Warriors are one of the most iconic classes in the world of fantasy games, and they’re incredibly popular in World of Warcraft.
Whether you enjoy achievement hunting, PVP, PVE, or something else entirely, it’s likely you’ve tried playing a Warrior once or twice before.
With two DPS specs and a Tank spec, there’s a perfect Warrior spec for every situation. It can be hard to keep track of which specialization to pick in which scenario, though, as they all have their unique advantages and disadvantages.
Here’s a complete guide to picking the best Warrior spec in Dragonflight.
Best Warrior Spec for Solo Leveling
Two of the main things to look for when picking a leveling specialization are survivability and mobility. Protection is the best Warrior spec to pick up for both of these factors. It’s surprisingly fast-paced for a Tank spec, with a good variety of moves and abilities to choose from.
Protection Warriors have a number of brilliant defensive abilities that can help to keep them alive while leveling.
Abilities like Ignore Pain are incredibly useful when trying to take on large mob packs, and they can come in handy when doing Dungeons during the leveling up process, too.
Speaking of Dungeons, leveling up with a Tank spec guarantees that you’ll have access to much quicker queues than you would if you leveled with a DPS spec. This can help you speed through and get to max level much quicker.
Another reason why Protection is so brilliant for leveling up is the mobility that the spec offers. Tank specs and Plate-wearing specs aren’t known for their exceptional mobility in a lot of cases, but Protection Warrior is surprisingly nimble.
In general, Protection Warrior is a great introduction to melee gameplay. It’s a fun spec and decently approachable, but still very rewarding in the late game.
Strongest Warrior Spec for Arenas
Arms is the best Warrior specialization to pick up for Arenas right now, particularly if you’re interested in 3v3 battles. It can be found in popular comps like Turbo and Ret War, but it’s adaptable enough to fit into a variety of other comps.
One of the reasons why Arms is such a great specialization for Arenas is that it has a good mix of damage output styles.
It’s brilliant for burst damage, which makes it very good for opening a battle. It’s also got solid single-target damage and a decent variety of AOE options too, meaning that it’s possible to switch up your attack style midway through a battle.
The Arms spec has some great defensive cooldowns and damage mitigation options which can come in very handy during Arena battles. With the right timing, Shield Block can be maintained consistently, and abilities like Shield Wall can be incredibly powerful as well.
It is worth noting that the Arms spec can be difficult to manage, in terms of resource management and cooldown timing. It’s a tricky specialization to get the hang of initially, but it’s worth the effort as it can also be a truly powerful spec.
Best Warrior Spec for Battlegrounds
There are several picks for the best Warrior specialization to select for Battlegrounds, and Arms happens to be one of them.
As mentioned, Arms is a heavy-hitting specialization that has a good mix of defensive cooldowns and different damage output options.
It works well in a variety of different team comps, and it’s got a great level of survivability that can make team fights without a Healer much more balanced than they would be usually.
If Arms isn’t the specialization for you, Fury is another spec that’s worth checking out for a proper Battleground experience.
It’s an interesting melee DPS spec that has some exceptional burst damage, making it perfect for opening up a fight.
Something that Fury really shines with is mobility. A lot of Fury abilities allow you to maintain a consistent damage output without losing out on mobility, which is absolutely essential when it comes to the unpredictable nature of Battlegrounds.
Another great thing that Fury offers for Battlegrounds is the ability to switch between targets with ease. This means that if you’re playing Fury in a Battleground, you can hop between enemies as the fight demands, making you a very effective team addition.
Fury does have the worst damage mitigation and self-healing abilities out of the Warrior spec list, but with the right Healer by your side, it’s entirely possible to top the DPS charts without putting yourself at any risk.
Best Warrior Solo Shuffle Spec
When you’re picking specializations for Solo Shuffle, it’s important to look at how durable the spec is and whether it can fit into different comps well or not. Arms is the best pick for Solo Shuffle as it offers great survivability and adaptability.
As noted earlier, Arms can be found in a number of different community-favorite comps in Arenas, but that’s not to say that it’s limited in terms of which specs it works well alongside.
In fact, it’s the most flexible out of all the Warrior specs, making it the perfect pick for someone who’s looking to queue up in Solo Shuffle.
One common issue that Arms players can run into quite a lot of downtime between major cooldowns, which links back to how resource management is an important part of playing this specialization.
This can be overcome with some smart talent picks, though.
In particular, moves like Improved Execute and Strength of Arms are great for boosting how much Rage you generate in a PVP setting. You’ll still need to be on top of your timings and paying attention to your team, but the tools to deal with this issue certainly exist.
With impactful bleeds and burst damage, high mobility, and a decent level of survivability, what’s not to love about Arms as a Solo Shuffle player? The resource management and lack of pure self-heals can be tricky, but with practice and the right set-up, this spec can be mighty.
That’s not to say that the other Warrior specs aren’t worth considering, though. While Fury isn’t very popular in Solo Shuffle right now, Protection is another great pick that’s worth looking at if you want more defensive cooldowns and even more mobility.
Best PVE Warrior Specialization
Protection Warrior is one of the most popular Tank choices in the Raiding scene right now, and with good reason.
The Protection toolkit is vast, with a number of damage output styles. This makes it suitable for a wide variety of different fights- and the extra mobility doesn’t hurt for dealing with extra Raid mechanics, too.
Spell Reflection is a particularly useful ability for Protection Warriors in PVE, although the other specs do have access to it.
It reflects the first spell that gets sent your way, then reduces magic damage taken by 25% for 5 seconds. 5 seconds may not sound like a lot, but it’s an absolute game-changer if you time it right.
Protection Tanks are arguably the most classic form of Tanks in World of Warcraft, and they certainly play like it. They’re incredibly durable, mainly in the form of abilities like Shield Block and Defensive Stance, and they can pull off some incredible damage with the right set-up.
This spec does take some getting used to, but it’s well worth the effort. It’s a flexible and powerful specialization with a lot of powerful abilities, and it’s recently received some buffs that make it much stronger, too.
Best Warrior Spec for Soloing Old Content
Finally, the best Warrior specialization to pick up for soloing old world content like classic Raids and Dungeons is Protection.
Protection is also a very nimble spec with great mobility, and this means that it’s an easy spec to navigate through long Dungeons or Raids with multiple levels. This isn’t the case for many Plate specializations, so it’s quite unique in this factor.
The self-healing abilities that Protection has are somewhat limited, but it’s still very durable. With the wide variety of damage output options that this specialization has on offer, it’s a very easy choice for quickly burning down bosses.
The high mobility of this spec also means that it’s possible to solo tricky old world achievements and unique boss mechanics, too. It’s absolutely possible to solo old world content with Fury or Arms, but Protection is the most logical pick.
How to Learn A New Specialization
Learning how to play a new spec can take some time, but it’s a lot easier if you have a solid plan. Firstly, picking out a good leveling route is essential if you want to get to the endgame content quickly. Leveling is decently quick now in Dragonflight but if you plan a route out, you can get up to level 70 easily.
If you’re interested in PVP, make sure to read up on the classes and specs that your Warrior spec pairs well with. It’s a great way to make sure that you perform better in Arenas and Battlegrounds, as it’ll help you understand how to time your rotation effectively. These pairings include:
For PVE fans, it’s worth checking out the current Mythic+ Dungeon rotation and starting off with the simpler ones. Starting off slow with endgame content will give you time to get to grips with the rotation and playstyle of your chosen specialization.
