So you want to level a warrior, but don’t have a clue where to start? Too much conflicting advice out there on what you should be doing? Don’t worry, we’ll cut through all of that and lay down clear instructions on speccing, gearing, and playing your warrior through his first forty levels.

The first thing every warrior needs to know ASAP is how to gear. Warriors are fairly easy to gear for: Hit, Strength, and AP are all you need to worry about until you get to BC gear at level 60. And even then, it’s mostly the same. Hit is the best stat until you have ~5% hit, at which point any more is literally worthless. And one point of Strength is worth about 2.25 AP as far as overall value while leveling goes.

The second thing we should discuss is spec. In the past, going with a duel-wielding Fury spec was by far the best option for any leveling warrior. Indeed, this is still what most Warrior leveling sources will tell you. But the truth is, that with the changes to warrior talent trees, low level warriors will now benefit the most from a Prot spec, at least until level forty or so. This is true even before you consider the fact that it is now very viable to instance your way through the levels using the DF system.

Something like http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#LZZi0trx0dV:bZc will have you plowing through mobs without ever needing to rest, while dealing equal or greater damage than comparable Fury or Arms builds. Not to mention there is more to do as a low-level Protection warrior, making it much more fun to play than other specs.

At 40 you can either continue to play Protection, or re-spec and start working towards an endgame-style DPS spec. This is when the DPS specs get their real damage-improving talents, and you should be wearing plate, which will handle the survivability issues these specs start with.

Now, on to leveling play styles. Protection isn’t hard to play, but it is more complicated than the mindless Heroic Strike spam that the other specs do at low levels. You want to stick in Defensive Stance, except for the occasional switch over to Battle for Charge or Victory Rush. Remember to dance back over to Defensive if you do this, though!

You should use a priority system when deciding which attack to use. Rather than some set rotation, always use the best ability available. Priority should generally be Bloodrage>Shield Block>Concussion Blow>Revenge>Mocking Blow>Battle Shout(If down)>Heroic Strike. You can opt to skip Shield Block and save it for emergencies, but be careful not to leave it sitting around unused too much.

Finally, lets not forget all the little things that you need to know. When facing emergencies such as adds, don’t forget your cool-downs; Retaliation, Last Stand, and Shield Wall are all amazing abilities that will save you from a corpse run. Likewise, don’t forget little things like Demoralizing Shout and Thunderclap to slow down incoming damage, and Shield Bash to stop perky casters and healers. Finally, don’t let Battle Shout drop off for long; get it started with Bloodrage before you pull, if needed.

Want to read more articles and guides from me? Be sure to read my blog, WoW Gold Spot, for all my latest tips and tricks for everything WoW related. To read on Warriors specifically, read my farming guide for Warrior Gold.

If you are thinking about rolling a new warrior, or race changing your old one, it is important to have a grasp of what the various races bring to the table. Racials aren’t that big a deal, but for anyone looking to maximize their potential it is important to pick the best race. This article will explain what each race excels at, be it Tanking, DPS, or PvP.

Humans are first up. Human’s extra expertise with swords and maces adds to their potential DPS. Every Man for Himself is somewhat useful for Tanks, and is completely amazing in PvP. Perception also benefits PvP warriors, although you still won’t be able to bust stealthers with any reliability.

Dwarf warriors are another popular choice, and for good reason. Stoneform is handy for Tanks and PvP warriors in particular, adding survivability, although DPS can benefit as well, since dead dwarves do no damage. Their bonus to expertise with Maces is good across the board, adding even more damage than a warrior’s mace bonus. And the extra Frost Resistance they come with can be good against mages, and occasionally shaman.

Gnome seems to be a somewhat popular choice, probably based on appearance more than racials; they don’t have any racials to improve their damage, and Escape Artist is pretty weak as far as on-use Racials go. Not a recommended race for anyone trying to min/max.

Night Elves are like gnomes in that they lack any damage improving talents, but unlike gnomes they have other decent racials. Elusiveness is a fantastic racial for PvP and Tanking, and Shadowmeld is great for getting the jump on enemies in PvP.

Draenei is our last race. Heroic Presence is a great racial for pretty much any purpose, thanks to the benefit it provides to both the Warrior and his party, although it doesn’t stack. Gift of the Naaru is another decent all-around racial; the ability to heal yourself in an emergency can be great for any warrior, although it is most useful in PvP. Finally, Shadow Resistance is nice against Warlocks and Priests.

So you know what each race brings, but which ones are the best? Well, Draenei is your best bet if you are focusing on DPS, and is a good all-around choice as well. For Tanking, Night Elf’s Elusiveness adds a nice little bit of avoidance, making them the best choice. And for PvP, the ability to equip an extra non-PvP trinket makes Human unmatched for Warrior, be it Horde or Alliance.

If you’re interested in reading more articles by the author, go to WoW Gold Spot about inaboutmation about everything WoW related. For something about warriors specifically, go to this farming article about Warrior Gold.

