Upcoming rated BGs - The death of Arena?

[Tim]

So what do you guys think of the upcoming Rated Battlegrounds that are supposed to happen. Do you think it will improve the general game overall?

I think it is definitely a step in the right direction towards fixing the issues that Arenas have created, namely, removing the stigma that Arena = PVP.

World PVP > Battlegrounds > Arena

While World PVP is where it is at (re: camp ganking at the AH!), Battlegrounds are a step in that direction imo.

I for one am excited at this change!

PS: Who thinks Arathi Basin in 25v25 mode would be absolutely NUTTY FUN?

[Lindline]

Originally Posted by Tim

So what do you guys think of the upcoming Rated Battlegrounds that are supposed to happen. Do you think it will improve the general game overall?

I think it is definitely a step in the right direction towards fixing the issues that Arenas have created, namely, removing the stigma that Arena = PVP.

World PVP > Battlegrounds > Arena

While World PVP is where it is at (re: camp ganking at the AH!), Battlegrounds are a step in that direction imo.

I for one am excited at this change!

PS: Who thinks Arathi Basin in 25v25 mode would be absolutely NUTTY FUN?

I'm definitely looking forward to it. I don't think that it'll kill arena though, there are those that will still use it to flex the size of their epeen. There are also those that genuinely enjoy it. However, I expect a significant dropoff of arena participation.

And Tim, I'd love 25v25 AB... if only AB wasn't capped at 15.

[Ualaa]

I'd assume, since there is a rating, battlegrounds and arena would have equal gear, at equal rating. There would still be a points cost, but points are rarely the limiting factor, except at the start of a season.

Another question is, what strategies are successful for which battlegrounds. Assuming you run 2x Five-Boxers in WSG, 3x Five-Boxers in AB/EotS etc.

With a lot of open ground, you won't have to deal with the whole pillar game, which should make controlled burst teams like Shaman x4 more effective.

But, 3x Five Boxers in an Arathi Basin, would be able to have 5 toons at each base easily. But how well do they do against 10 individual players hitting one base? If you seriously outgear the opposition, can you hold five bases with toons in only three places?

Would you go with 3x Five Boxers, or perhaps 5x Three Boxers. Our strength is coordination and focus firing - too much burst to react to, especially on dps switches. Our weakness is a lack of independent action - like having half your team fighting in one area, while the other half fights elsewhere.

[ebony]

na the arena still be open the the china players and the $$$$$$$ they can win

25v25 AB wow or somethink like AB but bigger?

[omgMooter]

Seems to me like Blizzard is trying to slowly get rid of Arenas, but that doesn't bother me at all

[Ualaa]

I like the concept of arena.
A match to the death, between a fixed number of combatants.

I don't like how it was implemented.
In that you cannot use all of your abilities.
And that the best pvp gear, was based not on your pvp ability but on your arena rating.

Still, it needs to be comparable to PvE raids, both in difficulty to get and time to get the full set.
And the top set for a given season, should be the same item level, just with a different emphasis on itemization points.

Hopefully rated battlegrounds, will feel more like world pvp.
And will offer arena level gear too.

[jaycee]

Originally Posted by Ualaa

But, 3x Five Boxers in an Arathi Basin, would be able to have 5 toons at each base easily. But how well do they do against 10 individual players hitting one base? If you seriously outgear the opposition, can you hold five bases with toons in only three places?

This would be the biggest problem: AB doesn't really work in a competitive sense if you just send a 5 man squad to each of 3 nodes. Sure you might wipe the force once, but we're not talking about rolling a pug here, we're talking about a team with some incentive to play together, that can concentrate maybe 10 players where you least want them to hit you

That said - 5 druid stealth squad would make capping flags pretty easy? Maybe you could go on the offensive and make them hold their flags with 4-5 players, leaving less to attack with...

[Ualaa]

If you were to run as a boxer, with an arena mentality.
As in 4x DPS, boxed by yourself, plus 1x Healer played by a friend...
I can see 5 players, through coordinated action, consistently taking out 10 individuals at once.

But this is with the normal BG players, most of which aren't competitively PvPing.
With rated BG's, you can assume almost everyone will have good pvp gear, and a lot of pvp experience.

I suppose it all depends on how this is implemented.

If you create a 15 man pvp team, which like an arena team, always plays together and queues as a group and coordinates action on ventrilo/teamspeak/skype... They will be very adaptable, very geared and tough as hell to play against.

If on the other hand, everyone queues for a battleground, gets random players until it is filled, then the server looks at the combined rating for each side, and determines how many points the winner/loser will gain/lose... We will likely not have as coordinated an opposition, and the single five-man team will be stronger then any 8 equally geared opponents who attack a single node as individuals.

[Tim]

One thing about having 5x multiboxers, with 3x on each node, is what happens if the alliance team decides to send 10-15 guys to 1 node? Its going to be rough.

Having 3 multiboxers in 1 AB gives you maximum punching power, but when you need just 1-3 more guys here and there, this is where it would break down.

I think 2x multiboxers in 1 AB would be crazy cool, and really powerful. 3x, well, I'd have to see it to be sure.

Anybody up for it?