Phry's Guide to Dominating DPS Proving Grounds as a Warrior

[saltyphry]

Introduction

Hey guys, Phry here. I am here to show you how to dominate as a warrior in the DPS proving grounds. I am currently the number 1 dps warrior in proving grounds with a score of 13792. I also have top rankings on my pally in all 3 proving grounds with scores of 17699 in the DPS challenge (#2 pally, #13 overall), 18538 in the tank challenge (#1 pally, #3 overall) and 10630 in the healing challenge (#4 pally, #5 overall.) In this guide I will provide you with all the information you need to get to wave 120+. Everything in this guide will also apply if you are simply trying to get endless 30 for your achieve, however it will be way above and beyond what is required to get said achieve.


Spec, Talents and Glyphs

Spec

Overall all 3 specs are very solid for pg's. You can get to wave 90-100 with any spec, however if really want to push the limits of what a warrior can do arms is the best choice in my opinion for 1 main reason, rend. Rend is incredibly powerful in this type of setting because there are many mobs to rend and it doesn't go to waste. 2 rends will kill or bring most mobs to very low health.

Talents

Level 15: Double Time
Level 30: N/A
Level 45: Slam
Level 60: Storm Bolt
Level 75: N/A
Level 90: Avatar
Level 100: Ravager

On wave x3 switch to:

Level 45: Taste for Blood
Level 60: Shockwave

Yes you can switch talents between waves. The pre-requisites are that you are out of combat and that the talent you want to change is not on cooldown. The second part creates some limitations in what you can switch. Overall I try to limit talent switches because if you plan on having a talent for a certain wave and aren't able to switch you might be in big trouble. One of the big reason I use Avatar is because it lines up perfectly with the Scabbard of Kyanos. If you aren't using Scabbard you may find Bloodbath to be better. I often get asked why I use slam and it comes down to reliability. Sudden death procs way to random to be really useful, and I feel like a lot of the extra rage from taste for blood simply goes to waste. Since so much of your damage comes from rend (~35%) which basically cost no rage you have quite a bit of extra rage and slam ends up being a really good way to use it.

Glyphs

Major:
Glyph of Wind and Thunder
Glyph of Rude Interruption
Glyph of the Executor

Minor:
Glyph of Intimidating Shout

On lower waves glyph of the executor doesn't do much since the mobs tend to die from rend ticks. It really starts to be worthwhile once you get to waves 100+ since you find mobs will be left alive with a small amount of hp and the glyph allows you to clean up multiple mobs with execute quite effectively. Feel free to use something different if you don't feel like it is worthwhile.


Gear and Stats

Short Version:
In general lower ilvl is easier, ideally you want an overall ilvl of ~615-625 with a 600-615 ilvl weapon and the best trinkets you can get. Use the legendary ring if you have as it works in pg's for some reason despite no previous version ever working. Enchant crit wherever possible. Gems slots and tertiary stats do not work with a couple of exceptions.

Long Version:
There is a floor that exists as to how low mobs hp will scale. At this point the Large Amber-Weaver on wave 1 will have 82691 hp, this is usually around 615 ilvl. You can see this value by starting the challenge naked. The closer to this floor you are the easier the challenge tends to be. The game assumes you have at least a 600 ilvl piece in each slot so using equipment that is lower than that is generally not recommended. At 600 ilvl certain slots can be enchanted with MoP enchants giving them more stats than they are scaled for. This includes shoulder, chest, bracer, gloves, legs and boots, all these can be found in normal skyreach with a 600 ilvl.

A lot of people believe that using a high level weapon with lower ilvl gear is a good idea. I believe this to be one of worst thing you things you can do. If the challenge scaled with your overall ivl this would make sense and would most likely be correct. However each slot has different impact on the scaling, in some cases (weapon) it is huge. Some numbers to consider:

Initial Ilvl	Intial Mob HP	Slot Switched	New Ilvl	New Mob HP
615	82691	Ring	620	85577
615	82691	Belt	620	86472
615	82691	Chest	620	89333
615	82691	Weapon	620	125.5k

In each case I kept all gear the same with the exception of a single slot which I increased by 85 ilvls, for example I went from a 610 weapon to a 695. You can see how much more of an impact your weapon has then any other slot. In my opinion if there is 1 slot you want at a lower ilvl it is your weapon.

