4 days all totaled

So our friend at work is single... I'll name her Miss Elsa.

Now Miss Elsa is a fun, outgoing and sincere (if slightly clumsy) person. I like her a bunch cuz she is funny and lets me pick on her... which I am about to do ... Blog style! Woot!

Miss Elsa, as I said before, is single and looking. The fun thing to do with Miss Elsa once she starts talking about someone at work is getting a betting pool on how long it will take for her to bed said person. ( We get bored here folks... we have cubicles)

Her latest conquest took 4 days. Apparently, she knew said guy in high school. Now 4 days is a decent time frame for the 25- 20 yrs old. I won the pool on the 4days by the way.

Now, people might think I am picking on her because I think that is too fast... erm No! We are grown people here... at least age wise... and I think 4 days is long enough to have found out through some detective work whether they are a) diseased b) gonna be any good and c) whether they are getting too attached.

While contemplating Miss Elsa's habits... I had a thought... I think those in same sex circles soooo do not have to worry about being thought of as "fast" or "loose."

I mean guys are guys... If I was a guy who liked guys... do Guys really worry about such things as feelings and talk? or is it easier on them?

Are girls worried about getting it on right then and running out the next morning?

Is this a gender issue or a sex issue?

Let the comments begin...

ReNoobed

Hello peoples

I have a new Blog for you guys. He does play WoW and is all around the most intelligent person I know.

I am not kidding... It's fun to pick on him tho cuz his social skills are lower than mine... Booya!

(I gotta get back at him somehow!)

We have had a long relationship of fussing back and forth at each other. Also, please disregard anything he claims about me saying I was a "natural" gamer. I was young and needed the money.

You can hit him up on all of the following topics: Politics, WoW, Religions, Philosophy, History, Mathematics, Metals (this is what he does for a living, something having to do with the going rate on metals/ore) and why armsandfury sucks so bad and is not living up to his potential.

Without further ado...

http://renoobed.blogspot.com/

P.S.

Keep T.J. away from him :p

Something to tide us over...

I have not been playing much over the last coupla days. (See last post)

However, that doesn't mean I can't write some stuff.

Let's see

BRK is his usual self. Some good posts to read over there.

I may have to link to Temerity-Jane from here cuz I normally get to her through the DcOE. TJ is apparently flashing poor bike messenger guys... which could get interesting so I will need to read her site a bit more.

My co-worker has yet another "friend that is male" whom she will not be sleeping with! Riiiiiighhhhtttt!

Also, I have been reading up on my Forgotten Realms books. I have not read any in 4-5 years so there are quite a few trilogies that I am behind on.

Haven't read Potter yet. I know what happens cuz knowing just doesn't spoil the reading process for me like some fickle people :P

I need to get together a table top game for Forgotten Realms. Should take me about a month to get a good game going. Something in Sembia that goes thru the Dalelands and into Cormyr should be fun. Maybe Halruua... Not sure yet.

Also, need to catch some movies. Once again, need to see Potter. Is there anything else out there any good?

Alright laters all

Weddings, Castles and My son

I got married on Friday to my love Sony (read Sunny). Her sister spelled it...

Sony is the mother of my son Connor!

We got married at a Castle :)

I will send pics when I have them.

We are all very happy. There was much champagne drank by all. I have lots of stories but limited time.

TJ is lucky I got married :P

BRK is only slightly jealous that my girl is 8 years younger than me.

I will be back on the warrior blogging soon.

Laters

Fallen Legion

I am now a member of Fallen Legion. I saw a hunter in Hinterlands and he had a sweet tabard on. I had been looking for a guild with good numbers and that were nice. Sometimes that is hard to find. After talking to a Paladin in the guild, who super nice about answering my questions, I decided to ask for an invite.

They seem really supportive of people so far. I can't wait to get to know everyone.

More updates later

Fury and still tank?! Gets you the ladies!

Dear Mr. AndFury,
My main is a hunter, my alt is a warrior. I have been playing my warrior
very casually, but came across your blog via the venerable BRK. My warrior
is lvl 32 and I primarily have been soloing PvE. I respecced to Fury
primarily based on your advice.

So far I like it.

I've got some buddies that I run with who have now brought alts up to
my general level and we would like to run some instances. So my question is this: do you have
particular tips or tricks to help make my fury warrior an effective tank?
I'm assuming you are still going to tell me to equip a shield and spam
sunder, anything else I should know? Is there secondary gear I should keep
on hand for instances? Are there some talent points that I might want to
invest in that are good for Fury PvE, but can also be useful for tanking?
As you can imagine, I have no interest in respeccing purely to run instances
right now while my main focus is still PvE and gaining levels.
Thanks for any advice you can pass on,

Pookems

I hear ya bud!

I tanked as Fury all the time and honestly you can be any build to tank 5 mans non-heroic. The big thing you need to make clear up front is this... I AM NOT A PROT SPEC WARRIOR!

