So, some of you may or may not have read the fury warrior guide I made for WotLK. For those of you that did, I intend to be a lot more in depth, and a lot less awful this time around.
For those of you who did not read my WotLK fury warrior guide, the basic premise is that this guide is intended for fury warriors looking to succeed in a PvE raiding environment. My goal is to provide as much accurate information as possible in a succinct manner. That being said there is a lot to cover so either read this guide in chunks, or find yourself a large block of time to read this and make sure you understand it.
Table of Contents
- The Video Guide
- Talent Selection
- Glyphs
- Itemization
- Rotation
- Macros
- UI
- Useful Resources
- Math/misc. Advanced Stuff
- Encounter specific Tricks/Tactics
Last "major" update: 5/6/11
The Video Guide
Talent Selection
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#LG0cZcrrcszkMfdZb
Titans Grip vs Single Minded Fury
Currently Single minded fury appears to be capping out with higher DPS, though not by much. with raging blow damage being increased again in patch 4.1, this will put titans grip back in line with single minded fury, though SMF might still be better by a few DPS points. Basically, choose which ever spec you can get the best weapons for the easiest, as both specs will bring similar DPS. Another thing to note is that the playstyles of SMF and TG vary slightly, as TG is much more rigid in terms of how it manages ability usage (using a mostly fixed rotation), and SMF is much more fluid (using a priority system)
3/3 Deep Wounds vs 3/3 Incite
Get 3/3 deep wounds. Even though crit values are pretty low right now the math is suggesting that the third point in deep wounds is more or less blowing the third point of incite out of the water.
About the Recommended filler talents, and why I chose them:
Please note that just because a talent isn’t “recommended” does not mean it’s bad; there are sound arguments that can be made for all of the non-required talents.
Rude Interruption
On any fight that requires interrupting, having rude interruption is pretty much amazing, it’s fairly self explanatory.
Piercing Howl
Any time there are kite-able adds that can be slowed this ability is incredibly useful, there aren’t a lot of fights that would get a lot of use out of this ability currently, but I have no doubt in my mind that there will be encounters where this ability will shine.
Heroic Fury
Any time there is a lot of movement involved (meaning pretty much every fight) heroic fury can substantially increase your up time on a target, and thereby increase your DPS.
Meat Cleaver
Any time you are going to be able to use cleave you want this talent, simply put.
Incite
This could probably be considered a required talent, but if I absolutely needed to drop a DPS talent to get some other situational talents, this would be my first choice.
Field Dressing
Pretty self explanatory, it helps you not die.
Blitz
Can be useful for getting an extra rage boost at the very start of an encounter
Glyphs
Basically no variance for what you can viably pick:
Bloodthirst
Raging Blow
Slam
These are the only 3 prime glyphs that affect abilities we use.
Major glyphs:
Lots of solid options, go with your personal preference (* denotes what I personally use)
*Cleaving
Any time there are more than two targets within close proximity this glyph is awesome (unless you are supposed to CC those mobs obviously).
*Colossus Smash
Any time you have to sustain a sunder stack you want this glyph.
*Deathwish
It saves healer mana, which can then be used to help your raid not wipe. Get this.
Heroic Throw
If you Have to do sunders your self, get this glyph so you can use it at the start of combat.
Victory Rush
saves healer mana, though on most fights it's not going to be as useful as glyph of Deathwish. If you don't have to sunder, I would suggest this glyph.
Minor Glyphs:
Again, lots of solid options (* denotes what I personally use)
Battle
Honestly you probably aren't going to need this because you will more than likely be using battle shout on cooldown for rage, so really this doesn't change anything for you unless you don't need the rage but need to sustain the buff, or if you expect to die before the end of the fight (which shouldn't happen).
*Berserker Rage
GET THIS. getting a rage boost that's off the GCD is awesome, and you can use it to build a rage bar out of combat.
*Bloody Healing
it helps you not die, and saves a bit of healer mana.
*Furious sundering
if you have to sunder, get this.
