Blood Sport: Beginner's guide to arena, part II
by C. Christian Moore 
Dec 14th 2009 at 5:00PM
Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women? Blood Sport investigates the entirety of all-things arena for gladiators and challengers alike. C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in WoW.com's arena column.
Listening Music: The cutest kid you've ever seen covering Jason Mraz. Blood Sport normally features the musical works of professionals. For this little guy, we have to make an exception. My favorite part is right before the first verse. I love the intense scrunched face and little head nod. I dare you to find anything even half as cute. That video of a tickled kitten has nothing on this.
Last Week: part one of our beginner's arena guide. First, we fielded a possible complaint about catering to casuals. After that, we talked a little bit about some of the best ways to gear up: finding an arena team, doing battlegrounds, and running Vault of Archavon. Check it out if you have the time.
This week, we'll talk about some frequently asked questions players have when considering jumping into the arena. Read on for part two of our arena guide for beginners after the break!
Frequently Asked Questions
The two most common questions new arena players have are: What spec should I choose? What team composition should I play?
The first time I was asked to give advice on arena, I was flattered. He played warlock-paladin in 2v2. He asked me "what would you do against druid-warlock if you were us?"
If I recall correctly, I typed the guy a War and Peace sized answer. I detailed the finer points and intricacies of crowd control chains, using Curse of Shadow on opposing felhunters, debuffing with the felhunter, using Drain Mana on not just druids, but also near-oom felhunters, and the importance of Judgment of Justice (no E in judgment because I'm not British and neither is the spell I just linked).
After about five minutes, he responded "Okay, dude, that's cool. What do we kill?"
Me: "...Everything? You're a warlock team. You have four dots. You should put them on the druid, warlock, and felhunter."
Curious George: "Okay, why didn't you just say that to begin with?"
I was shocked. I figured this guy wanted to know how to beat the very best warlock-druid teams. Nope. He just wanted some very basic direction. Now, I usually give one sentence answers to basic inquiries because 90% of the time, that's what people want. If I try to wax philosophic on why spec, comp, and gear don't really matter, people usually think I'm not much help at all.
So, I'll split this article into two sides for each of our talking points -- easy answer and long answer. Easy answers will be what I tell people with no explanation. Long answers are what I would actually recommend to PvP newbies who think arena might be a part of the game they will really enjoy (eventually).
What spec should I choose?
Easy (gigantic margin of error) Answer:
Pick what you enjoy most in other aspects of the game. Spec doesn't really matter. If you choose to do arena as a fire mage (the worst spec I can think of in arena off the top of my head), you can make it work. You're not going for gladiator here, you're just trying to get a feel of how arena works. Even if you were going for gladiator, you can probably attain it with good teammates and a composition tailored for your spec.
Certain specs do better with certain compositions. If you are planning on healing, you don't have to think very hard about which spec to choose. On the other hand, if you are a warlock thinking about getting into 3v3, you will have a lot of spec options. For example, many warlocks choose affliction for "balanced" compositions (melee + caster + healer), but on teams with two casters and one healer, almost all warlocks spec destruction. If you hate one and love the other, just play the spec you enjoy regardless of team composition.
If you have the luxury of picking up two PvP specs with dual spec, it gives you the ability to try a different spec after every game without worrying about spending lots of gold. If you're tied down to keeping your PvE spec, or you just don't have enough gold to buy dual spec, don't worry about it -- just pick one and run with it.
If you have the very unfortunate circumstance of being tied down to two PvE specs (and I cringe at the thought), feel free to switch back and forth in between games to see which one works best for you.
Moral of the story: You're just trying to get your feet wet -- you're not jumping overboard just yet. Pick your favorite spec and play it, you'll have much more fun. Remember, playing arenas is fun!
What team composition should I play?
Easy (and probably incorrect) Answer:
Go to an arena website and copy whatever is popular. The SK-100 and ArenaJunkies both have ranking pages that you can check out what composition is best for your class. Go there, check it out, and play that.
Long Answer:
Team composition, like spec, does not really matter that much. People seem to get bogged down about team composition more than anything else when it comes to starting up an arena team.
There is enormous danger in copying a 'good' team composition as your first arena team. Let's say you choose to play rogue + mage + priest. I'll refer to this comp (as many player do) with the abbreviation RMP. This 3v3 team comp is perhaps the most famous and well-renown of all 3v3 team compositions. If you've played more than 20 arena games in 3v3, chances are you've played against two or three RMPs.
