Warrior

A warrior either tanks, holding the enemy's attention and taking the hits, or deals damage. Blizzard's summary is that any party or raid is happy to have one in either role, and that warriors lack the tools to recover easily from taking too much damage. They need a healer more than most.

Everything a warrior does runs on Rage, which builds as you hit and get hit. Most of Forever's changes are about making that more dependable.

Who can be one

Alliance: Dwarf, gnome, human, night elf, High Order Skyborne.
Horde: Orc, tauren, troll, undead, Windshaper Skyborne.

What Blizzard has changed

• Armor no longer reduces the Rage you gain from taking damage.
• Rage from dealing damage is based on weapon speed, with more from critical strikes.
• Victory Rush, learned at level 20, heals you for 10% of your health after a kill.
• Recklessness, Retaliation and Shield Wall no longer share a cooldown.
• A Protection talent lets you Charge while in Defensive Stance.

What to wear

Armor: Mail, then plate later on.
Look for: Strength, stamina.
Weapons: A one-handed weapon and a shield to tank, a two-hander to deal damage. The 2004 guide rates swords and axes a little above maces.

The weapon, every time. Then the heaviest armor on offer, and a shield kept in your bags for dungeons. The gear guide has the rest.

Where this comes from

How we verify

• Blizzard

  The Rage changes, Victory Rush, the separated cooldowns and the Vanguard talent

  Blizzard: class deep dive, Priest and Warrior
• Blizzard

  Every race on both factions can be a warrior

  Blizzard: Create the Hero You Want to Be (races, classes and racial traits)
• Blizzard

  Blizzard says Rage generation still has bugs in the beta and that abilities may change

  Blizzard: class deep dive, Priest and Warrior