Talk:Warrior Tactics

Beginning Alliance Warrior Tips, Tricks, and Strategies (Sorry Hordies) Rated "R"

The Beginning Warrior

Okay, some basic tips or advice for starting Alliance Warriors:

Secondary Tradeskills -A completely vital secondary Tradeskill is First Aid. Do not EVER leave home without it. These bandages can save your ass, and greatly reduce downtime. Make sure to train in it, and make sure to maintain your stock of Linen or Bandages at all times.

-Fishing and Cooking are very good tradeskills to have, and considering that they're secondary tradeskills, it wouldn't hurt to have either. Especially paired together, you can use the Food's timed buffs to aid you at various times, and to take the place of First Aid when you're out of bandages. Get it if you want, but personally I don't have it. (What self respecting Dwarf cooks?)

Primary Tradeskills

-Blacksmithing, especially when paired with Mining, can be one of the best mixes of primary tradeskills for a Warrior. With Blacksmithing, and later when you spec in a certain weapon or just armor, you can support a portion of your equipment yourself. And gain a bit of cash on the side. Considering how equipment dependent we Warriors are, this tradeskill mix can help us greatly while conserving our already taxed budgets.

-Alchemy paired with Herbalism is another excellent tradeskill mix for Warriors. Considering that we cannot heal in combat, being able to create our own potions (And forage the materials to make more) in the field further increases our combat power. Paired with many of the buffs (Positive spells that increase our statistics) and regenerative effects to our health, Alchemy can pay off fairly well for a Warrior.

-Engineering, Tailoring, Leatherworking are fairly useless to a Warrior, as we do not make use of clothing or leather armour (As Warriors, Mail and Plate will always be superior to anything Leatherworking or Tailoring will crank out). Engineering: While it's gadgets may be appealing, half it's use lies in the creation of ranged weapons. Bombs, Guns, and Ammunition for Firearms. All these things are wasted on Warriors. You can take them if you want, but they won't help you much, if at all.

-Enchanting. While I personally believe Enchanting to be utterly useless as a Warrior, if you have a friend or a Guild to take care of your Armour and Weapon needs, Enchanting may be useful. It can be hard to level up, however. Not suggested for a starting Warrior.

-Skinning can be a good replacement for Mining if you have a friend who has mining and will supply you with resources. However, this is not an optimal tradeskill for Warrior.

Alternate Tradeskill Mixes

-One suggestion I have for Warriors who either don't care, or don't need to care about equipment procurement is to get both Mining and Skinning. Using both these tradeskills, you can gather resources while you hunt and quest, then sell them at Auction Houses or elsewhere for a fair profit.

Basic Warrior Tips

-Always try to keep current with your equipment. 'Nuff said. If you're level 20, and you have a level 1 sword (Exaggeration), and you're complaining about how little damage Warriors do.... The problem is you, not your class. Warriors are equipment dependent.

-Always keep your healing items stocked.

-Always repair your items when in town. Keeping your equipment in top shape is important to a warrior, as we need every little bit of kit we can strap to ourselves. Having it break in the middle of a instance or dungeon can be very, very bad.

Solo Fighting

Some Suggestions: -Don't bother fighting Mobs (Non-player controlled creatures) equal to your level or higher. It can drain your health and healing resources and is not as efficient. For a Solo Warrior, it is suggested that you fight Mobs one or two levels under your own. This way, your hit rate is maximized and you do not have to spend so much time between fights healing yourself.

-You shouldn't have any issues soloing in the "Newbie" training areas (Coldridge Valley/Northshire Abbey). Just take it slow, and be sure not to fight more than one or two Mobs at a time, especially ones equal to or above your level.

-As soon as you can afford it (10 Silver for the skill, plus weapon and ammo) purchase a Ranged Weapon Skill from a Weapon Trainer. (They can be found in Ironforge or Stormwind). A ranged skill is invaluable for a Solo Warrior. It allows us to pull (The act of just drawing one or two creatures from a larger group of enemies), whereas otherwise, we'd have to try and get them to aggro ("Aggravating" the enemy, getting targeted and attacked by them) us without drawing too many other Mobs on us.

