WoW Forever Warrior Talents and Changes: Arms, Fury and Protection

WoW Forever keeps the Warrior’s three Classic specs, Arms, Fury and Protection, but Blizzard has reworked how rage works and added new talents to all three trees. Protection gets the most help, with Thunder ClapThunder ClapAbilityThunder Clap20 RageInstant · 6 sec cooldownBlasts nearby enemies, increasing the time between their attacks by 20% for 10 sec and doing 10 damage to them. Will affect up to 4 targets. and ChargeChargeAbilityChargeRank 18 - 25 yd rangeInstant · 15 sec cooldownCharge an enemy, generate 9 Rage, and Stun it for 1 sec.  Cannot be used in combat. now usable in Defensive StanceDefensive StanceAbilityDefensive StanceInstant · 1 sec cooldownA defensive combat stance.  Decreases damage taken by 10% and damage caused by 10%.  Increases all threat generated by 30%., while Arms and Fury pick up new tools like WeaponmasterWeaponmasterTalent · Arms · 5 ranksGives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon. Axe/Polearm: Increases your critical strike chance by 5%. Mace/Staff: Your attacks ignore 15% of your target's armor. Sword: Your successful melee attacks have a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack on the target., Spearing StrikeSpearing StrikeTalent ability · Arms · 1 rankA brutal attack that deals 40% weapon damage. Deals an additional 80% weapon damage against Giants, Dragonkin, and mounted targets. Mounted targets are dismounted. and Raging BlowsRaging BlowsTalent · Fury · 1 rankCauses your Whirlwind to also strike with your off-hand weapon, and reduces the Rage cost of your Cleave ability by 2..

Below is every Warrior change from Blizzard’s official class preview, the talents that matter most in each tree, and the best races to pair with a Warrior.

How rage works in WoW Forever

The biggest change for every Warrior is rage. In Classic, the rage you got from dealing damage scaled with how hard you hit, so a bad run of low rolls left you starved. In Forever, rage comes in steadily while you deal damage, and the amount is tied to your weapon speed instead of the size of each hit.

Rage from taking damage has changed too. It’s now based on the damage the enemy tried to deal before any damage reduction, not what actually got through. That means wearing better armor no longer lowers the rage you get as a tank, which was one of Classic’s oddest trade-offs. Arms can also take Anger ManagementAnger ManagementTalent · Arms · 1 rankGenerates 1 Rage every 3 sec while in combat, and reduces Rage loss while out of combat by 30%., which generates 1 Rage every 3 sec in combat.

Your big cooldowns are easier to use as well. Shield WallShield WallAbilityShield WallInstant · 15 min cooldownReduces the damage taken from all attacks by 60% for 12 sec., RetaliationRetaliationAbilityRetaliationInstant · 15 min cooldownInstantly 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. and RecklessnessRecklessnessAbilityRecklessnessInstant · 30 min cooldownThe warrior will gain 100% increased critical strike chance and will be immune to Fear effects for the next 15 sec, but all damage taken is increased by 20%. no longer share a cooldown, so you can save each one for the moment it’s needed rather than trading one off against the others.

Protection Warrior changes

Protection gets the most new tools of the three specs, and they’re all about holding aggro on more than one target. Thunder ClapThunder ClapAbilityThunder Clap20 RageInstant · 6 sec cooldownBlasts nearby enemies, increasing the time between their attacks by 20% for 10 sec and doing 10 damage to them. Will affect up to 4 targets. can now be used in Defensive StanceDefensive StanceAbilityDefensive StanceInstant · 1 sec cooldownA defensive combat stance.  Decreases damage taken by 10% and damage caused by 10%.  Increases all threat generated by 30%., which gives you an area threat tool without swapping stances, and the VanguardVanguardTalent · Protection · 1 rankYour Charge ability is now usable while in Defensive Stance. talent lets you ChargeChargeAbilityChargeRank 18 - 25 yd rangeInstant · 15 sec cooldownCharge an enemy, generate 9 Rage, and Stun it for 1 sec.  Cannot be used in combat. from Defensive StanceDefensive StanceAbilityDefensive StanceInstant · 1 sec cooldownA defensive combat stance.  Decreases damage taken by 10% and damage caused by 10%.  Increases all threat generated by 30%. too, so you can get to a runner without losing your rage.

There are also new talents built around RevengeRevengeAbilityRevenge5 Rage · Melee Range · Instant · 5 sec cooldownInstantly counterattack an enemy for 20 to 24 damage and a high amount of threat.   Revenge must follow a block, dodge or parry.. Improved RevengeImproved RevengeTalent · Protection · 3 ranksIncreases damage dealt by your Revenge ability by 60%. now adds 60% damage to it, BastionBastionTalent · Protection · 5 ranksIncreases all damage you deal by 10% while a shield is equipped. increases all damage you deal by 10% while you have a shield equipped, and Focused RageFocused RageTalent · Protection · 3 ranksReduces the Rage cost of your offensive abilities by 3. cuts 3 Rage from your offensive abilities. Master of DefenseMaster of DefenseTalent · Protection · 2 ranksGrants you a 100% chance to generate 10 Rage when you Dodge or Parry while a shield is equipped. gives you 10 Rage whenever you Dodge or Parry with a shield, and Shield SpecializationShield SpecializationTalent · Protection · 5 ranksIncreases your chance to Block attacks with your shield by 5% and grants you a 100% chance to generate 1 Rage when you Block. gives 1 Rage on every Block, so a Protection Warrior should rarely run dry.

