Neebler
Veteran
Here are some things I've learned about Warrior during my time in Classic WoW. In no particular order, I will list them out. Some of you will already know these, or at least a few of them. This is for the benefit of anyone who wishes to advance their understanding of Warrior mechanics - but these will not necessarily make you a good Warrior alone.
***Some things I will not be sharing as requested by other players, unless I am told otherwise by those players.***
There are also some counters for a few of these techniques that I'd prefer to hold off on sharing for now. While sharing knowledge is important, critical thinking and creativity should still be cultivated, so use your noggin and figure out how you can beat some of these with your class.
NOTE: I will be adding TLDRs to the beginning of each entry for people who don't care to understand the reasoning behind this information. However, I'd encourage anyone to read through all of it to gain a deeper understanding.
Let's get started.
Crusader is Bad
TLDR; use Fiery on your 2 hander weapon, and Lifestealing on your 1h. Crusader takes too long to proc and it isn't worth waiting.
This conversation has arisen several times since I've started playing the game. A lot of players, admittedly myself included at the start of Classic, have advocated for using Crusader as a primary weapon enchant.
It's important to distinguish here that when I say "primary weapon," I mean a weapon that you will generally have equipped. A "secondary weapon" is a less useful weapon that you'd apply a powerful enchant to, with the intention to use that weapon until the enchant procs, and then swap back to your primary weapon for optimal damage.
Before Classic, it seemed ideal to run Crusader on Smite's Might Hammer, a less-than-BiS weapon. Upon Crusader proccing, you would then swap to your primary 2h (Glacial Stone/Nightreaver) and reap the benefits of a 100 STR buff combined with the baked in damage proc on your weapon.
However, Crusader's proc rate is really bad. The amount of damage you would have otherwise done with fiery/lifestealing procs is better. Keep in mind that these procs also ignore armor, whereas the granted strength to your physical damage can still be watered down by armor. The healing is fairly minimal, and you'll get more consistent healing out of lifestealing.
If crusader had a more frequent proc, as in a considerably more frequent one, there would be a much stronger argument to run it. For now, it's simply too slow, making the instant, frequent, and consistent damage of fiery a far superior choice on your 2h, and the balanced damage/heal of lifesteal procs better on a 1h.
I suspect fishing for a crusader proc on a secondary weapon probably isn't even worth it, maybe in super extended fights where you have a lot of uptime, but I haven't tested this myself or read enough to confirm one way or the other.
Heroic Strike Sucks:
TLDR; spamming Hamstring does more damage than Heroic Strike and it's more rage efficient.
Surprisingly enough, the intended 'main damage ability' for Warrior at 19 is one of the worst abilities they have to deal damage. However, without testing this for yourself, this can seem like a confusing concept. Allow me to explain.
When Heroic Strike deals damage, it is not actually dealing damage as its own separate ability. It is modifying your next auto-attack to deal increased damage. There are three big issues with this:
1. It replaces your auto-attack
2. It DOES NOT generate rage
3. It costs 15 rage
At level 19, your highest rank of Heroic Strike adds 32 additional physical damage to your next auto-attack. Your fiery enchant, however, deals 40 non-physical damage. This means that one proc of fiery weapon does more damage than Heroic Strike, and it also costs 0 rage.
Because of the insane value of fiery procs, our priority shifts away from using Heroic Strike, and towards maximizing the amount of attacks hitting the target. We now look for a rage-spender that does NOT consume your auto-attack, and costs less than 15 rage. And what ability best accomplishes these goals?
Hamstring.
Hamstring costs 10 rage, and counts as its own ability independent from your auto-attack. While Rend also shares these attributes, Hamstring has the added benefit of slowing your target - making it the far superior option between the two.
Now that we are using Hamstring instead of Heroic Strike, we accomplish several important things that Heroic Strike was previously depriving us of:
1. We deal two attacks per global instead of one, and thus gain double the chance to proc fiery weapon and/or weapon proc (such as Glacial Stone or Nightreaver)
2. We generate more rage from our auto-attack than the cost of Hamstring (provided you are using a 2-hander), making this rotation extremely efficient
While it is true that we may not get an enchant/weapon proc off of either attack, the likelihood is high enough to justify using Hamstring over Heroic Strike, in every situation EXCEPT ONE:
If your target is extremely low (one hit away from death, slightly more health than a single auto-attack,) you can use Heroic Strike for the guaranteed 32 additional damage rather than gambling on a proc.
Against targets with high armor, typically when pressuring an EFC, getting 5 stacks of Sunder Armor is your second priority, after applying Hamstring - provided a Rogue will not use Expose Armor. After 5 stacks of Sunder Armor have been applied, spam Hamstring again. This should only be used against high armor targets, as the amount of time it takes to build 5 Sunders against a squishier target isn't justifiable over just doing standard damage to the target in the same window of time.
