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Protection Warrior class crest

Best in Slot for Protection Warrior in WoW Midnight (Patch 12.1.0)

Patch 12.1.0 · Updated Sep 27, 2026

Best single target weapon for Protection Warrior on patch 12.1.0.69933: Strongblood's Ceremonial Cleaver from Nek'zali the Soulcoiler. Wear Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique and Voracious Heart of Ula'tek as your trinkets. Every item is compared at item level 334.

Slots ranked
14
Item level
334
From the raid
10
From dungeons
4
Crafted
0

Best in slot by equipment slot

effect not modelledhas a proc or on-use effect the weights cannot seetierset piece, pinned for the 4-set

The best item for every slot plus up to four alternatives, ranked by this spec's simmed stat weights. Trinkets are ranked by simmed DPS.

#ItemilvlScore

Head

of 7
1Tempered Horns of the Jade Warlordtier189 Strength / 140 Critical Strike / 61 Haste33497.0% of best

Pinned for the 4-set.

2Visor of the Predator189 Strength / 131 Critical Strike / 70 Mastery334100.0% of best
3Greathelm of Temptation189 Strength / 126 Mastery / 75 Critical Strike33499.5% of best
4Aetherlume Sun Guardcrafted, your stats183 Strength / 99 Critical Strike / 99 Mastery33197.3% of best
5Spellbreaker's Covercrafted, your stats183 Strength / 99 Critical Strike / 99 Mastery33197.3% of best

Neck

of 10
1Aqirbane Reliquaryeffect not modelled405 Critical Strike334100.0% of best
2Graft of the Domanaar261 Critical Strike / 145 Mastery33498.9% of best
3Masterwork Sin'dorei Amuletcrafted, your stats199 Critical Strike / 199 Mastery33196.4% of best
4Amulet of the Twin Fangseffect not modelled344 Mastery / 61 Haste33492.7% of best
5Pendant of Malefic Fury278 Mastery / 127 Haste33488.9% of best

Shoulder

of 6
1Raging Pauldrons of the Jade Warlordtier141 Strength / 105 Mastery / 46 Critical Strike33499.3% of best

Pinned for the 4-set.

2Swelling Sea Spaulders141 Strength / 107 Critical Strike / 44 Mastery334100.0% of best
3Pauldrons of the Great Unifier141 Strength / 85 Versatility / 66 Mastery33497.6% of best
4Spellbreaker's Mantlecrafted, your stats138 Strength / 74 Critical Strike / 74 Mastery33197.6% of best
5C'thraxxi Binders Pauldrons141 Strength / 101 Haste / 50 Critical Strike33492.6% of best

Back

of 7
1Speakeasy Shroud106 Strength / 66 Critical Strike / 47 Mastery334100.0% of best
2Amani Summoning Shawl106 Strength / 78 Critical Strike / 35 Versatility33499.5% of best
3Cloak of the Restless Tribeseffect not modelled106 Strength / 61 Versatility / 52 Mastery33497.9% of best
4Adherent's Silken Shroudcrafted, your stats103 Strength / 56 Critical Strike / 56 Mastery33197.9% of best
5Silken Voodoo Drape106 Strength / 80 Mastery / 33 Haste33496.1% of best

Chest

of 8
1Cuirass of the Jade Warlordtier189 Strength / 142 Mastery / 59 Critical Strike33499.4% of best

Pinned for the 4-set.

2Sentinel Challenger's Prize189 Strength / 131 Critical Strike / 70 Mastery334100.0% of best
3Desert Guardian's Breastplate189 Strength / 122 Mastery / 79 Critical Strike33499.6% of best
4Aged Interwoven Scaleplate189 Strength / 105 Critical Strike / 96 Versatility33498.8% of best
5Spellbreaker's Sheltercrafted, your stats183 Strength / 99 Critical Strike / 99 Mastery33197.3% of best

Wrist

of 6
1Shellbound Bracers106 Strength / 79 Mastery / 34 Critical Strike334100.0% of best
2Aetherlume Guardscrafted, your stats103 Strength / 56 Critical Strike / 56 Mastery33198.3% of best
3Spellbreaker's Bracerscrafted, your stats103 Strength / 56 Critical Strike / 56 Mastery33198.3% of best
4Embalmer's Steadying Bracers106 Strength / 69 Critical Strike / 44 Haste33496.5% of best
5Shard-Tipped Vambraces106 Strength / 66 Versatility / 47 Haste33494.0% of best

Hands

of 8
1Jeweled Gauntlets of the Jade Warlordtier141 Strength / 101 Critical Strike / 50 Haste33497.2% of best

Pinned for the 4-set.

