I hate arena.
I'm pretty sure I realized I wasn't going to like it right around the time in Season 2 when I hit a nasty Priest/Warlock combo. They outgeared my own little team massively and knew it. Six of our ten games that week were versus this charming pair, and they reached a point somewhere around the fourth game where they'd kill my partner, Mind Control me, heal me to full, and then Fear me around endlessly while reducing my health inch by agonizing inch. A lot of PvP has the potential be extremely frustrating (she said, eyeing another Arathi Basin match with 4 Horde versus 15 Alliance), but that night was one of the few that has left me wondering whether bursting into tears or just going AFK for a sandwich while they amused themselves were the better option.
So you might say that arena and I have had an uneasy relationship. I need arena for some PvE gear and to get people off my back about doing arena (it's a vicious cycle). Arena quite patently does not need me. And yet -- it remains the last great challenge before Wrath hits. It is the part of the game that I have yet to conquer, or even do anything other than suck horribly at. I'm a Druid, right right? Isn't there some sort of vague, hazy strategy involving HoT's and Travel Form and possibly Cyclone that makes us never, ever die? Some crap like that. And I owe it to the rest of my class to put a badly-played Druid back in arena to see if we can convince people to stop screaming for nerfs.
So. I'm going to commission someone to write some compelling montage music for me, I'm going to BG every day for Season 2 gear, and I'm going to find me a partner with a (um) generous approach to what constitutes "advancement." There's a lot of talk around the forums about the gear gap being too horrible to overcome and the ratings requirements being a barrier to newbie entry. I'll play your game, you rogues. Let's see whether a total scrub still stands a chance.
Ratings Watch: 1500
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-01-2008 @ 6:20PM
grravie said...
arena does suck.
i think it was the lamest idea yet for wow. and i dont just say that cause i suck @pvp (and i really suck @ pvp)
i mean really, i spend so much time raiding and running dailies (so that i can afford to raid) i just dont have the time or patience to run arena.
if i wanted to pvp, id go back to a pvp server. not happy with all the attention (and gear) given to arena
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7-01-2008 @ 6:23PM
Ironside said...
Step 1. Get a MS Warrior
Step 2. Go Resto
Step 3. Stay stealthed until said warrior has reached rougly 50% health
Step 4. Heal Him, Cyclone opponent, If being mana drained switch form and gtfo.
Step 5. Profit
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7-01-2008 @ 7:37PM
Nick S said...
it's so true. after being beat up on in arenas on my hunter and warrior, i rolled a resto druid on the PTR this weekend and teamed up with random warriors from trade chat.
best live record in a week: 16-30
worst PTR record in a week: 18-6
maybe the players on the TTR are worse (unlikely) or perhaps resto druids really ARE excellent in 2v2s.
7-01-2008 @ 7:50PM
cdb2000 said...
Sadly, this is true. My druid dinged 70 just last weekend. I spec'd resto last night when I got home from work. I have terrible gear and no idea what I'm doing. With my MS warrior friend, we improved our 2s rating by something like 40 points beyond what our ok geared priest/lock could do.
7-01-2008 @ 6:24PM
Ktok said...
Doing it with the best stuff you can get from the BGs is your only hope, for sure...
However, even then, you're not going to stand much of a chance against those folks already in S4 who only play in 1500 rating 2v2 because they are boosting their friends, or because they enjoy making a new 2v2 every week just to destroy people with lesser gear.
As it stands right now, it's actually in the best interest of high ranked 5v5 players to make new 2v2 and 3v3 teams every week to do exactly that, as keeping other teams ranked low would limit the number of people in the arena pool who have gear that can compete with their own.
I have quite a long list of changes I want to see for the Arena, and I've stated some here before, so I'll break out some new material.
1. Remove the rating on gear. Yes I know it's suposed to make people feel ultra-super-special for being a Druid or a Warrior who knows a Warrior or a Druid to team up with, but it kills the ability for new 70s to stand much chance to catch up. Most of the people in favor of the rating on gear already *have* good gear and a winning team and just want to keep their edge. That's hardly sporting of them, and it shouldn't be supported by Blizzard. Everyone should have a chance, free of massive gear gaps they can never cross... even scrubs.
2. Never match the same teams in a 5 hour period. Ever. Not only would this kill win-trading almost entirely, it would also prevent the "Oh good, we lose six times this week because we got the same !@$%@$* OP "I Win" team six times in a row" bull.
