The Warrior: -Last Updated 5-14-2004

Available to: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Orc, Tauren, Undead, Troll. Best For: Dwarf, Orc, Tauren Primary Attribute: Strength, Stamina Secondary Attributes: Agility Tirtiary Attributes: Intelligence, Spirit Skills Require... Rage Allowable Armor: Cloth, Leather, Chain, Plate (With Training) Allowable Weapons: All axes, maces, swords, thrown, daggers Warriors are masters on physical combat, able to wield the largest weapons and wear the heaviest armor. With a variety of combat stances, Warriors are versatile fighters, able to equip themselves with equipment and manuevers that help them either deal, or absorb damage. While they will never be as lethal of rogue, and do not feature the defensive abilities of the Paladin, they cut cleaned across the middle, and serve as the front line of any party.

While in most RPGs, warriors are considered the easiest class to play, where all a player needs to do is click on the enemy and go out for coffee, World of Warcraft is very different. The warrior has a huge a varied range of combat abilites and moves, that make them just as exciting to play as most other classes. This, coupled with their battle stance,gives players the option to make tactical decisions that could seriosly affect the outcome of any battle.

Out of all classes, with perhaps the exception of the Paladin, the Warrior is the best at absorbing damage. He's role in a party is to protect the weakers members, taunting enemy mobs to focus their effors to kill him, allowing more fragile rogues and mages to deal insane amounts of damage from behind.

Ability Mechanics:

Like all other classes, the warrior purchases his abilities from a Warrior Trainer. As a player progresses, he gains the option of purchasing new abilities, as well as better versions of his current ones. Each ability is intended to be useful throughout the warriors career, and it would be foolish to purchase only a selection of the skills.

Rage Machanics

Central to the warrior is the concept of rage. Unlike conventional classes, warriors do not use mana to cast their 'spells', instead, they channel their anger. This concept of anger is represented numerically by rage.

Unlike mana, rage is initially zero by default. A warrior then gains rage when he deals or recieves damage (depending on the stance chosen). Therefore, unlike a mage, a warrior is capable of fighting at full effectiveness regardless of how long a battle lasts. It's this edurance that makes him a great tank.

When out of battle, rage slowly decays to zero. Though a few special skills may allow the warrior to begin battle with a small amount of rage.

The maximum rage a warrior may have is 100, regardless of his level, attributs, or items.

Battle Stances and Rage:

What makes warriors unique in World of Warcraft are battle stances. When engaged in combat, a player chooses a stance. The stance will determine what skills is available to the player, and will have a drastic effect on the play style of the Warrior. For instance, rage is obtained differently depending on stance. If a Warrior switches from one Battle stance to another, he loses all the Rage points he has gain so far. Thus, it is logical to stay in one stance for each Battle.

	Defensive Stance: Rage Gained When: Recieving Damage As the name suggests, defensive stance turns the warrior into a more cautious position. In this stance, he gains bonuses to his armor and takes reduced damage from enemy attacks. However, rage is only gained when damage is dealt to the player. This stance is the most ideal in parties, where the Warrior takes on the role of protect and tank. While the mobs hack away at his fortified form, rogues can backstab the preoccupied opponents, and mages can slaw them with deadly AOE spells.
	Battle Stance: Rage Gained When: Dealing and Taking Damage Battle Stance is a balance of offense and defense, and the most general purpose and versatile of the warrior stances. It provides a mixture of offensive and defensive capabilities that are essentual for fighting battles alone.
	Beserker Stance: Rage Gained When: Dealing Damage The exact opposite to defensive stance, adopting an battle stance increases the damage a player deals the enemy at the cost of not gaining rage when taking hits. This stance is best used when you wish to hack away and kill enemies in the shortest amount of time, ideal for soloing weaker creatures or when partied with several other tanks.

Ability Types
The Warrior has several schools of magic, with effects far ranged and varied. However, their spells basically boil down to the following types:

Instant Abilities:
No casting time, but are restricted by a cooldown timer. They are great in mid combat as there's no chance they will be disrupted. In addition, you can cast them immediately between two attacks! Their drawback is that you have to wait a while to use them again. Note that, different instant spells have separate cooldown timers, so you can cast two different instant spells one after the other for brutal damage. Eg: Thunderclap

Next Attack Abilities:
These spells do not have a specified casting time, and are instead cast when the next attack is struck, usually to enhance the attack in some fashion. Such spells act like ordinary attacks, and thus cannot be dirupted in melee combat. However, unlike instants, they can't be used between attacks. Often, Next Attack spells will also feature a cooldown timer, to prevent them being used on every attack. The effects these spell cause are in addition to the damage that the weapon does, and if a player misses, then the Spell is wasted. Eg: Strike

Unlike the rogue, most of the warriors abilities are not instant, and thus they lack the rogue's brutal damage capacity.

