How to Play A Warrior (RoF - Current)
This guide is designed to help anyone out there who would like to learn how to play a Warrior on live servers or TLPs RoF or later. It talks about which cooldowns you'll want to use and put on your bars as well as which cooldowns stack well with other cooldowns and which don't.
For those of you who don't know already - Warriors are the best tank in the game. Not only are their cooldowns superior to SKs and Paladins but they also take slightly less damage than SKs and Paladins with each hit due to increased mitigation. The only raid boss tank is a Warrior tank!
As for actually playing a Warrior, well, for people on live servers it's going to be an extremely daunting task learning this complex class. Warriors have over a dozen different abilities that you have to learn when is the right time to use them and remember which stacks with which and which doesn't. If played correctly a good Warrior can survive even the toughest sphincter clenching encounters.
I've split this guide into three parts, the first part is going to go over every cooldown that is useful to a Warrior. The second part is going to talk about which cooldowns stack well with each other and which do not. In the last part of the guide I will type out a few hypothetical fights and talk about which cooldowns I use and in which order and why.
Primary Cooldowns:
Culminating Stand Discipline (Last Stand/Final Stand) - This is arguably the most important Warrior cooldown of them all. It reduces incoming base melee damage by 45% and has a chance of providing you a rune when you're struck which absorbs 20k damage. When you fight a tough enemy this is the main cooldown you'll be using.
Pain Doesn't Hurt (No Time to Bleed) - This is arguably the second most important Warrior cooldown though some could argue that it is better than Culminating Stand - especially when you're tanking multiple enemies. What this cooldown does is absorbs a portion of all incoming melee/spell damage (up to a certain amount of damage of each hit - not the whole hit) and lasts for 3min, has 600 charges and a ~5min cooldown. Pain Doesn't Hurt and Culminating Stand both stack and using both at the same time will make every Warrior tough as nails.
Armor of Tenacious Runes - If you are fighting a named you know doesn't hit very hard - or you've pulled a group of three or four enemies and you don't want to use Culminating Stand at this very moment; these are the times when you'll want to use Armor of Tenacious Runes. It's basically a weaker version of Culminating Stand. This also stacks with Pain Doesn't Hurt.
Fortitude Discipline - One of the oldest Warrior cooldowns in the game that is still used today. Fort makes you invulnerable to all melee FRONTAL attacks for 12 seconds. Enemies behind you or off to either side of you can still strike you through fortitude as will spells but aside from that you'll be completely unharmed.
Flash of Anger - Also known as Ghetto Fort by some. This ability is a 6 second long Fortitude Discipline with a minute and a half cooldown. Typically I use this at the start of all hard fights the moment I engage the named enemy. This will help you survive the first few hits as you position the boss and pop your cooldowns.
Phantom Aggressor - This is the main agro building ability that I use. It's a very short cooldown pet that generates hate when used on an enemy. If I pull two enemies at once, I usually use this pet on the one I am not tanking.
Projection of Fury - This is another pet that generates hate on your behalf much like Phantom Aggressor. It's on a longer cooldown so I use this ability less but it's just as useful for multiple enemies.
Secondary Cooldowns:
Warrior's Bastion - This is a disc which puts a rune on yourself that absorbs 80% of any strike over 21k. I typically use this after Pain Doesn't Hurt and Culminating Stand wear off. Alternatively, I use this on weaker enemies that aren't boss enemies when I pull a group of 2 or 3.
Warlord's Bravery - This reduces incoming melee damage by 14% for 45 hits. It works as a lesser No Time to Bleed. I typically use this on pulls when I have 2 or 3 enemies and No Time to Bleed is on cooldown.
Warlord Tenacity - This increases your max health by a significant amount. This cooldown stacks with all of your other cooldowns and is one of the main ones you will want to pop at the start of a fight if you're fighting a raid boss or really hard encounter.
Fundament: Third Spire of the Warlord - Increases your avoidance and chance to parry. I use this in two difference scenarios, when I pull two or three enemies and don't want to use any of my more important cooldowns - or after all my important cooldowns fade.
Resplendent Glory - This AA stacks with basically everything and it increases the amount you're healed for. I typically use this after my main cooldowns expire, however on extremely hard encounters I use it during my main cooldowns.
Mark of the Mage Hunter - This will reduce some incoming Magic Damage for a short time. I barely ever use it but sometimes I do. It's not because it's not useful, I just always forget I have the ability.
Resolute Defense - You'll want to use this ability at all times when you're not using another disc.
DPS/ADPS Cooldowns:
Wars Sheol's Heroic Blade - Use this to really get an enemies attention. It hits extremely hard.
Imperator's Precision - This is one of your most important ADPS cooldowns. Use this on all nameds/raid targets.
Rage of Rallos Zek - Use this on nameds or whenever you wanna do slightly more dps.
Warlord's Fury - This increases the amount of threat your attacks generate. I usually use it before using Rampage or Stormstrike Blades to get agro on multiple enemies.
Rage of the Forsaken - This increases the amount of threat your attacks generate. I usually use it before using Rampage or Stormstrike Blades to get agro on multiple enemies.
Biting Tongue Discipline - It is called a discipline but it doesn't appear in your disc window. Also something that increases threat but not as good as the other two, I barely ever use this disc.
Buffs/Aura Cooldowns:
Field Champion - This increases the AC of your whole group by a buttload. Keep this active at all times.
Champion's Aura - This is a much lower level Aura that is still somewhat useful today. You can pick it up in PoP.
Cooldown Stacking Issues:
Main Cooldowns: Pain Doesn't Hurt, Culminating Stand, Warlord Tenacity. All three of these stack with each other beautifully.
Culminating Stand stacks poorly with: Warrior's Bastion, Fundament: Third Spire, Warlord's Bravery
Pain Doesn't Hurt stacks poorly with: Warlord's Bravery, Warrior's Bastion
Warrior Mock Fights
((Unfinished))