Cata Arenas still viable?

[Tson]

I ran across a line in a Q&A for cata that kind of worries me.

Are there any plans for making fury good in pvp?
Fury did get some love in cataclysm because we changed the talent trees around, short heroic leap gives them a little more tools compared to before. [COLOR="rgb(0, 0, 0)"]We also expect players to play a lot more in Rated Battlegrounds and things will be different there, Arenas will still be around but we expect the focus to shift to Rated Battlegrounds during the next year.[/COLOR]


Does this mean that arenas will not be as competitive as rated bgs? Are we seeing a divide in pvp like dungeons ----> raids? Or am I just being paranoid.

I play WoW almost exclusively for its pvp and even though it might not be the best system for pvp ever it's still the sole reason I play. I'm hoping i'm just misinterpreting that line. I'm completely fine with rated battlegrounds being a valid way of getting pvp gear and a good alternative to arena, but I don't want to see it replace arena completely. Does anyone have any info on this? If you do I would love to hear your thoughts.

[roboscorcher]

They may stop focusing on balancing classes around arena, because they can now tell QQing players to get their pvp gears in BG's where the imbalances should be less noticeable. It seems like arena has been a pain in the neck for them to constantly rebalance, so it's likely that players will flock to rated BG's because they don't favor OP classes as heavily.

But you never know if Rated BG's will actually catch on. They do require players to assemble a premade raid group, and THEN queue up. This could make queue times unbearable. Also, no one has tested them for balance yet. It will be interesting to see if certain premade teams can somehow break the system with an OP build, which would place Rated BG's in the same situation as arena. If this happens, arenas should be just as popular as ever.

[Deleted]

Yup. You smalltime pvpers will have to adjust to proper combat, just like we had to adjust to your silly arenas.

[Tson]

It has nothing to do with me being bad at bgs, I've been pvping since vanilla as a disc priest and did the hwl grind with a few of my friends. Bgs seem less personal and its hard for skill to stand out the more people you get in a group and I don't like carrying people (see 40 man raids in vanilla) I just want arena to still be viable and I want the prestige of being in a high rated arena team to at least MATCH being in a high rated bg team. Like i said I have no problem with rated bgs I just don't want them to replace arena entirely.

[Naraga]

Arenas probably will still be competive, after all it is the place where skill shines the most.

They are however balancing around bg's in Cata, now before all you 1300 bg heros jump a hole in the air cause of happiness, this is just their way of saying "We don't balance pvp anymore at all", so even you are going to get hit hard by this "shift of focus".

Just imagine a class that is in the same state as Resto Druids are right now, but then during cata (Could be any class I don't play the beta so can't say whats OP at 85). If they would still balance around arena, they would nerf this class cause it is retardedly OP.

However with their balance "focussed on bg's", this class will be left in its OP state, cause in a bg it doesn't really matter.

So yes, even the "arena haters" who still like "reall pvp" are going to hate this change, since it brings no good for them at all. For no one really but the person that plays said OP class.

[Deleted]

Way I see it is that not everyone will instantly shit about some imbalance in arenas. They will stay around but hopefully nobody will care that much. Finally. And as a result PvE will get some breaks from PvP caused nerfs.

Also I thought it was kinda clear that rated BGs > rated arenas in Cata, wasnt it?

[Revolutions]

only can get T2 weaps from Arena, munch on that for a little bit and tell me if arenas are going away.

---------- Post added 2010-10-23 at 10:28 PM ----------

Arenas probably will still be competive, after all it is the place where skill shines the most.

They are however balancing around bg's in Cata, now before all you 1300 bg heros jump a hole in the air cause of happiness, this is just their way of saying "We don't balance pvp anymore at all", so even you are going to get hit hard by this "shift of focus".

Just imagine a class that is in the same state as Resto Druids are right now, but then during cata (Could be any class I don't play the beta so can't say whats OP at 85). If they would still balance around arena, they would nerf this class cause it is retardedly OP.

However with their balance "focussed on bg's", this class will be left in its OP state, cause in a bg it doesn't really matter.

So yes, even the "arena haters" who still like "reall pvp" are going to hate this change, since it brings no good for them at all. For no one really but the person that plays said OP class.

Blizz has finally realized they don't have to balance all 30 specs and make them viable in arena anymore, that true arena players know how to reroll and play comps and classes that are viable that season. Quit frankly this is awesome, I really didn't want to see the disaster known as S8 Doomkin cleave happen again.

[Naraga]

Doomkin cleave

wtf is doomkin cleave?

[Deleted]

Yes, they will be viable, with healers going oom within a minute if you can put out enough pressure, I think that even 2v2 will flourish again, alot of casuals will play arena again because their simply is no rating requirement.
Also, afaik the Arena and BG items are the same right now, and the rating system is also 100% the same in Beta.
This means that you can get all those shiny t2 weapons and t2 gear from battlegrounds, awsome

[Ormula]

only can get T2 weaps from Arena, munch on that for a little bit and tell me if arenas are going away.

Blue plz. They said the T2 weapons and a cosmetic set of gear are going to require rating. BG or arena rating.

[Omnus]

only can get T2 weaps from Arena, munch on that for a little bit and tell me if arenas are going away.

Show me your source. T2 weapons were achievable with BG or Arena rating last I heard.

[Xart]

Yup. You smalltime pvpers will have to adjust to proper combat, just like we had to adjust to your silly arenas.

So what are you saying? Mindlessly zerging in the midle of bg is proper combat? Cause that is what 90% of bg players do.

Btw. Smalltime? I have probably played more then a year inside arena and bg combat. Wouldn't call it small.

[Lawlerade]

So what are you saying? Mindlessly zerging in the midle of bg is proper combat? Cause that is what 90% of bg players do.

90% of poorly organized bg players do just that. However fight a good team, and you'll notice a completely different play style, especially when soft "comps" start hitting your 10man rated bgs.


-side note, 80% of statistics are made up on the spot.

[Xart]

90% of poorly organized bg players do just that. However fight a good team, and you'll notice a completely different play style, especially when soft "comps" start hitting your 10man rated bgs.


-side note, 80% of statistics are made up on the spot.

It wasn't meant to be rude or anything. Just that simply saying arena isn't real is dumb.

And no I'm not a arena player only. I enjoy both BG and Arena.

[Kronoz]

i play arena i love it and i will still go at it in cata. bgs will never require as much skill as arenas simply because there are to much stuff going on at the same time it will just be easier for baddies to hide in the crowd

[varden33]

the cosmetic "glow or change in color" and the T2 still requires arena or BG rating, doesent matter what, as long as you got the proper number on either of them...

[Snowulf]

Yup. You smalltime pvpers will have to adjust to proper combat, just like we had to adjust to your silly arenas.

quoted for truth.

[Gyant]

Arena's were a mistake, I believe blizzard has stated if they could go back they would have never introduced them. I hope the focus shifts completely to rated BG's, sick of competing in glorified duels to get the best gear.

Season 1 and Season 2 were fun because it was new after that it got boring. Didn't even play again until Season 7, same old shit.

---------- Post added 2010-10-26 at 12:09 PM ----------

only can get T2 weaps from Arena, munch on that for a little bit and tell me if arenas are going away.

---------- Post added 2010-10-23 at 10:28 PM ----------

Yeah, your are wrong. Will be Arena OR BG rating.

[Naraga]

I believe blizzard has stated if they could go back they would have never introduced them

Good thing no one cares what you believe.

Blizzard never stated that, they stated they where unhappy about the way arena was introduced not about arenas themself.