Forum post of the day: Pick up groups to pick up points
by Amanda Dean 
Dec 16th 2008 at 9:00PM
I'll give you a quick run down of the general forums today:- Take away the arena point requirement, or else!
- Epic flight costs too much!
- Requiring arena points for PvP gear is a slap in the face!
- I can't get this or that achievement because it involves something I don't want to do!
- This is the end of casuals, I don't have time to play arenas!
- /waggle
- GG Bliz, the arena requirement is going to make me go play <insert any other MMORPG here>!
- Death Knights should tank!
- If you're going to make us play arenas, let us PUG them like battlegrounds!
It is hard to find someone who is happy with this new PvP development. I'm indifferent. Personally I find arenas to be the best part of PvP and the purpose of battlegrounds anyway. Like so many others, you need not agree. That last theme however, Blizzard should players to PUG arenas, gave me a moment of pause.
One such thread was started by Painraze of Shattered Hand. He would like to queue up for the arenas and go without having to futz around with forming a team and coordinating schedules with others. Like many others he says that he does not have the time to wait for organized arena play. Meeting with considerable agreement, he solidified his point by saying:
Let serious Arena players get in well coordinated groups, let the people who just want to play and have fun pug their way to better gear. Serious Arena players will still have the best gear so their l33tness isn't threatened. It's win-win.
For the most part he was met with agreement. Others, of course, thought it was the worst idea ever. Undoubtedly, arena PUGs would most likely be defeated regularly. The biggest issue that I can see is PUGing would not allow for team ratings, but individual ratings are most important now. Blizzard would have to develop a new queuing system.
I'm not sure exactly what the justification for the arena point requirement. I'd be down with abolishing it, but it would be nice for Blizzard to offer this tidy little work around. I'll most likely be teaming up with some random schmoe who does their own thing and probably refuses to use vent until my friends get caught up anyway. I'm sure there will be plenty who follow Nogi of Nathrezim's suggestion of creating a team and single-queuing ten times in a row to get a few points.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Forums, Battlegrounds, Arena, Forum Post of the Day
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
mike Dec 16th 2008 9:12PM
"The biggest issue that I can see is PUGing would not allow for team ratings, but individual ratings are most important now."
We even have team ratings? It's Player vs Player after all, not Team vs Team.
mike Dec 16th 2008 9:13PM
WE=why*
Kadathwack Dec 16th 2008 9:47PM
Arena is Team vs Team though. Regular, set teams of 2, 3, or 5 on other teams of 2, 3, or 5. You have to have a cooperative mindset, good class balance, and some strategy to do very well in there.
The ratings system could be set up any number of ways, but that doesn't change the nature of the thing.
Tanglebones Dec 16th 2008 11:26PM
Also you have to have no Shamans or Hunters...
Which is one of the main reasons this new you must arena system sucks... every season one or two classes come to clearly dominate the arena, while there are a few who, no matter how skilled the player, simply cannot compete... because team comp is such a big deal... on the other hand, those players doing their part could be useful (or at least having fun) in an AV or WSG...
Plan Dec 17th 2008 1:12AM
PuG or super-organized, casual or hardcore, it all boils down to the continuation of a system that will promote the huge gear gulf we've become used to over the past couple seasons.
And let's be honest -- it's hard to keep a straight face and call this a competitive "e-sport" when from the get-go teams will be split between the haves and have-nots. Who knows which classes/specs will dominate this season (although many of us have a good idea) but those are the ones who will enjoy gear, titles and mounts.
But I think all the QQ about ratings requirements and item cost would disappear if the classes were better-organized.
Also, to the staff of WoW Insider -- as a reader who takes time to comment, I don't appreciate your staff modding down comments on the quality of the articles here. Most of us are reasonable about our criticism despite routine errors on your blog, yet your staffers come in and mod our comments down. I'm sorry, if you give blatantly bad advice on talents or publish a post littered with grammatical errors, you are not absolved from criticism. This is a two-way street, and readers have every right to respond to your stories. Modding critical comments down is childish. Thanks.
