Races:

Alliance:

• Gnomes: My personal suggestion, if I play an Alliance warrior, is Gnome. Warriors spend the most time snared/slowed/immobilised of any class, so being able to remove these effects is just brilliant.
• Human: PvE Trinkets! If you’re a PvE’er or you have access to the good PvE trinkets, it might really be worth looking at Human. Failing that, you can use double PvP trinkets. The free Expertise for swords/maces isn’t bad either but make sure you take the Glad’s. Sword or Mace, otherwise it will be wasted.
• Worgen: Honestly, I’ve never played a Worgen warrior so I can’t say much. They look cool. The sprint looks like it could have some uses, but if you someone speaking from personal experience, go ask Seb <Hydramist>.
• Night Elf : Night Elves make great tanks; as PvP warriors they’re nothing really special. The 1% miss is really, really annoying and you will notice it when attacking Night Elves. Shadow Meld again has its uses I’m sure but I’d rather be a Gnome.
• Dwarf: The new Stoneform aka mini-Shield Wall is awesome; it’s really nice and I can see it having a lot of good uses. However I can’t see it being better than the racials of Human or Gnome.

Horde:

• Orc: The classic Warrior. Axe Spec is nice and Blood Rage isn’t bad. Make sure you macro it into your burst macros if you’re rolling as an Orc.
• Undead: They look really cool, but I can’t see Will of the Forsaken being that amazing; removing fear effects is great but we can do that a lot of the time anyway.
• Tauren: War Stomp is nice. It’s a stun, a free smack on a rogue and a free interrupt. It takes some getting used to and you have to remember to use it. Also, some free HP is nice.
• Troll: Reduced slow time is cool, it’s great for warriors. I’ve never tried a Troll Warrior myself because you look ugly as hell. Berserking is also a nice bit of Haste which scales with lower HP. However, I would say that if you’re low on HP, you don’t want to be using offensive CDs and attacking, so this element is slightly underwhelming for PvP.
• Blood Elf: Personal choice, Arcane resist? POLYMORPH! And AoE silence is brilliant! It’s a good way to lock down heals, or if you miss with your interrupt, don’t forget to use it and you’re set to go. I personally love it for those Mages that Nova, step one foot to the left then try to bolt you or Poly.

Professions

So you have hit the final ding, grats on 85! What now? Well the first thing you want to do (if you haven’t already) is get to the Crucible of Carnage in Twilight Highlands and get yourself an Oversized Oblique Ogre Obliterator. Not the most amazing weapon, but it will do. After that look for the Bloodied Pyrium set; this is the crafted blue PvP plate set. You can buy it off the AH or else collect the mats and craft it yourself. Again, it’s not gonna knock your socks off, but you have just dinged so what do you expect. With this in hand, hit the BGs; I’ll see you in 2 weeks when you’re done with the honour farm. Hit Tol Barad whenever it’s up, and make sure to get your Conquest points cap every week. The one thing to note while farming Honour gear is to always get the gloves first; reduced cost on Hamstring is godly! Get it as soon as you can and you will notice the difference. Below are links to what you should be looking at getting for each part of the gearing up process:

Pre-BGs- Just after you ding, make sure you do Twilight Highlands and get the best greens you can:
http://chardev.org/?profile=92497
BGs- Finished the honour grind and done a couple of weeks of arena for the weapon:
http://chardev.org/?profile=92504

Stats, Gems, and Enchants

As you’re gearing up, you’re gonna want to make some changes with Reforging. The stat you are going to want to reforge to is Hit. Before anything else you want to make sure you have the 5% Hit you need for a PvP target. Nothing sucks more than missing in PvP, so make sure you don’t.

Gemming; Resilience is king. When you first start out and even later on you always want to be trying to max your resilience. The 3 major gems you want to look at using are: Resplendent Ember Topaz, (red) Mystic Amberjewel (yellow) and Steady Dream Emerald (blue). These 3 gem types are going to maximise your Resilience, which is going to help keep you alive during PvP. The only time you would want to use a different gem is if you are lacking Hit, at which pointing a Etched Demoneye (blue) is the way to go.

Enchanting is quite simple. For weapons, use Hurricane and then Landslide if you’re rich. Boots; Stam/speed or Mastery/speed. If you’re unsure check the armoury or the Chardev profiles above.

