With the release of Wrath of the Lich King looming on the “soon” horizon, many players find themselves looking for ways to keep themselves busy. Here are 12 steps to ensure you’re as prepared as possible for stepping foot on the shores of Northrend. (Hint: buy warm boots)
A few months ago, I discovered that I enjoy PvP. I found healing in Alterac Valley analagous to healing in a raid where 10+ people refuse to use Threat Meter. With the introduction of Arenas, I’ve shifted more and more Talent points into PvP-oriented abilities and have worked hard to build a set of Healing gear with an emphasis on Stamina, Resilience, and Armor (for when I switch to bear). I recently respecced from a Restoration/Balance healing spec to a 3-Tree PvP spec which includes Balance talents for insta-cast root and interruption prevention and Feral Talents for increased armor and ROCKET BEAR:
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I have no idea how I have played this game for two years without this ability. It is an endless source of amusement to send my large, furry bear behind rocketing toward an unsuspecting … whatever. Or rocketing away from a Warrior or Rogue intent upon my ursine demise.
I’m currently actively playing on two Arena teams, a 2v2 with my husband called The Honeymooners and a 5v5 that we only just joined last night (whose name I’ll refrain from mentioning in case they decide we don’t work out). I’m using our 2v2 team to learn new tactics against different classes and also to learn how to take losses in stride. Because while I exhilirate in the thrill of victory, I have a tendency to throw pens when in the agony of defeat. To counteract this, I’m experimenting with a new form of positive reinforcement. Here are the rules:
- Never look at your rating change. It hurts more to feel yourself sliding into decline. It’s okay to look at your rating at the start and the finish of your Arena play.
- After each match, regardless of the outcome, take 2-3 minutes to discuss with your partner what went right and what went wrong. Consider alternate strategies that might work better.
- Don’t try to “go out on a winning streak.” Winning one final game won’t counteract the 5 losses you suffered trying to win one to make yourself feel better.
- After every loss, you must slam half a shot of tequila (with salt and lime). This gives you something to be excited about and helps take the sting away from the loss.
Rule #4 above made Arena play so much more enjoyable yesterday. Obviously, this rule doesn’t go for our 5v5 play as it can sometimes result in the following:
Yesterday we finished up at 1623 on our 2v2 team, which is about 20 points higher than where we started. We had a string of three losses at the end but I was able to convince my husband that Rule #3 was a good one to follow, especially when used in conjunction with Rule #4. Oh, and Rule #4 made it easy to fall asleep last night.
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Sometimes it is good to see the rating change, for me atleast, -3 rating… “Damn, as if we ever had a chance”.
Oh, you can try the following tactic, kinda like abusing rule #4 negative sides. Go arenas at late Fridays/Saturdays when people are less sober than usual. I would have done it with my 2v2 mate, if he were sober then….
If your husband is a frost mage, good luck with teams with a good played resto druid as healer
Btw, vs warrior/healer combos, root and cyclone spam is awesome. But, then I play with a rogue, so it might be a bit different.
And you shouldn’t be mad when beaten, me and my rogue got up vs a pala warrior team, pala down…. Warrior gets lucky, cause me and the rogue are close (sweeping strikes, whirlwind), I die, rogue dies. Damn, I loved that match!
-Muda(EU)
I love your idea about playing on Friday and Saturday … except I don’t think it would necessarily help us because we might also be in that group! HA!
My husband actually plays an Arms/Fury Warrior for PvP. He plays an Arcane-specced Mage in PvE.
We have been playing the Root and Cyclone tricks with Warriors and Rogues. I still need some work on my timing, but it’s really fun. I think one of my favorite matches was against a Moonkin and a Resto Druid. They killed Ebene and hugged me. I switched to Bear, Feral charged one, Bashed the other, sat down, smiled, and waited for my imminent demise.
Thank you for posting!
Phae