One of the most talked-about spells making its comeback in World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery phase three is Gladiator Stance, a Warrior ability that was only in the game for one expansion and, as a result, could be relatively unfamiliar to part of the Classic community.
In the third phase of the Season of Discovery, Warrior players will be able to find the Gladiator Stance rune, which will be a bonus rune for the class that can be engraved on your character’s boots. Originally, Gladiator Stance was an ability that allowed you to deal increased damage as a Warrior, while still being able to play defensively with a shield. This ability gave Warriors the best-of-both-worlds treatment and was beloved by players of the class, even though it was only in the game for the duration of just a little over a year.
If you’re intrigued by the prospect of Gladiator Stance making its comeback to WoW via SoD, here’s everything you need to know about the ability, its history, and how it will operate in phase three of the new Classic season.
What will Gladiator Stance do in WoW Classic SoD phase three?
Gladiator Stance is going to be a new stance that Classic Warriors can adopt into their rotation. This stance allows Warriors to live a sword-and-shield-wielding fantasy while still being able to deal damage. Traditionally, equipping a shield means your damage takes an overall hit, but with Gladiator Stance activated, you deal 10 percent more damage while using a shield.
Full Gladiator Stance buff and debuff list
- 10 percent more damage while using a shield
- Increased block chance by 10 percent
- Armor reduced by 30 percent
- 10 percent less threat generated during combat
These tradeoffs make it so that Gladiator Stance definitely increases your damage while being able to tank, although the amount of survivability and durability that you have as a tank while using this stance is up for debate. Thankfully for WoW players, you’ll still have access to all of your other stance-locked abilities while in Gladiator Stance, including Shield Block, Taunt, and others.
Differences between Warlords of Draenor Gladiator Stance and SoD Gladiator Stance
When Gladiator Stance was first introduced to WoW, it came with the launch of the Warlords of Draenor expansion. The ability was never a part of Classic WoW and will be working under the original game’s conditions for the first time when SoD phase three goes live.
There are a few differences between the version of Gladiator Stance that came to the game with the launch of WoD in 2014 and the one that players are going to have to get accustomed to in the Season of Discovery. You’ll find the specific tooltips for each of the two versions of the ability below.
| Warlords of Draenor Gladiator Stance tooltip (2014-2016) | Season of Discovery Gladiator Stance tooltip (2024) |
| A dauntless combat stance. Increases physical damage dealt by five percent and replaces your Shield Block with Shield Charge. You cannot change into or out of this stance during combat. | Engrave your boots with the Gladiator Stance rune: An aggressive stance that increases damage while you are wearing a shield by 10 percent and increases block chance by 10 percent, but reduces armor by 30 percent and threat generated by 10 percent. While wearing a shield in Gladiator Stance, you may use all abilities that are restricted to other stances. |
The Gladiator Stance rune will be added to WoW Classic Season of Discovery when the season’s third phase goes live on April 4 at 3pm CT.
