The first organized arena season for the Burning Crusade has been live for some time now, however many are still unaware as to the exact rules and guidelines that govern the arena system. Unlike pre-expansion PvP, where the player was rewarded for amount of time played, the arena point system rewards players for winning games, rather than playing for as many hours as possible. With a system like this, the most competitive and skilled teams have begun to reap the benefits and rewards of arena based PvP.

There are only two arenas currently implemented: The Ring of Trials in Nagrand, and Circle of Blood in Blades Edge. The arena fights have three forms: 5v5, 3v3, and 2v2. A player will attain the most points from victory in the 5v5 matches, while obtaining less from a victory in 3v3 arena fights and even less in 2v2's. Either way, all of the points gained from victories in the arenas enable a player to purchase gladiator battle gear, one of the most sought after sets of gear in World of Warcraft, sold in Netherstorm. Every team competing in the arena brings their own unique playing style, with the ability to bring any of the nine classes to the fight. Each class brings its own benefits and weaknesses to the groups, but the most important aspects are the players themselves.

Arena teams start by forming together in a way similar to creating a guild. The team purchases a charter and creates a team logo that will appear on their combat flags in the actual arena. The amount of players allowed on the teams depends on which type of arena the team wishes to compete in. For 5v5, one is allowed 10 players on a given roster; for 3v3, six players; and finally for 2v2, four players. In order to gain the arena points from a team’s weekly rating, a player on the roster must have participated in a minimum of thirty percent of the rated arena games.

The new PvP arena system focuses largely upon competitiveness and skill rather than time played and battlegrounds, as it did pre-Burning Crusade. When a team queues up for battle, the matchmaking system pairs you against another team with a similar rating. The rating system is simple. Every team starts with a flat 1,500 rating; winning a game gets a small boost in rating, while losing makes the rating go down. The amount of rating you lose or gain depends on your opponent’s rating.

There are also several rules about the arena fights themselves. Consumables were a heavily debated issue in pre-BC PvP. As a solution, consumable usage has been limited to strictly bandages and conjured items (healthstones, mana rubies, etc.) You cannot use spells and abilities with cooldowns longer than 15 minutes in arena combat. Also, a “stealth powerup” appears after one minute to disallow stealth classes from griefing teams by running around undetected and stalling a game. It dramatically increases stealth detection, but you lose 15 percent of your HP. Lastly, when you zone into the arena, all of your cooldowns get reset.

Another largely overlooked aspect of the arena is the fact that you do not get to see your opponents until seconds before the battle itself. In previous battlegrounds, there was a scoreboard that showed exactly who you were playing and what classes they had. In arena battles, you only know how many opponents have entered the arena. This calls for the ability to quickly adapt and change your approach; teams who are fast on their feet will be much more successful because of it.

Class Rundown

Warriors: Put out extreme amounts of damage while at the same time controlling a fight with Mortal Strike, Fear, Pummel, Intercept, and Intervene.

Priests: Strong healers and with the introduction of their new spells at level 70, such as Prayer of Mending, even with the recent changes to the class, they are almost unstoppable.

Warlocks: A devastating class in any situation, with the ability to crowd control multiple targets and put out damage at any moment.

Mages: A big part of a solid team. They can put out unseen amounts of damage while at the same time taking someone out of the fight via polymorph.

Rogues: Also have been given an array of new talents and abilities that make them a viable class in an arena. They can easily lock down a healer or two while putting out enormous amounts of damage. Not only that, but they have been given new survivability skills and talents such as Cloak of Shadows, Quick Recovery, and Nerves of Steel.

Hunters: Bring a large amount of damage to a team and can crowd control just as well as some of the other classes with their traps.

Druids: With the introduction of Cyclone, Druids can take someone out of a fight for a substantial amount of time, with no counter. If left untouched, they can put out tremendous heals or damage, depending on their spec. The problem with druids however, is if they get caught in caster form they can die faster than a cloth class.

Paladin: This class's roles haven't changed much in the arena. They are a very strong defensive healing and support class. The addition of Lights Grace, Stoicism, and Pure of Heart make them even more unstoppable as a healer.

Shamans: A very unique class for the arena. Depending on their spec, a shaman can put out nearly as much damage as a mage or warlock, heal as well as a priest, and achieve a well rounded role as an offensive support class. The only downfall of a shaman currently is its survivability. With the mitigation changes it's fairly easy to take a shaman down. This, however, is true for many of the classes.

Many teams have already established their ranks and attained their points, which they have turned in for the new arena gladiator gear. These items which are found at Area 52 in Netherstorm are loaded with resilience, stamina, and many other PvP related stats. Resilience is a new component added to gear in the Burning Crusade that hopes to alleviate the amount of burst damage that sometimes makes a battle seem over before it begins. Resilience works simply by reducing your chance to get hit with a critical strike and reduces the damage of critical strikes. It is very apparent from first hand experience that this was a necessary feature if PvP is to be improved.

Overall, the rated arena system seems very promising. Not only are players being rewarded for winning games, but for being competitive as well. It opens doors for World of Warcraft in territories that it hasn’t yet been... as a truly competitive and fair tournament based game. Many questions arise about seeing arena type events at big gaming tournaments around the world. The way the arena system is structured makes this a very feasible concept. We soon will see if arena based combat can hold its weight in the long run, which many are hoping for.