Zellviren Revisited.

It's no secret I've been down on my class recently. My berth as a skilled Protection warrior was never in question, but it started to weigh on me that playing a class designed to be weaker (by developers happy with that) was less fun than it used to be. Prior to this, it wasn't so bad - I remained ahead of my other guild tanks in Wrath of the Lich King by virtue of being a better player, something that provides a rather obstinate comfort that ironically suits the class if you think about it. My current tanking partner, Vexien, is easily as good a player as I am, however, so the differences started to show up. Outside of gimmick fights or off-tanking duty, death knights, druids and (particularly) paladins are technically better raid tanks than warriors.

Was I really looking at yet another expansion where I had to be better geared and a better player, just to keep up?

In any event, I broke with convention and posted my concerns on a forum that is rife with trolling, bickering, petty elitism and stupidity; the WoW Europe community forums. And despite my writing being a clear case of "baddie inspired QQ", the relatively tiny amount of negative responses my post saw was actually a stronger indicator that something is up than anything else. I totally appreciate the comments on my own blog, particularly the ones that highlighted where I'd misunderstood something or omitted it in my comparisons. But ultimately, the fact that even those who spend their time waiting on a chance to post asinine level 1 insults didn't do so, was the unofficial confirmation that my worries weren't a case of me playing poorly.

It was time to play Arms.

Fortunately for me, there are another two players in our raid group who could take up the mantle; a Fury warrior and a Feral, who both easily have the gear for tanking the opening encounters in 4.2. Whenever I play offspec Arms, I'm always competitive on damage because I really enjoy the spec and find that I'm pretty good at it. Plus, there are a few encounters that actually favour Arms quite nicely despite it not being so good on the "Patchwerk" simulations.

Then of course you come across the tuning adjustments planned in 4.2 and you realise playing Arms isn't going to be so hot, after all. A whopping set of nerfs essentially relegate Arms to rock bottom of the DPS charts, while both Feral Combat and Retribution (the other melee in my raid group) are seeing deserved buffs to haul them up a bit. All things considered, I'm not going to be so competitive because I'm outgeared by players who are as good as I am and playing specs that are simply going to be more powerful.

Great. Back to the drawing board.

It's at this point in the tale, dear readers, when your humble author is at his lowest ebb. Fed up playing second fiddle through no fault of his own and unable to turn to the other crumbs of comfort on offer, he became very similar to poor Bruce Wayne after his mansion was burned down by the League of Shadows. With no Alfred in sight, was it time to just jump to PvP, grind honour and leave the raiding game behind until warriors were hauled up a bit? Was it time to leave the glorifying destruction of bosses to those luckier on the character selection screen?

Was it time to ditch the class that was the most fun to play in the game by a mile?

Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, return your chairs to their upright positions and read that again:

Was it time to ditch the class that was the most fun to play in the game by a mile?

That's why I play this game. It's not to be competitive in all things, it's not to be the greatest tank the world has ever seen and it's not to flip-flop between one thing and another while hoping I'll be FotM soon. I play this game because I enjoy it, and I play a warrior because it's the absolute pinnacle of game design.

How did Veneretio put it again...?

"Easy to pick up, hard to master, fun to play".

I love raiding. I love raiding with my guild mates. I love raiding with my guild mates as a tank. I love raiding with my guild mates as a Protection warrior. Damn it, I love showing everyone why Protection warriors are in raids when all else points to their exclusion. Enter Zellviren.


After some gear soul-searching, some gear-swapping, some reforge-changing, some gem-altering and a couple of slaps to save myself from the whiny bitch I'd become, it was time to do what I do best; play the game's most sophisticated class to the highest of my ability. I found that with a few gear changes I could factor in some threat stats, while still managing to actually increase my combined parry, dodge and block. I also found that I was STILL struggling to pick the right talent spec after sorting my gear, yet another indication that I have so many good options. There's no doubt that other tanks are just the watered down copies of what warriors are - kind of like the fourth version of Michael Keaton in Multiplicity.

Sure, they might look shiny. But underneath, they're just the same wannabe wimps with some bells and whistles thrown on to entertain the children.

My talent tree was starting to fill up nicely, now. I again realised the elegance of Blood and Thunder; I smiled at the stubbornness of Hold the Line; I positively beamed at the wonder that is Warbringer; I coursed with the desperation of a Last Stand; I yelled at the defiance of Concussion Blow and Shockwave; my ears pricked at the sound of my Drums of War. And perhaps most tellingly, I groaned at the omission of Vigilance, Impending Victory, Safeguard, Piercing Howl and Deep Wounds.

I'm not ashamed to admit this was like waking up from a dream. While my gearing and talent choices might look restrictive, they're a kaleidoscope of colour compared to the blandness offered by other classes. And while paladins, death knights and bears can sneer about doing many things better than I can, I can laugh at the fact that I can still do everything they can, while there are things I can do that they simply cannot ever do, at any stage, or under any circumstances.

Class balance should always be aimed at. Respective of my reawakening, there is never a reason why one class should be better than another. If the tanking Q&A wasn't so worryingly clueless, it would have been funny (Innervate as good as Divine Guardian? What, really?). But at the end of the day, what you enjoy most is easily what should remain at the heart of why you play the game or the class that you do.

True, warriors are a bit behind - but that won't be forever. And we all know being "fine" doesn't mean "competitive". But when push comes to shove, I play a class that can transform an encounter by virtue of its adaptability. And in addition to that, I play a class that will ever remain popular due to it being more fun (ish) than sharing a sleeping bag with that school teacher you fancied.

Don't ditch your warriors, tanking or otherwise.

They're still the original, and best.