Protection Warrior leveling guide
Sturdy and steady. Pick this if you want to tank every dungeon as you level. How the Protection talents play from level 10 to 60.
On this page7 sections
At a glanceOur pickOpinion, not confirmed by BlizzardOur reading of the Protection talent text, not a tested rotation.
- Build at level 60
- 0/15/36 (15 Fury, 36 Protection)
- 16-point milestone
- Vanguard, level 25
- Last Protection talent
- Shield Slam, level 40
- In a group
- Tanking
- Our first choice for leveling a Warrior
- Arms
How Protection plays
- Protection is played behind a shield, and the shield is where the Rage comes from: Shield Specialization gives 5 Rage on a Block, and Master of Defense the same on a Dodge or Parry.
- Improved Bloodrage adds 50% to the Rage that Bloodrage generates.
- Revenge is the early damage button, with Improved Revenge adding 60% to it.
- Vanguard, the milestone, lets you Charge while in Defensive Stance.
- Bastion then adds 10% to all the damage you deal while a shield is equipped, and Shield Slam, the last talent, hits harder the more Block Value you have.
What to press first
Most important first. Not a rotation.
- 1
Start pulls with Charge
Vanguard is the talent that allows it.
- 2
Use Bloodrage early in a fight
Improved Bloodrage raises all the Rage it generates by 50%.
- 3
Lean on Revenge
Improved Revenge adds 60% to its damage.
- 4
Use Shield Slam whenever it is ready
Shield Slam is instant, back every 6 sec, and causes a very high amount of threat.
- 5
Keep Concussion Blow for the enemy that worries you
Concussion Blow stuns the target for 5 sec, on a 45 sec cooldown.
- 6
Keep Last Stand for a pull that goes wrong
Last Stand grants 30% of your maximum health for 20 sec, on a 3 min cooldown.
Talents that change how you play · 8
From Shield Specialization at level 10 to Shield Slam at 40.
The level is when our build first takes the talent.
- Levels 10–14
Blocks start generating Rage. From here a shield is part of the build.
- Levels 20–22
Revenge starts to hit hard enough to be worth watching for.
- Level 23
An emergency button: 30% of your maximum health for 20 sec.
- Level 25
Vanguard16-point milestone
From here a pull can start with Charge.
- Levels 27–29
Your threat in Defensive Stance goes up by 15% with a shield on: holding enemies off a group gets easier.
- Level 30
A 5 sec stun.
- Levels 31–35
The first talent that raises everything you deal. Questing alone speeds up from here.
- Level 40
Shield Slam becomes the main strike, and it can dispel 1 magic effect from the target.
Gear to look for
What the talents reward on items.
- A shield, at every level: Shield Specialization, Master of Defense, Defiance and Bastion all need one.
- Armor from items, which Toughness raises by 10% at five points, and Block Value, which adds to Shield Slam.
- No Protection talent in the build names a weapon type, so any one-handed weapon does.
Groups and dungeons
In a group: tanking. New group talents before 5 dungeons.
In a group these talents support tanking.
- This is the tanking tree: Defiance adds 15% threat in Defensive Stance while a shield is equipped, and Shield Slam causes a very high amount of threat.
- Last Stand covers a bad moment, and Concussion Blow and Improved Shield Bash each take one enemy out of the fight for a few seconds.
- Improved Sunder Armor, taken after Shield Slam, makes Sunder Armor cheaper.
New group talents by the time each dungeon opens
Strengths and trade-offs
2 strengths, 2 trade-offs.
Strengths
- Rage from being attacked: a Block, a Dodge or a Parry each generates 5.
- Hard to kill: more armor from Toughness and Last Stand in reserve.
Trade-offs
- Slower kills when you quest alone, in our view. The damage talents are Improved Revenge and Bastion, and Bastion starts at level 31.
- Most of the build is switched off without a shield, so a two-handed weapon is not an option.
Compare this build
Keep reading
Sources and what isn't confirmed
Not announced
- Item names and stat weights
- A leveling talent order from Blizzard
Sources
- Beta 1.60.1 talent data: every claim on this page is read from the Protection talent text. Nothing here is a published guide or a tested rotation
Updated . Talent data: beta 1.60.1. Details can change in any later build or patch.