So with Cataclysm looming and an extended maintenance coming tomorrow, I think it's pretty safe to say that 4.0.1 is coming down the pipe sooner rather than later. And I haven't personally gotten a beta invite (nor did I really try - time is tight).
Every class is going through a pretty significant redesign - ArPen is going away, single target DPS is supposedly going to be more important for 5 mans than previously, and talent trees are getting completely redone. I'm hoping this means a renaissance for Arms PVE DPS. I've always loved Arms, and just can't get into Fury. I run with a Fury offspec though (when it's not a 2nd prot spec) because Arms DPS has been so lackluster as we got deeper and deeper into the expansion and it's more fun (for me) to do 10k DPS than it is to do 6k DPS.
Looking at the talent trees for Cataclysm, this build is what I came up with for Arms PVE DPS at 80. I'm sure it's not perfect theorycrafted, but I think overall it's a pretty solid build to start out with.
What is everyone else thinking? Is Blizzard going to finally deliver competitive PVE DPS for Arms? Any thoughts as to the best build(s) for it at 80 and 85? How are tools like Sweeping Strikes and Bladestorm going to play out in a world of neutered AoE tank TPS? Does anyone have experience with Arms on the PTR or Beta that they'd like to share?
Looking forward to your answers (and to the patch).
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I'd use this if I had a level 80 Arms warrior.
T-Clap spreading Rend is a bad idea as you lose control over TfB timing.
Glyphs are for single target DPS as a 15 second lower CD on BS will likely be a lower increase in damage.
The majors make keeping SA rolling easy, might not matter in a raid as the debuff is now brought by more specs. Will be nice for five mans and solo play though. Also the other choices are fairly weak.
CS was semi bugged for a long time on the beta/PTR so hopefully that is fixed as CS should be a huge damage buff.
Arms looks pretty sexy but I stopped leveling my warrior since he is going to be worgen. I also don't like the furry style of DPS and like the idea of using a giant two handed weapon to beat people to death.
T-Clap spreading Rend is a bad idea as you lose control over TfB timing.
Glyphs are for single target DPS as a 15 second lower CD on BS will likely be a lower increase in damage.
The majors make keeping SA rolling easy, might not matter in a raid as the debuff is now brought by more specs. Will be nice for five mans and solo play though. Also the other choices are fairly weak.
CS was semi bugged for a long time on the beta/PTR so hopefully that is fixed as CS should be a huge damage buff.
Arms looks pretty sexy but I stopped leveling my warrior since he is going to be worgen. I also don't like the furry style of DPS and like the idea of using a giant two handed weapon to beat people to death.
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Colossus Smash glyph I would have included, but I thought you didn't get that skill til 81?
I hadn't theorycrafted it out, but I figured in a situation with a bunch of mobs (think: some of the trash packs in ICC), it might be worth the glyph to spread Rend (and +4% damage) to all the mobs in the group. Obviously I haven't played with it - hadn't thought of the conflict with TfB timing for one. :)
Worgen warrior, doesn't like furry DPS ... I'm so ... confused. :-P
Quote:
T-Clap spreading Rend is a bad idea as you lose control over TfB timing.
I hadn't theorycrafted it out, but I figured in a situation with a bunch of mobs (think: some of the trash packs in ICC), it might be worth the glyph to spread Rend (and +4% damage) to all the mobs in the group. Obviously I haven't played with it - hadn't thought of the conflict with TfB timing for one. :)
Quote:
Arms looks pretty sexy but I stopped leveling my warrior since he is going to be worgen. I also don't like the furry style of DPS and like the idea of using a giant two handed weapon to beat people to death.
Worgen warrior, doesn't like furry DPS ... I'm so ... confused. :-P
Quote:
T-Clap spreading Rend is a bad idea as you lose control over TfB timing.
No.
Spreading rend would be a way to keep rend uptime 100% instead of losing TFB procs when your target dies.
There was changes to dots so that ticks don't get clipped when you refresh their duration, you just refresh their duration.
Still, I don't like the idea of spreading DoTs because it means that if your T-Clap breaks a sheep, it will also make it immune to sheep, which isn't a good thing.
Poly is weak in comparison with a lot of other CC now. Stil it can be glyphed to remove DoTs, which mages can (and perhaps should) do without sacrificing DPS now. Warlock and Shammy CC is very strong thanks to new glyphs too.