RMP has been a successful team composition in every single arena season. The primary reason for this is the synergy of the crowd control RMP has access to. Polymorph, Psychic Scream, Sap, and stuns are all very powerful when combined with each other.
When you are just starting to play arena, you might not have exceptionally skilled teammates. If you play as the priest on the team, your mage and rogue might not have a lot (or any) experience playing with each other or arena in general. Your rogue might not get a successful Sap off to start the game. Your mage not be able to position himself to Polymorph the healer and DPS the kill target simultaneously. You will not have a grasp on what an opposing team's likely kill target will be. You might expect the opposing team to target your mage, but they kill your rogue in a global cooldown or two.
Some players think that if they are 'running an overpowered team comp,' winning will be much easier. This is never the case. If you believe team comp is the primary factor when it comes to arena victory and losses, you are in for a rude awakening.
Playing as a successful popular composition can actually be a detriment. Many opposing teams will have played against your composition in the past and have strategies worked out beforehand to combat you. These strategies might have evolved over hundreds of games spanning multiple seasons. Playing something "ridiculous" like fire mage + demonlogy warlock + holy priest might catch a seasoned team off guard and you'll be able to steal a game or two where you wouldn't have otherwise.
Although there is certainly a precedent for public opinion, there will always be "hidden" comps that are amazing if piloted by skilled players. Priest + mage in 2v2 and beast mastery hunter + enhancement shaman + holy paladin in 3v3 were mocked for the majority of arena history as being terrible compositions. Those are some of the most successful compositions right now. Don't be afraid to play what works for you.
Losing is fine. It's the learning process. You'll definitely lose more games than you win in your first week of arena. It's not a big deal. You and your teammates will eventually learn what works and what doesn't. Have fun in the process.
Moral of the story: Don't copy what's popular, try to find what works for you. It might catch opposing teams off-guard.
If you really want my recommendation in different brackets:
Remember, these are just recommendations, they're not must-haves. The above still holds true (fun should be your primary goal, not success -- make that secondary or tertiary). These recommendations are based on what I've found to be generally (not always) successful for new players.
In 2v2, you can make literally anything work. I've seen protection paladin and protection warrior at 2600+ ratings (and yes, they were playing those specs in arena). Hunter + mage, enhancement shaman + feral druid, discipline priest + discipline priest (no typo there, yes two disc priests) all sound terrible to your flavor of the month gladiator, but each of those comps have hit top twenty on a battlegroup in the past. Play with your best friend and have a blast.
In 3v3, I would recommend playing with one (and only one) healer. If you have great PvE gear and you're a melee DPS class, two healers + you can be successful when you're just starting out. Otherwise, I would try to stay away from two healer setups -- you and your partners probably (unfortunately) don't have a lot of PvP gear to make it work.
In 5v5, try to organize a team with two healers, two classes with very high DPS, and a class with a 50% Mortal Strike effect. Most high rated 5v5 teams follow this model because it combines the best defensive capabilities with offensive capabilities. With a four dps or three healer composition, you'll experience 5v5 in a way that might bias your approach to the bracket in the future.
Moral of the story: They're just recommendations. Don't get hung up on them. If you want to play 5v5 with all DPS classes because you think you will have more fun, do that and ignore the above advice.
Long column this week.
I planned on discussing how to gear your character up for PvP and what to do when you actually step inside the arena. Oh well, I guess they'll have to wait until next week. Maybe I'll skip the advice on gearing your character and jump right into strategy. What do you think? Leave a comment below!
Listening Music: The cutest kid you've ever seen covering Jason Mraz. Blood Sport normally features the musical works of professionals. For this little guy, we have to make an exception. My favorite part is right before the first verse. I love the intense scrunched face and little head nod. I dare you to find anything even half as cute. That video of a tickled kitten has nothing on this.
Last Week: part one of our beginner's arena guide. First, we fielded a possible complaint about catering to casuals. After that, we talked a little bit about some of the best ways to gear up: finding an arena team, doing battlegrounds, and running Vault of Archavon. Check it out if you have the time.
This week, we'll talk about some frequently asked questions players have when considering jumping into the arena. Read on for part two of our arena guide for beginners after the break!
