WoW Classic 19 Twink Warrior Guide

Ah, the Warrior.  One of the most unique classes in WoW, even to this day Warriors can seem, at first glance, to be a one note class.  They are, however, anything but. For some, they were their first class, seemed at the time the most accessible choice.  For others, they are an esoteric and complicated dichotomy of bizarre resource management and gear dependence. Warriors, like Rogues, do not use mana and are often looked at with confusion by players that exclusively play other classes.  Regardless of them, you’re here to play one in PvP, which is something that Warriors excel at.

Arguably the best tank in the game, and yes, many people still debate this point hotly, Warriors are also one of the best choices for PvP.  With their access to Mail/Plate armor, they are able to take a ton of punishment and with abilities like Revenge and Overpower, they can return that punishment, in kind.  Warriors also possess a number of useful interrupts like Shield Bash, which silences enemy spell casters and crippling attacks like Hamstring, which slows the movement speed of the target.  They also possess the often unmentioned ability to change their role, at any time from Tank to DPS and back, by simply switching weapons, or just switching stances in a pinch.  At the end of the day, the Warrior brings a lot to the table and is a lot of fun to play. So….

Warriors!  Come out and plaaaayyy!

Contents

• Races:  Any race can be a Warrior, but which race is the best at it?
• Professions:  Which professions benefits a Twink Warrior the most?
• Spells:  Which of the warriors attacks and abilities are best for Twinking and PvP in general?
• Talents:  Which talents should you choose to get the most out of you PvP Warrior?
• Gear:  Warriors are severely gear dependent, so which gear is BiS (Best in Slot) and where do you get it?
• Buffs:  Which consumables and party buffs are best for a Twink Warrior

Races

Warriors are available to all of the races of Azeroth and so your choices for race are many and very diverse.  The traits of every race can benefit a warrior to some degree, but some are definitely better than others, especially with regard to Twinking and PvP in general.  Here’s a breakdown of each race as it pertains to the subject of this guide. If you want to learn more about all of the races, their traits and some of their culture and histories, click here.

Alliance

• Dwarf:  Stoneform is definitely the best dwarven racial trait for Twink Warriors.  The ability to counter bleed attacks is invaluable, especially at level 19 and while the extra armor seems like it’s Gilding the Lilly, it never hurts.  Frost Resistance is actually great, even though it might seem niche, as many consider the Class Nemesis to a Warrior to be a Frost Mage.  Find Treasure is useful to all classes, but especially to Warriors, who need all the cash they can get for gear and repairs.
• Gnome:  Escape Artist is always useful to anyone doing any kind of PvP, but especially to Warriors, who are often the target of movement impairing effects.  Engineering Specialization is especially important to any Twink and the extra points mean getting to certain schematics faster and having access to some equipment that no other race will.  Arcane Resistance is good, because it counters many of the abilities of the Mage and some of the damage that Hunters can do.  Expansive Mind is one that many players think is unimportant for a Warrior and they are all wrong.  In Classic WoW Intellect effects the speed at which you learn weapon skills, making Gnomes more adaptable to multiple weapon types than any other race in the game.
• Human:  Diplomacy will help you with that reputation grind to get some of your faction BiS gear, while Perception will allow you to spot Rogues before members of other races do.  The Human Spirit may not seem like much, but HP regeneration is very important between battles, so it does help quite a bit.  Mace Specialization and Sword Specialization are also great passives that give a bit of an edge when using those weapon types.
• Night Elf:  Nature Resistance is good for countering the damage of Druids and Shamans, who have a lot of lightning attacks, but don’t forget that the poison attacks of both the Hunter and Rogue are Nature based as well.  Quickness increases your dodge, which is never a bad thing.  Finally, Shadowmeld lets you drop from combat and become invisible.  While undetected this way, you cannot move or attack, but you are able to eat and quickly restore health.  This can be an absolute lifesaver in a pinch. Finally, since everyone hates doing a corpse run, so Wisp Spirit should get a mention too.

