Sunday, May 30, 2010

Does PvP Teach You PvE Techniques?

I'm sorry for this rant, yes it stems from my mains

From my experience in all 4 aspects of group composition the answer to "Does PvP Teach You PvE Techniques?" the answer is YES. As a healer this teaches you triage and how to gauge your heals in a pinch situation. As a tank it teaches you positioning and awareness. As a melee it teaches you how to angle yourself for the best damage output as well as additional raid awareness. But where it really comes into play is when you are a ranged DPSer. This is because as you can see with the other 3 aspects it teaches you awareness, but for a ranged DPSer there is one additional point that PvP teaches you that seems to be very lacking in many of the current players.

So I say to you "Hardcore" PvE fanatics. Try a battleground or two, and see how much harder it is to just face roll through. PvP takes skill that cannot be honed in PvE content, yet every bit of experience you would receive from PvP will help you in a PvE environment.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Why BG Brackets should be shrunk.

I've enjoyed BG's since the first time I stepped into WSG on my paladin. The fast paced, unpredictable action was a big lure for me. But what always got me was that while I was leveling I would pop a bracket and suddenly I was completely out matched, so I had to do more leveling to get up to a competitive level again, this magic range was the #5 - #9 range. I always asked myself why only the top 5 levels in a bracket were "supposed" to be there. Then Blizzard released patch 3.2 and allowed leveling via PvP. I was in love, there was a sudden rush of people that were below this magical range coming in and getting slaughtered right along side of me. Not to mention that there were all of those twinks that didn't read patch notes suddenly leveling out of the bracket that they so loved. Two of my favorite things were suddenly occurring, crying and mass murder on a pixel level. But, this didn't last long, most of the twinks, on my battlegroup, that had read the patch notes, became mothballed. And soon the mindset of "Level until you're #5 - #9" returned because as we all know the prior levels were not very useful and easily one shot. This is the purpose behind this blog though, to change that concept.

So, back to the concept. If BG brackets were shrunk down to a 5 level bracket, you would have 100% competition in all levels, it would equal the playing field. The fact that this concept didn't come with leveling in BG's still baffles me. I mean you don't go into an instance that has mobs or bosses that are 8-9 levels higher than you and expect to do any damage, and that idea was the foundation of placement through the Random Dungeon Finder. So why wouldn't a BG allow you to be more competitive?

Most of my characters have been able to take on mobs that are up to 5 levels higher than them and succeed. This has held true through World and Organized PVP also. So if I had a level 10 fresh into the bracket, I can compete with most people up to level 15, but obviously once they hit 16-19 it is nearly impossible to hit them and they can usually do enough damage to kill me in two to three hits if I don't have a healer behind me. So, for a pure leveling experience that allows for a balanced competition between the two factions it is logical that offering a 5 level bracket would bring more interest to the PVP aspect of the game. I am sure many people are put off by the fact that they can't be competitive at all levels, where as in instances you have a set choice of instances that you can be competitive.

I would honestly like to see this change in Cataclysm with the rest of the perspective changes. I imagine many changes are going to occur in the battlegrounds with the rated battleground concept. Since they are looking to organize battlegrounds more I can see a reduction in the amount of people required for AV as one of the major changes, and hopefully this change will come along with it.

As always, we are still recruiting in both guilds, hit me up with an email or catch TLDNR [H] / CHRGR [A] or KTALGSTO [H] / Tinibubbles [A] online. You can also find me on Twitter.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

PvP During Downtime or Through the Expansion?

WoW.com had an article on The Art of War(craft) about using Battlegrounds and PvP as a bridge between expansions. This made me wonder how many people actually use PvP as a stop gap between expansions when they are not raiding or their guild has called it quits until the next expansion. Myself I almost always try to slip into a BG or two when I can. Though when trying to maintain even a small raiding guild it was nearly impossible to squeeze a good night of PvP. But at the end of an expansion PvP becomes a lot more accessible. BG queue times are quick, there are premades being made and less and less raids being done each week. While raiding usually sees a lull PvP sees a boom.

