Tier Sets: Enhancing Your Defensive Prowess
The tier sets available for Protection Warriors are incredibly potent. Let’s explore their remarkable bonuses.
2-Set Bonus: Unleash Your Shield Slam
The 2-set bonus is a game-changer, granting a 15% damage increase to shield slam. Additionally, your Last Stand ability will benefit from a 2-second cooldown reduction on every usage. But here’s the real kicker: when Last Stand is active, both effects are doubled. Talk about an unstoppable force!
4-Set Bonus: Last Stand’s Aftermath
The 4-set bonus grants you a powerful 20-second buff after Last Stand ends. During this time, your shield slams will have an area-of-effect damage proc, wreaking havoc upon your enemies. Furthermore, opponents striking you will find their damage reduced by 5% for a span of 5 seconds. That’s some serious resilience!
Trinkets: Unleashing Destructive Might
A warrior’s arsenal is incomplete without formidable trinkets. Let’s uncover the top contenders.
Beacon to the Beyond
The Beacon to the Beyond trinket delivers a substantial amount of damage. Not only does it provide mastery, bolstering your defensive capabilities, but its on-use effect unleashes a cosmic onslaught upon nearby enemies. The damage inflicted increases with each enemy hit. Scalecommander Sarkareth guards this exceptional trinket, making its acquisition a challenging endeavor. Yet, its current tuning makes it the ultimate damage trinket from the raid.
Elementium Pocket Anvil
As the second-best trinket option from the raid, the Elementium Pocket Anvil holds immense power. Its damage output ramps up fiercely, dealing significant damage to both single targets and crowds. Remember to position yourself near the boss or mobs when utilizing this trinket, as its damage splashes in an area surrounding you.
Ominous Chromatic Essence
If you seek a trinket that provides substantial secondary stats, the Ominous Chromatic Essence is your answer. The trinket’s potency amplifies when multiple individuals attune to the same primary stat. Its reliability makes it a highly recommended choice, especially in organized group settings, where you can maximize the benefits for yourself and your allies. For detailed information on how to attune this trinket, refer to our Dragonflight Oathstones Locations and Resonance Stat Buffs guide.
Neltharion’s Call to Chaos
Neltharion’s Call to Chaos boasts a monumental main stat proc, with an impressive uptime of approximately 30%. While the increased damage taken may seem daunting, fear not, for the main stat boost offsets the additional harm. However, acquiring this trinket poses a challenge, as it is a rare drop from the raid.
Zaqali Chaos Grapnel
For those seeking a decent damage trinket, look no further than the Zaqali Chaos Grapnel. This trinket’s effect comprises direct damage, as well as an area-of-effect component. Keep in mind that using the trinket will move your character towards the target.
Vial of Animated Blood (Underrot)
When paired with Avatar, the Vial of Animated Blood becomes a potent damage trinket. Its flat mastery stat enhances your defensive capabilities, while the activation of the trinket grants a substantial boost to your primary stat. Keep an eye out for this valuable asset.
Treemouth’s Festering Splinter
Despite the small Nature damage dealt to you upon activation, the absorb provided by Treemouth’s Festering Splinter proves immensely valuable for defense. This trinket grants you an enormous absorb shield that mitigates 50% of the damage inflicted upon you. Use this trinket wisely, and you’ll feel invincible.
Best Embellishments for Protection Warriors
To enhance your protective prowess, consider the following embellishments:
- Shadowflame-Tempered Armor Patch (2x is BiS)
- Unstable Frostfire Belt (if you still have access to the Eranog ring from the previous tier)
- Elemental Lariat (If you have 5+ sockets on your gear)
Notable Items: Unleash Their True Potential
Certain items hold exceptional value for Protection Warriors. Let’s explore these gems.
Voice of the Silent Star
Dropped by Scalecommander Sarkareth, the Voice of the Silent Star cloak is an absolute game-changer. Boasting an impressive amount of secondary stats, this cloak enhances your defensive capabilities significantly. Don’t miss the opportunity to lay your hands on this invaluable piece.
Forgestorm
Forgestorm, a fearsome weapon obtained from the depths of Neltharus, is unrivaled for Protection Warriors. Its chance to trigger an explosion of fire damage upon attacks proves devastating against nearby enemies. Since its recent buffs, it has become the best-in-slot weapon, dealing colossal damage.
The Onyx Annulet Ring and Primordial Stones: A Subtle Balance
Note: Patch 10.1.5 nerfed these stones by 40%, rendering them less effective, especially with rings that have a high item level and poor stat distribution.
With Patch 10.0.7, the Onyx Annulet ring introduced a unique set of gems known as Primordial Stones. While some stones grant new ways to trigger the raid rings from the Vault of the Incarnates, their impact is not currently significant. Instead, we recommend focusing on a powerful effect loop that dominates the current meta.
Unfortunately, defensive stones are currently under-tuned compared to their offensive counterparts. With that in mind, we present our suggestions for Protection Warriors:
- Raiding: Desirous Blood Stone + Prophetic Twilight Stone + Freezing Ice Stone
- Mythic Plus: Desirous Blood Stone + Prophetic Twilight Stone + Storm Infused Stone
Ensure your gear is optimized to achieve maximum efficiency and dominate the battlefield with your impenetrable defense!