Optimal Hamstring:
TLDR; jump through your target and Hamstring them in the back to more reliably apply it. Generally speaking, always try to land it on the back of your target.
Hamstring, in most situations, is your most important ability as a Warrior. However, dodge, parry, block and miss can make landing Hamstring more difficult than it should be - especially against classes like Rogue that have Evasion.
While you can't prevent a miss at 19, you can prevent the other 3 mechanisms by landing Hamstring on your target while their back is to you - they only work if the target is facing you. This is very simple if you are chasing a target in front of you, but a little awkward if the target is behind you.
Simply jump through your target and RMB quick-turn in the air so that as you jump through them, you will be facing their back. Spam Hamstring during this so it will go off as soon as possible. Against Rogue, make sure to turn your back to them early to avoid Gouge as well.
Quick Hamstring:
TLDR; apply Hamstring and immediately move away to avoid a counter-attack.
Playing off of the Optimal Hamstring, the Quick Hamstring is essentially barely getting into melee range, hamstringing the target, and then immediately running or jumping in the opposite direction you come from to give your target the least possible amount of time to respond.
This can work very well against other warriors or hunters that aren't fast enough to counter-slow you. Against casters such as Mage and Priest with Frost Nova and Psychic Scream respectively, depending on how skilled the player is (or isn't) you can even sneak out of range of these abilities before they react. Against good casters this will never work, so don't bet on it too hard.
Keep in mind this is more tricky against Tauren due to their Leeway passive, which grants them a significantly larger hurtbox and hitbox due to their larger size.
Micro-Pathing
TLDR; navigate terrain optimally to close distance and get off unexpected melee attacks/Charges. Aim for taking less steps than your opponent to get to the same destination.
Not Warrior-specific, but absolutely crucial. You can gain an incredible amount of ground just by patching as efficiently as possible. I can't even begin to tell you how many targets I've caught up with just because I pathed better than they did, even ones who were substantially farther ahead than me.
Micro-pathing extends beyond gaining distance too. A classic example of this is dead-zoning, which is where you can run between a hunter's minimum ranged zone and maximum melee zone to be totally immune to their damage as long as your relative position to them is maintained. This applies to warriors as well, dancing between their maximum melee range and minimum charge range. Harder against Tauren, of course - due to Leeway.
A very obvious example of Micro-Pathing can be described as you and your target running from point A to point B. Your target meanders and takes more steps, while you run in a perfectly straight line. Because you took less steps to get from point A to point B, you WILL close distance on your target.
LoS Combat Drop
TLDR; when applicable, use LoS to drop combat so you can get Charge off.
If you're being kited/peeled by a range class and are out of range, use LoS to drop combat. Even if your target gets further away from you while you are LoSing, it's better to give up 15 yards in a pursuit if it means getting a charge off, compared to continuing to chase the target 2 yards out of range.
You can even weave between multiple LoS points to LoS multiple casters at once. As one peeks to hit you, the other will be LoS'd. As the second one peeks to hit you there, return to your original position to LoS the first. This is tricky, but possible. If I've done it, you can!
Charge Swapping:
TLDR; if two Warriors charge at the same time, both charges will go off and you will swap positions. This is useful for maintaining distance from another Warrior.
If two Warriors charge each other at the same time, they will swap positions completely. This is very useful if you are in a bad position to get slowed and want to avoid hamstring at all costs. Most warriors are spamming charge to connect to you ASAP, so you can abuse that habit with this trick. Credit to Skary for showing me the power of this trick in our games.
Charge Batching:
TLDR; Charge will still go off at the same time as an enemy's attack due to Batching, a 'buffer window' in which two attacks successfully go off before the game calculates which one takes precedent over the other.
Batching is why Charge Swapping works - it basically is a buffer window in which two abilities can successfully go off at the same time. This is great news for Warriors, because even if a ranged spell hits you - you can still Charge if cast at the same time.
Flag Room Charge on EFC
TLDR; get ahead of EFC, hide in LoS and then Charge them right before they cap for a super cool repick and game-saving play.
One of my favorite tricks on Warrior, and one of the most simple. This trick alone has saved me from losing a lot of games.
If you are ahead of the EFC and you know they are running to cap, hide in LoS. When they are close, peek out and Charge. During the stun, you can repick flag.
Hiding in LoS denies your EFC any information on your position, and also prevents them from say, rooting you, if it's a Druid EFC. Most players won't react to the Charge in time and aren't likely to have trinket up anyway if they've been kiting.
Sometimes, the simple stuff works the best. Just be mindful if the EFC has a hunter with them and can relay your position to them, or if your opponent has played against you a lot and is keen to your trickery. Mix up where you wait in LoS to be less predictable.
However, they can sometimes resist the Charge stun, which as you can imagine, is absolutely infuriating.