Your group needs to learn how not to pull aggro by not DPSing multiple targets. I still need to write a post on multi target tanking but it is basically like this up to 4 adds.

You put a Skull on the main target you are going to focus on sundering. When you engage the mobs, use your happy stuff like Demo Shout, Thunderclap, WW (if/ when you get it) and then slide into defensive stance and start the sundering a la single target tanking that I mentioned a coupla posts ago.

If your group waits until you give the word... you are GOLDEN! If everyone hits their own mob at whatever speed they want... they have NO idea why they wanted a tank to begin with so you don't have to worry what they think/say.

This would be the case even if you were PROT spec. Prot spec allows for greater ease of tanking for you and the healer, but the concept and attack patterns are comparable. Prot spec warriors can just as easily be screwed on their tanking by having their part turn a pull into the F'ing Wild Bunch.

So attack pattern for 4 adds or more is roughly this,

Charge (If you can) or Pull with gun. Tap some Bloodrage goodness and get the basics in like... Thunderclap, Demoshout, WW (for extra add aggro) and then Sunders. If you have all 4 adds hitting you, Rage will not be a problem so you can toss in some Cleaves or Sunder an extra target.

Also, when tanking this many, it is acceptable to get Sunder up to 3 and switch and get some more... DO NOT try to Sunder all 4-5 targets but 2-3 is good when you get the hand of it. Tanking multi target is truly one of the most challenging and fun aspects of tanking, but remember it is also an art.

As far as gear goes...

You should already be maxing out +Str and +Sta with Agi if applicable but not at the expense of the former two. Str = +Block and Sta = Hit Points.

Toss on a shield and a nice 1H and you are ready rock for the ladies.

Whew... someone asking for BRK kinda advice

Hey Kelmar, BRK's word is like law to me, and if he trusts you then so do I. I wanted to shoot a question to you. My main is a warrior and I have been really struggling to see ANY sort of DPS on him at all.

I have spent more money on respeccing and weapons than I care to think about, and am completely flabbergasted by anyone who says their DPS warrior is near the top of any dps charts. I just re-specced to a fury heavy build last night and was appalled to see 96.7dps.

My lvl 40 hunter can do >100dps pretty easily, as can my lvl 40 rogue. What am I doing wrong here?

My AP is near 1000, I have AH green weapons, but they are better than any quest rewards I can see. I spam bloodthirst (formerly MS) any time I have rage.... I just don't think a -20+ lvl character should out-dps me. Any suggestions?

Well then, here's my advice...

When I was doing PvE raiding in BWL, Yes! I know it's old! Anyways, back then I would jack my Str as much as possible. Str = AP

However, getting the short end Warriors only get 1 to 1 ratio. So, you have +400 Str!!! Rawr!! You still only get +400 AP

Crit is also another factor in determining all over DPS. Anything in the 28% and higher range and you are not too shabby. I once had Kelmar's Crit at 41% but I had to sacrifice a lot of Str and Sta for that.

Also, for Warriors, your weapon counts for sooo much. If you want to do raid style DPS then you have to be geared to the nth and that gear needs to be enchanted. Now then for the questions...

Which enchants? What attack pattern? Which spec?

Spec is easiest so we will start there.

Fury= PvE Dmg single target.

Arms= PvP Dmg and multiple targets.

We have out DPS'd BRK by pulling 4-5 mobs and letting them fill us with Rage and tapping Sweeping Strikes, Whirlwind, Cleave, Cleave, MS, Whirlwind, Cleave, Cleave... you would not believe the amount of numbers you see flying off your screen. Warriors can indeed take mega punishment because of our Dmg Reduction. You add a priest like TDCoE and you are indeed a nightmare.

Arms is great when you are DPS in a group that already has a tank but really only shines if you pull multiple targets and lite everyone's fire. This can get a bit hectic for healers, make sure you have a backup plan like a pot and bandage often to take some of the stress off.

Now that my stint on Arms is over...

Fury

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/warrior/talents.html?023203213020000000000000505003552501025010400000000000000000000000

This is the build I was using when I went Fury. Fury is meant for Single Target/ Dual Wield DPS. Personally, I think Rampage is a waste and blizz needs to fix it or find something else. I understand that is more AP but at the cost of the other talents you can get I think it is crap.

After this build, I want you to try a new attack pattern.

Welcome to the Stance Dance

Warriors who really rank up there in raid DPS constantly "dance" between Battle and Berserker stances.

Thing to remember about stance dancing. DO NOT switch when you have over 30 rage ever! You hit MS, BT, Slam, WW or Heroic Strike but don't waste the Rage. The only time it may be conceivable to switch is when you have just tagged BT, WW is on cooldown and Overpower has proc'd, then you switch and tag Overpower.