Frequently Asked Questions
The two most common questions new arena players have are: What spec should I choose? What team composition should I play?
The first time I was asked to give advice on arena, I was flattered. He played warlock-paladin in 2v2. He asked me "what would you do against druid-warlock if you were us?"
If I recall correctly, I typed the guy a War and Peace sized answer. I detailed the finer points and intricacies of crowd control chains, using Curse of Shadow on opposing felhunters, debuffing with the felhunter, using Drain Mana on not just druids, but also near-oom felhunters, and the importance of Judgment of Justice (no E in judgment because I'm not British and neither is the spell I just linked).
After about five minutes, he responded "Okay, dude, that's cool. What do we kill?"
Me: "...Everything? You're a warlock team. You have four dots. You should put them on the druid, warlock, and felhunter."
Curious George: "Okay, why didn't you just say that to begin with?"
I was shocked. I figured this guy wanted to know how to beat the very best warlock-druid teams. Nope. He just wanted some very basic direction. Now, I usually give one sentence answers to basic inquiries because 90% of the time, that's what people want. If I try to wax philosophic on why spec, comp, and gear don't really matter, people usually think I'm not much help at all.
So, I'll split this article into two sides for each of our talking points -- easy answer and long answer. Easy answers will be what I tell people with no explanation. Long answers are what I would actually recommend to PvP newbies who think arena might be a part of the game they will really enjoy (eventually).
What spec should I choose?
Easy (gigantic margin of error) Answer:
- Priest: Discipline or shadow depending on if you're going to heal or not.
- Mage: Frost.
- Warlock: Whatever you're most comfortable with. Start out using a felhunter (or felguard if you spec demonology).
- Druid: Whatever your gear is suited for.
- Rogue: Whatever you're most comfortable with.
- Hunter: Whatever you're most comfortable with. Start out using a pet you're comfortable with.
- Shaman: Whatever your gear is suited for.
- Paladin: Retribution or holy depending on if you're going to heal or not.
- Warrior: Arms or protection, depending on what your gear is suited for. (I'm looking forward to angry comments about PvE hero protection warriors in PvP)
- Death Knight: Unholy.
Pick what you enjoy most in other aspects of the game. Spec doesn't really matter. If you choose to do arena as a fire mage (the worst spec I can think of in arena off the top of my head), you can make it work. You're not going for gladiator here, you're just trying to get a feel of how arena works. Even if you were going for gladiator, you can probably attain it with good teammates and a composition tailored for your spec.
Certain specs do better with certain compositions. If you are planning on healing, you don't have to think very hard about which spec to choose. On the other hand, if you are a warlock thinking about getting into 3v3, you will have a lot of spec options. For example, many warlocks choose affliction for "balanced" compositions (melee + caster + healer), but on teams with two casters and one healer, almost all warlocks spec destruction. If you hate one and love the other, just play the spec you enjoy regardless of team composition.
If you have the luxury of picking up two PvP specs with dual spec, it gives you the ability to try a different spec after every game without worrying about spending lots of gold. If you're tied down to keeping your PvE spec, or you just don't have enough gold to buy dual spec, don't worry about it -- just pick one and run with it.
If you have the very unfortunate circumstance of being tied down to two PvE specs (and I cringe at the thought), feel free to switch back and forth in between games to see which one works best for you.
Moral of the story: You're just trying to get your feet wet -- you're not jumping overboard just yet. Pick your favorite spec and play it, you'll have much more fun. Remember, playing arenas is fun!
What team composition should I play?
Easy (and probably incorrect) Answer:
Go to an arena website and copy whatever is popular. The SK-100 and ArenaJunkies both have ranking pages that you can check out what composition is best for your class. Go there, check it out, and play that.
Long Answer:
Team composition, like spec, does not really matter that much. People seem to get bogged down about team composition more than anything else when it comes to starting up an arena team.
There is enormous danger in copying a 'good' team composition as your first arena team. Let's say you choose to play rogue + mage + priest. I'll refer to this comp (as many player do) with the abbreviation RMP. This 3v3 team comp is perhaps the most famous and well-renown of all 3v3 team compositions. If you've played more than 20 arena games in 3v3, chances are you've played against two or three RMPs.
