Cortus's PvE Build

Warrior class icon Protection Warrior specialization icon
Protection Warrior
Dwarf race icon
Dwarf
434 ilvl
Season 2
2693 Mythic+

Cortus (Stormrage US) is a Top Mythic+ Protection Warrior in World of Warcraft Dragonflight Season 2, achieving a rating of 2693 with 430 ilvl equipment.

Here is the breakdown of his 10.2.6 PvE character build from , featuring stats, talents, gear, embellishments, enchantments, and gems. Use this as a reference to enhance and inspire your own Protection Warrior build.

Stat Priority

Stats are crucial attributes that directly influence a character's power in World of Warcraft. They not only determine the character's strength but also define the overall feel and playstyle. Stat bonuses can be found on various pieces of equipment, in consumables created by the Alchemy profession, certain foods, some enchantments , and gems .

It's important to note that each stat experiences diminishing returns once its equipped bonus reaches +20%. This means that optimizing a character's performance involves more than just maximizing each stat; it's about finding a balanced distribution. Here is how Cortus's Secondary and Minor stats are distributed.

Secondary Stats
+1748
19% Critical Strike
+5254
40% Haste
+783
19% Mastery
+3406
17% Versatility
  1. Haste
  2. Versatility
  3. Critical Strike
  4. Mastery
Minor Stats
+0
0% Avoidance
+325
12% Leech
+0
0% Speed
  1. Leech
  2. Avoidance
  3. Speed

Class Talents

Talents are the main element defining a character's build, significantly influencing the playstyle by adding, modifying, and enhancing character abilities and behaviors. They are crucial in shaping how a character functions in battle.

Class talents represent a common tree shared across all Warrior specializations. These talents provide foundational skills and enhancements that are essential and universal to the Warrior class. They offer a range of abilities that lay the groundwork for a Warrior's overall capabilities, regardless of the chosen specialization.

or

Take a peek at Cortus's selected Class Talents below:

Battle Stance
1
Defensive Stance
1
Berserker Rage
Impending Victory
1
War Machine
1
Intervene
1
Rallying Cry
1
Berserker Shout
Fast Footwork
1
Spell Reflection
1
Leeching Strikes
1
Second Wind
Frothing Berserker
1
Heroic Leap
1
Intimidating Shout
1
Thunder Clap
1
Furious Blows
1
Wrecking Throw
Crushing Force
2
Pain and Gain
1
Cacophonous Roar
Storm Bolt
1
Overwhelming Rage
Sidearm
Reinforced Plates
1
Bounding Stride
Blood and Thunder
1
Barbaric Training
Honed Reflexes
Bitter Immunity
Double Time
1
Titanic Throw
Seismic Reverberation
1
Armored to the Teeth
2
Wild Strikes
2
One-Handed Weapon Specialization
1
Cruel Strikes
Endurance Training
1
Avatar
1
Thunderous Roar
1
Champion's Spear
Shockwave
1
Unstoppable Force
1
Uproar
Thunderous Words
1
Piercing Challenge
Champion's Might
Rumbling Earth
Sonic Boom

Specialization Talents

Specialization talents constitute a specialized tree, providing Protection Warriors with unique abilities and enhancements tailored to their combat style.

or

Take a peek at Cortus's selected Specialization Talents below:

Ignore Pain
1
Revenge
1
Demoralizing Shout
1
Devastator
1
Last Stand
1
Improved Heroic Throw
Best Served Cold
1
Strategist
1
Brace For Impact
1
Unnerving Focus
Challenging Shout
1
Instigate
Rend
1
Bloodsurge
1
Brutal Vitality
1
Disrupting Shout
Show of Force
1
Thunderlord
1
Shield Wall
1
Bolster
Spell Block
1
Bloodborne
Heavy Repercussions
1
Enduring Defenses
1
Anger Management
1
Impenetrable Wall
1
Punish
1
Focused Vigor
1
Shield Specialization
2
Enduring Alacrity
Shield Charge
1
Booming Voice
1
Indomitable
1
Violent Outburst
1
Ravager
1
Battering Ram
Champion's Bulwark
1
Battle-Scarred Veteran
Dance of Death
Storm of Steel

PvP Talents

PvP talents are specifically tailored for player-versus-player combat scenarios. Activated in arenas, battlegrounds, and the open world with war mode enabled, these talents are designed to optimize a Protection Warrior's performance in PvP encounters. They provide specialized enhancements and strategies that give players an edge in combat against other players, reflecting the unique demands of PvP gameplay.

or

Take a peek at Cortus's selected PvP Talents below:

Disarm
Bodyguard
Morale Killer
Shield Bash
Thunderstruck
1
Warpath
Dragon Charge
Rebound
Oppressor
Demolition
Warbringer
1
Safeguard
Storm of Destruction
Battlefield Commander

Best In Slot And Gear

Gear consists of items that directly determine a character's power level. It can be acquired from diverse sources: dungeon, raid, world drops, crafted through various professions, obtained from PvP vendors, or chosen as rewards from the Great Vault.