Instant Conc Shot Cancel:
TLDR; do a running jump right before Conc Shot hits you, trinket in mid-air and then continue running to perfectly avoid the slow. On Gnome, Escape Artist during the Conc Shot animation so that it goes off right when you get hit.
You can do this with trinket on any race, and additionally with Escape Artist as Gnome. Execution of this technique varies by ability, and you'll need to get used to the timing against different classes.
1. Look for the purple animation of conc shot from a hunter. The ability won't hit you until it touches your character, so you have a brief window to react while it's traveling.
2. Jump right before it hits you. While you are jumping through the air, the game will store your speed from when you were last on the ground. This means while you are in the air, you will not be affected by a slow that hit you in the air until you land.
3. Trinket before hitting the ground.
If done correctly, you can completely nullify the effect of conc shot.
Instant Living Roots Cancel:
TLDR; same logic as Conc Shot cancel, time your slow breaks for right when the cast goes off to negate any downtime.
Works with trinket or Escape Artist if you're a gnome.
With trinket this is simple - just trinket at the same instant a druid casts roots on you.
With Escape Artist, time your Escape Artist so that you cast it with just under .5 seconds left on the druid's roots cast. If done perfectly, the animation for the roots won't even appear because of how quickly it was removed. If you mess up and Escape Artist before the roots, just cast it again. You can spam Escape Artist without penalty, as it will only go on CD if it removes a harmful effect.
Instant Nova Cancel:
TLDR; same logic as Conc Shot/Living Roots cancel, time your slow breaks for right when the cast goes off to negate any downtime.
Same concept as the Living Roots cancel, but this is more of a mind game than anything. Most mages will habitually try to Frost Nova melee that connect to them. Abuse this reflect by instantly casting Escape Artist right after charging.
WARNING: Do NOT auto-attack the mage before casting Escape Artist. If their Frost Shield debuff is applied and you cast Escape Artist in preparation for Frost Nova, Escape Artist will go on CD from clearing Frost Shield and you will eat a full nova.
Gouge Dodging:
TLDR; Jump and RMB (right mouse button) quick turn to travel through the air with your back to them, then land and continue running in your original direction. This will protect you from Gouge while moving as Rogue can't Gouge your back.
Not a warrior-specific trick, but useful nonetheless. When the rogue is running at you, jump and use RMB to flick your character 180 degrees so your back is to the rogue. Because you jumped, you will still be moving forward - but facing backwards. The rogue cannot gouge you with your back facing him. When you land, use RMB to move forward again. Throw in a hamstring while jumping through the rogue for good measure.
Sap Immunity:
TLDR; Blood Rage makes you immune to Sap because it puts you in combat for the duration.
A unique characteristic and perceived weakness of Blood Rage is that it puts you in combat for the full 10 second duration. However, remember that in order for a rogue to sap a target, they must be out of combat. If you suspect a rogue is trying to sap you, pop this ability and you cannot be sapped. I have caught a lot of rogues off guard with this.
Blood Rage Cancelaura:
TLDR; make a macro to cancel Blood Rage and then Charge so you don't have to wait for it to end or manually click the buff off. See macro below.
If you want to Charge but have Blood Rage active, you will be unable to since Blood Rage puts you in combat, but Charge requires you to be out of combat. To easily work around this, just make the following macro:
#showtooltip Charge
/cancelaura Blood Rage
/cast Charge
This way, any time you want to Charge, you will be able to regardless of whether or not Blood Rage is active. You will lose out on some of the rage over time, but will still benefit from the instant rage granted when you cast Blood Rage.
Leading:
TLDR; run ahead of your target to block their route forward. Be mindful of abilities like Gouge since you will be strafing/facing your target usually.
Leading is a positional concept not unique to Warriors, or WoW for that matter, but it is very useful nonetheless. The idea is that if you are pressuring someone in melee range, there are times where it is better to be in front of them. This allows you to deal damage and make it harder for the target to get away from you because you're blocking their path forward.
Just be cautious of a couple things. Remember that your attacks can be parried, dodged and blocked if a target is facing you. Also against classes like Rogue, they can gouge you. However that's not really a huge disadvantage because a Rogue can quick turn with RMB and gouge you even if you're behind them.
Disarm and Run:
TLDR; Disarm your target, remove Hamstring/Wing Clip slow with trinket/Escape Artist, reapply your slow and then run away. If it's a Warrior, use throwing weapon to keep them in combat so they can't Charge after.
Against Warriors and Hunters, you will trade slows in melee range, and it can seem very difficult to get away. But in reality, it's pretty easy:
Against Hunter: Apply Hamstring, then Blood Rage (if you're low on rage) and auto-attack in Defensive Stance. Disarm the Hunter, trinket/Escape Artist and run away - hopefully you won't get conc stunned.
