Arenas! Line the pockets of the Steamwheedle Cartel!

[Nonentity]

Man, I love me some arenas. After going to BlizzCon and supporting my guild's 5v5 team (Team EG, they made 3rd place), I made inevitable return to the game, on the self-imposed decision that I would not raid, and would purely do PvP and arenas. Prior to this return, I hadn't really done arenas seriously.

Wow, it is fun! I have a clear path of PvP advancement for my character, via Arena gear and Honor gear. I just hit 1800-ish arena points today, so I'll be buying my very first piece of Arena gear (the gloves, for the class bonus - I'm playing a Warrior, so that's 3 off the Hamstring rage cost). And this point gain has only been from 2v2 and 3v3 teams - I have yet to join a 5v5 team.

The best part is really that I can do it on my own schedule. I haven't had that much time to play, but it's not like I'm missing out on anything - there is plenty of time during the week to get my 10 games per team in, and they are FUN. Hands down, it is the most challenging aspect of the game I have participated in thus far, and I know it only gets more difficult from here. I'm only participating in the 1600 to 1700 brackets (for example, my guild's team is ranked 7 or 8 in the battlegroup right now, at 2200+ rating), so there is plenty of challenging matches in the future.

I finally did a hotkey change with a focus on PvP (rebinding Q and E, making A and D always strafe, etc.) - that helped a lot. Also, finally getting a hang of why resilience is so damn important, as well as having as many CC breakers as possible.

Anyone else into arenas?

[Morat20]

If I wasn't a hunter, I would be. :) I'm leveling my mage and rogue as fast as I can. (My warlock is a sad panda, my only Horde character).

[Nonentity]

If I wasn't a hunter, I would be. :) I'm leveling my mage and rogue as fast as I can. (My warlock is a sad panda, my only Horde character).

Rogues are good for 2v2 and 3v3 matches, where you want to burn targets down quickly, but in 5v5 you don't see them in use at all - they just can't do well enough. Not a single team on the world 5v5 championships ran a Rogue - however, the only team running a Hunter managed to score first place.

Mages, on the other hand, are one of the arena darlings, and see use in all brackets.

The standard 5v5 powerful cookie cutter team (as of patch 2.1) is:

Arms/Fury Warrior
Holy Paladin
Frost Mage
Holy Priest
Elemental Shaman

Warlocks are amazingly powerful in the 2s and 3s bracket, and while they can hold their own in the 5s bracket, after the 2.2 resilience affecting dots change, you'll see less of them.

[Morat20]

I'm specced deep frost -- really deep frost. I love frost with all the love in my body, and did so well before TBC came out. (Heck, I was a raiding BM hunter back when that was just plain retarded).

I play what I like to play, but even I can't force myself to think Hunters are viable. They only work in 5v5 because that fifth spot is wide open and Hunters so ignored. (Like in BG's -- my Hunter can stand back and plink away forever. No one gives a shit about me until the real threats are dead).

A well-played Hunter, with good gear, in a 5v5...well, a mage would be better. Or another 'lock. But at least there's enough other people that it's not the suckfest Hunters are in 2v2 and 3v3. Just....not quite the best fit.

[Merusk]

I'm specced deep frost -- really deep frost. I love frost with all the love in my body, and did so well before TBC came out. (Heck, I was a raiding BM hunter back when that was just plain retarded).

I play what I like to play, but even I can't force myself to think Hunters are viable. They only work in 5v5 because that fifth spot is wide open and Hunters so ignored. (Like in BG's -- my Hunter can stand back and plink away forever. No one gives a shit about me until the real threats are dead).

A well-played Hunter, with good gear, in a 5v5...well, a mage would be better. Or another 'lock. But at least there's enough other people that it's not the suckfest Hunters are in 2v2 and 3v3. Just....not quite the best fit.

\

I agree on the vaibility of hunters, but for some fucked-up reason I'm always #2 target.  My group keeps telling me it's because of my CC, but most folks break that so easily it's pointless. (I Drop snakes more than ice these days.)   I think it's because when we run our 10 (Tuesdays 8pm) there's only a few groups going and we end-up matched against the same groups for a few of them.  They know me by now, and that if I live I'm #1 damage-dealt across both teams at our rank (1360, my group mates do this for the weapons and therefore suck.)   

