Proto war (Warrior Defense) - PvE guide WotLK 3.3.5a
Complete PvE guide on the warrior of the Defense branch (proto war, tank) for WotLK 3.3.5a: builds, symbols, stats, rotation, stones, enchantments, consumables and BiS for CLK 25 HC.
Specialization Overview
Proto Var is WotLK's top solo-target tank with the best aggro generation on one target and a bunch of utilities for the raid (armor split, vigilance, demo shout, disarmament). Heavily depends on gear, but in BiS he maintains a huge EHP due to endurance and armor. The main weaknesses are few saves and weak AoE aggro against other people's damage.
Strengths
- Better aggro generation on a single target due to spammable abilities
- Huge Effective HP from Stamina + Armor
- Strong raid utility: vigilance, armor split, demo shout, disarm, shouts
- Excellent mobility thanks to the Warbringer talent (dash/intercept/intervene in any stance)
Weaknesses
- Few active saves compared to other tanks
- Weak AoE aggro generation when packs are hit by DPS
- Strong dependence on gear, without caps it’s easy to catch a one-shot
- Low self-healing/self-regeneration compared to DK and Druid
Races
Dwarf A 🔵 Alliance
Stoneform/Mace Specialization
Stone form removes bleeding/poisons/diseases and gives -10% damage for 8 seconds - actually a mini-save. +3 to skill with crushing helps with aggro.
Human A 🔵 Alliance
Sword/Mace Specialization
+3 proficiency with swords and blunt weapons - extra proficiency reduces the target’s evasion/parry, which speeds up the aggro build.
Draenei B 🔵 Alliance
Heroic Presence
Morale gives +1% accuracy to yourself and the group, which helps to finish off the hit cap and taunt; Gift of the Naaru - situational self-healing.
Night Elf B 🔵 Alliance
Quickness
Quickness gives a permanent +2% evasion from ranged/melee attacks - pure survivability.
Orc A 🔴Horde
Ax Specialization / Blood Fury
+5 ax mastery (reduces soft cap) and Bloody Fury to boost attack power and aggro on the bullet.
Tauren A 🔴Horde
Endurance
Hardening gives +5% to base health - more EHP, the best Horde race in terms of survivability.
Troll B 🔴Horde
Berserking/Regeneration
Berserk +20% attack speed (aggro/rage boost), +10% healing regeneration works in battle.
Professions
1
Engineering
Nitro boosters, armor enchants for gloves (+885 armor), sapper charge
The best pro: mobility from nitro, powerful enchantment for gloves and burst damage/AoE for aggro. Also early glasses on the head.
2
Jewelcrafting
3 unique “Dragon” gems (+ enhanced characteristics)
Three upgraded stones give more stamina/skill than regular ones. Also trinket figures at the start.
3
Blacksmithing
Two additional colorless sockets (gloves + bracers)
Two extra sockets = two more stamina stones, a reliable EHP boost.
4
Tailoring
Enchant a cloak with a proc of +400 attack power for 15 sec
Proc enhances agrogeneration; an alternative to a blacksmith/jewelry shop.
5
Enchanting
Enchant both rings for +30 stamina
+60 stamina in total - a stable increase in EHP.
Talents
Deep protection (standard, TsLK 25 HC)
15/5/51
Arms: 15 Fury: 5 Protection: 51
The most versatile build. Enters "Weapons" before Deep Wounds for extra. Single-target aggro is the best choice for MT in the CLK 25 ger. Takes Shockwave as the 51st Defense talent.
↗ Open in calculatorLoading calculator...
