20 Defense
+30 Stamina and +15 Defense
+1 Socket to Belt
+55 Stamina and +22 Agility
+15 Stamina and increased movement speed
+30 Stamina
Enchanting (400) - Trainer
Some professions provide Enchants that are more powerful than the ones listed above. Again, following the stat priority needs, outlined above, use these instead:
Throw a Cobalt Frag Bomb every 6 minute
+23 Agility and Slow Fall
Best In Slot Pre-Raid BiS Gear For Protection Warrior
Best Weapon
The first option on the list is suitable for all races due to its significant amount of stats. Orcs can make effective use of the second option due toAxe Specialization. Keep in mind that slower weapons have higher Damage (not DPS) that tends to be better for cleaving skills.
25%
Shield Slot
The top three options are all pretty close in rank as they have similar stats. If your still looking for a Pre-Heroic Shield go with the craftedSaronite Bulwarkfrom Blacksmithing.
20%
35Emblem of Heroism,Dalaran
13%
Ranged Weapon Slot
Ranged weapons are almost entirely a piece of gear that is purely used for their stats,not their damage,so they are not a priority item to obtain. The top pick here is crafted withEngineering, and it is quite expensive to craft, but it won’t be getting replaced any time soon. The second option is good if you still require more defense rating, otherwise any of the others are also good for threat stats.
15Emblem of Heroism,Dalaran
Helm of the Ley-Guardian
Neck Slot
The top two options are fairly expensive, the best necklace being almost on par with raiding gear. The other options mostly come down to stat preference.
2%
25Emblem of Heroism,Dalaran
Pendant of the Nathrezim
Shoulders Slot
By far the best shoulder piece is, unfortunately, aBoEthat will be very hard to find and be very costly at the Auction House.
very low
Pauldrons of the Colossus
100%
Back Slot
Players would be best suited with the Cloak from Stratholme. TheBoEoption might be hard to find, but the reputation or PvP option can be farmed fairly easily.
Cloak of the Enemy
Chest Slot
The best choice by far is theTier 7 chest piece. While it does cost a lot of Emblems the stat values on it are very high and well worth the investment. The last option on this list here is better for damage and threat-generation.
80Emblem of Heroism,Dalaran
Wrists Slot
The best wrist item is not too difficult to obtain, for the horde there is a quest reward that provides fairly decent stats and there are also the PvP Bracers as another option well.
Bracers of the Herald
Quest:A Wing and a Prayer
Hands Slot
For the Hand slot the Tier 7 option is amazing, especially if able to activate the 2-set bonus.
60Emblem of Heroism,Dalaran
33%
Waist Slot
The top two choices on this list are about the same in terms of value, the second being a great source of block rating.
40Emblem of Heroism, Dalaran
Legs Slot
Definitely get your hands on the top pick here, it has far more stats than anything else in this slot. At the very least, the blacksmithing leg piece is also a budget option.
Feet Slot
For the feet the best option is also an expensive option, crafted with Blacksmithing. PvP boots are also acceptable and the ones that require reputation have decent stats on them as well. Interestingly, the 3rd and 4th picks have the same stats, so you can choose how best you want to obtain them.
Trinkets
Unfortunately, the best options for Tanks are the Jewelcrafting trinkets, with their sockets and useful on-use abilities there’s no competition in this phase. The 3rd option is a solid choice all around and the on-use is good for heavy physical damage. The 4th option is really only good for AoE tanking as the proc rate is very low.
Seal of the Pantheon
Conclusion
Protection Warriors are certainly a great tank spec to play throughout Wrath of the Lich King Classic. Be sure to check out our other guides forArms,Fury, and theirBest In Slot Itemsas you’ll definitely want to have a second specialization be a DPS.
