PvE Arms Warrior DPS Guide

PvE Arms Warrior DPS

Talents, Builds & Glyphs

Stat Priority

Best Races

Gems, Enchants & Consumables

Rotation & Cooldowns

Best Professions

Best in Slot (BiS) & Pre-Raid Gear

Addons & Macros

Welcome to the Arms Warrior DPS PvE guide for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King! Arms Warriors are disciplined combatants that devoted their lives to the mastery of many forms of combat and a huge variety of weapons that can be used in most war zones. You will often see those plate-wearing individuals charging headfirst into battle, quickly disposing of any foes that dare question their skill. They are often seen rushing from one enemy to another seamlessly, moving in such a way that can only be attained from the harsh and rigorous training that they have endured.

Arms Warriors are characterized by having the ability to alter their talents depending on the type of weapon they choose to use, focusing on strong abilities that gouge their enemies dealing huge Bleed damage. Their most powerful display of skill comes in the form of Bladestorm, an ability so deadly that they can tear apart multiple foes at the same time.

This Guide will teach you how to properly play and optimize an Arms Warrior in PvE encounters, whether those might be difficult dungeons or terrifying raids. We will be covering everything from simple enchantments and consumables up to talents, rotations, macros, and addons. By the time you finish reading this guide, you will have the proper knowledge in order to complete any challenge laid before your path!

Arms Warrior Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• Powerful single target damage
  Arms Warrior is somewhat stigmatized by the community for having poor DPS, however, do not be deceived by such tales — with proper knowledge and proper equipment, Arms Warrior can find itself in the top positions of the DPS charter for Single-Target fights!

• High Mobility
  Arms Warriors benefit from ample mobility, allowing them to move swiftly across any battlefield. First of all, you can use Charge during combat thanks to the Juggernaut talent. Secondly, you can use both Intercept and Intervene to gain more ground during a fight!

• Decent AoE capabilities
  Arms Warrior has decent AoE capabilities with the help of Bladestorm, Sweeping Strikes, Cleave, and Whirlwind, however, they can not compare to Fury Warriors, being weaker overall in terms of dealing damage to multiple enemies.

• Empowers other classes that use Bleeds
  Arms Warriors benefit from a unique talent called Trauma, it allows you to empower all types of Bleed effects caused on a target! This can be extremely powerful when combined with a Feral Druid in the same raid!

Weaknesses

• Highly gear reliant
  Arms Warriors require hefty amounts of equipment before being able to produce consistent damage. Therefore, they will be at a disadvantage during the first phases of the expansion, due to how dependent they are on Armor Penetration.

• Seen as a weak/niche specialization
  Arms Warriors are seen as somewhat of a niche specialization for PvE, being labeled by the community mainly as a PvP spec with no viability in PvE. However, do not be discouraged by such views! With proper knowledge and technique, you will be able to secure a good spot in the DPS charts.

Arms Warrior Utility

• Shattering Throw
  Completely unique utility that only Warriors have. Reducing the target’s armor by 20% is a modest damage increase for yourself and the raid, which stacks with 100% armor penetration despite what some people think. The 10-second duration is somewhat limited, however, and the 5-minute cooldown means you only get to use it once per fight, typically during Heroism / Bloodlust.

• Reduced attack power (does not stack) – Demoralizing Shout
  This debuff is a must-have, reducing boss damage by a good amount. Similar to previous expansions, Feral Druids can bring it with Demoralizing Roar & Warlocks bring it with Curse of Weakness. The Improved Demoralizing Shout talent happens to be in the Fury tree, so if your Feral Druid did not pick up the improved version, you may have to keep it up yourself.

• Increased attack power (does not stack) – Battle Shout
  This long-time Warrior staple ability is back and now affects your entire raid, making it a must-have. However, it has also been “nerfed” somewhat — it no longer stacks with a Paladin’s Greater Blessing of Might. Thus, if your raid has 3 Paladins (so you get all of their important buffs), you no longer have a reason to use this ability, and should use Commanding Shout instead.

• Increased health (does not stack) – Commanding Shout
  This is a must-have for your raid. Unfortunately, it also suffers a minor nerf in Wrath, as it no longer stacks with the Warlock’s Blood Pact that they gain when using an Imp pet. However, only Destruction Warlocks — which is the weaker Warlock specialization in Wrath — typically use Imps, meaning it will commonly fall on you to keep this buff up. just Make sure your raid is already getting the attack power buff of your Battle Shout, as you can only apply 1 of your shout buffs at a time.

• 50% movement speed slow – Hamstring
  All Warriors can afflict a target with Hamstring, severely impacting its movement speed. When used against threatening monsters, this ability is strong enough to buy time for your healers or caster to reposition themselves. Be sure to use it as much as possible when dealing with fights packed with adds!

• 20% attack speed slow (does not stack) – Thunder Clap
  This debuff is a must-have, reducing boss damage significantly. However, multiple other classes can offer it, and Arms Warriors typically do not have the luxury of being able to pick up the Improved Thunder Clap talent, meaning you likely won’t be the one to use this debuff.

• 20% armor reduction (does not stack) – Sunder Armor
  An absolute must-have, increasing your raid’s DPS by a significant amount. It no longer stacks with a Rogue’s Expose Armor, but that’s not a huge issue as Warriors have a significantly easier time keeping it up. Coupled with the fact that most raids won’t have a Protection Warrior applying this debuff, there’s a good chance that it’s your responsibility to keep this crucial debuff up on the target.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if PvE Arms Warrior is the class/spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems etc., to get more information on how to improve your performance as an Arms Warrior in WotLK!