Against Warrior: Apply Hamstring, then Blood Rage (if you're low on rage) and auto-attack in Defensive Stance. Disarm the Warrior, trinket/Escape Artist and run away.
- IF HE CHARGED YOU FIRST: Periodically use your throwing weapon after gaining some distance to keep him in combat.
- IF NEITHER OF YOU CHARGED: You can charge swap or use throwing weapon.
Note: If you are specced into Tactical Mastery, this process is much smoother because you won't need to build rage from Defensive Stance.
Optimal Shield Bash:
TLDR; equip your shield in advance of an anticipated cast, hold rage for the interrupt, and kick towards the beginning or middle of a cast, whichever is more reliable based on your target's juking patterns.
As much as we wish that Shield Bash was as fluid as it was in later expansions, it is far more clunky on on Classic. There are three big reasons it can feel awkward to use:
1. There is a GCD triggered when swapping to 1h/shield from 2h
2. Spell batching allows for a spell to be cast even if it was technically interrupted towards the end of the cast
3. Hitting a caster with an attack causes cast pushback with no visual indication, which can throw off your estimate on when they may try to juke your shield base
To reduce the risks of missing a Shield Bash as much as possible, consider the following:
1. Equip your shield in advance of a crucial cast. You will develop an understanding of when a caster wants to use a specific move just by playing the game and experiencing a lot of niche situations when it is best for X class to cast X. By knowing this information in advance, you can bypass the lagginess of the weapon swap GCD when it matters most.
2. Avoid Shield Bashing at the very end of a cast. This will remove the risk of a cast going off from batching.
3. Study juking patterns of your opponent(s). While many players juke cast, there are a few patterns and timings that many people use in a similar fashion. Very good players know that some people will be expecting these patterns and intentionally do something different - but most people don't think that far ahead.
- One frequent pattern I've noticed is that people will cast halfway, stutter-step then repeat this in hopes that their opponent will randomly kick too late. Sort of like this:
Cast 50% > Stutter-step > Cast 50% > Stutter Step > Cast 50% > Stutter Step > etc.
You can Shield Bash either right at the beginning of their next cast after a stutter-step, or hold your Shield Bash until they start casting longer than their previous casts - indicating that they have reached the threshold of how much time they can afford to waste before they MUST cast their spell. Remember, don't wait until the end of the cast because of batching - Shield Bash somewhere between 50-80% of the cast time.
As stated earlier, very good players are intimate with the mental back-and-forth of casting and kicking. The more you can 'feel' the rhythm of this mini-game and conclude how your opponent is going to attempt to throw you off, the more consistently you will land your interrupts.
4. Hitting the target might throw off the timing due to pushback, but for lack of a better phrase, you'll get used to it. People will usually still juke cast the same way regardless. Additionally, forcing them to endure pushback is still an advantage. This isn't as big of a factor as the others.
Frostbolt on EFC:
TLDR; Frostbolt can screw you over if you're trying to Hamstring the EFC. Tell your Mage to hold off so you can get Hamstring, which lasts longer and can't be dispelled.
This isn't a trick, but you should be aware of it. When you are on an EFC and he is affected by Frostbolt, you will NOT be able to apply Hamstring (provided that the Mage has specced into increased slow talent.) This is bad because Frostbolt slow is much shorter than Hamstring slow, and it can be cleansed. If you are slowed and Frostbolt expires or is cleansed, the EFC will get away without a Hamstring debuff, which is bad.
Communicate clearly to your mage that if you are in the front of the pack slowing the EFC that he should NOT cast Frostbolt on the EFC as long as you are in range to Hamstring.
The same is true for Wing Clip, but at least Wing Clip can't be cleansed.
No Rage Generation on Absorbs:
TLDR; absorbed attacks grant no rage. Don't spend a lot of rage into absorb shields.
It is very important to note that you WILL NOT generate rage from auto-attacks that are absorbed. There are several absorb abilities (shields) at 19, including Power Word: Shield, Sacrifice Voidwalker, and Arena Grandmaster. Dumping rage spenders into an absorb ability is extremely inefficient because you are exclusively spending rage with no return. Spend rage sparingly against absorbs as to not totally deplete your resources.
Actions while Disarmed:
TLDR; you can still do stuff while Disarmed, such as Disarm.
This one should be somewhat obvious. There are several actions you can take as a Warrior that do not require a weapon. Some are very apparent, such as Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout. However, you can also Disarm, and use any ability that requires a shield - as shields are NOT removed during Disarm. I haven't played around with this to the fullest extent, but those are some big ones.
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This list will probably grow over time, so keep an eye out for edits. Generally my aim is to help other Warriors improve. From my perspective, there is so much in a game that is very difficult to discover on your own, and increasing knowledge amongst more players leads to more competitive games and a more rapid progression of the meta.
Furthermore, if my fellow Warriors are reading and wish to contribute, please leave a comment and I can add it to my list.
