Warrior - Arms

Talents

Standard Build: 54/17/0∞
AoE(Incite) Build: 55/8/8∞ - This Build specs into the protection tree for some added AoE affects, it is not quite as good as the standard build on single target, but with this build, heroic strike should take priority over slam.

Axe spec is always the best spec. Mace spec is comparable provided you have a large amount of armor penetration to back it up, however sword spec should never be chosen as its internal cooldown(6 seconds) is much too long

Ability Rotation

Arms DPS is very dependent on procced abilities, so there is no set "rotation". Rather, there is a set ranking of abilities (that is, if all of these abilities are available this is the order in which to use them).

Single Target (In Battle Stance):
1. Rend (if not already applied)
2. Bladestorm
3. Overpower
4. Execute
5. Mortal Strike
6. Slam

On Multiple targets, arms just does not cut it compared to fury, the best thing to do is to use Sweeping Strikes as often as possible and try to make do.

One small note, do NOT reapply Rend until it has completely fallen off otherwise you cut off the last tick.

Key Cooldowns

- Bladestorm: Very short CD, should be used whenever possible.

Stats (In Order of Importance)

1. Hit rating: up to 263 (8%)
2. Crit rating: up to 35% chance to crit in Battle Stance
3. Strength
4. Armor Penetraion
5. Attack Power
6. Agility

Just a note, proven through math, haste is not a desired stat as arms, it alters the swing timer on slam and can sometimes ruin a rotation

There is alot of debate between gemming for armor penetration or strength... something that works well is to gem until you have 50% armor penetraion from gear and gems(also rememeber to add 10% from battle stance) and then to gem for Strength... this only works if you have a trinket such as Grim Toll∞ due to the armor penetration proc

Recommended Glyphs

Required:
Glyph of Rending
Glyph of Execution
Glyph of Mortal Strike

Minor Glyphs:
Glyph of Battle
Glyph of Bloodrage
Glyph of Charge

Recommended Enchants

• Head: Arcanum of Torment∞
• Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Axe∞ or Lesser Inscription of the Axe∞
• Chest: Powerful Stats∞ or Super Stats∞
• Cloak: Major Agility∞
• Bracers: Greater Assault∞ or Striking∞
• Hands: Crusher∞ or Precision∞
• Belt: Eternal Belt Buckle∞
• Legs: Icescale Leg Armor∞ or Nerubian Leg Armor∞
• Feet: Icewalker∞ or Greater Assault∞
• Weapon: Berserking∞ or Executioner∞

Recommended Consumables

• Flask: Flask of Endless Rage∞
• Food: Dragonfin Filet∞

Additional Tips

- On gem/gear selection: Arms DPS requires the lowest amount of hit to be capped (along with DKs, and ret paladins), this is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand it's very easy to hit the cap, on the other it can quickly become a pain to not go over. For this reason it can be a good idea to hang on to pieces even after upgrading, in case you need to move your hit rating around again later. Also for this reason you may want use gems of the "Perfect" variety in the yellow sockets rather than rare or epic gems as they are significantly cheaper and you'll likely end up changing gems frequently.
- On weapon specs: Assuming equal weapons, Poleaxe spec is always preferred. Given a much better weapon (i.e. an ilvl 213 Mace vs. an ilvl 187 Axe) it's worth switching specs.
- On weapon damage/speed: Average damage is VERY important to consider (NOT the DPS) and a shorthand way to compare this is via weapon speed. For example, take 2 weapons with 100 dps, 1 with a 3.4 speed and 1 with a 3.8 speed. The 3.8 speed weapon will be a MUCH better choice as the average damage is higher. The reason of this is because most warrior damage comes from abilities not auto-swings and abilities do not require weapon swings.

Sources and Other Resources