Key Talents
Vigilance 1/1 Required
Removes 10-15% of threat from top DPS and resets taunt CD when hitting a target - main aggro/utility talent
Herald of War 1/1 Required
Dash/interception/intervention in any stance and in combat - top mobility for 1 point
Critical block 3/3 Required
60% chance to block double damage is a huge part of the mitigation
Shock wave 1/1 Required
51st talent: cone damage/aggro + stun, excellent for AoE
Improved Defensive Stance 2/2 Required
When blocking/parrying/evading gives +10% physical. damage (Rage) - almost always active
Improved Revenge 3/3
Makes Revenge one of the best attacks against aggro, especially on 2+ targets
Vitality 3/3 Required
+endurance/strength/skill (6 skills go to softcap)
Not a step back 1/1 Required
+30% health for 20 sec - saves from one-shot
Deep wounds 3/3
Bleeding from crits is a stable increase in aggro, for the sake of it we go to Weapons
Shield Specialization 5/5 Required
+chance to block and regen of rage when blocking/dodging/parrying
Shield and sword 3/3 Required
Proc for a free instant Shield Bash + reset of its AC (max. rank, not 46951!)
Save build (reduce AC)
15/3/53
Arms: 15 Fury: 3 Protection: 53
Takes Improved Disciplines 3/3 and Defender for the sake of saves: with the Shield Wall and Not a Step Back symbols, makes both abilities 2-minute. Good on bosses with regular heavy damage.
↗ Open in calculatorLoading calculator...
Key Talents
Practiced skills 3/3 Required
Reduces the AC of Shield Walls and Not a Step Back - the basis of the save build
Security 2/2
Turns Intervention into a save on an ally (-30% damage), CD only 30 sec
Glyphs
Basic glyphs
Block symbol Required
+10% to blocking rate for 10 sec after Shield Bash - almost permach, bonus to mitigation and damage
Symbol of vigilance Required
Increases the transmission of threat from the Vigilance target to 15% - the best aggro symbol
Symbol of Destruction
Crush applies 2 effects of Armor Sundering at once - places the debuff faster and has more aggro
Alternative: Glyph of Taunt on bosses with frequent taunt swaps
Symbol of provocation
+8% to the chance of a successful Taunt - virtually guarantees a taunt on swaps
Alternative: Glyph of Devastation
Symbol of Desperate Defense
-1 min to CD Not a step back; in the save build makes the ability last 2 minutes
Alternative: Glyph of Shield Wall
Cut Symbol
The cleaver hits 1 more target - we take on trash and bosses with hells
Alternative: Glyph of Shockwave
Small Glyphs
Thunder Clap Glyph
+2m Thunderbolt radius and cheaper in rage
Glyph of Battle Shout
+2 min Battle Shout duration
Symbol of authority
+2 min to the duration of the Commander's Shout - convenient if the shout is directed at you
Characteristics
Cap priority: Defense (540) → Stamina + Armor (EHP) → Accuracy (8%) and Skill (26) → Evasion → Parry/Block. First, we achieve the protection cap from boss screams, then we stack up stamina and armor for effective health, simultaneously gaining threat caps.
1
Defense Rating540 (530 - dungeons, 535 - 10ppl)
Cap from boss screams: removes the chance to get a critical hit. below 540 in TsLK 25 ger is dangerous
2
Stamina + Armor (Stamina/Armor)
Build effective health (EHP). Balancing both gives healers time to react; armor is especially important on physical bosses (Lich)
3
Hit8% (263 ratings); for the taunt guarantor 17% spell hit (or 9% spell hit + taunt symbol)
So that abilities do not miss, and Taunt (spell) always hits. Suffering/Sorcerous Fire debuffs reduce taunt requirement
4
Expertise26 (164 ratings, 6 of them from Vitality)
Reduces target's evasion/parry - stable aggro and less rage loss from parryhaist
5
Dodge
Better pure dodge stats (slower dodge than parry)
6
Parry/Block
Parry is inferior to evasion in terms of diminishing; block only partially cuts damage
Rotation
Style is a priority system, not a rigid rotation. Turn the boss away from the raid (hit the dragons from the side). The main thing: Hit with a shield on CD (we catch Sword and Shield procs), keep 5 stacks of Sunder Armor, spam Revenge, fill the pauses with Hero Strike, without going into rage starve.