So my goal going into Cataclysm. More PvP, with the two new BG's (Twin Peaks and Battle for Gilneas) and rated Battlegrounds I will definitely be getting into more PvP, especially battlegrounds. This was the reasoning behind this blog and the guilds on either side.

So, with that I welcome anyone interested in joining either guild. You can contact me at TakingBackPVP@gmail.com. Or if you find yourself on feel free to do a /who for Chrgr or Tinibubbles (Alliance) / TLDNR or KTALGSTO (Horde), and we would be happy to send an invite.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

PVP Podcasts....

So as you should know if you read this blog, I love PVP. So with this love of PVP, and to be honest the form of PVP that World of Warcraft provides has to be one of my favorites, I am curious why more PVP based Podcasts have not popped up over the years. I realize that the world of PVP is not overly fast paced, but I'm certain with a little creativity and dedication a podcast could sprout up, between interviews, tips and tricks and news updates.

What inspired this post is the guys over at Castaclysm, Markco, Jhaman and Thunderer are awesome. They almost always have information not covered by the other WoW Podcasts. To be absolutely honest, this is one of two that I am willing to listen to on any consistent basis (Call to Auction doesn't post consistent enough). But one of the best things about this Podcast to me is the references to their PVP antics. It was what inspired me to create Chrgr (thanks Markco).

So if you have the opportunity, head over to Castaclysm and listen to these guys. You won't regret it.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

More PVP, Horde Side

We came back to the horde a few hours later. And low and behold, Warsong Gulch Perfection. And the most amazing part is we started the BG with only 2 level 15's as our highest level characters in the group. most were sub 13. KTALGSTO decided to go with the PVP tip of the week and played full support for our FC, and did great. I was the only healing class in the BG so I stayed with our FC and luckily we were able to fend off about 6 people.

Second attempt, we had half the group at level 18+ and due to one persons attitude towards low levels participating, and due to his own inability to communicate the whole team was drug to the floor. We lost 3-0. Oh and the hunter/rogue combination taking people out at the bottom of our GY.

P.S.: I would like to let everyone know that yes, you do get XP from BG's. (this was in fact an argument provided as to why level 10-15 shouldn't be in BG's)

But we persist we are setting out to change these types of attitudes, to get people to understand that BG's are not for level 18 & 19's with the highest quality of gear anymore. BG's are for everyone, and a great way to progress through the levels. To be absolutely honest I wouldn't be surprised if we started seeing more low level PVP gear available in Cataclysm to start equalizing this attitude.

The rest started with a better attitude but we still lost. Though we are progressing through out level at a steady pace.

Tomorrow I will be writing an article as to why BG's should be shrunk down to a 5 level bracket instead of the current 10.

We are now openly recruiting on both sides, no level requirement and encourage all players that enjoy a PVP based environment for leveling. Also watch for our guild rules post this week.

Tabards....

Well, we have finalized our Tabard selection. So we are now a "real guild" we have a tabard. Still working towards bank slots and potentially a vent server. But we definitely have a tabard. And it's pretty cool looking, Alliance will be Black on Gold, and Horde will be Gold on Black. Check it out in the Armory (Alliance) (Horde) and tell us what you think.

Horde & Alliance PVP Today

This morning we went in and did some PVP on the horde side. Since we were only level 11 and about 6/10 of the WSG group were below level 15, it was pretty much a slaughter. So, we decided to take advantage of this and jumped over to Chrgr and Tinibubbles to see how we would fair on that side.

And guess what... Warsong Gulch Perfection was attained. And I made an enemy. Despite being killed by a Lock a level 18 shaman made it his mission for the last round of the BG to kill me. I am so flattered.

Go figure, the second run we had the typical "to many chiefs and to many illiterates". Most people were staying infront of our base while only a couple people were trying to take out the enemy flag carrier. Then two different strategies were being vocalized and not confirmed.

