Warrior DPS in Season of Discovery Guide

Warrior doesn't appear to have many changes heading into SoD that affect the core gameplay of the role, although it does have some minor improvements, both in the form of leveling boosts and more options for short duration cooldowns. Of particular note are the new runes that add these cooldowns, giving us the new abilities  Flagellation and  Consumed By Rage, which allows us to move more damage outside of our major cooldown windows, and could result in more potent small burst windows, especially on cleave encounters.

Warrior also gained additional viability for 2H Focused builds, with runes such as  Frenzied Assault and  Quick Strike. A playstyle typically considered inferior in favor of Duel Wield focused builds, 2H Fury or Arms based playstyles could be very potent in this upcoming season, especially if some of the weaknesses of the spec (chiefly a lack of consistent rage dumps and scaling issues) are dealt with through the new rune system.

However, some of the most exciting new runes require time to boost their full potential. Warrior has always had historic mobility issues, especially in PvP where  Intercept formed the backbone of their gap closing potential, a rough deal for a class that relies heavily on being in range of their targets. With the introduction of  Warbringer, Warrior sees a classic Wrath talent turned into an opportunity to finally shake their reliance on small group PvP, at least partially. As the level cap increases and we unlock more abilities to aid in our movement, Warrior may finally have the chance to fight their mortal enemies on more even ground.

Best Runes for Warrior DPS

Chest Rune

Legs Rune

Gloves Rune

Best Talent Build for Warrior DPS - Phase 1

Fury/Arms:

Both the Arms and Fury trees have strong talents for Warrior DPS, and which one is stronger will likely be influenced by Runes, although Fury is the favourite for a variety of reasons, including the stronger capstone ability and the inclusion of  Flurry. Arms could gain strength if  Mortal Strike gains a significant boost from Runes, but this remains to be seen.

The early talents in both Fury and Arms suffer from the typical issues that affect Classic talents; small increases to borderline useless abilities, or barely noticeable bonuses. Luckily, Warrior DPS gains a powerful talent in the form of  Cruelty, giving us some much needed critical strike chance to boost our early DPS. Beyond this, we want to try and reach both  Sweeping Strikes and  Mortal Strike in the early brackets of SoD, to provide us with some much needed Cleave DPS and a strong on use ability.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Warrior can only get better in Season of Discovery, coming from a place in Classic where it was undeniably the strongest DPS by a huge margin. No matter the changes made to it, it will always be extremely strong in end game content, as well as being extremely versatile in many aspects such as having the ability to offtank in an emergency and having very strong cleave DPS. However, it is and will continue to be a very gear dependant spec, and falling behind in this regard will cause Warrior DPS players to suffer greatly.

Strengths:

1. Very tanky due to being able to wear mail gear and high passive HP, as well as access to  Defensive Stance for emergencies.

2. Very strong damage, especially in cleave scenarios

3. High Group utility with spells such as  Battle Shout,  Demoralizing Shout and  Sunder Armor

4. Useful damage boosting cooldowns in the form of  Flagellation and  Consumed By Rage

Weaknesses:

1. Unique resource means that it relies heavily on Weapon upgrades to perform highly

2. Low mobility before access to  Intercept

How to Play Warrior DPS

Early on, the base damage of abilities such as  Rend and  Overpower make them worth using over simple spamming  Heroic Strike, giving us a slightly more in depth rotation than you would expect. Maintaining  Sunder Armor is essential on high HP elites or minibosses, as it boosts the DPS of everyone attacking it.

Rotation:

1. Keep the  Consumed By Rage effect active, ensuring that you go under and over 80 rage repeatedly to refresh the buff

2. Use  Raging Blow on Cooldown while under the effect of Bloodrage or  Consumed By Rage

3. Use  Overpower when it procs from a dodge

4. Maintain  Sunder Armor on high HP bosses

5. Maintain  Rend if it will last the full duration

6. Use  Quick Strike If available

7. Dump Excess rage with  Heroic Strike or  Cleave

Stats and Gear for Warrior DPS

Stat Priority:

1. Strength

2. Hit Chance

3. Critical Strike Chance

4. Agility

Strength and Hit are our most important stats, up until the 6% soft hit cap. A lot of nuance can be avoided by simply understanding that Warrior DPS is just about spending rage correctly and efficiently, and our stats aim to maximise the amount we generate and the efficiency of using it. Hit is incredibly important, as missed abilities/attacks generate no rage at all (in contrast to dodged or parried attacks, which give 70% of the rage they would have given), which can severely harm our DPS. Past this, Strength and Critical strike chance are both very important, and can help improve our rage usage and damage. At level 60, Warrior gains an incredibly strong conversion rate of Agility to Critical Strike Chance of 20:1, making Agility surprisingly useful.

Stamina and Armor are also useful stats worth mentioning, especially in Vanilla where powerful World Buffs heavily influence your DPS. While we only have access to the relatively minor  Boon of Blackfathom currently, future phases will introduce buffs that radically alter the way you play the game. While survivability stats such as Stamina and Armor may not seem to directly improve your DPS, being able to survive incidental damage or the occasional aggro rip will keep you alive and your world buffs intact, letting you enjoy the game for longer.

Gear Recommendations for Warrior DPS - Phase 1:

The most important thing as a Warrior will almost always be securing strong Weapons. As such, my recommendation will always be to try and plan out your weapon progression path, as time spent planning how your character will progress can save you hours while leveling, raiding, or ranking.