As for AoE tanking, it hasn't been totally neutered (at least that isn't the stated design goal though threat has been glitchy), but incoming damage will be higher so you won't have more than 2 or 3 targets most of the time. That affects Bladestorm a bit, but Sweeping Strikes should be great. In general, Arms is looking pretty fun.
Blood and Thunder will be situational but almost certainly worth picking up for some content. There are a lot of different ways to spend those 2 points though. There is a hell of a lot of utility to be had for only 2 points in the first two tiers.
As for AoE tanking, it hasn't been totally neutered (at least that isn't the stated design goal though threat has been glitchy), but incoming damage will be higher so you won't have more than 2 or 3 targets most of the time. That affects Bladestorm a bit, but Sweeping Strikes should be great. In general, Arms is looking pretty fun.
Blood and Thunder will be situational but almost certainly worth picking up for some content. There are a lot of different ways to spend those 2 points though. There is a hell of a lot of utility to be had for only 2 points in the first two tiers.
With rage normalization, I'm finding myself teetering on the edge of rage starvation, with Dead Calm helping (barely) every 2 mins.
I've only glyphed and respecced (which I've excluded L81+ ability stuff), havent regemmed or reforged anything yet, so my weapon's speed of 1.56 is mind boggling to me atm. All that damn haste, lol.
Testing the L83 target dummy put me at 4.8k dps, with only Battle Shout, wearing Shadow's Edge, 4 T10/frost gear, 2 T9, and rest 232+. Blizz said we need a buff .... no ****.
As for rotation, keep Rend/Shout up, rest on cd.
I hope I'm missing something key here, other than reforging.
I've only glyphed and respecced (which I've excluded L81+ ability stuff), havent regemmed or reforged anything yet, so my weapon's speed of 1.56 is mind boggling to me atm. All that damn haste, lol.
Testing the L83 target dummy put me at 4.8k dps, with only Battle Shout, wearing Shadow's Edge, 4 T10/frost gear, 2 T9, and rest 232+. Blizz said we need a buff .... no ****.
As for rotation, keep Rend/Shout up, rest on cd.
I hope I'm missing something key here, other than reforging.
In a mishmash of offspec gear (mostly 251s, 4pc 251 T10, Shadow's Edge), and not really knowing what I'm doing yet, I'm up around 7-12k on a lot of 5 man trash packs. Heroic bosses I seem to be in the 4k-10k range, depending how effectively I use my skills and if I manage to rage starve myself. Hard to say because they die so bloody fast, and a single 25k Execute makes a huge difference in overall damage done. Overall DPS in 5 mans seems to be in the 6-7k range, normally doing 40-50% of the dmg in the group.
I did spec into Blood and Thunder, and Rend is a BIG % of my DPS (20% on some pulls). Rend is currently ticking for 2-3k per tick per mob. On a big trash pack, that could be ... substantial. On a two-mob pull, not so much (though I still keep Rend up on both). MS/Overpower clearly got buffed from their initial state after the patch. A lot of Arms DPS seems to be timing your abilities - Sweeping Strikes, Deadly Calm - and managing your rage. I get into trouble if I fall into my (ingrained) habit of mashing Heroic Strike / Cleave. I think I need to move them to new keys for Arms.
I noticed substantial (100+% DPS increase) improvement in Arms DPS over the course of the night running heroics, and there's a ton of improvement left to do.
I have no idea how Arms will pan out. I can definitely feel the lack of Colossus Smash at 80. The rotation can feel a bit empty at times, since when I've played in the past I was looking for Sudden Death procs. And single target DPS still seems weak compared with other classes.
Anyone else been playing around with it?
I did spec into Blood and Thunder, and Rend is a BIG % of my DPS (20% on some pulls). Rend is currently ticking for 2-3k per tick per mob. On a big trash pack, that could be ... substantial. On a two-mob pull, not so much (though I still keep Rend up on both). MS/Overpower clearly got buffed from their initial state after the patch. A lot of Arms DPS seems to be timing your abilities - Sweeping Strikes, Deadly Calm - and managing your rage. I get into trouble if I fall into my (ingrained) habit of mashing Heroic Strike / Cleave. I think I need to move them to new keys for Arms.
I noticed substantial (100+% DPS increase) improvement in Arms DPS over the course of the night running heroics, and there's a ton of improvement left to do.
I have no idea how Arms will pan out. I can definitely feel the lack of Colossus Smash at 80. The rotation can feel a bit empty at times, since when I've played in the past I was looking for Sudden Death procs. And single target DPS still seems weak compared with other classes.
Anyone else been playing around with it?
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