Attack Pattern

Charge, Rend, BT / MS, Berserker, Bloodrage, WW, build some Rage (Always stay in Berserker when building Rage because your crit is higher and you take more damage which will also give you more Rage ) Overpower when it procs, if everything is on cooldown and you have Rage you spam a little Hamstring and see if you can get Overpower to proc a little more.

Lastly, Improved Execute and Recklessness. If you are DPSing a raid boss, when he hits 19% you can literally go Berserk on him. When you see the boss getting close to that 20% mark, you build your Rage to 100 and then you tap Recklessness and you CRIT EXECUTE that mother. Also, save you Bloodrage at this time too, so you can tap and CRIT EXECUTE him again. Then you drop a Mighty Rage Potion and CRIT EXECUTE him again. Then you crit a bit more and keep spamming EXECUTE when it is up.

Weapons

Highest DPS is main hand
Lowest DPS is off hand

Not too hard eh? But what about weapon speed you ask? I would put off hand at about 1.90 to 2.30 if you can manage it. Don't listen too hard on that tho... I dualed Deathbringers from Ony for the longest cuz they hit hard.

To sum that up again...

Fury for Raid Single Target
Arms for Instance (Non-tanking) DPS

Enchants? you ask

Savagery for 2H

1H? Personally, I say Str > Agi but I have had both.

I would like any constructive criticism and keep the flaming to a minimum.

... and BRK asked any class?

Yes, BRK... any class. This poor hunter was 6 levels above me. I killed him 3 times. Now, I know that a hunter 6 levels above me should win, but even tho he sucked... he was still 6 levels above me!

Let the comments begin!

Edit... Did I mention Papa there don't know hunters from a hole in the ground? But! He does have a lot of epics. Just goes to show... GEAR does NOT make the difference.

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Lightninghoof&n=Papabones

Check him out on Armory.

Why Guilds get people killed on PvP servers

I will go back and add the kill shots when I get home. Here's the story tho...

So I am questing in the Hinterlands around a big pyramid. I am there to kill Scalpers and some such. I see this Warrior who is 1 lv above me and figure it is a good time to test Warrior Vs Warrior skills. I charge! We fight, I am winning when his Lv 70 mage guildmate one shots me with a spell.

I run back and rez. No mage in sight, but I decided to go back to questing and WHAM this warrior hits me in the back. We fight, I kill him. He rezzes, bandages; I charge and kill him again. After which I see his guildmates scouring the area. I had up on a mountain and the warrior finds me and charges, we fight some more and he is dead again. Thinking that he has given the coordinates to his guildmates, I log for 5 min and play with my son. I log back in to see him questing still with no one in sight.

Now look, normally I don't camp or chain kill, but this guy has his guild on my butt and he is the same class and 1lv higher. I think if it is this even of a match and you decided to play on PvP then you know what's coming. You should NOT have your entire guild coming and trying to kill me because you think I am camping YOU?! I'm being camped!

After the 5th or 6th time he has died and his guild is still looking for me... he rezes and I see him bandaging... screw him... I charge... 7th kill! Then I finish my quest and leave the area.

Moral? If it's an even match... let nature take it's course and leave the guild out of it.

The Positive Warrior

Warriors were meant to Tank!

I was guilded with Brigin before I went Horde. I have seen him tank. You have tanking questions? Check out his blog. He is way more focused on tanking than I am.

I will be doing tanking classes and posts but for your tanking needs...

http://thepositivewarrior.blogspot.com/

Levels 22-28

Another installment!

Level 22

Battle Shout
Rank 3
10 Rage
Instant
The warrior shouts, increasing the melee attack power of all party members within 20 yards by 55. Lasts 2 min.

Upgrade!! Always on!!


Intimidating Shout
25 Rage
10 yd range
Instant
3 min cooldown
The warrior shouts, causing the targeted enemy to cower in fear. Up to 5 total nearby enemies will flee in fear. Lasts 8 sec.

New!! This one is great for dire situations where you need to run or PvP situations where you need to not get hit for a sec. The biggest thing you need to watch out for is when kill the gnolls or murlocs or whatever, if you hit this and the adds run... they can AGGRO THE ENTIRE VILLAGE! You can always use it on 1 mob tho for a nice breather or less DPS on you.


Sunder Armor
Rank 2
15 Rage
5 yd rangeInstant
Requires Melee WeaponSunders the target's armor, reducing it by 180 per Sunder Armor and causes a high amount of threat. Can be applied up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.

Upgrade!!

Level 24


Demoralizing Shout
Rank 2
10 Rage
Instant
Reduces the melee attack power of all enemies within 10 yards by 55 for 30 sec.

Upgrade!!


Execute
Rank 1
15 Rage
5 yd rangeInstant
Requires Melee WeaponRequires Battle Stance, Berserker StanceAttempt to finish off a wounded foe, causing 125 damage and converting each extra point of rage into 3 additional damage. Only usable on enemies that have less than 20% health.

