Warrior + Restoration Druid
Also known as: Warr/Druid
Overview
Warrior/Druid is the gold standard of 2v2 arena in TBC Classic. This composition has dominated the bracket since Season 1 and remains the most consistent ladder climbing comp through all seasons. The core strategy revolves around the Warrior applying relentless Mortal Strike pressure while the Druid provides unmatched healing efficiency and crowd control. What makes this comp special is its inevitability - in a long game, Warrior/Druid almost always wins. The Mortal Strike debuff reduces enemy healing by 50%, which means the Druid's HoTs are effectively healing for double their value compared to the enemy healer. Combined with the Druid's ability to drink in Travel Form and the Warrior's ability to interrupt drinks with Charge/Intercept, you create a resource advantage that compounds over time. The learning curve is moderate. While the individual execution isn't as demanding as Rogue/Mage, success requires excellent communication, understanding of when to play aggressive vs defensive, and mastery of the "go" windows where you commit cooldowns for a kill.
Playstyle
The Warrior's job is deceptively simple: stay on the kill target and keep Mortal Strike up. In practice, this means constantly making micro-decisions about when to swap Intercept between offensive use (gap-closing) and defensive use (peeling for your Druid). You'll spend most games in Berserker Stance for Intercept access, swapping to Battle Stance for Overpower procs and Defensive Stance when being trained.
The Druid operates on a completely different axis. Your priorities in order: 1) Stay alive, 2) Keep the Warrior alive, 3) Land Cyclones on the enemy healer during kill windows. The Druid should almost never be in caster form unless actively healing or CCing. Travel Form is your default state - it prevents Polymorph, lets you outrun most classes, and positions you for Feral Charge interrupts.
The rhythm of a typical game: Warrior trains target > Druid HoTs and watches for CC > Enemy uses cooldowns defensively > You back off and let HoTs tick while Druid drinks > Reset and repeat with advantage. Most kills happen after 2-3 of these cycles when the enemy is low on mana/cooldowns.
Why It Works
The Warrior/Druid synergy is built on three pillars:
1. Mortal Strike + HoTs: MS reduces enemy healing by 50%, but your Druid's HoTs tick for full value. This creates a healing differential that compounds every second. A Rejuvenation ticking for 200/tick is "worth" 400 when the enemy healer's 400 heal is reduced to 200.
2. Mobility Matching: Both classes are extremely mobile. Warrior has Charge, Intercept, and Hamstring. Druid has Travel Form, Feral Charge, and instant-cast HoTs. This means neither player ever gets "stuck" and you can always reposition as a unit.
3. CC Coverage: Cyclone (6s, own DR), Bash (4s, stun DR), Feral Charge interrupt, and Intimidating Shout (8s, fear DR) give you control across multiple DR categories. You can chain: Intimidating Shout > Cyclone > Bash > Cyclone (DR) for nearly 20 seconds of CC.
Win Conditions
- Outlast opponents through superior sustain
- Force trinkets with Intimidating Shout then land kills in follow-up CC
- Win mana war against healer teams
- Mortal Strike pressure eventually overwhelms healing
Strengths
- Incredible sustain with HoTs and Mortal Strike debuff
- Strong CC with Cyclone, Bash, Feral Charge
- Warrior mobility with Intercept and Hamstring
- Druid is nearly unkillable in Travel Form
Weaknesses
- Struggles vs double DPS if caught in opener
- Vulnerable to mana burns (Priest/Warlock)
- Can struggle with heavy CC chains
Tips & Tricks
Druid should pre-HoT before CC to maximize uptime
Use Cyclone to stop enemy healing during Mortal Strike windows
Warrior should save Intercept for peeling or catching runners
Play patient - you win long games
Countered By
- Rogue/Mage
- Double DPS comps with strong openers
Role Breakdown
Openers
Kill Setups
Matchup Guide
Communication
Essential Calls
"Go [target]" Warrior calls burst window"Cyclone" Calling for Cyclone on healer"Trinket" Enemy used trinket"Fear out" Warrior used Intimidating Shout"Peeling" Warrior coming to help Druid"Drinking" Druid is going for mana"Kicked" Interrupted enemy cast"Need peel" Druid is in troubleTarget Calling
Warrior calls all targets and swaps. Keep calls short: "Mage", "Priest", "Swapping healer". Druid should echo back to confirm. Dont change targets mid-burst without explicit call.
