Core Concepts

Everything in this section is the foundation. The dungeon pages assume you know it.

Tanking (Protection)

Stat caps

Stat	Target	Why
Defense	540	Removes boss crits in heroics. Below this, you take random one-shots.
Hit	8% (264 rating @ 80)	Spell hit (17%) is irrelevant — warriors only need melee hit.
Expertise	26 (cap dodge)	Eliminates dodged Shield Slams. Parry cap (56) is overkill in 5-mans.
Stamina	As high as possible	Always.
Armor / Block Value	Stack while leveling	Mitigation per item budget, falls off slightly in late ICC.

You can ignore defense entirely while leveling. The 540 crit-immunity threshold only applies to heroic dungeon bosses (level 80 content) and raid bosses. Vanilla, TBC, and WotLK normal mode dungeons don’t crit you, so just stack Stamina + Block Value + Armor.

Threat priority (single target)

Shield Slam > Revenge > Shockwave > Concussion Blow > Devastate > filler

Free GCDs while waiting for cooldowns: Devastate to keep 5x Sunder Armor up. Heroic Strike as your rage dump (it’s an instant attack-replacer, doesn’t cost a GCD).

Threat priority (AoE / pull)

Charge → Thunder Clap → Shockwave → Cleave (instead of HS) → Tab-Devastate

Thunder Clap on cooldown — slows attack speed by 25%, huge mitigation passive.
Shockwave is a 4-sec stun on a 20-sec CD — use it to stop a runner or buy a kite window.
Cleave replaces Heroic Strike on AoE pulls. Glyph of Cleaving makes it hit 3 targets.
Single-target threat ramps so fast that you can usually skip Sunder Armor on AoE pulls and just spam your AoE buttons — DPS won’t pull off you in a 5-man.

Defensive cooldowns

Ability	CD	Use when
Shield Block	30s (Glyph: 1min/+10% block)	Default — pop on every hard pull and most boss openers.
Last Stand	3min (2min glyphed)	“Oh shit, healer asleep” button. +30% max HP for 20s.
Shield Wall	5min (Glyph of Shield Wall: 2min)	-40% damage taken, 12s. The big one.
Enraged Regeneration	3min	30% of max HP heal over 10s. Use during downtime if healer is OOM.
Spell Reflection	10s	Reflects one spell. Great vs. casters in HoR, FoS bone wraith volleys, Grobbulus-style adds.
War Stomp (racial)	2min	2-sec AoE stun. Use as a free interrupt on a caster pack or panic button.

Stance dancing in dungeons

You’ll spend 95% of your time in Defensive Stance (-10% damage taken, +10% threat). Reasons to leave:

Battle Stance for Charge (out of combat) — opens every pull.
Battle Stance for Intervene — break a snare, take a hit for the healer.
Berserker Stance for Intercept (in combat) — best gap-closer if a mob is fixated on the healer or the boss is mid-pack.
Berserker Stance for Berserker Rage — clear fear on a fight like Loken or Bronjahm.

Glyph of Charge extends Charge range — keep it for tanking.

Tanking glyphs (level 80)

Major:

Glyph of Vigilance — your raid utility, but in 5-mans put it on your top DPS. +10% threat transfer.
Glyph of Devastate — 2 stacks of Sunder per cast. Smoother threat ramp on bosses.
Glyph of Last Stand — CD reduced to 2min. Lets you use it more freely.

Optional: Glyph of Blocking (+10% block value for 10s after Shield Slam) for heavy physical fights, or Glyph of Shield Wall (lowers Shield Wall CD to 2 min, but reduces effect to -40% from -60% — almost always worth it for 5-mans).

Minor:

Glyph of Bloodrage — no health cost.
Glyph of Thunder Clap — +2 yd range, easier to grab a stragglers.
Glyph of Charge — +5 yd range.

Pull templates

Standard trash pack (3-5 mobs):

Bloodrage (pre-pull, in Defensive) → Charge first target → Thunder Clap → 
Shockwave → Cleave + Devastate on focus → Cleave + Shield Slam → 
Tab through any unattended mob with Devastate

Caster pack:

Charge primary → Thunder Clap → War Stomp (interrupts the cast) → 
LoS pull around a corner if possible to clump them → AoE

Single big mob / mini-boss:

Bloodrage → Charge → Shield Slam → Revenge → Devastate → Heroic Strike (rage dump)
Maintain 5x Sunder, Shield Block on cooldown.

DPS (Arms / Fury)

Arms rotation

Mortal Strike (on CD) > Bladestorm (on CD, only if 3+ targets) > 
Overpower (when proc'd) > Execute (during Sudden Death proc, or sub-20%) > 
Slam > Heroic Strike (rage dump only above 60 rage)

Keep Battle Shout or Commanding Shout up. Battle Shout for higher DPS, Commanding for HP buffer.

AoE: Sweeping Strikes (10s / 30s CD) → Bladestorm or Cleave spam.

Fury rotation

Bloodthirst (on CD) > Whirlwind (on CD) > Slam (during Bloodsurge proc, instant) >
Heroic Strike to dump rage, but stop if rage < 50 to keep specials available

Once you’re decently geared, Heroic Strike can be on auto-cast — but watch your rage; a Heroic Strike-starved BT/WW is much worse than a 5-rage white swing.

AoE: Whirlwind hits all four weapons via Titan’s Grip — just spam it on cooldown plus Cleave.

DPS glyphs (level 80)

Arms (major):

Glyph of Mortal Strike (+10% damage)
Glyph of Execution (+1 free Execute)
Glyph of Rending (+3s Rend duration)

Fury (major):

Glyph of Whirlwind (-2s CD)
Glyph of Heroic Strike (+10 rage on crit, virtually free)
Glyph of Cleaving (+1 target on Cleave) — for AoE; otherwise Glyph of Execution

Cooldowns to bank for DPS

Recklessness (5min) — +20% crit, 12s. Open with this on bosses.
Death Wish (Fury, 3min) — +20% damage, 30s. Pair with Recklessness when both are up.
Bladestorm (Arms, 1.5min) — channeled AoE, also immune to disarm/silence/snare. Use as a soft defensive too.
Berserker Rage — fear immunity, generates rage with the talent. Press it on Bronjahm, Loken, etc.

Stuff that applies to both roles

Consumables (level 80)

Flask of Stoneblood (tank) / Flask of Endless Rage (DPS).
Spiced Worm Burger or Dragonfin Filet (food).
Indestructible Potion (tank pre-pot) / Potion of Speed (DPS pre-pot).
Scrolls of Stamina/Strength are dirt cheap and worth using even at low levels.

Pre-pulls and trash discipline

Mark targets (skull → focus, X → next, etc.). 5-man pugs respect marks; the warrior is usually the one who places them.
Always Bloodrage before Charge — you arrive with rage to immediately Shield Slam.
LoS pulls: walk back behind a corner so casters come to you. The single most underrated tank tool.
Don’t move during Bladestorm — yours OR an enemy’s. Save Spell Reflection for casters mid-cast, not someone autoattacking you.

Common tank mistakes

Tanking in Battle Stance. -10% mitigation is huge. Stay Defensive unless using a stance-locked ability.
Spamming Heroic Strike at low rage. It blocks your next white swing, killing rage generation. Stop using HS below ~40 rage.
No Shield Block uptime. It’s a 30s cooldown and free threat (Critical Block via Shield Specialization). Use it.
Forgetting Vigilance. Cast it on your top DPS at the start of every dungeon — it persists until you die or recast. Free 10% threat transfer.
Overpulling for healer mana. A 5-man healer at level 40 in green gear cannot drink between every pull and clear at speed. Match the healer.