New!! Execute can really get you out of a jam. That mob hits 19% and you are dying too? You hit Execute, then you hit Bloodrage and hit him again. The problem with Execute becomes that most of the Dmg you do is overkill. Grinding is an art folks. Rage is your paint. If you run out of paint then your art suffers. Use Execute when you need to, but if you can keep the Rage for the next target without dying you can grind faster.


Heroic Strike
Rank 4
15 Rage
5 yd rangeNext melee
Requires Melee WeaponA strong attack that increases melee damage by 44 and causes a high amount of threat.

Upgrade!!


Revenge
Rank 2
5 Rage
5 yd range
Instant
5 sec cooldown
Requires Melee WeaponRequires Defensive StanceInstantly counterattack an enemy for 77 to 93 damage and a high amount of threat. Revenge must follow a block, dodge or parry.

Upgrade!!

Level 26

Challenging Shout
5 Rage
Instant
10 min cooldown
Forces all nearby enemies to focus attacks on you for 6 sec.

New!!

For tanks this can be used to get everyone out of a jam. It will count as a Taunt for everyone in the area and if we remember we taunt when we a) lose aggro or b) someone is going to die. Also, this is useful when you are grinding in a party and get to many adds. If your mates are going to die and the mobs need killing... you Challenging Shout and then you Retaliate and watch the enemies start to die while you just saved your party.


Charge
Rank 28-25 yd range
Instant
15 sec cooldown
Requires Battle StanceCharge an enemy, generate 12 rage, and stun it for 1 sec. Cannot be used in combat.

Upgrade!!


Mocking Blow
Rank 2
10 Rage
5 yd range
Instant
2 min cooldown
Requires Melee WeaponRequires Battle StanceA mocking attack that causes 31 damage, a moderate amount of threat and forces the target to focus attacks on you for 6 sec.

Upgrade!!

Level 28


Mocking Blow
Rank 2
10 Rage
5 yd range
Instant
2 min cooldown
Requires Melee WeaponRequires Battle StanceA mocking attack that causes 31 damage, a moderate amount of threat and forces the target to focus attacks on you for 6 sec.

Upgrade!!

Shield Wall
Instant
30 min cooldown
Requires ShieldsRequires Defensive StanceReduces the damage taken from melee attacks, ranged attacks and spells by 75% for 10 sec.

New!! This skill is for 2 situations and both involve you dying. If you are tanking and the healers need a little time to catch up with their heals and you are out of pots, you tap Shield Wall. If you are tanking and you just need a little bit left to kill the Boss, you tap Shield Wall. Be careful tho... 30min cooldown.

Thunder Clap
Rank 3
20 Rage
Instant
4 sec cooldown
Requires Battle Stance, Defensive StanceBlasts nearby enemies increasing the time between their attacks by 10% for 18 sec and doing 37 damage to them. This ability causes additonal threat and will affect up to 4 targets.

Upgrade!!


Lv 30 will change a Warriors world so that will be a seperate post.

Rogues and Hamstring

I have a great friend I play with on Lightninghoof. He has multiple characters of all classes. The man knows his WoW. Imagine BRK... for every class instead of just Hunters. No, I am not joking. He can't really get behind Warriors too much tho. His favorite classes are Hunters, Mages and Shamans. I really don't know which he plays better but his mage is freaking deadly!

I was talking with him the other day about Arena game plans for when Herk hits 70. I like to get my info from the European Forums as I can actually read those at work. Moving along, I am telling him about a post about an Arms warrior doing Raid style damage and how he does it.

We are talking about how this guy has hit attack pattern set up and where he adds Slam to it. He adds Slam like I add Hamstrings against Rogues.

If I have extra Rage, which I always do, I spam Hamstring on Rogues in PvP situations. Why? OVERPOWER! Rogues dodge like cheerleaders on speed. Keep spamming Hamstring and your Overpower will always be ready to use when not on cooldown. If you have Improved Overpower, you can just chuckle to yourself when a non-hemo Rogues decides to gank you.

This technique can be used on, Rogues, Kitty Druids, Monkey Hunters... I wouldn't waste it on other Warriors as we don't Dodge THAT often.

Whirlwind weapons

2 posts in 1 day! Man I am feeling lucky.

For the Pie is getting his Whirlwind Weapon soon and has asked me what I think about getting either the Mace or Axe since I posted about Mace Spec.

Let's have a look...


Whirlwind Axe
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand
Axe
102 - 154 Damage
Speed 3.60(35.6 damage per second)
+15 Strength
+14 Stamina
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Warrior


Whirlwind Warhammer
Binds when picked up
Two-Hand
Mace
97 - 146 Damage
Speed 3.40
(35.7 damage per second)
+15 Strength
+14 Stamina
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Warrior

Stats are the same for both weapons almost. The mace is a bit faster and hits softer. The axe is slower and hit harder. Both weapons do the same DPS.

