What happened to the WoW PVP webs and blogs?

[Deleted]

I can't find many webs about WoW PVP (vanished! ), and they seems a little outdated.
Even ArenaJunkies didn't have many info about rated battleground.
Can you recommend me some links, please?

Is there some kind of rbg ranking who shows ranked players under ~2000?
The oficial one of blizzard don't shows any alliance player on EU-Sanguino because we don't have enough ratting....
...and the ArenaJunkies one is VERY outdated :?
http://eu.battle.net/wow/es/pvp/batt...=&specType=all

And the last question: I'm having problems trying to analyze our battles.
Maybe I'm too used to World of Logs for PVE analysis, but I don't feel right with any add-on combination or something like that to see what ability and when they're using it (or how many times).
Can you tell me what you're doing to analyze your data or give some advice to get it right?

[Stanton Biston]

First, there's nothing that sophisticated for PvP analysis. At least not for what you're looking for.

In PvE- The pacing of the encounters are such that you really don't have to know what everyone is doing every second. In PvP, games are won and lost in seconds. The best thing you can do to analyze it is to capture the combat logs and video capture the matches.

Secondly- I don't know what's up with Blizzard's end of things for their forums and such. You need to ask them.

Finally- People are more interested in consuming than creating.

[PizzaSHARK]

They don't exist because the majority of people, even the hardcores, realize that WoW PvP is currently basically a joke. It's still present and still receiving lukewarm support, but Blizzard realized it can't be an eSport, so there's not much to be gained by really pushing it. Maybe we'll see that change with MoP since they're claiming it's going to focus heavily on the Alliance versus Horde thing (but didn't they say that about Cata, too? And WotLK before that?)

There just isn't a whole lot of room for skill in a game like WoW, where so much of it is just based on random chance (20% chance to dodge, 25% chance to crit, 10% chance to regain X health when hit, and it goes on and on and on), which isn't really in the players' control. There are things you can do to help ensure the RNG always favors you (can't dodge while stunned, for example), but ultimately RNG is everywhere and RNG inherently lessens the amount of skill involved in something because it's completely outside the player's control.

There's a reason why everything in SC2 is completely consistent at all times. Marines don't do random amounts of damage under any circumstances and there are no units that receive abilities like "35% chance to ignore 20 damage." It's not a coincidence that a game that has absolutely no RNG anywhere in it is being aggressively pushed as an eSport - and it's succeeding as one unlike any other game before it.

There's also the lack of tools WoW provides to allow in-depth commentary and analysis. There are no replay features, so the core aspect of improving your play in a game like SC2 - watching your own replays and analyzing them - is completely absent unless you want to FRAPS every match, and even then that still only shows things from your perspective. You can't stop your FRAPS'd video and adopt a neutral viewpoint or enemy viewpoint or teammate viewpoint. This is a massive, massive block to being able to analyze your own games to improve your play.

There's also the matter that WoW, honestly, just doesn't take a lot of skill to play. Most games, both RBG and arena, are decided in a handful of seconds, and everything leading up to that point and frequently after that point mostly doesn't matter. Didn't get behind that pillar or get that Wind Shear off to stop that Sheep that allowed them to CC you for 20 seconds? You lost, in a one second span of time.

Just watch tournament-level arena games, like the ones from Blizzcon. You can pretty much ignore everything except for the ten seconds where someone gets blown up, because it ultimately doesn't matter.

[Deleted]

First, there's nothing that sophisticated for PvP analysis. At least not for what you're looking for.
In PvE- The pacing of the encounters are such that you really don't have to know what everyone is doing every second. In PvP, games are won and lost in seconds. The best thing you can do to analyze it is to capture the combat logs and video capture the matches.

If I capture the combatlog, how can I analyze it? Is there any good analyze utility to summarize it or anything like that?
But, well, I think your first sentence It's enough reply to this question XD

Secondly- I don't know what's up with Blizzard's end of things for their forums and such. You need to ask them.

