US Arena qualifier results in
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 23rd 2009 at 7:00PM
Blizzard will invite the winners from the qualifying round into regional finals -- they will invite the top eight teams, but apparently, according to a few commenters in the forum thread, both "well then" and "GET TANKED" are somehow the same players on the same accounts (but different characters, even though they're same classes), and the same is supposedly true for The Phuox Den and Almost Eighty on Live. So we're not sure who they're inviting -- either these two teams will get to play twice in the tournament rounds, or Blizzard will pull in some more teams to fill in the spots.
Or maybe Blizzard will have to come up with something else: we're not entirely sure about which players are on those teams, but certainly Blizzard can check that very easily. At any rate, congrats to all of the winners so far, and we'll keep an eye out for the next round of Arena battles.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Forums, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
velvetdevil Apr 23rd 2009 7:18PM
"you can see that Death Knights are probably the most dominant class in the lineup."
Actually, that would appear to be Paladin.
Brownjohn Apr 23rd 2009 7:26PM
Actually, there are only 4 paladins and 4 death knights in the top 10 teams, while there are 5 warlocks.
So, it appears as if warlocks are the dominant class.
Valdorin Apr 23rd 2009 7:29PM
But did you not hear?
z0mg DK's R OH PEE!11!!!
Markainion Apr 23rd 2009 7:30PM
5 Warlock and 5 Pallies, No Druids or Warrior. It seems like Druids and Warriors have been nerfed the most in Wrath.
Aaron A. Apr 24th 2009 3:07PM
Yeah, I wouldn't say "DK's dominate" so much as "DK/Paladin/Warlock dominates." The only DK team that isn't DK/Pally/Lock is DK/Pally/Hunter. That says to me that DK's alleged imba-ness relies on having friends who can make up for their obvious shortcomings (few ranged attacks, limited crowd control, and minimal self-healing in Unholy stance). Warlocks, Paladins, Shaman, and Priests, however, appear to play well with a variety of partners.
Also, bear in mind that this is the US leaderboard, so trying to infer anything here is like trying to predict the Super Bowl using Arena Football standings[1]; RMP still dominates in Europe and Asia [2], and I think it's pretty clear where American teams rank worldwide [3].
[1] Alternate reference for our European friends: "trying to predict the Premiership champion based on League One standings."
[2] http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/04/08/eu-arena-tournament-standings-posted-in-anticipation-of-phase-4/
[3] http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/03/09/korean-team-h-o-n-takes-the-trophy-at-esls-global-arena-tournam/
jfofla Apr 23rd 2009 7:28PM
People still do Arenas?
How quaint.
Ranelar Apr 24th 2009 7:00PM
People still ask if people still do arenas?
How quaint.
jfofla Apr 23rd 2009 7:47PM
Who dat say who dat when I say who dat?*
*Marx Brothers-A Day at the Races
Zeplar Apr 23rd 2009 7:34PM
I think druids will come back in patch 3.3 when gear is off the wall.
Warriors... hm.
oriflame Apr 23rd 2009 10:34PM
yeah, every time these results are published wowinsider's comment is "ZOMG DKs!" and even a rudimentry review of the top teams almost never bears this out.
come on.
Philip Apr 24th 2009 8:09AM
4 of the 5 top 3v3 teams have a DK and a Paladin on them.
Not sure what your idea of "rudimentary" is but I was able to glean this information in roughly 6 seconds, while it appears you have yet to notice it.
DeathPaladin Apr 23rd 2009 7:58PM
Sometimes I think the problem is with the name Death Knight. It has two words to every other class' one, and comes first alphabetically. So people who skim the list pictured will immediately see how many Death Knights there are, but have to actually read the list more thoroughly to gauge the presence of other classes.
That's one theory as to why people can call Death Knight "the most dominant class in the lineup" when, while it does have disproportionately high representation, they are almost always teamed up with the two classes that have higher representation.
muffin_of_chaos Apr 23rd 2009 8:13PM
The reaction of "Death Knights are dominant" has more to do with the fact that they are in 4 out of the top 5 3v3 teams than being in 4 out of the top 10, paired along with the fact that, unlike Warlocks, they dominated 2v2s as well.
Of course, Holy Pallies are the exact same, but people are less likely to pick on them. Kind of like how you aren't supposed to hit girls.
I hate rock-paper-scissors PvP.
talkingmike Apr 23rd 2009 9:44PM
"I hate rock-paper-scissors PvP."
Not to flame, but how would you have it otherwise? When everyone isn't the same--i.e., Halo or a variety of other games without distinct class roles--rock/paper/scissors or some other circular variant has to be the case, right?
Gene Apr 23rd 2009 10:05PM
Why can't top ranking teams not come up with cool names? Just a thought.
But honestly, I'm surprised Warlocks made such a comeback as an arena staple, especially in the US side of things. Also the return of seeing the DKless RMP teams is quite interesting as well. Though more RMP teams are showing up EU side. And I agree Druids will make a return in 3.3
muffin_of_chaos Apr 23rd 2009 10:53PM
Theoretically, Blizzard could institute a system where you only fight people of your same class and talent spec, which--like Halo or whatever--would yes, in my mind be superior.
I mean honestly as much as I hate it in theory I love it as well, so I can't really complain. But...
I'd prefer a fairly extensive system where you can:
A) choose to fight specific compositions (would be worth half the points)
B) fight specific teams (wouldn't be worth points)
C) choose to adjust the matching-up so that you do not have to fight teams 200 rating above you (but can)
D) a separate free-for-all queue that sticks with what it is currently
E) skirmishes that let you select certain team rating brackets that you want to fight (for either mode, A-C or D)
Oh, and PvP gear should only be usable in PvP (i.e., you equip separate sets of gear that auto-swap when you are engaged in PvP combat). While I'm wishing, weapons shouldn't contribute as much to one's stats as they do.
muffin_of_chaos Apr 23rd 2009 11:00PM
Whoops, this is supposed to be in response to talkingmike.
Tolkfan Apr 23rd 2009 11:09PM
The names of the teams show what type of people engage in PvP.
muffin_of_chaos Apr 23rd 2009 11:36PM
The type that don't take themselves seriously at all?
Rhino Apr 24th 2009 12:15AM
Um not all Shaman are making a come back... just resto, plz don't group us all together like that