• All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
• Resilience has been removed from most PvP gear.
• Season 13 Tyrannical gear had their item levels increased to ilevel 496, up from ilevel 493.
• Season 13 Tyrannical Elite gear had their item levels decreased to ilevel 496, down from ilevel 512.
• Battlegrounds, Rated Battlegrounds, and Arenas now have an ilevel cap. All gear will be scaled down to ilevel 496.

There was a tweet earlier today from Blizzard hinting at a plan to fix the disparity between PvE and PvP gear:

We have a plan. It should also help with the fact that you can upgrade 5.3 PvE gear but not PvP gear.

This must be that plan. This looks somewhat interesting. People who solely do PvE will be able to enter PvP in their raid gear, but it’ll be scaled down to have similar power to the relevant PvP gear. It’s possible they plan for the presence of PvP Power on PvP gear to make said gear more powerful than PvE gear overall. The fact  resilience won’t be removed from gear entirely will also aid in this department, especially if set bonuses remain. It might be present on a few offset items or perhaps simply trinkets to make sure PvP trinkets are stronger than their PvE counterparts. This is pure speculation at this point.

Blizzard has stated a blog post with additional information and an explanation for the reasoning behind these changes will be available very soon.

Additionally:

New Arena: Shado-Pan

• Gladiator hopefuls have a new location to test their mettle amidst the Kun-Lai mountain tops, in the training grounds of the powerful Shado-Pan. Players must make use of the looming tiger statues and fenced platforms to gain an advantage that will bring victory and glory!

New Battleground: Gold Rush

• In the new Battleground situated in the Valley of the Four Winds, the Alliance and Horde continue their war for Pandaria’s precious resources. While the two factions battle for control over mines, they must also protect their own resources from being stolen and turned against them!

Blizzard look to have a solid idea in terms of gear and are working on new content especially for PvP. Simply put: Great stuff!

Yas Suprise Effect: Khuna (Rogue), Xandyn (Mage), Zunniyaki (Priest)

Second:

Survival Tactics: Shawir (Warrior), Braindeadly (Hunter), Flubbah (Shaman)

Third:

Tag Team Stomp: Talbadar (Priest), Snutz (Warlock), Cdew (Shaman)

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to Yaspresents and everyone involved for putting on a fantastic tournament.

Tournament Hosted by Yaspresents. Check them out and show them some support. For full details on the event, check out our Yaspresents Tournament information post. Today we enter the final stage of the tournament which will be double elimination. For the results of Group A, check out our coverage here and for Group B, here.

Teams Qualified:

Survival Tactics: Shawir (Warrior), Braindeadly (Hunter), Flubbah (Shaman)

IntroDucing: Taku (Rogue), Dakkroth (Warlock), Glyptic (Shaman)

Tag Team Stomp: Talbadar (Priest), Snutz (Warlock), Cdew (Shaman)

Yas Suprise Effect: Khuna (Rogue), Xandyn (Mage), Zunniyaki (Priest)

Matches for the Semi Finals:

Shawir, Braindeadly, Flubbah

VS

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

VS

Taku, Dakkroth, Glyptic

Winner (Top) and Losers (Bottom) Bracket:

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

VS

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

Shawir, Braindeadly, Flubbah

VS

Taku, Dakkroth, Glyptic

Losers Bracket for place in the Final:

Shawir, Braindeadly, Flubbah

VS

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

Final:

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

VS

Shawir, Braindeadly, Flubbah

Tag Team Stomp: Talbadar (Priest), Snutz (Warlock), Cdew (Shaman)

Runner up of Group B:

Yas Suprise Effect: Khuna (Rogue), Xandyn (Mage), Zunniyaki (Priest)

Teams qualified for tomorrows final stage:

Survival Tactics: Shawir (Warrior), Braindeadly (Hunter), Flubbah (Shaman)

IntroDucing: Taku (Rogue), Dakkroth (Warlock), Glyptic (Shaman)

Tag Team Stomp: Talbadar (Priest), Snutz (Warlock), Cdew (Shaman)

Yas Suprise Effect: Khuna (Rogue), Xandyn (Mage), Zunniyaki (Priest)

Tune in tomorrow at 19:00 CET for the finals.

Tournament Hosted by Yaspresents. Check them out and show them some support. For full details on the event, check out our Yaspresents Tournament information post.

Today Group B will duke it out in a round robin format. The top two teams from Group B will then advance to Sundays double elimination phase. For the results of Group A, check out our coverage here.

