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One of the most interesting aspects of customizing one's Warrior these days is Major Glyph selection. Glyph of Blocking has established itself as the strongest of all of them with Glyph of Revenge close behind. What makes Major Glyph selection so interesting though is that the 3rd Major Glyph is very open.
The Usual Suspects
Glyph of Heroic Strike, Glyph of Devastate and Glyph of Sunder Armor have appeared to be the most popular 3rd Major Glyph choices thus far, but I suspect that Glyph of Cleaving has gained a certain following after it was improved as well.
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The Title Glyph
As many of you have certainly guessed by now, the title is talking about Glyph of Last Stand. Not a terribly popular choice as one might suspect from a Glyph that nerfs the potency of one of our most important abilities. However, sometimes frequency trumps ferocity. When would that be?
Malygos.
As many of you have found out and are finding out, Malygos, represents one of the most challenging pieces of content for us at this time. If you've just started working on him, I can imagine that your healers have had a rude awakening as have you yourself in how quickly he's capable of killing a tank. And, that's where Glyph of Last Stand kicks in.
After Malygos' Vortex is one of the most stressful times on the healers as they're trying to quickly get their barings while you position the dragon. Glyph of Last Stand allows you to help. By having it as your 3rd Major Glyph, you'll be able to use it after the 1st and 3rd Vortexes. Thus, allowing you to execute the following sequence of events:
- After Vortex 1: Last Stand + Shield Block
- After Vortex 2: Shield Wall + Shield Block
- After Vortex 3: Last Stand + Shield Block
Using this strategy, you'll give your healers the most time possible following a Vortex to position themselves and get the heals flowing consistently on you again.
But, what if a Spark hits Malygos?
There's nothing saying you have to stick unwaveringly to the plan. If a Spark hits Malygos, you should use either Last Stand or Shield Wall. (likely only 1 of the 2 will be up at the time given following the above) As always, be sure to let the healers know you've done this. That being said, if a Spark is frequently hitting Malygos, you simply aren't going to be able to get out of Phase 1 quick enough to win the fight.
I shouldn't have to use Last Stand though
That's probably one of the dumbest things I read. Thankfully, it's on a rather infrequent basis. Even worse still, however, I see some that don't even feel the need to spec into Last Stand. Frankly, if you think this way and you scoff at the Malygos strategy listed above, you're doing a disservice to yourself and to your guild.
If you die and you have not used ALL of your cooldowns, it is your fault.
Now, I'm not saying one can always know when the appropriate time to use Last Stand and Shield Wall is, but not knowing does not absolve you. It's still your fault if you didn't use them. I'm sure many of you have died to Malygos' Breath after a Spark hit him or you've died after a Vortex and you've blamed it on the DPSers or the Healers, but ultimately, you could have helped. You could have done something and you didn't.
…and in the case of preparing for the Malygos fight, you could even have used Glyph of Last Stand. So, Last Stand being on cooldown doesn't relinquish you of guilt either.
Spec for the fight, Gear for the fight, Glyph for the fight.
Or, make excuses… blame others… learn nothing…
…and Die on the fight.
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