Boss Pool (Opener)
Battle Cry
buff Procast to the pool if you have
Potion of Indestructibility
Cooldown Pre-pot a couple of seconds before the fight
Heroic Throw
Filler Long range pool, puts the target into battle
Dash
Filler Convergence + rage generation
Block with shield
Cooldown On the pool for block chance and procs
Shield Slam
nuke The main aggro strike, we open it up
Priority in battle
Shield Slam
nuke According to CD; catching Sword and Shield procs (free instant)
Revenge
nuke In terms of CD - top damage/aggro, especially on 2+ targets
Crush
Filler Keep 5 stacks of Sunder Armor, filler between CDs (max rank 47498)
Hero Strike
Filler Draining excess rage into the queue without reaching the rage starve
Vigilance
buff We keep it on top DPS; re-cast on fall
AoE rotation
Thunderclap
AoE Main AoE aggro + attack speed slow
Shock wave
AoE Damage cone + stun, powerful AoE aggro
Cleave
AoE Instead of Heroic Strike with 2+ targets (with symbol - more targets)
Cooldowns
Block with shield
Cooldown 40 sec CD, on a bullet and under heavy blockable damage
Not a step back
Cooldown +30% HP for 20 sec - under burst damage or when HP is low
Silent defense
Cooldown -40/60% damage - main save for heavy damage phases
Blood Fury
Rage generation; with 4T10 it gives absorption 20% of the max. HP - use before a heavy hit
Tips
- Shield Bash is your #1 priority: always hit your cooldown and catch the Sword and Shield procs (free instant cast).
- Don't go into rage starve: Queue Hero Strike/Cleave only when you have too much rage.
- On taunt swaps, get 17% spell hit in advance (or 9% + Taunt symbol), otherwise the taunt will be resisted.
- Bundle Bloody Rage + Not a step back under the burst: with 4T10 shield absorption is calculated from the increased maximum HP.
- Keep interchangeable symbols in your bag (taunt/cleave/shield wall) for a specific boss.
Stones
We stack stamina, simultaneously covering the skill/defense caps with blue-hybrid stones. In the meta-nest - Diamond of the Strict Land Ruler (+ stam and + 2% armor), we keep at least 1 blue stone for his requirement. We only honor socket bonuses if they stam/survive.
meta
Diamond of the Strict Land Ruler
+32 stamina and +2% armor
Best meta for a tank; requires at least 1 blue stone
blue
Solid Majestic Zircon
+30 Stamina
Main stone in almost all sockets
red
Fears the guard
+10 skill, +15 stamina
To the red nests for the sake of gaining mastery cap
red
Fears the defender
+10 parry, +15 stamina
Alternative if skill is already capped
yellow
Royal fearstone
+10 dodge, +15 stamina
To yellow sockets with a good socket stam bonus
Important
Don't chase socket bonuses at the expense of pure stamina - only the stam/survivability bonus provides benefits.