Specs

http://www.wowhead.com/talent#LG0fsRrRurkhbzo
34/7/0 with Improved Slam is a really nice arena build, but make sure you remember to actually use Slam. It will help you dish out the damage and maximise you Reck.

http://www.wowhead.com/talent#LGofcRbRurkhb0oZh
32/6/3 is an older build without Improved Slam but I have 1 point in Blitz which is a great talent. If you find yourself not getting enough use out of Slam, try swapping to this build. If you’re fresh to warrior and fancy something simple this is probably the better of the two.

Glyphs

Warrior glyphs are quite black and white; there are the ones you use and the ones you don’t.

Prime:

• Mortal Strike
• Bladestorm
• Overpower
• Slam

Major:

• Piercing Howl
• Long Charge
• Sweeping Strikes

Minor:

• Berserker Rage
• Commanding Shout/ Battle Shout (Use the one that you are using in arena; if you’re playing with a priest for example use the Glyph of Battle Shout as that’s the shout you’re going to be using)
• Demoralizing Shout

Setup

Add-ons:

Add-ons and UI are completely individual. What works for someone might not work for someone else. I’ll list the ones that I use myself, but for an extensive guide, check out syeren’s guide in the Guides section!

• Bartender
• Pitbull
• Quartz
• OmniCC
• Grid

Macros:

This isn’t a full list of every warrior macro out there because there are just far too many and quite frankly, I think some are useless. The major problem with the overuse of macros is having too many bloody binds; if you have Pummel on “1″ then you can use that single bind to hit anyone with Pummel. If you have a Focus Pummel Macro on “1″, then you lose this bind and have to use another bind if you ever want to pummel your target. So my personal suggestion would always be to learn to use Mouseover macros rather than Focus ones. You can set up a Mouseover macro so that it will cast on your main target unless you are mousing over someone, which frees up your binds. Alternatively, you can just learn to tab target really fast.

The following is a list of the macros I personally use, followed by some you might find useful:

Charge:
/startattack
/cast Charge

Rend:
/startattack
/cast Rend

Mortal  Strike:
/startattack
/cast Mortal Strike
Hamstring:
/startattack
/cast hamstring
Enraged Regen:
#showtooltip Enraged Regeneration
/cast Lifeblood
/cast Enraged Regeneration
Deadly Carm/Burst:
#showtooltip Deadly Calm
/cancelaura Inner rage
/use Bloodthirsty Gladiator's Badge of Victory
/cast Deadly Calm
/startattack
Intervene Healer: (I would recommend having this on a completely separate bind which you can smash in any stance for a quick Intervene. I would also recommend having a separate Intervene which is not macrod in any way.)
#showtooltip Intervene
/cast Defensive Stance
/cast [target=playername] Intervene
Shield Reflect: (For this to work you want to set up a gear set called “Shield”, which is your normal PvP set but with a 1H and Shield. Also make sure you have your 2H on a bind so you can quickly swap back.)
#showtooltip Spell Reflection
/stopcasting
/cast [stance:3] Battle Stance
/equipset Shield
/cast Spell Reflection
Shield Wall: (For this to work you want to set up a gear set called “Shield”, which is your normal PvP set but with a 1H and Shield. Also make sure you have your 2H on a bind so you can quickly swap back.)
#showtooltip shield wall
/cast shield block
/cast shield wall
/stopattack
/equipset Shield
/cast [nostance:2] defensive stance
Bladestorm Cancel:
/cancelaura bladestorm
Pummel: (The reason to have the “/stopcasting” in the macro is that if you are not using a spec with Improved Slam, and you want to interrupt, you can without having to wait for your Slam cast to finish)
#showtooltip pummel
/stopcasting
/startattack
/cancelaura bladestorm
/cast pummel


That’s the end of the list of macros that I personally use; here are some ones I could recommend you to try and see if you like them:

Pummel, mouseover: (As I mentioned above this is a macro that will Pummel your main target unless you have a target on mouseover; then it will pummel that target)
#showtooltip Pummel
/stopcasting
/startattack
/cancelaura bladestorm
/cast [target=mouseover,harm] Pummel; [harm] Pummel; Pummel
Cancel Recklessness:
/cancelaura Recklessness
Shield Reflect: (This is exactly the same as the one I use except that it also cancels your Reck if you have it up. I prefer not to use it as I use Reflect when I’m being aggressive such as reflecting a cyclone that it meant to stop my damage and at times like that, I don’t want to lose my Reck. However this macro is perfect for a novice and would be my suggestion as it’s safer)
#showtooltip Spell Reflection
/stopcasting
/cast [stance:3] Battle Stance
/equipset Shield
/cast Spell Reflection
/cancelaura Recklessness

Comps

So what to play as a Warrior? I’m only going to look at 3v3 because unfortunately 5v5 is dead.

