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Katrael · 03/08/08, 6:41 AM

Very good job covering most aspects of DPSing. One thing that bears mentioning that seems to go overlooked frequently is the AoE aspect of Warrior DPS. Especially since the changes to Sweeping Strikes and Whirlwind, warrior AoE is a formidable force when properly applied, and I've found in my own experience that it can vastly improve trash clearing, as well as provide a valuable boost on the few boss fights that feature adds that can be AoE'd down.

There are really only three main AoE abilities a DPS warrior has. Whirlwind, Sweeping Strikes, and Cleave. When applying any of these it's important to keep in mind foremost any CC that could be potentially broken by carelessness, and if the tanks are going to be able to output sufficient threat on All the mobs that will be hit by the AoE, or if not, that the mobs are weak enough individually that you do not run the risk of death from the resultant aggro.

The first concern is best addressed by a simple check. When in doubt, don't AoE. If you've lost track of that sheep in the flash of spell effects and player models it's probably best to simply let Whirlwind lie dormant and pour more rage into heroic strike. However, if you can see CC that is potentially in hazard range, it's a good idea to have a fairly strong idea of the area of effect that your AoE will have.

Whirlwind has an 8 yard range, and hits up to four targets within a 360 degree radius of the warrior. In general, unless a sheep is right on top of the mob simply moving yourself to the far side of the creature's hit box is sufficient to put the CC out of harm's way. This is more effective on larger mobs, with commensurately larger hit boxes. Depending on current weapon DPS and AP, Whirlwind will do more damage than a Bloodthirst or Mortal strike. This has to be evaluated on a case by case basis, but in a mix of s3 and badge gear with [Dragonstrike] MH and [Fury] OH my Whirlwind does more damage than bloodthirst if there is even one additional target to hit. It's highly unlikely that in three or four target situations any very reasonable gear set would have bloodthirst doing more damage than whirlwind, therefore you should adjust the above noted attack priorities as appropriate to the AoE situation at hand.

Cleave doesn't have a specified range, but personal experience says that it's at least 5 or 6 yards, possibly more. It will hit your current target, and one other in a 180 degree frontal arc. When in an AoE situation, cleave takes the place of heroic strike in your cycles, as a place to dump excess rage when other higher priority abilities are on cooldown.

Sweeping Strikes has a very short range, no more than a few yards, and seems to function within the 180 degree frontal arc that cleave does. With this in mind it's important to try and be as close as possible to both mobs when using Sweeping Strikes, or targets may end up out of range. On the plus side, this means positioning for Sweeping strikes in CC laden pulls is easier, as a sheep almost has to walk through you to take a hit. With it's 30 second cooldown and relatively high rage cost, it's best to time the first sweeping strikes usage of an AoE pull with enough rage to immediately deliver a whirlwind, as well as using any possible short duration cool downs, as SS offers the greatest damage amplification short of Recklessness for the ten swings that it is active, effectively doubling most of your damage. If the AoE pull or phase will last long much longer than thirty seconds it's better to simply pop sweeping strikes as soon as possible, so as to have it available for a second use before the end of the AoE.

There is one more key AoE ability that warriors have, that should be liberaly applied to any heavy AoE pull(Any pull really, but it can matter more for AoE), and that is Demo Shout. With squishy clothies, or deathwishing warriors in leather potentially grabbing aggro from untanked mobs in an AoE pull, lowering the damage potential of the entire group with a single shout is an incredible boost for the survivability of the fragile AoEers across the raid, and in most cases should be the first thing you do during an AoE pull.

edit: As to your point above about cooldown stacking, it should be mentioned that not all cooldowns scale each other, popping [Berserker's Call] and an [Insane Strength Potion] at the same time doesn't make either effect more potent in and of themselves. However both benefit from being timed with a heroism or recklessness. This mostly only matters if you run into a situation where you know that a fight won't last an additional two minutes for an extra use of a trinket or pot, and you have a choice of waiting to use it now, or saving it to coincide with a potential proc. In general, stacking like bonuses together won't result in an increase beyond the basic bonus, The exception to this is of course armor pen, as it grows in potency as armor approaches zero.

second edit: Minor as well, but it pays to ensure that you use your trinkets, pots and other cooldowns just when BT/MS and WW will be available. Take for example the aforementioned [Berserker's Call], which grants an AP boost for 20 seconds. If this trinket is used just when BT and WW become available a full 3xBT 2xWW cycle can be completed before the duration ends, if it's carelessly popped just after BT and WW are used you will end up losing the buff before the third bloodthirst and second whirlwind can be executed.
Likewise, it is best to keep a close eye on timers for any ability which may result in you being unable to DPS for any length of time, and hold off on using cooldowns if they become available shortly before the timers for such abilities come up. Quite a bit of DPS can be lost from carelessly popping a pot and trinket just before say, getting graved on Morogrim,

