WoW Forever Warrior Leveling Guide (1-60)

In short

• Arms with a slow two-hander is the standard leveling spec.
• Victory Rush and Slam arrive at 20; use Victory Rush after every kill.
• Slam has a 1.5 sec cast and a 15 sec cooldown; Improved Slam shortens both.
• Berserker Stance comes from a class quest at 30; Whirlwind follows at 36.
• Mortal Strike, dual spec and plate all arrive at 40.
• Dungeon kill XP went up 50% on 9 Nov, so dungeon runs pay better now.

Level 1 to 60 at a glance

Why this spec

Arms wins on two counts. Most of its damage comes from the weapon: Slam, Overpower, Mortal Strike and the new Spearing Strike all scale with weapon damage, so every two-hander upgrade shows at once. It also has sustain that Classic Warriors lacked. Victory Rush restores 10% of your max health after a kill, and Deep Wounds and Impale turn crits into extra damage. Fury needs two weapons to upgrade, which is slow while leveling. Protection is worth a look if you grind solo for hours or plan to tank, and Bastion adds up to 10% damage while you hold a shield. Dual spec opens at 40, so the easy setup is Arms for questing and Protection as the second spec for dungeons.

Level by level

1-10Charge, Rend and steady swings

You start in Battle Stance with Heroic Strike and Battle Shout. Charge and Rend come at 4, Thunder Clap at 6 and Hamstring at 8. In Forever, Thunder Clap works in Battle or Defensive Stance and slows the attacks of up to four enemies, so it helps long before you tank anything. New spells no longer land on your bars by themselves, so open the spellbook after each trainer visit. Respawns are fastest in starting zones, which keeps these first levels quick. At 10 you learn Defensive Stance, Sunder Armor, Bloodrage and Taunt, and you get your first talent point.

• Heroic Strike
• Battle Shout
• Charge
• Rend
• Thunder Clap
• Hamstring

10-20First Arms talents and Overpower

Talents open at 10 and the first points go into Arms. Overpower arrives at 12; it only lights up after the target dodges and cannot be blocked, dodged or parried. Tactical Mastery is now a passive you learn at 14: you hold on to up to 10 Rage on a stance swap. Demoralizing Shout also comes at 14. Plan ahead for Anger Management: it needs Improved Tactical Mastery at 3/3, so spend those three points before 20. The usual route is Westfall, Loch Modan and Redridge Mountains for Alliance, The Barrens and Silverpine Forest for Horde. Hall of Thanes (13-18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15-20) are the new dungeons in range.

• Overpower
• Tactical Mastery
• Demoralizing Shout
• Bloodrage
• Sunder Armor

20-30Victory Rush, Slam and the first milestone talent

Level 20 is the biggest trainer visit so far. Victory Rush is a free strike that restores 10% of your max health; you can use it for 20 sec after killing an enemy that gives XP, on a 30 sec cooldown. Slam moved down to 20 and now has a 1.5 sec cast and a 15 sec cooldown. Cleave and Retaliation also come at 20, and your 11th point buys Anger Management. Execute follows at 24. At 25, with 16 points in Arms, take Spearing Strike, a new attack that hits harder against Giants, Dragonkin and mounted targets. Alliance usually quests in Duskwood and Wetlands, Horde in Ashenvale and Hillsbrad Foothills.

• Victory Rush
• Slam
• Cleave
• Retaliation
• Execute
• Spearing Strike

30-40Berserker Stance and AoE

Berserker Stance comes from a class quest at 30, along with Berserker Rage and Intercept. Your 21st point opens Sweeping Strikes, so your next five swings also hit a second enemy. Whirlwind comes at 36; it needs Berserker Stance and hits up to four enemies. Weaponmaster's bonus depends on your weapon type, so check what you carry before you spend points there.

• Berserker Stance
• Berserker Rage
• Intercept
• Sweeping Strikes
• Whirlwind

40-50Mortal Strike, plate and dual spec

Level 40 is the big step. The 31st point buys Mortal Strike: weapon damage plus a flat bonus, a 6 sec cooldown and a 50% healing cut on the target. Plate Mail joins your armor list at 40. Dual spec also opens at 40, and talents are changed at a class trainer in a major city, so this is the time to set up Protection as a second spec for dungeons. Riding comes at 40 too. Improved Tactical Mastery, taken early for Anger Management, now also helps when you swap to Berserker Stance for Whirlwind. Shen'dralas opens from around 40, and Krol'dok Stronghold in Riverglades is a 40-45 dungeon.

• Mortal Strike
• Slam
• Overpower
• Whirlwind

50-60Fury extras and the last zones

Recklessness comes at 50: a Berserker Stance burst for dangerous pulls, on a 30 min cooldown. With Arms nearly full, put the last points into Fury: Cruelty for crit and Unbridled Wrath for extra Rage on hits. Burning Steppes and Western Plaguelands open from 50, Winterspring and Eastern Plaguelands from 53, and Silithus from 55. Three new dungeons sit in this range: Alcaz Island Prison (48-53), Blackmaw Hold (55-60) and Shaper's Terrace (58-60). Mount Hyjal is the new endgame zone at 60.

• Recklessness
• Cruelty
• Unbridled Wrath
• Mortal Strike

Class quests

Talent plan

How to fight

Stats · Gear

Tips

• Sit at a campfire for a while to get rested state; a Camp Tent gives 5% more rested XP.
• Most crafted food adds 5% XP from kills.
• Legacy has 16 points at launch. Well Rested, then Talented, starts your talent points as early as level 5.
• You earn Legacy points by reaching 25, 45 and 60 for the first time on each class.
• Training 1-60 costs about 206-207 gold in total, so do not spend it all before riding at 40.
• Dungeon kill XP rose 50% on 9 Nov; older beta numbers that call dungeons slow are out of date.

Common mistakes

• Spamming Heroic Strike at low Rage and having nothing left for Rend, Overpower or Execute.
• Treating Slam like Classic: it has a 15 sec cooldown and delays your swing until you take Improved Slam.
• Forgetting Victory Rush after kills, which is free healing.
• Following Arms point orders written before the 2 Nov changes.
• Grouping with a much higher-level player: no one gets XP from the kill.

Questions