Battle Stance Abilities:
Battle Stance featues abilities that span from offense to defense, offering a wide range of moves. A warrior in this stance is well rounded, and the stance itself works well with almost all weapons.

	Strike: -Next Attack Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon The most basic offensive ability, strike adds a significance damage boost to the next attack. This is a cheap, good general purpose attack that remains useful for the warrior's career. The skill is best used with a moderately fast weapon, such as 1 handed swords. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage 1 1 0 15 1.0s 10 0.67 2 12 10 15 1.0s 20 1.33 3 22 40 15 1.0s 30 2.00 4 32 1 15 1.0s 45 3.00
	Charge: -Instant Skill Type: Savage Combat Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Closes in on the enemy at incredible speed, and generating rage in the process. Charge costs nothing, and is the best way to engage in solo combat. Just avoid charging into a group of mobs! At higher levels, it can also stun the opponent, and is deadly against mages used to having that range advantage. Charge cannot be cast within combat, or when too close to the enemy. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Range Cooldown Rage Bonus Stuns For 1 4 80 0 15 15s 15 0.0s 2 14 13 0 15 1.0s 15s 15 4.0s
	Pummel: -Instant Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon The basic skill against casters while in Battle Stances, Pummel interrupts an enemy spell being cast 75% of the time for the next 5s. It also does a little damage, but that is largely insignificant. The strike is instant cast, so save it for the time when you see the enemy casting a particularly nasty spell. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage 1 6 2 10 10s 3 0.33 2 18 25 10 10s 8 0.80 3 36 1 50 10 10s 12 1.20
	Thunder Clap: -Instant Skill Type: Advanced Combat Target: All Nearby Enemies Requires: Nothing Thunderclap is a instant spell designed to help the warrior face overwhelming odds. Much like the spell of the same name in Warcraft 3, the Warrior stomps on the ground, dealing a small amount of damage and slowing the attack speed on nearby enemies. Use it right after charging into a camp of mobs, the spell will cause all of them to attack you, giving supporting casters a chance to deal their magic. Even better, the mobs have a reduced damage output. The spell is instant, and can thus be used at any time. Whenever you face more than 1 opponent, it's more rage efficient than strike, and is a must use. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Damage Damage/Rage Affects Attack Speed Reduction Duration 1 6 2 15 1.0s 7 0.47 4 Targets 10% 10s 2 16 18 15 1.0s 11 0.73 4 Targets 10% 10s 3 26 60 15 1.0s 17 1.13 4 Targets 10% 10s 4 36 60 15 1.0s 22 1.47 4 Targets 10% 10s
	Rend: -Next Attack Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Gashes the opponent, causing them to take damage from blood loss. A good skill to execute directly after a charge. It is much more mana efficient than strike, but the damage is dealt over attack. It's a good plan to make sure the enemy is permanently gashed. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Damage Damage/Rage Affects Attack Speed Reduction Duration 1 4 80 10 1.0s 18hp over 12s 1.80 2 16 18 10 1.0s 40hp over 12s 4.00 3 28 70 10 1.0s 80hp over 15s 8.00 4 40 2 10 1.0s 138hp over 18s 8.00
	Hamstring: -Next Attack Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon A shot designed to maim the enemy, Hamstring slows the enemy and deals a small amount of extra damage. It is best used on enemies who flee, such as Humonoids just before they reach 15% of their life. This allows you to take out fleeing enemies, before they call for help. The spell also works great when combined with a Warlock's fear. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage Slow Duration 1 8 3 50 10 1.0s 4 0.40 20s 2 22 40 10 1.0s 10 1.00 20s 3 38 1 70 10 1.0s 15 1.50 20s
	Punishing Blow: -Next Attack Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Your next attack causes additional damage and forces the target to attack you for the duration of the spell! Punishing blow must be used from behind. Punishing blow has a long cooldown time, and should only be used as a last ditch option in each battle, to save the supporting mage or healer from death. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage Duration 1 10 7 50 5 120s 4 0.80 6.0s 2 24 50 5 120s 8 1.60 6.0s 3 40 2 5 120s 12 1.60 6.0s
	Overpower: -Instant Skill Type: Dueling Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Required Situation: After target parries, blocks, dodges or delects. When the opponents evades your attack, by parrying dodging, blocking or whatever else, you're given the option to overpower his defenses. The spell is instant cast, dealing the weapon damage that you would have already done, plus a damage bonus. Consdering the extremely low rage cost, Overpower should be used whenever possible. Dye to its cooldown and rage cost, Overpower favors slow weapons. Here, each blow itself deals more damage, and so, overpower is very effective. if you're using a Two Handed Mace with a cooldown of 3.0s, you can pretty much expect yourself to be able to overpower every enemy defence. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage 1 12 10 5 120s 2 0.40 2 18 70 5 120s 7 1.40
	Recklessness: -Instant Skill Type: Savage Combat Target: Self For a short duration, all attacks made will cause critical damage, that is, roughly 150-200% of the standard hit. However, the warrior does suffer a minor armor penalty. The trade off is usually well worth it, especially against casters who's attacks ignore armor anyway. The spell is best used when partied with other warriors, who're taking the brunt of the damage, or on opponents afflicted by Sundering Strike. The extremely long cooldown time retricts the use of the spell to bosses. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Duration Damage/Rage 1 24 50 0 30 min 15s