Special thanks to: Skary, Powerlol, and Mvq for helping me find out some of this information.
Thanks for reading.
- Neebler
***Some things I will not be sharing as requested by other players, unless I am told otherwise by those players.***
There are also some counters for a few of these techniques that I'd prefer to hold off on sharing for now. While sharing knowledge is important, critical thinking and creativity should still be cultivated, so use your noggin and figure out how you can beat some of these with your class.
NOTE: I will be adding TLDRs to the beginning of each entry for people who don't care to understand the reasoning behind this information. However, I'd encourage anyone to read through all of it to gain a deeper understanding.
Let's get started.
Crusader is Bad
TLDR; use Fiery on your 2 hander weapon, and Lifestealing on your 1h. Crusader takes too long to proc and it isn't worth waiting.
This conversation has arisen several times since I've started playing the game. A lot of players, admittedly myself included at the start of Classic, have advocated for using Crusader as a primary weapon enchant.
It's important to distinguish here that when I say "primary weapon," I mean a weapon that you will generally have equipped. A "secondary weapon" is a less useful weapon that you'd apply a powerful enchant to, with the intention to use that weapon until the enchant procs, and then swap back to your primary weapon for optimal damage.
Before Classic, it seemed ideal to run Crusader on Smite's Might Hammer, a less-than-BiS weapon. Upon Crusader proccing, you would then swap to your primary 2h (Glacial Stone/Nightreaver) and reap the benefits of a 100 STR buff combined with the baked in damage proc on your weapon.
However, Crusader's proc rate is really bad. The amount of damage you would have otherwise done with fiery/lifestealing procs is better. Keep in mind that these procs also ignore armor, whereas the granted strength to your physical damage can still be watered down by armor. The healing is fairly minimal, and you'll get more consistent healing out of lifestealing.
If crusader had a more frequent proc, as in a considerably more frequent one, there would be a much stronger argument to run it. For now, it's simply too slow, making the instant, frequent, and consistent damage of fiery a far superior choice on your 2h, and the balanced damage/heal of lifesteal procs better on a 1h.
I suspect fishing for a crusader proc on a secondary weapon probably isn't even worth it, maybe in super extended fights where you have a lot of uptime, but I haven't tested this myself or read enough to confirm one way or the other.
Heroic Strike Sucks:
TLDR; spamming Hamstring does more damage than Heroic Strike and it's more rage efficient.
Surprisingly enough, the intended 'main damage ability' for Warrior at 19 is one of the worst abilities they have to deal damage. However, without testing this for yourself, this can seem like a confusing concept. Allow me to explain.
When Heroic Strike deals damage, it is not actually dealing damage as its own separate ability. It is modifying your next auto-attack to deal increased damage. There are three big issues with this:
1. It replaces your auto-attack
2. It DOES NOT generate rage
3. It costs 15 rage
At level 19, your highest rank of Heroic Strike adds 32 additional physical damage to your next auto-attack. Your fiery enchant, however, deals 40 non-physical damage. This means that one proc of fiery weapon does more damage than Heroic Strike, and it also costs 0 rage.
Because of the insane value of fiery procs, our priority shifts away from using Heroic Strike, and towards maximizing the amount of attacks hitting the target. We now look for a rage-spender that does NOT consume your auto-attack, and costs less than 15 rage. And what ability best accomplishes these goals?
Hamstring.
Hamstring costs 10 rage, and counts as its own ability independent from your auto-attack. While Rend also shares these attributes, Hamstring has the added benefit of slowing your target - making it the far superior option between the two.
Now that we are using Hamstring instead of Heroic Strike, we accomplish several important things that Heroic Strike was previously depriving us of:
1. We deal two attacks per global instead of one, and thus gain double the chance to proc fiery weapon and/or weapon proc (such as Glacial Stone or Nightreaver)
2. We generate more rage from our auto-attack than the cost of Hamstring (provided you are using a 2-hander), making this rotation extremely efficient
While it is true that we may not get an enchant/weapon proc off of either attack, the likelihood is high enough to justify using Hamstring over Heroic Strike, in every situation EXCEPT ONE:
If your target is extremely low (one hit away from death, slightly more health than a single auto-attack,) you can use Heroic Strike for the guaranteed 32 additional damage rather than gambling on a proc.
Against targets with high armor, typically when pressuring an EFC, getting 5 stacks of Sunder Armor is your second priority, after applying Hamstring - provided a Rogue will not use Expose Armor. After 5 stacks of Sunder Armor have been applied, spam Hamstring again. This should only be used against high armor targets, as the amount of time it takes to build 5 Sunders against a squishier target isn't justifiable over just doing standard damage to the target in the same window of time.
Optimal Hamstring:
TLDR; jump through your target and Hamstring them in the back to more reliably apply it. Generally speaking, always try to land it on the back of your target.
