Introduction
Hello everyone,
As an analyst for Method, I specialize in tank performance and optimization for raids and Mythic+ dungeons. My name is Asa Spades, and I work behind the scenes analyzing logs to improve damage and survivability for tanks. Additionally, I am an active member of the Death Knight class discord, Acherus, where I provide support for Blood Death Knight and maintain the APL for Protection Warrior, Protection Paladin, and Guardian Druid.
What has changed
Patch 10.0.5 Changes
Protection Warrior did receive a few changes coming into 10.0.5, but nothing too impactful. There was a nerf to our overall block amount via various talents. Still, the net result is about a 6-10% damage taken increase to blockable damage and a 0% increase when Critical Blocking. Additionally, Storm of Steel was changed alongside the Fury changes. Storm of Steel now grants an additional charge of Ravager, decreases its damage by 30%, and increases its rage generation by 100%. This is a great improvement to the talent and makes it a lot stronger than its previous version. However, it puts it on par with other talent choices like Battering Ram and Booming Voice. It’s not clear at this time if this change was also intended for Protection, but it’s a decent option to take in M+.
First Impressions
Dragonflight significantly improves Protection Warriors by lessening their weaknesses and amplifying their strengths. The fast-paced gameplay in seasons 3 and 4 of Shadowlands returns with a more manageable learning curve. Self-healing capabilities have been increased through abilities like Impending Victory, and the class can now maintain 100% Shield Block uptime through various talents. These changes make Protection Warriors more effective in Dragonflight. Additionally, Dragonflight reintroduces stances, Battle Stance, and Defensive Stance, to the class tree. However, some abilities have been nerfed, particularly Execute. In Shadowlands, Execute was a powerful ability often used over Revenge in situations with 4 or more targets. However, in Dragonflight, Execute has been significantly nerfed for Protection Warriors, making it not a desirable option to build into.