Warrior

Warrior (protection) class mentor is Matronella.
Warrior (dps and dps warrior who tanks) class mentor is Daym.

pfft. matronella? warrior mentor?



we all know matron at heart is just a shadow priest seeking to handle as many pulls as possible without wiping, but failing and actually wiping raids, regardless of which character he's on.

but fine, let's grant that ella's got some tanking skills (at least some decent gear) and has been in mean dark places like a great extent of bwl and what not.
maybe we can glean some tidbits of wisdom from this curiously designated warrior mentor. let's just hope ella can talk fury and arms as well to afford a versatile perspective on things -- since, after all, that's what the best warriors aspire to: versatility.

If not, you can always add your personal input. I think Anti would also be a great choice for discussing the dps side of the warrior class. Just because there's a mentor doesn't mean they're the only one to speak

Heck, Velan already got the ball rolling in the hunter topic.

the function of this forum as a means of discussion is well understood otherwise the threads would be locked and people like me couldn't spam the -real- important stuff about class intricacies..

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indeed, i'm looking forward to insightful back and forths between all the warriors, or other classes pitching in for that matter, on the mechanics of this class. i just like to take the opportunity to poke fun at matron. don't tell me you can't relate to that, ish.

(edited to add more butterfingers)

I totally can't relate to that at all. I would never poke fun at our mama.

*totally keeps a straight face throughout all that*

ooooh maaan..
i just checked out the druid thread, and ish has already posted a whole bunch of links and infos and opinions and factoids , and all her findings are so well organized (unlike this deteriorating syntax), and it all made me realize that us warriors are slacking!
*looks to melanova* i really don't think we can trust to matron to get the ball rolling here

all right. *Clears throat, sitting upright all serious like*
rule # 1. always carry a pocket paladin (with improved blessing of kings) or a resto druid with you. (priests will suffice as well, though the more expensive and less consistent shadow priests are not recommended)
rule # 2. try to keep the buttons for intimidating shout and challenging shout -away- from each other, especially if you're in the lyceum in blackrock depths, because bad things are -bound- to happen.
rule # 3. putting points into improved thunerclap will set you apart.
rule # 4. in raids, and in general, always, always, always be kind and loving to the healers that keep you alive. chocolate truffles, cheese cake, milkshakes of various kinds, back massages (or foot massages if you're courageous enough), all do very well in securing extra healing attention. these relationships are mutual, be sure to tend to them.
rule # 5. try not to out dps rogues, hunters, mages, warlocks or shadow priests, as this will result in people envying us, and all rerolling warriors, disrupting much needed class balance. but rest comfortably in the knowledge that we're able to outdps all other classes.. mmhmmm.. we're the best. yep.. nobody can compete. nuh uh.. *nods*

ok, so rule # 5 is a bit shakey, i think i'll have to consult with my colleagues Mela and Anti about it, but we'll leave tentatively as it is. i'll work on updating this quintessential warrior's guide to success as more brilliant insights inevitably flow out of me.

back massages *gets dreamy eyed*
>.> however... warlocks seem to have the same idea.

Pst... chocolates work too.

Daym dear... I knew you were a little off center but.... wow.

QFT

Shoulder massages... ooh temple massages *gets dreamy eyed through current headache*



*massages her own temples* ;_;

*decides Advil works better anyway and medicates*

...if you're a DPS warrior, get a reputation as a good tank. It's nice to have for PuGs where people seem to think the Protection tree is actually worth something.

Also, I'm finding out that networking and making consistent "not so PuG" friends is great. Been running with Advent a bit this past week, very solid team. Did BRD twice, and the Lyceum clears with Srmax taking care of the AoE were things of beauty. It makes all the previous bad memories go away. *sniffle*

Oh yeah. And there's the obvious, "Warriors without good gear get steamrolled in PvP." Except extend that to PvE, too.

Gear ftw.

