Battleground PvP Ain't Arena PvP

About six weeks ago I started running arenas on a regular basis with my hunter Longbow (and by regular, I mean 10-11 games each week which obviously makes me an expert), so I thought I would write about the obvious. Arenas are not battlegrounds. There really isn't any comparison between the two types of PvP. I bring up this point because there are so many players out there that enjoy battlegrounds, but have never stepped foot in the arenas. I myself didn't step foot in them until season two...and the 20 or so matches I ran with my enhancement shaman in 3v3s and 5v5s were enough to tramatize me for many months afterwords. I think it bruised my epeen that I didn't go in there and rip everyone to shreds with my epic level 60 high warlord PvP mace and outland greens like I was used to in world pvp, duels and battlegrounds.

I think it's safe to say that battleground PvP is about as fair as you're gonna see anywhere. In the battlegrounds with 10+ people, class composition of the group has little effect on the outcome of the battles. I'm not saying that having no healers on your side won't influence the outcome...but all and all there's enough people that all the "rock, paper, scissors" scenarios are covered. Contrast that to the other end of the spectrum which is a 2v2 arena. What class you are teamed up with makes ALL the difference depending where you lie in the ratings.

Now I've always thought of myself as an above-average PvPer and I usually get first or second on the damage done in WSG, AB and EotS, and I'm usually in the top 5 in AV. I "grew up" my first 70 (troll enhancement shaman) on Wildhammer (PvP server) and honed my PvP skills guarding the starting cave in AV.

I even managed to reach Legionnaire so I'm no stranger to PvP. What I and many others find out very quickly is that arenas are more like a group duel than they are like any of the battlegrounds. Let me further specify...it's like a group duel where everyone can gang up on your first if they choose :)

My first experience in the arenas was in a hardcore 10 game a week 5v5 :) My first impression was that it felt like complete and total chaos. I didn't know who to hit or what to do. BG strategy was simple...kill the healers first. Often times this is not the case in arenas. I'd be lying if I said I knew who to hit now as my arena partner and I are still trying to work those wrinkles out of our strategy.

I myself can only speak from my experience in fighting the top-tier highly ranked arena teams of the 1525-1575 ratings. I can't seem to get above 1550...obviously it's my fat draenei shaman 2v2 partner Luun that's dragging us down and not a lack of l33t pvp skills on my part ;)

But I digress...my point...I did have a point...oh yes. My point was that arenas are addictive and fun. They are like duels on steriods. If you enjoy BG PvP, then you will love arena pvp.

If your gear sucks, don't worry. You'll get your butt handed to you over and over until your rating drops you down to a nice confortable spot where you can fight people with similar gear and/or experience and/or ability as you. Once you reach that nice little rating spot, it really does get fun and you quickly find that those hard fought battles where you win with just a fraction of health left really gets the adrenaline flowing.

5v5s really can be quite overwhelming for the uninitiated or undergeared, so I would suggest starting out in the 2v2 or 3v3 to get your feet wet. My other advise would be not to focus on your win/losses or your rating your first month. Just get in there and run as many matches as you can and try to learn what you did right and what you did wrong each time.

Lastly, don't team up with a draenei enhancement shaman, they are fat and they smell funny.