Warrior Tanks: Maximizing DPS Output

[bokchoykn]

The best opening rotation I've found is BB>SE>BB>BB>BB with proper usage of CDs (Bloodbath when you start SE combo, Vengeance after the first BB then Unchained then Berserk then Internal Release in each GCD afterwards; you generate a disgustingly huge initial enmity cushion).

Why three BB combos after the SE? What's the point of that much of initial enmity cushion? Isn't that a bit overkill? You don't need to generate as much aggro as possible. You simply need to be out of reach of everyone else. The only person you're really competing with is a Paladin spamming RoH combo (hopefully in Sword Oath, but you never know...), and SE helps his enmity just as much as it helps yours.

On top of that, any lead you build over him is wiped out as soon as he Provokes the target off of you. When you Provoke it back, he's right on your heels anyway. Because enmity is such a joke, you now has a massive enmity lead over everyone except for the only person who can actually take it off of you.

This "disgustingly huge initial enmity cushion" is useless. Generating max threat is only relevant for the first 15 seconds of the pull and the first 10 seconds or so after each tank swap. Your method might generate the most long-term enmity, but I think the focus should be on generating the most enmity over the first two combos.

Using Fracture adds less to your total DPS than Internal Release does, and Internal Release doesn't mess up buff/debuff uptimes or increase TP consumption. IR is the Foresight of DPS CDs so if something adds less than it, it's safely in the "laughably marginal" range since IR is already pretty close.

Why are we talking about Internal Release again?

Fracture is higher damage-per-second and damage-per-TP than any other Warrior ability when Defiance is down. If it results in one Storm's Eye not benefiting from the previous Storm's Eye, it's still a DPS and DPTP increase. If you use Fracture only when you're in SP-SE-SP-SE mode, that's fine. You can say it's "laughable" but it comes at no cost to you, other than a button on your hotbar.