Horde

• Orc:  Axe Specialization offers an edge when using axes and  2 – handed axes. This is especially of note to Arms Warriors, who often find themselves using the latter.  Bloodfury is absolutely fantastic, as its extra damage can allow you to quickly finish off a frustratingly resilient opponent swiftly.  Hardiness is probably the best racial trait that Orcs offer to a Twink Warrior, as its effects stack with Iron Will.
• Tauren:  The extra health offered by Endurance is probably the best benefit offered by Tauren, as it scales with level.  As with Night Elves, Nature Resistance is often overlooked, but it can counter the main damage types of two classes, as well as the poisons and stings of Rogues and Hunters respectively.  War Stomp offers a 2 second AoE (Area of Effect) stun.  This, coupled with Thunder Clap can keep the majority of your enemies busy long enough for you to gain a massive advantage.
• Troll:  While its long cooldown is bothersome, Berserking is still a fantastic ability, especially with Trolls already high agility.  Regeneration is the best racial trait offered by Trolls for Twink Warriors, as it allows you to regain health even while in combat and is always active.  If you combine this with a potion or other buff that does the same, you will have a distinct survival advantage over other Class/Race combos.
• Undead:  Cannibalize is a great bonus, weak bandage for between fights that will allow you to conserve your food and bandages for when they are really necessary.  Shadow Resistance is great for shrugging off the main damage types of Priests and Warlocks and should not be overlooked, while Will of the Forsaken is a mainstay of PvP that allows you to escape the CC (Crowd Control) effects of those classes as well.

Which of these races is the best for your level 19 Twink Warrior is a tough decision and almost a crap shoot, because they all have great abilities to offer.  From a base survivability/toughness perspective, the Tauren seems the most logical choice, because of their high HP, but they lack any form of escape from CC like the Gnome, or Undead.  It may also depend on whether you plan on playing with a group or not. If you want to be a tank and just soak up all of your party’s damage, then go with a Dwarf, Orc or Tauren. If you’re more of a lone wolf, or plan on playing 1v1 Arena battles more often than not, try a Human, Night Elf, or Troll.  At the end of the day, the choice is yours and for many just boils down to personal aesthetic.

Professions

As with Twinks of any class, Engineering is going to be a must for Professions.  A lot of the gadgets and items that are now restricted in Battlegrounds, are available for use in Classic WoW.  Professions also do not offer stat bonuses, making the choice even easier.

That does not mean that the choice of your other primary profession is pointless, far from it in fact.  You are going to need a lot of gold for a Twink Warrior and if you are not funding this character with your main, or an alt, then you are going to need a way to make that money.  If you are, then the choice of other profession is a bit easier, but still important.

• Engineering:  Anyone wanting to Twink, or even PvP at all is going to want to at least investigate Engineering.  Between the stun interrupts from explosives like Heavy Dynamite and the ability to potentially undo a Mage’s Polymorph with the Minor Recombobulator, there are a ton of useful benefits from the profession.
• Another factor of engineering, for a level 19 Twink anyway, is that it provides a lot of good head slot items on the way to your level goal.  Of note are the Green Tinted Goggles, which are the best head slot item that can be had that is not the BiS, for almost any class.
• Mining:  Even if you are planning on funding your Twink with an Alt, or the like, you might just want to go ahead and take Mining.  Warriors need a lot of money for upkeep and gear and mitigating any costs you have is invaluable.  Many of the raw materials for Engineering can be acquired from Mining, not to mention that whatever you don’t use can be sold on the AH(auction house) for a tidy profit.
• Enchanting:  Another good way of mitigating your cost is to take Enchanting, as you will want to have the best enchantments for your BiS gear and being an enchanter makes that easy.  As with mining, you will likely have a surplus of extra materials after you disenchant unwanted items. These materials can be sold on the AH and are often highly sought after and expensive.

Other Professions:  This is actually easy, because there are a bunch of Professions that are pointless for a Warrior and even more so a Twink.  Tailoring and Leatherworking should both be completely avoided, as they are both absolutely useless to a Warrior of any kind.  Likewise, Herbalism and Skinning are to be eschewed, as if you are going to take on a gathering profession, it might as well be Mining, since you will already have Engineering anyway.  This leaves only Blacksmithing and Alchemy viable outside choices.  Blacksmithing is of obvious use to a warrior, but it is also expensive, so if you are well funded, this could be a good choice.  The same goes for Alchemy as well and almost even more so for a level 19 Twink, as the potions you can make are likely of more value than the armor at this tier

