Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsHands off those shoulders, Arena loser
by Mike Schramm 
Oct 23rd 2007 at 1:28PM
Wreck from Addicted to WoW sent us his interesting opinion on the Season 3 gear required ratings. Why, he asks, didn't Blizzard put rating requirements on all the gear? When season 3 starts, the season 3 shoulders and weapons will require a high Arena rating to own (2000 and 1850), and Wreck wants to know why only the shoulders and weapons got put behind a rating wall. Why not make all the gear that much harder to get?As far as I know, the cited reason behind the ratings was to keep raiders from losing in the Arenas and still getting gear. The weapons in season 3 are terrific, even compared to the mid-endgame raiding gear, and so raiders were playing just their 10 games every week, saving up Arena points, and grabbing the hot weapons. Blizzard didn't want that happening, so they put the requirement on the weapons-- you have to be good to wield those now.
But the shoulders I don't quite understand. I've been told that the shoulders are the most obvious piece of "leet" armor, and that Blizzard, as Wreck says, really wants seeing those shoulders on someone to be a sign that they're really good in the Arenas. But shoulders? As a few players have said, give them a title or something if you want them to be recognized. There's good reason for putting the weapons behind a rating, but if you're going to put shoulders back there too, you might as well require the rating for all the pieces, or leave the armor out of it completely.
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard, PvP
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Melador Oct 23rd 2007 7:09PM
"I'd just like to know why anyone would whine about more people getting better gear."
It's pretty obvious: Because it's imbalancing to the game overall and gear is one of the primary reward mechanisms in the game.
Think of it this way -- if there really were welfare epics, where once a week you could just pick an epic off a list and get it, with no work done, that would probably not be a good idea, right? And that would be "more people getting better gear", right?
Gear, as a reward mechanism, should reflect an accomplishment. Short-circuiting this is bad for the game.
deleted Oct 23rd 2007 7:13PM
@14 I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best at PvP and the rest of my are probably worse. The problem is that when I looked up some of the 3v3 teams we faced in the arena, they usually consisted of 2 people with similar gear to our team, plus one "ringer" with full arena purples and the best enchants available in the game. How exactly is that a fair matchup when I'm getting killed in 3 hits and the entire match lasts less than 2 minutes?
Magnus Oct 23rd 2007 7:16PM
#37 Not anymore, no... but I can well remember the days before BC.
#38 Yep, same here. But I guess with one of their lead designers denigrating all non-raiders ( I mean.... "wellfare epics"? Really? No, really?!? If I´d be this obnoxiously rude at *any* PR job, I´d be unemployed in no time. ), Blizzard doesn´t want all people to have fun in the end-game, just their special raiding clientele.
How a company which otherwise does such a good job consistently gets the whole end-game setup wrong is beyond me. Well, at least for the moment season 2 weapons are still competitive. A few months down the line the picture will look quite different, however.
Richard L Oct 24th 2007 5:03AM
raiders care what gear other people are getting? Why does it threaten you so much? You raid and (i would hope) have fun doing so, why does other people getting nice gear threaten you so much?
If your self esteem is placed in some pixels you have issues.
Play for fun, for the challenge, for the gear, but really don't play a MMO to feel 'better' than someone else, that is not healthy.
Of course in Arena/PVP there is a winner and a looser, but why not just be a gracious winner, there seems to be less and less of that in online games, you fought, one of you won, but surely you both enjoyed the challenge?
Please keep things in perspective, just a thought...
Kaylek Oct 24th 2007 8:41AM
It's not too complicated Mike. The shoulders are the most prominent piece of any gear set, with the most design work put into them. I don't have the rating to get them, but even I see the logic behind it. If you have the cool new shoulders, you have the rating at a glance.
Makes perfect sense, unlike the concept of "might as well put a requirement on everything!"
Rhaga Oct 24th 2007 12:23PM
This is the stupidest thing ever.
If they put requirements on arena, personal requirements, they should measure how much a PVP'er sucks at PVE and give you a personal PVE raiting. That way you can't just walk into a high end raiding guild and go in and get awesome loot.
Make it fair. If I suck at PVP but rule at PVE, then I should be able to go get the loot, where as the PVP'ers shouldn't be able to even enter the instance.
Let's make it lax and remove the keys from SSC and TK. Lets lower the requirements for Heroics. OH wait, lets up the requirements for arena gear. GG Blizz ...
ThorinII Oct 24th 2007 11:00AM
@31, I didn't say Huners can't succeed at arena, I said we get no love in arenas. If in the right group Hunters can be great in arenas. But, finding the group that will let you play with them is a challenge unless you're in a guild, but I hate the built-in-drama you get with being in a guild so I avoid those even more than raids. If Hamchook found someone that would give him/her a chance, good for him/her. I've not ben so lucky. "Hunter? Oh, well, we're full, my buddy just signed in."
