Melee Cleave 5-man: Arms Warrior Sweeping Strikes talents (levels 20–40)

Theorycrafted before the WoW Forever beta (September 17, 2026). The group plan follows how cleave groups played in Classic, the talents use the pre-release WoW Forever trees on this site, and ability levels quoted from Classic may differ in Forever. Expect updates once the beta is testable.

The group at a glance

Melee Cleave for levels 20–40: a Feral Druid bear, two Arms Warriors, a Combat Rogue and a Restoration Shaman.

Melee cleave kills packs with attacks that hit several targets at once: Sweeping Strikes, Cleave and Whirlwind from the warriors, Blade Flurry from the rogue, and Swipe and Berserk from the bear. Everyone stands on the same spot, so buffs, heals and the Shaman’s totems reach the whole group. It comes online later than spell cleave, because Sweeping Strikes, Blade Flurry and Leader of the Pack all sit on the 21-point row (level 30).

Role	Spec	Job in the pull
Tank	Feral Combat Druid	Gathers with Swipe, holds with Mangle, Leader of the Pack aura
DPS	Arms Warrior	Sweeping Strikes, Cleave and Whirlwind on the pack
DPS	Arms Warrior	Sweeping Strikes, Mortal Strike on elites
DPS	Combat Rogue	Blade Flurry on packs, kicks and stuns casters
Healer	Restoration Shaman	Heals the melee, totems at the pull spot, Mana Tide Totem

Every spec in the table links to its own guide with talents for that slot.

How the melee cleave plays

1. Levels 20–29: play a normal group with slightly larger pulls. The warriors Cleave, the rogue kills the most dangerous mob, and the bear holds everything with Swipe.
2. From level 30: the bear gathers two packs and faces them away from the group. Leader of the Pack gives the whole party 3% critical strike chance while the druid is in form.
3. Burst window: both warriors use Sweeping Strikes and the rogue uses Blade Flurry on the same pull, then save them for the next large one. Restless Blades lets the rogue get Blade Flurry back sooner.
4. Casters first: the rogue kicks or stuns casters that do not come into melee, the bear uses Feral Charge on the other one.
5. Totems: the Shaman places totems at the pull spot before the bear arrives. In Classic, Windfury Totem (level 32) is the single biggest damage boost for this group.

Your job as Arms Warrior

You are one of two warriors turning every attack into a multi-target hit. Sweeping Strikes makes your next five attacks hit a second mob, Cleave and Whirlwind hit several, and Deep Wounds leaves bleeds on everything you crit. Improved Tactical Mastery keeps your Rage when you swap stances, which matters because Classic places Sweeping Strikes in Battle Stance and Whirlwind in Berserker Stance.

Pull by pull

• Let the bear gather and Swipe twice before you start: warriors pull threat fast on a fresh pack.
• Sweeping Strikes, then Whirlwind or Cleave: the extra targets from Sweeping Strikes stack with the AoE.
• Use Cleave as your Rage dump instead of Heroic Strike while more than one mob is alive.
• On elites and bosses, Mortal Strike and Heroic Strike.

Mistakes that wipe the group

• Both warriors using Sweeping Strikes on a two-mob pull: save one for the big pull.
• Standing in front of the pack: parries speed up enemy attacks and frontal attacks hit you.

Talent order by level

One point per level from level 10. The talent tree above shows the finished level 40 build; use the level slider to see it at any level.

• Levels 10–11 · Improved Heroic Strike 2/3 — Cheaper Heroic Strike for single targets.
• Levels 12–14 · Improved Rend 3/3 — Required for Deep Wounds.
• Levels 15–16 · Improved Charge 2/2 — More Rage from Charge to open.
• Levels 17–19 · Improved Tactical Mastery 3/5 — Keep up to 25 Rage when changing stances.
• Levels 20–22 · Deep Wounds 3/3 — Critical strikes make the target bleed for 60% of your weapon’s average damage over 12 sec. With cleaving attacks this puts bleeds on the whole pack.
• Levels 23–24 · Improved Tactical Mastery 5/5 — finish the talent.
• Levels 25–27 · Two-Handed Weapon Specialization 3/3 — +3% damage with a two-handed weapon.
• Level 28 · Anger Management 1/1 — 1 Rage every 3 sec in combat.
• Level 29 · Impale 1/2 — +20% critical strike damage bonus.
• Level 30 · Sweeping Strikes 1/1 — Your next 5 melee attacks also hit a nearby enemy. This is why a warrior is in a melee cleave group.
• Level 31 · Impale 2/2 — finish the talent.
• Levels 32–36 · Weaponmaster 5/5 — Axe/Polearm: +5% crit. Mace/Staff: ignore 15% armor. Sword: 5% chance for an extra attack. Pick the bonus for the weapon you actually have.
• Levels 37–39 · Deflection 3/5 — +Parry for when a mob turns on you.
• Level 40 · Mortal Strike 1/1 — Your big single-target hit for elites and bosses.

Dungeons by level

Every WoW Forever dungeon that overlaps levels 20–40. Dungeons marked New were added in WoW Forever; the rest are the original Classic dungeons.

Levels	Dungeon	Notes
15–20	Ruins of Lordaeron (New)	Scourge forces in the ruined city.
18–24	The Deadmines	Original Classic dungeon.
19–25	Wailing Caverns	Original Classic dungeon.
23–29	Shadowfang Keep	Original Classic dungeon.
24–29	Excavation Site (New)	Rogue Titan constructs above Whelgar’s Excavation in the Wetlands.
25–31	Blackfathom Deeps	Original Classic dungeon.
26–32	The Stockade	Original Classic dungeon.
28–33	City of Dalaran (New)	Constructs, broken enchantments and demons; a wider city layout.
30–36	Razorfen Kraul	Original Classic dungeon.
31–37	Scarlet Monastery Graveyard	Original Classic dungeon.
31–37	Gnomeregan	Original Classic dungeon.
34–40	Scarlet Monastery Library	Original Classic dungeon.
35–40	The Drowned City (New)	Trolls, naga and pirates off the Stranglethorn coast.
37–43	Scarlet Monastery Armory	Original Classic dungeon.
38–44	Razorfen Downs	Original Classic dungeon.
39–45	Scarlet Monastery Cathedral	Original Classic dungeon.
40–55	Krol’dok Stronghold (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.

Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron are too early for this group; level those characters normally or run them as a regular party. Start the melee cleave in the Excavation Site and the City of Dalaran, and push big pulls in The Drowned City once everyone has their 21-point talent.

Where the group struggles

• Ranged and caster mobs stay out of melee. Break line of sight, or kick and pull them in.
• Healing load is high: five people stand in melee range of the pack. The Shaman needs Mana Tide Totem and the group needs to drink.
• Cooldown gaps: without Sweeping Strikes, Blade Flurry and Berserk, pull smaller until they are back.