I'm grinding the pally hard and plan on using it exclusively to Arena with.  I'll have to find a different group or guild as 200 points a week sucks, but I'm cool with that.

[Morfiend]

I agree on the vaibility of hunters, but for some fucked-up reason I'm always #2 target. 

Because hunters are one of the most squashy classes in arena when it comes to burning them down fast, and are very annoying if you leave them alone.

I play my rogue and pally in arena teams. I do my 2v2 with a feral drood, and my 3v3, same feral drood and another rogue. We destroy squashy teams, but warrior teams are pretty tough for us. We are usually around 1600 - 1800 rating, but we are all PVE spec, so its hard to climb higher than that. Last week we hit a bunch of bad games and ended up at 1540.

My 5v5 team runs all kinds of shit and is just 10 matches for points. We hover around 1600 rating.

[Chenghiz]

Shavnir and I run a warlock/rogue 2v2. We hover around 1500 because I suck but it's pretty fun.

[Merusk]

4 shaman and a warrior just ate my team up.  Comment in vent was, "That's ridiculous there's no way to kill them when they chain heal!" 

I *really* need to find a new team.

[caladein]

I play the FOTM 5v5 lineup that Non mentioned (although both Marks Hunters and SL/SL Locks are popular in the place of the Ele Sham), and we're in the mid-1700s right now. As a Holy/Disc Priest the change in playstyle in the Arenas from everything else in WoW is incredible: you're the tank most games, you have to think offensively, I really can't heap enough praise on 5v5 play from the healer's perspective.

On the keybindings, yeah... click-casting for heals (at least) and learning to use hotkeys for everything was another huge help. It's best to start small though with things like trinkets/defensive racials and move on from there. Doing it wholesale, unless you practice with it a lot beforehand, is not fun at all.

With Hunters though, I 3v3 with the Warrior and Paladin (on his Marks Hunter) and being able to just destroy someone's mana with just a few seconds of Viper Sting + Mana Burn is a huge help. Now in 5v5, by losing the Shaman you lose Bloodlust (which even lets your Priest Mana Burn in the first place) and an offensive Dispel, so you really have to build your team around it, but it's doable.

[angry.bob]

Arena needs 1v1. Until then it's worthless.

[Prospero]

Can you actually be reasonably competitive in battlegrounds and arenas without doing instances? I hate raids. Hate, hate, hate them.  I started WoW on day one and quit after about 4 months; It's a good game, but the high level quests are a bit too grindy for my liking and all I had to look forward to was brain melting MC runs. It might be worth trying again if I don't have to do big raids once I max out.

[Chenghiz]

Can you actually be reasonably competitive in battlegrounds and arenas without doing instances? I hate raids. Hate, hate, hate them.  I started WoW on day one and quit after about 4 months; It's a good game, but the high level quests are a bit too grindy for my liking and all I had to look forward to was brain melting MC runs. It might be worth trying again if I don't have to do big raids once I max out.

If you take raid gear to arenas you'll get pasted (for the most part... Tier6 is pretty sick anywhere you go still). Get yourself some epics and blues from pvp honor, toss stamina or resilience gems in everything, and enjoy yourself.

[caladein]

Arena needs 1v1. Until then it's worthless.

And 1v1 Arena play would mean what in a PvP game "balanced around team play"? We already have duels and no one pays attention to those. 2v2 is already a Healer + MS Warrior or SL/SL Lock cluster fuck.

Can you actually be reasonably competitive in battlegrounds and arenas without doing instances? I hate raids. Hate, hate, hate them.  I started WoW on day one and quit after about 4 months; It's a good game, but the high level quests are a bit too grindy for my liking and all I had to look forward to was brain melting MC runs. It might be worth trying again if I don't have to do big raids once I max out.