3. Limit everyone to *one* arena team. This would kill off a good portion of the "boosting" market, as forming that 2v2 would mean the uber long-time gladiator would have to abandon their 5v5 and lose their personal rating. Sure, they could still go back to the 5v5 and build the rating back up, but chances are good people wouldn't want to bother and simply wouldn't leave.
The Arena can be fun, and it could be made a *lot* more fun. The problem is that Blizzard is listening to people who want a big ol' e-peen to show off more than they want fair fights where skill isn't trumped (and ground into the dirt) by people with massively better gear.
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7-01-2008 @ 6:52PM
Charlie said...
I don't agree with #1, and especially not #3. But #2 would eazily fix so many problems. Even if it causes bigger queue times. At this point in time its worth it.
At least make it so you can't hit the same team back to back. I mean its nice when your on the winning side, but dear lord its awful.
Much like PvP in Vanilla wow, i think the fixes up to this point are more bandages. Come wow I expect some major surgery, if there's not i will be upset. Arena hasn't worked out very well, but its blizzards first time in true controlled PvP (not objective based PvP like BGs). They will get better at it.
Here's the thing I always have hope for. Blizzard's next MMO. Think of all the changes they have made over the past 3 1/2 years (yes its been that long). How amazing is their second MMO going to be with everything they have learnt?
I wouldn't even be suprised if this was the last expansion in the WoW cycle prior to the next MMO. There's nothing bigger in WoW than Arthas (in terms of popularity). You could go and face Sargeras but if they are planning on making a WoW2, then this would allow them to really develop more lore and give us more baddies to fight.
7-01-2008 @ 9:13PM
Pappagallo said...
How to fix arena:
Base gear and points received on Personal Rating (PR).
Base match ups on Team Rating (TR).
IF PR(lowest)/PR(highest) < 0.95
THEN TR = PR(highest)
ELSE TR = [PR(1) + PR(2) +... PR(n)]/n
7-02-2008 @ 10:20AM
Roboticus said...
Regarding point 2: stop queuing if you're hitting the same team!
Some comps counter other comps. If my Hunter-Druid team hits two different Rogue-Warlock teams in a night, we call it, then try again when fewer of that comp is on.
If you put in the 5-hour no rematch rule, the top brackets would have MUCH longer queue times and couldn't play the teams they want to play. At some point in the rating climb, you know a good number of the teams you might be playing against. I think that is GOOD and allows for some fun meta-gaming and strategizing.
7-03-2008 @ 10:46AM
Ktok said...
It doesn't seem odd to you that the current system actually lets people plan who they want to fight in the way you mentioned? The point to my suggestion isn't just to keep people from facing the same face-smashing team twice, but to prevent the very thing you're arguing for, as it is also the tool of win-traders.
Are arena matches random or not? If yes, then keep them random by taking the ability to reasonably plan who you want to fight away. If no, then let us manually queue up for rated matches against chosen opponents (which obviously won't ever happen). You can't have it both ways just because you're highly rated.
7-01-2008 @ 6:26PM
ringu0 said...
Knowing that the current game is lost, can't you simply leave the arena?
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7-01-2008 @ 6:26PM
Azereus said...
You can click on the arena button on your minimap and press leave game. Would of saved you alot of time.
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7-01-2008 @ 6:30PM
Carlos said...
What you're a druid and don't have a 2k+ rating?!
J/K. My warlock presents me with a similar bind. Arena is the one area of WoW where I haven't excelled yet. But I can't decide whether to try. Finally have the gear, but who wants a warlock partner now that melee is OP against us and our pets are still in greens?
Should I try to cut back on what I'm good at or give up playing with less-geared friends, just to conquer that one aspect of the game that's escaped me?
Anyway, good luck on your mission!
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7-01-2008 @ 6:38PM
Ozzy79 said...
The barrier to entry in Arena only increases as each season passes. IN GENERAL, a fresh level 70 doesn't stand a chance of getting an S4 piece unless carried. Most of the arena participants in even the 1300 - 1500 bracket have 300+ resilience easily. As time goes on, the "starter" gear requirements for success only get more prohibitive.
That is my two cents, based on observation and painful personal experience.
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7-01-2008 @ 6:48PM
MauzzkylGhostlands said...