Determining which race your new Horde warrior should be can be difficult. Some of the racials are worded vaguely, and determining whether Blood Fury or Berserking is better is impossible unless you’ve compared them at 80. But don’t fret, because we’ll go over each race, detailing the value its racials brings to the table for PvP, Tanking, and DPS.

The first race we’ll wnat to discuss is Undead. For PvP, undead have historically been the best, but in 3.3 Will of the Forsaken will be nerfed, reducing them to merely “okay”. For DPS, they bring nothing to the table. For Tanking, being able to get out of fears and other CC and regrab aggro can save the day.

Second up is Orc. For PvP, Orc’s stun reduction is handy, and Blood Fury is great for bursting down enemies. For DPS, Blood Fury is again a great DPS boost, and with many top-end warrior weapons being axes, their Axe Expertise will also add a handy boost to their DPS in many cases. For Tanking, Orc doesn’t bring much to the table.

The third race up for discussion is Tauren. Warstomp is amazing for PvP, as is the extra health Tauren get. Tauren don’t really have anything to help with DPSing, but for Tanking, once again the extra health they bring to the table is great, and a Warstomp at the right time can save the day against stunnable foes.

Though they lack in popularity, Trolls make good warriors. They make one of the best DPS races in the game, thanks to Berserking. For Tanking they don’t really have anything worthwhile, although Regeneration might be worth something. For PvP, the burst of Berserking and the duration reduction of movement impairing CC both benefit them greatly.

So which races are best for which purposes? Tauren is the clear winner for PvP, now that Undead is getting nerfed. For DPS, you want Troll or Orc; Orc is better when wielding Axes, Troll otherwise. Since a lot of top-end weapons are axes right now, Orc is probably the better choice. And finally, Tauren once again are the best, this time for Tanking.

So, that’s it for this article on Horde racials for warriors. Tauren is my personal top pick; doing a few dozen more damage every second is nice, but having more health on the tank can mean the difference between a wipe and downing the boss. Not to mention I love PvP. Hope you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out my site!

If you’re interested in reading more articles by this author, check out http://wowgoldspot.blogspot.com for information for everything WoW related. And for something about warriors specifically, check out my farming guide for Warrior Gold.

Thinking of playing Warcraft, but don’t want to play the same thing as everybody else? A decent place to start is the warrior class, its simple enough to get into easily, and can still function in whichever roles you pursue. Before you roll your warrior, you should first give each of the races of a look over; it can have a pretty big impact on your endgame playing. I’ll go over the Alliance races here.

Beginning with the ubiquitous Humans, never a bad choice, warriors can be good at anything they try for. They have the Every Man for Himself ability, a free PvP Trinket, which is good for PvP, but also has uses in dispelling crowd controls in raids and instances. They’ve also got the increased expertise with swords and maces, good again in both PvP and raiding. That bonus to expertise makes gearing easier. Perception is purely PvP, making finding stealthed units easier to find. Finally, the bonus to reputation gains is pretty handy. In all, Humans are a very solid choice for warrior with its bonuses to ability scores and extra skills.

The next race on the list, Dwarves, is another great choice with a decent amount of utility. It too has a bonus to mace expertise, which can be useful for higher damage and threat output. There’s the Frost resistance, which is good for PvP and general leveling. I myself didn’t use Treasure Finding as much, but it can help with getting extra gold while leveling. The gun specialization isn’t quite as useful for warriors, but can be handy for pulling. Lastly, Stoneform blocks poison and bleed damage, and increases armor by 10%. It has uses in both PvE and PvP situations, making Dwarves another rounded choice for warriors.

Gnomes are a bit more PvP oriented, Escape Artist being more useful in PvP than in PvE. It can be useful for pulling mobs away from the raid or instance group, or catching something that’s pinned you in place. The bonus to engineering is great, as engineering is the best profession for PvP, hands down. The Gnome’s small size makes them a force ro be reckoned with, making them harder to target.

Night Elves main ability is Shadowmeld, useful for avoiding combat in PvE and a great thing for those with more imagination in PvP. Quickness makes gearing for tanking much easier, the bonus to dodge being good in PvP as well. The nature resist isn’t bad. Wisp form is pretty handy, keeping corpse run times down while leveling makes things easier.

Draenei aren’t focused, but are useful in any situation. They have a heal over time, Gift of the Naaru, allowing them to survive situations others wouldn’t, keeping stress on healers down too. They have a bonus to Jewelcrafting, one of the best ways to make gold in the game. Heroic Presence gives one percent bonus to hit for the whole group, making gearing easier on you and boosting the output of the whole group.

I hope this helps you make an intelligent choice in rolling your warrior, they’re a fun class. I didn’t mention it earlier, but keep in mind how your toon will look in endgame gear, each race looks cooler in certain gear than others. Try not to undercut too much on the auction and keep yourself geared well.

Wanting more World of Warcraft tips and info? Be sure to read my review of the iDemise Leveling Guide, or Be sure to read my farming guide for Warrior Gold.