The forums are...strange. To many thread, to much crap. There's only two or three thread with good info, and the majority of them are in the US side of the oficial forums, so I can't reply with my EU account :? Something like the "same language, different faction" of the Pandarens XD

Finally- People are more interested in consuming than creating.

Yeah...it's a shame
We all look to some Guide where we start to do PVE with our classes, or look for some advanced advise...but for PVP it's very difficult.
I'm working into some kind of guide of BGR in Spanish. It begins being little...but it grows fast! And now I'm writing a bible XD And I want to read info of players who plays at higher rating than me, because I'm feeling like it's not right to write something like that being a WotLK-born BG player, with soo less experience than some people down there.
...But there's nothing to compare. All I'm writing is on my own experience, seasoned with some common sense.
If my english weren't like this maybe I should translate it when I finish it XD

They don't exist because the majority of people, even the hardcores, realize that WoW PvP is currently basically a joke. It's still present and still receiving lukewarm support, but Blizzard realized it can't be an eSport, so there's not much to be gained by really pushing it. Maybe we'll see that change with MoP since they're claiming it's going to focus heavily on the Alliance versus Horde thing (but didn't they say that about Cata, too? And WotLK before that?)

Thats...true. And I have a bad feeling about MoP.
I'm playing into a very unbalanced realm. Right now there's too much Horde than Alliance. All the good PVP players (and many of the PVE) migrated to Dun Modr or turn-cloak Horde.
Something tells me if I start MoP like this I'm going to miss the good part of the expansion.
How can it be Horde vs Alliance if almost everyone is Horde? :?

There just isn't a whole lot of room for skill in a game like WoW, where so much of it is just based on random chance (20% chance to dodge, 25% chance to crit, 10% chance to regain X health when hit, and it goes on and on and on), which isn't really in the players' control. There are things you can do to help ensure the RNG always favors you (can't dodge while stunned, for example), but ultimately RNG is everywhere and RNG inherently lessens the amount of skill involved in something because it's completely outside the player's control.
There's a reason why everything in SC2 is completely consistent at all times. Marines don't do random amounts of damage under any circumstances and there are no units that receive abilities like "35% chance to ignore 20 damage." It's not a coincidence that a game that has absolutely no RNG anywhere in it is being aggressively pushed as an eSport - and it's succeeding as one unlike any other game before it.

There's also the lack of tools WoW provides to allow in-depth commentary and analysis. There are no replay features, so the core aspect of improving your play in a game like SC2 - watching your own replays and analyzing them - is completely absent unless you want to FRAPS every match, and even then that still only shows things from your perspective. You can't stop your FRAPS'd video and adopt a neutral viewpoint or enemy viewpoint or teammate viewpoint. This is a massive, massive block to being able to analyze your own games to improve your play.
There's also the matter that WoW, honestly, just doesn't take a lot of skill to play. Most games, both RBG and arena, are decided in a handful of seconds, and everything leading up to that point and frequently after that point mostly doesn't matter. Didn't get behind that pillar or get that Wind Shear off to stop that Sheep that allowed them to CC you for 20 seconds? You lost, in a one second span of time.

But...I'm not that good playing :? Because we're working hard, and we're bouncing into the 1700-1900 ratting.
I'm trying to get more info so I can be a better leader, but I't too difficult. Specially when I'm on the other side of the field.
Where doing something wrong, and I know what it at most....but....there's some problems I can't identify. And the ones I can, I'm unable of analyze how and when all started to go wrong. It's exasperating

Just watch tournament-level arena games, like the ones from Blizzcon. You can pretty much ignore everything except for the ten seconds where someone gets blown up, because it ultimately doesn't matter.

I don't like Arena too much. All goes too quick, too messy. And there's few videos about RBG (or maybe I don't know well where to search for them: Can you recommend me some links ?)

[Dahkeus]

The PvP community isn't nearly as forthright in presenting good solid information as the PvE community is. You can find all the ins and outs of every bit of PvE content, but most of the PvP stuff you'll find are basic gear/spec/gem/enchant guides, basic recommendations for team compositions, or videos of people that are really just trying to show off more than actually teach anything.

