Just yesterday, Blizzard announced
which Arena teams will be participating in the tournament at BlizzCon. And in the hours since, players on the forums have been
scrutinizing their team makeup and trying to determine what it might mean. Poster Alairia jumps in informing us of the class breakdown on participating Arena teams:
- 8/8 teams have a Warrior
- 8/8 teams have a Paladin
- 7/8 teams have a Shaman
- 5/8 teams have a Mage
- 4/8 teams have a Priest
- 3/8 teams have a Warlock
- 2/8 teams have a Hunter
- 1/8 teams have a Rogue
- 0/8 teams have a Druid
And poster Perplexia brings us some slightly more informative percentages:
- 25% of the players in the finals are Warriors
- 20% of the players in the finals are Paladins
- 17.5% of the players in the finals are Shamans
- 12.5% of the players in the finals are Mages
- 10% of the players in the finals are Priests
- 7.5% of the players in the finals are Warlocks
- 5% of the players in the finals are Hunters
- 2.5% of the players in the finals are Rogues
- 0% of the players in the finals are Druids
While you can certainly brush off these numbers as personal choice of the teams involved, it does seem odd that when eight of the top Arena teams in the world get together, they have no Druids among them. The breakdown suggests that some classes simply aren't viable in Arena battles. But what's your take on these numbers? Are some classes simply a liability in 5v5 Arenas -- or is it just that the teams who happen to be the best of the best have a fondness for Warriors?
Tags: arena, blizzcon, blizzcon 2007, Blizzcon2007, pvp, world of warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow
Filed under: PvP, BlizzCon
Jul 31st 2007 at 8:38AM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
skaterchief Jul 31st 2007 8:48AM
Only half of the teams have a priest?
Hokuto Jul 31st 2007 8:55AM
I thought warlocks were OP... Nerf warriors? * grin *
(yes, you're right, I do have a lock)
thrstn Jul 31st 2007 9:04AM
This does not surprise me at all.
Armor and health is a big issue in arenas and the fury warrior is a massive dps machine.
Throw in a couple of paladins or shamans and you got yourself a regenerating, armored, dps machine.
Douglas Jul 31st 2007 9:08AM
Sustained DPS (even more than burst DPS) and survivability are two of the most important attributes to have in Arena, and warriors and paladins together have a lot of both.
I'm surprised there aren't any druids. They aren't exactly squishy, and they can be very versatile.
r0ck Jul 31st 2007 9:10AM
even if there are 7/8 teams with shamans. i bet that all are resto specced.
so the statistic is quite boring and doestn really show that the classes above in the list also have big issues in other specs.
ankud Jul 31st 2007 9:15AM
least 2 of them are elemental
Var Jul 31st 2007 9:16AM
Just in my opinion....
Druids aren't good healers in arena, at least 5v5.
Their purgeable hots make it more difficult for them.
I've seen a resto druid keep up my hunter while fighting 2 warlocks, 2 mages and a priest in world pvp, but in an organised pvp team their hots aren't as reliable.
Also MS warriors can cur the survivability of teams down a bit while paladins and then shaman are the more resiliant healers.
Tumples Jul 31st 2007 9:17AM
lol @ druids
[plays a druid :( ]
Seper Jul 31st 2007 9:19AM
druids arn't picked because.. we have no CC... in arena are HoT's dont do crap. We are too squishy to throw off the big heals and usually have no chance to get through it. Even with the best gear if hes feral or oomkin.. the dmg will end up being burst anyways.
In Arena.. i'm the first one killed it seems. It makes sense cause i'm a "healer" class. But I dont have the armor or stam to stand up against 2 people attacking me. I can easily be kited around with no way to stop it before I'm dead.
Being a druid in arena definitely sucks. I've heard rogues complain before.. but its nothing like a druid >.
Elbows Jul 31st 2007 9:24AM
@3
No one wants a fury warrior, it's all about MS.
What you're seeing is the classes that are preferential for 5v5. In the 2v2 and 3v3 brackets classes like Druid, Rogue and escpecially Warlock are VERY viable. The problem with druids in 5v5 is that in their healing form they are especially vulnerable. They don't have the same durability as say a priest or paladin without switching into bear form which effectively makes them useless. You can put a warrior on a druid and completely shut him down. That said, it's suprising not to even see ONE, as teams like The Challenge have shown that a druid can play at high level 5v5.
Even with the increased popularity of 4DPS gib teams, many of the teams in the tourney will still be playing a classic matrix of which warrior/paladin is still the foundation, although I do find it suprising that not one team has opted to not take a warrior in favor of an all caster 4 DPS team.
Levi Jul 31st 2007 9:29AM
Mortal Strike is an extremely powerful debuff in arenas. The reason druids aren't represented much is because there is another class that can do their two arena abilities better--paladins and rogues. Rogues can stun better and apply a lot of debuffs, which makes it harder for who you're facing to be dispelled, and druid healing is better suited to off healing in raids, not keeping people up in arenas. While druids can heal just fine, paladins bring better buffs and plate+shield to their healing game--not to mention a lot of oh shit buttons.