RMP has been a successful team composition in every single arena season. The primary reason for this is the synergy of the crowd control RMP has access to. Polymorph, Psychic Scream, Sap, and stuns are all very powerful when combined with each other.
When you are just starting to play arena, you might not have exceptionally skilled teammates. If you play as the priest on the team, your mage and rogue might not have a lot (or any) experience playing with each other or arena in general. Your rogue might not get a successful Sap off to start the game. Your mage not be able to position himself to Polymorph the healer and DPS the kill target simultaneously. You will not have a grasp on what an opposing team's likely kill target will be. You might expect the opposing team to target your mage, but they kill your rogue in a global cooldown or two.
Some players think that if they are 'running an overpowered team comp,' winning will be much easier. This is never the case. If you believe team comp is the primary factor when it comes to arena victory and losses, you are in for a rude awakening.
Playing as a successful popular composition can actually be a detriment. Many opposing teams will have played against your composition in the past and have strategies worked out beforehand to combat you. These strategies might have evolved over hundreds of games spanning multiple seasons. Playing something "ridiculous" like fire mage + demonlogy warlock + holy priest might catch a seasoned team off guard and you'll be able to steal a game or two where you wouldn't have otherwise.
Although there is certainly a precedent for public opinion, there will always be "hidden" comps that are amazing if piloted by skilled players. Priest + mage in 2v2 and beast mastery hunter + enhancement shaman + holy paladin in 3v3 were mocked for the majority of arena history as being terrible compositions. Those are some of the most successful compositions right now. Don't be afraid to play what works for you.
Losing is fine. It's the learning process. You'll definitely lose more games than you win in your first week of arena. It's not a big deal. You and your teammates will eventually learn what works and what doesn't. Have fun in the process.
Moral of the story: Don't copy what's popular, try to find what works for you. It might catch opposing teams off-guard.
If you really want my recommendation in different brackets:
Remember, these are just recommendations, they're not must-haves. The above still holds true (fun should be your primary goal, not success -- make that secondary or tertiary). These recommendations are based on what I've found to be generally (not always) successful for new players.
In 2v2, you can make literally anything work. I've seen protection paladin and protection warrior at 2600+ ratings (and yes, they were playing those specs in arena). Hunter + mage, enhancement shaman + feral druid, discipline priest + discipline priest (no typo there, yes two disc priests) all sound terrible to your flavor of the month gladiator, but each of those comps have hit top twenty on a battlegroup in the past. Play with your best friend and have a blast.
In 3v3, I would recommend playing with one (and only one) healer. If you have great PvE gear and you're a melee DPS class, two healers + you can be successful when you're just starting out. Otherwise, I would try to stay away from two healer setups -- you and your partners probably (unfortunately) don't have a lot of PvP gear to make it work.
In 5v5, try to organize a team with two healers, two classes with very high DPS, and a class with a 50% Mortal Strike effect. Most high rated 5v5 teams follow this model because it combines the best defensive capabilities with offensive capabilities. With a four dps or three healer composition, you'll experience 5v5 in a way that might bias your approach to the bracket in the future.
Moral of the story: They're just recommendations. Don't get hung up on them. If you want to play 5v5 with all DPS classes because you think you will have more fun, do that and ignore the above advice.
Long column this week.
I planned on discussing how to gear your character up for PvP and what to do when you actually step inside the arena. Oh well, I guess they'll have to wait until next week. Maybe I'll skip the advice on gearing your character and jump right into strategy. What do you think? Leave a comment below!
Filed under: Items, Battlegrounds, Blood Sport (Arena PvP), Wrath of the Lich King, Talents, Classes, Features, PvP, How-tos, Tricks, Tips, Analysis / Opinion, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Saltypoison Dec 14th 2009 5:08PM
You know, you are spot on about teaching someone, not just arena but anything.
Its a bit off topic, but I teach guitar lessons and that took me a loooong time to learn. People don't want a textbook example on music theory 99% of the time, they just want to know how to play a damn chord. Small digestible pieces of information, then let them come back for more when they get that down.
Anyway, good post, just happened to (pun totally intended) strike a chord with me on that part.
Tomatketchup Dec 14th 2009 5:09PM
That kid is friggin' awesome.
