Poag
05-28-2008, 12:40 PM
Blizzard talks about WoW Arena
Gotfrag (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) posted an interview with Kalgan (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) mostly focused on Arena. Below are a few questions from the article.
Source (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) The idea of “eSports” has been a big part of Blizzard’s corporate strategy, what impact do you think eSports has on the success from a business side for Blizzard and other game developers? We understand that Blizzard has established a dedicated eSports group. Could you comment on what that group is chartered to do?
For our company, eSports has been a key to the longevity of several of our titles. With StarCraft celebrating its 10th anniversary, there are still active communities and eSports organizations that support it along with our other titles. The Blizzard eSports group is responsible for developing Blizzard Entertainment’s presence in the increasingly popular eSports scene. Its main role consists of preparing and operating tournaments around the world. Additionally, it provides third-party support for various eSports leagues and communicates balance feedback to the developers.
Has Blizzard considered adding an HLTV type program to WoW that would allow people to view any person’s point of view and unlimited 3rd person views from around the arena? And what about making this public so people could watch their favorite arena teams play each other, ie making WoW potentially spectator friendly?
We are continuing to explore spectator options for viewing Arena games. Our current focus is increasing the broadcast quality that we use for our tournaments and tournaments that we support. We’ll continue to explore methods to make Arena games more accessible to our players.
Has Blizzard considered the idea of adding Match-making functionality to the current queue system to allow teams to focus practice and play against specific teams? Beyond fixes/bug issues, is there anything new expected before WotLK?
This has been something that’s been brought up and is currently in discussion. As for new content prior to the release of the second expansion, we haven’t made any announcements.
Read the full interview on Gotfrag.com (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/)
http://www.vienas.net/imgcache/1101.png (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/)
HP steps up with 3 Blackbird Gaming PC's to the winning team at San Diego
It seems $22,500 isn’t all the top teams will be earning as Major League Gaming, parent company of MMO-Champion.com, will be upping their first place prize with three Blackbird Gaming PC's valued at $9,000. This comes on the heels of a few recent changes to the event including the opening of Season 2 Arena gear and the allowing of macros. HP’s commitment of three Blackbird Gaming PC’s should continue to make sign ups a hard ticket to come by as a few slots remain for teams looking to get into MLG’s PC Circuit.
For teams that are planning to attend, please note that the tournament schedule includes a MANDATORY Friday check-in and set-up period, during which all players will need to organize their macros, key binding and interfaces. The check-in and set-up schedule is as follows:
Friday, June 13
10:30 AM - 1:30 PM :: Early Check-In
1:30 PM :: Regular Check-In; Doors Open for MANDATORY Account Set-up and Warm Up
7:00 PM :: Check-in Closes
8:00 PM :: Account Set-up Ends
Note that after registration at the event, you MUST go to the PC Circuit Tournament Area to set up your account and character. Players who have not completed setup by Friday night will not be permitted to use macros during the event. Please plan accordingly.
To register now click this link (https://secure.mlgpro.com/store/product.php?pid=68)!
Blue posts
Worldwide Invitational region "restrictions"
"Worldwide Invitational" relates to the tournaments being held for StarCraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft. An invitational is the style of choosing the participants, where they don't necessarily compete in preliminary rounds, but are hand picked to compete solely at the event.
While some contests for wwi may be restricted to EU residents only, our own BlizzCon is planned to have a similar set of contests from previous BlizzCon years and likely similar rules and restrictions. Keep an eye on the BlizzCon site for contest announcements and rules/restrictions as they become available. (Source (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6760110775&pageNo=1&sid=1#10))
25/10/5 Man Dungeons in WotLK
We are making the raid dungeons have the 10 and 25 person sizes so that it is not nearly as limited as before though as a lot more people can get involved in 10 person raids. We don't plan to remove the concept of raiding from the game though as that sounds like what you are looking for. There will be 5 person dungeons with their heroic versions available as in the past and they should be a lot of fun if that is the content that fits your play best.
No additional profession slot in WotLK
We have no current plans to add another main profession slot to characters in Wrath of the Lich King. (Source (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6762330610&pageNo=1&sid=1#4))
Rogues from a Blue point of view
Slorkuz made another post related to a specific class in Arena, this time the post is about the rogue in 2v2 Arenas.
