Originally Posted by
PizzaSHARK
Arenas need to stop being used for balancing data.
The problem is that arena-style PvP just isn't really what WoW was designed for, and despite them balancing around it for three entire expansions now (TBC, WotLK, Cata), it's still not a good fit. Sure, spec and class representation is wider now than it was back in TBC, but there are still issues with it that I don't see them being able to fix without impacting PvE in a negative manner.
And that's the core issue: WoW is first and foremost a PvE game, and any PvP is pretty much a sideshow to the main event. I made my peace with that a long time ago, but that doesn't mean the PvP has to be bad. I don't think it'll ever be balanced enough to the point where you could take it seriously as a competitive eSport - not so long as PvE is taking priority, rather than Blizzard making both PvE and PvP equally important - but I do think it could be more interesting and more enjoyable for everyone if they stopped focusing so heavily on duels in a box, and swapped their focus back to (Rated) Battlegrounds.
See, the problem with arena is that you don't have any extra objectives, and you only have a single life. This naturally means some specs and even classes aren't going to really be effective (tanks are pretty much a waste of space, for example), and runs counter to literally every other means of PvP in the game where you have objectives that extend beyond red=dead... or at least have more than one life to use.
The main reason I say that arena should just be "for funsies," and stop being taken seriously is because I don't think Blizzard are willing to put in the effort required to make both Battlegrounds and arenas fun-and-balanced - that's a hell of a lot of work, especially when it can't affect a class's PvE performance. And, going by popularity alone, (random) Battlegrounds are far and away the most-played, most popular PvP in the game, by a huge margin. That doesn't mean they should balance around random BGs, but if they focused purely on rated BGs, the balance changes and effects would naturally trickle down to randoms - the result is a more fun, enjoyable experience for everyone. Arena players will still have arenas, and I'd be fine with arena ratings still being a viable means of acquiring the elite PvP gear, but I do think that the focus needs to shift off of arena and back to Battlegrounds. In a BG, every class and every spec has a place and is valued - tanks, glass cannon DPS, healers, everyone. In arenas, though, if you're squishy or don't bring DPS to the table, you're pretty much stuck sitting on the sidelines.
That's fine - every class has three specs and at least one of those specs is currently viable (except lolwarriors), but shouldn't PvP be about playing what you want to play, not having to swap specs to play something you don't find enjoyable? In a PvE game, shouldn't PvP be something that's fun and a break from the usual?