Classes

LEVELING GUIDE

WoW Forever Protection Warrior Leveling Guide

Protection fights with a one-hander and shield, using to proc . Sword-and-board has always been short on rage, but the early talents , and ease that a lot, and by 20 you have most of a real tanking toolkit. You scale strongly with gear, especially weapons, so running dungeons early for quest rewards makes the climb much more pleasant.

Recommended talents

Level 20 · Protection0/0/11

Recommended professions

  • Mining
    Gathers the ore Blacksmithing needs as you quest, and unlocks , the melee attack power camp object.
  • Blacksmithing
    All of Protection's level 20 crafted targets (helm, belt, boots, gloves) are Blacksmithing mail, and you can also craft Guard's mail with Defense and one-handers as you level.

ROUTELevel-by-level route

  1. 5

    Levels 1–5

    Getting started

    • Pick up Mining and Blacksmithing right away and craft armor and a one-hander from your ore. Buy a shield from a vendor.
    • Cast before each pull and keep it up the whole fight.
    • Go easy on : it costs rage and the swing it replaces generates none, so rage runs dry fast at low levels.
    • From level 4, open with and apply .

    Gear to pick up

    New abilities

  2. 9

    Levels 6–9

    Thunder Clap and gear

    • , learned at 6, slows attack speed by 20%. Keep it on every pull to take much less damage.
    • Protection also scales strongly with gear, especially weapons, so keep your weapon and armor current.

    Gear to pick up

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (8)

  3. 12

    Levels 10–12

    Defensive Stance and Shield Specialization

    • Put every point from 10 to 14 into : more blocks, and blocks generate rage, which fixes much of your rage shortage.
    • At 10 you learn , and . works in , which makes tanking dungeons far easier.
    • generates very little threat, so tabbing it across a pack won't hold aggro; outside of bosses, prioritize your other abilities.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 10–123/5

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (10) · (12)

  4. 16

    Levels 13–16

    Revenge and Shield Block

    • at 14 and at 16 are your core. With , is rage-neutral when both charges are used, it's your most reliable proc, and it cuts incoming damage a lot — use it freely.
    • Put your level 15–17 points into to lower the rage cost of .
    • at 14 generates no extra threat, so only use it to apply the debuff.
    • Dungeon mobs give little XP; the XP is in the dungeon quests. Grab every quest before going in, and share them to get invited more easily.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 13–145/5
    • Lv 15–162/3

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (16)

    Dungeons for this range

  5. 19

    Levels 17–19

    Tanking dungeons

    • Put your level 18–19 points into for more rage from . Use right after when you open a fight.
    • doesn't work in , so set up a macro that swaps to to charge.
    • Protection warriors bring no thorns-style damage, so a druid or paladin in the group makes dungeons much easier.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 173/3
    • Lv 18–192/2

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (18)

    Dungeons for this range

  6. 20

    Level 20

    Level 20: finishing gear

    • Your last point goes into . is your strongest single-target attack, so +20% damage for one point is a big gain.
    • Don't forget : it hits very hard when several enemies surround you, and swapping to a two-hander for its duration makes it much stronger. Use whenever it is up, too.
    • Collect from a Blackfathom Deeps quest, from a Shadowfang Keep quest and from a Ruins of Lordaeron quest.
    • Craft with Blacksmithing.
    • The class-quest chest has no level requirement and adds a lot of stamina at 20, but you will need help to finish the chain.

    Gear to pick up

    Talents

    • Lv 201/3
    Open this build in the calculator →

    New abilities

    Rank upgrades

    (20)

ROTATIONHow to fight

  1. 1If you are the only warrior in the group, keep up.
  2. 2Open with .
  3. 3Use for rage.
  4. 4Use , then as soon as it lights up.
  5. 5Keep up; on packs, use it before .
  6. 6Apply the debuff.
  7. 7In groups, use and keep 5 stacks on bosses.
  8. 8Use if your threat is already high.
  9. 9Use with spare rage — on bosses, only after 5 stacks of .
  10. 10When surrounded, use ; swapping to a two-hander during it greatly increases its damage.

GEARLevel-20 target gear

Dungeon drops, quest rewards and crafted items worth chasing at level 20 for this spec, by slot, best stats for the spec first.

Head

Neck

Shoulder

Back

Chest

Wrist

Hands

Waist

Legs

Feet

Finger

Main Hand

Off Hand

  • BestQuest
    Duskwood quest “Bride of the Embalmer”

Ranged

CLASS QUESTSClass quests

  • Class chest quest (“Brutal Armor” / “Fire Hardened Mail”)

    Starts at 20 from the warrior trainer in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. It sends you through slightly higher zones and the first part of Razorfen Kraul, so it is meant for about level 28. The reward has no level requirement and gives a big stamina boost at 20, so a geared group of 20s can take it on.
    • Class quest
      “Brutal Armor” (Horde)
    • Class quest
      “Fire Hardened Mail” (Alliance)

CAMPINGCamping

  • No camp object gives a warrior-exclusive buff, so you can pick any professions without worrying about camp value.
  • Tailoring and Enchanting camps give Spirit and mana regen, which do almost nothing for a warrior.