PvE Combat

A warrior’s role shifts depending on the number of people he travels with and their classes. Thus we will be differentiating how to play in Solo, Group and Raid content as a warrior.

Solo - Warriors are not bad solo characters but they aren’t the strongest solo-ers. We can take a ton of damage, but as one levels, it is always difficult to have the best gear to take on 2 targets or even targets that are 2 levels higher then you are. So take care, 10% durability loss does get expensive in the long run.

Combat is somewhat repetitive. Use Charge to get some rage for opening moves. Keep Battle Shout up to give yourself a damage per second (dps) boost. Then it just comes down to hitting the target.

If you are using a 2-hander and leveling the Arms tree, then using Heroic Strike is going to slow down your dps. The fact that Heroic Strike is on the next hit, makes it so that you don’t gain any rage on that hit. So that the actual cost of Heroic Strike is 15 rage plus the rage you would have gained on a melee hit. With a 2–hander, that’s usually about 8 to 9 rage. Making HS total cost actually more like 24-25ish. Heroic Strike eats a lot of rage, and one doesn’t have enough available for other talents. When leveling below level 40, where Mortal strike isn’t available, I prefer to use Sunder Armor on a target.

On the other hand, with Fury you will usually have more rage than you know what to do with. Heroic Strike therefore works a lot better, but you do miss a lot more with Fury than Arms.

Group – In either small groups to large groups, a warrior can excel.. The role of a warrior changes as the group becomes larger. With a 2 man group, damage is still important, but when you come to the largest group size, and run instances, then holding the attention of attacking monsters, or “aggro,” is the most important job.

-Overworld Questing with 1 or 2 partners - When doing quests that are not “elite” in the normal world, a warrior’s job is mainly still dps. Targets should go down reasonably fast and because they are regular mobs, holding aggro isn’t that important, since all classes can survive getting hit a little by any non elite mob.

Usually, you as the warrior, should pull initial aggro. Use a bow, a gun or charge in. Most mobs are spaced out enough that you won’t draw too many. If you do get too many, it maybe in your best interest to go into a hold aggro mode and let your partners deal with the enemy group one at a time. Though, you can always use a combination of Intimidating Shout and Hamstring in order to clear out the mobs and allow your team to escape and regroup. Mobs will only chase so far.

It is important to let your team recover, especially if you have mana users. Pulling 2 or 3 mobs while your mage friend needs to sit down and drink isn’t exactly healthy for you. When attacking multiple targets, some moves could be beneficial to you. These include Sweeping Strike, Whirlwind and Cleave. Most rage efficient is Sweeping Strike since, with 30 Rage, you do double the damage for 5 swings. Whirlwind works well if you are fighting 4 or more mobs. Cleave is like Heroic Strike and works off the next swing, and you get no Rage for that swing, so only use it if you have Rage to burn. The combo of Sweeping Strike and Cleave works well, though.

-Instance Questing – When in doubt, use a sword and shield. Instances always have elites and they hit anything without a good chunk of armor very hard, so you must hold aggro. Remember to get a ranged weapon as well, and don’t forget to bring ammo, as usually you will be doing the pulling. Enemy groups are specifically laid out by Blizzard, so usually you can’t charge in, as you would be pulling another group, and that means death to the party. Ranged pulling is the way to go. The enemy group’s initial aggro will be on you. Have your team pick a primary target that they will attack first, and your job is to hold aggro on that target for as long as possible, while keeping the rest of the enemy group also targeting you. It’s easier said then done.

First, aggro management isn’t just your job, but the entire group’s job. Sometimes, it is better for you to go and attack the group solo with only heals keeping you up in order to gain enough aggro on each mob. Giving you a 5 second head start works well, but one does hold aggro best in defensive stance, as there is a 30% bonus to threat generation while in defensive stance.

Use Sunder Armor continually. When holding a large group, Sunder Armor a target twice and then move to the next, continuing this process until all targets are dead. Sunder Armor and Heroic Strike are the best ways to keep aggro. If you get hit by a lot of targets, you should have more than enough Rage to keep using both. If you are running low though, Sunder Armor over Heroic Strike. Use Revenge when available and Shield Block to trigger Revenge. Taunt is only used when you don’t have aggro from a certain target to bring it go back to you. Mocking blow is more of an emergency ability since you have to switch to battle stance to use it, but remember you have it. Use Challenging Shout only when getting overwhelmed by a large number of mobs. If you are fighting a mob that can fear you, then remember that Berserker Rage in Berserk Stance makes you immune to Fear for 10 seconds. If you are specialized in protection, then using Shield Slam is also very threat generative.

