So everyone here loves Arena?

[Spurmwhale]

i'm still trying to wrap my head around WoW's PvP based completely around multi dueling in an Arena box full of pillars design. i see quite a bit of Arena fans here and elsewhere. does it ever feel like it doesn't fit the rest of the game to you guys? i don't know i just feel like there is something really wrong with how WoW's PvP is so totally based around it when it does very little for community style PvP that has been a big part of every MMO with PvP in it. remember when there was server PvP and you had more server oriented rivalries and drama? everyone knew the guilds/players with different reputations they were facing or teaming up with? now everything has become que next to a vendor all day for 3v3 ratings and rewards. i feel as though the best aspect of MMO pvp, the sandbox, is all but forgotten in WoW and its all become Arena-centric to such a degree that the PvP in WoW has no soul to it.

At the same time i see what seems like many rabid Arena fans whenever PvP is discussed and i wonder if i'm off base here. I have played many past MMO's with PvP and i would never have thought any MMO that IS based so much on the sense of everyone being in a world thrown in together would completely shun that aspect of what it is to be so centered around an activity that seems very disjointed from the rest of the game. Clearly it seems very popular with many players here since that seems to be the basis of PvP questions/answers and it makes me wonder if i'm the oddball ???

[Athael]

A lot of people hate arena. I am one of them.

Arena fans generally respond to these people by saying something along the lines of, "You only hate arena because you're bad at it and have low ratings."

Arena detractors respond to this by saying any of the following, "We don't have fun in arena," "it puts class balance and PvP in general under a ridiculous microscope," or "it has changed the game so much, I like to raid/do battlegrounds/world PvP and even though I never arena, it has altered all those pursuits for me," "Blizzard even admitted arena was a mistake!"

This is a cyclical argument, with no real ending. Arena fans love it, arena haters hate it, but there are plenty of the latter group.

[K4ge]

I somewhat agree with you, that arena based pvp doesn't have the heart and soul of open pvp and battlegrounds. However, the rivalries, the drama... it's all still there. I only know it from my battlegroup, but the top players all know eachother. another point is, that arenas, once you have the gear, aren't very time intensive.
I personally like both. open pvp just has the element of randomness and the feel of anything could happen, that arenas don't. But that works in both ways, arenas are the controlled.
You know, it's a 3n3 and it allows for planning. It requires more forethought and more concentration and, in my opininion, considerably more skill, than any other kind of pvp.

Am I saying, arenas are the only viable pvp? Hell no. Do I still love them? Yes.

[Ormula]

So... you'd rather us just get a raid of 80 horde and raid an alliance city with a bunch of lowbies and call that PVP?

The thing with arena, is that it's fair. Sure, we could make it more realistic, just have a band of three people be walking around, find another band of three people, and start beating the the shit out of each other-- but that's unrealistic. In world PVP, you never go "Oh, they have 10 less people than us, let's leave them alone." That's just what you go out seeking.

Maybe I don't quite understand your post. Your thoughts are a bit scatter brained. Arena takes away the ability to make a match unfair. It balances it out between the two sides as much as possible, so that it's all about the skill of the player, not how many people you can bring or what dirty tricks you have up your sleeve.

[Kucedon]

I hate Arena. It got old fast after 2 weeks.

I spend 0.0% of my playtime with Arena yet this cesspool of an addition keeps pestering me with ridiculous class and spell changes that no PvE player even remotely agrees with. I have never seen the community wherever being happy with the changes to their class because it is overpowered/underpowered in Arena.

Blizzard released a monster and now they pay for it. They have to completely balance out gear, classes, talents and more just to keep it balanced for a particular season.

Untill Blizzard can prove with facts that WoW thrives on it's Arena playerbase I will spit at it untill the end. WoW was and still is always,ALWAYS about PvE.

[Wyndrunner]

I've hated PvP in ANY form ever since they added honor. World raids were so much fun when it was jsut for fun. Now people do it like it's a job and it's gotten ridiculous. I'm also on the whole, PvP changes ruined PvE boat. As soon as ToR comes out, I'm swapping. . .

[Athael]

WoW was and still is always,ALWAYS about PvE.

Like I said, I hate arena, but this is bullshit.

WoW is not just about PvE. There are plenty of people that prefer PvP. I'm guessing you play on a carebear PvE server.

