Warrior Guide for 4.3 Normal Modes

This is the 4.3 Warrior DPS guide for Dragon Soul normal modes. It's meant to give instruction, tips, and tricks on how to crit big as a Warrior in the latest patch. Warriors are overall very strong in Dragon Soul because they scale very well with the rising item levels. There is also a lot of random incoming damage to feed your rage bar and thus make your dps higher. Just don't stand in the "rage pools" too much and cause your healers heart attacks. Still, if you decide to stay in the fire, just hire a healer and you're good to go.

Talents: Currently arms spec is very strong for warriors to play in Dragon Soul, since there are fights like Yor'Sahj example (aka blob boss). If you know what buttons to press, you should be able to do almost as much dps as legendary casters and other heavy-aoe classes. But after you get better gear (weapons), I suggest to spec back to TG.

Fury: The basic TG (titan's grip) spec is the way to go. Nobody plays SMF (single minded fury) nowdays. Nothing has changed from the last patch except 5% less physical damage from the Dual Wield Specialization nerf, so you will be using the same spec as in the last patch.

Arms: The basic arms spec I chose Tactical Mastery over Drums of War/Blood And Thunder. The reason for that is that if you want to do a little more dps, that will require you to do a bit of stance-dancing (switching to berserker-stance and back).

Glyphs: The basic set of glyphs will do fine in Dragon Soul.

Tier pieces: Warrior t13 2-set bonus is very strong, and you should get it on as soon as possible over t12 4-piece. The t13 4-piece bonus is also good, so try to get that one as soon as possible as well.

 

Introduction: A fairly simple fight to a play Warrior in. Just mind your positioning and stay alive during Black Blood of the Earth and you're set.

The fight and tips: Simply hit the boss from maximum or close to maximum melee range to make sure you don't get hit by the amplified stomp damage. That is the tanks' job. Ranged DPS should be dealing with the Resonating Crystals so you can usually ignore them unless told otherwise.

During Black Blood of the Earth simply Heroic Leap toward the nearest pillar and hide behind it. If you're responsible of keeping Sunder Armor on the boss, you might want to use glyphed Heroic Throw to keep it up. (If you're particularly DPS happy and certain you won't die, you can charge back in slighty before the phase actually ends. Just don't blame your death on our tactics!

You'll want to save Rallying Cry and any defensive cooldowns for the 20% soft enrage and employ them when asked/raid hp dips.

 

Introduction: A boss that puts your mobility to a good use and requires notable amounts of AoE and burst damage.

The fight and tips: Start on the boss, but depending on how much difficulty your guild has in tackling the Globules before they reach the boss, you may want to save your cooldowns and Colossus Smash for the first spawn. Employ Heroic Leap and Intercept to make your way to the one you'll be killing when they start spawning. Do everything you can to make sure the one you're trying to kill doesn't reach the boss.

If a Cobalt Globule spawned and got to the boss, you must make killing the Mana Void you #1 priority as soon as it reaches the ground and your melee range. Your mana-based DPS and healing players are going to be crippled by the Mana Void, so it'll be your responsibility to hit the Mana Void as hard as you can, as it doesn't affect you at all.

If a Dark Globule spawned and got to the boss, you'll be swarmed by Forgotten ones that don't hit for much. They have to be killed nonethless, but only after a possible Mana Void has been dealth with. Employ your best AoE to burn them down.

If a Crimson Globule reached the boss, you must stay close to the boss at all times.

 

Introduction: Much like Morchok, you'll only have to mind your positioning and the damage you're taking. The rest of your focus will be in maintaining your DPS. Try not to stand in front of him for any reason.

The fight and tips: The bouncing of Void of Unmaking might vary a bit from guild to guild. Make sure you understand the strategy your raid is employing, and be sure you're soaking the Void when you're supposed to. It's very important to dodge it properly when it's supposed to be put into the boss. If you're going for a lot of bounces, you'll want to use Rallying Cry toward the final bounces. As the boss won't be taking extra damage at this point, you shouldn't hesitate to use Shield Wall if it seems necessary.

Save your cooldowns for when the Void collides with the boss and the boss takes extra damage. If you still have any defensive abilities left (that don't make your dps go down the drain), you might want to employ them if your raid is struggling with the incoming damage.