Raid – Raid tanking is more or less like instance tanking, though usually there will be one or more warriors with you. Mobs hit hard. Tanking does get easier the larger the group becomes. A 10 man Upper Blackrock Spire raid still has a fair bit of multi-target tanking, however this all but goes away in the larger, 40 man raid instances. Thus, you just have to make sure the target stays on you and doesn’t attack the raid.

Now, in large 40 man raids, one usually brings about 5+ warriors and so, all 5 warriors will not always be called upon to tank. Thus, warrior can then break out his weapons and actual do damage. Remember though, Warriors have no aggro reducing talent, other dps classes do have such abilities. Rogues get Feint, and can completely wipe aggro with vanish. Hunters can use Feign Death, to also wipe aggro. Mages can spec into subtlety to reduce the threat they generate. Only warlocks have to control their aggro like Warriors. Pulling aggro from the main tank can have devastating consequences. So, don’t fight in defensive stance. The increased threat generated in that stance could cause you to pull aggro. Be ready though, if something bad does happen to the Tank, it becomes your job to gain aggro on the loose mob and keep it away from the rest of raid.

The main tank’s job is to hold the mob in place to allow the DPS players to attack. If you are not the main tank, or off-tank if the mob or boss require one, then you can attack. Remember if you are grouped with Rogues, then use Battle Shout to increase their attack power. The main tank really should not be using Demoralizing Shout, but you can. And also, Thunder Clap’s 10% attack speed reduction can also be rather handy. Use it whenever possible. Depending on the fight, the mortal strike 50% healing reduction debuff can become important. ZG Bosses love to heal themselves. Use Execute on the target at 20%, depending on how difficult the aggro management is on the target. Sometimes it is better to wait till 10% or even 5%, so that if you do draw aggro, you don’t wipe the raid. Execute is a very powerful attack, especially at full rage, if it crits. Threat generation via damage can come quickly if you continually use Execute starting at 20%.

Equipment/Instance/Questing Guide

1-10

You will be finding a lot of grey equipment initially hunting in the starting area, thus early on you will want to fill all of your slots and try to get out of grey quality gear and into some Common quality equipment. A lot of your items can be gotten via quests, but if you are in need of something, finding a blacksmith could help.

Things you should consider getting: Copper Battle Axe, Copper Chain Vest, and Runed Copper Pants.

The class mission at level 10 gives you a choice of a green one handed weapon, which is also nice.

All of your questing should be done in your starting area. Levels come quickly and there should be enough missions so that you never have to leave the area.

10-20 Horde

At this point, you’ll begin running across more green items. The Auction House becomes available so you can buy some equipment if something on the market strikes your fancy. Still, leveling is quick enough that, spending a lot of money on items you will replace in a few levels is not worth it. Around level 18 or so you can start getting shoulder armor, though without any bonus stats.

One should definitely do the mission surrounding Ragefire Chasm and the instance itself, as the rewards, for the level, are excellent and RFC mobs have a high chance for dropping random green items. There are 6 missions altogether.

The elite mission is Silverpine Forest’s “Arugal’s Folly” has a nice 2 hand axe reward.

Still the best rewards come from The Barrens. Finishing the first Quillboar missions has a green belt reward. Helping the goblin Gazlowe in Ratchet with all his quests will net you a pair of green boots. West of the Crossroads there is an orc with a Centaur problem. Complete his quests for some weapons rewards and also a ring reward. On top of the Guard Tower in Crossroads there is an Orc who wants revenge against the Harpies in the Northwest. Complete his questline for another choice of some good weapons. A goblin in Ratchet wants Raptor horns. Complete his mission for a nice cloak.

Also complete the Oasis quest line, as it is the starting point for the Main reward mission for the Wailing Cavern.

Blacksmithing pieces to round out your character: Thick War Axe at level 12 is handy, as is a Runed Copper Breastplate at 13. Rough Bronze Leggings should be cheap at 16. Rough Bronze Shoulder will most likely be your first shoulder pieces, Patterned Bronze Bracers are also cheap for the materials it requires.

Questing is mainly done in the Barrens, you do need to go to another area to finish leveling up in this range. Silverpine Forest offers missions, throughout the entire range or you can go to Stonetalon Mountain which starts at level 15.

20-30 Horde

Your first blues will come into your possession around this time. There are some world-drop blues available. On most servers, they will be VERY expensive. Helms become available around level 26 or so, though you will most likely have to buy it on the auction house if you want one before the Green Iron Helm, which is Level 29.

