Hi everyone,
before i start with the core question, i gona explain you how viable prot is for PVP. So please don't start flaming before you have read that part.
Lets take a spec from a normal PVE Tank as example:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=LA0cZZcEtoIMzcest
doesn't look viable for pvp, right? Yes, it isn't too viable, but it is meant as an PVE spec, so no wonder in that. But you can already have some fun:
Removing Buffs with Shieldslam and getting high damage with the right PVE Gear (more to that later) with shieldslam. Endgame Raiding Gear will give you as normal prot specced warrior crits to somthing up to 3k. But you won't crit too often.
Debuff Armor and DPS at the same time with Devastate, but you are mostly not long enough on an enemy, especialy in Arenas.
Lower Rage costs for everything, that's great.
Higher AP trough Vitality, so also higher rage gain.
Higher survivability trough more armor, more blockvalue and less incomming spelldamage in def stance.
A 5 second stun, a realy nice thing for pvp, every mace warrior knows that.
AND: you use a shield, so you can daze targets with shieldbash and than give them a high Heroic Strike crit. And you can hit targets even when you are disarmed with shieldslam and shieldbash. And you can keep reflect on cooldown.
In that spec you have some problems in pvp: you "waste" much points into skills that are useless in pvp.
So lets change that:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=LZVVzu0xRZfVts0bzdxsh
that spec still can tank, since shieldslam is a high threat attack, i tested it for some time. But since i am not interested in PVE at all, it is not so important anyways.
Lets look at the spec, and lets start in the prot tree:
Vitality: More survivability and more rage gain. Thats important since you are wielding only one weapon and need all rage you can get.
Shieldslam: Your main Attack that also gets rid of annoying things liek icebarrier or stoneshield.
Focused Rage: You need every rage point you can get.
1H Mastery: Higher Rage gain and more Shieldslam Damage.
Shield Mastery: Less incomming Damage and Higher Shieldslam Hits
Conc Blow: The stun
Imp. Shieldbash: How to set healers into panic mode? Shieldbash their heal, set them into a 3 sec silence and than make an 1.5k Heroic strike crit.
Improved Disarm: The CC of the warrior, especialy after 2.3
Improved Revenge: Anoying for every melee, including hunters. They often get stuned after they successless tried to wingclip you, so you got time to hit the crap out of them. Also realy nice against ferals. But not nice against MS Warriors, never use it there!
Last Stand: The extra tick in survivability. More to that later.
Shield Spec + Shield Block: Like i said, you need every rage point. And blocking is nice. You can block shoots of hunters, block stuns from rogues, you can block everythign that's physical damage. Wonder if you can block Blind after 2.3
Thoughness: Grants you even more melee sruvivability.
Tactical Mastery: Needed for PVP.
Imp Bloodrage: Like i said: you need every rage point!!
So till now i hope you can follow me that all those skills are viable in pvp. Not against all classes, but against many.
Now to the fury tree: Lets start at the bottom:
Cruelty: Extra crit for more damage, always nice.
Unbr. Wrath: I think you know why... Procs realy often with a 1h btw.
Piercing Howle: AOE Slow to keep hunters and Rogues near you, they tend to dodge shielbash and hamstring. Only use hamstring when you are behind them and they are affected by PH. so PH is just the "timesaver". Oh, and it also dazes, so everyone around you gets affected by higher HS hits.
Bloodcraze: in a good PVP Prot Gear with a mix of PVP Gear and Blockvalue gear, you get around 12k-13k HP UNBUFFED: If you use Commanding shout, you have around 14k HP. Thats 140 HP per Tick. But there is more: If you use your Last stand, you gain 30% more HP! That'S than somthing around 18K HP. That means you heal 182 Per tick. That's mostly more than a rogue will hit you for with whitedamage trough your high armor. It addds a lot extra survivability, even if it sounds not too much. Realy nice against ferals.
Commanding Presence: Filling point, but nice anyways for Survivability OR rage gain.
Enrage: Higher Damage
Imp. Intercept: Realy needed for PVP.
Deathwish: Fear immunity. Needed against many classes.
So you see, the Fury tree adds some more tooling AND buffs to the PVP survivability and damage of the prot tree.
But you think: "What is it good for? Icemages will still own me!"
Well yes ^^
But they most likely will be oom and have gotten some damage and used many of their cooldowns.
This spec is great against everythign physical: Rogues, Warriors, Hunters, Ferals, Melee Shamys. If you learn to have a good timing and know the cooldowns and when people use what spell, than also retri paladins are nice enemys.