I heard that there is a really good site that is maintained by some high rated PvPers, but it charges, so I've never bothered to look into it. Kinda funny too since you'll never see any PvE stuff that charges you except for the occasional leveling guide.

[Deleted]

Most PVP related sites shut down during Cata, as Blizzard decided to kill arenas by focusing on RBG's instead. That of course was a huge mistake. That and making PVP so frustrating by making you have to win 10 games a week per character in order to get your points, which takes hours upon hours with these queue times.

[RAFFLES]

The burst damage and CCs just make the PvP of WoW extremey unenjoyable, and the whole point of playing a game is to have fun not reach "2.7k".

And lack of interest shown by blizzard is quite obvious with no PvP balancing and zero PvP content in the patch 4.3 while PvE ot tons of stuff.

[Deleted]

The PvP community isn't nearly as forthright in presenting good solid information as the PvE community is. You can find all the ins and outs of every bit of PvE content, but most of the PvP stuff you'll find are basic gear/spec/gem/enchant guides, basic recommendations for team compositions, or videos of people that are really just trying to show off more than actually teach anything.
I heard that there is a really good site that is maintained by some high rated PvPers, but it charges, so I've never bothered to look into it. Kinda funny too since you'll never see any PvE stuff that charges you except for the occasional leveling guide.

Supply and demand, there is an essentially zero supply and massive demand for that PvP related stuff, meanwhile there is a massive surplus of PvE information. Capitalism at work. Plus, much like leveling guides, you're not paying for idea of killing mobs/people to improve. You're compensating people for the hours of work they put into creating the guides in the first place.
When I wrote a guide for Spider-Man 2 back on cheatcodes.com when the PS1 was a relevant console, I spent over 100 hours on that thing, I damn well wish I could have been paid for it. I can't imagine making a WoW leveling guide to the level of detail that Zygor/James reach, updating it for any patch changes and not getting paid for it.
I think you're talking about Skill-capped, though.

Skillcapped, yes...4$/month. If I can't get anything else maybe I'll pay 1 month and try :?

Most PVP related sites shut down during Cata, as Blizzard decided to kill arenas by focusing on RBG's instead. That of course was a huge mistake. That and making PVP so frustrating by making you have to win 10 games a week per character in order to get your points, which takes hours upon hours with these queue times.

It's frustrating. We won 7 and loose 3 this week (we play 2-3 matches, 5 days a week), and only got 20 points...at 1750!
We all feel like we can do anything to get higher. When ever you play versus people with the 2k2 gear, or the legendary, you know It going to be rough. Sometimes we won, and I'm always encouraging them to think positive and fight...but we know we're going to loose some fights, but we keep on fighting. And for what? about 100 points every month? Between that and the need of introduce new people to remplace the ones that left, and we're soo few PVP players almost everytime we need to pick some newbe, let him get his ratting equip, get his ratting....and then we have lost all we earned
We have played like that all summer. Sometimes I thought about stop some time...but I know the day we stop will be imposible to start again. We're the only Alliance BGR "no-guild" group of all the server...that speaks for itself :?
Our goal is 2k2, no more. Maybe with the S11? XD

The burst damage and CCs just make the PvP of WoW extremey unenjoyable, and the whole point of playing a game is to have fun not reach "2.7k".
And lack of interest shown by blizzard is quite obvious with no PvP balancing and zero PvP content in the patch 4.3 while PvE ot tons of stuff.

Even the return of EotS to the BGR rotation! :?

[Deleted]

There is ArenaJunkies, but I have to say that the community there is just terrible. You can take any random thread and what you will find is most of the replies consisting of ad hominem targeted at the OP or any other poster. There are some threads, which actually include intelligent conversation and exchange of thoughts, but mostly it's just obnoxious to read.

Not sure about skill-capped, seeing as you have to pay for it, but it can't be any worse than what AJ is.

[Zeturius]

hydramist is all u need tbh

[WarTV]

WoW pvp is dead since cata. it was promising at start but patch 4.0.6 did a lot of damage. unlike before this time people actually just quit the game after being disappointed. even blizzard admitted that they could have done better with patch 4.0.6

anyways if you want to give pvp another shot then you should just try the game when MoP comes out. and make sure you do so after there first batch of class balance patch since that will give you an idea on how the entire expansion will be around.