Secondary Skills

• Cooking:  The benefits of doing your own cooking are pretty straight forward for a Twink of any class.  You want to get every possible advantage that you can and the Well Fed buff offered by a lot of cooked food is a sizable advantage.  The easiest to acquire of the recipes you can use at level 19, for both factions, is definitely Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet.  It can be purchased from Kendor Kabonka in Stormwind and Nerrist at the Grom’ gol Outpost.  All of that being said, there is one decided benefit to not dealing with cooking at all.  Gold. See a lot of players like doing cooking.  It’s actually really popular, but they don’t always have the materials to cook all of the foods they want to try.  This could be where you come in. See, you’re going to get all of those fish and animal parts as part of leveling anyway, especially for Horde players who level in the Barrens, where the population is Beast.  So, instead of cooking it all up, why not sell it on the AH to all those aspiring chefs and buy yourself a nice World Drop?
• First Aid:  This skill in particular is important for Twinks, especially those that are funded through another character.  Secondary Skills can be raised all the way to 225 at level 19, which means, as long as you acquire Expert First Aid – Under Wraps, Manual: Heavy Silk Bandage and Manual: Mageweave Bandage, that you’ll be able to make and use Mageweave Bandages.  More importantly, it means that you will be able to use, but not make Heavy Runecloth Bandages, as long as you have an Alt, or friend that can make them for you.  Having these means a max heal every single time you use them uninterrupted, so if you can get them, do.
• Fishing:  This one is pretty straight forward and you will definitely need to level it if you want to get your BiS head slot item, the Lucky Fishing Hat.  Fishing is also a great vary to earn some side funds, especially if you decide to forgo Cooking and sell all of what you catch.  Don’t forget to pick up the Strong Fishing Pole and Bright Baubles at any trade goods vendor and get some skill synergy from Engineering with the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor.

Professions and Skills can seem like a chore when playing a Warrior, but keep at them, especially Engineering and Fishing, as they have the most direct benefits to your Twink.  Do it for honor. Do it for glory. Do it…for the gear!

Spells and Abilities

The Warriors abilities might be tricky for some players, as the stance mechanic is pretty unique to the class.  Many of the abilities available to the Warrior are usable in any stance, but some can only be used when in a specific stance.  For example Disarm can only be used when in Defensive Stance, while Mocking Blow is only usable in Battle Stance. So you either have to pick a stance and stick to it, or Stance Dance like no one’s watching.

There are only two stances available to a Warrior at level 19, Battle and Defensive.  What follows is a breakdown of those stances and the abilities that are pertinent to your twink.

Battle Stance

Likely the stance that you will spend the most time in and the one that has the most PvP centric abilities, especially for solo players.  If you want to dominate the 1v1 arena scene, Battle Stance is your path to victory.

• Charge:  Easily the most useful ability you can use while in Battle Stance and definitely the most fun.  You charge in, stun an opponent while also gaining rage. What’s not to love?
• Overpower:  Oh your opponent dodged your attack?  Guess what? No they didn’t. This is a fantastic little counter attack that cannot be countered!
• Thunder Clap:  At this level, the best and only AoE at a Warrior’s disposal.  Does a decent amount of damage and slows your enemies’ attacks.  Use this right after a Charge, when you’re running into a group of enemies.
• Hamstring:  This is a fantastic ability to use against escaping foes and Rogues in particular.  It doesn’t do much damage, but slows an opponent’s movement speed significantly. Use when you’ve almost downed a target to keep them from running away.
• Mocking Blow:  You might be wondering why this one is on the list, since threat is meaningless in PvP and you’re somewhat right, players are immune to threat effects…their pets on the other hand are not.  You might not find this one all that useful all the time, but when it’s useful, it’s very useful.

Defensive Stance

Not at all a bad choice for PvP, especially when playing with a group, or just a friend who is a healer and the 10% reduction in damage never hurts.

• Shield Block:  If you are using a shield, this is a great ability, though short lived.  If you time it right and maybe buff it up with talents, you’re talking about 5 seconds where you just don’t get hit.
• Revenge:  Basically the Defensive version of Overpower.  Has more opportunity of use and does more damage, but can be blocked.  Still, a great ability and a bonus attack when you are in Defensive Stance.
• Disarm:  A great ability to use against other Warriors and against Rogues, who lose the use of most of their own abilities without a weapon in hand.

