Some help with Infuriate, Internal Release, and Fracture in a DPS rotation

Hello! I was wondering a couple things (that are kinda the same question) and one other thing. All of these questions assume a Warrior off-tank trying to maximize DPS in Deliverance.

1) Is using Internal Release on cooldown a DPS increase? Or should it always be saved to be paired with Berserk?

2) In the same vein, should Infuriate always be saved to accomplish a triple Fell Cleave during Berserk? Or should it be used as soon as it's available at 0 Abandon stacks?

3) Should I begin my rotation with Fracture or Heavy Swing? As in, should the very first hit I do be a Fracture or a Heavy Swing?

4) During the Berserk combo, should Fracture be placed after Storm's Eye (to take advantage of Potion and/or Internal Release) or at the very end (w/about 3 seconds left)?

Any general advice on what top Warrior's rotations look like is appreciate as well! Thank you!

1.) If you'll only get 2 Berserks total (think Faust in A1S), then you want to pair IR with Berserk. Otherwise you want to use IR on CD.

2.) Highly depends on when and where you use Berserk & Infuriate, plus where you are in your rotation. Either is safe, Berserk + Infuriate is more bursty. Experiment and see what works best for you in each fight, just don't stick to a static "this is best" because sometimes saving Infuriate will be better and sometimes it won't. There's also the whole thing where you might need to tank swap, and Infuriate -> Unchained is really strong. Lots of caveats, play it by ear, basically.

3.) HS

4.) Depends greatly on what opener you're using. SE only increases Fracture's initial potency, not the DoT ticks, so ideally you just want to get Fracture up with offensive buffs available (Maim, Berserk, etc).

There's actually more openers than you'd think, and they all have their place. The stand-by opener is:

Pre-Pull: Infuriate -> wait til 1s left on Infuriated -> Vengeance -> 10s left on Infuriated
Pull: HS -> Maim -> [Brutal Swing] -> SE -> [Pot] -> HS -> [IR + Berserk] -> FC -> [Infuriate] -> FC -> [RI] -> SS -> BB -> HS -> Maim -> [Brutal Swing] -> SE -> Fracture -> FC -> [Pacified]

The only problem with this opener is that it puts RI and Vengeance on CD. If you're going to be tanking any time soon, this will put you at a disadvantage defensively.

Here's some openers from Layla Bell (WF A3S/A4S WAR) as well. His Deliverance opener might not actually be as fine tuned as it could be I think, using BB results in a 20 potency personal gain but drops Eye for 1 GCD. Haven't actually tested his openers, though, and he did WF A3S and A4S so I'd take his word for it. Just try and experiment to see what works best for you, one opener may work best on this boss but works horribly on another.

Thanks for the detailed answers! Anybody else have any more insights?

Actually if OP don't mind, have some further questions too.

1. Do I always pair berserk with Deliverance stance?

2. Also, is it compulsory to pair up deliverance with defensive cooldowns?

3. Also,for the defensive cooldowns, are weaker cooldowns like Foresight good enough on its own to pair up with deliverance. Or must be a minimum of Vengeance or Raw Intuition.

Reason why I am asking is because I always feel like I am in a dilemma on whether to pop the berserk as soon as the CD is up or wait till the defensive cooldowns are up.

4. Also is using the triple fell cleave opening really the most optimal? Cause I feel like I have to waste the RI & Vengeance CD when I could have use it more like an oh shit button later on.

5. Is triple fell cleave rotations used only during the opening? Or is it more optimal to line up all the cooldowns giving abandon/wrath stacks so that you can do the triple fell cleave combo again.

6. Should I start the rotation for triple FC in Deliverance or stance switch from Defiance only when I hit 5 stacks?

Sorry for so many questions. I just switched over from PLD to WAR and need some advice.

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Originally Posted by Kaidam

1. Do I always pair berserk with Deliverance stance?

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If you're pulling, it's ideal to pair Berserk with Unchained to get as much snap aggro as possible to allow you to focus on alternating Eye -> Path in Deliverance. Past that, Berserk should always be used in Deliverance.

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2. Also, is it compulsory to pair up deliverance with defensive cooldowns?

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Yes. If you're just getting hit by autos it isn't as necessary but it still smooths out the damage curve. Cooldowns like Awareness are especially good in Deliverance as crits are actually life threatening.

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3. Also,for the defensive cooldowns, are weaker cooldowns like Foresight good enough on its own to pair up with deliverance. Or must be a minimum of Vengeance or Raw Intuition.

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As long as it's just autos, Foresight is fine. Generally you want either Foresight (+ Awareness), RI (+ Awareness), Vengeance, or Thrill + Conv up as long as a tank buster doesn't require the one you're popping and it'll be back up whenever you need it. As an example, in A1S you'd want to have all your CDs rolling before Plasma if you're planning to Holmgang it, as they need to be back up for the 2nd Plasma since Holmgang will no longer be available until the 3rd.

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4. Also is using the triple fell cleave opening really the most optimal? Cause I feel like I have to waste the RI & Vengeance CD when I could have use it more like an oh shit button later on.

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Like all openers, it depends on the fight. 3x FC is optimal as long as you'll have RI and Vengeance back up when you need them - examples being A1S and A3S. RI & Vengeance aren't "oh shit" buttons, you should always plan your cooldowns out before you've even pulled the boss (unless you're seeing everything for the first time).

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5. Is triple fell cleave rotations used only during the opening? Or is it more optimal to line up all the cooldowns giving abandon/wrath stacks so that you can do the triple fell cleave combo again.

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Depends where you are in your combo, how much Abandon you have, how far away each CD is, etc. etc. Triple FC is the most bursty use of Berserk, but it's not always the most optimal. Play by ear.

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6. Should I start the rotation for triple FC in Deliverance or stance switch from Defiance only when I hit 5 stacks?

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If you're MTing you can only get the 3x FC opener if you're willing to waste RI or Vengeance before the pull... and that's usually not too smart. You also don't get to use Berserk with Unchained, which means you'll generate less aggro.

If you're OTing, you start in Deliverance and stay in Deliverance until you're tanking something.

Thanks for the quick reply. That really clear things up.