I don’t think I’m the first person to bring this idea up, but I wanna make a thread dedicated to it.
With Shield Block/Slam coming back baseline for our whole class, we’re gonna need to get a shield and make a macro if we want to utilize it. Unless we can set up a talent to enable them.
Defensive Stance fits the bill, and would be a balanced way to do it. Currently, dstance gives you a cosmetic shield as part of the buff. I think this could be an excuse that allows you to use block and sslam without equipping a shield, and it already reduces the damage you’re doing by 10%, which could be like the effect of temporarily equipping a shield in terms of dps.
Just slap it somewhere on the fury talents and it could be an option for everyone, and anyone who doesn’t want to take the talent could just equip a shield as usual when then need to use those abilities.
Added: preach mentions in his video on arms that we cannot switch to a shield in mythic plus, which is true and eliminates the added abilities as potential plays in m+
I wouldn’t mind stances making a come back with anger management as base line that lets u keep 20 rage when u change stances wile still keeping the enhanced talent one in talent
Maybe it’s me but the whole… let me just put my weapons away mid battle and take out some others is just a weird thing. And I honestly don’t care what it gives us from a gameplay perspective, it shouldn’t be a part of combat like that… it’s so meta it’s meaningless.
I reckon switching 1h - shield mid fight and getting a slam in downtime is going to be a new playstyle for warriors.
As it stands, our haste will be significantly lowered, and if rage generation is not touched and if azerite traits are not replaced with something just as powerful, we’ll be way too rage starved.
So we’ll have to make up for the gaps by doing whatever we can.
It would probably be something like
If deep wounds is up
if rage is under x
switch to 1h + shield right after auto attack lands
use slam
switchback to 2h and dump rage
repeat
I don’t mind if the playstyle comes to this, it would be really interesting to build up on an already preexisting mechanic in optimizing auto attack time and doing stuff during downtime.
And I don’t really care about some “it doesn’t make sense” kind of thing you mentioned, it’s a fantasy game after all, In fact all I care for is gameplay feel.
and from that standpoint it is really a welcoming addition in my opinion, I’d like to see some more spells unpruned/made classwide, shield wall for instance but this is a start.
I remember the last time we had access to a “healthy toolkit” was in MoP and man did these defensive things save many instance runs for me when I was able to taunt the boss for some seconds, allowing the tank to recover.
Even more so in PvP, anticipating a stun from a rogue, switching to shield/1h+def stance before the stun lands, maybe even now with a ignore pain on top of that, so much outplay potential with 3 simple added spells.
this kind of “skill ceiling” has been missing from the game since at least 2 expansions now and I am glad it’s coming back to some extend.
Def stance should be baseline. What is blizzard thinking? Nobody is going to use the other talents, if it’s not. Second Wind for leveling/questing, because how to heal without victory rush? Beg mages for food and sit down after every 3 mobs? KEK. Heroic Leap is still a niche ability.
Shield Slam and Shield Block only usable while in Def Stance seems ok, I think.
I know its early alpha and stuff, but if it’s going live like that, I’ll level the flavor of the year DH instead.
Arms is the only Builder-Spender in the game with no active means of actually building unless they take Talents. Arms can only sit and wait until they Build, which creates a situation of Rage-starvation and un-involvedness that creates a sense of boredom and inadequacy.
That’s the only way I can think of. And since you can’t use Mortal Strike without a 2-hand sword, make it switch to Shield Slam automatically like it is now with Colossus Smash/Warbreaker.
The other way would be: 2 macros added to skillbar + 2 new skills. And they all have to be bound. Don’t know man. Im running out of Keybinds in BfA already. This is going to be a true Piano spec requiring 2 hands on the keyboard haha Laughs in Arcane Mage
If you like to maintain a 12 button rotation just to be at the end of the food chain, go for it. We all have different goals. I don’t judge. I can reroll to something needed/viable in group content at any time
As I said, I’ll wait till SL release. Blizzard is going to change some stuff anyway. I just hope for best.
Your post is absolutely right, we need an interaction between Dstance and our new 2 abilitiies that needs shield.
This is my list that blizz need to do asap before lunch:
Rend baseline: how is it possible that one of the most iconic arms spell is still a Talent??? so weird
Stormbolt baseline: every class has a baseline stun why warriors not?, so Stormbolt baseline and REWORK Stormbolt talent into SHOCKWAVE
Double Time: add a 2 sec stun (this is another thing warrior has lost during expansion… Charge stun BACK!
Second Wind: absolutely removed that awful talent and rework into old passive
Then:
Mastery: deep wound completely removed and reworked, bring back Arms Big Crist in the game (i’m sure this is the 1st thing they will do these days, i’m sure)
and one really important thing with a big priority: STANCES
1st of all Stances must come back now that we would have a good interaction between DStance and Shield block, Shield Slam
Battle stance: generates rage from autoattacks and ignor 10% enemy armor (warrior is all about physical dmg and must have a “melee advantage” more then othere classes) , i will remember you Old Battle stance was 10%+ Armor penetration
Defencive Stance (baseline OF COURSE): generates rage taking dmg, dmg taken reduced 20%, dmg done reduced 10%
These things are fundamentals for the nex expansion and everything i’ve mentioned here i really think the whole Community wants to see back, but beside that these thing are number 1 priority fir a good gameplay.
I posted an idea about this on the alpha forums. Essentially, arms warriord could equip one 2-hand weapon, one 1-handed weapon, and one shield.
I think from the cosmetic PoV alone it’d look amazing to see a warrior hauling around all those weapons. You’d look like a real weapon master, swapping weapons automatically with stanced.
But it’d also make it so that we can use these abilities in m+, although I do whole heartedly afree defensive stance -should be- baseline.
