- When do you switch to it?
- Do you have to create a macro for it? I’ve never really understood how you do it mid-combat.
- Does it actually matter which 1H sword + shield you use, or is it strictly to leverage the Shield Block ability? Since I don’t think you can use the Prot Artifact weapons while spec’d Arms, do you seek out a certain combo from dungeons?
Can confirm seeing Chops 4th in healing as Arms with Ignore Pain in a recent BG.
On using other spec's artifact, at least for affliction lock I can use demo's artifact 1h/offhand. And have seen some disc priests using shadow's 1h/offhand rather than main spec's staff.
This is a super interesting call-out... curious to learn more if it truly would earn rage at the same rate as swinging a 2H weapon.
My brain would probably explode if a Warrior was going ham and then all of a sudden switched to Shield + Dagger, lol.
[doublepost=1610900780,1610900039][/doublepost]I suppose I could also get off my ass and just roll a Warrior... I’ve been wanting to anyhow just so I can focus on those damn Disc Priests that seem indestructible!
Oh hell yea! I wake up and theres a thread on my favorite subject? Its like Christmas!
We'll answer the easy questions first: you can use artifacts from other specs. So if you have high ilvl prot artifact, you should probably use it. If you don't, I think the ideal here is a Skullflame Shield and a socketed weapon from a BFA rare/dungeon. No skullflame? Socketed shield. I dont think you need to go full Swifty (never go full Swifty) with the dagger because the rage generation is really good anyway and you'd be sacrificing some actually surprising damage.
I use this very basic macro to swap to sword and board:
/equip Scale of the Earth-Warder
If you're not using the artifact, you'll need to list the shield first, like so
/equip nameofshield
/equip nameofweapon
And I use this more complicated one to swap from sword/board to 2hand:
/equip [equipped:two-hand] Strom'kar, the Warbreaker
/equip [equipped:two-hand] Warswords of the Valarjar
/equip [equipped:shields] Warswords of the Valarjar
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
I do this because a simpler one was randomly deciding which artifact to equip after sword/board and I wanted to make sure it was my ilvl 49, because I'd be swapping after a crusader proc off my prot artifact so go go double crusader with busted sword.
(note: yes I know I could combine these into one macro with like an alt or shift modifier but im neurotic and having two macros helps me fill up my action bars and makes my ui look better)
Bonus macro!
#showtooltip
/cast [worn:Two-hand] Mortal Strike; [worn:Shields] Shield Slam
Lets you use the same keybind for MS and SS depending on what weapon you have equipped.
You can use the above macros to swap in combat but sadly, weapon swapping is on the GCD so it's not as fluid as it has been in the past. But once you get used to the timing, its not bad.
Now, as for *when* to do it?
[Note: Shield Block only works for melee attacks. Which, in melee heavy games is obviously very nice. But you'll still want to swap to sword/board even in melee light games because the rage generation (see Andres screenshot) is nice for letting you keep up Ignore Pain if you're getting kited by range classes]
1. Any time a hunter opens up a gap on you and you dont have charge up. Target their pet for rage generation for Ignore Pain and Shield Block. Since hunters have like 12 different ways to open a gap, you'll probably just want to go ahead and stay in sword/board until they've gone through them all. But then its party time.
2. Occasionally when you're diving a backline and (smartly) dont want to engage with charge. You'll need to survive long enough to generate rage and you'll probably just end up "pvp tanking" anyway in this scenario. You can use your defensive CDs to keep yourself up long enough that folks will eventually swap off you to softer targets at which point you can build up a rage bar, swap to 2hander and dump it into the nearest healer.
3. Anytime you're sitting somewhere and expecting a rogue to open on you. Like, you're guarding a base or trying to cross mid in a rogue heavy game. Shields work even when mounted and while rogues don't have super scary damage, you'll want that initial advantage for their opener.
4. You get swapped on. Duh. Shield Block and Ignore Pain will absorb a chunk of burst and hopefully persuade folks to get bored and swap targets.
Oh hell yea! I wake up and theres a thread on my favorite subject? Its like Christmas!
We'll answer the easy questions first: you can use artifacts from other specs. So if you have high ilvl prot artifact, you should probably use it. If you don't, I think the ideal here is a Skullflame Shield and a socketed weapon from a BFA rare/dungeon. No skullflame? Socketed shield. I dont think you need to go full Swifty (never go full Swifty) with the dagger because the rage generation is really good anyway and you'd be sacrificing some actually surprising damage.
