Graphic text reading 'Warbreaker' styled similar to Warcraft thematically, on top of the arms artifact Strom'Kar sword

Arms functions on a priority system with some conditionals, but you'll get very far making sure you press Mortal Strike on Cooldown. The more tagets you add, the more complex the standard rotation becomes with more buttons available if a target is below 20% (or 35% with Massacre). in 9/10 aoe or cleave pulls you'll have a target with a higher kill priority than the rest. Pressing cleave on X amount of targets might be mathematically optimal, but more often than not, putting more damage into the target that is the barrier to pulling the next pack is the bigger time gain in a M+ environment.

For Season 3 of The War Within, Arms has seen better times. It doesn't really have a niche like giga 2 target cleave, premium execute or good AoE. Doing AoE while keeping up decent Single Target DPS is rough because of how the talent tree works.

Slayer Opener

Charge -> Rend -> Thunderous Roar -> Avatar + Colossus Smash -> Bladestorm (+ Stormbolt) -> Mortal Strike/Execute

Slayer Standard Priority

Rend is always kept up with either Rend itself or Thunder Clap if playing Rend build

  1. Execute if:
    • Juggernaut buff expiring soon, or
    • Sudden Death stack = 2, or
    • Sudden Death expires in ≤ 3 GCDs, or
    • Marked for Execution = 3 stacks
  2. Overpower if Opportunist buff is up
  3. Bladestorm if:
    • Colossus Smash or Warbreaker CD ≥ 4 GCDs, or
    • Colossus Smash debuff ≥ 4 GCDs
  4. Mortal Strike
  5. Overpower
  6. Rend if < 8s (pandemic)
  7. Wrecking Throw
  8. Execute (if not using Juggernaut)
  9. Slam

Pandemic is the term used when adding to a damage over time effect duration. You can use the ability again at 30% duration to "pandemic" it to 130% duration.

Slayer Execute Priority

  1. Execute if:
    • Juggernaut buff expiring soon (≤ 2 GCDs), and
    • You have Juggernaut talent
  2. Bladestorm if:
    • Executioner’s Precision = 2 stacks and (Colossus Smash debuff > 4s or CS CD > 15s), or
    • Not using Executioner's Precision
  3. Overpower if:
    • Opportunist buff is up
    • Less than 2 stacks of Overpower
    • Talented into Opportunist
    • Rage < 80
  4. Mortal Strike if:
    • Rend < 2s, or
    • Executioner's Precision = 2 stacks and Ravager not up
  5. Overpower if:
    • Fierce Followthrough is talented
    • Rage ≤ 40
    • Less than 2 stacks
  6. Execute if Rage ≥ 40
  7. Overpower
  8. Execute

Slayer Cooldown Rotation

  1. Thunderous Roar
  2. Avatar if Colossus Smash is up or 5 seconds away (for full overlap)
  3. Colossus Smash
  4. Bladestorm if Colossus Smash/Warbreaker is more than 5 seconds away or if Colossus Smash is applied

Slayer Cleave Priority

This is mainly intended as a "with sweep" section Rend is always kept up with either Rend itself or Thunder Clap if playing Rend build

  1. Execute if:
    • Juggernaut buff expiring soon, or
    • Marked for Execution ≥ 3 stacks, or
    • Sudden Death = 2 stacks, or
    • Sudden Death expiring in ≤ 3 GCDs
  2. Bladestorm if:
    • CS or WB CD ≥ 4 GCDs, or
    • CS debuff active ≥ 4 GCDs
  3. Overpower if Opportunist buff is up
  4. Mortal Strike
  5. Overpower
  6. Thunder Clap if:
    • Rend < 8s
    • Sweeping Strikes is down
  7. Rend if < 5s
  8. Cleave if:
    • Fervor of Battle is talented
    • No Overpower buff
  9. Whirlwind if Fervor of Battle is talented
  10. Execute if not using Juggernaut
  11. Slam

Note: 2 target opener has you Sweeping Strikes after initial Thunder Clap and Roar and then Bladestorm late in the Colossus Smash window

Slayer AoE Priority

Rend is always kept up with either Rend itself or Thunder Clap if playing Rend build

  1. Cleave
  2. Execute if:
    • Juggernaut buff < 3s (and talented), or
    • Marked for Execution stacks = 3
  3. Bladestorm
  4. Overpower if Opportunist buff is up and talented into Dreadnaught
  5. Mortal Strike if Executioner's Precision = 2 stacks
  6. Execute if Sudden Death is up
  7. Thunder Clap if Rend < 8s (and talented)
  8. Overpower if Dreadnaught is talented
  9. Whirlwind if Fervor of Battle is talented
  10. Mortal Strike
  11. Overpower
  12. Execute
  13. Thunder Clap (if using Rend)
  14. Wrecking Throw
  15. Whirlwind
  16. Slam

The opener changes a little: Charge -> Thunder Clap -> Cleave -> Thunderous Roar -> Sweeping Strikes -> Avatar + Colossus Smash/Warbreaker -> Cleave -> Bladestorm (+ Stormbolt) Cooldowns: Slam everything as it gets ready.

General optimizations

  • Chargeweaving when at low rage is a minor optimization to do. Ideally you walk out into charge range right after an auto swing and a GCD is incurred and charge back in as the GCD is ready again without losing uptime.
  • You can use Parry Hasting to generate a gazillion rage. Intervene your tank while having Die By the Sword up to Parry Haste your auto attacks.

Crafts and Embellishments

Dawn/Duskthread lining on any lower budget armor piece (bracers/cloak fx). Whichever one is better for you will likely change throughout gearing, but BIS profile uses double Dawnthread. Sims are done at a conservative 60% uptime.

If you are in a guild where progression is end all be all, weapon (Ascendance+Barding) is a good craft if you aren't lucky in the first week. If you are looking for BIS down the line, any of the Dawnthread Lining craft is gonna be the play on cloak and bracers.

Stats

Item level -> Haste -> Crit -> Mastery -> Vers Please for the love of god simulate your character on www.raidbots.com if item levels are close.

Trinkets

Antenna and Sacbrood are your BIS trinkes. Pacemaker, Arcanocor, Terror Sack and Cursed Idol are all good options as well.

Enchants

Chest - Crystalline Radiance (main stat) Legs - Defender's Armor Kit Rings - Raidant Haste (at high item level, simulate your options) Weapons - Authority of the Depths

For your tertiary stat enchants you can take whatever you want to. Avoidance is guaranteed damage reduction (on things it works on) and is in general recommended. Speed and Leech are both useful in other scenarios, but Moblity is not something we lack as warriors.

Consumeables

Flask - Alchemical Chaos Food - The Sushi Special. Potion - Tempered Potion Weapon Rune - Whet/Weightstone or Mana Oil. Whichever is cheapest as they are most likely all within variance of eachother. Sockets - Deadly. With Culminating Blasphemite (epic gem) you'll need unique colors. "Quick" versions of the different colors are your best bet. This is going to be a simulation question in 9/10 cases.

Races

Tauren/Dwarf are best simming. Void Elf, Human, Troll, Gnome and Night Elf are all very close to eachother. Void Elf teleport may be useful in some one off encounter along with Dwarf Stoneform being able to remove some debuffs in raids.