Command
Same as glyph of battle.
Itemization
Stat Priorities
Hit(till 8%) > Expertise(till 26) > Strength >[ Hit> Haste](until Rage generation is "adequate") > Crit > Hit > Haste > Mastery
The above priority list seems too complicated, can I have a simplified list?
Sure.
1) Get 8% hit (5% from gear+3% from precision)
2) Get 26 Expertise (780 Rating)
3) Get lots of Strength
4) Get More hit rating until you feel you have enough rage generation to do effective DPS (As you get more comfortable with managing your rage this number step will become unnecessary)
5) Get Crit
6) Get More Hit
7) Get Haste
8) Get Mastery
Note that with the changes to auto attack damage in 4.1, it's questionable whether or not haste is better than mastery. Regardless of which is better, the DPS gain per point is very similar.
What gems should I use?
You should use what ever gems are going to activate your meta gem, then for the rest of your sockets use what ever gems result in the largest DPS increase.
But that didn't answer the question
I know. What stats result in the largest DPS increase varies greatly depending on what your stats currently are, so I can't accurately make a blanket statement about what gems are going to be the best for you, that being said the generalized method for gemming is as follows:
Meta Socket:
Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond
Red Sockets:
Bold Chimera's Eye (Jewelcrafter only)
Bold Inferno Ruby
Blue Sockets:
Only match the socket if the bonus is worthwhile; otherwise use a strength gem
1)Etched Demonseye
2)Rigid Ocean Sapphire (only use this gem if you need it to get above 8% hit)
Yellow Sockets:
Only match the socket if the bonus is worthwhile; otherwise use a strength gem
1)Inscribed Ember Topaz
general gemming proceedure for non-red sockets:
Items with 1 socket:
-if the socket bonus is +10str or more, and the socket is yellow, gem for the socket bonus. If the socket is blue, then either gem for the bonus, or gem pure strength, I need to confirm the resulting gains.
-if the socket bonus is +10 crit or more, gem for the socket bonus.
-if the socket bonus is +10 hit or more, gem for the socket bonus.
-if the socket bonus is +20 mastery/haste, gem for the socket bonus.
-everything else gem pure strength
Items with two sockets:
- if the bonus is +20 str or more, gem for the bonus
- if the bonus is +20 crit or more, and the sockets are yellow and/or red, gem for the bonus.
- everything else gem pure strength
What enchants should I get?
Head:
Arcanum of The Wildhammer (Alliance)
Arcanum of the Dragonmaw (Horde)
Shoulders:
Greater Inscription of Jagged Stone
Cloak:
1)Greater Critical Strike
2)Critical Strike
Chest:
1)Peerless Stats
2)Mighty Stats
Bracers:
1)Major Strength
2)Greater Critical Strike
3)Critical Strike
4) Hit or expertise as needed in order to reach caps
Gloves:
1)Mighty Strength
2)Exceptional Strength
Belt:
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
Legs:
Dragonscale Leg Armor
Boots:
(run speed enchants are always the best)
1) Lavawalker
2) Earthen Vitality
Main Hand:
1)Landslide
2)Hurricane
Off Hand:
1)Landslide
2)Hurricane
Rotation
BT = Bloodthirst
RB = Raging Blow
CS = Colossus Smash
HS = Heroic Strike
GCD= Global Cooldown (1.5 seconds)
Slam = Implies using a Bloodsuge proc (Read: an Instant Slam, as opposed to hard casting slam)
FOR TITANS GRIP
BT > CS > RB >Slam > HS
On an exact time-line:
0.0-Colossus Smash
1.5-Bloodthirst
3.0-Raging Blow
4.5-Bloodthirst
6.0-Slam
7.5-Bloodthirst
9.0-Raging Blow
10.5-Bloodthirst
12.0-Slam
13.5-Bloodthirst
15.0-Raging Blow
16.5-Bloodthirst
18.0-Slam
19.5-Bloodthirst
21.0-go to 0.0 (Colossus Smash)
If you don't think you can remember that whole timescale, just remember:
Use CS more or less on cooldown
BT-RB-BT-Slam
FOR SINGLE MINDED FURY
SMF's Slam damage is much higher, it puts its damage in line with RB damage, making it better than RB because it costs zero rage. Because of this the best course of action really isn't using a set rotation, and instead using a priority system.
