Protection Warrior

Protection Warrior puts 38 points into Protection, 10 points into Fury and 3 points into Arms by level 60, with no respec on the way.

Key talents: Shield Slam at 49.

By our sim, this build gets you from 10 to 60 in about 27% less time than playing with no talents.

At level 40 most of your ability damage comes from Revenge (80%), Rend (14%) and Victory Rush (6%).

Each talent gets a tier for how much it helps this build level, by our sim: S best, A strong, B solid, C small, Filler needed to reach deeper talents.

1. 10
   

   Improved Rend 1 B

   Arms. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
2. 11-15
   

   Cruelty 1-5 B

   Fury. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
3. 16-17
   

   Improved Rend 2-3 B

   Arms. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
4. 18-43
   First, filler points:

   • Shield Specialization 1-5
   • Anticipation 1-5
   • Toughness 1-5
   • Improved Thunder Clap 1-3
   • Master of Defense 1-2
   • Improved Revenge 1-3
   • Defiance 1-2

   

   Focused Rage 1 A

   Protection, at level 43. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
5. 44-49
   First, filler points:

   • Bastion 1-4A
   • Concussion Blow 1

   

   Shield Slam 1 S

   Protection, at level 49. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
6. 50-51
   

   Focused Rage 2-3 A

   Protection. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
7. 52
   

   Bastion 5 A

   Protection. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
8. 53-57
   

   Unbridled Wrath 1-5 C

   Fury. C tier: a small gain for leveling.

1. 
   Revenge

   after Shield Block (keep it on cooldown)
2. 
   Rend

   once per mob
3. 
   Victory Rush

   right after each kill, on the next mob

Share of your ability damage

• Revenge80%
• Rend14%
• Victory Rush6%

What our sim found levels best at this level with this build: DoTs once per mob, cooldowns on cooldown, and the rest on your best filler. Auto attacks are always on, so they are not listed.

Strength > Stamina > Attack power > Agility > Spirit

• Strength1.00
• Stamina0.86
• Attack power0.50
• Agility0.27
• Spirit0.05

1% hit is worth about 5 Strength. 1% crit is worth about 4 Strength.

Stat values like Pawn: point for point, your best stat is 1.00 and the rest are worth that share of it. MP5 is mana regen per 5 seconds, as item tooltips show it. Your own gear shifts these: the Character page works them out for you.

• This build assumes an one-handed sword and shield. Talents for other weapon types are skipped; shield talents count.
• Put Rend on each mob once: most mobs die before it needs refreshing.
• Watch for Revenge: it only lights up after Shield Block (keep it on cooldown), and it is cheap damage.
• At level 40, for the same item budget, Strength helps most, then attack power. Look for gear with those first.
• Some points (Shield Specialization, Anticipation and Master of Defense and others) are filler to reach the next tier; they do little for leveling on their own.

How this is made: a typical character at each level (Classic-like stats, quest greens for gear) pulling same-level mobs one at a time, with downtime counted. It is an early version, refined as players’ combat logs measure what each talent really does. Weapon assumed: one-handed sword and shield.