GROUP B:

Bleached Bones: Mir (Rogue), Skenz (Warlock), Geru (Shaman)

Yas Suprise Effect: Khuna (Rogue), Xandyn (Mage), Zunniyaki (Priest)

Tag Team Stomp: Talbadar (Priest), Snutz (Warlock), Cdew (Shaman)

Multivites: Abni (Mage), Maldiva (Warlock), Karvinen (Paladin)

Matches for Group B

Mir, Skenz, Geru

VS

Abni, Maldiva, Karvinen

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

VS

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

VS

Mir, Skenz, Geru

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

VS

Abni, Maldiva, Karvinen

Mir, Skenz, Geru

VS

Khuna, Xandyn, Zunniyaki

Talbadar, Snutz, Cdew

VS

Abni, Maldiva, Karvinen

While we’re talking about PvP it’s probably worth reminding everyone that what we’re targeting is a very loose and ‘for fun’ system. Imagine clicking a button, being matched up against another team of equal skill and gear, and win or lose you move forward (although faster if you win) on a personal progression system that gives you some cosmetic recognition as you go. There won’t be ladders or leagues, we have no intent to expose team ratings, and very likely nothing besides a win/loss record to track performance etc. etc. etc. Anyone who has tried it at BlizzCon knows the PvP in Diablo III is a blast, but I’ve seen some people start to get ideas that it’s going to be an eSport, and that’s just not something we’re targeting – for the sake of our goals in the single player/co-op experience.

WoW arena has had its issues, there is no doubt about it (but that’s a topic for another blog). But even despite those problems it was considered by some E-sport fans as a legitimate, competitive title. The statement of Bashiok quells any doubts: there won’t be any support for PvP players, at least not from Blizzard. Hardly any sponsors will care about the Diablo PvP scene because of this. However the most important thing in this topic is the PvP player. What is going to be his or her motivation and goals for the upcoming game?

The main motivation for people to grind or buy better gear in previous Diablo games was PvP; there is no single doubt about it. Sure everyone had PvE character for farming, but their main focus was on duelling versus others. But many years have passed since those summer days and we are now delving into a winter hell of not even single care given about PvP. What is going to be the reason to obtain better items?

• PvE? I doubt that it will present any difficulty for veteran players, besides PvE will probably require perfect positioning and coordination and not actual DPS. Even if PvE is challenging, the example of Cataclysm has taught us: if content is too hard, after countless pages of whining on forums, Blizzard will pander over to the low-skilled player base and nerf the encounters.
• Selling gear on the AH? Maybe, for some people it will be main reason to play the game actually (Ni Hao, Let’s farm some gold…). But what if you just want to play a game? Not spending your leisure time working on a second shift at farming hell?
• PvP? Oh yes, but there won’t be much PvP as most of players will not care much about it. Why would they? No rewards (only cosmetic), no ladders, no leagues, no team ratings. On top of that PvP won’t be balanced properly.

It’s one reason custom matches can make some people nervous, because it means players can start setting up their own games in attempts to create a more competitive system. Or just complaining their 1v1 duels aren’t balanced. When that happens people start demanding the sacrifice of PvE, “I need more mobility/stuns/dps”, separate systems with different abilities, and on and on. I think if there were one good argument against duels and custom games, it would be the players themselves. :)

 

uhh I still don’t get it. If you balance PvP and PvE separately, this issue of one’s balance affecting the other would never occur.

 

Aside from some very basic user experience issues it would cause, and which we vehemently oppose, asking us to design, balance, and maintain two separate games just isn’t reasonable.

If you design, balance and maintain two separate games you would get more publicity, more players and more auction house transactions. So in a general more long term perspective: more money in your pocket Blizzard. Besides it’s hardly “two separate games” as main the nerf/buffs will go to stun/mobility duration and cooldowns in terms of PvP and, of course, damage output is important as well, but that’s just number crouching.

So there is a quick fix for you Blizzard: Stop being lazy. With Diablo III you have a chance to redeem your sins of making WoW arena a failure. Take your time and balance the game properly. Introduce us to a better matchmaking system, ladders, observer mode and other features that another arena/dota based competitive games can only dream of.

Also for people reading my ramblings, share your thoughts in the comments: What could Blizzard do to make Diablo III PvP better?

I’m anxiously waiting to read your ideas.

Anhellius

Dominating the Arena Takes Time and Effort, Unless You Play DK.