1) Keep Bloodthirst on cooldown
2) Use Colossus Smash whenever available
3) Use Slam whenever available
4) Use Raging Blow whenever you can't use a BT/CS/Slam
BT > CS > Slam >RB >HS
Sub 20%
Use Colossus Smash on cooldown and spam Execute until you have 5 stacks of executioner. From there, depending on how much rage you are generating and what gear you have, you might need to do a few extra things besides spamming execute.
- If you are generating more than 20 rage per second, just keep spamming execute and Colossus Smash. (If there is a lot of raid damage going out and/or you have lots of hit rating, do this)
- If you have the 4pc t11 set bonus make sure you are using RB at least once every 30 seconds to keep your stack.
- If you are generating less than 20 rage per second, any time that you do not have 30 rage you should use RB>BT>Slam for that GCD. (This is because a RB or a BT does more damage than a 20 rage execute)
- If you get a battle trance proc, use it on execute, not Heroic Strike.
- If you are forced to use RB/BT a lot due to rage issues, make sure that you are not losing your stack of executioner, even if it means using a low rage execute.
(there are some major revisions that need to be made for this, stay tuned)
Commonly asked questions about the rotation
What should I do if I am not enraged, and therefore can't use Raging Blow?
What about Heroic Strike?
HS should be used when ever you get a battle trance proc, and when ever you have excess rage. How will I know when I have "excess rage"?
Unfortunately the correct answer is basically "after spending a ton of time practicing you will be able to have a good feel for how much rage you are generating, and then be able to know when the best time to use HS is."
However, as a generalized blanket statement, if you have more than 65 rage, that is the time to use Heroic Strike.
Shouldn’t we use slam every time we get a Bloodsuge proc instead of using procs after every second BT for Titans Grip?
Nope.Why?
When you delay the use of the 2nd BT, you get a rotation that looks like this:
0.0 BT
1.5 RB
3.0 Slam (BT comes off CD)
4.5 BT (-1/2 BT)
6.0 Slam
7.5 RB (BT comes off CD)
9.0 BT(-1/2 BT)
Etc.
By delaying the 2nd BT, you actually end up losing a full BT every time this happens, and because the potential gain is only 1 extra slam, which hits for less that BT, it is a DPS loss to delay the use of the 2nd BT.
Please keep in mind that the above statement is assuming that you have the rage to use the second BT, if you do not have the rage to do it, but you have a Bloodsurge proc; then by all means use that proc, because some damage is better than no damage.
What ability should I use when I get a Battle Trance proc?
Heroic Strike Why?
Heroic Strike has the lowest damage per rage of any of our abilities, even though it's damage is really high. Because it's rage cost is so inefficient, it makes using HS on Battle Trance procs the most efficient use of that proc. Also because the fact that
Heroic Strike is off the GCD, it means that you can use a Battle Trance on a HS, and use the rage that you saved for a RB.
If Heroic Strike happens to be on cooldown when you get your Battle Trance proc, use it on a Raging Blow.
Please note that Battle Trance currently has the following bugs associated with it:
- If you use your Battle Trance proc on a Bloodthirst, that Bloodthirst will not be able to proc a new Battle Trance. (this may have been fixed, needs comfirmation)
What about Inner Rage?
