Arms Warrior DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities - Dragonflight 10.2.7 (2024)

Welcome to our Rotation page for Arms Warriors. On this page, you willfind everything you need to know about actually playing the spec in Raidingand Mythic+ scenarios.

If the rotations below seem overwhelming to you, you might benefitfrom visiting our Easy Mode page, which outlines a close-to-optimalrotation in simpler terms.

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvPRotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

The Arms rotation is a conditional priority list, which can changedepending on talent choice. Use the checkboxes below to make the appropriatecustomizations and make sure that Battle Stance is always toggled on!

Recommended	Other Talents
Avatar	Warbreaker
Thunderous Roar	Champion's Spear
Blood and Thunder	Skullsplitter
Storm of Swords	Bladestorm
Season 4 Tier Set	Season 3 Tier Set

This rotation focuses on the period above 35% health before Execute takesover the rotation, as noted in the following section.

1. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
2. Cast Thunderous Roar on cooldown.
3. Cast Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
4. Cast Colossus Smash.
5. Cast Mortal Strike on cooldown.
6. Cast Thunder Clap to apply Rend or if less than 3 seconds remain on the debuff.
7. Cast Rend to apply Rend or if less than 3 seconds remain on the debuff.
8. Cast Whirlwind to spend extra Rage during Colossus Smash.
9. Cast Champion's Spear during Test of Might or Colossus Smash.
10. Cast Skullsplitter while both Rend and Deep Wounds are active.
11. Cast Execute during Sudden Death procs.
12. Cast Overpower on cooldown.
13. Cast Whirlwind even if Colossus Smash is down.
14. Cast Thunder Clap as a higher Rage spending filler.
15. Cast Slam if nothing else is available.

In simple terms, the Arms Warrior rotation revolves around keeping Mortal Strike and Overpower on cooldown while spending Ragewith either Execute or Storm of Swords and Thunder Clap. Because it spends less Rage, and therefore giving lessreturns on Anger Management and Test of Might, Slam is pushed down tothe bottom of the priority list.

When using the legendary axe, Fyr'alath the Dream Render does notbenefit from class buffs such as Avatar or Colossus Smash, soit is best not to use it during major cooldowns. Using it either immediatelyon the pull or after the Avatar buff has worn off is acceptable, because it ismore important to use the legendary when the three-second channel will not putyou in danger of enemy mechanics.

Execute deals very high damage and a portion of the Rage spentif the target does not die, helping maintain the high Rage cost. It will becomethe primary Rage spender once the target drops below 20% health, or 35%, with Massacre talented, taking the place of other spenders.

1. Cast Avatar simultaneously with Colossus Smash or Warbreaker.
2. Cast Colossus Smash.
3. Champion's Spear during Colossus Smash.
4. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
5. Cast Skullsplitter near the start of Colossus Smash while both Rend and Deep Wounds are active.
6. Cast Thunderous Roar during Test of Might or In for the Kill buff windows.
7. Cast Mortal Strike to maintain Deep Wounds and Rend, or at 2 stacks of Executioner's Precision.
8. Cast Overpower below 40 rage.
9. Cast Execute as the primary Rage spender.

While Execute appears to have a low priority, it becomes the main rotationalspender, while Whirlwind and Slam are dropped from the rotation entirely. Dueto our talents, Mortal Strike is still used regularly, automaticallymaintaining Deep Wounds and Rend while dealing strong damage throughExecutioner's Precision. Overpower now becomes the fallback filler, whenExecute cannot be cast.

The Arms opener is functionally identical to the standard rotation, using Charge to initiate combat to start with more Rage, applyingRend, and then opening with buffing cooldowns and Colossus Smash, as outlined inthe single target rotation above.

There are two multi-target Arms rotations, a two-target setup similar to thesingle target rotation, and another using Cleave to focus on sustained damageagainst a high number of targets. Use the checkboxes below to make theappropriate customizations.

Talents	Talents
Bladestorm	Skullsplitter
Thunderous Roar	Champion's Spear
Storm of Swords	Fervor of Battle
Warbreaker	T31 Tier Set
Blood and Thunder
Cleave

The two-target rotation is functionally identical to single target, with theaddition of using Sweeping Strikes on cooldown to cleave attacks ontoa secondary target. Because it also applies Colossus Smash to a second target,Warbreaker is not needed unless there are more targets.

The most common multi-target talent build is a hybridized setup, whichtrades some of the single target build execute abilities for additionalmulti-target attacks, such as Warbreaker, Cleave, and Bladestorm.

1. Cast Execute to consume Sudden Death procs.
2. Cast Sweeping Strikes when Bladestorm is not about to be cast, in order to not waste duration.
3. Cast Avatar aligned with Warbreaker.
4. Cast Colossus Smash, preferably during Sweeping Strikes.
5. Cast Cleave against 3+ targets, or 5+ targets if Sweeping Strikes is active.
6. Cast Mortal Strike with two stacks of Executioner's Precision up to 4 targets while Sweeping Strikes is active.
7. Cast Thunderous Roar during In for the Kill or Test of Might.
8. Cast Champion's Spear during In for the Kill or Test of Might.
9. Cast Bladestorm to apply Hurricane.
10. Cast Overpower during Sweeping Strikes.
11. Cast Whirlwind
12. Cast Overpower
13. Cast Mortal Strike with two stacks of Executioner's Precision or if there are less than three targets.
14. Cast Execute anytime during Sweeping Strikes, or if there are less than three targets.
15. Cast Thunder Clap as a filler against 4+ enemies.
16. Cast Mortal Strike even if all other conditions fail.

