On average, I get 1-2 loot drops for a full raid clear, along with a few hundred gold. I\u2019ve decided to consider loot an added bonus from soloing, rather than the sole purpose.<\/p>\n
How?<\/h4>\n
Talents<\/strong><\/p>\n As a Protection Warrior, there\u2019s really only one solid talent build for soloing:<\/p>\n You might, under some circumstances, consider choosing\u00a0Bounding Stride<\/a> for increased mobility, though I MUCH prefer\u00a0Crackling Thunder<\/a>\u00a0(the increased range on Thunder Clap lets you do a bit more DPS on a boss that you\u2019re kiting at a distance).\u00a0Bolster<\/a>\u00a0turns\u00a0Last Stand<\/a>\u00a0from a decent health boost with a long cooldown to a damn good defensive ability that complements Shield Block. I could go either way with the level 75 choices, but I find\u00a0Rumbling Earth<\/a>\u00a0to be a bit more useful than\u00a0Storm Bolt<\/a>, especially for add fights (most bosses can\u2019t be stunned by the bolt anyway).\u00a0Anger Management<\/a>\u00a0is extremely powerful, as it can dramatically reduce the cooldown of our most important abilities.<\/p>\n Azerite Traits<\/strong><\/p>\n Azerite trait choices are a bit less clear-cut. Since self-healing is a weakness of the spec, I lean towards traits that mitigate this shortcoming.\u00a0Azerite Veins<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Impassive Visage<\/a>\u00a0work well, and their effects stack if you have them on multiple pieces of gear.\u00a0Deafening Crash<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Brace for Impact<\/a> provide decent defensive boosts and large DPS improvements; be aware that the Demolishing Shout buff from Deafening Crash does NOT stack. Bastion of Might<\/a> can be INCREDIBLY overpowered, especially if you can get it on 2-3 pieces of gear: the damage boost, free Ignore Pain, and mastery increase during Avatar can yield some impressive numbers and big damage mitigation. Finally, Lifespeed<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Overwhelming Power<\/a>\u00a0are good sources of Haste, which we always need more of. Most of the other traits are too ineffective or RNG-based to be of much use for soloing.<\/p>\n Vision of Perfection<\/a>: obtained by defeating King Mechagon in the mythic-only Operation: Mechagon dungeon. I haven’t gotten mine yet, but since it both shortens Avatar’s cooldown AND has a chance to proc a lesser version of it, it sounds quite powerful.<\/p>\n Anima of Life and Death<\/a>: the burst healing (up to 50% of your maximum HP at rank 3) and AoE DPS (10% of your maximum HP inflicted on EVERY mob in range) is incredibly strong. The only drawback is the long cooldown (2 minutes). The minor power gives a decent upgrade to your HP pool (a bit over 30K), with a VERY small HoT baked in.<\/p>\n Memory of Lucid Dreams<\/a>: the major power isn’t great, but the minor power is worth using (periodically refunds spent rage, heals you, and buffs your Versatility for a bit).<\/p>\n Strengths<\/strong><\/p>\n The real key to successful soloing as Protection is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the spec. Prot warriors have excellent physical damage mitigation with Shield Block, Demolishing Shout, and a Bolster-boosted Last Stand. Proper use of Shield Block (including NOT using it while Last Stand is active, unless you REALLY need the health boost ASAP) is a must. We also have great DPS potential, and it truly shines in AoE situations. Pop\u00a0Avatar<\/a>\u00a0and Demolishing Shout, spam Thunder Clap, and mobs will melt away!<\/p>\n Weaknesses<\/strong><\/p>\n On the flip side, we have terrible magic damage mitigation and self-healing. This means that an unchecked caster (or group of them) or a semi-powerful DoT can quickly cause a painful death. In typical group content this isn\u2019t a big deal, because we have healers to keep us up. However, soloing raids is anything BUT typical group content. Our mitigation tools are\u00a0Ignore Pain<\/a> (which can absorb around 35k at full strength) and\u00a0Spell Reflection<\/a>. IP is too weak and costs too much rage to be reliable, but it\u2019s better than nothing if you know a big magic attack is coming. Spell Reflection is free, but has a long cooldown and doesn\u2019t actually \u201creflect\u201d very many things. Our self-healing is limited to\u00a0Victory Rush<\/a>\u00a0(which is only usable for trash or add fights), Last Stand, and whatever azerite traits we have available. Thus, I find that fights involving DoTs are often the hardest to solo, especially since we have no mechanism for cleansing\/dispelling ourselves.<\/p>\n Consumables<\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s my personal list of consumables that I prefer:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a fresh 120, or just new to the scene and a bit cautious, start off with the raids from Warlords of Draenor (they\u2019ll drop a LOT of loot, as an incentive). Highmaul and Blackrock Foundry are both pretty easy at lower difficulties and are good places to practice. Hellfire Citadel is a wee bit tougher, but you\u2019ll HATE the first fight. I guarantee it. If you\u2019re semi-confident, try soloing Nythendra in Emerald Nightmare. It\u2019s a mechanically-easy fight, but a bit of a gear check, so it\u2019s a decent indicator of where you are in your soloing journey. Legion raids are where the real fun begins, as you often have to actually pay attention to fight mechanics! Don\u2019t be afraid to take on intimidating bosses; after all, what do you have to lose except a bunch of gold for repairs? The MOST important thing is to have fun: it\u2019s a game, after all!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve included this table not as a way to brag, but as a reference for the item levels I had when making my first solo kills on bosses. If you\u2019re an excellent soloer, or a better prot warrior player than I am (which is a pretty low benchmark, let\u2019s be honest), you can probably succeed with lower ilevels than this. SOON TO BE UPDATED FOR SHADOWLANDS! Why? Because it\u2019s challenging. Because it\u2019s fun. Because there may be some awesome loot drops. Personally, I do it for the fun and challenge; it\u2019s also quite cathartic...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kiljaeden-973x547.jpg?fit=973%2C547&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38suI-7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":737,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions\/737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfossen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/talents.png?resize=620%2C467\")
<\/figure>\nOther Gear<\/del> Azerite Essences<\/h5>\n\n
Who\/What\/Where?<\/h4>\n
<\/a>My Soloing Progress at Level 120<\/h4>\n
\n\n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Nythendra<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 356<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Elerethe Renferal<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 357<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Dragons of Nightmare<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 427<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Ursoc<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 338<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Ursoc<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 367<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Ursoc<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 439 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Il\u2019gynoth<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 344<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Il\u2019gynoth<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 370 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cenarius<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cenarius<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 379<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Xavius<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Xavius<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Xavius<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 453 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Odyn<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 365<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Odyn<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 366<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Odyn<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Guarm<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 344<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Guarm<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 366<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Guarm<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 440 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Helya<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 