Source (http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=4095742770&pageNo=1&sid=1#3) I believe that rogues in 2v2 have a variety of viable combinations. Before entering into a debate on what partner you should chose though, I want to note that in my opinion, coordination and synergy between yourself and your partner is more, if not the most, important to gaining a winning result.
When you start playing with a new partner, I firmly believe that there is an "adaptation" process where you must first learn to combine your different play styles into one cohesive strategy. Allow me to use an example with Rogues; One Rogue might be a very "aggressive" player and charge out in hopes to get the jump on a target before they get "set up" or perhaps catch an enemy stealther off guard and get the opener. Another Rogue might have a more defensive play style and prefer to wait it out a little bit and perhaps capitalize on your opposing team getting impatient by catching an enemy player in the wrong location at the wrong time.
While both of these forms of "rogue play styles" can and does work very effectively if executed correctly, they carry a requirement of significantly different expectations to their team mates' approach and play style.
This kind of adaptation and team synergy carries over to every team composition, albeit arguably some more than others. Coordinating crowd controls, offensive bursts and positioning in the arena are the keys to functioning successfully as a team.
Personally, when doing arenas, I prefer to discuss with my partner possible matchups and what kind of "game plan" we should execute prior to entering. Then, later, if we encounter a setup or set of plays that left us with a loss, we often sit back and think/talk about what went wrong and what we can do to counter what just happened to us.
That being said;
For 2v2s as a Rogue I believe some of the most common setups are as follows:
Rogue/Restoration Druid
Combining the mobility and control of a Rogue with the survivability and utility of of a restoration Druid, this composition can be very effective while executed correctly. Between Cyclone, Sap, Blind, Roots and feral abilities on the druid's account such as feral charge and bash, a well coordinated set of plays can present your opponents with a tough choice; trinket a Blind in order to heal while risking getting charged/bashed, or eat the blind and hope their partner can stay alive by own merits for the duration of the CC.
Rogue/Discipline Priest
What discipline priests lack in terms of mobility, they make up for in terms of utility and synergy with a Rogue partner. Fears, mana burns, instant heals/shields and both offensive and defensive dispels couple very well with a Rogue's control abilities. A well executed priest fear on an opposing healer while their partner is low health (fear gets trinketed) followed by a Blind by the rogue and subsequently an optional Vanish->Sap can leave the lowhealth target without heals for a healthy duration allowing an opportunity to finish him off.
Rogue/Warlock
This team relies on the tactic "kill before being killed". Between the utilities and CC's of both classes and improved stealth detection from the warlocks felhunter, this combination allows the rogue to very often get the opener on a stealthed target. Add a warlock's survivability to the mix while executing some well timed CC combinations (fear->blind->vanish/sap), this formation is considered one of the most potent "double dps" 2v2 teams.
Rogue/Mage
Similiar to a Rogue/Warlock setup in the sense that this is a 2dps team requiring a quick kill, both classes have an arsenal of CC and survival abilities if they get jumped. The spike damage of a Mage "Shatter Combo" and a Rogue stunlock with damage, this composition can be particularly lethal if the crit numbers are high.
Rogue/Rogue
Also a popular 2dps formation currently, this team composition relies mostly on one thing; Getting the opener on your opponents and controling the fight. If either of the two rogues gets jumped/cc'ed off the bat, it can be hard to recover and pull of a win. Coordinating stuns and CC's is also an important part of this team's strengths. An example is having one Rogue unload a 5pt Kidney in anticipation that the target will trinket while the second rogue holds back ready to re-apply (albeit diminished duration) second stun. Coordinating interupts is also key to this combination.
---
I am sure that there are other setups that can be effective, but I will leave the elaboration on those up to other players. Again, I would like to reiterate my opinion that the most important points to being successful in the arenas is communication, team synergy and executing a plan together.
New Fan Wallpaper
The official site (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/fan-wallpapers/wallpaper013.html) has been updated with a new wallpaper featuring Kil'jaeden.
http://www.vienas.net/imgcache/1102.png (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/fan-wallpapers/wallpaper013.html)
Gotfrag (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) posted an interview with Kalgan (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) mostly focused on Arena. Below are a few questions from the article.