With the exception of my second ring (Violet Eye exalted), second trinket (Black Morass), Weapon (Sha'tar exalted although that's getting replaced this week), and off-hand (Kara) everything I have is from Honor or Arena points. If you're a non-Healer (right now) you can easily fully gear your character with gear from PvP and do okay, as a healer it's a bit sub-optimal until Season 3 rolls around (since there aren't healer weapons or a second healer ring atm) when full Season 1 stuff is added onto the Honor vendors.

Good PvE gear is obviously better then Bad PvE gear, but for the most part Decent PvP gear will trounce all but the best PvE gear.

More importantly though, all your upgrades will also come from PvPing via the Arena (and new epic non-set pieces from Honor). You don't have to touch PvE at all (except for daily quests to fund water/repairs) once you're 70.

[Threash]

Arena needs 1v1. Until then it's worthless.

Screw that, they need to get rid of 2v2 and add 4v4 actually.

[Paelos]

Arena needs 1v1. Until then it's worthless.

Screw that, they need to get rid of 2v2 and add 4v4 actually.

1v1 would be a shitload of fun if it was class-only. For example, warriors fight warriors, rogues on rogues, etc. It would be really fun in my book, and less of a pain in the ass coordinating a bunch of teams. Simple is good.

[Fordel]

1v1 would be a shitload of fun if it was class-only. For example, warriors fight warriors, rogues on rogues, etc. It would be really fun in my book, and less of a pain in the ass coordinating a bunch of teams. Simple is good.

I can't wait for those Paladin vs. Paladin fights! 

[caladein]

I can't wait for those Paladin vs. Paladin fights! 

L2 put a timelimit on its class vs. class fights... thankfully. That said I've seen screenshots of some hour+ 2v2 games where the DPS instagibbed each other off the bat.

[Zetor]

Eh, I don't find arenas that fun. Then again, my guild 5v5 arena team runs with whoever is on at the time (typically 100% pve specced and geared; and/or green-geared alts), sticking to 10 games a week, perpetually around 1500. :P

I play in a more competitive 3v3 with my paladin alt (we're up to 1750ish rating, pally-hunter-spriest or pally-feraldruid-spriest), but I feel I'm holding the group back because of my crappy gear (100 resil, 9k hp, lots of blues and even a green or two). Not to mention that warrior+pally+(holypriest/restoshaman) or warrior+warrior+(pally/restoshaman) cheese teams can wtfpwn us with just spamming attacks at our hunter until I run out of mana... no need for finesse, CC, spell interrupts, LOS (ab)use or anything. /sigh

Edit: At 1700+ we're already running into teams with SSC/TK gear or better. Considering all three of us are in blues with some pvp gear... yeah, there's only so much you can do to "outplay" two stormherald warriors windfurying down a hunter.


-- Z.

[caladein]

Edit: At 1700+ we're already running into teams with SSC/TK gear or better. Considering all three of us are in blues with some pvp gear... yeah, there's only so much you can do to "outplay" two stormherald warriors windfurying down a hunter.

Thankfully they're taking a bit of the bite out of Mace spec... eventually.

Yes, one of the changes is a reduction to the mace spec stun proc rate.

It should still be as good as the other specs, just not clearly the favorite.

(source posts 1 and 2)

[Zetor]

It's not even just mace spec (stuns are annoying, but it's not like a hunter can do much when he has two warriors beating on him and the shaman ducking in and out of LOS). It's the overwhelming damage, combined with MS, that my team can do 0 things about. (I can BOP or BOF the hunter for 1 second until the shaman purges it off, that's about it)

Like I said, we're totally getting "outplayed". :p


-- Z.

[Scadente]

The Macespecc Nerf was about time...

I keep trying to run arenas, but Im having a hard time finding teams. Join one, cant play for a few days and I get kicked. Most people dont have an ounce of patience, so they just kick and recruit left and right. Im finding it somewhat more fun then PvE these days, so I might actually get a 5vs5 started. Im doing a 2vs2 with a heavy PvE Paladin (hes not made for PvP), as an MS warrior. And its loads of fun. Im wanting to do more, but most serious teams require some insane ammount of Resilence, even for a warrior. Whereas I usually go for all out burst, lowering resilence (since Im most ofen the last target to go down).