Lots of instances become available between level 20 and 30. So there is a lot of good loot going around. First at level 21-22 or so you will want to enter Wailing Caverns. The main quest has nice 1 handed blue sword reward. Also the last Boss has a chance to drop a Mail chest piece. Another boss can drop a blue belt and a very large turtle can drop a blue shield.

Heading to Shadowfang Keep after WC at about level 24 is a good idea. Lots of weapons drops in here. Most of the 2-hander weapons that drop are rather low percentage. Still, considering that the main quest reward gives you a nice ring, I definitely suggest you run Shadowfang Keep.

Next, head to Ashenvale, as there are a number of missions here you should do to get ready for Blackfathom Deep, and also one rather long mission that gives you a pair of blue gauntlets. For Horde, Blackfathom Deep has two main missions. Both give a nice blue reward, one being a nice shield reward and the other a one handed sword. Again, there are a number of weapon drops, but also a couple of Mail drops that you may get lucky on. The last boss also can drop a two-handed sword that is very nice.

Questing can be done in Hillsbrad, Ashenvale, also both The Barren and Stonetalon Mountains have missions till about Level 25. Thousand Needles starts at 25 so you can start there afterwards.

Crafting wise, you definitely want to get a Shining Silver Breastplate. It is one of the few lower level blue crafted items. Green Iron Helm should also be considered if you didn’t invest in a random stats item from the Auction House.

30-40 Horde

At level 30, you get Berserk stance, and the mission to make your class 2 handed weapon becomes available. The mission itself is rated level 40, but the weapon does not come with a level restriction, so the earlier you can do this mission the better. So grab a high level friend, if you can, and get this mission out of the way. If you can’t do that there are enough other weapons you can get till you reach level 40 when you can reasonably do this mission yourself.

Investing in a Green Iron Hauberk at level 31 is also advisable.

Around the same time, you should take a trip into Razor Fen Kraul. Stonefist Girdle from the main quest should be a good upgrade. The drops inside the instance are mostly weapons again, with a couple of Bind on Equip mail drops. Be on the look out for Corpsemaker from the Overlord. It is one of the better Axes around this level.

Now, Gnomeregan is a predominately Alliance instance, but Horde does have the main mission as well, to kill Thermaplugg. To get there, there is a transporter mission in Booty Bay and will transport you to the instance, since it is rather difficult to get to for a mid level horde. It is an interesting place to see, but the drops really are only exciting from the boss.

Scarlet Monastery is one of the best instances in the game. It is sectioned so that you can do each part at different times. The easiest part, the graveyard can actually be done around level 33 or so, while for the final section you really should be about level 39-40. This is definitely one of the instances you will run multiple times. The sections are not long in length, and the loot is good all around, though considering that at level 40, you will be upgrading to plate mail, passing mail piece to hunters and shaman is wise. The main quest reward is a good one handed sword. Other nice weapons in the instance are Ravager which is a two handed axe and has a whirlwind ability on chance hit. Herod’s Shoulders are also a nice piece until you get plate at 40.

Once, you finish up with SM, head back to the south of The Barrens and enter Razorfen Downs. Dual wielding warriors will definitely like the reward combo from Scarlet Monastery and here. Though the neck piece isn’t too bad of a reward, either, if you aren’t a Dual wielder. There is a nice Plate chest piece that drops here, and might save you the upgrade cost. The final boss also drops a Plate helm. A rare spawn boss has some nicer warrior equipment, a shield and a 2 handed sword, if you are lucky enough to get him in your instance.

For questing, you should finish up Thousand Needles. Head to Desolace, Arathi Highlands, and Alterac Mountains. The adventurous player can head in to Stranglethorn Vale, but expect a lot of encounters with alliance, so watch out if you are on a PVP server.

Badlands and Dustwallow Marsh are levels 35 to 45. Dustwallow Marsh is playable at 35, but I don’t recommend going to Badlands till 39-40.

Remember to save money for your mount, so pace yourself on Auction House expenses.

40-50 Horde

With the ability to upgrade to Plate Mail, you are going to need to redo your entire wardrobe. Fear not, it is for the better. Trinkets also start becoming available now. Level 40 also means that you should now have filled out one of the trees you were specializing in. Having the 31 point talent, means that your damage should now be significantly increased, and you should see a dramatic improvement in your effectiveness.

