Every Thursday, V'Ming - who thinks that gnome warlocks are travesties of nature and need to be KOSed - shares thoughts and ideas on becoming deadlier at the Arenas. He also dabbles in the dark arts in Blood Pact.
Thank you for your comments in my previous article on "How to beat a Warlock". The article must have struck a chord in many players, and I hope to bring similar articles for other classes soon. I started with warlocks mainly because I'm most experienced with playing the class. The fact that they seem to be the most 'hated' class currently, of course, has nothing to do with it. ; )
Much have been discussed about 'gear inflation' in PvP. Do new entrants have a chance against more established PvP toons? No. Can newbies gain a foothold eventually? Yes.
In short, it's a different ball game.
Fortunately, you'll get better at Arenas or PvP in general by simply participating. Unfortunately, getting better isn't a overnight process. Assuming that gear matching works correctly in the Arenas, you should be matched up against opponents with comparable gear. However if you walked into a rated match with PvE blues, you'd still probably be steamrolled, in the current environment where Arena gear is so prevalent.
While you can probably use PvP gear for PvE with no great loss, the reverse is certainly less than optimal. PvE gear obviously lacks Resilience and Stamina - two important stats for any length of longevity in Arena combat. A freshly minted 70, with gear derived mainly from quests and instances, is simply "not prepared" (to quote Illidan).
What can you do to close this gear gap?
Battlegrounds
If you're keen to compete effectively in the Arenas as soon as you hit 70, get into the battlegrounds as soon as possible to accumulate honor. Get the insignia (2,825 honor) as soon as you have the honor.
Using a Warlock as an example and keeping in mind the honor cap of 75,000, your 'shopping list' at 70 can be something like this:
- Sergeant's Heavy Cape
- Gladiator's Touch of Defeat
- Gladiator's Felweave Handguards
- Gladiator's Felweave Amice
- Vindicator's Silk Cuffs
- Veteran's Band of Dominance
- Vindicator's Pendant of Conquest
This set should serve as a good starting point. The time investment in acquiring PvP epics is significantly more flexible and less than raiding for epics. PvP epics can also be doubled up quite comfortably for PvE duties, and this has been the subject of the 'welfare epics' debate.
PvP gear from PvE
There are some resilience gear available from crafting and PvE. Of note are the Exorcist's items that you can purchase in Terrokar Forest with spirit shards from Auchindoun instances.
If you must use PvE gear for PvP, focus on the following stats, in decreasing order of importance:
Stamina > Resilience > Crit/DPS/Heal
Generally you should maximize Stamina, without gimping your DPS or heals too much. Regeneration stats, like MP5 and Spirit, are useless in PvP.
Arenas
Even if you have invested in some PvP gear, be prepared to lose a lot initially in the Arenas. It's important to remember that by simply participating in 10 games per week, you will accrue precious Arena points. No Arena means no points. No points mean no progress.
If your team's rating has fallen to a point where your point gain every week is simply not worth your time, consider reforming a new team to start anew at 1,500. Yes it will cost you gold, but it's better than grinding with no appreciable return.
Besides gear, other factors like team makeup and coordination are important in Arena combat too. As you close the stamina and resilience gap, also think about improving the team's game and your personal skills. PvP epics alone won't win you matches.
What other gear tips do you have to offer newbies? Do you think it's a lost cause for latecomers to the Arena game?
As usual, these are the class representations for the top 100 US teams after last week's matches. Warlocks dominate the 2v2 bracket again, while warriors and priests enjoy a good distribution across all brackets. More hunters are hovering at about 2.5% representation, and seem to be better represented in 2v2s compared to last week's numbers:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-13-2007 @ 3:18PM
Richard said...
It's not too late to be competitive, at least to work up towards the Challenger/Rival ranks, at the start.
I didn't start Arena until about 6 weeks before the end of S2, and by the end of it, I had the S2 OH Mace, the S2 boots, ring, bracers, belt and neck (that's strictly from BG honor farming).
I made it as high as 1850 before finishing the season at 1775 or so, enough to earn Rival.
At the start of S3, I had enough arena points to immediately buy 2x S3 pieces (helm - gloves) and farmed enough honor to fill my set with S1 pieces.
So it takes a lot of BG effort at start to get 4 or 5 pieces of S1, but it's achievable if you put the effort in. And that's enough to make you competitive in the ratings where you're earning 400-500 points a week. That's a new piece of gear every month or so. And arena lasts longer than 4 months, so you can easily hit 4/5 S3 before then, and grab the S2 shoulders to upgrade your S1 shoulders.
The key is to spend as much time in BGs as possible, fighting other players. You learn a lot, and fast. It's not perfect practice for arenas, but it's a good start.
Reply
12-14-2007 @ 12:42PM
amasen said...
