Well, I?ve been playing the game for a day and I?m already writing a how-to. To my own defense: this game plays similarly enough to other more-pigs that -- once past the UI differences ? stratagems can be ported with relative ease. I?ve leveled my character up to 14 using the strategy I?m about to outline, and it has served me really well up to this point.

Note This general tactic works well for fighting one tough monster, but it really shines when fighting many not-so-tough monsters. This might be obvious information to a lot of you, but I think it might aid newbies.

First, let?s go over the reasons you?d want to learn how to battle multiple enemies at the same time:


Survival: It happens: you go to grab one enemy and he brings a buddy, or you?re fighting some poor helpless monster and his big brother spawns on top of you. It doesn?t seem like (from what I?ve seen) that people know how to kill multiple mobs, and I see a lot of running and dying as the result.

Greed: The more things you kill the more money you?ll make, and killing multiple enemies at a time is faster than trying to hunt them one on one (especially when they link together and it?s hard to just fight one).

Leveling: Of course, you?re not going to fight multiple monsters that match your level (you can do two of your level, but you need a little luck). It?s better to fight multiple monsters that are 2-3 levels below you, and rake in the cash as you level.

Vanity: Face it, you look like a badass when you take on three-four monsters and put them away.

Fun: Fighting three foes is a lot more fun than slaughtering one.

It seems like Blizzard setup the warrior to single handedly run population control. Honestly, when you step back look at the abilities the warrior gets, it?s like they?re saying to us: ?please go clear out our dungeons, we know you have nothing better to do.? Here?s what?s important to being a good killing machine:

Gear: You always need the best gear. If there is better gear available for purchase or quest, you should be working to get it. As a warrior: the ease of your experience relies heavily on your equipment.

Rend: The key words are ?damage over time.? WoW is a rare game to give their warrior class a DOT ability, and it?s amazing that they hand it out so early. I upgrade Rend every chance I get, because it?s an incredible damage dealer when you?re working on multiple enemies. Currently: my rend does 9 damage every 3 seconds, multiply that by 3 monsters and that?s 9 damage per second. Before level 15 it?s very hard to get your hands on a weapon that even approaches that level of damage. It costs very little fury, and it takes almost no time to reset.

Thunder Clap: This is an ?Area of Effect? ability, and another big hint from Blizzard that they want you to slaughter mobs by the handful. It deals 8 instant damage points to up to 4 nearby enemies, but its big use is in its ability to slow your enemy?s attack. You need to kill 2 - 4 enemies before they kill you, and in order to do that you need to slow them down. Enter Thunder Clap ? thank you Blizzard!

First Aid: If you want to fight group after group of monsters: first aid is a very good way to quickly heal yourself between mꬩes. When you start to kill droves of monsters: focus on the humanoid monsters that drop linens. Convert every linen you get into a bandage, and you?re going to build the skill quickly (I?m level 80 after a day of play).

Hot Keys: Place all your important abilities (including bandages and potions) on quick-use bar, then memorize what the numbers do (instead of looking and clicking).

Rage: Rage is the Warrior's way of doing big damage, and nothing builds rage faster than getting hit by multiple mobs. A match made in heaven.

So now that we have all that out of the way, here are the steps for making all this work together:
1. Bribe a caster into giving you an armor buff and thorns, or use a scroll of protection (you can still do well without buffs, but the help is very nice when you can get it). Also make sure you always have your battle shout going.
2. Find a group of monsters you want to take on, start small and work you way up as you get the hang of things.
3. The first thing you should do is Rend every single one of your foes. If you?re fighting monsters that are aggressive you just need to show them you?re there. If they don?t add, then run around and Rend them to piss them off.
4. You should now have 2-4 monsters beating on you, and they should all have Rend. Once you get enough furry, use Thunder Clap to slow them down.
5. Work on one monster at a time (normally the first monster you cast Rend on), use your extra Fury points to special attack a lot.
6. When your target starts to lose Rend, Tab through your foes and Rend them all again. The same thing goes with Thunder Clap, but you don?t need to change targets.

You?ll be surprised how quickly you enemies will fall, by the time you get to fighting the last foe he may be already dead or close to death.

Like I said before start small and work your way up to harder and harder groups of guys. Focus on killing humanoids too (for the linens and cash). You?ll get the hang of it, and you?ll see how your warrior can be a very powerful (and rich) force. You can also imagine how being good at fighting multiple enemies will help later when you start to group.