Which is better?

For grinding levels, the Axe is without a doubt. If you are using the Arms build ( which you had better be if you are picking either of these anyways ) then you are using Cleave, Sweeping Strikes and Whirlwing to attack with. Arms grinding goes much faster killing multiple mobs because you a) Get more Rage b) Have the ability to Dmg at least 2 targets with the same amount of dmg at a time. When hitting mutliple enemies using these techniques, you want the HARDEST hitting weapon. More DPS = faster grinding.

What about a Twink at the 39lv range?

I would really go Mace Spec for that. You can put all 5 points in Mace Spec by lv 39 and then you are stunning lv39s for 3 sec. 3secs may as well be a death knell for clothies at that level because they have NO hit points... neither does anyone else at that level too.

To sum up:

Grinding = Axe
PvP = Mace

Just my opinion.

Mace spec?!

I will freely admit that I have never before tried the Mace spec in the Arms tree. I have used sword and axe and the recently updated pole/axe specs. You see... I like to see CRITS. One can get very addicted to CRITS in WoW. In fact, I will from now on write the word "crit" like CRIT because that is what they do to me.

I love seeing the hit at lv 49 of an execute CRIT of 1108. I know... it's overkill tho! The mob already has less than 20% health and it doesn't really matter cuz it only had 200hp left but I still like to see it jump off the screen at me. CRIT!!

Now that I have that out of my system...



Mace Specialization
Rank 5
Gives your melee attacks a chance to stun your target for 3 sec and generate 6 rage when using a Mace. More effective than Mace Specialization (Rank 4).

As anyone who has played on a PvP server knows... 3 secs is a lifetime. It's and extra swing with almost any weapon, it's almost another Pummel or Warstomp, and it gives some Rage to boot.

So why the post on Mace? Cuz I managed to buy the below for 40g :)

Taran Icebreaker

Binds when equipped
Two-Hand
Mace
91 - 137 Damage
Speed 2.30(49.6 damage per second)Durability 120 / 120Requires Level 47
Chance on hit: Hurls a fiery ball that causes 180 to 220 Fire damage and an additional 36 damage over 8 sec.

I am not sure yet because I just have not played with this enough... but I suspect... Mace > Axe.

ShadowFTW

Once upon a time,

There was a priestess named Ozma who ran with our Dwarf Kelmar. It was a great relationship! When my lovely Honey was too busy to heal my reckless booty, Ozma took up Booty healing! She now has a new blog for Shadow Priestess'!!

http://shadowftw.blogspot.com/

This is handy dandy linked on our page too!

Ozma now called Anhk due to a misspelling is on Drenden and my server as a Shammy!!! A big welcome to Devil Theory for her. No one... but no one gives asshattery like the Ozma/Anhk.

So what about the rest of the crew... Going Horde? I can only dream.

Missing posts

Sorry everyone,

Things have been crazy at work and I have not had the usual time at home either. Time for the blog is running scarce. It will run even scarcer the closer I get to the wedding date. I promise to write the posts I have meant to... I owe For the Pie 2 now. I owe Verrel one. I promise to write these posts.

In an effort to not make it look like I own everything in WoW. I got my steak frozen yesterday by an ice mage who knew exactly what he was about. It basically went like this...

He hit me while I as killing a mob, I kill mob, turn and Intercept, Frost Nova (damn but knew it was coming) Frost Bolt (Very nice damage and I am slowed and still no Intercept), Sheep ( He waits until the time for the sheep is down to 2 sec... see he knows what he is about!) and the Frost Bolt again ( More Nice Damage!). Finally, Intercept is back up, I learn so is his Frost Nova... Cone of Cold and there goes my 2700 HP. I was owned by that mage... he clearly knew his spells, timing of the spells and he had +dmg gear out the hoo haw. Sigh...

Nice to fight the good ones tho... let's you start formulating plans around them. Anyone out there got some comments on fighting Ice Mages that KNOW what they are doing?

BTW, not that it helps but he was 2 levels higher than me.

More fun with bad players

I was taking out ogres again in Feralas when this Druid who is 2 levels higher than me decides it is his day to gank. He waits until I am fighting an ogre to hit me from behind.

Now this Druid is not on his game. He is 2 levels above me at the time and stays in cat form the entire fight. Druids... you can NOT stay in cat form and fight me... I will kill you! Druids dodge more in cat form which means... OVERPOWER! Cats have less AC( read: Damage Reduction ) which means MORE WHITE DAMAGE. Druids are a hard fight only if they switched to bear and keep healing themselves. Cat form is like a Rogue without the ability to sap/stun. Rogues without these abilities are my FOOD.

Lesson for the day... if you hope to kill me little druid, you need to wait til I am almost dead or you need to be a lot better at playing your class.