I use this very basic macro to swap to sword and board:
/equip Scale of the Earth-Warder
If you're not using the artifact, you'll need to list the shield first, like so
/equip nameofshield
/equip nameofweapon
And I use this more complicated one to swap from sword/board to 2hand:
/equip [equipped:two-hand] Strom'kar, the Warbreaker
/equip [equipped:two-hand] Warswords of the Valarjar
/equip [equipped:shields] Warswords of the Valarjar
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
I do this because a simpler one was randomly deciding which artifact to equip after sword/board and I wanted to make sure it was my ilvl 49, because I'd be swapping after a crusader proc off my prot artifact so go go double crusader with busted sword.
(note: yes I know I could combine these into one macro with like an alt or shift modifier but im neurotic and having two macros helps me fill up my action bars and makes my ui look better)
Bonus macro!
#showtooltip
/cast [worn:Two-hand] Mortal Strike; [worn:Shields] Shield Slam
Lets you use the same keybind for MS and SS depending on what weapon you have equipped.
You can use the above macros to swap in combat but sadly, weapon swapping is on the GCD so it's not as fluid as it has been in the past. But once you get used to the timing, its not bad.
Now, as for *when* to do it?
[Note: Shield Block only works for melee attacks. Which, in melee heavy games is obviously very nice. But you'll still want to swap to sword/board even in melee light games because the rage generation (see Andres screenshot) is nice for letting you keep up Ignore Pain if you're getting kited by range classes]
1. Any time a hunter opens up a gap on you and you dont have charge up. Target their pet for rage generation for Ignore Pain and Shield Block. Since hunters have like 12 different ways to open a gap, you'll probably just want to go ahead and stay in sword/board until they've gone through them all. But then its party time.
2. Occasionally when you're diving a backline and (smartly) dont want to engage with charge. You'll need to survive long enough to generate rage and you'll probably just end up "pvp tanking" anyway in this scenario. You can use your defensive CDs to keep yourself up long enough that folks will eventually swap off you to softer targets at which point you can build up a rage bar, swap to 2hander and dump it into the nearest healer.
3. Anytime you're sitting somewhere and expecting a rogue to open on you. Like, you're guarding a base or trying to cross mid in a rogue heavy game. Shields work even when mounted and while rogues don't have super scary damage, you'll want that initial advantage for their opener.
4. You get swapped on. Duh. Shield Block and Ignore Pain will absorb a chunk of burst and hopefully persuade folks to get bored and swap targets.
Pretty sure that the only sword/shield that is practical to use for swapping is the artifact. If you use a regular sword/shield you need to use 2 GCD's to swap in combat, one for each item. Artifacts circumvent this by being weirdly two items and one item at the same time.
Pretty sure that the only sword/shield that is practical to use for swapping is the artifact. If you use a regular sword/shield you need to use 2 GCD's to swap in combat, one for each item. Artifacts circumvent this by being weirdly two items and one item at the same time.
Yep, this is true. I had thought it was an instant swap because it does swap both instantly out of combat. But it does, in fact, require two globals in you're in combat.
I was thinking maybe because you're only "swapping" one item (2hander for shield) and then adding the sword, it might work for arms. This is not the case
I mean, if you wanted to spend the global. OR it works if you're preemptively sword/board. Swapping back to a 2hander only requires 1. Not entirely a lost cause.
Their incapacitate and food buff are kind of smexy, if we’re being honest... never really understood why Quaking Palm is so overlooked.
I always default to Human for EMFH, which is an issue of mine. I know racials really don’t make-or-break in the end, but I always just want to choose a race whose racial(s) will benefit my intended spec the most.
Good question — Kung Fu Pandaland sucks... if I remember correctly, you can’t even use the heirloom chauffeur mount there, so you have to run everywhere, haha. A small, small, small taste of what Vanilla felt like!
Not that you asked, but the Chops Pick for alliance warrior race is actually Dark Iron. The racial clearing dots and (some) snares/roots giving you strength is incredibly strong not just as a defensive but as an offensive swing. You clear a row of dots to stay alive but then get a mini crusader proc worth of strength to turn around and smash a MS into someone? too good.
Also, look cool as hell. Which is 97% of the reason to play anything.