[Snoosie]

Arena / pvp is the only reason i play wow

[Morvandus]

No i just dont like it probably becuase never been above 1800

[Keosen]

Why to love something that destroyed the game you love?

[Masque]

Like anything requiring non-scripted thinking on your feet, there is a learning curve associated with it. I choose to do both PvE and Arena and enjoy both very much while both have drawbacks. I play arena because one thing I enjoy most about MMO's is a PvP environment. I like to compete in every way possible. I compete in PvE by being in a US top 100 guild and try my best to compete for glad every season in Arena. I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but from my experience it takes a different mindset to do well in arena, not to mention the goal is to kill something, the team, that is controlled by a human player rather than something that can be completely predicted by boss mods and set mechanics. I see tons of people try to learn arena and give up out of frustration because yes, it is very frustrating at times. It isn't balanced completely but I must say 3v3 isn't nearly as bad as it used to be... It's still no BC 3v3, but theres no single comp that can just dominate it day in and day out. 2's is another story, not even worth talking about.

[xoxoAlu]

my only complaint with WoW pvp, is resilience.
Blizzard really should have fixed pvp mechanics by now.
It's purely ridiculous that you have to spend weeks/months getting geared for pvp.
Though it's very satisfying killing someone decked in pvp gear, while I'm in pve gear. :P

[Raulduke]

Considering less than 2% of the population participates in the arena, I'd say it's a colossal failure.

[brirrspliff]

So everyone here loves Arena?

no. if i want pvp, i'll go play quake, battlefield, et, tf or even warcraft or starcraft. :-)

[omglazor]

So... you'd rather us just get a raid of 80 horde and raid an alliance city with a bunch of lowbies and call that PVP?

The thing with arena, is that it's fair. Sure, we could make it more realistic, just have a band of three people be walking around, find another band of three people, and start beating the the shit out of each other-- but that's unrealistic. In world PVP, you never go "Oh, they have 10 less people than us, let's leave them alone." That's just what you go out seeking.

... or you could not be a pussy and go up against a group that has 10 more than you. Don't go out seeking unfair match-ups, go out seeking dudes with 30K health in PvP gear - you can only stomp newbs so many times before it gets boring.

Same rules does not mean fair, class balance is a huge component of it; there are very few consumables that would give you a bigger advantage than rock-paper-scissor comps.

I do enjoy arena and used to be an avid arena player, but it simply has gotten stale since - the most fun has always been premade vs premade BGs or organized world PvP.

[Ormula]

It's purely ridiculous that you have to spend weeks/months getting geared for pvp.

I take it you're a wrath baby?

[Windspast]

I hate arenas, but I pvp all the time. I only do arenas because I have to. Battleground is where true pvp lies. Arena just feeds into the epeen inflating attitude of zerg zerg zerg. Some arena players go into battlegrounds and are clueless of how to win.

Arena fans don't seem to understand there are other forms of pvp other than just arenaing.

Battleground is all about objectives and it's more about accomplishing those objectives rather than just zerg one player until it dies.

Arathi Basin is still the perfect pvp in my mind

I can't wait till rated BGs

[xoxoAlu]

On the note of pvp.

I'd really like to see a world pvp realm, That limited world pvp to characters within 5 levels of eachother.

Because the REAL fun in world pvp, is randomly getting to pwn people your level. And, of course, getting jumped by someone your level. Much more gratifying to be stuck fighting people your gear lvl/lvl than to be randomly ganked by a 58 dk just outa acherus. -,-

and oh yes, i AM a wrath baby.
But i've wasted enough of my life on MMO's, that i'd rather NOT spend weeks to gear for pvp. Then again, i suppose i'll just stay in pre-80 pvp while i level toons. ;]

[Adon]

it's all about the skill of the player, not how many people you can bring or what dirty tricks you have up your sleeve

Have you EVER been in an arena? I highly doubt it. Arena is ALL ABOUT having the unfair advantage. Lets take DK/Pally for instance. DK's do a lot of damage. I take that back, they do a TON of damage, with the ability to put diseases on every target, silence, stun, have 2 pets, become practically immune to magic/stun/fear. Every DK weakness is covered by the paladin with freedom and cleanse.

Put this team up against lets say, two Grand Marshal Hunters with years of experience and skill that both play well with each other. Guess who will win.

[Deleted]

I do like Arena. It's fun, reasonably fast and you can get some nice gear from it in the end.

It's just competitive fun, really. Nothing more to it.