2Gauntlets of the Avian Sentinel141 Strength / 101 Mastery / 50 Critical Strike334100.0% of best
3Thornspike Gauntlets141 Strength / 98 Mastery / 53 Versatility33498.7% of best
4Spellbreaker's Resolvecrafted, your stats138 Strength / 74 Critical Strike / 74 Mastery33198.2% of best
5Despondent's Gauntlets141 Strength / 91 Versatility / 59 Mastery33497.9% of best

Waist

of 6
1Girdle of Toxic Regret141 Strength / 106 Critical Strike / 45 Mastery334100.0% of best
2Autumn's Boon Belt141 Strength / 91 Mastery / 59 Versatility33497.7% of best
3Spellbreaker's Girdlecrafted, your stats138 Strength / 74 Critical Strike / 74 Mastery33197.6% of best
4Sand-Scoured Greatbelt141 Strength / 95 Versatility / 56 Mastery33497.5% of best
5Girdle of Pestilent Purification141 Strength / 95 Haste / 56 Mastery33492.4% of best

Legs

of 7
1Greaves of the Jade Warlordtier189 Strength / 135 Versatility / 66 Mastery33498.4% of best

Pinned for the 4-set.

2Bedrock Breeches189 Strength / 122 Critical Strike / 79 Versatility334100.0% of best
3Chausses of Unbound Rancor201 Mastery / 189 Strength33499.9% of best
4Legplates of Charged Duality189 Strength / 126 Versatility / 75 Critical Strike33499.1% of best
5Spellbreaker's Legguardscrafted, your stats183 Strength / 99 Critical Strike / 99 Mastery33198.2% of best

Feet

of 8
1Auric Puddle Stompers141 Strength / 88 Versatility / 62 Critical Strike334100.0% of best
2Aetherlume Stomperscrafted, your stats138 Strength / 75 Critical Strike / 75 Mastery33199.9% of best
3Murder Row Fleet Feeteffect not modelledcrafted, your stats138 Strength / 74 Critical Strike / 74 Mastery33199.6% of best
4Spellbreaker's Marchcrafted, your stats138 Strength / 74 Critical Strike / 74 Mastery33199.6% of best
5Scaleguard's Stalwart Greatboots141 Strength / 98 Versatility / 53 Mastery33499.4% of best

Ringswear two

of 14
1Charged Sandstone Band232 Critical Strike / 174 Mastery334100.0% of best
2Signet of Snarling Servitude249 Critical Strike / 156 Mastery33499.9% of best
3Loa Worshiper's Bandeffect not modelled228 Critical Strike / 171 Mastery33198.3% of best
4Vile Alchemist's Bandeffect not modelled332 Mastery / 73 Critical Strike33498.3% of best
5Masterwork Sin'dorei Bandcrafted, your stats199 Critical Strike / 199 Mastery33197.8% of best

Trinketswear two

of 53
1Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique179 Strength334+12,460 DPS gain
2Voracious Heart of Ula'tek143 Critical Strike334+11,674 DPS gain
3Tumor of the Swarm179 Strength334+10,610 DPS gain
4Coiled Fangstone179 Strength334+9,994 DPS gain
5Gebbo's Bottomless Bag179 Strength334+9,804 DPS gain

Main hand

of 10
1Strongblood's Ceremonial Cleaver94 Strength / 66 Mastery / 35 Critical Strike334100.0% of best
2Bloomforged Clawcrafted, your stats92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33198.6% of best
3Farstrider's Choppercrafted, your stats92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33198.6% of best
4Spellbreaker's Bladecrafted, your stats92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33198.6% of best
5Spellbreaker's Ultimatumcrafted, your stats92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33198.6% of best