Source (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/) The idea of “eSports” has been a big part of Blizzard’s corporate strategy, what impact do you think eSports has on the success from a business side for Blizzard and other game developers? We understand that Blizzard has established a dedicated eSports group. Could you comment on what that group is chartered to do?
For our company, eSports has been a key to the longevity of several of our titles. With StarCraft celebrating its 10th anniversary, there are still active communities and eSports organizations that support it along with our other titles. The Blizzard eSports group is responsible for developing Blizzard Entertainment’s presence in the increasingly popular eSports scene. Its main role consists of preparing and operating tournaments around the world. Additionally, it provides third-party support for various eSports leagues and communicates balance feedback to the developers.
Has Blizzard considered adding an HLTV type program to WoW that would allow people to view any person’s point of view and unlimited 3rd person views from around the arena? And what about making this public so people could watch their favorite arena teams play each other, ie making WoW potentially spectator friendly?
We are continuing to explore spectator options for viewing Arena games. Our current focus is increasing the broadcast quality that we use for our tournaments and tournaments that we support. We’ll continue to explore methods to make Arena games more accessible to our players.
Has Blizzard considered the idea of adding Match-making functionality to the current queue system to allow teams to focus practice and play against specific teams? Beyond fixes/bug issues, is there anything new expected before WotLK?
This has been something that’s been brought up and is currently in discussion. As for new content prior to the release of the second expansion, we haven’t made any announcements.
Read the full interview on Gotfrag.com (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/)
http://www.vienas.net/imgcache/1101.png (http://www.gotfrag.com/wow/story/42455/)
HP steps up with 3 Blackbird Gaming PC's to the winning team at San Diego
It seems $22,500 isn’t all the top teams will be earning as Major League Gaming, parent company of MMO-Champion.com, will be upping their first place prize with three Blackbird Gaming PC's valued at $9,000. This comes on the heels of a few recent changes to the event including the opening of Season 2 Arena gear and the allowing of macros. HP’s commitment of three Blackbird Gaming PC’s should continue to make sign ups a hard ticket to come by as a few slots remain for teams looking to get into MLG’s PC Circuit.
For teams that are planning to attend, please note that the tournament schedule includes a MANDATORY Friday check-in and set-up period, during which all players will need to organize their macros, key binding and interfaces. The check-in and set-up schedule is as follows:
Friday, June 13
10:30 AM - 1:30 PM :: Early Check-In
1:30 PM :: Regular Check-In; Doors Open for MANDATORY Account Set-up and Warm Up
7:00 PM :: Check-in Closes
8:00 PM :: Account Set-up Ends
Note that after registration at the event, you MUST go to the PC Circuit Tournament Area to set up your account and character. Players who have not completed setup by Friday night will not be permitted to use macros during the event. Please plan accordingly.
To register now click this link (https://secure.mlgpro.com/store/product.php?pid=68)!
Blue posts
Worldwide Invitational region "restrictions"
"Worldwide Invitational" relates to the tournaments being held for StarCraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft. An invitational is the style of choosing the participants, where they don't necessarily compete in preliminary rounds, but are hand picked to compete solely at the event.
While some contests for wwi may be restricted to EU residents only, our own BlizzCon is planned to have a similar set of contests from previous BlizzCon years and likely similar rules and restrictions. Keep an eye on the BlizzCon site for contest announcements and rules/restrictions as they become available. (Source (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6760110775&pageNo=1&sid=1#10))
25/10/5 Man Dungeons in WotLK
We are making the raid dungeons have the 10 and 25 person sizes so that it is not nearly as limited as before though as a lot more people can get involved in 10 person raids. We don't plan to remove the concept of raiding from the game though as that sounds like what you are looking for. There will be 5 person dungeons with their heroic versions available as in the past and they should be a lot of fun if that is the content that fits your play best.
No additional profession slot in WotLK
We have no current plans to add another main profession slot to characters in Wrath of the Lich King. (Source (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6762330610&pageNo=1&sid=1#4))
Rogues from a Blue point of view
Slorkuz made another post related to a specific class in Arena, this time the post is about the rogue in 2v2 Arenas.