-Charging is another powerful skill. It provides instant rage generation, quickly closes the gap between you and your target, and stuns them for a second or two. With the current build, however, you cannot charge in combat. So, if you need to pull be sure to keep in mind that you will not be able to charge. Keep these two considerations in mind when soloing.

-When fighting, be sure to make use of Thunder Clap. While many argue it isn't work the rage, I say it helps a good deal. The 10% reduction in the enemy's attack speed can help a good deal. Always try to keep your Battle Shout up at all times when fighting. The increase in attack power can prove just that little bit to help you.

-When soloing, avoid using Bloodrage to create rage. Without a healer active to heal you, using this skill to generate rage can prove disastrous, especially when a add (Mob who aggroes while you are fighting another Mob) crashes the party. Using a potion after you use Bloodrage can be bad as well, as you then be unable to use it again for almost the entirety of the battle. Just as above, this can be bad if another Mob jumps into the fight.

Final advice: If it's too tough, don't be afraid to group. More often than not, somebody your level needs a group for the same quest you're trying to complete. Often, just one more person helping you can make the difference. And this brings us to the next section.

Group Fighting

-Do not be afraid to switch weapons or stances. Especially when fighting spellcasters, it is far better to switch to a 1-handed weapon and shield. This maximizes your armour, and more importantly, allows you to make use of Shield Bash. This handy little skill interrupts those nasty spellcasters for 6 seconds. Great for those annoying fireball casting Defias. Another key issue is to never be afraid of switching stances. Flexibility is KEY to a successful Warrior, especially while grouped. Always remember this.

-Keeping the above in mind, always remain watchful of your group and the Mobs around you. If you are the tank (Individual in charge of taking all the hits and holding the aggro of the Mobs your group is fighting) always watch your group members. If a creature aggroes on them, it's your job to use Taunt or your attacks to get that Mob off them. And no matter what, DO NOT RETREAT. If you're about to die, and the Mob(s) your group has pulled is more powerful than the other members can handle, warn them and tell them to Get Out of There. By staying and fighting while your group members flee can save the group, and if the group has a Priest or Paladin, they can resurrect you later. A good warrior never gives ground until every other group member is safe.

-If you aren't the group's tank, that does not mean you should not watch your group members and the Mobs around you. Especially be watchful of the group's tank. If he starts to collapse, be ready to switch weapons and stance (If necessary) to jump into his place. Try to draw the Mob(s) off him. Saving him means that with a few quick heals, he can join you in the fight in a moment. Also, if the Tank has his hands full and an Add joins the fray, switch stance and weapons to draw him off the spellcasters. A warrior must always be ready.

-Use of your Shouts can greatly aid your other melee members of the group. Battle Shout especially.

-Use your First Aid on your group members if they need healing outside of combat. This can reduce mana use for the healers, and can greatly decrease downtime for the group.

Some Basic Group Courtesy and Player Courtesy Just some tips to new players (Or veterans O.o) on some basic courtesy:

-If you are grouped, and complete your quest, do not abandon your group to head back to town and turn in that quest. It is always good courtesy to return your group's favour and help them finish their quest. Plus, they might even invite you again.

-If you see any player who is in trouble and you can supply aid (I.e., the Mob is not a far higher level, your group is not engaged, or you are not healing) be sure to supply aid to that player. Who knows, further down the road he might return the favour! (Though I have made it a personal rule NOT to help players who form trains through dungeons and other cramped areas.) Don't lodejump. Now, if they lodejump you, it's good to return the favour.

-Don't killsteal. If they are obviously going to attack it first, let them have it. Of course, if they killstole from you, I think it is quite fair to return the favour. An Eye for an Eye, afterall. :)

-If you're in a group and you get some loot some other member in the group needs and you don't, you should give it to them.

For more grouping etiquette, be sure to go to Blizzard's site. They've got some good tidbits on group etiquette: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/partyrules.html

That's it for now folks! To Be Continued!