For stats I tried to get crit on as much gear as possible although not at the expense of ilvl, also I enchant crit wherever possible. Beyond that I did not worry about stats and just took what was on the gear I had.

Trinkets

No slot will have a bigger impact on your performance then your trinkets. Your selection will also greatly impact your strategy and approach to many waves. For the most part higher ilvl is better, though there will always be exceptions. I used the Scabbard of Kyanos and the Stone of Elements, so this guide will revolve around having them. I am certain some of the HFC trinkets will outperform the ones I used, however I don't have access to them on this toon so I can't directly comment on them. The class trinkets from Archimonde are generally very powerful for most classes in pg's, however I have my doubts about how useful it is as an arms warrior. The empty drinking horn feels like it would be very strong.


Strategy and Approach

The first thing I feel like I need to state is that this is not a raid. Doing the most potential dps is not the goal. Your goal is to meet a series of successive of 1 min dps checks, with a some dps checks inside of those dps checks. I provide great detail as to how I approach all of the waves. You will have to adjust accordingly as the timing of the initial heals and the amber can be somewhat random. Also I don't say when to use execute cause I can't say exactly when mobs will reach 20%, that said it is something that is generally worth using as soon as it becomes available. Any point I say slam till dead implies using execute appropriately.

The movement of the Banana-Tossers and the Banshee can be quite annoying, so the first ability I generally use on them is Thunderclap to slow them by 50%. The Guardians shield blocks most abilities, however there are a few that will ignore the shield. Rend can be used from any direction without worry of it being blocked. Thunderclap will also ignore the direction of the Guardians shield, however Whirlwind will not.

Abbreviations

CS>Colossus Smash
MS>Mortal Strike
TC>Thunderclap
WW>Whirlwind
SB>Stormbolt

Waves

Wave 1 (Easy)

Start where a Amber-Weaver is, rend it then charge to a second one. Rend>CS>MS>Slam till dead. Heroic leap to the third Amber-Weaver, rend>MS, Slam till dead. Charge to the middle Varmints and drop ravager, WW 2 or 3 times then charge to the first Amber-Weaver rend>MS>Slam till dead.

Wave 2 (Very Easy)

Start on a Guardian, rend it, move to the Amber-Weaver rend it, then the second Guardian and rend it. Charge over to the mystic rend it then activate Avatar+Scabbard of Kyanos, interupt the heal when cast. CS>MS>Slam till dead. Charge the first Guardian refresh rend and use ms on it, then heroic leap to the second guardian, refresh rend then slam till dead. Should be ~35 secs left so head towards the middle of the room. TC as soon as the banshee spawns and trap in amber if possible. Rend>CS>MS>Slam till dead. Finish up anything still alive. Switch talents to Taste for Blood and Shockwave once you drop combat.

Wave 3 (Hard)

Pre-drop Ravager 1 sec before the wave starts. Shockwave and activate sweeping strikes when wave starts. Rend both Banana-Tossers then TC. Pick a Banana-Tosser CS>MS>WW till dead. Charge to the second Banana-Tosser TC>Rend>MS>Victory Rush>WW till dead. Rend all of the outer ring of Varmints along with 3 or 4 of higher hp ones in the inner rings. Stand in the middle and WW till everything is dead. Switch to Slam and Stormbolt once you drop combat.

Wave 4 (Easy)

Start on a Guardian and rend it. Charge to a second one and rend it. Charge to a third and rend it. Heroic Leap the final one rend it then activate Avatar and Scabbard of Kyanos. CS>MS>Slam till dead. Move to the Amber-Weaver rend it then MS. Head back to the first Guardian and re-apply rend. Move to the second one refresh rend then MS. Next head to the third Guardian and refresh rend on it. There should be ~35 secs left. TC as soon the banshee spawns in a position that hits 2 Guardians along with the banshee. CS>MS>Slam till dead on the banshee. Finish up anything still alive.

