Gladiator FAQ and discussion thread

[Gorsameth]

Tank ring has +bonus armor on it and the legendary affect buffs Strength so that'd be the way to go if you're dead set on seeing Gladiator through to the end. Whether or not there will be a way to swap your ring has yet to be seen.

99.9% sure you wil be able to swap at some point.
I think every time a progression based item selection has been offered that you have been able to switch them, From the Bronze Dragonflight rings in vanilla, the Violet Eye rings in TBC to all the different legendary items in MoP.

[Museigen]

I see in the op that bonus armor is like sex and realize tuning isn't all done yet, but as someone interested in both tanking and gladiator dps, do they both gear similarly? It's not something like bonus armor is bad for prot but prot loves haste which is terrible for glad is it?

[Gorsameth]

I see in the op that bonus armor is like sex and realize tuning isn't all done yet, but as someone interested in both tanking and gladiator dps, do they both gear similarly? It's not something like bonus armor is bad for prot but prot loves haste which is terrible for glad is it?

Bonus armor is still one of the best stats for a prot warrior if not the best. Prot and Glad gear reasonably similar.

[Trubo]

I see in the op that bonus armor is like sex and realize tuning isn't all done yet, but as someone interested in both tanking and gladiator dps, do they both gear similarly? It's not something like bonus armor is bad for prot but prot loves haste which is terrible for glad is it?

Prot has a higher value for Haste than Gladiator does since they burn through Rage faster. Whether or not Crit doesn't destroy Haste in terms of generation is something I haven't kept on to date with but I imagine Bonus Armor / Crit would work just fine.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

99.9% sure you wil be able to swap at some point.
I think every time a progression based item selection has been offered that you have been able to switch them, From the Bronze Dragonflight rings in vanilla, the Violet Eye rings in TBC to all the different legendary items in MoP.

That's a good point, one which I for some reason didn't think of.

[Cyclonus-WOW]

Prot has a higher value for Haste than Gladiator does since they burn through Rage faster. Whether or not Crit doesn't destroy Haste in terms of generation is something I haven't kept on to date with but I imagine Bonus Armor / Crit would work just fine.

If you go back, like 2 pages? You'll see where haste can be important right now. Obv before tuning, look for the chart.

[Trubo]

If you go back, like 2 pages? You'll see where haste can be important right now. Obv before tuning, look for the chart.

If you're talking about Haste for Gladiator, it's pretty much a non-issue since you only need 1 or 2 pieces to fit another ability into 7 second Shield Charge (much bigger deal when still 6 seconds). If you're talking about Haste for Protection, I don't recall anyone going into too much depth about Protection stat-weights other than saying that Glad and Prot will gear very similarly. At least, not in this thread.

[Elbando]

Hey guys

I dont have access to the beta and I cant test gladiator on the PTR obviously, I wanted to ask some questions. I dont know if im going to play ret or warrior in wod, but if I play warrior, id play glad.

How's the mechanic, the playstyle of the glad in pve? is it as boring as arms? And hows the "fun factor" ? I know everyone's different, but I want to hear some oppinions... If u have some more information please let me know, im really curious about this specc!

[Cyclonus-WOW]

Hey guys

I dont have access to the beta and I cant test gladiator on the PTR obviously, I wanted to ask some questions. I dont know if im going to play ret or warrior in wod, but if I play warrior, id play glad.

How's the mechanic, the playstyle of the glad in pve? is it as boring as arms? And hows the "fun factor" ? I know everyone's different, but I want to hear some oppinions... If u have some more information please let me know, im really curious about this specc!

The playstyle is probably the best party. You can talent it to have either harder hitting shield slams, proc'ing executes, or extremely spammy heroic strike-all-the-time. The nice thing too is it's kind of a easy-mode version of 5.4 fury where you're going to want to dump all of the damage you can inside shield charge. Might break a few kb's/mice by the end of WOD. Super fun.

[Elbando]

The playstyle is probably the best party. You can talent it to have either harder hitting shield slams, proc'ing executes, or extremely spammy heroic strike-all-the-time. The nice thing too is it's kind of a easy-mode version of 5.4 fury where you're going to want to dump all of the damage you can inside shield charge. Might break a few kb's/mice by the end of WOD. Super fun.

Thanks for your answer. So its fun in your opinion. Is it competitive in dps with arms and fury?

[Trubo]

Thanks for your answer. So its fun in your opinion. Is it competitive in dps with arms and fury?

Weaker than Arms, stronger than Fury for ST as of last build. Worse than both on any sort of multi-target/cleave (e.g. nearly every boss in T17).

[tru]

If its cleave and multi target is that far behind the other 2 choices what use is it inside the raid if nearly all t17 has multi target. Maybe if they also gave it sweeping strikes?

[Cyclonus-WOW]

If its cleave and multi target is that far behind the other 2 choices what use is it inside the raid if nearly all t17 has multi target. Maybe if they also gave it sweeping strikes?

2 Target cleave it's far behind? I'd like to see the sims again.
Hard to believe with the amount of cleaving heroic strikes you can put out with Unyielding Strikes. It pretty much IS sweeping strikes, it just doesn't affect shield slam.

[Ultramad]

2 Target cleave it's far behind? I'd like to see the sims again.
Hard to believe with the amount of cleaving heroic strikes you can put out with Unyielding Strikes. It pretty much IS sweeping strikes, it just doesn't affect shield slam.

Also gladiator in cleave fights should probably be rolling with the Cleave glyph. http://wod.wowhead.com/spell=159701

EDIT: I think that's what you were implying.

[Morgus]

I really hope this spec will be viable for arena and arms not being the only viable thing to play because it really is the most boring spec ever and I've wanted a sword and shield dps class since forever.

[Ferg]

I really hope this spec will be viable for arena and arms not being the only viable thing to play because it really is the most boring spec ever and I've wanted a sword and shield dps class since forever.

Not likely unless they give them more defensive abilities, which I don't really see happening.

Unless by "viable" you mean "able to be played at low ratings" which, then, yes, it will be viable. Just don't expect to see it above 2200.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Your avatar always puts a smile on my face, Ferg.

[FenixAU]

The nerf down to 8% chance for Shield Charge to proc from Shield Slam for the 2pc bonus seems a bit harsh/unnecessary. Wonder if it's intended, or just needs a fix since they nerfed the Shield Block proc chance.

[Bigbazz]

The set bonus was carrying Gladiator dps too much on single target, maybe they can afford to buff the spec to counter the nerf to the set bonus. I often saw my Shield Charge buff up to 17 seconds without me having to cast a shield charge, being able to keep it up for long periods of time without it dropping. I do think though that Gladiator really needs buffs, nerfing the set bonus is fine as it was really very powerful.

At least by dummy dps it leaves Arms with a clear advantage over the other two on single target. Not much use playing Gladiator if it's behind on single target and really behind on AOE. To be fair though it has been that way for most of the beta, it's not uncompetitive it's just that Arms and Fury are really strong on AOE (albiet not as strong as pre Ravager nerf).

[Khorm]

At least by dummy dps it leaves Arms with a clear advantage over the other two on single target. Not much use playing Gladiator if it's behind on single target and really behind on AOE. To be fair though it has been that way for most of the beta, it's not uncompetitive it's just that Arms and Fury are really strong on AOE (albiet not as strong as pre Ravager nerf).

You have to think of gearing as well. If you go Glad then you have to wait for the tanks to get their items. Once they have their items and you start getting them you have to be the tank if needed until someone else who's OS is tank gets the gear. Tanks are getting wrecked at the moment and need all the gear they can get and Bonus Armour is a tanks best stat by a mile.