PVP Tip of the Week: When a low level in the bracket, try your best to slow down the EFC or anyone pursuing your flag carrier rather than trying to be some hero and taking out a top level opponent. If you can pick off someone your own level, do so, but not at the expense of the flag carriers. You can be vital, you just have to know your role in the game. DPS is for raiding and instances, control is for PVP.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

No PVP Yet

While we did not PVP tonight, we did get TLDNR and KTALGSTO up to level 10 and are attempting to establish the guild on the Horde side. This has proven to be a bit more difficult than the Alliance side at this point due to people wanting a lot more gold for 10-15 minutes of their time. But in the end thanks to some very nice and helpful people we were able to get it up and running. At the moment we have 8 members, not sure how many will stay or leave, but we welcome anyone that chooses to stick around and have some fun. Hopefully this weekend will be the beginning of a great project.

If any of our new recruits on the horde side are reading this, I just want to say welcome and I hope to go into Cataclysm with you all.

If you don't want to play horde and prefer to play alliance, remember we have a guild on the alliance side as well.

Alliance Guild Name is TakingBackPVPdotBlogspot

Horde Guild Name is TakingBackPVPdotBIogspot

(Horde has a capital i and Alliance has the lowercase L )

Friday, May 21, 2010

Cataclysm Bringing us PVP Guilds?

Zach Yonzon writer of The Art of War(craft) blog over at WoW.com, wrote a great article speculating how Guild talents will effect PVP oriented guilds. (Check it out here) He ventures to guess that, like the PVE guild talents, there will be PVP oriented ones. He also worries that it will create an issue for players that enjoy both Raiding and PVP.

Myself, to be honest I've always enjoyed separating my raiding toons from my PVP toons. I like having 2 specs for the given task (ever since we've had dual spec) rather than an off spec being specifically for PVP purposes. Yes this means I level 2 of the same class, but that doesn't really bother me at all, I have 2+ of pretty much every class but Priests at the moment and many people think that is odd, but to me it seems pretty natural because each has their distinction. Even when it comes to pure DPS classes I have chosen to have 2 PVE specs rather than a PVE and a PVP spec. For example my Warlock, I enjoy raiding as affliction, but affliction doesn't really get the love in the fast 5 man random dungeon lifestyle we have going on now, so I added a second spec specifically for farming and 5 mans that employs a Demo/Destro build for snap DPS and a kick ass pet to Cleave everything it sees. My hunter is the same way. I love MM and Survival for raiding, but for farming, and doing yet another task I love (soloing instances), I see no better spec than BM. About the only class I could say I would probably have a PVE and a PVP spec for would be a rogue, but even then I believe that trash and bosses in raiding require different talent allotments, so I have chosen to have 2 different rogues instead.

So... with that curb of text, it begs the question. Can I have both toons in the same guild? The answer sadly has to be "No". Each toons has their own special requirements, and with such should be in two different guilds. But that is my opinion, what's yours?

Another potential guild function I have heard about is farming/AH marketing guilds. Will these guilds receive some passive bonus' for their efforts or will they have to deal with PVE vs. PVP options also?

Well, either way, on both our alliance and horde guilds we will be taking the PVP talents come rated battlegrounds and guild talent pools. So if this is something you're interested in and are either on the Nordrassil server or are looking to re-roll, we welcome any new recruits. Hit up Chrgr or Tinibubbles on the Alliance side, or TLDNR or KTALGSTO on the Horde side.

Until next time. /bow

And we're back...

Well, no PVP updates today, BUT we did receive the fan via UPS today and it was installed. So tomorrow should lead to some progress on this project. Just to remind everyone though, we currently have the alliance guild up and running and are happy to invite anyone interested in a PVP guild that will begin establishing premades and other PVP events. Just roll a toon on Nordrassil and hit up Chrgr or Tinibubbles and we will be happy to toss anyone an invite.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Level 19 Prot Warrior PVPing in WSG





This is a perfect example of why I am rolling prot for pvp. Best part is the end.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Portal....

