W/R PVE Build - Am I on the right track?

I started a W/R primarily for soloing PVE. I just got him to post-searing, and got him some decent (50 AR Ascalon) armor to get started.

This guy needs to be able to take a beating, and dish out a lot of damage. Towards that goal, I'm allocating points into Tactics (for shields) and Axe Mastery. Wilderness survival will come into play later when I get Apply Poison (which will really shred things up with Cyclone Axe).

I figure I can use Ignite Arrows and Dual Shot a bit to soften up enemies from a distance before they get in axe range. The only problem though is that without Marksman, my options for a decent bow are limited to say the least.

I also keep a pet around for added DPS and to take a few hits in my stead. Not sure if it's worth the skill slot tho.

Am I headed in the right direction? Is this a build that can allow me to solo? Thanks for the help!

Choose one attribute to deal damage, not two. Axe is fine. Axe + Bow is not effective.
Never use a bow on a warrior except for pulling or adrenaline gain in PvP.
You can take a pet if you like, but you would probably get better DPS by putting more points in Axe and Strength instead and adding attack skills.

Thanks for the feedback. A few followup questions:

1. Would a low-level bow + Ignite Arrows be worthwhile for pulling/softening up a group of mobs?

2. Would I be spreading myself too thin by using 4 attributes (axe, tactics, wild, beast)?

3. Would I be better off going with strength instead of tactics? Are there shields that require strength instead of tactics?

Thanks again for your help so far.

1. not really.. any bow will work for pulling mobs, but save the damage for your axe

2. its generally not recommended ....at a lower level especially.

3. I would use tactics at this point... until you get some nice strength skills...and yes there are strength req shields.



BTW... how much can you pump up your weapon attributes? Do you have any runes? etc...

Thanks to you as well

Looks like I'll be modifying my attributes to focus on Axe and Tactics, and hold off on Wild until I get some better skills. The only thing I don't like about that is using healing signet instead of troll unguent, because of the armor penalty. That shouldn't be a huge problem for a few levels though as my armor is decent for my level (IMHO).

As far as runes go, I did buy a (relatively) cheap minor Axe rune, and I had a minor Vigor rune in my storage that I also used. The Tactics one was a bit pricey, and until I get a shield that needs it, I figured I could do without for now.

Oh, another noob question I just thought of; can I use ranger runes? I'd certainly like to beef up my Wild when the time comes.

Any other tips would be appreciated, as I've been away from the game for a while, and never really considered myself an expert when I did play more

You'll want to get a Flatbow or Longbow for pulling purposes. All bow types have different "innate stats," and those two types have the longest range making them the only logical option for pulling. Damage doesn't matter for this purpose.. don't waste your attribute points in Marksmanship.

Some skills you don't have access to yet but will want to keep an eye out for are Storm Chaser, Dryders' Defense, Antidote Signet, Melandru's Resilience {e}, and Natural Stride (if you have Nightfall). Generally speaking, watch the energy cost to make sure you can afford it as a Warrior (Rangers have vastly more Energy potential), watch the duration vs. recharge for overall effectiveness, and check what the real benefits are vs. tradeoff and you should be able to make very educated decisions on-the-fly about what Ranger skills are most effective for a Warrior to use.

Runes are meant to go on the armor of the class they're made for... Ranger runes can only go on Ranger armor, thus as a Warrior they are sadly not an option. Later on, you'll be changing secondary profession quite frequently and changing runes all the time would just be a pain, so you'll be thankful someday Without runes, you'll be limited to level 12 in any secondary attribute (you can hit 15-16 in Primary class attributes), but honestly I scarcely need over level 8 or so in any secondary attributes. Past that point, you're really better off just making a Ranger