Protection Warrior

The priority

1. Shield Wall — before a big hit
2. Last Stand — before a big hit, if shield wall is down
3. Ignore Pain — when you’re low
4. Avatar — when it is ready
5. Shield Block — when it’s not up
6. Ignore Pain — before rage caps
7. Shield Slam — when it is ready
8. Thunder Clap — when it is ready
9. Execute — below 20% health
10. Revenge — with a revenge proc
11. Revenge — with spare rage
12. Devastate — as a filler

Common mistakes

• Letting Shield Block fall off.
• Capping Rage instead of spending it on Ignore Pain.
• Ignoring a free Revenge proc.
• Pressing Shield Wall after the big hit.

What’s simplified

• Each turn is one decision (about one global cooldown). Cooldowns and buff durations are converted to turns, so timing is approximate.
• Priority order follows SimulationCraft’s default priority list for this build, simplified to the abilities modeled here. Costs, cooldowns and effects come from Blizzard’s spell data. Rule wording is our own.
• Rage: Shield Slam +15, Thunder Clap +5, and about 5 a turn from being hit. Shield Block costs 30, Ignore Pain 35, Revenge 20 (free with a Revenge proc).
• Shield Block and Ignore Pain are off the global cooldown in game; here each takes a turn.
• Revenge procs come from dodges and parries about one turn in five.
• Big hits, low health and execute range are scripted moments in each lesson, not a full damage model.
• Cooldowns in turns: Shield Slam 6, Thunder Clap 4, Execute 4, Shield Block 11 (lasts 4), Avatar 60, Shield Wall 120, Last Stand 120.

Sources

• SimulationCraft: Default action priority list (Oct 20, 2026)
• SimulationCraft: Spell data dump, build 12.1.5.70391 (Oct 16, 2026)
• Blizzard Entertainment: Spell tooltips and Game Data API (spells) (Oct 13, 2026)
• Warcraft Secrets: Patch 12.1.5 content update notes (class changes) (Oct 13, 2026)

Colossus single target, following SimulationCraft’s priority. Demolish, Ravager and Thunder Blast are not modeled. Reviewed Oct 20, 2026. A training aid, not a damage simulator.