Driphter Dec 17th 2008 5:37AM
Modding down?
~Driphter
Kanuris Dec 17th 2008 6:03AM
Some classes also have impossible matchups.
If your playing a Paladin and you come up against a Mage of any spec, your going to get beaten like a ragdoll. If the Mage has a brain of course.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Dec 17th 2008 9:23AM
@ Plan
I don’t think it’s them - or at the very least it’s not only them. I’ve seen a lot of players complain to other players that they’re being anal for nit-picking on grammar and such and then mark them done. Tone often has a lot to do for it too, a lot of people get touchy or fan-boy/girlish over their favourite authors getting rated down for what they think is something to be overlooked. Others just don’t care.
Me, personally, I’m dyslexic. I’m going to be making tons of mistakes in my writing, so at least that’s my excuse. I could only wonder about others.
Ted Dec 18th 2008 2:09PM
@Kanuris
far from impossible if they suck and are low on resilience (yay my PvE gear) . With two interrupts, bubble, and good burst I rocked a mage 3 times last night over some Saronite nods in Sholazar. Nothing like seeing a pyroblast right off the bat.
Rekranar Dec 16th 2008 9:16PM
for everyone complaining about needing arena to get any pvp gear... your retarded, you can get a full savage set and a few hateful in the hall of legend/champions
Marc Dec 17th 2008 1:37AM
Learn to differentiate between *your* and *you're*, retard.
Nick S Dec 17th 2008 6:22AM
Savage Gladiator's gear requires (few) Arena points.
Gustov Dec 17th 2008 9:40AM
Savage is for honor only at Champion's Hall / Horde equivelent. You can also pick up the Hateful inbetween pieces like belts, bracers, and misc. pieces for honor only.
Ryan Dec 17th 2008 1:44PM
"your retarded"
Ah, the most ironic phrase in the English language.
Jacob Parsons Dec 16th 2008 9:17PM
I just wanted to point out that all savage gladiator gear is available for massive amounts of honor points in stormwind. 50-60k per is expensive but not impossible. Could you guys here at WoWInsider please make a post explicitly stating this? I don't think many people know about it.
Tempos Dec 16th 2008 9:26PM
also, any news on if the honor cap has been raised?
sickbox Dec 17th 2008 12:11AM
If I'm not mistaken the cap for honor is something like twice the amount of the most expensive piece of gear for your class. If this is true then I'm sure its been raised.
The Claw Dec 17th 2008 12:15AM
50-60K honor is not "massive amounts", it's the same amount, proportional to honor gained, as honor pieces always cost.
frorunner9 Dec 17th 2008 3:18AM
"I just wanted to point out that all savage gladiator gear is available for massive amounts of honor points in stormwind. 50-60k per is expensive but not impossible. Could you guys here at WoWInsider please make a post explicitly stating this? I don't think many people know about it."
If the above is true, I have no problem. However, all the research I have done contradicts this. For example:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41949
The Savage Gladiator mage set requires, according to wowhead, and everywhere else I've checked, either honor and arena points, or Emblems of Heroism, which only drop off Heroics and raids.
I am in a casual guild of my friends from real life. We occasionally will run an instance together if we happen to have 3-5 people together online in the same level range, but that is by no means commonplace.
I'm often more motivated than my casual friends, but don't want to quit the guild to join a group of strangers, which is why I was always glad Blizzard had a set that I could get by hard work I put in alone.
If I can grind honor in the BGs and get a set, I'm completely happy with that. I don't care if it takes me 20 times longer to do than it would in a dedicated raiding guild or arena team. But if what I'm reading is true, it seems impossible for the solo player to gear up.
Amaxe Dec 17th 2008 8:34AM
It requires Arena... some 350 for the http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41848 for example.
Not much admittedly, but still, you have to do Arena for blues... or else blow 45 emblems of heroism on it