Warrior levels slowly because it has little burst and no healing. At 60 it tanks raids or does melee DPS. This is the basic route on x1.
Leveling spec: Arms
Go Arms. It helps rage generation while you are in cloth and leather gear with no set bonuses.
- First priority is Tactical Mastery, so you keep rage when you swap stances. This makes Charge into Battle Stance openers work.
- Take Deep Wounds and Impale. Impale makes each critical hit matter more.
- Use a slow two-hand weapon. A slow weapon hits harder per swing, so Heroic Strike, Overpower, and later Mortal Strike all land for more. Check the swing speed, not just the damage number.
A normal pull at low level: Charge in, Rend, Heroic Strike on the next swing, then Overpower when it procs. Keep a shield in a bag slot for when something goes wrong.
Fury comes later
Fury wants dual-wield and a steady rage income, which means decent gear. Most players respec to Fury for raiding once they are 60 and have weapons in both hands. Do not rush it while leveling. You will starve for rage.
Tanking basics
At 60 you tank in Protection or a Fury-Protection mix, in Defensive Stance, with a shield.
- The number that matters is Defense. At 440 Defense a level 63 raid boss can no longer land a critical hit on you. This is “uncrittable” and it is the gear goal before serious raids.
- Threat comes mostly from Sunder Armor, Heroic Strike, and Revenge. Keep Sunder stacked to five.
- Shield Block makes Revenge available and helps against fast hitters.
- Taunt is on a cooldown, so it is for pulling a loose mob back, not for holding aggro by itself. You hold aggro with steady threat.
Two pieces of advice
First, get a slow off-hand or a fast one-hander early so you can practice stance dancing before you need it. Second, learn to watch your rage bar more than your health bar. Good rage use keeps you alive longer.