There are a lot of good crafted items that become available here, though they can be a little more expensive then normal. Truesilver Plate and Gauntlets are two good pieces produced by Armorsmiths. And to quickly gear yourself in Plate, I recommend either investing in Heavy Mithril Plate Piece if you are more of a tank or Ornate Mithril Plate if you consider yourself more dps oriented. You can also mix and match. In the weapons department, there are also a couple of blue weapons that a weaponsmith can craft for you. The Shatterer and Phantom Blade are both good if you need a one handed weapon. Blight is one of the few crafted Polearms, and in the later part of this range, Truesilver Champion is a good weapon as well.

There are 3 instances in this range, though one could argue that Razorfen Downs and the last part of Scarlet Monastery are still part of this range. Level up to about 45ish, at which time you will be ready for Uldaman in the Badlands. The main reward is a caster neckpiece only, so that doesn’t interest us much, but the Main Boss drops two 2 handed weapons and can also drop a ring with random stats. So chances are you will get a good drop from the boss. As a Horde player, you can also kill the 3 Vikings, for a chance that one drops a plate helm you can use to stun anyone for 30 seconds. Very handy, considering that this is one of the few ways for warriors to gain crowd control.

Zul’Farrak is next on the instance list, though while you are able to compete in the instance at lvl 46. You can’t complete all the missions. The main quest nets you the Masons Fraternity Ring. There is also a side quest that you should definitely do. The Mission to kill Gahz’rilla has a quest reward that gives you a trinket, Carrot on a Stick, to increase your mount speed by 3%. This is very handy to have, and is the only trinket that increases mount speed currently in the game. To Summon Gahz’rilla you need a Hammer, and to make the hammer requires a trip into the Hinterlands. There you need to scale up the Altar of Zul and then Jintha’alor to make the Hammer. Jintha’alor though is a level 50 elite area. Thus, it makes the processes of going to Zul’Farrak a little more difficult.

Gear from Zul’Farrak: Big Bad Pauldrons (shoulders) are a highly desirable drop of the last boss. He also drops a one-handed axe. The Overseer, the boss with the basilisks, can also drop some Plate Gauntlets with random enchantments on them and a one handed mace. The Priestess at the bottom of the pyramid can drop a polearm. Zul’Farrak is also the first instance in which an epic item is obtainable. Getting this item is extremely difficult, so one should not be going into the instance expecting it. The Epic item is a 2 handed sword. The weapon is created by combining two very low drop rate one-handed swords: Jang’thraze and Sang’thraze combine to make Sul’thraze.

If you got through Jintha’alor then you are most likely ready for Maraudon, so head over to Desolace. Maraudon has 2 entrances, purple and orange. Both entrances later converge on a single point, which leads to the second portion of the instance. There is a mission, Legends of Maraudon, to kill the leaders of the purple and orange side which allows you to get a warping scepter so you can always head into the second part at will. A lot of Nature gear drops here, which you should definitely save if you have plans of doing Endgame raiding. Noxxion, the orange side boss, drops a de-poison trinket and some NR Plate bracers which are nice. The Rock Giant boss drops Helm of the Mountain, and the final boss drops Elemental Rockridge Leggings. Definitely pick up the main quest reward sword, Trash Blade. Maraudon is fun to do, and a lot of good items drop for many classes. With the Scepter Key, you can pass four bosses of the instance very quickly, so running this multiple times is not a bad idea.

Trinkets that you should consider getting: In the Badlands, after completing all the quests to kill the earth elementals, one of the gnomes gives you a quest that gives you the Nifty Stopwatch, which is basically a Sprint Trinket. As a warrior, this can be helpful in getting out of a sticky situation. In the Hinterlands, when scaling the Jintha’alor you should remember to pickup missions from the wanted poster in Revantusk Village. One gives you a trinket reward that gives 20 Attack power and a 1% chance to hit. If you have PvPed at all, then picking up the Rank 2 Trinket, while not as useful in PvE, it does make fighting Mages and Druids easier.

Questing should be finished up in The Badlands, and Dustwallow Marsh first. Both areas are good through Level 45. Tanaris, Feralas, and Swamp of Sorrows are good through this entire range. Azshara, Blasted Lands, Searing Gorge, and the Hinterlands are all about level 45+ areas. Ungoro Crater and Felwood are good transition zones to level 50+, since they are considered to start at level 48.

50-60

The home stretch or it is until the expansion. Lots of good missions become available with very good rewards. Instance running becomes the norm for you. One starts to gear up for the endgame.