It's just... it feels so weird knowing that a 5-year old can play better guitar than yourself.
david Dec 14th 2009 5:23PM
One thing that suprises me is that the kid can play the entire thing on the guitar, but he still can't interpet the words when in song. Same with my little bro, he can sing the tune of the song but he fills it in with random words, kinda cute. But seriously, epic skills.
artifex Dec 15th 2009 4:06AM
Well, he's also Hawaiian, apparently, so maybe he's translating some of it into his language.
Definitely leet skillz.
Budokan Dec 15th 2009 10:35AM
Not trying to be ugly here, just thought I'd point out that he is playing a ukelele, not a guitar. Very cute. Oh, and I really enjoyed this column, looking foward to the next one!
Budo
C.Christian.Moore Dec 15th 2009 2:07PM
He's also Japanese. Surprised me too.
jfofla Dec 14th 2009 5:22PM
I have said in the past I am not a fan of Areana.
HOWEVER....
I found your article well written and interesting to read.
You are doing a good job with this, and I will continue to read...even if I don't like Arena.
drtimothyleary Dec 14th 2009 5:40PM
Looking forward to the strategy article.
I'm running a M/W 2v2 team right now and we flat out suck. We can't even seem to break 700! Any tips for us would be great.
C.Christian.Moore Dec 15th 2009 2:15PM
I'm probably not going to discuss specific comps in the strategy article. (So, for instance, I won't be doing priest+mage vs. shaman+warrior). This isn't because I don't know a lot about the matchups -- the time it would take to go into everyone's matchups would just be far too much time and not very edifying for the average beginning player.
We're probably going to talk about position, role, targets, communication, and a few other things (and this can always change, I haven't written the article yet).
Each of those are so important to a winning arena team. I might talk about a few addons as well.
Krick Dec 14th 2009 6:19PM
The sheer amount of PvP gear in the game right now is overwhelming. I really don't know how anyone who is new to WoW PvP is supposed to figure out what to get (or even where to get it).
I'd really like a one-page guide that shows me what gear I can purchase right now with badges (any kind) and/or honor, with ZERO arena points, and ZERO arena rating. As a side note, are there any weapons that don't require arena ratings?
...
Krick
http://www.tankadin.com
http://www.huntertank.com (under construction)
Ueber Dec 14th 2009 8:01PM
The furious gladiator sets are available with triumph badges, and the lower tiers of gear are still available for conquest, valor, etc. However, unless you have a huge stock of lower tier badges, given how easily available triumphs are right now, you're going to want to get furious.
There's a wide assortment of gear available for wintergrasp tokens--essentially two pieces of gear plus trinkets per season. Some, such as the pants and ring, are equivilant to furious gladiator gear. Other pieces, such as the helm or boots, are only the equivalent of hateful gear. The trinkets are also either a great way to pick up resilience (such as the Flow of Knowledge) or a PVP trinket effect with stats instead of resiliance (such as the Titan-Forged Rune of Audacity).
As for other gear you can purchase with honor but no arena rating, all of the furious off set pieces are available to you. Additionally, 1000 rating can be obtained just by getting invited to a team over 1000 rating. Given that these are a dime a dozen and you can probably buy one from someone if you don't have a friend willing to invite you to a team just for the sake of the rating. This could allow you to buy some pieces of furious gear for a combination of points and honor.
In my opinion, if you are interested in getting the most for your time without stepping into arena at all, do the following:
-Spend Wintergrasp Marks of Honor on trinkets first, then ring, then pants.
-Buy a set of furious arena gear with your badges. If you just need to spend old badges, I'd consider using them on deadly but don't bother buying hateful or savage gear at all at this point
-Use your honor points for furious offset pieces.
You can't get the previous seasons weapons, offhands, or wands. Make due with the best PVE options you have.
That being said, the current season's off set pieces can be purchased with honor and have reasonably low ratings requirements. If you're dead set against arenaing, buy furious, otherwise consider doing a few arenas and picking up the best available gear.
Tyr Dec 14th 2009 6:24PM
Thanks for the basic advices, arena forums are often riddeled with gibberish for a layman.
LuminousNerd Dec 14th 2009 6:30PM
"Team composition, like spec, does not really matter that much."
....... is this a joke?
Aside from that good article and thanks for the info, although I really hope to see some more advanced stuff soon.
LuminousNerd Dec 14th 2009 6:36PM
To clarify, I understand what you are saying about how just about any composition can do decent in arena, but there is no question whatsoever that some specs/comps have to work a LOT harder for it. No matter how you spin it some comps are just at an inherent disadvantage and I think comp is the single biggest factor in arena other than skill.
