Build Shop: Warrior 41/20/0

Welcome back to Build Shop! This time we're checking out an Arms Warrior Poleaxe build (41/20/0), and what a good time to do it, thanks to the newly implemented changes to the talent trees in patch 2.3. The Arms tree for warriors has a long and illustrious PvP history, and it's just gotten even stronger. Moving Death Wish out of the Fury tree clears Warriors up to go deeper into Arms to pick up those last few talents and is a very welcome change for me.

This is an Arms build mostly focusing on PvP using a Polearm or Axe, but shift those 5 specialization points around depending on what weapon you're using.

Arms (41 points)

I'm not looking to stay in Battle Stance very long, so I'm skipping Improved Charge for this build. I also don't have too much use for Heroic Strike so I'm passing over the improved version, but if you're going to use it you should snag it.

Deflection 2/5 & Improved Rend 3/3 - I'm going with Improved Rend and 2 points in Deflection for some extra Parry rating. While I still think Rend is an underpowered ability, it works well with Blood Frenzy further down in the tree. I don't want to have to depend on Deep Wounds to keep that 4% damage buff up, so since I'm using Rend it might as well do 75% more damage.

Iron Will 5/5 - As this is primarily a PvP focused build, I want to maximize my chances of retaining control of my character. With 5 points, this increases your chance to resist stuns and charms by 15%. If you've got an Orc warrior with this talent, you're talking about some serious stun resistance.

Improved Overpower 2/2 & Deep Wounds 3/3 - Overpower has been the bane of my rogue's existence ever since she first went up against a Warrior. Rogues, feral druids, and hunters usually have a significant chance to dodge, so make 'em pay. A talent that increases your chance to crit one of your attacks by 50% is a no-brainer. Deep Wounds helps keep that 4% damage buff from Blood Frenzy up, and does a fair amount of damage itself. Since it's a bleed, it'll help keep those pesky rogues from re-stealthing, too.

Two Handed Weapon Spec 2/2 & Impale 2/2 - You should be using a two handed weapon if you're speccing heavily into this tree, so take this and get another 5% damage. Impale is another favorite of mine -- I love anything that increases crit damage and lets me see those big numbers.

Poleaxe, Mace or Sword Spec 5/5 - Toss those 5 points into whatever spec you need depending on your weapon. Mace spec is quite popular, though with 2.3 the proc chance is going down and the rage gained from the proc is going up (by 1). I'm not sure how big a deal the reduced proc chance is going to be, but a 3 second stun is still lovely when you get it. If you're looking to maximize your crit chance, go with Poleaxe spec.

Death Wish 1/1 - Until patch 2.3 this was in the Fury tree, and to get it you had to give up some of the deeper Arms talents. Obviously this is no longer the case, and you should absolutely get this, as it grants 20% more damage for 30 seconds and makes you immune to fear. Pop this tactically when you're dealing with a Warlock and it gives you 30 seconds to kill him without the hassle of being chain feared.

Improved Intercept 2/2 - Intercept is a fantastic ability, and if you've got this talent and a couple pieces from a PvP or Arena set, you can literally halve the cooldown from 30 seconds to 15. This provides a ton of mobility for warriors and helps keep them from being kited. If you're serious about PvP, I can't recommend this talent enough.

Blood Frenzy 2/2 & Second Wind 2/2 - I recommend taking Blood Frenzy and keeping it up on your target as long as you can. An extra 4% damage is nothing to scoff at. Second Wind is another favorite of mine -- anytime you're stunned or immobilized you gain rage and health, and you're likely to be stunned quite often if you PvP a lot, so this one is worth it.

Mortal Strike 1/1 - Pretty much the reason you are this deep in the Arms tree. An instant attack that halves incoming heals on your target. This is your big attack, use it when you can.

Improved Mortal Strike 5/5 - This seems underwhelming at first (reduce cooldown by 1 second and increase damage by 5%), but if you're using MS every time it's up, the cooldown reduction alone means you can use it 20% more often. Couple that with the 5% damage increase, and you're essentially increasing your Mortal Strike damage by 25%, which is far more impressive. This was one of the talents you had to give up before patch 2.3 if you wanted Death Wish from the Fury tree.

Endless Rage - You gain 25% more rage from dealing damage. More rage means you can use more of your abilities, and that means your enemies die more quickly. You could skip this if you wanted and get Sweeping Strikes from the Fury tree, but I'm taking this, since I'm looking to maximize my rage generation.


Fury (20 points)

There's not much that's overwhelmingly great in the Fury tree with this build, but there are some very solid buffs to skills you'll use a lot. Here's my suggestions.

Cruelty 5/5 & Booming Voice 5/5 - Increases chance to crit by 5% and increases duration / area of effect of your shouts by 50%. These are my favorites, but you can take any combination you'd like to get you through the first two tiers of the Fury tree.

Commanding Presence 5/5 - Buffs your battle and commanding shout, so you get either 25% more attack power or health, depending on which you're using.

Enrage 5/5 - As you stack resilience this gets a little less effective since you're lessening your chance to be crit, but you still will get crit when you PvP. Gaining an additional 25% damage bonus after you've been crit makes it worth it. Take the crit and then make your enemies suffer.


That wraps up this edition of Build Shop, but I'll be back again next week! What do you want to see on Build Shop? Send me an email with your builds or what you want to discuss about your class, and we'll talk shop.