First, we will be heading to The Temple of Atal’Hakkar. This instance is some what sectional with a lower and upper area. There are 2 blue reward missions, though you will most likely be interested in only one, “The God Hakkar” quest reward is a plate helm. The boss that you need to kill for this mission also has a chance to drop a nice plate chest piece, so you may get double the benefit. The boss of the lower area can drop a blue belt. Weapon-wise there are 2 polearms that are Bind on Pick up, and 1 two handed sword can drop off the large dragons patrolling before Erankius. Erankius himself can drop a nice 1 handed axe, and a ring with random stats and +6 Defense. In order to do the God Hakkar event a second time, talk to the quest giver, and he will give you a scroll.

When you reach level 55, you will be ready for the first part of Blackrock Depth, deep in Blackrock Mountain. Much like The Temple of Atal’Hakkar, this instance is sectioned. The section is divided if the large door is closed. Level 57+ is required if you want to do the whole instance. In order to get to the whole area you need the Shadowforge Key. You get this from a quest you get from a ghost in the middle structure in Blackrock Mountain. You need to be dead in order to see him and get the mission. Rogues though can lockpick any door or switch in the instance, so it isn’t that big of a deal. Lots of items here, some though are very rare since they depend on what spawns in the Ring of Law Arena. There is a lot of fire resistance gear available if you need it. Lord Incedius has a chance to drop Plate Bracers with Fire Resistance and random stats. The Emperor has a lot of drops as well. Patch 1.10 has spiced things up with a better loot table and made a lot of items better then they were before.

For questing to level 60, you should start out by finishing up Ungoro Crater, Azhara, Felwood and Blasted Lands. Burning Steppes is also available, but you will be running into Alliance a lot, which is problematic if you are on a PvP server. Finishing up there, you will most likely be ready for Western Plaguelands and the early missions of Winterspring. After that, finish up your leveling in Eastern Plaguelands, Silithus and the higher level missions of Winterspring.

10-20 Alliance

At this point, you’ll begin running across more green items. The Auction House becomes available so that one can buy some equipment if something on the market strikes your fancy. Still, leveling is quick enough that, spending a lot of money on items that you will replace in a few levels is not worth it. Around level 18 or so you can start getting shoulder armor, though without any bonus stats.

Questing wise you will be spending initially a lot of time in level 10 to 20 area of your race. You will need to switch to another area though. The elite mission for Hogger in Elwynn Forrest should definitely be done. The Bashal’Aran quest line in Dark Shores gives a nice Chest piece. The Red Crystal line also there nets you a nice one-handed sword. Loch Modan has a cave crawl mission for a mail chest as well. I recommend, though, that you head to Westfall around 15 or 16 to start on the missions concerning the Deadmines instance. Collect leather bandanas for some boots and complete the entire Defias Series and pickup a nice 2-handed sword. If you are getting low on missions in Westfall, then Redridge Mountains is another place to go.

At level 19, you are ready to tank the Deadmines. This is still one of the earlier instances so mostly just green items drop here, but you can pickup a blue item here and there. Sneed drop’s a 2-handed Axe, and Smite drops his 2-handed Mace. If you are looking for something smaller then VanCleef drops a 1 handed sword, “Cruel Barb” among other things. One of the main quest rewards is mail legplates. VanCleef also drops a letter which starts a mission that is the direct link to the next instance in Stormwind, the Stockade.

20-30 Alliance

In Deadmines, you got your first taste of blue items and you most likely hunger for more. world drop Bind on Equip blue items will be for sale on the AH. Remember though not to pay too much for an item you are going to replace in a couple of levels anyways. You will be stepping continuously into contested territory now and not just safe heavens like the Redridge Mountains, so watch your back on PvP servers. Helms become available around level 26 or so, though you will most likely have to buy it on the auction house if you want one before the Green Iron Helm, which is Level 29.

The Stockades are the next instance available, but it is rather short and there really are no blue rewards or regular drops in the instance. There is one rare spawn that drops some blues. Still, the instance is in the middle of Stormwind, and it is a nice way to kill some leveling time.

After the Stockade, you may want to run Shadowfang Keep. For the most part this is a Horde instance and there is no main mission associated with it for the Alliance, but Warlocks and Paladins both need to go to this instance to complete class quests, so it might be a good idea to tag along. Shadowfang Keep drops a lot of weapons, both 2 handers and 1 handers.

Switch over to Ashenvale to head into Blackfathom Deeps. The main quest starts inside the instance and gives you a shield reward. There are a number of weapon drops, but also a couple of Mail drops that you may get lucky on. The last boss also can drop a two-handed sword that is very nice.

