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[PvP Arena] WoW PvP Basics I by @tKeR
Introduction
This guide and the next few PvP guides will not automatically get you a good rating. However, this guide should provide basic knowledge of what to expect and do in arena.
Some of the slang I will use will be in explained in my other article "[PvP Arena] WoW Slang". I will also assume you have basic WoW knowledge and have tried arena at least once.
To start, WoW Arena is very comp and gear based more over skill. This is one critique about the competitive nature of the game.
Another is RNG (Random Number Generations.)
Like many people will QQ.. "If you lose, blame RNG."
I'll start of by saying your worst friend is your own ego. You should always acknowledge your own mistakes instead of blaming it on your partners. You will never win arena games without good synergy and communication.
Some essential things you will need:
- Voice chat tool (Ventrilo, TeamSpeak, Skype, Phone if neccessary, etc.)
- A microphone
- A computer that can support medium spell detail at 25FPS
- Patience.
Addons are also good but not neccessary. Addons will be explained in-depth in one of my other guides to come.
Table of Contents:
1. Gear
2. Movement
3. Terrain Strategy
Gear
Gear is very important to be successful in arenas. While some classes can get away with PvE gear, PvP gear is recommended.
PvP Gear will always have Stamina and Resilience. Stamina increases your health (normally by 10 per point) and resilience will make you less vulnerable to crits and mana drains. Both these stats are crucial in PvP environment and you should always find the right balance. The soft cap of resilience is "494" but stacking more just means you do not get all the benefits attached to it.
Every class is different. For instance, Paladins can get away with having little resilience because they are not a primary target. Shamans will need to stack as much stamina and resilience as possible without gimping healing stats as they get focused frequently.
Movement
Having good movement is very valuable for anyone that PvPs, and more for melee classes.
First off, you should never back pedal because of the decreased movement speed. Using your Q/E (strafe) keys is best because you still move maximum movement speed.
You should also always use your mouse to turn. If you are a keyboard turner.. you should get rid of that habit.
A scenario where movement is important:
You are a Dwarf Priest and you are trying to get away from a rogue. Your stoneskin is up and you use it to take off Crippling effects..but you are back pedaling which really defeats the purpose of it.
Movement is very important and will also help you with the next section, terrain strategy.
Terrain Strategy
Another important skill to know is using the environment to your advantages. This means using line of sight and pillars properly.
Line of Sight
Line of sight is using objects to get out of a enemies spell. This is very important to get out of Polymorph, Mana Burn, Fear, etc. Properly using line of sight for your advantage means less effiency for the opposing team. Not properly using it will mean you are not getting heals from your teammates.
Pillar Abuse
Pillar abuse is applying principles of Line of Sight except using it against melee classes. This can also be called "pillar humping".
In words, it can be simply explained that you are running around a pillar while a melee chases you. While you are doing this, you should rely on your instant casts. Zooming your camera out also helps in case your opponent tries to run the opposite direction.
Conclusion
If this is not another TL;DR, then I hope this helped you somewhat. To most people this is common sense, but this is also a start of some guides I will be doing.
Introduction
This guide and the next few PvP guides will not automatically get you a good rating. However, this guide should provide basic knowledge of what to expect and do in arena.
Some of the slang I will use will be in explained in my other article "[PvP Arena] WoW Slang". I will also assume you have basic WoW knowledge and have tried arena at least once.
To start, WoW Arena is very comp and gear based more over skill. This is one critique about the competitive nature of the game.
Another is RNG (Random Number Generations.)
Like many people will QQ.. "If you lose, blame RNG."
I'll start of by saying your worst friend is your own ego. You should always acknowledge your own mistakes instead of blaming it on your partners. You will never win arena games without good synergy and communication.
Some essential things you will need:
- Voice chat tool (Ventrilo, TeamSpeak, Skype, Phone if neccessary, etc.)
- A microphone
- A computer that can support medium spell detail at 25FPS
- Patience.
Addons are also good but not neccessary. Addons will be explained in-depth in one of my other guides to come.
Table of Contents:
1. Gear
2. Movement
3. Terrain Strategy
Gear
Gear is very important to be successful in arenas. While some classes can get away with PvE gear, PvP gear is recommended.
PvP Gear will always have Stamina and Resilience. Stamina increases your health (normally by 10 per point) and resilience will make you less vulnerable to crits and mana drains. Both these stats are crucial in PvP environment and you should always find the right balance. The soft cap of resilience is "494" but stacking more just means you do not get all the benefits attached to it.
Every class is different. For instance, Paladins can get away with having little resilience because they are not a primary target. Shamans will need to stack as much stamina and resilience as possible without gimping healing stats as they get focused frequently.
Movement
Having good movement is very valuable for anyone that PvPs, and more for melee classes.
First off, you should never back pedal because of the decreased movement speed. Using your Q/E (strafe) keys is best because you still move maximum movement speed.
You should also always use your mouse to turn. If you are a keyboard turner.. you should get rid of that habit.
A scenario where movement is important:
You are a Dwarf Priest and you are trying to get away from a rogue. Your stoneskin is up and you use it to take off Crippling effects..but you are back pedaling which really defeats the purpose of it.
Movement is very important and will also help you with the next section, terrain strategy.
Terrain Strategy
Another important skill to know is using the environment to your advantages. This means using line of sight and pillars properly.
Line of Sight
Line of sight is using objects to get out of a enemies spell. This is very important to get out of Polymorph, Mana Burn, Fear, etc. Properly using line of sight for your advantage means less effiency for the opposing team. Not properly using it will mean you are not getting heals from your teammates.
Pillar Abuse
Pillar abuse is applying principles of Line of Sight except using it against melee classes. This can also be called "pillar humping".
In words, it can be simply explained that you are running around a pillar while a melee chases you. While you are doing this, you should rely on your instant casts. Zooming your camera out also helps in case your opponent tries to run the opposite direction.
Conclusion
If this is not another TL;DR, then I hope this helped you somewhat. To most people this is common sense, but this is also a start of some guides I will be doing.
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