Cooldown Tracking
- Track enemy trinkets - call when used and estimate 2min CD
- Track enemy defensive cooldowns (Pain Supp, Ice Block, etc.)
- Call your own cooldown usage: "Using Reck", "Barkskin"
- Track enemy Druid Swiftmend and NS cooldowns in mirrors
Rating Progression
Focus Areas
- Keep Mortal Strike debuff up 100% of the time
- Druid: Always have HoTs rolling before damage comes
- Learn to use pillars for safety
- Dont overlap CC - use one ability at a time
Common Issues
- Letting MS debuff fall off
- Druid standing in caster form and getting CCd
- Warrior chasing too far from Druid
- Panicking and using all cooldowns at once
Practice Drills
- Practice MS uptime on training dummies
- Duel other Warriors to practice stance dancing
- Practice pillar games with your Druid
Common Mistakes
Consequence: Druid dies because Warrior cant peel
Correction: Always track your Druids position. Save Intercept when they might need help.
Consequence: Gets Polymorphed or Cycloned, cant heal
Correction: Immediately shift to Travel Form after every cast
Consequence: Only 3s CC instead of 6s, kill window lost
Correction: Wait for Cyclone DR to reset (15s) or use Bash in between
Consequence: Eats CC that could have been reflected
Correction: Swap to Battle Stance, Spell Reflect, swap back. Practice until smooth.
Consequence: Lose mana war and cant sustain late game
Correction: Drink during every reset - Travel Form to safe spot, drink, back to fight
Consequence: Waste cooldowns, enemy escapes CC
Correction: Always track trinkets. Use Fear to bait trinket first.
Consequence: Druid gets caught alone and killed
Correction: Maintain position within Intercept range of Druid always
Consequence: Next burst window you have nothing left
Correction: Stagger cooldowns - Barkskin first, then NS, then trinket last
Consequence: Takes huge silence + damage, often worse than just healing through it
Correction: Only dispel UA if target will die otherwise. Usually just heal through.
Consequence: Fall behind on healing, forced to use emergency cooldowns
Correction: Pre-HoT before Fear ends, before CC breaks, before predictable burst
Advanced Tips & Tricks
General Tips
- Mortal Strike uptime is the single most important metric - aim for 90%+
- Druid should be in Travel Form at least 70% of the game
- Communication wins games - call everything, even small things
- Never chase past where you can Intercept back to your Druid
- Use /focus macro on enemy healer for faster CC
- Every time enemy healer casts, ask yourself: "Should I Feral Charge this?"
- Learn enemy class cooldowns and their timers
- If youre winning, dont get greedy - steady pressure wins
Advanced Techniques
- Spell Reflect has a brief window after stance swap - time it for maximum value
- You can Feral Charge > instant Cyclone for undodgeable CC
- Overpower has no global cooldown - weave it between other abilities
- In mirrors, the first team to land Fear > Cyclone usually wins
- Against Rogues, put Abolish Poison on Warrior pre-fight to remove Crippling
- Hamstring applies a "snare" debuff that persists even after DR immune
- You can pre-cast Cyclone before your Fear ends on a target (times the DR)
- Track enemy GCDs - cast Cyclone when they just used an instant
Positioning
- Play around pillars - always have an escape route
- Druid should be at max healing range (40 yards) when not CCing
- Against double DPS, stay stacked. Against healer teams, spread more.
- Dont fight on their pillar - force them to your pillar for drink access
- Position so Feral Charge > Cyclone paths dont get LoSd
- Warrior should always be between Druid and enemy melee
- In Ring of Valor, use the pillars up/down timing for resets
- Blade's Edge: Control the bridge, it limits enemy movement options