With the new Warbreaker animation in the 11.1.5 PTR, it’s clear that Blizzard is trying to fix the issues from the previous version. This update is a step in the right direction, but there’s still a big problem—the ability still lacks impact. The visual effect has improved, but the character animation, with a weak spin, doesn’t convey the weight and brutality that a strike of this magnitude should have.
This brings up a bigger question—what should the fantasy of an Arms Warrior in WoW really be?
The class has always been presented as a warrior who delivers methodical and devastating strikes, channeling all their strength into precise, crushing blows. An Arms Warrior is not a flashy duelist or an agile fighter. They are an unstoppable combatant who shatters armor and breaks defenses with sheer physical power.
The impact of each attack should be felt. This comes down to three key aspects that define the class fantasy:
1. Character animation – The warrior should look like they are putting their full strength into their attacks, with heavy, deliberate movements instead of a light spin or passive stance.
2. Sound effects – The sound of abilities should be impactful, making it feel like the weapon is cutting through something solid rather than just swinging through the air.
3. Visual feedback – The glow of the weapon, cracks on the ground, and noticeable effects on enemies all help sell the weight of the strike.
What makes Arms Warrior special is this identity. It’s a combat style based on raw strength and precision, without relying on magic or tricks. The feeling of power when using abilities like Mortal Strike, Colossus Smash, and Warbreaker should be a top priority when designing new animations.
Blizzard, you are on the right track with this Warbreaker update, but it still lacks the weight that defines the class. Please don’t stop here—bring back the brutality and presence of a true Arms Warrior on the battlefield.
What do you guys think? Do you feel any improvement with the new animation, or does it still need work?
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Regarding the current PTR animation, the spin is definitely off in how it’s set-up. It just looks awkward and lacks any real flow in combat as the wind up doesn’t really match well with a lot of the combat ready stances.
I do like second half of the animation though, showing the weight of the attack with the dust cloud emanating from the point of impact.
Warrior animations as a whole (all specs) right now mostly are pretty bland in how they’re executed as each ability tends to just be a diagonal slash with no real flow or change in animation from what attack was used beforehand and it ends up getting lost in the repeat actions which does lead to a cognitive fatigue in a way especially in builds where you spam the same button more than twice in a row.
Realistically my opinion is that they should focus on focusing animations in the following key areas weapon trails and the impact that attack provides through showing feats of strength via wind pressure / earth shattering effects.
I’d also like to see more animations that play off each other too so they’re not the same every time and that they are a little more dynamic in how your weapon is swung based on the previous ability cast so there ends up being a much nicer flow and less cognitive fatigue from hearing the same sounds over and over again.
As for what should the fantasy of an Arms warrior be? You’ve got a few good examples of it in the lore, or also in characters available to play in HotS in Varian’s 2h stance and Garrosh Hellscream.
As for parallels to other games some being more recent like FF7’s Remake/Rebirth Cloud Strife’s gameplay is very much the epitome of a fighter who’s mastered their chosen weapon being a 2h sword while being able to strike both with speed or with power pending the situation at hand.
Warriors could definitely use some animation variety where swings are either slowed down or increased in speed pending the attack to show weight and momentum to a larger degree, even if an attack starts off slower and then speeds up would also work in showcasing physical feats of strength better.
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Seems like blizzard appreciates the community feedback on this update, on what unfortunately was a complete step backwards for the warbreaker animation. Reverting collossus smash was a great concession from blizz, and the same should be done with warbreaker. What used to be one of the most satisfying buttons an Arms Warrior could press, now feels lacklaster and totally ruins the warrior fantasy. Warbreaker used to be perfect, a big smash cracking the ground (and your targets) with the sound to match. Now, a delicate twirl and fencing sword “shing” sound totally ruin the way warrior feels pressing cooldowns. Warrior CDs should be imposing and strike fear through brutality of the strikes, not make your enemies laugh.
I beg blizz to revert the warbreaker animation to what it was before. This is a classic “change looks like progress” situation, but what wasn’t broken didn’t need fixing. Visual updates are important and a huge part of keeping wow fun and class fantasies on point, but this update entirely misses the mark and makes me cringe every time I see it.
-20 year warrior player
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