344<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Helya<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 411<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Helya<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 466<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skorpyron<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 327<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skorpyron<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 356<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Chronomatic Anomaly<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 327<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Chronomatic Anomaly<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 360<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Trilliax<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 339<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Trilliax<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Spellblade Aluriel<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 339<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Spellblade Aluriel<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Tichondrius<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 339<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Tichondrius<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 341<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Tichondrius<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 414<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Krosus<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 365<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Krosus<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 405<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Krosus<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 466<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n High Botanist Tel\u2019arn<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 354<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n High Botanist Tel\u2019arn<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Star Augur Etraeus<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 368 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Star Augur Etraeus<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 370 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Star Augur Etraeus<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 466<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Grand Magistrix Elisande<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 333<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Grand Magistrix Elisande<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Grand Magistrix Elisande<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 422<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gul\u2019dan<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 333<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gul\u2019dan<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 369<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Goroth<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Goroth<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Goroth<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 442<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Demonic Inquisitors<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Demonic Inquisitors<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Demonic Inquisitors<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 442<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Harjatan<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Harjatan<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Harjatan<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 450<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Mistress Sassz\u2019ine<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 368 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Mistress Sassz\u2019ine<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 411 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Mistress Sassz\u2019ine<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 472 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sisters of the Moon<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sisters of the Moon<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 397<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sisters of the Moon<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 450<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Maiden of Vigilance<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Maiden of Vigilance<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 397<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Maiden of Vigilance<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 474<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Desolate Host<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 367<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Desolate Host<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 397<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Desolate Host<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 474<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fallen Avatar<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 363<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fallen Avatar<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 397<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Kil\u2019jaeden<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 367<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Kil\u2019jaeden<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Garothi Worldbreaker<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 362<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Garothi Worldbreaker<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Garothi Worldbreaker<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 448<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Felhounds of Sargeras<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 372<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Felhounds of Sargeras<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 433<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Felhounds of Sargeras<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 475<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Portal Keeper Hasabel<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 399<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Portal Keeper Hasabel<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 429<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Portal Keeper Hasabel<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 462<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Antoran High Command<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 368<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Antoran High Command<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 388<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Antoran High Command<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 453<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Imonar<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 450 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Imonar<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 201 (as Arms)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Imonar<\/td>\n Mythic<\/td>\n ilvl 220 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Kin’garoth<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 452<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Kin’garoth<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 201 (as Arms)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Defense of Eonar<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Varimathras<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 410<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Varimathras<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 201 (as Arms)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Aggramar<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 399<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Argus the Unmaker<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 399<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Raid Boss<\/th>\n Difficulty<\/th>\n Item Level<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Taloc<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 448<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Taloc<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 475<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n MOTHER<\/td>\n Normal<\/td>\n ilvl 452 (as Fury)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n MOTHER<\/td>\n Heroic<\/td>\n ilvl 475<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"