I’ve been getting more into PvP lately but still enjoy running some pug raids or mythic+. Arms PvP has become very appealing to me and I’m going to be making a warrior to play it. However, I’d also like to PvE if possible.
Preferably, I’d like to play prot in PvE and arms in PvP but, looking at covenants and soulbinds I’m a bit worried is there a covenant I can pick that will allow me to be competent in both? (as in, will I be able to tank pugs around mythic+ 13-15 or normal/heroic raid)
If it’s not viable, what about Arms PvP and Fury PvE? I’d prefer prot but fury is an option if the covenants work out better.
You can tank just fine with any covenant. Covenants mostly give fringe benefits and/or DPS for Prot, nothing key to the spec.
I believe the top two options for Arms PvP are Kyrian or Venthyr, although I’m not big on PvP, so feel free to correct me. Out of the two, Kyrian lends itself a little better to tanking, but Venthyr is still more than good enough for KSM.
Necrolord or Kyrian arepretty good for Arms PVP and Prot PVE. Necrolord especially if you are more defensively minded and looking to buff your team-mates.
For Arms PVP and Fury PVE you can pretty much do any covenants, although Night Fae or Venthyr would probably be the go to choices. Venthyr is not great for Arms in PVP since there are so many ways to mitigate Condemns magic damage, but it’s still fine for casual play.
All four covenants are viable for Arms PvP, and I think Necrolord is the only one I haven’t seen used at the top of the ladder. Admittedly, I didn’t look too hard specifically for it, though.
Kyrian is probably still the BiS for Protection, since the Phial clears Necrotic stacks, as well as odd things such as Wicked Blade stacks on Stone Legion Generals in Castle Nathria. (Can’t confirm, since I’m not Kyrian anymore, and it seems like it doesn’t work in Mythic from what I’m told.)
That being said, your covenant won’t matter for Protection if you’re just doing keys, like, 18 and below. Likewise, your covenant isn’t a huge deal for raiding unless you’re progressing in Mythic, in which case it’s not as impactful to a warrior as some other classes. However, despite what a lot of people like to say, I think Venthyr is absolutely garbage in all facets for tanking. Condemn is kind of a neat rage dump for single target damage, but the Soulbinds–particularly when compared to a covenant like Night Fae–are absolute trash for tanking with mitigation in mind. Service In Stone is o.k., but all of the end abilities for Draven are awful. Coupled with the reality that Protection doesn’t have a good second conduit if you’re Venthyr, it’s just a terrible covenant in need of changes for Prot warriors. But again, this really doesn’t matter if you’re not pushing top end content. You can tank everything fine, and having a more optimal covenant won’t make a difference for the content you’d be doing.
So, pick the covenant based on which abilities and soulbinds are more geared towards your PvP play. Night Fae is probably the most awkward to use, but Bajheera has made it work at the top end of arenas.