Based Arenajunkies thread views:
s8 - 500k views
s9 - 100k views
s10(now) - 20k views

should give you an idea on how bad cata pvp is.

[Sunslayer]

I swear, Stanton Biston, is the biggest troll on these forums.

Adamance and Ignorance make poor bed-fellows.

<User infracted for this post>

[gamma Ray]

Supply and demand, there is an essentially zero supply and massive demand for that PvP related stuff, meanwhile there is a massive surplus of PvE information. Capitalism at work. .

I think you mean the Invisible Hand. But even then its not working. Usually when there is a huge demand supply moves up to meet it if there are worthwhile incentives. There are worthwhile incentives. If you can draw people to your website or blog, you can sell adspace, promote guilds, try and work for a sponsorship or some other kind of deal with a major company. The problem is that WoW is not a competitive PVP scene anymore.

There are some very good points that pizzashark brought up, mostly the fact that you blow people up in a span of 10 seconds and there is no neutral viewing of arena games.

Replays are vital to any e-sport. While it doesn't matter to the players directly, indirectly it is a huge benefit as the game is almost completely unmarketable without that kind of support.

The killing people within 10seconds is a major problem too. Heals are very powerful in WoW PVP, too powerful. The fact that you HAVE to kill people within the span of the healer being CC'd makes it impossible to play otherwise. The only other option is a cleave team, but even then they are most effective when they draw healers out and then blow someone up.

The dev's have said over and over they want the arena PVP game to be about managing resources, ie you have a set amount of healer mana and when its gone, you pretty much lose. But thats hard to balance in the current state of the game. What about teams that run with a limited healer? Or teams that run double healer? There is just so much variation between healers and what kind of DPS is played. WoW is just to complex to balance around such a limited idea of "resource finite" healers. I think they are trying to make rated battlegrounds a possible e-sport while promoting Diablo 3 as the arena e-Sport.

I dunno though i guess.

[Siberia]

Most of its on youtube now, vlogs > blogs.
DNAW and Skill-Capped are good ones. Dara Mactire's channel has some strats as well.

[Brewski]

youtube is your best bet, but make sure the vid creator is credible with a good track record.

[shibou]

I don't know about guides, but what happened to all those awesome machinemas? I mean I realize they still make them, but they don't seem as good as, say, nymh or never stayed tuned, etc

[deathmonic]

A few people have already mentioned them, but I had great luck with Skill Capped!

More specifically, you said you are looking for blogs - well all of their articles are free on their site (which is what I used at first too). But they also started a Vlog that they put on YouTube once a week. Its a vlog that's specifically for PvP, so you might really like that. It's like the Daily marmot that tankspot does, but better imo.
/watch?v=ZTL-WxvsuWM <-- That's the first one. (sorry, I haven't posted enough to link youtube?)

But yeah, Skill Capped is great if you are trying to learn or improve, but they aren't really a Blogging site.

[Thes]

Most of its on youtube now, vlogs > blogs.
DNAW and Skill-Capped are good ones. Dara Mactire's channel has some strats as well.

Skill-Capped is definitely try worthy, but for me it seems that DNAW is like a channel for high level players to whine (apart from the occasional video that's a good watch). Dara Mactire has some decent stuff too (say what you want but at least people like Swifty try a bit, while not being that awesome player).

ArenaJunkies community is just horrible outside of Ask a Gladiator.

[Rawt]

Everyone is trying to branch off and become the next swifty (as far as sponsorship, etc). Problem is they waited until the pvp state of the game is at its absolute worst. Dink and Eleio (founders of skill capped) both said that they are operating in red, as theres simply not enough interest to get people to pay 5 bucks a month for pvp strats.

Most of the long time greats have quit, and those that havent are playing on wotlk private servers (AT seems to be blowing up with talent lately).

[Karnige]

all I do is battleground. its enjoyable for me. I don't arena or anything.