[SurfD]

I can't wait for those Paladin vs. Paladin fights! 

L2 put a timelimit on its class vs. class fights... thankfully. That said I've seen screenshots of some hour+ 2v2 games where the DPS instagibbed each other off the bat.

Resto Shaman vs Resto Druid ftw

[TheWalrus]

Jesus did the other guy just fall asleep or what? 10 hours. Dear god.

[Fordel]

What usually happens is one of the dead DPS'ers makes an alt on the other teams server and then they just /random for who will win.


I'm only half joking.

[pxib]

NERF SHAMANS

[Calantus]

I'm loving arena myself... when I get to play it. :(

My brother has been busy with tests for the past 2 weeks so we haven't 2v2'd in ages because we don't need it for points. My 3v3 is just a half-hearted attempt to get my brother's shaman points and our composition sucks so we play it very little. My 5v5 has been going for about 3 weeks and we've only been able to play 1 day a week so far because 1) 2 people work casual and thus only know their schedule that week 2) one person doesn't get home until 9 every weekday 3) most of the time 1 of the 2 casuals are unavailable in the afternoons. It's such a pita to organise. Plus 2 of us don't have microphones and mine broke last week. One day... one day it will all fall into place and I wont have to stress over it.

Here's my armory: Dremar - Holy Priest

EDIT: My +healing ring has a +dam/heal enchant because my enchanting isn't high enough for +heal yet. I have lightwell because I was checking it out and cbf'd respeccing until patch. My glove and head enchant have +spell hit because of dispell, mass dispell, psychic scream, and mana burn. Those spells have to hit and it's worth the loss of +heal enchants to help it imo.

And I must say that WoW is actually fun when I'm not raiding. I've been online exactly twice this week. Once for arena, the other time to play a quick game of AV because I felt like it. Amazing. I did one thing I found fun, then I did another thing I felt like doing just because. So good not feeling obligated to log in.

[Xanthippe]

And I must say that WoW is actually fun when I'm not raiding. I've been online exactly twice this week. Once for arena, the other time to play a quick game of AV because I felt like it. Amazing. I did one thing I found fun, then I did another thing I felt like doing just because. So good not feeling obligated to log in.

This is exactly what I don't understand about raiding.

An awful lot of people who raid are not having fun most of the time, at least, not fun in the usual sense of the word.  It's more like work, or like having fun at work.  Which can be a certain type of fun, but is not generally associated with entertainment or relaxation or amusement.

So much of WoW can be like work.  Grinding xp or honor or rep, gathering mats, raiding...

[Merusk]

I have lots of fun raiding.  Killing mobs, downing bosses, seeing the scripts and such.  It's like leveling but BIGGER.  (Did I meniton I got my 3rd 70 yesterday? ;) )


It's dealing with the rest of the guild when we're not focused on doing something I can't stand.   Most of these guys are first-time MMOers and headed heavily down the path of the catass with their gripes about "RAIDS LAST UNTIL 10, THEY DON'T END JUST BECAUSE WE KILLED THE LAST BOSS!!" and "wtf you didn't buy the blue gems, those green gems are shit" (um they're 1/50th the price and have 2 less stat points. Oh Noez.)

 It's about time to get-out and find some sane people again.

[Xanthippe]

It's dealing with the rest of the guild when we're not focused on doing something I can't stand.   Most of these guys are first-time MMOers and headed heavily down the path of the catass with their gripes about "RAIDS LAST UNTIL 10, THEY DON'T END JUST BECAUSE WE KILLED THE LAST BOSS!!" ....)

What are you supposed to do after you kill the last boss?

[Merusk]

It's dealing with the rest of the guild when we're not focused on doing something I can't stand.   Most of these guys are first-time MMOers and headed heavily down the path of the catass with their gripes about "RAIDS LAST UNTIL 10, THEY DON'T END JUST BECAUSE WE KILLED THE LAST BOSS!!" ....)

What are you supposed to do after you kill the last boss?

Well, last night it was "ok boss is dead, (Gruul) on to the next zone (SSC) so we can die and build-up repair bills while 'learning the trash pulls'"

Too bad my internets went kaput right then.  Damn the luck.