Arms Warrior changes

WeaponmasterWeaponmasterTalent · Arms · 5 ranksGives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon. Axe/Polearm: Increases your critical strike chance by 5%. Mace/Staff: Your attacks ignore 15% of your target's armor. Sword: Your successful melee attacks have a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack on the target. combines the old weapon specialization talents into one passive, and it changes what it does based on the weapon you’re holding. Axes and polearms get 5% critical strike chance, maces and staves ignore 15% of your target’s armor, and swords get a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack. That means a new weapon drop no longer forces you to respec.

Spearing StrikeSpearing StrikeTalent ability · Arms · 1 rankA brutal attack that deals 40% weapon damage. Deals an additional 80% weapon damage against Giants, Dragonkin, and mounted targets. Mounted targets are dismounted. is a new ability that deals 40% weapon damage, plus another 80% against Giants, Dragonkin and mounted targets, and it knocks mounted players off their mount. It’s cheap damage for PvP and a useful extra against the bigger enemies in dungeons. BloodthrillBloodthrillTalent · Arms · 5 ranksYour melee attacks against targets afflicted by your Rend have a 10% chance to activate your Overpower ability for 1 attack on your current target. Lasts 6 sec. gives your attacks against targets with RendRendAbilityRend10 Rage · Melee RangeWounds the target causing them to bleed for 15 damage over 9 sec. a 10% chance to let you use OverpowerOverpowerAbilityOverpowerMelee RangeInstant · 5 sec cooldownInstantly overpowers an enemy, causing weapon damage plus 30. Can only be used after the target dodges. Overpower cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried., and Mortal StrikeMortal StrikeTalent ability · Arms · 1 rankA vicious strike that deals weapon damage plus 85 and wounds the target, reducing the effectiveness of any healing by 50% for 10 sec. is still the capstone.

Fury Warrior changes

Fury is still all about dual wielding, and it now has a proper way to deal area damage. Raging BlowsRaging BlowsTalent · Fury · 1 rankCauses your Whirlwind to also strike with your off-hand weapon, and reduces the Rage cost of your Cleave ability by 2. makes WhirlwindWhirlwindAbilityWhirlwind25 RageInstant · 10 sec cooldownIn a whirlwind of steel you attack up to 4 enemies within 8 yards, causing weapon damage to each enemy. strike with your off-hand weapon as well, and cuts the rage cost of CleaveCleaveAbilityCleaveRank 120 Rage · Melee RangeA sweeping attack that does your weapon damage plus 5 to the target and a second nearby enemy. by 2. Dual Wield SpecializationDual Wield SpecializationTalent · Fury · 5 ranksIncreases your off-hand weapon damage by 25%, off-hand Rage generation by 100%, and chance to hit with off-hand attacks by 10%. adds 25% off-hand damage, doubles the rage your off-hand generates and adds 10% hit to off-hand attacks, which fixes the missing that made Classic Fury painful.

Boundless RageBoundless RageTalent · Fury · 3 ranksIncreases your maximum Rage by 30. raises your maximum Rage by 30, so you can bank more for a big pull, and BloodthirstBloodthirstTalent ability · Fury · 1 rankInstantly attack the target causing damage equal to 35% of your Attack Power plus 30 and increasing your movement speed by 10% for 10 sec. at the bottom of the tree now also gives you 10% movement speed for 10 sec.

Best race for a Warrior in WoW Forever: Human

Human is our best in slot race for a Warrior. Sword SpecializationSword SpecializationPassive racial · HumanIncreases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 2% while you have a sword or two-handed sword equipped. gives you 2% critical strike chance while you hold a sword, which is double what the Dwarf and Orc weapon racials give, and a Warrior’s damage and rage both lean on crits through talents like Deep WoundsDeep WoundsTalent · Arms · 3 ranksYour critical strikes cause your opponent to Bleed, dealing 60% of your melee weapon's average damage over 12 sec. and FlurryFlurryTalent · Fury · 5 ranksIncreases your melee attack speed by 25% for your next 3 swings after dealing a melee critical strike.. Swords are also the most common Warrior weapons while leveling, so the bonus is almost always on.

Will to Survive seals it, since it breaks you out of any stun every 3 minutes, which matters as much in a dungeon as it does in PvP. On the Horde, Orc is the pick for PvP and Tauren for tanking. Our races and classes tool has our verdict on every Warrior race, and the racials guide covers each racial in full, while our WoW Forever class tier list ranks all 9 classes.

More WoW Forever class guides: Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock and Druid. For a short summary of every class, see all WoW Forever class changes.

WoW Forever Warrior FAQ