Questing – Redridge Mountains lasts until level 25. Your main leveling in this range will be done in Duskwood, Wetlands and Ashenvale though. For the adventurous minded there are mission also available in the Stonetalon mountains; watch out for the Horde on PvP servers.

30-40 Alliance

At level 30, you get Berserk stance, and the mission to make your class 2 handed weapon becomes available. The mission itself is rated level 40, but the weapon does not come with a level restriction, so the earlier you can do this mission the better. So grab a high level friend, if you can, and get this mission out of the way. If you cant do that, there are enough other weapons you can get till you reach level 40 when you can reasonably do this mission yourself.

Investing in a Green Iron Hauberk at level 31 is also advisable.

Gnomeregan is the next stopping point. As an alliance player, you have numerous missions in and around this instance. The main mission though is to kill Thermaplugg and that reward gives you some nice mail pants. The boss drops are the only thing that would excite a warrior, unless you get a lucky Bind on Equip drop. The instance is easy to get to, and there are a lot of missions, so I recommend finding a group and checking it out.

Scarlet Monastery is one of the best instances in the game. It is sectioned so that you can do each part at different times. The easiest part, the graveyard, can actually be done around level 33 or so, while for the final section you really should be about level 39-40. This is definitely one of the instances you will run multiple times. The sections are not long in length, and the loot is good all around, though considering that at level 40, you will be upgrading to plate mail, passing mail piece to hunters and shaman is wise. The main quest reward has some nice choices for a warrior, either a 2 handed axe or a 1 handed sword. Other nice weapons in the instance are Ravager which is a two handed axe that has a whirlwind ability on chance hit. Herod’s Shoulders are also a nice piece until you get plate at 40.

Once, you finish up with SM, head back to the south of The Barrens and enter Razorfen Downs. Dual wielding warriors will definitely like the reward combo from Scarlet Monastery and here. The neck piece isn’t too bad of a reward either if you aren’t a dual wielder. There is a nice plate mail chest piece that drops here that might save you the upgrade cost. The final boss also drops a Plate helm. A rare spawn boss has some more nice warrior equipment, a shield and a 2 handed sword, if you are lucky enough to get him in your instance.

Questing – Your Main questing should be done in the Alterac Mountains via Southshore in Hillsbrad, Arathi Highlands and Stranglethorn Vale. Desolace is also available, though it is more Horde favored.

40-50 Alliance

There are a lot of good crafted items that become available here, though they can be a little more expensive then normal. Truesilver Plate and Gauntlets are two good pieces produced by Armorsmiths. And to quickly gear yourself in Plate, I recommend either investing in Heavy Mithril Plate Piece if you are more of a tank, or Ornate Mithril Plate if you consider yourself more dps oriented. You can also mix and match. In the weapons department, there are also a couple of blue weapons that a weaponsmith can craft for you. The Shatterer and Phantom Blade are both good if you need a one handed weapon. Blight is one of the few crafted Polearms, and in the later part of this range, Truesilver Champion is a good weapon as well.

50-60

The home stretch or it is until the expansion. Lots of good missions become available with very good rewards. Instance running becomes the norm for you. One starts to gear up for the endgame.

Endgame

So you have reached 60, congratulations, but the game is just beginning. Instance running now becomes the norm. The only way to improve your character now is to get better equipment and most of it is going to come via instance drops, some of them being quest rewards, and a few crafted items thrown in here and there.

Instances – Lower Blackrock Spire, Scholomance, Stratholme, Upper Blackrock Spire, and Dire Maul are where you will be spending most of your time. Blackrock Depths will also occupy your time every now and then.

This is more of a shopping list than a guide. Weapons and Armor listed here are suggestions that you may like. Something to consider though: All the crafted items useful at this level are very expensive. Most require large amounts of arcanite bars. So I suggest looking over the mats requirements before setting your sights on one.

Instance Description

Blackrock Spire is inside Blackrock Mountain as well. Blackrock Spire is really only one instance yet the distinction is made because the Lower part requires only 5 man team and the Upper part is a 10 man raid instance. The Upper Part also requires a key. The key is made by finding the Unadorned Seal of Ascension and the finding 4 gems that drop from the 4 main bosses in the lower part. Put them together and do some more questing and you get the key ring, Seal of Ascension.

