WoW Forever Protection Warrior build (tank), the talents Protection builds take

6,673 of the 18,727 Warrior builds with 41 or more points planned here (36%) lead in Protection, since the Oct 8 patch (build 70291). Fury has 36%. Protection is the shield tree Warriors tank with: Defiance raises threat in Defensive Stance while a shield is equipped, and Vanguard lets Charge work in Defensive Stance. Arms is the two-handed tree and Fury the dual-wield tree, the two damage trees. Every build below opens in the Warrior calculator.

Counted on 25 Oct 2026, recounted a few times a day.

• Fury 36%
• Protection 36%
• Arms 28%

The most popular Protection Warrior builds Arms / Fury / Protection points

1. 1

   Protection Warrior 7/5/39

   #1 of every Warrior build by what people did with it since the Oct 8 patch Arms 7 / Fury 5 / Protection 39 1.4% of every Warrior share, save and link open since 13 Sep · shared 82 · saved 227 · opened 1,511 · across 92 close builds Maxes Deflection, Improved Charge, Cruelty, Improved Bloodrage, Shield Specialization, Anticipation and 11 more. Goes to Shield Slam (row 7). Takes Defiance, the shield threat talent Warriors tank with.
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2. 4

   Protection / Fury Warrior 0/20/31

   #4 of every Warrior build by what people did with it since the Oct 8 patch Arms 0 / Fury 20 / Protection 31 0.4% of every Warrior share, save and link open since 13 Sep · shared 24 · saved 21 · opened 474 · across 29 close builds Maxes Cruelty, Unbridled Wrath, Blood Craze, Enrage, Improved Bloodrage, Shield Specialization and 10 more. Goes to Shield Slam (row 7). Takes Defiance, the shield threat talent Warriors tank with.
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3. 5

   Protection Warrior 5/5/36

   #5 of every Warrior build by what people did with it since the Oct 8 patch Arms 5 / Fury 5 / Protection 36 1.5% of every Warrior share, save and link open since 13 Sep · shared 47 · saved 82 · opened 1,830 · across 38 close builds Maxes Deflection, Cruelty, Improved Bloodrage, Shield Specialization, Anticipation, Improved Revenge and 9 more. Goes to Shield Slam (row 7). Takes Defiance, the shield threat talent Warriors tank with.
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The talents Protection Warrior builds take

Of the 6,673 Warrior builds with 41 or more points that lead in Protection, the share with a point in each talent:

In nearly every Protection build, 90% or more: Shield Specialization 99%, Concussion Blow 98%, Master of Defense 96%, Bastion 95%, Improved Revenge 93%, Vanguard 92%, Shield Slam 92% and Focused Rage 91%.

In most, 50 to 89%: Last Stand 89%, Improved Shield Wall 76%, Improved Thunder Clap 72%, Defiance 70%, Anticipation 61%, Improved Sunder Armor 53% and Improved Bloodrage 50%.

In some, 20 to 49%: Improved Shield Bash 32%.

From the other trees, 20% or more: Cruelty 77%, Deflection 75%, Unbridled Wrath 37%, Improved Rend 35%, Improved Charge 31%, Improved Tactical Mastery 28%, Deep Wounds 28%, Blood Craze 26%, Piercing Howl 22% and Improved Heroic Strike 21%.

Leveling as Protection, and the level 30 cap

47.9% of the 88,729 Warrior leveling orders recorded here between 18 Sep and 16 Oct 2026 lead in Protection (42,477). The Protection order starts with Shield Specialization, Improved Thunder Clap and Improved Bloodrage from level 10, and its first 21 points are Shield Specialization 5, Improved Thunder Clap 3, Improved Bloodrage 2, Improved Revenge 3, Master of Defense 2, Last Stand 1, Defiance 3, Vanguard 1 and Concussion Blow 1. Open those 21 points at level 30. Every bracket to 60 is on the Warrior leveling order.

Questions

What is the most popular Protection Warrior build in WoW Forever?

Protection Warrior 7/5/39, #1 of every Warrior build by what people did with it since the Oct 8 patch. It holds 1.4% of every Warrior share, save and link open counted here since 13 Sep (shared 82, saved 227, opened 1,511). It maxes Deflection, Improved Charge, Cruelty, Improved Bloodrage, Shield Specialization, Anticipation and 11 more.

How many Warrior builds are Protection?

6,673 of the 18,727 Warrior builds with 41 or more points planned here since the Oct 8 patch (build 70291) lead in Protection, 36%, behind Fury (36%).

Which talents do Protection Warrior builds take?

Nearly all of them (90% or more) take Shield Specialization (99%), Concussion Blow (98%), Master of Defense (96%), Bastion (95%), Improved Revenge (93%), Vanguard (92%), Shield Slam (92%) and Focused Rage (91%). Most (50 to 89%) take Last Stand (89%), Improved Shield Wall (76%), Improved Thunder Clap (72%), Defiance (70%), Anticipation (61%) and Improved Sunder Armor (53%). Outside Protection the most taken are Cruelty (77%), Deflection (75%) and Unbridled Wrath (37%). Each build counted once.

What do Protection Warriors take first while leveling?

The Protection leveling order, 47.9% of 88,729 recorded Warrior orders, starts with Shield Specialization, Improved Thunder Clap and Improved Bloodrage from level 10.

Is this a Protection Warrior tier list?

No. It counts what people plan on this site, not how strong a build is. The count starts again when a beta build changes the Warrior trees.

The other Warrior specs: Arms Warrior and Fury Warrior. The rank (#) is among every Warrior build on the most popular Warrior builds; a share or a save weighs 5, a link open 3, making the build 2 and a view 1. Also for Warriors: the leveling order, every talent in words, what changed since Classic, the abilities, new and changed, the races and their racials, questions answered from the data, and the Warrior calculator.