Off hand

of 8
1Teldrassil's Sacrifice289 Intellect / 94 Strength / 61 Critical Strike / 39 Versatility334100.0% of best
2Bulwark of Brimming Potential289 Intellect / 94 Strength / 55 Versatility / 46 Critical Strike33499.8% of best
3Knight-Commander's Palisadeeffect not modelledcrafted, your stats281 Intellect / 92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33199.4% of best
4Spellbreaker's Rebukecrafted, your stats281 Intellect / 92 Strength / 50 Critical Strike / 50 Mastery33199.4% of best
5Drake Rider's Stecktarge289 Intellect / 94 Strength / 61 Versatility / 39 Mastery33498.5% of best

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DPS for your currently equipped gear.

Consumables
Equipped gear
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Methodology

Stat weights

Each item's stats are multiplied by the Protection Warrior stat weights from the weekly scale-factor sim (normalized: Strength 1.00, Critical Strike 0.71, Mastery 0.68, Versatility 0.65, Haste 0.52). Full stat priority.

Trinkets

Taken from the weekly simmed trinket leaderboard, 50,000 iterations per trinket on the canonical baseline profile, since trinket value is mostly effect. Trinket leaderboard.

Item level

Raid and Mythic+ drops at the Myth 6/6 ceiling (334), crafted gear at the crafted cap, everything else at its fixed item level. Stats scaled with SimulationCraft's item scaling from the game's DB2 tables.

Tier pieces and crafted gear

Tier pieces are pinned to rank one of their slot for the set bonus. Crafted gear is priced with its two crafter-chosen secondaries set to the spec's two best stats at an even split.

Top-player check

No top-player sample for this spec yet. The check shows up once the top players board has data. Top Protection players.

Not included

On-use and proc effects outside the trinket slot (flagged), embellishments, set-bonus interactions between slots, and the combined value of a full set.

Source and patch

SimulationCraft 4c7c73621e596419b5bd6faa5d68940a9c640379, client build 12.1.0.69933, generated Sep 27, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best-in-slot gear for Protection Warrior in Patch 12.1.0.69933?

For Protection Warrior on single target: Head: Tempered Horns of the Jade Warlord; Neck: Aqirbane Reliquary; Shoulder: Raging Pauldrons of the Jade Warlord; Back: Speakeasy Shroud; Chest: Cuirass of the Jade Warlord; Wrist: Shellbound Bracers; Hands: Jeweled Gauntlets of the Jade Warlord; Waist: Girdle of Toxic Regret; Legs: Greaves of the Jade Warlord; Feet: Auric Puddle Stompers; Rings: Charged Sandstone Band; Trinkets: Zul'jin's Guillotine Technique; Main hand: Strongblood's Ceremonial Cleaver; Off hand: Teldrassil's Sacrifice. Stat items are ranked by the spec's simmed stat weights and trinkets by their simmed DPS gain.

What is the best weapon for Protection Warrior?

Strongblood's Ceremonial Cleaver, from Nek'zali the Soulcoiler, scores highest against the Protection Warrior stat weights at the season ceiling. Weapons with a proc or on-use effect are flagged on the board, since the score leaves the effect out.

Where does Protection best-in-slot gear come from?

Of the 14 best-in-slot picks, 10 come from the raid, 4 from Mythic+ dungeons and 0 from crafted gear. Open the best dungeons page for a per-dungeon breakdown.

Does this match what top Protection Warrior players actually wear?

There's no top-player sample for Protection Warrior yet. The check appears once the top players board has data.

How is this ranked without simming every item?

Each item's stats at the season ceiling are multiplied by the Protection Warrior stat weights (DPS per point, from the weekly scale-factor sim). Trinkets come from the simmed trinket leaderboard. Items with effects outside the trinket slot are flagged because a weight cannot value an effect.

Why is the tier piece ranked first even when another item has better stats?

The 4-set bonus is worth more than a stat difference, so tier pieces are pinned. The alternatives are what to wear before the set is complete or in the fifth tier slot.

How often is this updated?

Every Sunday after the weekly SimulationCraft update, when the stat weights and trinket boards are re-simmed. The methodology section shows the SimC build used.