New to Arenas? Arena DOs and DON'Ts Thread.

[Revlo]

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! As we all know, this bracket is a mixed bag of players. We have veteran players who have done a ton of battlegrounds and arenas all the way back to BC or even Vanilla. We also have a lot of "noobs" who are relatively new to the structured PVP thing. Personally, I'm decently familiar with battlegrounds and have recently fell in love with arenas (which is a pretty new thing for me). With the re-introduction of arena skirmishes, I can imagine that there are many people (like myself) who are really loving arenas, but do not have the seasoned background to play to their full potential. I make no secret that there are a lot of derpy things that I've done thusfar in arenas, simply because I haven't had the experience and put in the time needed to think through strategies and such.

So, in order to help people get caught up and make our arena skirmishes more competitive, I thought it would be nice to have a place to submit some DOs and Don'ts in arena. I've been playing pretty heavily since scaling was implemented and I know I've had many learning moments. I also know that there are a lot of other simple things to avoid, or do, that I have not yet grasped. I know I've run into several partners who are queueing and who, admittedly, don't know what to do. So, please submit your recommendations. They can be simple things or more complex strategies, it is all useful to somebody. I would also recommend that, like in times past, when we have the opportunity that we direct people over to twinkinfo to give them some direction. More informed players=better games and possibly better Q times.

Thanks for your time and input! Also, if you are new to arenas please be sure to check out [MENTION=18826]Bop[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1747]kablam[/MENTION] 's guides here and here.

 

[Manny]

I got into a 2s match against fael and Flynn with enhanced from drenden and she kept using succubus to seduce which I'm still not used to, it's a great new controlled cc.

I'd say in arenas the most important things are positioning and cc

 

[Revlo]

A few simple things.

1. HoTs and Shields are cancelled once the gates open for a match. There is no point in putting either of these on someone before the gate opens. It can actually be harmful in the case of a Power Word: Shield. If it's put on before the gate opens, the shield will be taken away when the gate opens, but the Weakened Soul debuff will remain (unless I'm mistaken).

2. If you are melee, don't bring enemy melee to your healer (unless it is for a particular strategy). Let your healer stay far away from things like warrior Thunderclaps and pally Hammer of Justices.

3. Keep a close eye on your healer and what they are dealing with. If they get cc’d look for temporary ways to keep yourself alive. Interrupt incoming damage, head for cover to break LoS with ranged attacks, and of course heal yourself.

 

[DoomedYonk]

One of the things is communication between partners. I am aware that you only have about 30 seconds or so before the arena begins. This time must be used discussing not only who to focus, but the tactics behind taking that person down. For example, I was doing 3s with a mage and priest yesterday and we agreed on who we would focus. There was a mix up where a switch was to be made and I ended up canceling the mages sheep on one of them, almost costing us the arena. Please do discuss any cc's with mages and locks in particular, for these are such an important aspect of arenas and really are the game changers if played correctly.

 

[DoomedYonk]

One of the DONTs I would say has to be LoS'ing heals. In some instances where you are facing a melee dps, you must run away in order to avoid death. These things must be taken into account prior to engaging in combat. Plan out your positioning where you will engage and fight so that when you do run, your healer still can keep you alive rather than him running around trying to catch you.

 

[Sponsor]

Some general tips both useful for beginners and a simple reminder for others:

- CC healer and coordinate burst on the kill target

- Taunts keep stealthies in combat for a few extra seconds. Very useful if you don't have ranged abilities

- Healers: pillar hump at all times. Never stick out for now reason.

- Juke/fake your heals

- Use keybinds

- Always know where your healer is; prevent LoS.

- In the 30 seconds you have with your new partner prior to the start of the match, try to sketch up a little strategy. i.e. whos the kill target, how are you going to CC, etc.

- Iceblock during a rogue opener, or a big burst. Dont keep it for when youre at 1% hp.

 

[Spiriel]

Rake shred shred tf bite profit

 

[Lanky]

Have the patience to find partners that suit you, play style wise and also attitude wise. If you're very new to arenas, play with people who understand that you will mess up and can help you get better with constructive criticism.

 

[Sponsor]

Have the patience to find partners that suit you, play style wise and also attitude wise. If you're very new to arenas, play with people who understand that you will mess up and can help you get better with constructive criticism.

Or players that don't ditch you for AV pops <3

 

[Bop]

Hold on to your interrupts, if you're a class that has them. The enemy healer will often, in his zeal to juke you, fake cast for equal to or longer than the duration of your interrupt.

By that same token, you should know that interrupting a healer's cast is only relevant if your team is putting out enough pressure to A. Secure a kill or B. Snowball the match in your favor by putting their entire team on the defensive.

Mages and Rogues, with their longer CD and longer duration interrupts, should be saving their interrupts for securing a kill. Mages particularly lose a lot of their offensive pressure if they land (or miss) a counterspell during a low-pressure time of the match. Rogues can at least maintain pressure as an individual spec when they land a kick, so in some comps it may be best to kick slightly before a kill opportunity so that you can snowball the damage in that direction without the healer correcting their mistake.