 

Introduction: Hagara is a bit of an all-around boss with periods of AoE, heavy incoming damage and a survival phase that doesn't punish Warriors nearly as much as many other melee classes. Focus on staying alive during the Frozen Tempest and Lightning Storm and you should do fairly well.

The fight and tips: If you get the Ice Lance beam on you, move away from other melee players until you see a ranged player soaking up the lances. The lances splash damage around you, and this way you'll avoid generating unnecessary raid damage. Similarly avoid other melee players with beams on them. When the Ice Tombs land, make dealing with them your #1 priority.

On Frozen Tempest, simply make sure you don't get caught in the initial walls of ice as they erupt from the boss. Then make your way from one Binding Crystal to another by using that awesome warrior mobility: Intercepts, and Heroic Leaps. You should be the last player in your raid to ever die in this phase.

During Lightning Storm make sure you won't die to the damage you'll be taking and focus down the Bound Lightning Elementals. When you need to form the Lightning Conduit you can use Heroic Leap to get into your position quickly. As there isn't really anything to DPS until you complete, you can employ Shield Wall while the circuit is being formed.

Try to save your Recklessness and other cooldowns for the Electrocution that makes the boss take 100% extra damage for 15 seconds.

 

Introduction: A patchwerk with ridiculous amounts of incoming damage towards the end. You actually don't have to move at all so you may as well unbind your WASD or bind Heroic Will into them. Time to do some serious dps with all the extra rage you'll be getting.

The fight and tips: Focus on doing your very best DPS without messing up Hour of Twilight or Fading Light. Make sure you keybind your Heroic Will. As you maybe be asked to soak Hour of Twilight, make sure you have some kind of a bossmod timer for the incoming cast so you can have your Shield Wall and whatnot ready for it when it's coming. Note that as the boss has a very strict 6-minute enrage you will be able to use Recklessness twice as long as you use it in the start of the fight.

 

Introduction: Very punishing fight for melee players, you will need to work hard to even have a chance to keep up with ranged DPS in terms of output. You should, however, keep your focus on surviving everything the fight has to offer. Keep an eye on your own health at all times in order to not overextend yourself. Using Rallying Cry at the right moment can save your raid from a wipe.

The fight and tips: Focus the Twilight Elite Dreadblade as soon as he lands, and be sure not to get hit by the frontal cone attack. Whenever you see a Twilight Barrage (the small ones) near you and you're on full or almost full health go soak them. Just make sure that there is at least one more person coming with you. If nobody else is coming, move away yourself as taking the hit alone is likely to kill you without lucky resists. Always move into the Twilight Onslaught (the big AoE.)

When the Twilight Sappers spawn make them your #1 priority. You can use Piercing Howl on their projected paths while they're stealthed so they will get slowed before they even exit stealth.

In phase two, simply avoid getting hit by the Shockwaves of Blackhorn. Also, flame is again bad for your health, so avoid the patches Goriona spits out. Bloodlust/Heroism will most likely used in the beginning of this phase, so save your cooldowns fo it.

 

Introduction: This boss gives you a great deal of opportunities to mess up badly, so make sure you know what the boss does and what you should do to counter it. At one time you'll be taking a lot of damage, and another time you'll need to be able to put out a lot of damage yourself. So be prepared for them in for of proper defensive and offensive cooldown usage.

The fight and tips: Start off by destroying the right Corruption tentacles (the amount depends on your raid's strategy). When you are going to trigger Barrel Roll, move to the correct side of the spine. When the boss begins to roll, make sure you stand in the hole left by the dead Corruption tentacle. As soon as the Barrel Roll is about over, move out and shift your attention to Amalgamation that spawns.

Focus the Amalgamation without cleaving the Corrupted Bloods until the Amalgamation is low enough on health. Killing Corruptions too early will only serve to increase the damage taken by the tank. Make sure you do not kill the Amalgamation until it has soaked up enough (9) Residue, or you will have to start over or wipe (and you will most likely get yelled at). When the Hideous Amalgamation starts casting Nuclear Blast, make sure to move more than 10 yards away from it and use your Shield Wall. When the Burning Tendon spawns, Heroic Leap in and use everyting you've got (save cooldowns for this).

Rinse and repeat but note that the fight gets gradually harder as you will lose a chunk of your maximum health every time a Hideous Amalgamation is killed.

Good luck to smashing faces and cracking skulls in Dragon Soul with your warrior!