Each piece of gear significantly boosts a character's overall strength and capabilities. Here are the items currently equipped by Cortus.

Head

  1. Decay Mother's Wrathful Gaze item icon
    Decay Mother's Wrathful Gaze

Neck

  1. Elemental Lariat item icon
    Elemental Lariat

Shoulders

  1. Peaks of the Walking Mountain item set icon
    set
    Peaks of the Walking Mountain

Back

  1. Undulating Sporecloak item icon
    Undulating Sporecloak

Chest

  1. Husk of the Walking Mountain item set icon
    set
    Husk of the Walking Mountain

Wrist

  1. Difficult Wrist Protectors item icon
    Difficult Wrist Protectors

Hands

  1. Gauntlets of the Walking Mountain item set icon
    set
    Gauntlets of the Walking Mountain

Waist

  1. Zancha's Venerated Greatbelt item icon
    Zancha's Venerated Greatbelt

Legs

  1. Poleyns of the Walking Mountain item set icon
    set
    Poleyns of the Walking Mountain

Feet

  1. Pristine Magma Stompers item icon
    Pristine Magma Stompers

Ring 1

  1. Circle of Ascended Frost item icon
    Circle of Ascended Frost

Ring 2

  1. Seal of Questionable Loyalties item icon
    Seal of Questionable Loyalties

Trinket 1

  1. Treemouth's Festering Splinter item icon
    Treemouth's Festering Splinter

Trinket 2

  1. Mutated Magmammoth Scale item icon
    Mutated Magmammoth Scale

Main Hand

  1. Primal Molten Longsword item icon
    Primal Molten Longsword

Off Hand

  1. Primal Molten Defender item icon
    Primal Molten Defender

Embellishments

Embellishments are unique effects that can be added to crafted items, either as predefined elements in recipes or through an optional embellishment reagent, creating embellished gear. These enhancements diversify and amplify characters' capabilities.

Here are the embellishments equipped by Cortus for the Protection Warrior specialization.

  1. Elemental Lariat embellishment item icon
    Elemental Lariat
  2. Undulating Sporecloak embellishment item icon
    Undulating Sporecloak

Enchantments

Enchantments provide minor yet valuable enhancements to various items, including Head, Back, Chest, Wrist, Waist, Legs, Rings, Feet, Main Hand, and Off Hand.

Most enchantments are crafted via the Enchanting profession. However, Waist enchantments specifically require Blacksmithing, Legs enhancements are crafted by Leatherworkers, and Head enchantments come from the Incandescent Essence , a reward obtained through a quest in the Amirdrassil raid.

Enchantments are usually available at the auction house, making them accessible for upgrades. Here are the specific enchantments chosen by Cortus for each equipment slot.

Back

  1. Regenerative Leech enchantment icon
    Regenerative Leech

Chest

  1. Sustained Strength enchantment icon
    Sustained Strength

Wrist

  1. +200 Leech enchantment icon
    +200 Leech

Legs

  1. Fierce Armor Kit enchantment icon
    Fierce Armor Kit

Feet

  1. Watcher's Loam enchantment icon
    Watcher's Loam

Ring 1

  1. +82 Haste enchantment icon
    +82 Haste

Ring 2

  1. +82 Haste enchantment icon
    +82 Haste

Main Hand

  1. Sophic Devotion enchantment icon
    Sophic Devotion

Gems

Gems are crafted stones from the Jewelcrafting profession, typically offering stat bonuses to enhance your gear. These gems can be socketed into specific items such as Head, Neck, Wrist, Waist, and Rings. The presence of sockets on items is usually random upon their drop.

Notably, Neck items can be uniquely modified to have up to three sockets by using 3 Tiered Medallion Setting . Additionally, a single socket can be added to other eligible items with a Nature's Cradle , which requires 6 Aspects' Tokens of Merit obtained from the Great Vault.

Available through both the auction house and the crafting order system, here are the gems currently socketed by Cortus.

  1. Energized Ysemerald gem icon
    Energized Ysemerald
    2
  2. Fierce Illimited Diamond gem icon
    Fierce Illimited Diamond
    1