Portal had to be the best FPS (without the shooting) that I've ever played. The wit was outstanding... and honestly, There IS cake! The later levels take not only a good mind but timing. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend getting this game whether it's free through Steam (til May 24th, 2010) or you get a bundle package that contains it. Get it, don't install any other game until you have beat it.

Just remember, You will be baked, and there will be cake.

Low Level Prot Warrior in World PVP



I was quite amused at watching this, even though the voice over was obviously Vent or Teamspeak while he was PVPing. Then the second clip's music was obnoxious. But him fighting the Tauren shows how powerful prot can be in a pvp situation. Sustainability > Burst Damage.

Return Date Established....

Well, Newegg sent me an email today telling me that our return date will be the 20th. So hopefully the evening of the 20th we will have a new update on our Horde side. So maybe I will throw a couple non-progression but still pvp related posts up between now and then to keep the post count climbing.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Oh and....

I was reminded that I should mention that last night I found a new addiction also... I found out that the game Portal was free if you had a Steam account, low and behold, I DO! So I went and downloaded it... the voice over is hilarious and weird at the same time. I haven't gone to deep but I had one of those "one more level... no no.... ONE more level" moments last night... and each time I was glad I had.

So now I have SC2 and Portal to keep my Cathode Ray Tan going.... honestly I use an LCD, so I guess I'll just keep getting more and more pale. /sigh

Delays....

If anyone is actually reading this blog yet, you will notice that we are both still level 10 and haven't done any BG's in the last few days. This is because Tini/KTA 's CPU fan went out and we are waiting on a new one from our pals over at Newegg.com. So, while we wait for that, I am going to be kicking back and enjoying what I got in my email today... This morning I woke up, checked my email and to my surprise got my very own StarCraft 2 Beta Key!!! So wish me luck as I venture into the StarCraft universe for the first time in over 10 years. I got mah can of Raid and fly swatter equipped.. and here I go!!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Level 29 2v2 Arena/BG Teams: Mage/Priest

Before I start, I want to express that this series on team makeups are complete theorycrafting on my part due to personal experience and view point. I welcome any comments stating otherwise, as a matter of fact right here I will also ask, what do you think are the best 2v2 teams? But without further adieu here are my thoughts as to why these teams work.

Mage & Priest


The Mage: Mages... when I think of mages I usually get angry, thinking about being turned into a sheep, turtle, cat or penguin. But when I think about level 29 mages, the first thing that comes to mind is Blink, Counterspell, and Cone of Cold. These three spells are probably some of the most powerful utilities in the mage tool box between level 20 and 29, especially in BG's and Arena skirmishes. Blinking at the right time can keep you out of conical effect spells, if you blink behind your opponent it can interrupt a cast, speaking of casting, Counterspell is effective to cancel out a healers ability to support their partner or flag carrier, since most healers utilize a single school of magic. And Cone of Cold is easily one of the best spells shared between offense and defense, either as a means of kiting when being on the defense or slowing your opponent down to allow melee to get into range if you are on the offense, in pvp 8 seconds can mean life or death. While more situational you also receive your Ward spells during this bracket, Frost and Fire ward can easily offset a good deal of damage at these levels. Also while not quite PVP related you also receive your teleports, and a mages ever friendly Mana Gem and Evocation spells. Now as far as spec's go, I have to admit I am bias towards Frost in PVP, especially at this level, you can't quite get all of the talent points distributed for a good PoM/Pyro spec, Arcane seems a bit like the good ole days of the 5 second mage, and Fire while somewhat bursty, doesn't seem quite powerful enough yet. But I am up for a challenge, below are my takes on decent pvp builds for each spec.