Enchantments
| Slot | Enchantment | Bonus | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Magic sign of a staunch defender | +37 stamina, +20 defense | — |
| Shoulders | Great summit outline | +stam/defense (Sons of Hodir) or PvP shoulder pad | PvP shoulder enchant (stam + durability) |
| Cloak | Scroll of Enchant Cloak - Mighty Armor | +225 armor | Fabric of the Titans (+16 defense), if there is not enough defense rating - base.opiums.eu/?item=38978 |
| Chest | Scroll of Enchant Chest - All Stats VII | +10 to all stats | Health IX (+275 hp) - base.opiums.eu/?item=39005 |
| Wrists | Scroll of Enchant Bracers - Stamina VI | +40 Stamina | — |
| Gloves | Scroll of Enchant Gloves - Weaponsmith | +2% threat and +10 parries | Engineer's enchantment for gloves (+885 armor), if engineer |
| Belt | Eternal Belt Buckle | +1 socket (stamina stone) | — |
| Legs | Snowhide Leggings | +55 stamina, +22 dodge | — |
| Shoes | Scroll of Enchant Boots - Fortitude II | +22 Stamina | Vitality of Turakhs (Tuskarr's Vitality, +15 stam + running speed) - base.opiums.eu/?item=38937; or Nitro accelerators, if you are an engineer |
| Weapons | Scroll of Enchant Weapon - Mongoose | Proc +120 agility and +attack speed | Blade Ward - base.opiums.eu/?item=46026 |
| Shield | Scroll of Enchant Shield - Stamina V | +18 Stamina | — |
Consumables
flask
Flask of Stone Blood
+1300 health
The main flask on difficult bosses
food
Fish feast
+80 attack power, +40 stamina
Always eat before battle (raid food)
food
Dire Snakesteak
+40 skill and stamina
If you reach the skill softcap
food
Special Prepared Snapper
+40 accuracy
If you don't have enough hit/taunt cap
potion combat
Potion of Indestructibility
+3500 armor for 2 min
Pre-pot and physical boss fights
Advice
Pre-pot Potion of Indestructibility gives huge armor at the start, plus you can drink a second potion in battle. On magical bosses, instead of a blood flask, sometimes they take a Flask of the Ice Wyrm for utility, but for a tank the priority is survivability.
Best Items (BiS)
Patch: ICC (TsLK) 25 HC, ilvl 277
BiS for TsLK 25 ger (ilvl 277). We collect 4 pieces of T10 (pauldrons + cuirass + gloves + legguards) for the sake of the 4T10 bonus, and fill the head slot with the non-set “Helm of the Broken Ram Skull” - it is better itemized. Before purchasing the 277 version, first take the 251 version for Ice Emblems.
Set bonus
2T10 - increases the damage of Shield Bash; 4T10 - Blood Rage additionally provides an absorption shield equal to 20% of max. stock of health. 4T10 is the most powerful save bonus, for the sake of it we collect 4 parts.
| Slot | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Broken Ram Skull Helm | 25hc - Lady Deathwhisper, TsLK |
| Neck | Bile-Coated Locket | 25hc - Rotmouth, CLK |
| Shoulders | Blessed Pauldrons of the Ymiryar Overlord T | 25hc - several CLK bosses (Ice Emblems) |
| Back | Royal Crimson Cloak | 25hc — Council of the Bloody Princes, TsLK |
| Chest | Blessed Breastplate of the Ymiryar Lord T | 25hc - several CLK bosses (Ice Emblems) |
| Wrists | Bracers of Dark Reckoning | 25hc - Lord Marrogar, CLK |
| Hands | Blessed Handguards of the Ymiryar Overlord T | 25hc - several CLK bosses (Ice Emblems) |
| Belt | Belt of Broken Bones | 25hc — Rotworm (Festergut), TsLK |
| Legs | Blessed Legguards of the Ymiryar Lord T | 25hc - several CLK bosses (Ice Emblems) |
| Shoes | Greatboots of the Grinning Skull | 25hc — Valitria Dreamwalker, TsLK |
| Ring 1 | Ashen Ring of Boundless Courage | Ashen Alliance - Exalted |
| Ring 2 | Deviya's Eternally Cold Ring | 25hc — Valitria Dreamwalker, TsLK |
| Accessory 1 | Sindragosa's Flawless Fang | 25hc – Sindragosa, CLK |
| Accessory 2 | Rusted Bone Key | Vendor - 60 Ice Emblems |
| Weapons | Mithrios, Legacy of Bronzebeard | 25hc - Lich King, CLK |
| Shield | Frozen wall of the ice citadel | 25hc - Blood Queen Lana'thel, TsLK |
| Long-range | Dream Hunter Carbine | 10hc — Valitria Dreamwalker, CLK |
Purchase procedure for Frost emblems
- Accessory - Corroded Bone Key (60 Ice Emblems)
- Hands (t10.5) - Emblems of Ice
- Chest (t10.5) – Ice Emblems
- Legs (t10.5) - Emblems of Ice
- Shoulders (t10.5) – Ice Emblems