Universal Abilities

• Bloodrage:  Perhaps one of the most important Warrior abilities, especially at this level, as it is one of only two abilities that actually generates rage in and of itself.  Bloodrage is also the quickest way to generate rage quickly when changing stances.
• Rend:  A nice little DoT (Damage over Time) that you can tag tougher opponent with to weaken them, while you switch to a weaker target that you can finish quickly.  This is the only bleed ability that a Warrior has at level 19, outside of talents that add bleed effects. It can’t be used in Fury Stance, but that doesn’t matter at this level.
• Demoralizing Shout:  This is just a fantastic ability that often gets underused.  It works the best when engaging larger groups of enemies, but works just fine against small groups, or a single foe.  Making your enemies weaker is a good thing, no matter the number of them.
• Heroic Strike:  Your absolute “bread and butter” go-to ability and the one you will likely be using the most of all.  A fair cost in Rage, with a significant damage increase. When not using one of your other attacks, be using this if you can.
• Sunder Armor:  An necessity when going up against more heavily armored opponents like Paladins and other Warriors, but also highly effective against less armored foes, especially in 1v1.  If you get all 5 sunders applied, we’re talking stripping someone of 450 armor, which is more than most casters have in total and almost more than any other class that can’t wear Mail.
• Battle Shout:  A great buff that works just as good solo as it does in a group.  Not one person in all of Azeroth was ever at a loss for having more attack power.  Not one.
• Shield Bash:  Shield Bash is the only caster interrupt available to Warriors at this level and, as the name implies, you must be carrying a shield to use it.  Bonus though, it can be used in either Battle, or Defensive Stances, so a viable choice for either an Arms Warrior, focused on damage, or a Protection Warrior, leaning to defense.

Using your abilities in a given fight will tend to run in a sequence and you will likely use all of them save one.  Taunt, while extremely important in PvE, is absolutely useless in PvP, except, as stated, on pets.  Make sure to manage your rage generation and always try to be the one that starts the fight…preferably with Charge.

Talents

Just as they are for all other classes, talents are pretty important for a Warrior.  They will decide play style and often which gear one chooses. That’s why it’s important that you know exactly what kind of Warrior you want to play and what you want to get out of it.  There are a lot of opinions regarding Warriors especially and a lot of schools of thought on how one should be played. All are valid and worth considering, but this is your character and you should play it the way the you want to.

Damage Builds

These are the most popular and straight forward builds for Warriors who want to deal out the most amount of damage possible and drop enemies like flies.  They also tend to be very good at generating Rage and mitigating the Rage cost of abilities.

• Pure Arms:  For players who like to stay in one talent tree, but still want increased damage and Rage Generation.  Max out Improved Heroic Strike and Improved Rend, then Improved Charge.  Finish out with three points in Improved Thunder Clap.
• Bloody Criticals:  This build focuses on maximizing crit chance and bleed damage, with some Rage management as well.  Max out Improved Rend and Cruelty and put your last two points in either Improved Heroic Strike, or Unbridled Wrath.

Defensive Builds

Far less popular in PvP, but still very effective none the less, Defensive builds focus on increasing your armor and mitigating damage.  They are more useful when in a group than when alone.

• Pure Protection:  This build is very straight forward and focuses on either lessening damage, or avoiding it altogether.  Max out Shield Specialization to get a 5% chance at blocking all incoming physical attacks and then max out either Anticipation, or Toughness, your choice.
• Sword, no Board:  For Warriors that want added protection, but don’t plan on using a shield.  Max out Anticipation and Toughness.
• Can’t Touch This:  For those who simply don’t like being hit.  Ever. Max out Deflection and either Anticipation, or Shield Specialization, depending on whether or not you use a shield.

Balanced Builds

Far more varied and practical than other types of builds, balanced builds focus on utility, survivability and logic.  As the name implies, they also tend to strike a balance between damage, rage generation and defense.

• Cruel Intentions: Probably the most balanced build herein.  Max out Cruelty then either Shield Specialization if you are using a shield, or Deflection if you are not.
• Heroic Rage:  Strikes an odd balance between defense and Rage management.  Max out Improved Heroic Strike, then either Shield Specialization, or Anticipation depending on shield use.  Finally, max out Improved Bloodrage.
• Stance Dancer:  The absolute best if you plan on changing your combat stance a lot.  Take whatever combination of Deflection, Improved Heroic Strike and Improved Rend you like, then max out Tactical Mastery.