1. Deadly Strike of the Hydra: The strongest weapon available in Phase 1, this epic sword drops from the final boss of Blackfathom Deeps, Aku'mai. While this might be difficult to farm in Phase 1, as the raid is tuned quite highly for a level 25 group, its strength is worth the investment.

2. Crescent Staff or  Smite's Mighty Hammer: These weapons are all relatively easy to obtain, coming from either easy dungeons or guaranteed quests, and provide a strong starting point for any Warrior who recently hit level cap.

3. Void-Touched Leather Gloves: Our preferred crafted item in Phase 1 of Season of Discovery, these leather gloves increase our attack speed along with their already high stat budget, giving us another tool to help burst down mobs with. These are quite expensive, however, and require access to the new Blackfathom Deeps Raid to craft.

4. Algae Fists: A drop from BFD, these mail hands have a high budget of strength for a hand slot, and come from the main content of the phase. While they are weaker than their crafted alternative, the simplicity of getting these as opposed to a complicated questline and expensive materials boosts their desirability

5. Shining Silver Breastplate: This crafted chest has a large amount of strength, increasing our damage significantly. Its high armor and stamina can also help us when we pull aggro, or do solo content. It can also be turned into the powerful  Shifting Silver Breastplate, using materials gathered from the new BFD Raid, should you choose to be the Blacksmithing profession.

Both the  Fire Hardened Mail and  Brutal Armor chain award several pieces of faction specific armor in several slots, including access to what will likely be the first helmet most players can acquire. While this questline will require assistance from some other players for parts of it (Notable requiring an item from Razorfen Kraul, a level 28 dungeon), large parts of it can be completed solo, giving a good way for players to improve their gear on their own.

Best Races for Warrior DPS

Best Alliance Races:

As before,  Human is by far the strongest Alliance race for PvE, due to its flexibility with two separate weapon skill passives,  Sword Specialization and  Mace Specialization. Weapon skill is extremely important in Classic, and the DPS increase provided by them allows for the use of extra item slots, as well as giving flexibility in the choice of weapon you can use. In addition, although its benefit is more indirect,  Diplomacy helps with some of the brutal reputation grinds in Classic WoW, such as the three PvP Reputations and Cenarion Circle. No other race provides a noticeable PvE benefit on Alliance, although  Dwarf  Stoneform can help with some dangerous mechanics.

For PvP,  Gnome is the strongest option with their powerful racial  Escape Artist, providing an easy escape from a number of dangerous CC abilities that directly threaten Warriors, although once again Dwarves are quite underrated for their unique racial. Both Human and Night Elf have no highly useful racials in PvP , ( Perception is extremely niche), cementing Night Elves firmly as the worst race for Alliance Warrior DPS.

Best Horde Races:

Orc is the clear winner for both PvE and PvP on the Horde faction. With the strongest racials in the form of  Hardiness, as well as  Axe Specialization and a decent cooldown in  Blood Fury, orc is far ahead of any other option, and is in fact the best race overall when all things are equal. Troll is another option, especially if you enjoy tanking more than DPS at points, but has issues with passive DPS outside of their racial  Berserking due to a lack of weapon skill from the Orcs  Axe Specialization, and have no PvP benefits. Both Tauren and Undead provide very little benefit for Warrior DPS - Taurens increased Health is a very small increase, while their stun sees limited use outside of PvP, and Undeads Fear/Charm break has only niche uses for Dueling.

Best Professions for Warrior DPS

Engineering:

Engineering is the only profession in Classic that offers a PvE and PvP Advantage for Warrior, and as such it is always recommended to pick it up. While the benefits may be low at level 25, the minor DPS increase provided by dynamite and other consumables already outpaces any other profession, and it will only continue to grow as the level cap increases, eventually providing access to powerful tools such as Repair bots, Teleports, high damage explosives such as  Goblin Sapper Charge and  Dense Dynamite, and even powerful PvP items such as  Gnomish Rocket Boots.

Blacksmithing:

While Blacksmithings' benefit may be minor in this phase, with its unique crafted item  Shifting Silver Breastplate being outmatched by the Leatherworking alternative, Blacksmithing provides you with some minor quality of life in the form of being able to craft your own consumables such as  Blackfathom Sharpening Stone and  Elemental Sharpening Stone. In addition, future phases may introduce more unique items, and with Warriors being able to wear both Plate and Mail Armor, the chance of one of these items being stronger for Warriors when compared to the Leather option is a solid gamble.

Mining/Herbalism:

Gathering professions are a classic way to make some extra gold, even though they may not provide any direct benefit. With Warrior being a historically expensive class to play, due to the high consumable usage and heavy enchanting cost on multiple sets of gear, having a steady source of income can be a major boon, especially for those Warriors who have the time to farm herb/ore routes. Mining also offers the chance to give you materials to craft your Engineering or Blacksmithing items, making them easier to level or profit from. However, it will almost always be optimal to have gathering professions on an alt, especially if Crafting professions start offering PvE or PvP bonuses aside from Engineering.

Conclusion

As warriors venture forth into the Season of Discovery, the journey promises trials and triumphs. From the dungeons of Blackfathom Deeps to the battlegrounds of Azeroth, the warrior's prowess in the DPS role stands unmatched. May your blades stay sharp, your armor resolute, and your path be one of glory.

As the echoes of battle fade, the warrior's saga continues. Forge ahead, warriors of Azeroth, for your destiny awaits in the unfolding Season of Discovery. Charge into the fray, conquer challenges, and let the thunder of your strikes resonate through the ages. Until next we meet on the battlefield, stand strong and fight on!

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