Shamans, however, should generally use their interrupt off of cooldown. The low CD and low duration makes it better as a harassment interrupt than a kill secure interrupt. You can put the game in your favor by taking out the enemy healer 3 seconds out of every 12 - over the course of the match, this will create far more pressure for your team than trying to get a kill secure interrupt with such a short duration. In other words, don't waste the low cooldown this ability has on trying to save it for the right moment.

 

[Junoo]

https://www.youtube.com/user/SkillCappedDotNet

./thread

 

[Fael]

These are all nice tips. One thing I'd like to add is if you're just getting into arenas, I highly recommend some ADDONS.
Gladius - arena enemy frames
Lose control - show important debuffs/cc over character portraits
GladiatorLosSA - audio notification on important spells
And then some sort of enemy cd tracker such as
NameplateCooldowns - cds above nameplates
Omnibar - interruptbar for wod/6.0

 

[Kristhoper]

These are all nice tips. One thing I'd like to add is if you're just getting into arenas, I highly recommend some ADDONS.
Gladius - arena enemy frames
Lose control - show important debuffs/cc over character portraits
GladiatorLosSA - audio notification on important spells
And then some sort of enemy cd tracker such as
NameplateCooldowns - cds above nameplates
Omnibar - interruptbar for wod/6.0

Is GladiatorLossA updated? I havent been on for a week

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Srs]

Don't even try to drag macros around on your bars, you will lose your freaking mind when they all get reset after every match.

 

[Fael]

Is GladiatorLossA updated? I havent been on for a week

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk 2

Oh I have no clue, I don't use it . Just suggesting and addon that's useful for beginners.

 

[Revlo]

Don't even try to drag macros around on your bars, you will lose your freaking mind when they all get reset after every match.

Lol, this got me a couple times. Re-specced just before match, changed abilities around on my bars waiting for the gate to open. Next match, everything all messed up. Moved them back, next match all messed up. Then of course I noticed what was going on, heh.

Actually though this "feature" has been quite useful. I keep an interrupt macro for each arena target 1-3 on a bar. Before the match starts I move whichever one I choose to the spot where I have a binding that I like to use. Next match they reset and I can then choose again based on the match which one to move.

In case anyone cares the macro is simply:

/cast [@arena1] Wind Shear (also one for arena 2 and 3)

Very handy for Hammer of Justices, Kicks, etc at a preferred target as well.

 

[Fael]

Lol, this got me a couple times. Re-specced just before match, changed abilities around on my bars waiting for the gate to open. Next match, everything all messed up. Moved them back, next match all messed up. Then of course I noticed what was going on, heh.

Actually though this "feature" has been quite useful. I keep an interrupt macro for each arena target 1-3 on a bar. Before the match starts I move whichever one I choose to the spot where I have a binding that I like to use. Next match they reset and I can then choose again based on the match which one to move.

In case anyone cares the macro is simply:

/cast [@arena1] Wind Shear (also one for arena 2 and 3)

Very handy for Hammer of Justices, Kicks, etc at a preferred target as well.

Might as well just have three separate binds for arena 1/2/3
And I'd suggest binds that are three in a row. ie. With a modifier, ASD, QWE, 123, ZXC.
it's really worth it to do especially against teams with 2+ casters. You're gonna want to interrupt any target at and given moment.

 

[Revlo]

Might as well just have three separate binds for arena 1/2/3
And I'd suggest binds that are three in a row. ie. With a modifier, ASD, QWE, 123, ZXC.
it's really worth it to do especially against teams with 2+ casters. You're gonna want to interrupt any target at and given moment.

That's a very good point. I do need to do that, especially for 3s. Now if I can just keep straight who is which interrupt. I suppose I could glance over at the player frames to make sure I hit the correct one. That's one thing I find challenging when playing a melee class, keeping time on target while trying to glance around at other things going on to land an interrupt. Mouseover macros get really funky when trying to interrupt on the run keeping up damage. Fun stuff though.

Thanks Fael!

 

[Fael]

That's a very good point. I do need to do that, especially for 3s. Now if I can just keep straight who is which interrupt. I suppose I could glance over at the player frames to make sure I hit the correct one. That's one thing I find challenging when playing a melee class, keeping time on target while trying to glance around at other things going on to land an interrupt. Mouseover macros get really funky when trying to interrupt on the run keeping up damage. Fun stuff though.

Thanks Fael!

No problem! Love helping out those interested in arena. Also get arenaplates, it's an addon that assigns the arena numbers 1,2,3. Instead of the normal 20, or 29 on the nameplates. Mouseover in arena can be iffy just stick to target, focus and arena 1/2/3. It takes time to get used to it but it's so worth it and more efficient. Also you can use an addon like sarena to move the default frames and scale them or use gladius.

 

[Revlo]

No problem! Love helping out those interested in arena. Also get arenaplates, it's an addon that assigns the arena numbers 1,2,3. Instead of the normal 20, or 29 on the nameplates. Mouseover in arena can be iffy just stick to target, focus and arena 1/2/3. It takes time to get used to it but it's so worth it and more efficient. Also you can use an addon like sarena to move the default frames and scale them or use gladius.

I do like the idea of set target interrupts bound. I've never had a high success rate with mouseover interrupts. I use a lot of addons, but I admittedly have not tried a lot of the standard arena-centered ones. It's time I do. Good stuff.