Protection tree -is- actually worth something though. quite a lot, even. in end game raid instances, defiance (increases threat generated by attacks made while in def stance by 15% with 5 talent points) can make everyone's life a whole lot easier. where all other classes are up'ing their dps and increasing hate on a mob, especially dps warriors that do not have the rogue's hate-shedding feint ability, it's all the more important that the tank can hold the mob's attention. along that vein, shield slam is, as far as i know, ahead of the field in terms of hate building abilities.
all the mitigation talents make healers' lives a lot easier: toughness and anticipation, and in nasty scenarios, improved shield wall (yummy!). the more mitigation you have, the less of a mana sponge you'll be, the longer the raid can last, the more certain that the mob will die. gogo efficiency.
not to say that protection tree talents are required in order to be able to tank -- not at all! the other 2 components of good tanking can make up for the lack of talent points, namely skill (ie understanding of how to tank) and gear.
what you say about gear is absolutely right. even just based on what's available pre-endgame to warriors, decking your toon out in mitigation gear rather than dps gear will make a world of difference in your ability to hold agro and take hits. we hear people half-joking about dps warriors being nothing more than rogues in plate (in reference to fury warriors). gogo plate! that additional armor does help a lot. but when you gear yourself up for fury dps and have the same amount of hp's than a rogue, and far less % to dodge than a rogue, you won't really last much longer than our leather geared counterparts.
so yes, gathering + defense and + stamina gear especially, as well as + agility (or straight up % to dodge, parry) gear will go a long way in helping a non prot spec warrior tank well. and don't be bothered by pug's that interrogate you on your spec, thinking that prot spec alone can tank: if you have a set of tank gear and know how to use it, that's more than enough to handle yourself in the 5-15 man raid instances, even in zg. (i've successfully mt'd jeklik and venoxis in zg pug's with my not-so-prot spec, ie pug's in which the healers are not the heaven sent divas like jaede, ano and co. <3 all you healers that keep the raid alive. see point 4 in my earlier post).
though, without a doubt, if you tank professionally for your guild in 20 or 40 man raid instances, prot spec is the way to go. > > i'm sure mela has some comments about the merits of re-specing to dps, but mela did this knowing that we have slayth, dierra and matronella as exceptionally geared prot spec tanks. MT'ing a molten destroyer, garr, golemagg, rag, etc, is no joke.
/cheer slayth, dierra and matronella.

more on tanking, gear for various specs, and butterfingers at a later point in time.

Prot isn't totally worthless, didn't mean that. I do agree that 5/5 Defiance is an exceptionally useful ability to have when tanking (I miss it). That said, getting Last Stand, Defiance, and 1/3 Imp Shield Block is about as much as you need. Imp Taunt is okay, but a lot of endgame stuff isn't tauntable anyhow.

It's great to have for learning instances. Beyond that, only Main Tanks should have it; anyone who isn't an MT is going to be doing DPS for much of the raid, and it's far more useful to have a DPS spec if that's the case. A Prot spec warrior who only tanks for Core Hound Packs is nice to have, but it'd be more useful to have a Fury or Arms spec for that job.

Of course, the biggest equalizer is gear. I'd much rather have a Fury warrior in full Might tanking something than a Prot warrior in pre-raid blues.

Gear. Love it. Get it. Lug around multiple sets. *nodnod*

i don't care whether you're a warrior or not! check it out!

http://evilempireguild.org/guides/

either browse or refer to it with specific questions in mind, either way, good stuff.

Most everything I initially learned about the warrior class was from Satrina's guides you just linked.

Some of my initial inspiration on fury was from Rishana:

http://www.warriorguideswow.com/content/view/13/28/

A lot of other good info in those pages too.

On Daym's 5 Rules from above:

rule # 1. I recommend paying for that pocket healers account too. Guaranteed heals!
rule # 2. My Intimidating and Challenging Shout are actually right next to each other. Though neither are bound to keyboard keys and both are about 150% normal size, so hard to miss (or miss-click).
rule # 3. Putting points into Imp. Thunderclap will set you apart as a
rule # 4. Yes, yes, yes. Love your healers, worship your healers. No matter how obvious it was that your healer was cybering with someone in tells during the fight, never blame them for any death or mishap. This goes along with the response to rule # 1.
rule # 5. This can't be helped. We are the best. *blush*

emphasis mine.