Hamstring, in most situations, is your most important ability as a Warrior. However, dodge, parry, block and miss can make landing Hamstring more difficult than it should be - especially against classes like Rogue that have Evasion.
While you can't prevent a miss at 19, you can prevent the other 3 mechanisms by landing Hamstring on your target while their back is to you - they only work if the target is facing you. This is very simple if you are chasing a target in front of you, but a little awkward if the target is behind you.
Simply jump through your target and RMB quick-turn in the air so that as you jump through them, you will be facing their back. Spam Hamstring during this so it will go off as soon as possible. Against Rogue, make sure to turn your back to them early to avoid Gouge as well.
Quick Hamstring:
TLDR; apply Hamstring and immediately move away to avoid a counter-attack.
Playing off of the Optimal Hamstring, the Quick Hamstring is essentially barely getting into melee range, hamstringing the target, and then immediately running or jumping in the opposite direction you come from to give your target the least possible amount of time to respond.
This can work very well against other warriors or hunters that aren't fast enough to counter-slow you. Against casters such as Mage and Priest with Frost Nova and Psychic Scream respectively, depending on how skilled the player is (or isn't) you can even sneak out of range of these abilities before they react. Against good casters this will never work, so don't bet on it too hard.
Keep in mind this is more tricky against Tauren due to their Leeway passive, which grants them a significantly larger hurtbox and hitbox due to their larger size.
Micro-Pathing
TLDR; navigate terrain optimally to close distance and get off unexpected melee attacks/Charges. Aim for taking less steps than your opponent to get to the same destination.
Not Warrior-specific, but absolutely crucial. You can gain an incredible amount of ground just by patching as efficiently as possible. I can't even begin to tell you how many targets I've caught up with just because I pathed better than they did, even ones who were substantially farther ahead than me.
Micro-pathing extends beyond gaining distance too. A classic example of this is dead-zoning, which is where you can run between a hunter's minimum ranged zone and maximum melee zone to be totally immune to their damage as long as your relative position to them is maintained. This applies to warriors as well, dancing between their maximum melee range and minimum charge range. Harder against Tauren, of course - due to Leeway.
A very obvious example of Micro-Pathing can be described as you and your target running from point A to point B. Your target meanders and takes more steps, while you run in a perfectly straight line. Because you took less steps to get from point A to point B, you WILL close distance on your target.
LoS Combat Drop
TLDR; when applicable, use LoS to drop combat so you can get Charge off.
If you're being kited/peeled by a range class and are out of range, use LoS to drop combat. Even if your target gets further away from you while you are LoSing, it's better to give up 15 yards in a pursuit if it means getting a charge off, compared to continuing to chase the target 2 yards out of range.
You can even weave between multiple LoS points to LoS multiple casters at once. As one peeks to hit you, the other will be LoS'd. As the second one peeks to hit you there, return to your original position to LoS the first. This is tricky, but possible. If I've done it, you can!
Charge Swapping:
TLDR; if two Warriors charge at the same time, both charges will go off and you will swap positions. This is useful for maintaining distance from another Warrior.
If two Warriors charge each other at the same time, they will swap positions completely. This is very useful if you are in a bad position to get slowed and want to avoid hamstring at all costs. Most warriors are spamming charge to connect to you ASAP, so you can abuse that habit with this trick. Credit to Skary for showing me the power of this trick in our games.
Charge Batching:
TLDR; Charge will still go off at the same time as an enemy's attack due to Batching, a 'buffer window' in which two attacks successfully go off before the game calculates which one takes precedent over the other.
Batching is why Charge Swapping works - it basically is a buffer window in which two abilities can successfully go off at the same time. This is great news for Warriors, because even if a ranged spell hits you - you can still Charge if cast at the same time.
Flag Room Charge on EFC
TLDR; get ahead of EFC, hide in LoS and then Charge them right before they cap for a super cool repick and game-saving play.
One of my favorite tricks on Warrior, and one of the most simple. This trick alone has saved me from losing a lot of games.
If you are ahead of the EFC and you know they are running to cap, hide in LoS. When they are close, peek out and Charge. During the stun, you can repick flag.
Hiding in LoS denies your EFC any information on your position, and also prevents them from say, rooting you, if it's a Druid EFC. Most players won't react to the Charge in time and aren't likely to have trinket up anyway if they've been kiting.
Sometimes, the simple stuff works the best. Just be mindful if the EFC has a hunter with them and can relay your position to them, or if your opponent has played against you a lot and is keen to your trickery. Mix up where you wait in LoS to be less predictable.
However, they can sometimes resist the Charge stun, which as you can imagine, is absolutely infuriating.
Instant Conc Shot Cancel:
TLDR; do a running jump right before Conc Shot hits you, trinket in mid-air and then continue running to perfectly avoid the slow. On Gnome, Escape Artist during the Conc Shot animation so that it goes off right when you get hit.