Tanking 101 (Single Target)

Here it is folks... Your first guide to basic tanking.

Tanking: is when you become the sole target for all DPS for a group. It is your job to stay at the top of the aggro list and bear the brunt of the dmg. Warriors are built for this.

Like I said before, this is a blog for Warriors. My personal beliefs aside ( Warriors make best tanks ) we are willing to concede that Paladins and Druids do a fair job. I will also concede that a good Druid/ Paladin will outtank a poor Warrior any day of the week. So Warriors here is your wake up call. Learn to play your class and you will be better than other classes at tanking. Don't learn to play the class and you make them all correct in thinking they are better than you.

Tanking is mainly done in instances. You need to be in Defensive Stance.

Pulling/ Gaining Aggro

As our friend over at BigRedKitty will tell you, Warriors do not make the best pullers. That particular honor goes to Hunters and they can have it. Warriors have NO way of dropping aggro if they make a bad pull.

Rule#1

Let Hunters pull!

However, if you are in a group without a hunter, you become the next best puller because you have the best damage mitigation and the mobs are going to be hitting on you anyways. How to pull? Well there are 2 ways: Melee pull and Range pull. Now Warriors can equip all range weapons and you should have at least 1 equipped at all time with ammo to go with it. Now BRK can tell you that I ran out of my fair share of ammo. Ah well.

Range Pull

Use the (gun) to target something and shoot it. Simple eh? Well, remember to shoot the one in front and try to only pull 1 target. You will mess this up... you will pull 5 and you will LEARN from every encounter with pulling. You don't just start off great at anything in this game, so expect some a learning curve.

Melee Pull

Now these are not a No-No. But! They are more likely to pull multiple mobs! Now what about Charge? What bout Enrage? Don't I need Rage to tank? Yes, you do! The good thing about the melee pull is that you will acquire some Rage while doing it. I don't think charging a target is inherently bad, but you do need to be very aware of pats.

Gaining, Keeping and Holding aggro

At this level of play 1-20 you have the basic capabilities of tanking. Since so many of you liked the breakdown of fighting here it is for tanking.

Sunder, Sunder, Revenge( whenever it pops-up)Sunder, Sunder, Sunder.

Sunder is you bread and butter for tanking. Let's review

Sunder Armor Rank 1 15 Rage 5 yd range Instant Requires Melee Weapon Sunders the target's armor, reducing it by 90 per Sunder Armor and causes a high amount of threat. Can be applied up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.

Sunder causes a high amount of threat. What is Threat? Threat is when the mob thinks you are the one doing the most damage and killing it. Warriors hold the threat so that the other party members can kill the mob. Sunder also has the added benefit of -90ac per Sunder which can be applies 5x. Now we are now BRK in the math department but we do know that 90x5 = 450. So you are causing damage, gaining more Threat and reducing the mobs ac by 450 at 5 Sunders. Woot!

One thing to remember about Sunder is that it needs to reapplied or it will fade. You can not get to 5 Sunders and then quit hitting the Sunder button. You can throw in a Heroic Strike which adds DPS and Threat and you can always and should hit Revenge when it pops.

What about Rage?

The great thing about tanking is the mob should only be hitting you and with you hitting it rage generation should not be a problem. If it is you can always hit Bloodrage or pop a rage potion if needed.

How do I integrate Heroic Strike in?

Heroic Strike can be used in any stance so make sure it is on you Defensive Stance tool bar. Honestly, HS is a guilty pleasure. Once you go tank your job is no longer DPS it is Threat Generation and with that said if you have an extra amount of Rage that you no longer need hit Heroic Strike if you feel like it.

You can now modify the attack pattern to look like this.

Sunder, Sunder, (Revenge), Sunder, Sunder, Sunder, Demoralizing Shout, Thunderclap, Sunder, Sunder, Block, (Revenge) Sunder, Disarm, Sunder Sunder.

WTH?! Did you just throw in all that stuff we normally do when fighting a mob? Yes, I did. The only thing you need to remember when tanking is... you are still fighting a mob just like you do on your own. All of those things still work and work well... they should all be done... AFTER you have 5 sunders and are sure no one is taking aggro.

Aggro Stealers and the Taunt button

Ok, classes that like to steal aggro in my humble opinion are as follows. Mages, Rogues, Priests and Hunters / Other Warriors.

Now any class is capable of stealing aggro, but the above list has been my personal experience. When this happens, then and only then do you tap the Taunt button. Taunt is used reacquire aggro. It is NOT used to gain aggro. Aggro should be gained by your first hit or shot.

This was a very small guide to tanking 1 mob... I have plenty more to spout about tanking and next up will be multiple mobs and when things go to hell in a handbasket.

I bet this guy thought WTH?! a Warrior?!

This Druid was 2 levels above me. He was 45 and I was 43. Yes, I hit him while he attacking a mob, but he was at 100% health and we were attacking the same mobs.