I'm going to disagree with the general ebb and flow of the comments on this page and say that the gear barrier isn't what's making you lose. S2 gear may take awhile to get, but having it isn't going to guarantee victories. Not having it will probably guarantee a loss, however. And furthermore, with the right knowhow and gear, arena CAN be great fun.
All in all, the difference between a piece of S3 gear and a piece of S4 gear, while apparent, aren't gamebreaking. They present a new piece of gear to work for, but they won't decide a match unless the match is already really close. I doubt it is in most scenarios.
Get S2 gear through the grind, and try to make it educational and fun for yourself. Then learn the strategies, and practice, practice, practice. Learn when to CC what. Learn when to blow your trinket and when to hold it.
I recommend www.arenajunkies.com. Lots of strategies can be found there. But it's all in the execution. Just like downing a new raid boss, it takes a few wipes to get the satisfying success.
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7-02-2008 @ 1:10PM
terra said...
Agreed.
Resilience values on gear have not significantly changed from season to season. And 20 extra spell damage or 200 extra health here and there will not make or break a game if your team cannot coordinate or understand how to counter the other team.
7-01-2008 @ 6:51PM
HWL Torwell said...
YES!
Arena does suck,its a big annoyance in the game and you almost forced to participate in it!
Best article ever wowinsider,the best.
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7-01-2008 @ 6:51PM
Rhinosauras said...
Try arena as an Enhance Shaman and even with my 430 res gear I am still cc'ed, saped, feared, stunned to a point of hating this so called sport... remove the rating requirements on gear and it may be a different story. I can top the dps charts in raids but have little to no viability in arenas. Most damage done and hk's in battlegrounds but arena's kick my but every time its just not fun anymore.
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7-01-2008 @ 6:54PM
Marty said...
Bursting into tears...?
No, no. Just get up from your computer, go get yourself a drink, flick on the TV or ALT+TAB, and forget about it.
In the end, you still get your points, and the opposing team wasted their time with your AFK character. Win-win.
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7-01-2008 @ 7:10PM
Eisengel said...
Yes, arena sucks... hard.
@ktok: Yes, there are definitely many ways Blizzard could make Arena actually... competitive, but they would rather come up with new annoying LOS issues than fix their system.
For instance, how about as your rating increases you have debuffs applied to you as you enter Arena... less health, longer cast times, reduced %move speed, etc. IF you have a high rating and are a GOOD player, you shouldn't be relying on gear and you should be able to beat undergeared and underexperienced players even with debuffs, and arena would be (GASP!) competitive! If you are good, it should only get harder to stay there and advance... not easier.
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7-01-2008 @ 7:49PM
CannedBread said...
...That's dumb, I agree that the gear barrier is an issue, but that is the most idiotic solution I've ever heard. Players shouldn't be punished for being better (yes, I know that some of the people in S3/S4 are win-traders), the gear is their reward for putting in the time and effort to get points and up their ratings.
That said, I think that team ratings should have a minimum starting value of 1500, but that value should be increased to the average of the players' personal ratings, this prevents highly rated players from matching with lower rated players by creating new teams. Even a team only partially consisting of better players would be bumped up to a higher bracket.
Either that, or each piece of gear in the game should be rated by weighing stats (resilience, stam, crit, etc.) and each team should recieve a gear rating along with a team rating. The gear rating will be out of 1000, where a 1 is the worst possible gear, factoring only 58+ gear, and 1000 is full S4 gear with enchants. Points earned by teams would be affected by a percentage modifier determined based on the total sum gear rating deficit between them and their opponents for all matches that they played each week. For instance, Team A has average gear( roughly 500), they play team B (geared slightly worse, 400ish) 3 times, team C (geared slightly better, 6-700ish) 4 times, and team D (jerkwads in full S4 who decided to make a new team and screw arena newbies, 900-1000ish) 3 times throughout the week for a total of 10 matches. The difference between ratings in calculated, +100 each for the first three ( running total of +300), -150 each for the next 4 (running total of -300), -450 each for the last three (-1650). This is averaged by the number of matches to -165 and converted into a percentage out of the maximum difference (-999).
-165/-999 = roughly 16.5% increase in point gain.
This could also be applied to personal rating gain/loss, as that would most definitely put an end to the practice of "boosting" or forming a new team every week to kill undergeared teams.