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?