• WLD Warr/Lock/Druid
• WLS Warr/Lock/Sham
• WMP Warr/Mage/Paladin
• KFC Warr/Hunter/Healer (scum comp)
• TSG Warr/DK/Paladin
• Cleave Warr/DK/Healer
• Cleave 2 Warr/Rogue/Healer
• Cleave 3 Warr/Feral/Healer
• Cleave 4 Warr/Ench/Healer

The Match

So you have geared up, got your spec, sorted your glyphs and you have got your teammates. What now? Well it’s time to get the most awesome achievement of them all: “Step into the Arena”.
SAY WHAT?!?!…
If  you’re doing arena, you need Voice communication and I don’t mean the in-game stuff. Ventrilo and Teamspeak are both great if you have them but my personal suggestion is to simply use Skype. It’s free to download and use and it’s really simple.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/home

What do I do?

Ok, Warrior in arena; what are you aiming to do? Well the primary role of a Warrior in arena is damage, obviously. As well as damage, you also have some pretty nifty debuffs to play with: Hamstring, Mortal Strike, Demo. Shout, Thunder Clap. It’s all good stuff. However, you want to bring the hurt, so number 1 priority – after staying alive – is to do damage. If you’re unsure of the best way to DPS as an Arms Warrior then head over to Elitist Jerks. Go to their warrior forums and read up on how to smack stuff really hard. That aside, you want to remember 3 main things: always have Rend up, always have Hamstring up and always use Colossal Smash if it’s up.

Targets…

When picking a target to go on, you have to think about two things. Number 1, how much damage are you going to do to them? If you’re focused on a mage, your damage on them isn’t going to be too great and you’re gonna be snared and slowed a lot, so you can’t really train them all that well. However you also have to consider what you are preventing if you do go on them. If you’re on the mage you’re going to prevent a lot of his casts; both damage and CC, which is very important and if you choose to ignore him then you are going to allow him to free cast. Some examples of good targets are:

• Shadow Priest: If you ignore him, he will put up Vamp. Touch and you won’t be able to dispel his DOTs.
• Mage: If you ignore him, he will CC and do massive damage.
• Lock: If you ignore him, he will spam DOTs and UA and fear a lot.
• Rogue: If you ignore him, he will stunlock and do damage.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer and it all depends on the setup you play. The best way to learn is to learn from your mistakes, leave someone and see what the consequences are. Don’t be afraid to evolve your tactics and target mid-fight either; if something is obviously not working, switch it up and try something new.

Training…

So you have your target set and you have gotten your Charge off; smack on the Hamstring, get the Rend up and whack on a Colossal Smash! What now? Well you train the target, run after them and watch the big numbers. However this is the most important time to not get “tunnel vision”. Laying into a target is great, it creates pressure and can force mistakes. However, it’s all too easy to fall back into grind mode and not be aware of what’s happening around you. Don’t! Look as much as you can, keep the Hamstrings rolling but always be looking around and talk. TALK, TALK, TALK! When you’re training a target, or just in general, always be talking. Look for CDs being used by your opponents, if the Druid uses Tree Form, yell it out! If someone uses their trinket, yell it out! If a Mage Ice Blocks, yell it out! If your dog starts licking his balls, yell it out!

Oh snap…

So you’re running around after the Lock and you notice that the Druid is stood in the middle of Nagrand Arena with no HOTs on himself and he has used his Tree Form. Talk to your team; tell them what you see and ask for a swap to the Druid. However, don’t go right that second; remember your team are only human so it’s gonna take a few seconds. Let them move a bit, maybe get some casts going and as you see the first frost bolts in the air or see the DOTs landing on the Druid, CHARGE! As always whip up the Hamstring and Rend, then start laying into them. If you have your Deadly Calm and Reck up, pop ‘em and bring the pain!

Nova…CoC Nova…Pet Nova…

You got snared and slowed and rooted and Cycloned, and he got away. Chill. Look around for a new target and go smack ‘em. If you’re stuck in a Nova and all you can hit is a Warlock pet, do it! Damage on a pet is better than no damage. Look for your previous target before the swap and get back onto them as before; again work for maximum damage and force that Druid back out into the open.

You’re getting tunneled..