Source (http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=4095742770&pageNo=1&sid=1#3) I believe that rogues in 2v2 have a variety of viable combinations. Before entering into a debate on what partner you should chose though, I want to note that in my opinion, coordination and synergy between yourself and your partner is more, if not the most, important to gaining a winning result.
When you start playing with a new partner, I firmly believe that there is an "adaptation" process where you must first learn to combine your different play styles into one cohesive strategy. Allow me to use an example with Rogues; One Rogue might be a very "aggressive" player and charge out in hopes to get the jump on a target before they get "set up" or perhaps catch an enemy stealther off guard and get the opener. Another Rogue might have a more defensive play style and prefer to wait it out a little bit and perhaps capitalize on your opposing team getting impatient by catching an enemy player in the wrong location at the wrong time.
While both of these forms of "rogue play styles" can and does work very effectively if executed correctly, they carry a requirement of significantly different expectations to their team mates' approach and play style.
This kind of adaptation and team synergy carries over to every team composition, albeit arguably some more than others. Coordinating crowd controls, offensive bursts and positioning in the arena are the keys to functioning successfully as a team.
Personally, when doing arenas, I prefer to discuss with my partner possible matchups and what kind of "game plan" we should execute prior to entering. Then, later, if we encounter a setup or set of plays that left us with a loss, we often sit back and think/talk about what went wrong and what we can do to counter what just happened to us.
That being said;
For 2v2s as a Rogue I believe some of the most common setups are as follows:
Rogue/Restoration Druid
Combining the mobility and control of a Rogue with the survivability and utility of of a restoration Druid, this composition can be very effective while executed correctly. Between Cyclone, Sap, Blind, Roots and feral abilities on the druid's account such as feral charge and bash, a well coordinated set of plays can present your opponents with a tough choice; trinket a Blind in order to heal while risking getting charged/bashed, or eat the blind and hope their partner can stay alive by own merits for the duration of the CC.
Rogue/Discipline Priest
What discipline priests lack in terms of mobility, they make up for in terms of utility and synergy with a Rogue partner. Fears, mana burns, instant heals/shields and both offensive and defensive dispels couple very well with a Rogue's control abilities. A well executed priest fear on an opposing healer while their partner is low health (fear gets trinketed) followed by a Blind by the rogue and subsequently an optional Vanish->Sap can leave the lowhealth target without heals for a healthy duration allowing an opportunity to finish him off.
Rogue/Warlock
This team relies on the tactic "kill before being killed". Between the utilities and CC's of both classes and improved stealth detection from the warlocks felhunter, this combination allows the rogue to very often get the opener on a stealthed target. Add a warlock's survivability to the mix while executing some well timed CC combinations (fear->blind->vanish/sap), this formation is considered one of the most potent "double dps" 2v2 teams.
Rogue/Mage
Similiar to a Rogue/Warlock setup in the sense that this is a 2dps team requiring a quick kill, both classes have an arsenal of CC and survival abilities if they get jumped. The spike damage of a Mage "Shatter Combo" and a Rogue stunlock with damage, this composition can be particularly lethal if the crit numbers are high.
Rogue/Rogue
Also a popular 2dps formation currently, this team composition relies mostly on one thing; Getting the opener on your opponents and controling the fight. If either of the two rogues gets jumped/cc'ed off the bat, it can be hard to recover and pull of a win. Coordinating stuns and CC's is also an important part of this team's strengths. An example is having one Rogue unload a 5pt Kidney in anticipation that the target will trinket while the second rogue holds back ready to re-apply (albeit diminished duration) second stun. Coordinating interupts is also key to this combination.
---
I am sure that there are other setups that can be effective, but I will leave the elaboration on those up to other players. Again, I would like to reiterate my opinion that the most important points to being successful in the arenas is communication, team synergy and executing a plan together.
New Fan Wallpaper
The official site (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/fan-wallpapers/wallpaper013.html) has been updated with a new wallpaper featuring Kil'jaeden.
http://www.vienas.net/imgcache/1102.png (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/wallpapers/fan-wallpapers/wallpaper013.html)