You can do this with trinket on any race, and additionally with Escape Artist as Gnome. Execution of this technique varies by ability, and you'll need to get used to the timing against different classes.
1. Look for the purple animation of conc shot from a hunter. The ability won't hit you until it touches your character, so you have a brief window to react while it's traveling.
2. Jump right before it hits you. While you are jumping through the air, the game will store your speed from when you were last on the ground. This means while you are in the air, you will not be affected by a slow that hit you in the air until you land.
3. Trinket before hitting the ground.
If done correctly, you can completely nullify the effect of conc shot.
Instant Living Roots Cancel:
TLDR; same logic as Conc Shot cancel, time your slow breaks for right when the cast goes off to negate any downtime.
Works with trinket or Escape Artist if you're a gnome.
With trinket this is simple - just trinket at the same instant a druid casts roots on you.
With Escape Artist, time your Escape Artist so that you cast it with just under .5 seconds left on the druid's roots cast. If done perfectly, the animation for the roots won't even appear because of how quickly it was removed. If you mess up and Escape Artist before the roots, just cast it again. You can spam Escape Artist without penalty, as it will only go on CD if it removes a harmful effect.
Instant Nova Cancel:
TLDR; same logic as Conc Shot/Living Roots cancel, time your slow breaks for right when the cast goes off to negate any downtime.
Same concept as the Living Roots cancel, but this is more of a mind game than anything. Most mages will habitually try to Frost Nova melee that connect to them. Abuse this reflect by instantly casting Escape Artist right after charging.
WARNING: Do NOT auto-attack the mage before casting Escape Artist. If their Frost Shield debuff is applied and you cast Escape Artist in preparation for Frost Nova, Escape Artist will go on CD from clearing Frost Shield and you will eat a full nova.
Gouge Dodging:
TLDR; Jump and RMB (right mouse button) quick turn to travel through the air with your back to them, then land and continue running in your original direction. This will protect you from Gouge while moving as Rogue can't Gouge your back.
Not a warrior-specific trick, but useful nonetheless. When the rogue is running at you, jump and use RMB to flick your character 180 degrees so your back is to the rogue. Because you jumped, you will still be moving forward - but facing backwards. The rogue cannot gouge you with your back facing him. When you land, use RMB to move forward again. Throw in a hamstring while jumping through the rogue for good measure.
Sap Immunity:
TLDR; Blood Rage makes you immune to Sap because it puts you in combat for the duration.
A unique characteristic and perceived weakness of Blood Rage is that it puts you in combat for the full 10 second duration. However, remember that in order for a rogue to sap a target, they must be out of combat. If you suspect a rogue is trying to sap you, pop this ability and you cannot be sapped. I have caught a lot of rogues off guard with this.
Blood Rage Cancelaura:
TLDR; make a macro to cancel Blood Rage and then Charge so you don't have to wait for it to end or manually click the buff off. See macro below.
If you want to Charge but have Blood Rage active, you will be unable to since Blood Rage puts you in combat, but Charge requires you to be out of combat. To easily work around this, just make the following macro:
#showtooltip Charge
/cancelaura Blood Rage
/cast Charge
This way, any time you want to Charge, you will be able to regardless of whether or not Blood Rage is active. You will lose out on some of the rage over time, but will still benefit from the instant rage granted when you cast Blood Rage.
Leading:
TLDR; run ahead of your target to block their route forward. Be mindful of abilities like Gouge since you will be strafing/facing your target usually.
Leading is a positional concept not unique to Warriors, or WoW for that matter, but it is very useful nonetheless. The idea is that if you are pressuring someone in melee range, there are times where it is better to be in front of them. This allows you to deal damage and make it harder for the target to get away from you because you're blocking their path forward.
Just be cautious of a couple things. Remember that your attacks can be parried, dodged and blocked if a target is facing you. Also against classes like Rogue, they can gouge you. However that's not really a huge disadvantage because a Rogue can quick turn with RMB and gouge you even if you're behind them.
Disarm and Run:
TLDR; Disarm your target, remove Hamstring/Wing Clip slow with trinket/Escape Artist, reapply your slow and then run away. If it's a Warrior, use throwing weapon to keep them in combat so they can't Charge after.
Against Warriors and Hunters, you will trade slows in melee range, and it can seem very difficult to get away. But in reality, it's pretty easy:
Against Hunter: Apply Hamstring, then Blood Rage (if you're low on rage) and auto-attack in Defensive Stance. Disarm the Hunter, trinket/Escape Artist and run away - hopefully you won't get conc stunned.
Against Warrior: Apply Hamstring, then Blood Rage (if you're low on rage) and auto-attack in Defensive Stance. Disarm the Warrior, trinket/Escape Artist and run away.