Stratholme is in the northern edge of the Eastern Plaguelands. It is also comprised of two different parts. Stratholme has 2 entrances, the main one and the Sewer entrance. The main entrance is mainly used for to get to the so called Living, Light or Scarlet side of Stratholme. There you will be assaulting the main Headquarters of the Scarlet Crusaders. The Sewer Entrance leads to the Undead, Dead, or Baron side or Stratholme. On this side you will be fighting against the Scourge and will ultimately square off against Deathknight Baron Rivendare.

Scholomance is one Caer Darrow Island in the southeastern corner of Western Plaguelands. This scourge stronghold is mainly comprised of warlock and mages, who command skeletons and ghouls. Darkmaster Gandling is the Headmaster of the school and will only show himself if you have killed all his teachers.

Dire Maul is in the middle of Feralas. The instance is build much like Scarlet Monastery is. The instance has 3 distinct wings. The east wing is the easiest and is considered the plant wing. The north wing is the Ogre Wing, and the west wing, the hardest, is considered also the elemental or Prince Wing. Unlike Scarlet monastery though the wings are connected, so you can travel the entire instance via one entrance. The Ogre wing is a little unique in that if you do not kill any boss besides the final King Gordok, you will get a tribute from all the other bosses, as you are now considered the King of the Ogres.

Valor set – Dungeon Set 1.

This is the first full armor set you should see. Getting the full set is no easy feat and it does require a lot of luck to see the armor piece that you require drop on that run. 3 pieces, bracers, gauntlets and belt, are now Bind on Equip so you can buy them on the Auction House if you so feel inclined.

1.9 Drops

Bracers drop in Blackrock Spire off of random mob
Gauntlets drop off of Ramstein in Stratholme
Belt drops off of Omokk in Lower Blackrock Spire
Boots drop off of Kirtonos the Herald in Scholomance
Shoulders drop off of Warlord Rend in Upper Blackrock Spire
Helm drops off of Darkmaster Gandling in Scholomance
Pants drops off of Baron Rivendare in Stratholme
Chest drops off of General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire.

Weapons

The weapons listed here are suggestions. You should definitely look them over and consider what weapon will be right for you. Epic weapons are not listed nor are any weapons found in any of the 20 man raid instances nor weapons crafted that require materials from the Molten Core.

Two Handed:

Two Handed Swords:
Barbarous Blade drops from King Gordok in Dire Maul North
Arcanite Champion crafted by a Swordsmith.
Darkstone Claymore drops off of a Twilight Duke who is summoned in Silithus.
Warblade of Caer Darrow is a quest reward for killing the Lich Raz in Scholomance.

Two handed Axes
Arcanite Reaper crafter by an Axesmith

Two handed Mace
Crystal Spike Maul found in a “Sack of Spoils” which is the quest reward for “Signets of Dukes” a repeatable mission in Silithus.
Hammer of Titans crafted by a Hammersmith
Bonecrusher is a reward from a DM West mission “The Madness Within”

Polearms:
Blackhand Doomsaw drops off of Warlord Rend in Upper Blackrock Spire
Ice Barbed Spear is a PVP quest reward for successfully winning one Alterac Valley Battleground.

One Handed Weapons
Main hand swords
Dal’Rend’s Sacred Charge drops off of Warlord Rend in Upper Blackrock Spire, one Part of the Dal’Rend Set.
Skullforge Reaver drops off of Baron Rivendare in Stratholme
Frostguard is crafted by a Swordsmith
One handed Swords
Protector’s/Legionnaire’s Sword requires Revered Reputation Status with the Warsong Gulch Battleground
Argent Avenger is a quest reward for killing the Boss of the Scarlet Side of Stratholme
Offhand swords
Dal’Rend’s Tribal Guardian drops off of Warlord Rend in Upper Blackrock Spire

Main Hand Axes
Iceblade Hacker drops from Ras Frostwhisper in Scholomance
Annihilator is crafted by an Axesmith
One Handed Axes
Frostbite is available to Horde only by becoming Revered with Alterac Valley Battleground
Soulrender drops off of any Twilight Duke who is summoned in Silithus

Main Hand Maces Masterwork Stonehammer can be crafted by a Hammersmith
One handed Maces
Stormstrike Hammer is available to Alliance only by becoming Revered with Alterac Valley Battleground
Timeworn Mace drops off of Prince Tortheldrin in Dire Maul West
Bonechill Hammer drops from Ras Frostwhisper in Scholomance.