Beserker Stance Abilities:

Beserker Stance features abilities that a focused solely on dealing damage. They focus on carnage, and lack any defensive capability. Thus, Beserk Stance should only be used when you're not under attack.

Cleave: -Next Attack Skill Type: Combat Maneuver Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon This is one of the few skills the warrior has that can serious damage multiple opponents. Cleave allows the warrior to deal his weapon damage, plus a significant bonus to the target and his nearest ally. This skill makes fighting two opponents of a slightly lower level that much easier. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Damage Bonus Damage/Rage Affects Attack Speed Reduction Duration 1 40 2 20 1.0s 36 1.80

Defensive Stance Abilities:

Defensive Stance Abilities are designed assuming that the player takes a defensive role in combat, where they put up thier sheilds and try to absorb all the damage from weaker members within the party. Consequently, many abilities assume the use of shield, or that the player is under attack. In addition, manay of them require the use of a shield, and hence are orientated more towards players with defensive equipment.

	Taunt: -Instant Ability Type: Taunt Target: Enemy Taunts an enemy, generating a significant amount of threat. While taunt isn't usually enough to pull a mob away from a mage who had just fried it with a fireball, it's adequate for grabbing the attention of mobs who've only taken a small amount of damage. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Range Cooldown Threat Increase 1 6 2 0 5yd 1.0s 20% 2 20 30 0 5yd 1.0s 60% 3 24 1 20 0 5yd 1.0s 80%
	Shield Bash: -Next Attack Skill Type: Shields Target: Enemy Requires: Shield The Defensive Stance counterpart to pummel, Shield Bash disrupts the current spell being cast 75% of the time, and deals some additional damage. Compared to pummel, it doesn't disrupt spells a later times, but deals significantly more damage. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Damage Damage/Rage 1 10 7 50 10 10s 8 0.80 2 18 25 10 10s 12 1.20 3 28 70 10 10s 20 2.00 4 38 1 70 10 10s 28 2.80
	Blood Rage: -Instant Skill Type: Savage Combat Target: Self Bloodrage generates rage over a short period of time at the cost of health. With plenty of stamina, the rage is usually well owrth the price, especially when there are healers around. The extra rage then allows the warrior to perform a feat at the start of combat, and is a good substitute for charge when in defensive stance. Rank Required Level Cost Extra Rage Cooldown 1 10 7 50 20 over 10s 20s
	Revenge: -Instant Skill Type: Dueling Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Required Situation: After you parries, blocks, dodge an enemy attack. Revenge allows a player to strike back after deflecting an enemy blow. dealing the weapon damage with a small bonus. Considering the much greator chance of defelection when you have a shield, Revenge is most effective for weapon/shield type warriors. In addition, it also helps to have a weapon with the long cooldown and big damage. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Extra Damage Damage/Rage 1 12 10 5 5.0s 7 1.40 2 24 70 5 5.0s 14 2.80 3 36 1 50 5 5.0s 21 4.20
	Shield Block: -Next Attack Skill Type: Shields Target: Enemy Requires: Shield Increases the chance to block dramatically for a short duration, but will only block one attack. This skill is perfect again slow attacking mobs who do hefty damage, such as Ogres with their two handed hammers. In such a case, a warrior can block one of every 2 attacks, reducing the damage they take by at least 30%! Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Block Chance Duration 1 14 13 10 5.0s +75% 5.0s
	Disarm: -Next Attack Skill Type: Dueling Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Required Situation: After you parries, blocks, dodge an enemy attack. Hits the weapon out of enemy hands, cuasing the to fight with their hand for a short period of time. This spell is lethal against enemy fighters, paladins, or rogues, who depend on their weapons to deal the majority of their damage. Disarmed players fight with their fists, fealing a base of 2 rather than the damage of their weapon. The spell has high cooldown, so use it right at the beginning of battle. That way, you might have chance use it again. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Duration 1 18 10 20 60s 10s
	Sundering Strike: -Next Attack Skill Type: Dueling Target: Enemy Requires: Melee Weapon Required Situation: After you parries, blocks, dodge an enemy attack. Sunders the enemy's armor, reduce its effectiveness temporarily. Successive strikes of comulative for up to 5 strikes, thus a Rank 1 Sundering Strike is capable of reducing the enemy armor by 250. This is a significant amount, for the average Rogue would only have around 250 armor at such a level. While the rage cost may make this spell slightly inefficent in solo combat, it works amazing well when parties with other fighters, especially rogues. Use it 5 times, and the Rogue's damage output is almost doubled. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Armor Reduction 1 18 40 15 1.0s 50 2 34 1 20 15 1.0s 70
	Shield Wall: -Instant Skill Type: Shields Target: Self Requires: Shield Reduces all damage dealt to the player by a huge amount, that makes him almost impervious for a short amount of time. This spell has a huge cooldown, and should only be used when fighting against enemy bosses. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Damage Reduction Duration 1 22 40 0 30 min 75% 10s