When you're talking about high end of the bracket, there are some comps that simply will not work no matter how good you are. I realize this article is geared towards low to mid level playing... Having a poor comp can make the experience challenging and fun for some people, while for others it can make it just frustrating. It depends on your playstyle and attitude.
C.Christian.Moore Dec 15th 2009 2:17PM
Many compositions that were thought to be terrible are some of the best compositions in arena right now. Priest+Mage and Enhancement+Beast Mastery+Hpally are examples.
Try to get away from the attitude that spec and composition matters, especially to new arena players. Having fun is the reason most of us play this game, no reason to change that in order to win a few more games.
Thanks for the comment.
Metatron Dec 14th 2009 6:42PM
i would like to see a guide on how to get pvp gear easily please. i know hitting bgs is a great way and that's what i've been doing all my leveling period, but ever since i hit 80 a week ago, i've been getting roflpwned by everyone bloke out there to the extent that it just doesnt seem fun anymore...
Eveleaf Dec 15th 2009 12:19PM
Getting ROFLPWN'D. This is normal. You're now competing with 80's who have been working on their PvP gear and skills for a lot longer than you. It's only fair that they be much, much better than you. Turn that around and think how you'd feel if in 9 months you were getting stomped by players who'd just dinged 80. We've all been there. In the meantime, since getting triumph emblems is so ridiculously easy right now, I would suggest throwing yourself into Heroics with the new LFG tool and buying the Furious gear available from the vendor in Dalaran. It's easier on the ego since you'll be dying a lot less. Play 10 arena games a week (plan to lose, so it's not a surprise), complete the daily BG quest, and do Wintergrasp once a week. That should net you enough arena points and honor to begin purchasing Deadly gear from the sewers in Dalaran, and some accessories from the SW peeps. And be patient. :)
Veren Dec 14th 2009 7:02PM
My sincerest compliments on these beginner arena articles. I've really enjoyed them, and I'm impressed not only by your ability to present the (all too often) intimidating world of arena in a very approachable manner. However, my favorite part has been your continued emphasis on what I also feel is the most important and most frequently overlooked part of Arena: having fun!
The very first arena team I was in I chose a "popular" team setup with someone I didn't know particularly well. It was alright, but my personality didn't mesh particularly well with my arena partner. We did pretty well, but I just didn't enjoy it, and after the season was over I vowed I would never run an arena team with someone I didn't like personally or think I'd have fun with.
It has been absolutely, 100% percent worth it. My next 2v2 team was with a good friend of mine. When we first started out and were getting our bearings, we jokingly played a strategy we called "mammoth tanking," where he (a ret pally) would start out mounted on his mammoth and I (a priest) would hide under it. We also came up with a battle cry that we macroed and would shout at random times during the match. In my next team, we said prayers to made-up deities in the prep area before each arena game just for fun.
I've never made gladiator. Heck, I've never even made it past 1750. But by keeping the emphasis on fun, I feel I've gotten as much out of Arena as anyone.
C.Christian.Moore Dec 15th 2009 2:21PM
Great story, I lol'd at the mammoth tanking (in a genuine anecdotal kind of way).
I'm glad you're able to have fun in arenas. I see that element missing from tons of players who just want to win-win-win. Hopefully these articles will help you to win more games, but keep arena in perspective. It's just another aspect of the game.
Most arena players get frustrated that arenas aren't the primary focus of the game, I'm not one of them. Killing new bosses and exploring new content is fun. For me, the best part of the game is getting new spells and gear. I just love seeing my characters progress in power.
Arena, for me, is just another part of the game, but one that gives me a lot of enjoyment. I'm glad you're able to find that same perspective.
Good luck in pwning your enemies in the future, with mammoth tanking or any other interesting strategy. :)
Fnord Dec 14th 2009 7:45PM
Thanks very much for the insight, and the great guide! I don't think I can overestimate just how technical & top-level ALL the available arena advice seems to be on the Web, and I can't overestimate just how fundamental a newcomer's ignorance can often be. Great job in covering the bases for a beginner. (Still hoping that Part 3 includes some EXTREMELY remedial "whom to attack/heal and how to attack/heal" advice.)