See, the 2 officers who've taken charge of things in the last 2 months have some kind of stick up their ass about seeing all the raid content before the next expansion.  One of them hasn't held a steady job in the 12 months I've known of him (his wife works, he plays WOW all day while "looking for a job."  and 'taking care of his 6-year-old.'   At 29 his best full-time job was tech support calls for X-box live.. which he got fired from.  The other guy is single and has no other social life outside of WOW at this time.  At least he's got a job, but he doesn't understand why us EST folks can't bend around his PST schedule and raid until 2am our time.   

I fully expect mandatory raid attendance and weekday raiding to be implemented sometime in the next month or two.  At this point I'm just signing-up to use them for as many purplez as possible before I take-off.

[Selby]

See, the 2 officers who've taken charge of things in the last 2 months have some kind of stick up their ass about seeing all the raid content before the next expansion.

Sounds like my old guild.  It took me almost a year to even want to bother to log in and play more than 10-15m after all the crap that went down with them over raiding, schedules, and drama.  I have a real life guys, sorry if I can't raid all the time.

[Morat20]

It's dealing with the rest of the guild when we're not focused on doing something I can't stand.   Most of these guys are first-time MMOers and headed heavily down the path of the catass with their gripes about "RAIDS LAST UNTIL 10, THEY DON'T END JUST BECAUSE WE KILLED THE LAST BOSS!!" ....)

What are you supposed to do after you kill the last boss?

Well, in our guild, it was called "Drunken PvP". Most people would log off if the raid ended early, but if there was 10 to 15 people left, we'd queue up for a battleground. Normally by this point everyone -- including the main tank -- was tired and tipsy, but shit we had all that raid stuff loaded, so we'd go assist train the shit out of some poor PuG in a battleground.

I mean, we were learning Molten Core with TBC came out, so we weren't exactly "hard core" (about 10 members of the MC raid were part of a weekly BWL and AQ40 raid with another guild, but most of us just did it for fun on Fridays). Still, it was amusing as shit to play WSG with some random set of our raiders. We once had the entire mage and entire hunter teams fill up a WSG.

[Nonentity]

Finally got onto a 5s team this week with some guildmates - managed to squeak our way into the 1800 bracket, and then got dropped below back into the 1700 bracket in the last few games.

Still in the top 500 teams on the battlegroup though, which is decent - although I was about 30 points off from being able to buy my Merciless Gladiator's Plate Shoulders. ><

Made over 20k honor this weekend, though, in AV! That'll let me pick up the plate belt, and the cape. From there, I have the ring, the amulet, the resilience trinket, and the level 70 pvp trinket.

[Driakos]

Made over 20k honor this weekend, though, in AV! That'll let me pick up the plate belt, and the cape. From there, I have the ring, the amulet, the resilience trinket, and the level 70 pvp trinket.

That's pretty much all I did all weekend.  Made like 28k honor.  As soon as I get the marks, I'll get my Veteran's Silk, belt and bracer.  Horde loses AV-70 way too much in my battlegroup.  Too much afk'ing as well.  The high I counted for the weekend was 29.

They should track your stats.  If your last 5-10 games have been 0 0 (or some kind of average) for HK's/Deaths, you get thrown into AV's with other players of like stats.  Then the two afk teams can go at it for... days?

I know there's a fix upcoming to battleground afk'ing, but I'm dubious if it will curb anything, since it will require a good amount of player policing.

[Morat20]

I know there's a fix upcoming to battleground afk'ing, but I'm dubious if it will curb anything, since it will require a good amount of player policing.

Given how players handled the snowballs in AV last Christmas, I wouldn't be surprised if it worked. You couldn't AFK in the cave without players coming to pelt you out of the instance.

Frankly, this requires you to actually go kill something if you want honor, which'll remove the incentive to AFK out for a good chunk of the players. I'm sure some people will manage some low-level effort way of doing it, but every bit of effort it takes to remain in AV reduces the number of people just leeching.

It's so bad now because it takes NO effort to AFK leech.