I'm sorry... But how is it possible to do what you did?
You said you joined 6 weeks before the end of S2. Got an S2offhand (1125pts), then at the beginning of S3 you got the s3 healm/gloves (1875/1125).
That's 4125 honor in 6 weeks. Or and 1895 rating held for 6 weeks. I'm sorry but that's just not possible for a starting team (which is what this article is about). Maybe if you were decked in T4/T5 level raid gear and had an incredibly geared friend helping you... that might have been feasible... But still very unlikely as no-resilance in arena = instant death.
However if you did somehow manage this... Please post and explain how. Because if that is the case I would really like to know, and I'm sure all of us would also.
12-14-2007 @ 1:06PM
Richard said...
You're exactly right. My and my teammate's gear level was T4/T5, 100% epics.
12-14-2007 @ 1:06PM
Richard said...
And when I said "beginning", I meant at the beginning of the season... not the first day. I should have been more clear. I didn't earn my gloves until the second week of S3.
12-14-2007 @ 1:08PM
Richard said...
Oh, and by the way, the key is 2v2 - pure rushdown, dual DPS focus fire, stunlock/sheep Frost Mage/Mace Rogue.
When you lose, you lose spectacularly. When you win, you do so very easily, even without PvP gear.
12-14-2007 @ 5:26PM
amasen said...
Raid gear plus the strongest DPS combo will do it. Haha, for once being a raider pays off in PvP...
Moral of the story... If your just starting off in arena... Get raid gear and you'll still own in a burst dps 2x team
12-14-2007 @ 8:18PM
Richard said...
Yeah, amasen, it seemed the 1800 brackets were about the best we could do until resil really started to break us down.
It's all about getting a partner that works with your class, and playing on those strengths.
12-13-2007 @ 3:31PM
Callandra said...
At least over here on Mannoroth, as Alliance, farming the honor for BGs is pretty simple. I dinged 70 with 15k honor banked from leveling. Since then, I've had just over 1 days worth of play time and I'm sitting with S1 chest, shoulders, gloves, S3 boots & the 2.8k trinket.
I have done nothing but PvP, but the effort - > epic return ratio is far skewed compared to PvE. If I PvE'd for 24 hours, I' d be ready to enter Karazhan and begin *trying* to get drops. And unlike the Officer's quarters, no BT/MH loot drops.
My arena team, hunter/mage, both spanking brand new 70s has gone 8-12 (5-5 this week, 3-7 first week). The best thing you can do for the arena is find a synergistic combo (healer/war, healer/rogue, warlock/himself) to try tip the scales as much in your favor as you can.
Reply
12-13-2007 @ 4:25PM
Race Bannon said...
I'm an enhancement shaman, and decently geared for PvE in mostly 10 man loot, due to scheduling issues with 25 mans. Anyways, my spec is far from ideal for Arena, but I'm working to do the best I can. Earned the S2 Mace and the S3 legs plus 3 pieces of Vindicator gear, so I'm slowly collecting a PvP set, much like the column suggests.
I'm wondering if those more experienced in Arena have suggestions as to the best enchants and gems for PvP dedicated gear. I've looked in both the WoW forums and in EJ without much luck.
Reply
12-13-2007 @ 4:29PM
DeathRawkBoy said...
It's pretty discouraging starting out PVP but you just have to keep your head up. It gets better. I'm currently a mage (not the number one PVP class by a long shot) in all PVE blues (skew'd toward stamina) and I do alright now.
Travel in packs (especially if you are a mage) and assist kills. Look for opportunities like catching a fleeing player with half a health bar or surprise attacks.
He didn't say it but the reason you get the insignia first is you are going to need an extra way out of snares otherwise you'll always get schooled. Conversely, think ahead. Count on someone breaking your first snare and be ready to counter.
And like he said, gear won't do it all for you. Even in my crappy gear I still take down guys decked out in S2 solo. It's not that I'm the greatest it's just, as there will always be someone better than you, there will always be someone worse, too.
Oh, yeah. Also, find the best macros for your class. They are a must in PVP. If you are a clicker, get used to doing everything on the keyboard. I find using my mouse hand on the number pad is best. I can still move while having easy access to 12 or so spells.
Now if someone could tell me a good way for a very casual player to meet other very casuals to lose in arenas with them, I'd be in business.
Reply
12-13-2007 @ 6:56PM
nein89 said...
With your mouse hand on the...did you just seriously advocate keyboard turning for PvP? Or is your mouse really close to your keyboard and you just hit the numpad with your thumb? You have confused me.
12-13-2007 @ 7:06PM
DeathRawkBoy said...
How do you do it? I move/turn with my keyboard, look with my mouse and let go of the mouse when I want to use the number pad.
I'm sure there's a better way and I'm interested in learning.