There are a lot of talents to choose from and a lot of ways to go with it.  You also don’t have to go with any of the builds provided.  They are just the most popular and straight forward.  If you have a preferred build, go with that for sure, and if you want to try experimenting with Talent builds, don’t waste money respecing a dozen times, just plan your build on the Warrior Talent Calculator.

BiS Gear

Now we get to the meat and potatoes of a level 19 Twink Warrior.  The gear. Warrior, as stated before, are very gear centric and acquiring the absolute best in slot for them is a must.  You will need help to acquire it all.  So make some friends or make some Alts and level them fast.  Make no mistake, it will be challenging and you will more than likely die…many times, but that’s a sacrifice you’re willing to make, isn’t it?  For the gear!

Here is a list of all of your BiS items, the best enchantments for them and where to acquire the item.

* This item has a high drop rate in an area that is a much higher level zone than a level 19 Twink can farm for it.  It is recommended that you simply acquire it from the AH, or from an Alt.

** This item, while not the absolute best for this item slot, is a good choice and is much easier to acquire for a level 19 character.

Buffs

Now you have the gear, but you still need more to perfect your Twink Warrior.  Acquire these consumables, whether you buy them from a vendor or the AH, or simply make them yourself.  They might seem like only slightly beneficial, but when you are trying to get every possible edge, slightly beneficial suddenly becomes necessity.

Elixirs:  These are probably your most useful, long term, non-world or ally buffs.  They offer a variety of different bonuses, making them versatile, but remember that you can only use one Battle and One Guardian Elixir at a time.  This shouldn’t be an issue, as there is only one Battle Elixir worth using for a Twink Warrior at this level. They also expire if you die.

Battle Elixirs

Elixir of Giant Growth:  The 8 extra points of strength is a lot at this tier and the size increase is fun, but also intimidating, especially in the middle of a fight.

Guardian Elixirs

• Elixir of Minor Fortitude:  No one was ever the worse for an extra 70 HP.
• Strong Troll’s Blood Potion:  This one is a great long term buff for extended campaigns with multiple engagements.  It works well for everyone, but is of particular boon to Trolls, as it stacks with their own natural Regeneration.
• Elixir of Defense:  150 armor is like wearing a second, better chest piece.  If you have this before a fight, use it.
• Minor Magic Resistance Potion:  This will couple nicely with the many racial resistance traits.  Pop it if you plan to fight a lot of different caster classes, who have a lot of different elemental damage types.

Potions

Never forget your potions, as you will miss them when they are not there.  They’re great for a quick, decisive, short term buff and can mean the difference between life and death sometimes.

• Healing Potion:  A staple of adventurers since time immemorial.  Always have at least one – no…two on hand.
• Rage Potion:  This is a life saver, especially when switching stances and unlike Bloodrage, it doesn’t hurt you.
• Swiftness Potion:  A Warrior should never run from battle…that being said, should you find yourself in need of a…tactical retreat, this potion will be of help.

Scrolls

Oft overlooked, especially by those who play Warriors, magical scrolls offer a fantastic stat buff that can be active alongside the buffs that Elixirs and food provide.  Just make sure not to double up on the same kind of buff. You can also find scrolls at a number of vendors, or the AH, easily.

• Scroll of Protection II:  Again, like having an extra piece of large armor.  Just don’t try and use it with an Elixir of Defense at the same time.
• Scroll of Stamina:  Who needs Stamina?  Well…everyone actually, but you in particular.  This is a nice thing to have in your back pocket for when your Well Fed buff runs out mid battle.
• Scroll of Strength:  Doesn’t stack with Elixir of Giant Growth, but if you don’t have an Elixir, use this!

Other Consumables:  Outside of the alchemical concoctions and arcane scribblings above, there are only two other consumables of use to a level 19 Twink Warrior and those are the Curiously Tasty Omelet and Heavy Sharpening Stone.  Cook the omelet for the Well Fed buff and buy the stone from a blacksmith for a bit of extra damage.  Oh, one more, Rumsey Rum Black Label.  Drink in good health.  Heheh.

Now you have both the gear and the buffs.  You are prepared!  Go now,  and break your foes…or let them break on you.  Either way, try and keep the healer alive – that’s like…super important.  Have fun!