This was a rough fight! Druids are tough mainly because of 3 things which are a) Bear form b) Entangling Roots and c) Heals.

Bear form gives them armor comparable if not a little better than the plate you are wearing so they have just as much Dmg Reduction in this form. Also, there are those damn roots that stick you in one place while they go off and give the self love they call healing. Now listen up, IF you are on a PvP server you must have Second Wind. I know this skill is further up the Arms talent tree than I have gone so far, but I am going to list it here now.

Second Wind	Rank 1

Whenever you are struck by a Stun or Immobilize effect you will generate 10 rage and 5% of your total health over 10 sec.

Second Wind	Rank 2

Whenever you are struck by a Stun or Immobilize effect you will generate 20 rage and 10% of your total health over 10 sec.

This is a talent that Warriors have to have in PvP land. We get stunned and CC (Crowd Controlled) so much that if we can't get some Rage and Health while they are doing it we may as well not play the game. I remember doing BGs before this came along and Sweet Monkeys it was rough.

I wish I could type up a play by play of the fight but it was long. Needless to say, I had to drop a pot and burn retaliate. There were also quite a few Pummels involved. Retaliate was the last to go... after he went Bear and let himself get down health a bit, I made sure he was Hamstringed and sat on top of him while Retaliate and Mortal Strike and Execute did their job. After 4 Warriors dying all the time in PvP, I am finally a better player and can kill any class I want given the chance. It's true that you need to know the other classes and how they fight because if you know how they fight you know what's coming next.

Stranglethorn Vale

As anyone who plays on a PvP server knows... Sat night... STV?! = MADHOUSE!

This past Sat night was no different. There was so much gankage you could barely walk out of Booty Bay without getting tagged.

Here's my story...

A BE hunter complains in General that he is getting ganked right next to the opening of Booty Bay. Well, he couldn't be that close or the guards would help him. Being the good Horde that I am, I go to help him out. I get there in time to see his latest ganking by a lv45 Dranaei Shaman and a lv39 Dranaei Pally. I charge in and get some more added help by a mage and a druid who happen to be passing by. Problem solved right?

Erm not so much...

The problem isn't the allies so much as this BE hunter who standing ON THE ROAD so he can not gain aggro by moving into Mistvale Valley to kill his gorillas. OMG! I wouldn't be able to resist either if someone was sitting there in the middle of the road!

As I am killing the gorillas too trying to get an aged sinew, I remain in the area. Well, the allies are there for gorillas too and I end up spending the better part of 15 min paying for the defense of my moron BE hunter. I was killed 3 times by the above Shammy, Pally and a Rogue they managed to find... stupid Gnomes!

They eventually leave me alone, but it still rankles that they killed me so much. I go back to killing my gorillas when a bit later I see them again. I don't see the Rogue and fairly certain since they are already fighting that she isn't there.

Now, how does a lv 44 Warrior kill a lv 45 shaman and a lv39 Pally? Well, you get the gorillas to help of course! These two were on the last part of Stranglethorn Fever trying to get the Heart of Omokk. Anyone who has done these quests knows that you fight wave after wave of gorillas until Omokk appears. I wait... wait some more... and there is Omokk... when Omokk goes in, I charge 3 seconds after. I kill both of them and run off.

Cowardly!? Hell no!! It's called tactics!

Devil Theory

Function: noun: a theory of history: political and social crises arise from the deliberate actions of evil or misguided leaders rather than as a natural result of conditions.

So, along with the wife to be and my best friend, I have started a guild on Lightninghoof. I wanted to make our own tabard which I am redesigning when I get home and I wanted a place of my own. The guild will be very small and focus on endgame PvP and fun.

I have ran my own guild one time before. Trust me when I say that running a raid guild is time consuming to the point where it is a hassle and keeps you away from you family.

I am thinking that if I can keep this guild small and friends only that I can avoid the problems of having a big raiding guild.

Any of the readers are welcome to an invite tho.

Anyone else have any experience with small guilds of friends only?

Levels 12-20

Time for another installment of skill sets.

Level 12

Battle Shout	Rank 2

10 Rage
Instant
The warrior shouts, increasing the melee attack power of all party members within 20 yards by 35. Lasts 2 min.


Woot! Upgrade!! Make sure Battleshout is always on!!

Overpower	Rank 1

5 Rage	5 yd range

Instant	5 sec cooldown

Requires Melee Weapon
Requires Battle Stance
Instantly overpower the enemy, causing weapon damage plus 5. Only useable after the target dodges. The Overpower cannot be blocked, dodged or parried.

What is this?! Something new!! You know all those mobs that like to dodge your attacks? We have a nasty little surprise for them. Overpower lets us put that dodge strait down their throat. This is quite useful for Rogues and Hunters when PvPing against them.

