- Author: Nevermore
- Date: June 10, 2022
- Expansion: WotLK Classic
Fury Warriors are plate-armored behemoths, charging head-first into the battlefield with a massive blade in each hand — being the only spec in the game capable of dual-wielding two-handed weapons. Those who witness their onslaught swear that the Titans themselves blessed these warriors with the might to carry on their will and the most ravaging of weapons. They bring forth ultimate weapon mastery to the battlefield, cleaving their foes in half.
Fury Warriors were the top dog of Classic and among the strongest DPS specs in TBC — a trend which firmly continues in Wrath of the Lich King. It takes a while for them to reach their full potential, but their incredible scaling eventually propels them to heights that other classes can only dream of. For the last 2 raid tiers of the expansion, Fury Warriors are one of the best single target DPS specs in the game, and arguably the best cleave DPS spec in the game.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about playing a Fury Warrior in PvE content, with a focus on raiding. We will cover everything from talents and equipment, to ability rotations and macros. By the time you’re done reading this guide, you will be topping DPS meters and collecting epic loot!
Fury Warrior Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Top-tier single target damage
Fury Warriors have arguably the best single target DPS in the game. When there’s just one target for you to attack, you will be at the top.
- Top-tier cleave damage
Fury Warriors have extremely consistent cleave damage. Any fight with 3-4 targets for you to attack, you’ll consistently be near the top of the damage meters, thanks to Cleave and Whirlwind — even though we unfortunately no longer have access to Sweeping Strikes.
- Simple rotation
While WotLK made the DPS rotation of a lot of specs more complex, things didn’t change all that much for Fury Warriors, with our rotation still being among the simplest. That makes it an easy class to get into, without needing complex macros or addons to perform well, and specially so if your Fury Warrior is just an alt you play occasionally.
- Great mobility for a melee class
There’s a decent amount of movement in WotLK raids compared to previous expansions, and Warriors are arguably the least bothered by this out of all melee DPS specs. Your Intercept, which you can use twice in a row thanks to the Fury-exclusive Heroic Fury, will get you to your target instantly, any time.
Weaknesses
- Lack of AoE damage
Fury Warriors have incredible damage, when attacking up to 4 targets. All of our spells are capped to only damaging up to 4 targets, however, so anything more than that and we’re starting to lag behind.
- Very little & situational utility
While utility becomes less important in Wrath, compared to TBC at least, it’s still an important aspect of every class & spec out there, and Fury Warriors are unfortunately pretty limited in that department. A lot of a Fury Warrior’s utility, such as Battle Shout, is no longer unique to Warriors, leaving us with just Shattering Throw as far as unique utility is concerned.
- Highly reliant on gear
Fury Warriors are strong, dealing incredible damage, as mentioned in the Strengths section. However, that is largely thanks to their incredible scaling — their base damage isn’t that impressive. This means that they’re weaker on in early phases, and only really become the unstoppable powerhouses they’re famous as later on in the expansion, where they’re stacked with strong armor penetration gear and powerful two-handed weapons.
Fury Warrior Utility
Besides their damage, Fury Warriors bring the following raid buffs & debuffs to a raid:
- Shattering Throw
Completely unique utility that only Warriors have. Reducing the target’s armor by 20% is a modest damage increase for yourself and the raid, which stacks with 100% armor penetration despite what some people think. The 10 second duration is somewhat limited however, and the 5 minute cooldown means you only get to use it once per fight, typically during Heroism / Bloodlust.
- Increased attack power (does not stack) – Battle Shout
This long-time Warrior staple ability is back, and now affects your entire raid, making it a must-have. However, it has also been “nerfed” somewhat — it no longer stacks with a Paladin’s Greater Blessing of Might. Thus, if your raid has 3 Paladins (so you get all of their important buffs), you no longer have a reason to use this ability, and should use Commanding Shout instead.
- 5% physical crit (does not stack) – Rampage
This must-have buff was once unique to Feral Druids, in the form of Leader of the Pack, but Fury Warriors can now pick it up as a talent as well. Unfortunately, Feral Druids are a highly desirable spec, and the 2 buffs do not stack — so generally, your Feral Druid will be bringing this buff, as they automatically pick it up & have a stronger version in Improved Leader of the Pack, so you can usually skip that talent. When your Feral Druid cannot attend a raid however, you can step in and offer this crucial buff instead.
- Increased health (does not stack) – Commanding Shout
This is a must-have for your raid. Unfortunately, it also suffers a minor nerf in Wrath, as it no longer stacks with a Warlock’s Blood Pact, that they gain when using an Imp pet. However, only Destruction Warlocks — which is the weaker Warlock specialization in Wrath — typically use Imps, meaning it will commonly fall on you to keep this buff up. just Make sure your raid is already getting the attack power buff of your Battle Shout, you can only apply 1 of your shout buffs at a time.
- 20% armor reduction (does not stack) – Sunder Armor
An absolute must-have, increasing your raid’s DPS by a significant amount. It no longer stacks with a Rogue’s Expose Armor, but that’s not a huge issue as Warriors have a significantly easier time keeping it up. Coupled with the fact that most raids won’t have a Protection Warrior applying this debuff, there’s a good chance that it’s your responsibility to keep this crucial debuff up on the target.
- Reduced attack power (does not stack) – Demoralizing Shout
This debuff is a must-have, reducing boss damage by a good amount. Similarly to previous expansions, Feral Druids can bring it with Demoralizing Roar & Warlocks bring it with Curse of Weakness. The Improved Demoralizing Shout talent happens to be in the Fury tree, so if your Feral Druid did not pick up the improved version, you may have to keep it up yourself.
- 20% attack speed slow (does not stack) – Thunder Clap
This debuff is a must-have, reducing boss damage significantly. However, multiple other classes can offer it, and Fury Warriors typically do not have the luxury of being able to pick up the Improved Thunder Clap talent, meaning you likely won’t be the one to use this debuff.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if Fury Warrior is the class / spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems etc, to get more information on how to improve your performance as a Fury Warrior in WotLK!
About the Author
Decent guide. I think there need to be a few improvements, like the pre-raid BiS list.
Should have items that are completely obtainable outside of all the raids.
I think the raid items listed are great options to get while you work toward your BiS items. So Pre-BiS, but not pre-Raid.
Overall decent info. Look forward to seeing how this guide improves, if it does.
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