So you want to become a Pro? This sort of thing doesn’t come overnight! It takes dedication, practice and most of all, patience. The first part of this guide will be focused on general tips to improve gameplay and lifestyle choices that can genuinely impact your performance competitively more than you think. After this part, we’ll get into the nitty gritty details.

Though not all of this is from my mouth, I’ve got tips from Hydra and Azael to help you become better!

“I love competing in general, and even if something is overpowered, there is still stuff you can do better and when you beat those terrible players, playing an overpowered class /setup with your inferior one, its amazing.” – Hydra

In real life:

• Have an organised desk space and gaming area.

Hydra says: “You should just be sitting up straight in a comfortable position, if you’re playing anything that requires tight aiming, wrists on the edge of the table is better for pivoting, but for WoW it doesn’t matter so much.”

• Stretch your legs every 30 minutes and leave the room.

Or try to. A good exercise for the eyes is to find something in the distance to stare at. Use your window perhaps and find something outside to concentrate on that’s quite far away. Trust me, your eyes will love this.

• Try and schedule to eat before a session. Watch what you eat and don’t play tired!

Hydra says: “Fatty, fast food stuff makes you sluggish and slow after you eat it, physically and sometimes mentally. If you’re tired when you play then you’ll be more prone to tilting or making a less effective choice or decision that can make you lose.”

• Drink Water, Tea, or Orange Juice! Anything, just avoid downing energy drinks, because you’re not expending any energy!

I’m personally guilty of doing the above until recently, I switched to OJ and I’ve felt much better, more refreshed than anything else. When they advertise Energy drinks they don’t show people sitting at desks for a reason, though I’m sure we’re a big part of that market.

Gameplay:

HMUI – Lightweight, Clean and Simple.

• Ensure you have an un-cluttered UI and are familiar with your add-ons.

Try and use add-ons only as a necessity, most competitive WoW players shouldn’t and won’t use any at all, because they can’t in tournaments. Yet in reality, it helps you become a better PvPer anyway, without add-ons telling you the low-down all the time, your internal cooldown tracker becomes better and you become more ‘self-aware’.

I highly recommend the minimilistic and useful Hydramist UI. Oh and those of you using that add-on where the lovely sounding lady tells you what skills are being used, do you even have eyes or ears? In short, use what you need!

• If you enjoy it, play it.

A good thing about WoW is that we have a thing called choice, 3 big choices at first. Dealer, Healer and Tank. Now maybe the latter of those three options isn’t very viable for arena (well until recently, screw you Vengeance!), but it shouldn’t stop it from being a choice.

If you and a friend want to 2v2 and you’re a Rogue and he’s a Priest, let him be Shadow if he wants. He’ll like you more for it, and you never know, he might enjoy it more because he’s better at it, ever think of that?

• Find what you’re good at and stick to it!

For me, it came naturally. I was getting boosted by a level 40 Mage in Vanilla through Wailing Caverns and he was spamming Flamestrike. Thus, I fell in love with the Fire spec. Long story short I play it because I still, even now, enjoy it more than any other spec I’ve played in the game. And so, on a good day, I’m sick at Fire because of it. Because of sticking to it, all this time.

• Play other classes, to understand how they play better.

Although still to this day my Mage is my only max level (because of time restraints and other more important things – i.e I don’t care for anything other than Fire) it hasn’t stopped me from playing other classes and specs. One thing I learnt straight away about playing another class is how you adopt a different mindset entirely (especially if you’re going from DPS to Healer). You notice a hell of a lot more about a Priest, playing a Priest, than looking at a Talent Calculator or watching a PvP film, that’s for sure.

• Buy Fraps and record your gameplay, watch it back and you’ll be surprised by what you see!

When I first bought Fraps, I used it to see what I was doing wrong; and many others have done the same. You won’t believe what you notice when you’re watching yourself, you pick up on your bad habits and go “Really?” Now though, I might use it more to record for Youtube or a film I’m working on, but with all the clips you save up for a film, all those gigabytes, do you really think there are going to be no mistakes?

Hydra says: ” Recording games and going back over losses is sick, Starcraft players watch their own replays tons to train, WoW is no different.”

• Bind everything, no excuses. Get a decent Keyboard or Mouse, it helps.

If you’re reading this and you still click any skill on your hotbar, get it bound! I hear all the time, “What are your binds to Ice Block?” and Hydra gets asked, “What is Penance bound to? Mine feels weird so I’m not sure what to use”. Of course it feels wierd! You’ve been clicking it for years! All your binds should be personal and all of them should come natural.