Arcane - Much of the first couple tiers of the arcane tree seem to be more support talents, related to all three talent trees. Many highlight spells from all three talents rather than arcane specific abilities, with this I truly feel that Arcane at this level is more of a utility option, and that is further highlighted by the good talents you get from this tree. Such as Focus Magic, a 3% crit bonus that continues to stack by 3% each time you crit again during a 10 second period, this is nice, but at these levels a little impractical. Though my favorite talent in the arcane tree has to be Improved Counterspell, a 20 second Counterspell could really gimp an opponent, especially one that uses a single school of magic, like a shaman, resto/balance druid, priest, or a paladin. The potential is very wide. Now another great talent that seems to be a must have for everyone at higher tiers of content is Torment the Weak. Now an extra 12% damage is no joke, especially since you will likely have your opponents frost nova'd or under the effects of Cone of Cold. So while Arcane may not be a single focus output spec it definitely brings enough utility to the table to be considered.

Frost - Ah, frosty, how I enjoy you. Talents in the frost tree brings so much homogenization between spells. You got Frostbite giving you a 15% chance to freeze your opponents by your chill effect, your Permafrost increases the duration of your chill effect by 3 seconds and reduced their movement speed by 10%. Shatter gives you a 50% damage bonus against frozen opponents. Then you have Ice Shards giving you a 100% crit bonus for all your frost spells. and Icy Veins gives you a 20% speed boost when casting your spells. Frost is a great support spec, but it truly shines when you are the one required to control your opponents movement to allow your team mate(s) to burn them down, or when you are a flag carrier.

Fire - Much like Arcane, I don't feel fire really gets good until a little later. Luckily for Fire though is the fact that much of the basic necessities for a fire spec are in these first few tiers of talent points. For example, the wonderful Nuke spell Pyroblast, this is the basis behind PoM/Pyro and many fire specs. Another great talent is Ignite dealing an additional 40% damage to the victims of your fire crits. The other PVP staple for a fire build is Impact, it gives a 10% chance to stun the victim of your fire spells.

The Priest:
While I do not have a priest myself, I have known enough to encounter the pitfalls an opponent can run into. Between the Heals, the Shields, and the Fears, a well played priest can be a very scary character to run up against, and most of these tools are learned between 10 and 19, but the toolbox is perfected in the 20-29 bracket, with Mana Burn, Devouring Plague and Flash Heal. Oh and lets not forget, Holy Fire. /cower

Disc - Much like the arcane mage, Disc gets stronger the higher level you are, and at these low levels you are basically establishing your utility. But these utility spells cannot be overlooked, things like Improved Power Word: Fortitude giving an additional 4% health , and Imp PW: Shield giving 15% more damage reduction, Improved Inner Fire giving the priest 12 more charges and a 45% increase to the inner fire spells effectiveness, then you have Inner Focus, their cooldown talent that gives them a 25% crit bonus as well as a free cast. While at low levels Disc may not seem the greatest, they bring a lot to the table in the way of buffs and utility.

Holy - At low levels Holy is the Bread and Butter healing spec. While Disc gives a 15% damage absorption through PW: Shield, Holy is capable of boosting their allies Armor by 10% for 15 seconds when casting heals on them, thanks to Inspiration. Holy Priests are also one of the only ones that has a single talent point self heal, thanks to Desperate Prayer. And their HoT ticks can be a life saver thanks to Improved Renew.

Shadow - Ah shadow, my personal favorite spec in the priests arsenal. Everyone has been the victim of a Psychic Scream or two, but it's shadow Priests that have the lovely talent to improve it, with Improved Psychic Scream the shadow priests cooldown has been dropped by 4%. The talent Shadow Weaving is an interesting one to me, making it so when you have 5 points allotted you have a 100% chance to increase your shadow damage by up to 10% for 15 seconds. Also, you have one of the shadow nukes in the one point talent spell Mind Flay, giving the shadow priest a channeled style DoT, that also reduces the victims movement speed.