Shield Bash	Rank 1

10 Rage	5 yd range

Instant	12 sec cooldown

Requires Shields
Requires Battle Stance, Defensive Stance
Bashes the target with your shield for 6 damage. It also interrupts spellcasting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 6 sec.

Notice this needs a shield, now you should be using a 2H axe per our previous posts. But if mobs are really really tough on the spellcasting at lv12 ( I am not sure where you found those! ) You can use this skill. This skill is really helpful later on when tanking in instances.

Level 14

Demoralizing Shout	Rank 1

10 Rage
Instant
Reduces the melee attack power of all enemies within 10 yards by 35 for 30 sec.

Now this one is really nice. This is your one button DO NOT HIT ME THAT HARD! button. Not quite as important to me as Battleshout but really nice and should still be incorporated into our attack pattern.

Attack pattern now looks like this.

Charge, Battleshout, Rend, Demo shout, Thunderclap, Heroic Strike (Hamstring when necessary).

Revenge	Rank 1

5 Rage	5 yd range

Instant	5 sec cooldown

Requires Melee Weapon
Requires Defensive Stance
Instantly counterattack an enemy for 55 damage and a high amount of threat. Revenge must follow a block, dodge or parry.

More tanking skills. Revenge is like Overpower except is only works in defensive stance and it works on more things. Revenge is also a really great Threat generator. What is Threat? you ask. Threat is generated when you do damage to a mob. The more damage you do to that mob the more the mob thinks YOU are the problem. This is what you want when tanking. Jeez... I need to get around to Tanking 101 soon. Sigh.

Level 16

Heroic Strike	Rank 3

15 Rage	5 yd range

Next melee
Requires Melee Weapon
A strong attack that increases melee damage by 32 and causes a high amount of threat.

Upgrade!!! You know what this is by now... Use it!

Mocking Blow	Rank 1

10 Rage	5 yd range

Instant	2 min cooldown

Requires Melee Weapon
Requires Battle Stance
A mocking attack that causes 22 damage, a moderate amount of threat and forces the target to focus attacks on you for 6 sec.

You want a little tanking with your Battle Stance? This is it. This skill will pull aggro off another toon and give it to you. Remember, except for Paladins which are equal in armor, you have the most Damage Reduction! So pull that aggro from that Fire specced mage after he takes a hit or two for pulling aggro. It's always nice to help your clothies.

Shield Block 10 Rage Instant 5 sec cooldown Requires Shields Requires Defensive Stance Increases chance to block by 75% for 5 sec, but will only block 1 attack.

More tanking! This does exactly what it says... you have a 3 in 4 chance of blocking 1 attack. This is very nice for tanking. Imagine... you just didn't get hit?! WTH?

Level 18

Disarm 20 Rage 5 yd range Instant 1 min cooldown Requires Defensive Stance Disarm the enemy's weapon for 10 sec.

This is so nice for many reasons. In fighting 1v1 you always Disarm and laugh while the hit you with their unarmed skill. Now this ability can be dodged (DAMN!) but when that Pally decides to bubble and still hit you with their weapon... just take it away!

Thunder Clap	Rank 2

20 Rage

Instant	4 sec cooldown

Requires Battle Stance, Defensive Stance
Blasts nearby enemies increasing the time between their attacks by 10% for 14 sec and doing 23 damage to them. This ability causes additonal threat and will affect up to 4 targets.

Upgrade!!!

Level 20

Rend Rank 3 10 Rage 5 yd range Instant Requires Melee Weapon Requires Battle Stance, Defensive Stance Wounds the target causing them to bleed for 45 damage plus an additional [0.03715 * ((MWB + mwb) / 2 + AP / 14 * MWS)] (based on weapon damage) over 15 sec.

Upgrade!!

Retaliation

Instant	30 min cooldown

Requires Battle Stance
Instantly counterattack any enemy that strikes you in melee for 15 sec. Melee attacks made from behind cannot be counterattacked. A maximum of 30 attacks will cause retaliation.

New!! Now this is really nice!! Now look carefully, they hit you you hit them back IMMEDIATELY. Unless they hit you from behind ( Known as Rogues ) which are not behind us because we pivot with the jumping fruits right?! This skill is really helpful when attacking 3 or more mobs or if you are getting hit in a PvP situation. If you pop this skill in a PvP situation make sure you stay as close to the toon as possible. The better players will see the Sword animation that surrounds you and they will back off from attacking you. But! They normally do not retarget so run up next to them and do some more damage with it. It has a 30 min cooldown so make sure it is either PvP used or in dire (read Will die!) situations.

Stance Mastery	Passive

You retain up to 10 of your rage points when you change stances.

Once upon a time, this was a talent you had to train... Screw that Blizzard!! So the made it a skill. This means you still have 10 rage if you had it before when you switch to Defensive Stance to Disarm that bubbling Pally!!!


See you later with more.