The Shadowlands Pre-Patch changes to
Maîtrise de la rage and its synergies (
Voix tonitruante and
Renforcement) broke Protection Warrior’s positive Rage feedback loop, which had been the mechanic that kept the class competitive (and dominant) throughout BFA. This substantially reduced the class’ power at extremely high-level Mythic+ (e.g. 25+). You can no longer consistently have immensely powerful defensive cooldowns ready for each large pull in a Mythic+. Additionally,
Coup de tonnerre’s damage was significantly reduced,
Revanchefree uses were reduced from
every Dodge/Parry to only 3 procs per minute, and the loss of Corruption really cut into the class’ ability to deal damage. Losing DPS hurts the class at the highest levels, and it also makes it less effective at quickly pushing +15’s.
“Why is Protection Warrior less popular?” “Because it was nerfed!
