Twinks are a fairly common term in World of Warcraft, and the history of it goes back to the WoW Vanilla. Until patch 3.2.0, which introduced a feature to allow character to disable experience gain, characters stopped gaining XP by different means to Twink at the desired level. For example, not questing or killing mobs. This made twinks to stay at major cities and only join Battlegrounds. Protection Warriors are a good choice for Twinking a Tank.
Twinks are below level cap player characters who have gained powerful and uncommon gear for their level in their equipment slots. These powerful items can be made stronger with the best possible enhancements such as expensive weapon enchants, leg patches and BoE/BoP greens, blues or epics.
—WoWWiki
You can disable your XP gain by talking to Slahtz (Horde), or Behsten (Alliance).
Why have a twink character?
Twinks are used for a variety of reasons. In the early days of WoW, they were only used for Battlegrounds. But now that you can lock your XP gain, you can use them for Raids and dungeons and etc. You also might want to experience an expansion that you liked, or just see what it looks like. Here, we will be talking about level 60 twinks and you might wonder why not play Classic instead? There are a lot of quality of life changes that happened between Classic and Retail and for some people its a great deal. Sometimes you just want to experience a part of Classic, without putting effort into the other areas (i.e leveling). With that in mind lets see how to Twink!
In this guide, we will be talking about Protection Warrior, a strong tank choice with good damage output and good defensives. A solid choice for tanking.
Stats Priority
PvE Stats priority for Protection Warrior Twink is Stamina/Strength > Haste > Versatility > Crit > Other secondary.
Haste reduce your global cooldown and also reduce some abilities cooldown, which is why its ideal to have.
Versatility reduces damage taken which is a strong stats for tanking, but not better than haste.
The reason for other secondary stats (i.e dodge, parry) priority is lower than critical, is that you get them from your BiS gear.
From your BiS gears, you dont get enough haste. So don’t bother with Start priority.
Gears
Do note that there is not a single BiS for most of the slots. Instead the BiS said down below is based on stats and availability. Protection Warrior Twink BiS is close to Fury, but with some difference. If you can’t obtain a item listed here, go for a similar item, stats wise.
Head
- Circle’s Stalwart Helmet :
it’s an optimal choice. It is rewarded from the quest Saving the Sporeloks. The reason why this is the best option is that it have 3 socket slots, and its available. You want to use stamina/strength sockets for extra survival or damage. - Conqueror’s Crown :
Its another option with low stats value. Aim for this if you can’t get the other one. Rewarded from Conqueror’s Crown. - Dreadnaught Helmet :
You can buy this item from Black Market Auction House. Be ready to spend a lot of gold for it. Good choice, better than Conqueror’s Crown and possibly Circle’s helmet. This set in general is good for Protection Warrior Twinks, if you can you hand on all of its part.
Neck
- Eternal Talisman of Evasion :
Your most accessible choice. You can buy it from Hierloom vendors. It has a great on use spell which help a lot in tough situations. - Blazefury Medallion :
Dropped by Lord Kazzak. - Traitor’s Noose :
Dropped by Mennu the Betrayer in Slave pens, Heroic mode. - Medallion of Steadfast Might :
Dropped by Magmadar, Molten core.
Shoulder
-
Polished Spaulders of Valor :
Another hierloom, as the most accessible with good stats. Decent gear. -
Conqueror’s Spaulders :
Rewarded from Conqueror’s Spaulders Quest. Not a good choice, only go for this if the set bonus is active. This set in general is good for Protection Warrior Twink, if you can you hand on all of its part. - Champion’s Plate Shoulders/Lieutenant Commander’s Plate Shoulders :
Has great stats, Easier to access if you have a max level main. Can be bought for 2 Mark of Honor from Legacy Armor Quartermasters.
Back
- Green Dragonskin Cloak :
Dropped by Lethon, Taerar, and Ysondre. It is available and has good stats. - Elementium Threaded Cloak :
Dropped by Chromaggus. Good stats, specially the dodge.
Chest
- Light-Touched Breastplate :
Dropped by Watchkeeper Gargolmar, located at Hellfire Ramparts. Great because of the socket slots. - Dreadnaught Breastplate :
You can only buy this from Black Market Auction House. Good stats, only if you have a lot of gold.
Wrist
- Bracers of Just Rewards :
Dropped by Watchkeeper Gargolmar. Great stats, specially the haste. - Dreadnaught Bracers :
You can only buy this from Black Market Auction House. Good stats, only if you have a lot of gold.
Hands
- Ironblade Gauntlets :
Dropped by The Maker, located at The Blood Furnace. Great stat budget, try to aim for this. If you don’t want to go for this pick something similar.
Waist
- Tenacious Defender :
Dropped by Omor the Unscarred, located at Hellfire Ramparts.
Try to pick something similar to this, if you can’t obtain this for any reason.
Legs
- Bloodlord Legplates :
Dropped by The Maker, located at The Blood Furnace. - Conqueror’s Legguards :
Rewarded from Conqueror’s Legguards.
Feet
- Ironsole Clompers :
Dropped by Vazruden the Herald, located at Hellfire Ramparts. - Conqueror’s Greaves :
Rewarded from Conqueror’s Greaves.
Rings
- Band of Jin/Seal of Jin :
Although they are no longer available, but if you happen to have them, you are in a great luck. - Unsmashable Heavy Band :
Dropped by Ingvar the Plunderer. - Ring of Entropy :
Dropped by Lord Kazzak. - Master Dragonslayer’s Ring :
Rewarded from The Lord of Blackrock.
Trinkets
- Sonic Booster :
Crafted by Engineering. Can be bought on AH. It can also be stacked, so you can have 2 Sonic boosters. - Ramstein’s Lightning Bolts :
Dropped by Ramstein the Gorger.
Weapon/Shield
- Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker :
The best weapon you can choose. It’s a legendary, so obtaining it is a complex process, and require you to complete a quest line. First quest is Examine the Vessel. - Flamescarred Draconian Deflector :
Bought from Hierloom vendors. - Elementium Reinforced Bulwark :
Dropped by Chromaggus.
Enchants and Sockets
For enchants, try to go for stamina for survival or strength for damage output. All slots have stamina enchants available, but for neck, you can go for Versatility enchant. For Shoulder Enchant, go for the one your profession offers and have defensive value.
For sockets, Always go for stamina or strength.
Talents
Talent choice for Protection Warrior Twink is straight forward, go for this build.
For PvP talents, get Morale Killer or Sword and Board
That’s it for Protection Warrior twinks! You can read our class guides from here.