Dean Oct 24th 2007 3:41PM
I think it's a great idea, and I know I'll never get 2000 rating to get the shoulders. On the weapons, as people point out, they're very good - better than most raiding gear even for PvE. The rating restriction doesn't really stop good teams getting them, just stops everybody doing the arena just for the weapons. And it is fair that one of the PvP rewards is good for PvE, just like the occasional drop in raids is good for PvP. A little bit of crossover, to reward people that do both.
And so the shoulders: so what. They're a minor upgrade on the S2 shoulders and when S4 comes out I'm sure the requirement will dissapear. They're one of the cheaper items with the least stats - if it were helm, chest or legs I might be a little annoyed. But shoulders? Just pick up the S2 ones, or save the points until S4 starts and grab them then. If you don't have a 2000 rating it'll take most of the season to get the other 4 pieces anyways.
Pook Oct 24th 2007 8:12PM
I just think for the time put in the Arena gear is far far too good.
You do yo 10 matches a week you get your points... yay free epics...
Where is the grinding for mats, gold or anything else.... so little effort for such a huge reward.
If they want to make these items so they rock for PVP thats fine, but make sure they are not viable in PVE at all.. gimp the weapons so they only so 50% damage against none player or soemething similar..
Elroy Nov 6th 2007 8:57AM
Oh boy, what a discussion.
I'm primarily a PvE player. In gearing up my druid for tanking, it was soon clear to me that my best option was to get the S2 head and shoulder.
So I joined an arena team and we got slaugtered in our PvE blues. And now we have our PvE epics from kara, guess what we still get slaughtered.
And skill has nothing to do with that. Starting out in arena's late has everything to do with it. Even the teams with lousy rating we meet have several parts merciless and we get trashed so fast no heal is fast enough.
So yes after 10 matches a week we've had enough. Why waste more rating by playing more games? If we ever want to have a chance in Arena, we need proper PvP gear, and the way to get that is playing your 10 matches untill you've caught up.
And no rating on shoulders and weapons will change this. Those in full Merciless will be the first in Vengefull and we'll still be catching up.
The sad thing is, that the few matches against others in the same level gear (we win some, we lose some) are fun. And I would love to do more of those, but not if the penalty is no rating.
Good_Idea Nov 26th 2007 3:45PM
They put the rating on the weapons so that raiders wouldn't farm arenas for just the weapons (like my guild did).
The put the rating on the shoulders because they wanted high end pvper's to look different. Right now in Shatt, everyone runs around in T5 looking shoulders. Keeping one piece of gear also wouldn't "hold people back" from getting top ratings.
They wouldn't want to make all arena gear have a rating because it would be overly difficult for the people on the bottom to get to the top, mainly because of gear.
homant Nov 26th 2007 4:31PM
Wow..... lots of crying in this thread.
Hunters in the Arenas: Unstoppable has a top 10 5v5 that includes a Hunter. In 3's, pair up with a lock or priest + a dedicated healer for a mana drain dream team.
PvPers getting all the 'leet' gear: With the exception of weapons, PvP gear spends waaaay too many stat points on armor, stamina, and resilience, and waaaay too little on +hit to be excel in PvE.
PvPers getting the 'look' of hardcore PvEers with little effort: Grow up.
I lose at arenas because I don't have enough gear: No, you lose at arenas because you are a clicker, have a poor team composition, have 8k hp, have no PvP skill, or all of the above. Starting tomorrow, you have no more excuses.
hlzinplate Dec 3rd 2007 8:44AM
i'm a holy pally, raid spec'd, and damn close to being exalted with all of BC factions w/ out doing many quests. i've run instances till my eyes bleed but couldn't get a damn drop that would qualify me as a healr worthy to heal in karazhan. about 6 months after turning 70 i had still not even pvp'd at all, no bgs no arena, at all. i was trying to get my pve gear, d3, t4. no luck, no drops, just some mediocre blues, mixed plate and mail. finally having grown tired of not getting gear after trying so hard i gave up and decided to replace my blues and greens finaly, by pvping, as the only guarunteed way to earn myself some epic gear. keep in mind i only want this pvp gear so i can pve better. i love pve, that is why i play on a norm server not a pvp one. however, pve has not treated me well as far as drops go. dont u think running SV 29 complete times is a little much to get a dungeon set drop. another thing, even tho i have t5(s2) gear from pvp, i still have far more respect for those who have the true t5 from pve, but i just cant compete in pve without pvp gear. i hope this makes sense. happy hunting!