Great Weekend

[Kazaganthi]

This weekend was a great one for 2s and 5s. We had some epic battles in our twos this week while taking our rating from 1820 to 1951 in our third week after the move....all with my under geared alt war and his crystalforged axe! We run a standard warrior/pali or warrior/druid combo. Kaza my gladiator warrior plays with the under geared druid while Kazi my under geared warrior plays with a very nicely geared paladin.

Our best match of the week was vs a druid/warrior combo. Both the druid and the warrior were very well geared. The warrior had stormherald vs my crystalforged axe. The druid's gear was near equal to my paladin's. The match lasted for about 8 minutes. I started off working on the druid. Here is a tip, never follow that druid back into the start area of Ruins of Lorderon. I did, and got rooted out of los of my paladin. The druid then took off and if my pali had not bubbled...it would have been a quick loss.

Luckily, I woke up after that first mistake. I jumped all over the druid. I wore him down while intercepting out and hamstringing his warrior. My paladin, Phatheals, kited the warrior all over the central rock, never giving him a chance to focus him down. Finally I brought the druid to 10% mana, and and 30% health. He got a quick cyclone off and took off for the start area again. This time instead of following him, I turned on his warrior. This poor guy got broken. Phatheals had been slowly working this guy down while kiting, and I had laid in a few clutch whirlwinds while chasing the druid. He was at about 60% when his druid took off. In about five seconds I pushed him to 19%. A nice 3k execute dropped him just as his druid crested the stone in the middle. It was truly a great battle that made my morning.

On another note the druid class really fascinates me at this point. In our 5s this week we versed Team Fagtrue from the Zul'jin server. This team's druid is literally their team. The guy is amazing. We immediately tried to focus him as soon as he came out of stealth. There was nothing doing. He los'd all the casters and kited me all over the Nagrand arena. When we switched off and focused any one else, he destroyed our people with his cyclones, hots, and perfectly timed roots. In short...it is amazing that one player can have that much control over the game.

Outside of that game, our 5s team picked up about 60 points this week. We are slowly gearing up our new guys and should be back to form in no time.

take care,

Kaz

[Klimpen]

Arena's prolly the only thing I miss being competative in, as a Tankadin.

I worked with a BM Hunter and got fairly high, 1900+. I'd prolly respec Holy for Arenas and get a fairly high rating, but my healing gear is pretty crap.

That being said, [I run with another Prot Pally. I heal, he DPS's] it's awesome to roll people in 2v2, especially when they're running around with S2 Gear. The only feeling rolling well geared cookie cutter spec'd toons gets beaten by is when you perfectly execute everything and destroy the other team in seconds.

Anywho, sounds like you're pretty pro. I'd like to play against you at some point, but sadly that isn't prolly possible. :(

[Ciderhelm]

The 5v5 team I've followed fairly closely would focus fire against most teams, but when faced with a Druid on the opposing team they would split 2 and 3, the 2 to lock down the Druid and the 3 to focus a target. It was a situation where Mortal Strike debuff was virtually required to manage DPS on the focus target.

[Kazaganthi]

That sounds like a good idea. Were they a 4 dps team or a 3/2 team?

[Ciderhelm]

They had 2 healers and 4 DPS on the team and would switch in the healer or DPS if they were on a streak against the same team and had a decent idea what to expect.

Per Druid teams, I'm not sure just what they ran with, just that strategy. :)

[Kazeyonoma]

=( i'm having trouble getting my 2v2 partner with me, we went on a 9-1 streak into the 1749 rating 3 weeks ago and haven't played a match since, its frustrating because it generates more points per week than my 3s and 5s, but he's discovered DotA and its gg for now.

My 3s are dismal now, we can't even break into 1700, we have a great pve healer with no resilience so he dies fast, but doesn't take it well, getting frustrated often and saying things over vent like "GOD DDAMNIT I"M DONE I HATE PVP". And as a priest we just have to help him realize his job is to do his best while alive, cuz he's GONNA die. but oh wells =T

5s are just... meh, scrap team, 1 pally healer 1 shadow priest myself ms warr, 1 mage and 1 random.

we do well for what we have, but having only 1 healer really hurts.

[Gharakor]

My 5s consist of a warrior/warlock/rogue/pally/druid combo. I honestly never thought such a matrix would work so well, and I honestly think all our success relies on our druid. Like you said Kaz, good druids can control the fights so much it's disgusting: Our main weakness are opposing warriors since they can easily destroy our warlock or our rogue if they are left alone. Lucky for us, they never are left alone :D. Our druid can keep a warrior locked down while keeping the focused target up by himself, it is truly a sick thing to watch.

If they ever have the idea of focusing the druid down, our pally takes care of any JoJ they try to land to cripple him, and then he just go to town with kiting their whole team around the arena.

Good druids are very dangerous in arenas. Exceptional Druids are an absolute nightmare.

[Kazeyonoma]

I'm hoping to swap in our rogue's druid alt to be our new 3s healer but he needs a lot more gear to be good =T just dinged 70 last week.