Arms multi-target rotation is extremely dynamic, changing frequently basedon the number of targets, what specific buffs are available, and whetherSweeping Strikes is active. In Season 4, Cleave also helps maintain thepowerful tier set bonus in addition to Deep Wounds, almost completelypassively thanks to hitting multiple targets.

Arms cooldowns align fairly naturally, thanks to Anger Management.Still, it is important to ensure that Colossus Smash and Deep Wounds are activeon as many targets as possible before going into the cooldown cycle.

Avatar is a potent cooldown in its own right but becomes extraordinarilymore powerful in combination with the follow-on Tormented talents. Thesefunction similarly to Signet of Tormented Kings, but with a guaranteedeffect rather than a random one, allowing you to choose what cooldown istriggered. Warlord's Torment is extremely powerful in single and somemulti-target situations, as it allows fairly high uptime on Recklessness,despite not normally having access to the ability. Blademaster's Tormentis more tailored for extended multi-target, allowing an extra use ofBladestorm, alongside all of its talented benefits, though the talent iscurrently not in favor.

Bladestorm is Arms main multi-target cooldown, which should always be usedalongside Warbreaker and Avatar whenever possible. Although it is not thestrongest AoE ability by itself, it can trigger several powerful buffs, such as Hurricane and Merciless Bonegrinder, both of which combinenicely with Storm of Swords to create an extremely high burst ofdamage. With Blademaster's Torment, this can be done twice quickly,leading to very high burst potential.

Tide of Blood is an interesting ability that causes Rend and DeepWounds to instantly tick out on the target, dealing several instances ofdamage in rapid succession. This high burst of damage can be extraordinarilypowerful when combined with Colossus Smash, Warlord's Torment, and severalbleed enhancing talents, though it does have an awkward effect on therotation, requiring Rend and Deep Wounds (via Mortal Strike) to be reappliedafter each use.

Maintained by Mortal Strike, Colossus Smash, Bladestorm, and Cleave, keeping Deep Wounds on the target or targets is paramount to maximizingdamage, as it can significantly increase the damage taken from yourabilities. Because the debuff lasts a minimum of 12 seconds, this should happennaturally throughout the rotation, but when facing multiple targets,take care to keep the debuff on as many targets as possible for maximumbenefit.

In Season 4 tier set bonus, maintaining Deep Wounds in multi-targetsituations becomes easier, since Cleave also helps maintain the powerful tierset bonus, though Mortal Strike also contributes to both of these things aswell.

Arms generates Rage purely from auto-attack swings and Chargecasts, and nearly all abilities cost Rage to use. Ensuring you always haveenough Rage to use Mortal Strike on cooldown is paramount, both fordamage and to keep Deep Wounds on the target. Choosing not to spendRage on a filler ability and letting a global cooldown go unfilled is betterthan letting the debuff drop off.

This is far less of a concern in Dragonflight than it has been inthe past, however, as both high gear and new talents have significantlyinflated Arms' Rage economy. In many cases, this can result in itbeing difficult to spend Rage faster than it is generated, and so it is oftenworth prioritizing spending Rage on Execute or Slam over using Overpower as afree filler.

A small optimization can be made by moving out of range of the target andusing Charge to generate extra Rage during your rotation. Careshould be taken to do this between autoattack swings, when Colossus Smash is not active. Heroic Leap can be also beused to create enough room to Charge for bosses with large hitboxes.

Warriors have several active tools through Charge and Heroic Leap that allow for instant movement across large distances.Finding ways to maximize your uptime on a target through the intelligent use ofthese is crucial, as downtime is extremely detrimental to the flow of therotation. The talents Double Time and Bounding Stride areparticularly useful in any encounter which demands heavy movement.

Arms' primary survivability tool is Die by the Sword, which isexceptionally useful for immuning direct physical damage and can even be usedto tank raid bosses for a short time. The talent Defensive Stancecan be used for more mitigation when expecting more frequent spike damage. As Ignore Pain no longer contributes offensively; the ability is stilluseful to mitigate predictable bursts of damage in high-level content.

Warriors also have access to Rallying Cry, one of the fewdefensive group cooldowns in the game. It is typically used to help the groupsurvive key encounter mechanics rather than as a personal cooldown. Keep inmind that it is on the global cooldown, so be ready to use it when needed.

Arms also brings Battle Shout, increasing all party and raidmembers Attack Power by 5%, which should be applied before combat begins. 5%Attack Power translates to roughly 5% damage for melee classes and Hunters. However,the actual impact is slightly reduced due to the prevalence ofnon-scaling sources of damage, such as trinkets and potions.

For information about Mythic+ as an Arms Warrior and the rotation you need to usein this game mode, please refer to our Mythic+ page.

WeakAuras can tremendously affect your performance, helping youtrack important buffs, debuffs, and cooldowns. Since this is a broad topic, wededicated a page to it.