So you might be saying to yourself, "ok, so now I understand the classes and the specs, but which make the best teams?" And I will answer "Mage and Priest". But no really, if it were up to me, I would stack an Arcane Mage with a Shadow Priest, a Fire Mage with a Disc Priest, and a Frost Mage with either a Disc or a Holy Priest. Overall my favorite combination is the Frost Mage with the Holy Priest because of the self heal, as well as the control available with the frost spec, also Frost Mages are capable of handling multiple enemies through Chill Effect and the healing specced Priests are capable of either mitigating damage received or healing through it to a great degree. So I definitely recommend trying this combination out.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

First day out...

Well, last night went as expected, level 10 in a BG was still as painful as always. But... I was able to keep a couple flag carriers slowed despite losing both matches. I also got my Make Love, Not Warcraft achievement thanks to a slow releasing blood elf. The queue times were somewhat slow making it so we were only able to get 2 in during our allotted 90 minute period of time. But we had fun, Tini was playing under the low level pally motto of Stun and Run... I was charging and thunderclapping my heart out, along with spamming Hamstring. Let me tell you this is not easy to get off on a level 19 FC when you are level 10 and in all white gear except a green +1 Str axe.

What did catch me off guard was during both BG's we didn't have anyone say "if you're not level 16-19 you shouldn't be here!". The only similar comment was one hunter who mentioned that if you were sub-15 you probably shouldn't be trying to carry the flag. Hmm... my level 14 prot pally with the Ironman achievement will beg to differ.

Well... more fun next time.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Blacksmithing, Leatherworking and Tailoring in Cataclysm.... YAY!!!

Ok, I've been back and forth about the potential of Cataclysm, some things I like, some things I don't... others I see many people on the fence about (raid lock outs etc). But I did read something last night that just about knocked my socks off... and I'm loving it....

All three professions will create their starter sets of PVP gear, which will be upgraded with new recipes every season. In general, these are meant to keep pace as an entry-level PvP set below whatever the current Hero Point set is.
The source is here so you can read all of the changes. This one thing has me very excited about top tier PVP especially when it comes to rated battlegrounds. On my mains server I have just recently gotten back into PVP, especially in BG's, and I will be trying Arena's again, though every other time I went as heals, this time I am trying to be a Prot Paladin WEEEEE.

But this one change, since my prot paladin is a 450 blacksmith/engineer at the moment, I am expecting a whole LOAD of fun with, being able to get right into PVP with a decent gear set should make it very enjoyable. Also for those characters that I am still leveling there shouldn't be nearly the "Wall of Entry" that many of my toons currently face. I do have a max tailor, blacksmith, and Tini/KTA has a max level leatherworker, we have both been nursing there professions for quite a while, usually only using them for the Auction house and helping out guildies. Now, oh now we can actually use them for a reasonable purpose. Yeah yeah, I know, technically supplying our toons with level 80 blue gear isn't a bad idea, but to me it is much better to be able to outfit a character that I want to pvp with, with a bunch of epics, even if it's "last season's".

So join me in rejoicing this idea, which I heard many people wishing had happened when the Deadly Glad's season came out. Blizz has heard our cries, and given us a tissue.

Tonight we take our first steps into WSG on Chrgr and Tinibubbles, wish us luck. And if I actually have any readers yet, feel free to roll an alt for pvp leveling, we have no minimum level requirement and welcome anyone that finds some joy in battle while leveling.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Chrgr and Tinibubbles Hit Level 10

Well, after probably about 2 hours of /played time (yeah there were some afk periods) Chrgr the Human Warrior and Tinibubbles the dwarf paladin have hit level 10. We will probably work on TLDNR and KTALGSTO tonight in hopes of having all 4 at level 10 and to begin PVP this week.

It still looks like Chrgr will be protection, and Tini will be Holy. And TLDNR will be Enhancement and KTALGSTO will be survivalist.

Also, the alliance side has a guild setup now. It's called TakingBackPVPdotBlogSpot, I know, I know that's a LOOOOONNNNGGGGG name. But I figure a couple gold for in game advertisement is well worth it. Not to mention they'll know it's us.

