Breaking News: Arenas disabled [Updated]
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 21st 2009 at 5:05PM
Breaking news from the Arenas.All Arenas in the World of Warcraft have been disabled.
We have no official word as to exactly why they've been disabled, how long they will remain disabled, and what will happen to this arena season.
Recently a new arena match making system was implemented, and there was a lot of complaining about it on the forums. Apparently some of the complaints were legitimate, and rating discrepancies have caused arenas to be shut down. This is in addition to the other problems with patch 3.0.8 and the dozens of bugs that have appeared.
A picture of the confirmation is after the break.
We'll update this post liveblog style as more information comes in.
Updates are after the break.
The red circle indicates where the arena NPCs should be. They're gone for now.
5:10 p.m. EST: Netharea says "We have temporarily disabled all Arena matches while we investigate current rating calculation discrepancies. Further updates will be provided once we have additional information to share. "
Filed under: News items, Bugs, PvP, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Wujo Jan 21st 2009 5:08PM
hopefully disabled forever and released as their own esports game.
Dominace Jan 21st 2009 5:20PM
Amazing, another arena post on wowinsider, but it can't be a Arena post on wowinsider without the general hate from the rag-tad band of casuals who believe there is no skill in arena and it shouldn't exists.
In before someone makes a lengthy post on why they 'think' there is no skill in involved in arena or it shouldn't exist.
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As for the topic at hand, yeah they needed to do this, my 3's team went from 2k to 2400 in 5 games(PR wise) but we recently started out 3's and after 12 games we only gained 17points but we lost like 25 from out first loss. They really screwed up with the rating calculations
Firestride Jan 21st 2009 5:26PM
Why are we PvE-ers mad at arenas? I must have missed that newsletter.
Sharkhunt Jan 21st 2009 5:31PM
Just because you suck at it doesn't mean it needs to be removed from the game.
Cy Jan 21st 2009 5:32PM
@Firestride: "Why are we PvE-ers mad at arenas?"
The need to balance the game for 2v2 and 3v3 has changed so much of the game that many players believe it has done much more harm than good. That's the nutshell version, anyway.
Bunkai Jan 21st 2009 5:33PM
/Agree
@Dominance
"the rag-tad band of casuals who believe there is no skill in arena and it shouldn't exists."
he didn't say they shouldn't exist... on the contrary... he said they should be moved out in to their own game... to... um... get the full attention that they deserve... and leave us "casual" free of all the balance-for-the-sake-of-arena nerfs/buffs that have been plaguing us for the past year. :-D
wujo Jan 21st 2009 5:40PM
@ Dominance
Made it to rank 10 before a BC reroll toon which is missing a few wins in WSG until exalted in all BG factions. I dislike the growing pressure to play Arenas in order to be competitive or have fun in BGs. I dislike the FOTM Arena team compositions.
Holgar Jan 21st 2009 5:49PM
Signed enough with the constant "Arena" nerf, buff, tweak changes every patch....
Ktok Jan 21st 2009 5:53PM
@Dominace:
I for one enjoy the arena as much as I can for not playing a class/spec that is any good at them. My problem with the arena as it stands is very simple... I am a very good PvPer. One on one, even one on two, I can usually win or at least never get slaughtered. In the arena, it's a completely other game. The teams what are not of "I win" configuration are fun to play. The "I win" teams are an absolute pain and offer no enjoyment to me at all. Only annoyance.
The problem is no the arena. The problem is not the players. The problem is that there are a handful of "you might as well quit out and save yourself the trouble" team combos that make the game remarkably less fun for those of us not interested in putting such cookie cutter teams together.
This is why I prefer BGs. Who I run into, their class, their spec, and the class/spec of the people there to help them, are random factors. It's different all the time. In the arena, it's just the same teams over and over again. The only things that are different are the names over their heads.
BooDizz Jan 21st 2009 5:59PM
I like arena :)
hold up Jan 21st 2009 6:00PM
As a mainly PvE player I wouldn't like to see arenas go altogether. It's a different type of game, but it still can be fun. The thing I don't like about arena is that it seems as though you have to constantly re-roll to stay competitive. Resto druids were supposedly the must have choice for arena last season, but now burst damage is where it is at. It would be nice to be able to have an even playfield in the arena and that way it would be determined based on player skill at not gear - although gear would be awarded to players for use in game. If that makes sense...
Nevermind, just get rid of it.
Arktic Jan 21st 2009 6:08PM
"Why are we PvE-ers mad at arenas? I must have missed that newsletter."
Because instead of Warriors loving Rogues because they can stealth and scout instances, because instead of Warlocks loving Hunters when they have a big crit because it downs the mob quicker meaning faster exp/gold gains, and because instead of Priests loving Paladins that bubble so they don't have to heal for 12 seconds... Warriors hate Rogues because in arenas stealth drops aggro, Warlocks hate huge Hunter crits because it kills them/their pet faster, and Priests hate Paladins because they can't attack them through the bubble. This causes QQ on the forums and in the WoW community in general, resulting in abilities being nerfed to try and balance the arena situation. We PVEers feel that if there were no arenas then classes would be built around the PVE content and what a class can bring to the table, having their own special, unique abilities instead of being a mix of other classes to create balance.
On the other hand, how many have been in a raid when a Damage Meter is posted? Whither there is PVP or not, everyone will always want to be the best at everything, and QQ will come from it. I believe you should roll with what you are given. If arenas are down, run an instance. If instance servers are down, run a BG. If servers are offline, go outside. You don't have to be the best at what you do, your class doesn't even have to be the most powerful, but have fun doing what you do, and if you aren't, don't QQ, do something else.
Taladan Jan 22nd 2009 2:05AM
@Bunkai: Well, there is one difference between the PvE and PvP: Resilience. I wonder how long Blizz will take to understand that THAT should be the metric to nerf/buff certain abilities. After all, the more Resilience you have, the more PvP-oriented you are.
Cyanea Jan 21st 2009 5:12PM
Hopefully disabled completely.
SO tired of balancing issues in the arena affecting PvE.
Nahl Jan 21st 2009 5:13PM
Any blue posts on this yet? Or are we just going from the missing arena battlemasters?
Tychon Jan 21st 2009 5:13PM
I do a lot of arena.
What was happening is, the match making system was messed up. the team rating system seemed to work however, the match making system for the personal rating was broken.
on my 2s team I would not lose any PR, and my friend would not gain any PR. so after about 20 games my PR had gone up 200points, and his had gone down 200 points yet we did all the same games with each other. free acheivements, and or weapons.
Did games this afternoon with a different team and it was the same thing.
Graargh Jan 21st 2009 5:14PM
What's the deal with picture of the crate with the red circle around it?
aiggan Jan 21st 2009 5:17PM
That is where the goblin stands to get into an Arena match.
Moody Loner Jan 21st 2009 5:17PM
Don't you understand?
That's THE crate! The crate of EVIL!!
Kemikalkadet Jan 21st 2009 5:17PM
It's where the arena goblin stands where you join the arena queue.