Wave 5 (Medium)

Start near spawn of Banana-Tosser. Hesitate 1/4 sec before using Intimidating Shout. If you spam Intimidating Shout you can fear the sha before it puts its shield up which is very bad. Charge the Mystic rend>CS>MS>Slam x2, interupt the heal when cast. When fear is about to run out charge the Banana-Tosser. Rend>SB>MS>TC>Slam till dead. Rend the sha. If the Mystic is still alive finish it off just after it cast its next heal. Build up a full rage bar. When Banshee spawns TC>Rend>Ms>Slam till dead. Refresh rend before shield drops off sha. Once shield falls off MS>Slamx2>SB>Heroic Leap to the Berserking buff, charge back to the sha and activate Avatar and Scabbard of Kyanos. CS>MS>Slam till dead.

Wave 6 (Medium)

Drop Ravager in the middle .5 secs before the wave starts. Start on a Mystic and Rend it. Charge over the second Mystic use WW on the way to hit the Varmints. Rend the Mystic and interrupt the heal when cast. Activate Recklessness CS>MS>Slam till dead. Charge the first Mystic Rend>MS>build up rage for CS, interupt heal when cast. Once CS comes off cooldown CS>MS<Slam till dead. Finish up any varmints still alive.

Wave 7 (Medium)

Start where the Banana-Tosser spawns. Cast Intimidating Shout when it spawns. Charge the furthest Amber-Weaver and Rend it. Move to the middle Guardian and Rend it, followed by the Guardian near the Banana-Tosser. Next Rend the Banana-tosser Then use SB. Kite amber into the Banana-Tosser. MS a Guardian>WWx2>TC>Rend on the middle Guardian. Finish off the Banana-Tosser if its still alive. Rend the second Amber-Weaver the MS. Move to the third Guardian rend it then activate Avatar and Scabbard of Kyanos. CS>MS>Slam till it is dead. Finish up what is still alive.

Wave 8 (Very Hard)

Charge the first Slayer passing through the Berserking buff, rend it then move to the Mystic. Rend>CS>MS>Slamx3 and interupt the heal when it's cast. Move to the second Slayer Rend>MS>Slamx3. Charge the Banshee Rend>MS>TC, then refresh Rend on the first Slayer followed by the Mystic. Be ready to interupt its heal. Swith back to Banshee MS>Slam till dead. SB when the next Banshee spawns. Rend it and activate Sweeping Strikes then drop Ravager. CS>MS>TC>Rend the third Banshee and use the Mecha-Blast Rocket on it. Slam the second Banshee till its dead. Be ready to interrupt the Mystic again. Finish off the third Banshee followed by anything else still alive.

Wave 9 (Medium)

Start in between Banana-Tosser and Amber-Weaver. Cast Intimidating Shout on the Banana-Tosser then Rend the Amber-Weaver. Charge a Slayer and Rend it, then charge the Guardian and rend it. Move to the Banana-Tosser Rend then activate Avatar and Scabbard followed by SB. Kite the amber into the Banana-Tosser the CS>MS>Slam till dead. Move to the second Slayer Rend>MS>Slamx2. Heroic Leap to the Amber-Weaver and refresh Rend. Move to the first Slayer refresh Rend then MS. Next Move to the Guardian and refresh Rend on it. There should be ~35 secs left. TC when the Banshee spawns ideally hitting the Guardian and a Slayer. Kite amber into Banshee then CS>MS>Slam till dead. Finish up whats left starting with the Guardian.

Wave 10 (Very Easy)

Do nothing for the first 37 secs of the wave. With 23 secs left charge the sha Rend then drop Ravager and activate Recklessness, Avatar and Scabbard of Kyanos, CS>MS>Slamx3>MS>SB>Slam till dead.


Extra Stuff

Add-Ons

DBM-Proving Grounds
Quick Talents

Macros

/tar Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser
/tar Small Illusionary Banana-Tosser
/use Intimidating Shout

/use Scabbard of Kyanos
/use Avatar

/use Scabbard of Kyanos
/use Avatar
/use Recklessness

/tar Large Illusionary Mystic
/tar Small Illusionary Mystic
/use Pummel

Extras

Mecha-Blast Rocket
Dust of Disappearance

Videos

I have 3 videos of me doing proving grounds on my warrior on my youtube page. Search saltyphry to find them. While they aren't guides in of themselves but they do show me executing the strategy that I have spelled out above.