So at this point, if you're interested in rerolling for PVP purposes on the alliance side hit us up, we are usually on at approximately 10 - 11 PM server time at this point.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Level 29 2v2 Arena/BG Teams: Paladin/Warrior

Before I start, I want to express that this series on team makeups are complete theorycrafting on my part due to personal experience and view point. I welcome any comments stating otherwise, as a matter of fact right here I will also ask, what do you think are the best 2v2 teams? But without further adieu here are my thoughts as to why these teams work.

Paladin & Warrior

The Paladin: While in the 10-19 bracket paladins feel very gimped in comparison to other classes, especially rogues, hunters, druids and shaman. It is between level 20 and 29 that much of the foundation is set for a paladin. At level 20 we get to see the wonders that it is to be a paladin, we get Consecration, Blessing of Kings, Exorcism, and Flash of Light. At level 22 you get Seal of Justice. Then at 28 they get a very powerful judgment for PVP purposes, Judgment of Justice. So with the variable blessings and judgments available, and having Flash of Light and Holy Light, a paladin can make for a rock solid healer, or with the different defensive capabilities offered, they are able to hold someone down quite well with pure survivability, not to mention many of the offensive abilities come into play during this level, between spells and talents. Speaking of Talents let's look at a couple builds that seem very viable for me in level 29 Arena's and BG's.

Holy - this spec receives it's major boon through the talent Illumination. This is where Holy Paladins begin to become one of the most mana efficient healers in the game, and it starts right here.

Prot - this spec has 2 points that I feel are interchangeable those are the 2 points that are in Guardians Favor they could just as easily be placed in Improved Hammer of Justice. This really depends on what you are focusing on, You would take Guardians Favor if you are trying to run the flag in WSG, where as you may take Imp. HoJ if you were in arena's or guarding a flag in AB. But the major boon for this spec is Improved Righteous Fury, this 6% damage reduction makes a Prot Paladin one of the biggest pains to kill in battlegrounds and arenas no matter what level.

Ret - Ret can quickly become a major damage dealer when geared properly. These 2h wielding holy rollers have the potential to knock you from 100% to 0% in the matter of a Hammer of Justice. With abilities like Seal of Command and the quicker cooldown from Improved Judgment. A Ret paladin offers a great deal of versatility. One thing about Ret is in my opinion there are 4 talent points that could be bounced around between 3 different talents that require only 2 points each. These talents are Pursuit of Justice, Vindication, and Eye for an Eye. In the spec I provided I left out Eye for an Eye because of how situational it is, this only really works against casters, but if you find yourself going up against a lot of Mage/Priest combos you may be thanking yourself if you took it.

Warriors: Warriors can be pretty devastating in the 10-19 bracket when played correctly. But in 20 - 29, I have one thing to say Cleave, no really, Cleave has to be one of the most amazing melee abilities in my opinion, but if you're thinking "that's not the only good tool in the Warrior toolbox" you're right, but at level 20 it is a very powerful ability. Another powerful ability (if you stay in Battle Stance or like to Stance Dance thanks to Stance Mastery) is Retaliation, counterattacks are great when facing off with other melee combatants. At 22 you receive probably the 2nd best tool in the Warrior pvp arsenal at least in my opinion, you get to piss those locks and priests off with Intimidating Shout. At level 24 Execute is another powerful yet very situational ability, while I love attacks that offer big burst potential, it is often difficult (especially in a BG situation) to pull some of these types of attacks off. Now any and all warrior flag runners in WSG look at level 28 with glee and zeal, this is when the warrior gets the wonderful ability called Shield Wall. Now lets look at the different talent potentials.

Arms - the arms tree is the warriors primary 2h weapon spec. And as such can put out some big numbers despite being slow. The main benefits for Arms comes from DoT damage, for example Deep Wounds and Improved Rend. Also you get Improved Overpower and Taste for Blood which helps proc Overpower. So between DoT damage and big proc numbers Arms can be very dangerous.