Use it when ever you need to dump rage really really quickly. If you are lazy you can macro it in to HS, but that's up to you.Macros
#showtooltip Retaliation
/cast [nostance:1] Battle Stance; [nostance:3] Berserker Stance
/cast [stance:1] Retaliation
Intervene
#showtooltip intervene
/cast [nostance:2] Defensive Stance; [help] Intervene; [target=targettarget, help] Intervene
Shield Wall
#showtooltip Shield Wall
/stopattack
/cast [stance:2] Shield Wall; Defensive Stance
/stopmacro [equipped:Shields]
/equip INSERT SHIELDS NAME HERE
/attack
Intercept/Heroic Fury
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=1 Intercept, Heroic Fury, Heroic Fury, Heroic Fury
Slam
#showtooltip Slam
/cast slam
/stopcasting
UI
I'm not really going to rehash what was said in the video, but what I will do is give you links to some addons that will do the things that were mentioned in the video
My UI:
http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?59916-Thegreatme-UI&p=498862#post498862
please note that I will not help you troubleshoot any issues with setting up my UI.
Rage tracking/unit frames:
Pitbull4
IceHUD
Shadowed unit frames
Proc tracking/Enrage tracking:
Power Auras
SBF (satrina buff frame)
Elkano's Buff Bars
Cooldown Tracking:
OmniCC
Cooldown Count
CoolLine Cooldowns
Useful Resources:
Elitist Jerks the place to go for the latest theorycrafting and math
Simcraft Good for modeling warrior DPS and getting getting itemization priorities until landsoul releases his updated spreadsheet.
Mr Robot Good for optimizing your reforging layouts.
Symphonia's BiS list discussion Fairly self explanatory.
The math/advanced stuff section
So yeah, if you are afraid of lots of math or complex jargon filled statements, I suggest you hit the "page down" button a few times
enrage uptime:
(1-deathwish uptime)*(1-(1-enrage proc chance)^(hit's per enrage duration))
(1-(30/144))*(1-(1-.09)^x)
RB vs Slam for SMF:
Parameters (reference for writing equations)
note that all of this was done with my current gear sets, so you will have to change a bunch of stuff to make it work for you, but that being said this is strictly for reference.
Dual Wield specialization (1.1, all, for OH damage use 0.625 coeficient)
berserker stance (1.1, all)
3pt war academy (1.15, RB/Slam)
2pt Incite (markov chain stuff, HS only)
3pt Deep Wounds (0.48*W, use for HS only)
2x lavaspine (949-1764dmg 2.6speed)
SMF (1.2, all)
glyph of slam (increases c by 0.05, slam only)
glyph of RB, (increases c by 0.05, RB only)
c = (19.20+(7+549*1.05)/(243.6))*(1/100)= 0.21595.....
x = AP
y = Mastery
z = Damage
c = crit
I'm not going to go through all the simplifications I did to the equations.
about calculating slam damage:
because slam has a cost of 0 rage, I included a +(2/3)*HS avg damage (including it's contribution to deep wounds). I didn't account for the flurry gains from that extra HS and the DPS implications of that, mostly because the gain is fairly minimal and the math involved to accurately do it is pretty archaic and confusing even to me.
anyway....
RB damage = (1.505308637*(1.112+0.056*y))*(3208.1225+.3885357143*x)
Slam damage = (6889.817236+1.152654733*x)
after playing around in a 3d graphing program for a while seeing how the above equations interact, here's what you need to know:
at 10000 AP, you would need ~11 mastery from gear (IE your character sheet says 13), in order for RB damage to be greater from the effective damage gained from choosing slam for that GCD, which is just shy of 2000 mastery rating.
@ x= 10000
y= 10.94145864
@ x = 15000
y = 11.88618043
@ x = 20000
y = 12.49656973
@ x = 25000
y= 12.92342170
@ x = 30000
y = 13.23869870
the line of intersection in terms of the x and y axis', is more or less exponential in form. basically after this 11 mastery/10000ap cut point, the it doesn't take much more mastery for RB > Slam at say 15000 ap. when I get home I can take some screen shots and post them I suppose but I highly encourage anyone who is actually interested in this sort of thing to just download a 3d grapher and play with it your self.
with current gear levels it's not viably possible for there to ever be a time where RB>slam for SMF, but depending on how gear scaling plays out this expansion, this comparison might become more interesting/prevalent in later tiers.
