I got an issue that me and our other DPS warrior have on raids, specifically on fights like mimiron hardmode and XT-002 hardmode.

The problem is when heroic strike is queued up, which it nearly always in high damage fights in ulduar, and we need to quickly run away from the boss while switching to defensive stance + onehander/shield (with the usual macro).

Now, with heroic strike queued up, it is not possible to switch weapons, while running away, and thus the def stance/weapon switch macro wont work. Is there a way (commandline/script) to remove the queued up heroic strike in a macro?

I also use macro to switch to Def stance and equip sword & board. I don't think I've ever had the problem you describe. I think (@ work, can't check atm) the first line in my macro is /stopattack. I also use it when I pull aggro and want to be certain I'm not still hitting the mob.

I may review my macro and change it to equip shield plus the highest stam weapon I have, probably a 2-hander. I'm mainly in survival mode at this point. I'd use a separate macro to equip my tanking sword & shield for when I need to OT for a few seconds when the wheels fall off.

Hi there! Before I post this question, I'd just like to say that I've already searched the warrior forum and this topic for the key word "Shield Block", and although I did find answers that would answer my question, they don't...And now, i've given up after viewing through multiple posts and answers, so if you know a direct link to the answer to my question, please do post it :P.


My question regarding "Shield Block"(the ability) is simple:
Does it really double your total BV? (the BV stated when you hover your mouse over Block, in the defense tab).

I currently have 1303 BV when hovering over the "Block" section, in my defense tab. Now, using Shield Block, according to the answers some people gave me, it should increase my Block Value to 1303*2 = 2606, because it just doubles the TOTAL amount of BV after all BV-increases have been applied. (Even trinkets that increase Block Value temporarily).
But it doesn't. My Block Value increases to 2268, just below 400 BV off what I had expected.

Now, I'm assuming this is because there are some modifiers Shield Block does not include. I'm no god at theorycrafting, and i'm not sure about the mechanics in the game, but I gave it a few shots to see if I could figure it out myself, and although I got close, it just didn't add up.

I'm using a meta gem that increases my BV by 5%. Also, my talent Shield Mastery increases Block value by 30%. In addition to that I have the Block Value enchant on my shield, but that only adds 40 BV points. Apart from that, I get the remaining Blockvalue from my base-strength, strength gained by items and BV bonuses on items. (Keep in mind my vitality also modifies my strength with 6%)


Hovering over my Strength-stat, I see that it adds 538 BV from Strength(189 base + 907 from gear = 1096 STR)

If I have 1303 total BV, I assumed that 1303 BV - 538 BV = 765 BV, is from gear-bonus/enchants/the metagem.

I then started counting the pure BV bonuses+enchants on my gear:

Chest + Leggings + Shield + Titanium Plating = 77+89+221+40 = 427. Then there was a meta-gem that increased said Block value by 5% and a talent that increases it by 30%:

427+(427*0.35)= 576.35. I'm assuming this is the BV i get from my gear-bonus, my meta-gem, my enchant and my Shield Mastery talent.

Seemingly having all areas covered, if I add the BV i get from STR only with the BV i get from item-bonuses, enchants etc. they should add up to 1303. But it doesn't of course.

The 576.35 I got from items and such, do not match with what I should have once you subtract the 538 BV (I got from STR) from the total BV which was 1303. There's roughly a 200 BV difference.

However, if I take the 576.35 and add them with the 538 BV I get 1114.35 BV. If I multiply that with 2, as if I had used Shield Block, i get 2228.7 BV, which is only 40 BV from what I get according to the character screen.

As you have probably realized by now, I've got no bloody clue what the hell is going on anymore. I'm afraid I might've just confused myself more and am overlooking a very simple factor. Maybe, there are simply some mechanics I just don't know about that have a say in this matter. (God knows, I might've made one hell of a mathematical error I totally missed)

I'd like it if anyone could maybe shed some light on this, either some inspiration as to what I may have done wrong, or maybe actually has a simple answer ready at hand!

Kind Regards, Me. :P


PS: If I posted this in the wrong thread, I'm terribly sorry. I figured from the title and some of the content, that this would be a proper thread to post a question in.

I've always wondered this myself, and I believe I've found a definitive answer. In short, shield block only doubles the amount of block value received due to strength and inherent value of a shield, and only before the extra 30% from shield mastery is applied (math follows).

It seems as though the first 21 base strength does not give you extra block value. This is probably due to it being an inherent base number of strength from choosing the "warrior" option, and then you receive an extra varying amount of strength, that does add block value, from whichever race you choose (I made a level 1 Dwarf Warrior to verify, and with 25 strength he only added 2 block value). This causes the number of block value added from strength to be lower than what you would expect. Also, Shield Mastery only affects the block value number while hovering over the "Block" stat, it does NOT affect the "Block Value" number while hovering over Strength (that is, the 30% modifier is applied only in the calculation of total block value, not the individual parts).