Fury - this spec has to be the best spec at rage generation, thanks to Unbridled Wrath. It also gets high scores in consistent damage dealing thanks to Enrage and Improved Cleave. The downfall to this spec to me is there isn't a whole lot of variety to it. Most of the Fury build is just sitting there swinging and spamming a couple abilities.

Prot - Again, prot means sustainability. These builds always mean you are going to stay up longer than everyone else and your focus will always be on out living your opponent rather than bursting them down, and that point can't be driven home any better than with an ability like Last Stand. Mix that with the fact that between Improved Bloodrage and Shield Specialization you will consistently be generating rage, allowing for Cleave and Thunder Clap spamming, and with Improved Thunder Clap you will be able to slow your opponents movement and blast right past them.


So, now the question of why would these two classes work out the best as a team? Well for one Armor value is a huge boon for both classes, these two classes are the only ones that can equip mail at this level. Meaning both classes have high sustainability especially when they work together. If we break it into spec's, I would happily pit a Holy Paladin/Prot Warrior combination against just about anything. Along with that I can also see the mixture of the double burst potential of an Arms/Ret team or the Wear Them To A Nub team that a Fury Warrior/Prot Paladin would make. To be absolutely honest I can see any of these interchanging but the three I just listed would probably make for the best combination, at least in my mind.

So, tell me, in the 2-29 bracket which of these do you think would be the most dangerous combination to contend with?

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Gearing up...

So I enjoy running the flag. That is one of the reasons I chose the classes that I did, the shaman gets Ghost Wolf at 16 and while warriors don't get speed boosts they do get to Charge between opponents and deflection capabilities. The question is, do I gear up for pure stamina since I am expecting short bursts where I will probably end up in a situation of die or barely live, or should I try and get some sustainability through grabbing some strength on the mage and agility on the shaman, I would hate to end up in a situation where I am at mid field and can't continue beating the buggers off of me because I can't seem to do enough damage to send them back to the graveyard.

I realize when starting at level ten we will be nothing but a nuisance but I am thinking once I hit 16 I will be trying to run the flag in WSG, and once I hit 26 I will definitely be a big defender in AB (though I prefer WSG much more than AB).

My next question that I hope to answer is, will I have enough honor saved up each bracket to grab the pvp gear that is purchasable with honor? With the new honor changes this one has me thinking, did blizzard think the low level pvp through enough to give us enough honor to purchase gear? I remember the first character I tried to level through a bracket after we got experience in BG's, there was no way to get enough honor and marks to buy the gear, you might have been lucky enough to buy one piece per bracket, that made it real difficult moving into the next brackets unless you bought all of your gear or farmed it via being pulled through dungeons, which typically would give you more levels than you really wanted, especially if you wanted to pvp through the levels.

So updates will be abound! Stay tooned! (heh... see what I did thar?)

P.S.: Anyone looking for a new home to re-roll on, please give Nordrassil a shot, once we hit level 10 on both sides, which shouldn't take more than a day or so, we will be looking to get a guild on each side started for PVPers. We will be starting up premades and might try for arena skirmishes. So if you got a low level arena team you might want to try out, bring it to Nordrassil.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The plan........

Rerolling on a brand new server. No mains to supply (except a DK for each side), no BoA gear, no cash, nothing to put us ahead of anyone else. Oh, us? Me and my wife.

Then once we hit the magical level 10, we will start running BG's to level, and only BG's.

The server: Nordrassil

The Guilds: TBA

The Alliance Characters:
Me: Chrgr - Human - Warrior - Arms or Prot
Her: Tinibubble - Dwarf - Paladin - Holy

The Horde Characters:
Me: Tldnr - Troll - Shaman - Enhancement
Her: Ktalgsto - Troll - Hunter - Survival


If you enjoy low level premades and leveling via pvp we encourage you to come and reroll on Nordrassil with us, we will begin to start guild wide events once we have enough player accounts in guild. We are planning on catering to both factions so no-one is left out.