Tank Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Protection Warrior abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.2.5).

Single Target

Start with Taunt and Charge to engage.

• AvatarView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Demoralizing ShoutView detailsUse on cooldown (if talented with Booming Voice).
• Champions SpearView detailsUse on cooldown.
• RavagerView detailsUse on cooldown.
• DemolishView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Thunderous RoarView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Shield ChargeView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Shield SlamView detailsUse on cooldown. Watch for resets from other abilities.
• Thunder BlastView detailsUse whenever it procs.
• Thunder ClapView detailsUse on cooldown.
• ExecuteView detailsUse if Rage is not needed for survivability.
• RevengeView detailsUse if above Execute health threshold and Rage is not needed for survivability.

Maintain Rage generation by prioritizing Avatar, Demoralizing Shout, and Shield Slam. Use Thunder Blast on procs and Revenge or Execute when Rage allows.

AoE

Open with Ravager and Charge to establish threat.

• AvatarView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Demoralizing ShoutView detailsUse on cooldown (if talented with Booming Voice).
• RavagerView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Champions SpearView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Thunderous RoarView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Shield ChargeView detailsUse on cooldown.
• DemolishView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Thunder BlastView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Shield SlamView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Thunder ClapView detailsUse on cooldown.
• ExecuteView detailsUse up to 6 targets.
• RevengeView detailsUse to spread Deep Wounds or when Rage allows.

For AoE, prioritize Avatar, Ravager, and Thunderous Roar. Use Revenge early to spread Deep Wounds and maintain threat with Thunder Clap.

Cooldowns

• AvatarView detailsUse during burst phases or to enhance damage.
• Demoralizing ShoutView detailsUse for damage reduction or Rage generation (if talented).
• Shield WallView detailsUse to mitigate large damage spikes.
• Last StandView detailsUse as an emergency or preemptive cooldown.
• Spell ReflectionView detailsUse to reduce magic damage or reflect specific spells.

Use Avatar for burst, Demoralizing Shout for mitigation or Rage, and Shield Wall or Last Stand for emergencies. Spell Reflection is situational for magic damage.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.