[Bigbazz]

Impressive attention to detail, you really do love Challenge Modes. I got to Wave 84 as Gladiator and failed due to getting stuck in Amber, lack of concentration after such a long period, was no chance I was going to try again given how much time is required, I think that was good enough for something like rank 6 Warrior at the time?. I felt I had a good grasp on each wave but not to the point that you have it, but for me Proving Grounds was very much a 1 and done affair.

I was also not aware of the weapon scaling affecting mobs health so much, though I was running my full T18 Gladiator set with Heroic Plume + Empty Drinking Horn and a Mythic 720 ilvl weapon, aside from my Mythic shield from Siege of Orgrimmar (ilvl588 ish) which has bonus armor/mastery and an enchant. At wave 84 it felt like the biggest problem was going to be a lapse in concentration as I was quite ahead of the damage requirements, and that's exactly what stopped me.

As for Worldbreaker for Arms, it has a fairly high proc rate and is up for quite a lot of the time.. In raiding it is fantastic, it makes Arms dps more consistent from attempt to attempt by reducing how precious CS is, if you think that on an execute burst you have 1 chance and if it doesn't pay off that's pretty much it, where as with the class trinket it's very common to have CS up for the entirety of the execute phase.

[Deleted]

I've been waiting for someone to do this for ages, thank you gonna give this a try now. Also chance to use slam +1.

[Rorke]

Yeah Proving Grounds is fun but too bad it doesn't prove anything. I'm sure the people that are able to get where the OP is at are decent players but bad players can still do endless 30 without a problem. This is why Proving Grounds is such a waste of time because any random bad player can get all of the achievements for them.

[VaevictusVII]

^^ decent input for this guide, thanks Ebonheart you're a sweetheart as usual!

[Bigbazz]

Yeah Proving Grounds is fun but too bad it doesn't prove anything. I'm sure the people that are able to get where the OP is at are decent players but bad players can still do endless 30 without a problem. This is why Proving Grounds is such a waste of time because any random bad player can get all of the achievements for them.

I don't know any bad players with the Endless achievements, I've seen plenty of "good" players who say it's worthless because they weren't able to beat 30 though. Stop raining on peoples parades, let them enjoy the game the way they want, you don't have to smear your negative opinions over everything.

[VaevictusVII]

He kind of appears to think he does have to though. You know for all that constructiveness it offers and all.

[saltyphry]

Ultimately the reason I do proving grounds is to challenge myself. There is very little challenging solo content in the game and proving grounds are one of the few things that can provide a solo challenge. I very much realize that proving grounds aren't something most people enjoy largely due to the repetitiveness, time necessity and frustration of wiping after an hour or more.

[Deleted]

I lost interest in proving grounds after endless 30, which I finished on the 3rd attempt with 700 weapon, some 615 pieces & shitty trinkets (it's super easy with minimal preparations). There's just no point in doing it beyond that. It's not even fun, because it's the same waves over and over again.

[Bigbazz]

I lost interest in proving grounds after endless 30, which I finished on the 3rd attempt with 700 weapon, some 615 pieces & shitty trinkets (it's super easy with minimal preparations). There's just no point in doing it beyond that. It's not even fun, because it's the same waves over and over again.

I thought it was fun, I just wish I could start from wave 80, and not start from wave 1. It reminds me of Greater Rifts in Diablo, and endlessly increasing difficulty.. The only thing is it's closer to having to start from Greater Rift 1 and progress through every one each time you want to get back to where you were... It's not nice to have to dedicate over an hour of clearing just to get back to a starting point where you can push further.

I wanted to see how far I could take it, I did it first at the start of the expansion and got my 30 and stopped. Then I wanted to see how far I could go, I got to 47 and failed due endlessly stuck in amber, then I went in again and got to 84 and failed to the amber again... That there was over 2 hours dedicated and I had not even got that far.

I consider myself a decent player, but holding consistent/nonstop concentration and focus for such a long period of time is not my strong point.