12-14-2007 @ 4:11AM
Bastiaan said...
Pressing the right mouse button and moving your mouse will turn you faster than you can do with the keyboard. Very important in PvP!
Pressing both buttons will make you run, too, you only need the keyboard for strafing and moving backwards.
12-13-2007 @ 4:29PM
Vort said...
Don't think you can get the Sergeant's Heavy Cape anymore.. At least is not on the armor vendor anymore.
Reply
12-14-2007 @ 8:43PM
Cal said...
It's on the vendor with all the pre-60 necklaces, cloaks, and such.
12-13-2007 @ 4:58PM
james said...
how do you set your number key to do moves? I always use 1-0 up top... didn't know you could map the number pad to moves too.
Reply
12-13-2007 @ 5:17PM
DeathRawkBoy said...
You can't do in the key bindings? Personally, I use Bongos and it lets me set any key to whatever I want as well as an alternate (I figured you could probably do this without a mod).
I'm not trying to be insulting but did you make sure your number lock was on? I've made that mistake. If you don't want to worry about it you can set your number lock to always be on when you start your computer through your bios.
12-13-2007 @ 6:33PM
Marsh said...
It isn't easier or quicker to get pvp gear compared to getting it from raiding, if you play alliance. Since you're horde you're used to getting 500 honor in 15 minutes from AV over and over again. And you're used to being able to get your daily done. This isn't true for the alliance. I hear people talk in my guilds chat about not being able to complete their pvp daily all week. And alliance rarely gets more than 200 honor from AV. And gets practically zero honor from the other battlegrounds.
Reply
12-13-2007 @ 7:37PM
Rob said...
Agreed, i've yet to buy a single item besides the 2.8k honor PVP trinket (WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING FIRST). I'm up to 8.5k honor now, i'm not sure how many hours in AV I logged, but I have 60 marks from there. Probably i spent 40 hours there. Anyway, people, epics are neither cheap nor easy. There are 4 routes to end-game epics:
AH: Don't laugh, you can get some decent T4 calabar stuff here, but be prepared to blow 1k or 2k per item. If you can farm 100 gold per hour, that's about 10 hours of work per item.
BG: Using AV, its likely you'll get 500-1000 honor per hour, say average 500. That means 128 hours to get the above mentioned lock set.
Arena: These items are incredible, with the hunter items from season 2 averaging 50 +sta per item, plus all the other goodies you expect. Since these are socketable, can be easily socketed with +hit gear for substitute early kara gear. I did it for two weeks (with a 2-18 record) and have 600 arena points. Realistically, i'll need another two weeks of work to get an item.
Heroics/Kara. It depends on how many people are in your class. For me, there are usually 3 hunters on our kara team. Means that I have not much of a chance of getting kara gear. The T4 tokens? We have 2 mages usually and a lock. So I expect to down curator 20 times before I can have a good likelyhood of getting those glove tokens. That's 20 weeks of work folks, and don't forget you are blowing serious gold on Kara attempts in repair costs (since its not on farm for us yet). Realistically i blow easily 100g per week on kara, probably more like 200 or 300.
I'm not geared enough for heroics (despite being #1 in damage on kara team), so I can't get in there yet. If I did, i would probalby say these are my best upgrade bets for PvE.
So, for semicasual players (or really, hardcore kara raiders who do non-kara stuff on the side), if you are getting an upgrade a week (30+ hours of play) you are doing great. More likely 1 upgrade a month is par for the course. Now you see why end-game is such a time sink/PITA?
12-16-2007 @ 12:44AM
Ehtheratt said...
Rob, I think you need to find a new guild. For one, if you're in even a semi-competent guild, you shouldn't have to even consider buying the epics on the AH. Also, I don't know how it's possible to play 40 hours of AV and get only 8.5k honor. I'm Alliance; let's say, for example, I do nothing but lose AV (which is mainly true, being Alliance on Retaliation). If I average 200 honor per game, and each games lasts 20 minutes, I'm getting 600 honor per hour from bonus honor alone, not including HKs. That means 6000 honor in 10 hours of play, and that's a WORST case scenario. In reality, you'll win some games, have some quick games (and of course a few longer ones too), and end u w/ a whole lot more honor in 10 hours.
Now, an actual tip for PVP that people haven't mentioned yet: Find a good PVP guild. In my guild, we run AB premades quite a bit. We typically get about 2k honor per hour. This means that in about 7 hours of play, I've got enough honor for the S1 legs or chest. After being in a PVP guild for only a couple of months, the idea of pugging AB, EotS, or WSG is a laughable waste of time. I know that immediately joining a PVP guild is not an option for everyone, but trust me: one of the fastest ways to the "top" in PVP is to get in good with people who are serious about PVP, and not trying to go it alone.