Universal Abilities:

These abilities are ones that can be used regardless of stance. They're a mixed bunch, and help improve the versatility of the fighter. Many are powerful, with long cooldown times, that's designed to give the Warrior an edge in very tough battles.

Inner Rage: -Instant Skill Type: Savage Combat Target: Self A much more potent form of Blood Rage, inner rage charges the Warrior with rage without the cost of health, instantly! It's only drawback is that it has a huge cooldown that limits its use to large battles. Cast this spell in desperate fights, where you just need that extra rage to pummel your opponents to the ground. Rank Required Level Cost Extra Rage Cooldown 1 20 30 50 5 min

Warcries and Taunts:

Regardless of fighting stance, the warrior can launch a series of warcries that invigorates allies and demoralises enemies. These are the spells that should be cast in every battle when you're in a party. In addition, he is able to taunt enemies, aborbing their attacks so that allied mages and rogues can deal the damage.

	Battle Shout: -Instant Target: All Allies A shout that boosts the attack power of all party members, increasing their damage output. Great in almost any situation. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Power Increase Duration 1 1 10 20 5s 20 2 min 2 16 18 20 5s 45 2 min 3 32 1 20 5s 80 2 min
	Demoralising Shout: -Instant Target: All Enemies A shout that decreases the attack power of all nearby enemies, decreasing their damage output. Great when against multiple enemies. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Power Decrease Duration 1 14 13 10 5s 30 30s 2 28 70 10 5s 60 30s
	Intimidating Shout: -Instant Target: All Enemies Causes nearby enemies to flee in terror. This is a tricky spell to use, as enemies may come back with reinforcements, and the warrior lacks effective ranged weapons. Therefore, this shout should be used as a last ditch effort to flee from combat yourself. It has greator uses in parties that consist mainly of Mages, Warlocks and Hunters. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Duration 1 20 30 25 10min 8s
	Challenging Shout: -Instant Target: All Enemies Challenges all creatures nearby to attack the warrior, increasing his threat rating to all opponents. This spell is best used in defensive stance when partied with a full group. It allows you to absorb all the damage, so that allied healers and casters won't get overwhelmed. Rank Required Level Cost Rage Cooldown Threat Increase 1 26 60 5 10min 20%

Basic Character Development Strategies:

As a warrior in Warcraft 3, you will want to decide whether you wish to focus primarily of solo of partying fairly early on in the game. This will help you decide whether you should learn defensive of offensive feats. That said, regardless of what do, be expected to switch roles in certain situations.

If you're a player who likes being in a party, a defensive warrior is best. As it allows you to act as a meat-shield and protect weaker members of the party. However, if you're a loner, then the quickest way to gain experience would be as an offensive warrior. This allows you to kill things faster... and thus journey through the land more quickly.

The key to a good warrior is his equipment, more so than any other class. Keep an eye out for weapons and armor that have level requirements 1 or 2 levels higher than yours, and buy them when its a good idea. You want to be wearing the very best for your level..

The Warrior also has no quick means of healing, and should thus consider getting trade skills that make him less dependent on healers. The less time you spend waiting around, the more EXP you'll get. Typical Trade skills include:

Cooking: Make tasty food to replenish yourself.
Fishing: Raise up cooking skill much faster with a rapid supply of raw products to cook.
Smithing: Make your own weapons and armor.
Mining: To harvest raw materials for smithing.
First Aid: Decrease your downtime by healing yourself.

Avoid getting skills that are made redundant by your spells, or make equipment that you do not wish to use. Eg: Leatherworking, Tailoring

Typical Combat:

Below are typical sequences for fighting in solo:

Against Melee
- Defensive Stance
- Block
- Revenge<

Against Missile
- Battle Stance
- Charge
- Rend
- Strike when Possible
- Hamstring when enemy tries to flee

Against Caster
- Battle Stance
- Charge
- Pummel
- Defensive Stance
- Blood Rage
- Shield Bash

When in a Party, a warrior generally uses Defensive Stance. Higher level players switch to either a bow of gun to pull the enemy, and then taunts any other mobs that follow. Once all mobs are ganged up on the warrior, other members of the party start dishing out the damage.

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