If they still don’t come naturally and still feel weird after a very long time, a good way of getting around it is adapting certain keys and letters to words. For example; ‘I’ is for interrupt, so put Rebuke on it. ‘G’ is for Go, so put Sprint on it. If you have multiple characters this becomes easy after the first one is done. You’ll do Sprint on your Rogue and then when you log your Mage you’ll automatically want to put Blink on ‘G’.

General attitude:

Does it bother me? No. I screenshot them so I can make Collages.

• Never let anyone get you down.

Everyone has their bad days, and with gaming it’s no different. Sometimes no matter what you do it all goes wrong, and you might get some “BM” for it. Be it playing League of Legends, Call of Duty, SCII or World of Warcraft, you’ll get someone mouthing off at you and do you know what, it doesn’t matter, they’re probably five years old anyway.

If it is arena and you are having a bad session, know when to call it. “Just one more game?” Can lead to very bad things!

• Learn from others, watch, listen and replicate.

I watch PvP films for entertainment now, but back before people like Vurtne, Blinkmaster, Poorguy and Noone, nobody really knew the full potential of a Mage and his/her kiting ability. Soon after those guys released their masterpieces, people aspired to be like them and thus, the age of Undead Male Mages soloing 3 scrubs in a BG with Metal on in the background, began.

It’s the same with streams, you can learn a lot from a good player, regardless of his or her class, just by watching them. Their movements, positioning and team co-ordination, passively and with communication, it all comes as part of a bigger package that adapts with the game, over time.

• When you win, don’t get cocky, then you won’t improve, always strive to be better.

Hydra says: “There is no such thing as perfect play, there is always something you can improve on, be it looking ahead and planning Globals or positioning down to the last yard”.

Arena specifc:

• Avoid entirely sticking to one comp and don’t be afraid to try something new, though restraints apply of course.

If you play a Rogue, and you have two friends who happen to play Priest and Mage, sure go for RMP but don’t shy away from developing new comps and strategies. You never know, you might be the first to do something different.

Hydra says: “I like RMP because its rewarding to win as RMP.”

• If you’re finding new partner/s, ensure they’re on the same level as you, or preferably higher.

I’m not saying find someone with tons more experience than you so they can carry your ass. This is so you can leech from their experience and knowledge, though if it seems like your partner is carrying you, he/she probably is and said player might be vocal about that!

• Be calm and focused, but try to have a good time as well, it is a game. Unless money is on it!

By all means have a laugh, but I’ve played with the likes of Icematikz and I couldn’t concentrate on tying up my own shoe-laces never-mind actually playing my character. Though as long as you find someone to enjoy arena with, you shouldn’t really have problems here. The trick is finding someone with the same goals, mindset and humour. Never, ever let the game wind you up. Instead just talk about what happened and evaluate things.

Azael says: “The thing that motivates me most when I’m frustrated with WoW is simply talking with my friends and teammates and trying to come up with ways to overcome imbalances, counter comps, or whatever other frustrations you’re dealing with. It gives me a really rewarding feeling when we’re slamming our heads into a wall trying to figure out how to beat something and then it finally clicks – it kinda is what makes doing arena worthwhile for me.”

Motivation:

• Watch your favourite PvP film from your favourite WoW pastime.

Cataclysm nearly destroyed the fun and very essence of being a Fire Mage. When I want to remember how much of a better game it was back before Deathwing broke my Spec, I watch films. Razghul, Nutty, Flekz, HP, Lecken, they’re all regular. And it does inspire me to carry on, sometimes! After watching Hydra 8 don’t you just want to log your Priest and play some Nine Inch Nails and dispel stuff?

• Watch your favourite player stream.

This is where our streaming section comes in, we have hundreds of streamers. Some more entertaining than others, and some more skilled than others. Maybe you’ll watch a pro and realise, “Hey, wait a minute! He dies too…I guess we’re all human after all!”.

• Talk to someone.

I still believe the number one reason people still play WoW is for the social aspect of things. We’ve met and created many friends over the past 7 or so years. I’m sure if you talk to someone about a problem you’re having in WoW, they’re bound to have had it before too.

Until next time:

I hope you’ll stick with me for the next instalment of this self-help guide. Please leave your comments below, I’d love to hear what you think about any of what I’ve mentioned! I’ll leave you with another, quite simple quote from Hydra.

Hydra says: “The thing that drives me most, is the search for the perfect game.”