Important is: If it has the possibility to use magic, but is mainly physical damage: Don't reflect everything, reflect anoying things like Cyclone, entangling roots or frostshock.
Also nice are Pom mages: you can most of the time play them oom and with good timing and a bit luck reflect high damage spells back. Ah yea, shrot explaining of reflect too:
What does reflect mean? Reflect means, that you just wasted the enemys mana, didn't get damage (to see it in other ways: when you reflect a pom pyro that than crited for 4K, it would be the same like you having 400 Stamina more, not taking ignite into account).
Things that are hard enemys: Icemages, Shadow priests and Warlocks. They just don't crit and reflected things don't do that much damage alone. And Icemages can kite you easylie.
But since PVP is also about balance, this is ok. We don't whant to be a imba all killing pewpew machine, right?
Everything said was about equaly geared enemys ofc, if someone outgears you by far, you will get owned. But that brings me to the core point:
When i pvp in such a spec, i don't get rewarded for it. There is no Gear availible that suits Protection PVP. The problem is maybe that blizzard sees that as "tanking gear", but such gear wouldn't be viable for tanking. Here an example:
Merciless Gladiator's Protector Helm
Binds when picked up
Head Plate
1385 Armor
+15 Strength
+54 Stamina
Meta Socket
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Strength
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Warrior
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves hit rating by 14.
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 31.
Equip: Increases the blockvalue of your Shield by 27.
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 25.
Merciless Gladiator's Protector Shoulders
Binds when picked up
Shoulder Plate
1278 Armor
+9 Strength
+51 Stamina
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +3 Strength
Durability 100 / 100
Classes: Warrior
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 27.
Equip: Increases the blockvalue of your Shield by 27.
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 20.
Merciless Gladiator's Protector Chestpiece
Binds when picked up
Chest Plate
1704 Armor
+15 Strength
+60 Stamina
Red Socket
Red Socket
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Critical Strike Rating
Durability 165 / 165
Classes: Warrior
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves hit rating by 14.
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 35.
Equip: Increases the blockvalue of your Shield by 27.
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 24.
Merciless Gladiator's Protector Gauntlets
Binds when picked up
Hands Plate
1065 Armor
+13 Strength
+46 Stamina
Durability 55 / 55
Classes: Warrior
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 29.
Equip: Increases the blockvalue of your Shield by 27.
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 24.
Equip: Hamstring Rage cost reduced by 3.
Merciless Gladiator's Protector Legguards
Binds when picked up
Legs Plate
1491 Armor
+27 Strength
+63 Stamina
Durability 120 / 120
Classes: Warrior
Requires Level 70
Equip: Improves hit rating by 14.
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 43.
Equip: Increases the blockvalue of your Shield by 27.
Equip: Improves your resilience rating by 22.
This would give you an edge in Shieldslam Damage, higher your survivability, give you enough AP to make some damage, it would just be perfect! And it would be in no way viable for tanking, i don't even think it would be viable for 5 mans.
Even nicer would it be, if there where +blockvalue gems, like +12 Blockvalue for a red gem slot or +6blockvalue and +6 stamina as a purple gem. So you could add some extra taste.
Many people still won't understand, how viable shieldslam is as main attack for prot warriors. So some calculations.
With the above mentioned Gear (we talk of a full S2 Gear) + the normal veteran items + gnome blocker + blockvalue neck + 2 blockvalue rings + S2 shield you would have around 700 Blockvalue, 900 with an activated gnome blocker.
Now with the above mentioned Prot PVP Spec, it would get 10% more blockvalue: 990 Blockvalue.
+ 430 basedamage
______
1420 Hit.
Sounds viable, doesn't it?
Oh no wait, we forgott somthing:
1H Spec also counts on it:
10% more damage:
1560 Damage.
And what if we are enraged?
1952 Damage.
Non crit.
Wait, it can crit?
3905 Damage.
Okok, that's before armor. So on cloth it would be around 3500 Absolutely max without external buffs and on plate somthing around 2K absolutely max. And those are even "non resilienced" values.
But for full S2 Gear with the rest also best availible gear. I also got crited for over 2k by an MS warrior while i have 14k armor, so that sounds ok to me as best gear you could get.
So now: Why isn't there such gear? It would be another viable PVP spec and maybe some people would look into it and like it. At the moment you only got the possibility to spec arms after you get some arena gear, since this spec gains the most from the rewards you get as a warrior.
Can someone maybe help me with my fight for Prot PVP gear and post that in the US Suggestion forums? I only have an EU account
Thank you if you read everything and i hope you like the idea and understand what an waste of potential it is to not make some prot gear for PVP.
Thank you
Kind Regards
Leberle