Slam

Slam
Slam (6 ranks) Warrior ability 5 yd range 15 Rage 1.5 sec (1/0.5 with talents) cast Slams the opponent, causing weapon damage plus X.
Properties
Class	Warrior
School	Physical
Cooldown	None/Global Cooldown
Other information
Requirements	Requires Melee weapon
Improvements	[Improved Slam]

[[Category:warrior abilities]][[Category:warrior abilities]]

Slam is a weapon-dependent ability, that causes damage plus X, consumes 15 rage, generates no extra threat, and resets the swing timer.

Also, Slam is the only warrior ability that requires 'Cast Time'. The default cast time is 1.5 seconds, and it is not interrupted by damage (from patch 2.0.3), with a Fury Tier 5 "Improved Slam", 2 point talent that decreases the cast time with 0.5/1 second (making it a 0.5 second cast ability with 2/2 Improved Slam). This is basically the difference between it and Heroic Strike (Next melee) and Mortal Strike / Bloodthirst (instant attacks).

Slam also gets more benefit from slower weapons than [Mortal Strike]/ [Whirlwind]/ [Overpower], due to it not being normalized. So while Mortal Strike does better damage with slower weapons due to higher damage range, Slam gets a higher bonus from weapon speed (that is not normalized for non-instant attacks). One other example of non-normalized attack is Heroic Strike (which is a next melee attack).

Rank	Rage Cost	Damage	Level	Cost
1	15	+ 32	30	1 8
2	15	+ 43	38	1 80
3	15	+ 68	46	3 24
4	15	+ 87	54	5 4
5	15	+ 105	61	5 85
6	15	+ 140	69	5 85

Notes

Often misunderstood, this ability seems worse than [Heroic Strike], but the key is the weapon used. Slam bypasses the usual melee swing timer, instead using a Channeling type bar more usually found on spells. This, in effect, gives all weapons a flat speed of 1.5 seconds (Less with talent). This is not helpful when using daggers and dual wielding, but with very large two-handed weapons, it can reduce swing times from the default, and therefore, increase DPS, drastically.

Heroic Strike, on the other hand, is 'Next Attack', which varies wildly depending on weapon.

Effective the 2.0.3 patch, Slam is no longer subject to interruption while casting. Previous to 2.0.3, Slam was interruptible in the same way as spell-caster; knocking the charge-up bar backward each time damage is taken, which can lower the DPS back to nearer normal levels.

So, When Should You Use Slam, Anyway?

As stated above, use this instead of Heroic Strike if using two-handed weapons. As a general rule of thumb: if your weapon speed is greater than 2, Slam is preferred over Heroic Strike.

Here comes the math:

Ignoring Heroic Strike (Rank 10)'s damage buff against targets and considering the un-talent-buffed Slam (Rank 6), then the DPS by Slam is greater than the DPS from Heroic Strike when:

[(Avg. Weap. Dam.)+140]*1/1.5 > [(Avg. Weap. Dam.)+176]*1/(Weap. Speed)

Where (Avg. Weap. Dam.) is weapon dps multiplied by it's speed.

Rewriting this inequality as a function of average weapon damage vs. weapon speed gives:

(Avg. Weap. Dam.) > [264/(Weap. Speed) -140]/[1-1.5/(Weap. Speed)]

or, for any rank of Heroic Strike and Slam:

(Avg. Weap. Dam.) > [HS*1.5/(Weap. Speed) -S]/[1-1.5/(Weap. Speed)]

where "HS" is Heroic Strike's damage bonus, and "S" is Slam's damage bonus.

Bingo! now we have a criterion for deciding if our weapon warrants the use of Slam. All you have to do is plot the function above and see whether your current weapon has an (Avg. Weap. Dam.,Weap. Speed) combination that places it above the line formed in your graph. If it does...use Slam. If it lies below the line...use Heroic Strike. More simply, any weapon with a speed greater (i.e. slower) than 2 will warrant the use of Slam.

Other Important Considerations

Note that Slam generates much less threat than Heroic Strike, which can be useful in Secondary Tanking.

Slam is affected by the Global Cooldown, and if you have a top-speed connection, the Global Cooldown of 1.48 seconds will thus make talent points spent in Improved Slam rather useless for PvE if you chain-cast the spell. In PvP, however, improved slam talent allows you to get near mortal strike damage without having to stand in one place for very long.

While Slam is without a doubt a good ability, being spell with casting-time, it resets the swing timer of your weapon, and therefore you would rather use an Instant Ability like [Whirlwind], [Bloodthirst] or [Mortal Strike], if you have access to them.