- IF HE CHARGED YOU FIRST: Periodically use your throwing weapon after gaining some distance to keep him in combat.
- IF NEITHER OF YOU CHARGED: You can charge swap or use throwing weapon.
Note: If you are specced into Tactical Mastery, this process is much smoother because you won't need to build rage from Defensive Stance.
Optimal Shield Bash:
TLDR; equip your shield in advance of an anticipated cast, hold rage for the interrupt, and kick towards the beginning or middle of a cast, whichever is more reliable based on your target's juking patterns.
As much as we wish that Shield Bash was as fluid as it was in later expansions, it is far more clunky on on Classic. There are three big reasons it can feel awkward to use:
1. There is a GCD triggered when swapping to 1h/shield from 2h
2. Spell batching allows for a spell to be cast even if it was technically interrupted towards the end of the cast
3. Hitting a caster with an attack causes cast pushback with no visual indication, which can throw off your estimate on when they may try to juke your shield base
To reduce the risks of missing a Shield Bash as much as possible, consider the following:
1. Equip your shield in advance of a crucial cast. You will develop an understanding of when a caster wants to use a specific move just by playing the game and experiencing a lot of niche situations when it is best for X class to cast X. By knowing this information in advance, you can bypass the lagginess of the weapon swap GCD when it matters most.
2. Avoid Shield Bashing at the very end of a cast. This will remove the risk of a cast going off from batching.
3. Study juking patterns of your opponent(s). While many players juke cast, there are a few patterns and timings that many people use in a similar fashion. Very good players know that some people will be expecting these patterns and intentionally do something different - but most people don't think that far ahead.
- One frequent pattern I've noticed is that people will cast halfway, stutter-step then repeat this in hopes that their opponent will randomly kick too late. Sort of like this:
Cast 50% > Stutter-step > Cast 50% > Stutter Step > Cast 50% > Stutter Step > etc.
You can Shield Bash either right at the beginning of their next cast after a stutter-step, or hold your Shield Bash until they start casting longer than their previous casts - indicating that they have reached the threshold of how much time they can afford to waste before they MUST cast their spell. Remember, don't wait until the end of the cast because of batching - Shield Bash somewhere between 50-80% of the cast time.
As stated earlier, very good players are intimate with the mental back-and-forth of casting and kicking. The more you can 'feel' the rhythm of this mini-game and conclude how your opponent is going to attempt to throw you off, the more consistently you will land your interrupts.
4. Hitting the target might throw off the timing due to pushback, but for lack of a better phrase, you'll get used to it. People will usually still juke cast the same way regardless. Additionally, forcing them to endure pushback is still an advantage. This isn't as big of a factor as the others.
Frostbolt on EFC:
TLDR; Frostbolt can screw you over if you're trying to Hamstring the EFC. Tell your Mage to hold off so you can get Hamstring, which lasts longer and can't be dispelled.
This isn't a trick, but you should be aware of it. When you are on an EFC and he is affected by Frostbolt, you will NOT be able to apply Hamstring (provided that the Mage has specced into increased slow talent.) This is bad because Frostbolt slow is much shorter than Hamstring slow, and it can be cleansed. If you are slowed and Frostbolt expires or is cleansed, the EFC will get away without a Hamstring debuff, which is bad.
Communicate clearly to your mage that if you are in the front of the pack slowing the EFC that he should NOT cast Frostbolt on the EFC as long as you are in range to Hamstring.
The same is true for Wing Clip, but at least Wing Clip can't be cleansed.
No Rage Generation on Absorbs:
TLDR; absorbed attacks grant no rage. Don't spend a lot of rage into absorb shields.
It is very important to note that you WILL NOT generate rage from auto-attacks that are absorbed. There are several absorb abilities (shields) at 19, including Power Word: Shield, Sacrifice Voidwalker, and Arena Grandmaster. Dumping rage spenders into an absorb ability is extremely inefficient because you are exclusively spending rage with no return. Spend rage sparingly against absorbs as to not totally deplete your resources.
Actions while Disarmed:
TLDR; you can still do stuff while Disarmed, such as Disarm.
This one should be somewhat obvious. There are several actions you can take as a Warrior that do not require a weapon. Some are very apparent, such as Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout. However, you can also Disarm, and use any ability that requires a shield - as shields are NOT removed during Disarm. I haven't played around with this to the fullest extent, but those are some big ones.
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This list will probably grow over time, so keep an eye out for edits. Generally my aim is to help other Warriors improve. From my perspective, there is so much in a game that is very difficult to discover on your own, and increasing knowledge amongst more players leads to more competitive games and a more rapid progression of the meta.
Furthermore, if my fellow Warriors are reading and wish to contribute, please leave a comment and I can add it to my list.
Special thanks to: Skary, Powerlol, and Mvq for helping me find out some of this information.
Thanks for reading.
- Neebler
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