Shields
Draconian Deflector drops from General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire
Intricately Runed Shield drops from Ras Frostwhisper in Scholomance
Dreadguard’s Protector drops from Lord Hel’nurath in Dire Maul.
Barrier Shield comes from the Gordok Tribute Chest from Dire Maul North

Misc:

Back
Redoubt Cloak is found in the Gordok Tribute Chest in Dire Maul North
Pale Moon Cloak is dropped by Maleki the Pallid in Stratholme
Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape is dropped by Stonespine, a rare spawn, in Stratholme
The Emperor’s New Cape is dropped by Emperor Dagran Thaurissan in Blackrock Depths
Frostwolf Legionnaire’s/Stormpike Soldier’s Cloak is available at Honored Status with the Alterac Valley Battleground

Rings
Painweaver Band dropped by General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock
Band of the Ogre King dropped by King Gordok in Dire Maul North
Band of Flesh dropped by Ramstein in Stratholme
Ring of Protection is a quest reward for completing the Battle of Darrowshire in Eastern Plaguelands.
Don Julio’s Band can be bought when one gains exalted status with Alterac Valley Battleground.

Neck
Mark of Fordring is a quest reward for a questline that starts in Eastern Plaguelands and takes you to Stratholme.
Evil Eye Pendant drops from Immol’thar in Dire Maul West
Emberfury Talisman drops from Pyroguard Emberseer in Upper Blackrock Spire
Imperial Jewel drops from Emperor Dagran Thaurissan in Blackrock Depths
Amulet of the Darkmoon requires that you turn in 1200 Darkmoon Faire Tickets to the vendor – Epic Quality item.

Trinkets
Blackhand’s Breadth is a Quest reward for killing Warlord Rend (Horde) and General Drakkisath (Alliance)
Counterattack Lodestone found inside the Gordok Tribute Chest in Dire Maul North
Frostwolf/Stormpike Insignia Rand 1-6 is given to the player for gaining reputation levels with the Alterac Valley Battleground. Rank 1 is a quest reward for a mission inside the Battleground.
Hand of Justice is dropped by General Angerforge in Blackrock Depth
Royal Seal of Eldre’Thalas is the reward for turning in the warrior class book to the Elven Librarian in Dire Maul. The book drops from any boss in Dire Maul.
Vigilance Charm drops from Immol’thar in Dire Maul West

DPS Armor
Valor Set is more of an average set. It doesn’t favor DPS or tanking. So using Valor for DPS is very viable but there are better no set gear that might proof more effective.

Helm: Lionheart Helm Crafted by an Armorsmith – Epic quality
Bracers: Battleborn Armbraces from Rend in UBRS
Gauntlets: Stronghold Gauntlets crafted by Armorsmith – Epic quality
Gauntlets: Reiver Claws dropped by Overlord Wyrmthalak in Lower Blackrock Spire
Boots: Ribsteel Footguards dropped by Urok Doomhowl in Lower Blackrock Spire
Belt: Omokk’s Girth Restrainer – Main Quest mission reward for Lower Blackrock Spire.
Pants: Eldritch Reinforced Legplates dropped by Prince Tortheldrin in Dire Maul West
Pants: Abyssal Plate Legplates of Striking drops off of any Twilight Duke who is summoned in Silithus.

Fire Resistance Gear
If you ever plan on stepping into Molten Core, then investing in some Fire Resistance gear should be a priority. Dark Iron Gear is the best for Fire Resistance but all of the epic pieces require materials that are only found in the Molten Core. The process for getting reputations with the Thorium Brotherhood also is long and expensive. These are pieces that are a little easier to find.
Bracers: Emberplate Armguards drop from Lord Incendius in Blackrock Depths, Comes with random enchantment ie “of the Boar”
Gauntlets: Fiery Plate Gauntlets crafted by an Armorsmith
Shoulders:Dark Iron Shoulders crafted by an Armorsmith
Chest: Dark Iron Plate can only be crafted if you are an Armorsmith yourself, as it is bind on create.
Chest: Hydralick Armor is a World Drop, so most likely you would have to buy it from the Auction House
Boots: Lavawalker Greaves dropped my Maleki the Pallid in Stratholme
Back: Wildfire Cape is dropped by Pyroguard Emberseer in Upper Blackrock Spire
Neck: Drakefire Amulet is the quest key for getting into Onyxia’s Lair
Trinket: Royal Seal of Eldre’Thalas Eldre’Thalas is the reward for turning in the warrior class book to the Elven Librarian in Dire Maul. The book drops from any boss in Dire Maul
Trinket: Hyper-Radiant Flame Deflector is crafted by Engineers and requires 290 Engineering skill to use.
Shield: Draconian Deflector dropped by General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire

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