03/08/08, 6:41 AM	#9 (permalink)
Katrael Von Kaiser Katrael Draenei Warrior <Pantheon> Steamwheedle Cartel	AoE Very good job covering most aspects of DPSing. One thing that bears mentioning that seems to go overlooked frequently is the AoE aspect of Warrior DPS. Especially since the changes to Sweeping Strikes and Whirlwind, warrior AoE is a formidable force when properly applied, and I've found in my own experience that it can vastly improve trash clearing, as well as provide a valuable boost on the few boss fights that feature adds that can be AoE'd down. There are really only three main AoE abilities a DPS warrior has. Whirlwind, Sweeping Strikes, and Cleave. When applying any of these it's important to keep in mind foremost any CC that could be potentially broken by carelessness, and if the tanks are going to be able to output sufficient threat on All the mobs that will be hit by the AoE, or if not, that the mobs are weak enough individually that you do not run the risk of death from the resultant aggro. The first concern is best addressed by a simple check. When in doubt, don't AoE. If you've lost track of that sheep in the flash of spell effects and player models it's probably best to simply let Whirlwind lie dormant and pour more rage into heroic strike. However, if you can see CC that is potentially in hazard range, it's a good idea to have a fairly strong idea of the area of effect that your AoE will have. Whirlwind has an 8 yard range, and hits up to four targets within a 360 degree radius of the warrior. In general, unless a sheep is right on top of the mob simply moving yourself to the far side of the creature's hit box is sufficient to put the CC out of harm's way. This is more effective on larger mobs, with commensurately larger hit boxes. Depending on current weapon DPS and AP, Whirlwind will do more damage than a Bloodthirst or Mortal strike. This has to be evaluated on a case by case basis, but in a mix of s3 and badge gear with [Dragonstrike] MH and [Fury] OH my Whirlwind does more damage than bloodthirst if there is even one additional target to hit. It's highly unlikely that in three or four target situations any very reasonable gear set would have bloodthirst doing more damage than whirlwind, therefore you should adjust the above noted attack priorities as appropriate to the AoE situation at hand. Cleave doesn't have a specified range, but personal experience says that it's at least 5 or 6 yards, possibly more. It will hit your current target, and one other in a 180 degree frontal arc. When in an AoE situation, cleave takes the place of heroic strike in your cycles, as a place to dump excess rage when other higher priority abilities are on cooldown. Sweeping Strikes has a very short range, no more than a few yards, and seems to function within the 180 degree frontal arc that cleave does. With this in mind it's important to try and be as close as possible to both mobs when using Sweeping Strikes, or targets may end up out of range. On the plus side, this means positioning for Sweeping strikes in CC laden pulls is easier, as a sheep almost has to walk through you to take a hit. With it's 30 second cooldown and relatively high rage cost, it's best to time the first sweeping strikes usage of an AoE pull with enough rage to immediately deliver a whirlwind, as well as using any possible short duration cool downs, as SS offers the greatest damage amplification short of Recklessness for the ten swings that it is active, effectively doubling most of your damage. If the AoE pull or phase will last long much longer than thirty seconds it's better to simply pop sweeping strikes as soon as possible, so as to have it available for a second use before the end of the AoE. There is one more key AoE ability that warriors have, that should be liberaly applied to any heavy AoE pull(Any pull really, but it can matter more for AoE), and that is Demo Shout. With squishy clothies, or deathwishing warriors in leather potentially grabbing aggro from untanked mobs in an AoE pull, lowering the damage potential of the entire group with a single shout is an incredible boost for the survivability of the fragile AoEers across the raid, and in most cases should be the first thing you do during an AoE pull. edit: As to your point above about cooldown stacking, it should be mentioned that not all cooldowns scale each other, popping [Berserker's Call] and an [Insane Strength Potion] at the same time doesn't make either effect more potent in and of themselves. However both benefit from being timed with a heroism or recklessness. This mostly only matters if you run into a situation where you know that a fight won't last an additional two minutes for an extra use of a trinket or pot, and you have a choice of waiting to use it now, or saving it to coincide with a potential proc. In general, stacking like bonuses together won't result in an increase beyond the basic bonus, The exception to this is of course armor pen, as it grows in potency as armor approaches zero. second edit: Minor as well, but it pays to ensure that you use your trinkets, pots and other cooldowns just when BT/MS and WW will be available. Take for example the aforementioned [Berserker's Call], which grants an AP boost for 20 seconds. If this trinket is used just when BT and WW become available a full 3xBT 2xWW cycle can be completed before the duration ends, if it's carelessly popped just after BT and WW are used you will end up losing the buff before the third bloodthirst and second whirlwind can be executed. Likewise, it is best to keep a close eye on timers for any ability which may result in you being unable to DPS for any length of time, and hold off on using cooldowns if they become available shortly before the timers for such abilities come up. Quite a bit of DPS can be lost from carelessly popping a pot and trinket just before say, getting graved on Morogrim, Last edited by Katrael : 03/08/08 at 7:03 AM.