So they have swapped to you, your healer is in a Deep Freeze and the frost bolts are coming your way, swap into Defensive and get Demo. Shout up, get a TC up as well and look at the mage’s cast. Wait for the frost bolt to almost be done and hit the shield reflect! Look at where your healer is, talk to them let them know where you are going and look to LOS any incoming damage from the ranged. Disarm a melee if you can and use your abilities to get the hell out of the there and back to safety. If your dipping really low pop Shield Wall and Enraged Regen, if you have a Health Stone now is the time to use it. Always remember to look for your healer and see where he is.

Finish him!!!11one…

So the Druid’s back and this time you have your Trinket off CD, so when he roots you, trinket it and keep laying into him. The Druid is dropping fast; he’s down to 10% but his warrior has come to peel and he’s going to Charge stun you and the Druid’s going to get away…or you pop your Bladestorm, you’re immune to all his crap and your spinning around killing the druid. The druid is on 4%; keep spinning! It’s always tempting to cancel the Storm and go for the Execute, but the glory days when Execute actually executed people are over. Keep spinning and trust that the Bladestorm will finish him.

He’s down!..

Yell it out! Let your team know the target is dead and that the match is almost yours! If you’re low, turtle; pop your Shield Wall! Don’t skimp on a CD now and lose it in the last minutes. Look for a new target, get healed up if you’re low and go again and finish them off! GG.

General Tips

• Keybinds: Seriously, bind your keys and don’t keyboard turn. Great guide here:  http://www.pvptutorial.com/uitutorial/keybinding
• Marks: Raid marks make a world of difference. Before you go into an arena, change the party to a raid and put a raid mark on each player so you can see them more easily and see them through pillars. It’s important that you know where your enemy is, but it’s just as important to know where your friends are. When you get focused, it’s important that you move the right way and don’t run from your heals.
• Stances: Warriors don’t really swap stances that much these days unless you’re getting focused, but when setting up your stance bars it’s important to remember that even if you’re in Defensive Stance, you will want to be able to hit back. With this in mind, make sure that your bars are set up so that you can still use Mortal Strike, Piecing Howl, Heroic Strike, Rend and Pummel (or Shield Bash) while in Defensive Stance.
• Intervene: Intervene is great way to move around the map. If you’re getting focused and need to get back, Intervene your healer or a party member. It’s also a great way to get back into the action. Hunter/Warlock pets are generally going to be on the same target as you, so if you get slowed or stuck and need to get back on the target but you don’t have charge up you can Intervene the pet and get right back in there.
• Pummel: Your target needs to be in front of you, there is no point in smashing  your focus Pummel macro when your focus target is behind you.
• Recklessness: Always remember that when you have Reck. up, you’re going to be taking 20% more damage so if you get caught in a 6 second Kidney and a Mage is casting on you, it might be worth clicking it off. Simply look for the buff on your bars and right click it off, or else use the macro shown earlier in the guide.
• Intimidating Shout: Warrior fear is in two parts. The first is the target which is hit by a fear where they don’t move and it instantly breaks on damage; the second is the AoE portion, which is a standard fear. When using your fear remember this; if you don’t want your fear to break instantly try hitting your target with the AoE part of the fear rather than the targeted part. The easiest way to do this is to swap target and fear another member of the enemy team and hit your primary target with the AoE section.
• Bladestorm: Bladestorm not only removes all slowing/impairing effects, but it will also make you immune to all of them, including Cyclones and Ring of Frost. If you drop your target low – around 10 or 5% – and you have a Bladestorm up, use it. It will make you immune to the tonne of crap coming your way; stuns/Nova/Scatter, the whole pile of shit is about to be dropped on your head!
• Disarm, Intervene and Charge: The important thing to note about these abilities is that they can only be used in a single stance, so the logic is to put them on your main bar which swaps with stances and save yourself some binds. Good idea! However if you do this then you’re not going to be able to see their CDs while in a different stance. To combat this you have 2 options. Either get a CD mod or simply place the abilities on your bars a second time. Myself I have them placed next to my mounts on my right hand bar, as this way I can quickly flick my eyes to the right and always check their CDs.

Research

The best way to learn is to play. However, if you’re burned out on BGs and Arena or if you’re eating your dinner watch some movies or streams. My personal suggestions are:

Hoodrych: (yeah they are TBC and Wrath but they’re still awesome!)
http://warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=158517
http://warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=141071
http://warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=162745

Ocelote:
http://warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=115257

Obviously a lot of the movies are old but I have to say I’m yet to see anything really good come out from warriors in Caty’ :(

Final Words

If you got this far, thanks for reading the guide and I hope it has proved useful to you. Enjoy your Warrior and remember not too rage to hard. Hardware is expensive and throwing your mouse across the room won’t remove that Nova.