Bey Jul 31st 2007 9:31AM
I am actually surprised that there are 4/8 priests, my experience is that I get targeted directly, and there is not that much that the group can do to help you.
It is interesting to notice that the classes levelling the fastest in my opinion (warlock, hunter and rogue), and most overpowered in 1vs1 and 2vs2 (hunter warlocks) arent viable in 5vs5. I have heard some commentse about the "dead zone" and people being able to hind behind pillars+ hard to kite in the arena make hunters bad. I however dont see why a warlock cannot be viable with all the fears and DoTs (can be dispelled of course...).
Also, druids are by many thoguht to be the "best" class by many thanks to their incredible versatility, and are still not viable in the arena 5vs5.
The top two classes aren't that surprising I think, since they have th highest survivability, which I think comment 3 rounded up well. Those two classes together have amazing survivability.
Anyway, just my 2....
Pzychotix Jul 31st 2007 9:33AM
@10: The MS debuff is way too valuable to give up. 50% non-dispellable healing debuff? Way powerful.
As for those who say purgeable HoTs, anyone who knows resto druid PVP knows that they use lifebloom (which means instant heals) when that's the case, not to mention the 30% dispel resist talent that makes people waste their GCD and manas.
Taeo Jul 31st 2007 9:44AM
It should be noted that these statistics aren't completely reliable.
We know for a fact that both the American and to a much lesser extent the European finals were marred by disqualifications. Notice for example the makeup for Power Trip - only one healer. They actually have two priests in their lineup but both were disqualified for petty reasons (another discussion, another time).
The lack of Druids however is odd. I've played on a 1800+ rating 5v5 arena team and we've encountered many teams that do very well with Druids. Cyclone is a great CC, their mana pool is incredible, and they can get away from melee very easily. Maybe it's just the personal preference of these teams.
And as for Warriors, the reason for their abundance is simple. Mortal Strike is the best PvP debuff hands down. Warriors are also just particularly deadly with a Pally and/or Shaman backing them up. You will find that Warrior/Pally/Shaman is the core of the majority of top teams.
Bey Jul 31st 2007 9:36AM
@10 think you summed up everything nicely, except the part about priests haveing better survivability than druids. My opinion is that priests are the easiest kill of all classes, unless you have a deep dicipline spec, then you might survive 5 hits instead of 3. The power word shield priests have is really ridiculous when not fighting PvE.
Elbows Jul 31st 2007 9:38AM
@13
While the common theory is that MS is so powerful that a team cannot do without it, 4DPS caster teams are a direct counter to teams with a pally/warrior core and are gaining in popularity with each day. Teams like Fallen Angels and Owls That Fly at Dawn, are climbing the ranks of the most competitive BG out there (BG9) and are capable of dominating with an MS warrior.
Check out this article from Noktyn, the warrior for Team Pandemic concerning 4DPS teams.
http://www.gameriot.com/blogs/Noktyns-Blogtyn/Four-DPS-5v5-Teams/
Pally/warrior is on the way out, at least for the time being.
Elbows Jul 31st 2007 9:43AM
@14
While this is true about priests with subpar gear, taking down a 28/33 specced priest with +400 resilience and 11k hp unbuffed is no easy task. In its current form, Pain Suppression is a gimp talent because the dispel resist mechanic that it is supposed to offer is not functioning, and even if it was, you're still only talking about a brief 8 second window in which you can survive some damage, after which you are going to get smoked. On top of that, you can't cast PS while stunned or otherwise incapacitated.
Trust me 28/33 BR spec is the holy priest survivability spec of choice. Also, holy priests possess the only insta cast heal in the game that is not affected by MS, PW:S. Between, Sheild, Blessed Resilience, Prayer of Mending, and renew a priest has incredible survivability, and when you factor in both offensive and defensive dispel, mana burn, and mass dispel on a .5 second cast, I would take a priest over a druid any day.
Bey Jul 31st 2007 9:53AM
@16 I complete agree with you that the survivability of the 28/33 build is the best for priest survivability. I have not however the same confidencec in PwS as you do. I dont remember figures, but I recon it can absorb 1300ish at level 70, which is like 1 hit, 1/2 crit, or less. I think PwS was amazingly viable at lower levels (and PvP priests in general) but the poor scaling of it just makes it subpar at higher levels, at least in my own experience.
Elbows Jul 31st 2007 10:01AM
Yea, the scaling is total ass, but it is the only instacast heal in the game not affected by MS, I'm not claiming it's great, but it is a property of PWS that is commonly overlooked.
john Jul 31st 2007 10:12AM
i don't have the 400 resilience yet.
good luck killing me before i am oom.
bg i had an ms warrior, a mm hunter, and a combat rogue all on me. they could not kill me until i was out of mana. los is a beautiful thing.