World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Arms Warrior
Melee damage
The levelling spec: a slow two-hander, 
Rend and 
Overpower procs, 
Victory Rush after every kill, and Mortal Strike at 40.
Arms swings the slowest, hardest-hitting two-hander you can find, because rage now comes from weapon speed and big hits make Overpower, Slam and Mortal Strike hit harder. Keep Rend on the target: Bloodthrill turns your hits on a Rended target into Overpower procs. Improved Tactical Mastery and Anger Management keep rage flowing between stances and pulls, Deep Wounds bleeds on every crit, and Sweeping Strikes at 30 doubles your damage on two targets. Victory Rush heals you after each kill, which is most of your sustain. Mortal Strike arrives at 40. Arms pays the ~5% hybrid tax like Fury.
Strengths and weaknesses
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Strongest levelling spec of the Warrior trees | Rage is scarce before level 20 |
| Victory Rush heals after every kill, which is most of its sustain | Depends on the slowest, hardest-hitting two-hander it can find |
| Rend and Overpower procs make a simple rotation | Pays about a 5% hybrid tax |
| Sweeping Strikes doubles damage on two targets from 30 | Hit comes entirely from gear |
| Deep Wounds bleeds on every crit | Mortal Strike needs Sweeping Strikes first |
Stat priority
- Weapon damage
- Hit
- Critical strike
- Strength
- Agility
- Stamina
Your two-hander matters more than any other item: a slow, high-damage weapon gives more rage per swing and bigger Overpower, Slam and Mortal Strike hits. Hit is one stat for melee, ranged and spells in Forever, and with Fury's Precision gone it all has to come from gear (Tauren Endurance no longer gives hit). Crit gives 100% more rage on basic attacks and feeds Deep Wounds. Weaponmaster rewards whichever weapon type you carry.
Do this
- Buy or quest the slowest two-hander you can: rage per swing and every weapon-damage ability scale with it.
- Keep Rend up on anything that lives more than a few seconds. It tags the mob and fuels Bloodthrill.
- Pull with Charge and finish with Victory Rush; Victory Rush's 10% per kill cuts, but does not end, eating between pulls.
- Stand at the edge of melee range behind the target until the known issue (parries and blocks from behind) is fixed.
Watch out for
- Builds with Precision, Boundless Rage or Improved Cleave are out of date and no longer fit the tree.
- Anger Management needs Improved Tactical Mastery 5/5, and Mortal Strike needs Sweeping Strikes.
- Rage before 20 is scarce: don't spend it on Heroic Strike while you still need Rend and Overpower.
- A rage bug cut rage from taking damage. Blizzard's fixes for it should ease it; that is not measured yet.