MoP Classic Protection Warrior — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
Protection Warrior is a tank specialization where rage fuels both threat and active mitigation.
Rage from 
Shield Slam, 
Revenge and damage taken is spent on 
Shield Block against physical damage or on 
Shield Barrier against magic — this is the spec's key skill. Protection holds large packs extremely well through 
Thunder Clap and Revenge cleave. 
Riposte converts parry and dodge into critical strike, so defensive stats also boost your damage.
Strengths
- Excellent AoE threat and damage.
- Feels very good on physical-damage fights.
- Two active mitigation abilities at once: Shield Block and Shield Barrier.
- High mobility:
Charge, 
Heroic Leap, 
Intervene. - Strong raid utility:
Rallying Cry, 
Vigilance, 
Skull Banner.
Weaknesses
- Very little self-healing compared to other tanks, so healers will have a harder time.
- Brings nothing unique to the raid.
- When incoming damage on you is low, rage is scarce and active mitigation uptime drops.
- Weaker than other tanks against heavy magic.
Stat Priority
- 1Hit up to the 7.5% cap
- 2Mastery up to the 15% hard cap
- 3Parry rating
- 4Dodge rating
- 5Mastery
- 6Stamina
- 7Strength
A tank gets hit in the face, so you need mastery up to 15%: you have to gather both dodge and parry. Parry and dodge are doubly valuable, because Riposte converts them into critical strike rating.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Commanding Shout - 2Charge
- 3Shield Slam
- 4Thunder Clap
- 5Revenge
- 6Shield Block
- 7
Devastate - 8Shield Slam
- 9
Heroic Strike - 10Devastate
- 11Revenge
- Shield Slam — on cooldown, often reset via
Sword and Board - Revenge — on cooldown, reset on a dodge or parry
Execute — below 20% target health- Devastate — filler that builds Sword and Board procs
- Thunder Clap — refresh
Weakened Blows as needed 
Battle Shout or Commanding Shout — keep the buff up and generate rage- Heroic Strike — spend on
Ultimatum procs or when rage is capped
Important Abilities
Sword and Board
Sunder Armor and Sword and Board procsWeakened Blows
Enrage and removes fear
Best Gear (BiS)
Best Gear (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Battleplate of the Prehistoric Marauder
Tier 16 Set — Battleplate of the Prehistoric MarauderThe 4-piece bonus is usually skipped in favor of higher-item-level off-set pieces; only 2 pieces are taken, and even that is optional.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Axe Specialization give the best combat output.
Best Professions
Synapse Springs on gloves and Nitro Boosts for mobility.
Socket Bracer and 
Socket Gloves — two extra gems that make it easy to fine-tune the stats you need.
Two 
Flashing Serpent's Eye grant extra parry.
Fur Lining - Stamina on the wrists is stronger than the standard enchant.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
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