Using [Barricade of Eternity], in a prot spec with 2/2 Shield Mastery and 3/3 Vitality. Base level 80 Dwarf Warrior strength is 186, and as such 186-21 = 165/2 = 82.5 ~ 83, which is the base block value with absolutely nothing equipped. Adding the shield, you gain (43 * 1.06 = 45.58) strength, equating to an extra 22.79 block value. This, added to the original 82.5, ends up at 105.29, which is displayed as 105 on the "Block Value" from strength on the character sheet. The shield has an inherent 216 block, and combined with 105 from strength gives you 321 * 1.3 = 417.3, shown as 417 on the character sheet.

When shield block is popped, block value increases to 738, an increase of 738-417 = 321, the same amount of block given before the shield mastery multiplier when adding inherent block value and block value added from strength. Thus, the 100% modifier only works on block that occurs before shield mastery.

Testing another shield to make sure, see [Wall of Terror]. Again, base block is 82.5. Strength added is 63, thus 63 * 1.06 = 66.78 real strength, and 66.78/2 = 33.39 block value added, 82.5 + 33.39 = 115.89, 116 on character sheet under strength. Base block is 221, (221 + 115.89 = 336.89) * 1.3 = 437.957, shown as 438 when hovering over block. When popping shield block, value increases by 336.89 to 774.847, shown as 775.

* Speculation removed, actual mechanics are below.

EDIT #1: I'm trying to figure out the mechanics of the 5% meta, but it is not as simple as I had thought it would be. I'm using your stats from your post and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get back to the 427 from gear number, the closest I can get is 417 one way, and 437 another. Something is not adding up, but I am up to the challenge! Hopefully I'll have another answer shortly.

EDIT #2: Got it! The mechanics behind this definitely do not work as I had expected, the meta modifier is both multiplicative in one way and additive in another.

You have 1,096 strength total. 1,096 - 21 = 1,075/2 = 537.5, giving you the 538 you stated (this gives credence to my 21 base strength theory). Adding up your block value from items, you do indeed arrive at 427, and adding these two numbers together you arrive at 965.

Here's where the math gets cooky: In order to arrive at your 1,303 number, you must first multiply your total block value by the Shield Mastery modifier, arriving at 965 * 1.3 = 1,254.5. Then, take the original total block value, 965, and multiply it by the 5% you get from the meta, 965 * 0.05 = 48.25. This is the amount of block you gain from the meta alone. Then, adding these two together, 1,254.5 + 48.25, you get 1302.75, showing as 1,303 on your sheet (actually, now that I think about it, this mechanic is fairly simple: the multipliers are actually additive: (965 * 1.35 = 1302.75).

So, in short, the multipliers are additive, and are then multiplied against your total block value from strength and gear.

What is the formula to calculate how much dmg a Shield slam will do based on your block value?

It should be something like this:

((((BD + (SBV *1.35 *1.1 (glyph) * 2.0 (shield block))* 1.1 1handspec)*1.1 gag order)*1.1 t7)

This is what Kazeyonama and the others were talking about back in February about how it can be confusing to get it right due to all the modifiers. Above, you see the Glyph of Blocking, 1Hand Specialization, Gag Order, and T7 bonus but any of those can be taken out as necessary. You may also have to take into account a Meta if you are using the SBV one, Trinket if you are using Lavanthor's, and Strength considerations at any given point in time.

Your typical base would be:

(BD + (SBV *1.3)) * 1.1

Where BD is Base Damage and SBV is Shield Block Value.
1.3 Represents Shield Mastery 30% Damage Increase
1.1 Represents One-Handed Specialization 10% Damage Increase

I'm curious, if anyone has seen any information regarding Swordguard Embroidery, and how it compaires to the buffs given by other proffessions? 400AP for 15sec, after next patch, seems really good to me. But how does it stand up to Blacksmithing, Enchanting and JC for example?

Does anyone else experience issues on Hodir? Specifically, DPS coming up shorter than other classes or specs? I've noticed that fury seems to do a bit better than arms (constant movement and lack of slams or better scaling for fury?), but warriors in general seem to be low across the board. Are the warriors in my guild doing something wrong, or is it just not possible to expect the 15000+ DPS that other classes are putting out?

Is very unlikely for dps warriors to reach 15k dps on that fight or even more than 12k but anyways you only need around 8k dps for get the frozen cache. Those insane numbers are just overkill.
And then in the other hand there are fights like Mimiron where warriors are easily above many classes.

It is based on the skill of the warrior, the luck of the buffs positions, and the positioning of the tank. Typically, melee in general will be lower simply because the tank has to position Hodir by starlight buffs so the melee can benefit from it. With Icicles constantly crashing on the stacked melee grp, staying in starlight is difficult. In addition the storm cloud buff is random on what target it picks, and if the melee group is lucky enough to be chosen and in a starlight they get double buffed and can reach the top of the meters.

To conclude, if the warrior finds a starlight by hodir that doesn't get icicles on it for a fair amount of time, and is buffed with a storm cloud multiple times in the encounter, they can reach 12k to 15k. This is obviously based on the gear of a warrior and how well he does his rotations. To answer which spec is higher dps, fury still shines the most.

I think the spreadsheet is correct. The game's tooltip only shows expertise increments of 0.25% but I am pretty sure I read about some tests that proved that even then the game calculates expertise more precisely (i.e. stuff like 6.2% expertise is possible even if the game rounds it up or down in the tooltip).