S6 Arena Changes

[Bloodwraith]

This was mentioned before, but now they've decided to elaborate on arena system changes for S6

Now that Arena Season 6 is on the horizon, we wanted to share some details regarding upcoming changes to the arena rating system in Arena Season 6. With Arena Season 6, arena teams will start at 0 rating instead of 1500, which will allow teams to have more continuous progression throughout the arena season. In addition, we reevaluated item purchases and felt many of them were too difficult to obtain so we will be altering the rating requirements needed to purchase the latest arena items. For example, items with a rating requirement will now be obtainable starting at 1250 rating.

As with the current system, the matchmaking system will attempt to match teams against opponents who are closest to their average matchmaking rating. Starting with Arena Season 6, a team’s average matchmaking rating will be shown in the scoreboard at the end of each match so that you can see where your team stands compared to the opposing team you just faced. All arena teams that are below a 1500 arena rating will always earn arena points as a 1500 rated team. This will allow teams to continue to build up arena points while working on gaining the ratings needed to purchase items.

In order to make joining teams later in the season a little easier for players, the system will now be setup so if a player joins a team that has a team rating of 1000 or higher, the player’s personal rating will start off at 1000 instead of 0. And Another thing to keep in mind is that until you start to get close to your team's matchmaking rating, you will be gaining around 20 or more points in a win and zero or nearly zero in a loss. So players will make steady progress through games played until they near their team's matchmaking rating.

Please note that a more specific start date for Arena Season 6 will be provided as soon as it is determined.

Here is a list of some PvP items that will be available in Arena Season 6 and their expected rating requirements:

No Rating Required:
Hateful Gloves
Hateful Legs
Hateful Chest
Hateful Helm
Hateful Shoulders
Hateful Ring
Hateful Trinket
Deadly Bracer
Deadly Belt
Deadly Boots
Deadly Neck
Deadly Ring
Deadly Cape
Deadly Trinket

Rating Required:
1250+: Deadly Relics/Idols/Librams/Totems
1300+: Deadly Gloves
1350+: Deadly Legs
1400+: Deadly Chest
1450+: Deadly Helm
1500+: Deadly Shoulders

1400+: Furious Bracer (honor)
1450+: Furious Belt (honor)
1500+: Furious Boots (honor)
1550+: Furious Neck (honor)
1600+: Furious Gloves
1650+: Furious Ring (honor)
1700+: Furious Legs
1750+: Furious Chest
1800+: Furious Trinket (honor)
1850+: Furious Weapon
1900+: Furious Helm
1950+: Furious Wands/Relics/etc
2000+: Furious Cloak (honor)
2050+: Furious Shoulders
2200+: 2nd Tier Furious Weapon
2300+: Furious Tabard

Source:

World of Warcraft - English (NA) Forums -> Arena Season 6 – Upcoming Changes

Also a blue on Warriors in 3.1:

Currently there is a lot of attack power being thrown around with buffs, consumables and enchants, and we are thinking about compensating for this by possibly changing Improved Berserker Stance so that it would yield 20% Strength instead of the current 10% attack power.

We are also likely to add 2 more ranks to Armored to the Teeth, however that may be too big of a change to make for patch 3.1

In regards to itemisation for Warriors, we wish for plate to be the best in slot for warriors, and not for example the leather that some Warriors sometimes prefer because they feel the stats on leather armor is more attractive to warriors.

One of the problems we are facing is that agility isn’t that useful for Warriors, and since armor with both strength and attack power is rather inane, we need another stat to add to plate armor instead of agility or attack power, which we currently do not have. The alternative we have is to convert some of the Stamina into Strength, but this is a problem, because that would be a direct buff to Warriors that would be over the top and would also require us to rebalance all of the damage abilities to compensate. This is possibly something we may end up doing in the long-term, but in Short-term it would push warriors farther away from being balanced.

We will look at sacrificing some Stamina for Strength on the dps gear that has both stats for 3.1, but we can't make any promises that this will happen. If we end up doing this, we may need to nerf plate dps in other places, but of course we will have to see what the numbers look like first.

In Ulduar there are more rings with Strength and more leather with Agility instead of attack power, but we don't want every single piece that drops for you to be an unquestionable dps increase. We like the kind of gameplay where you will need to evaluate and decide when you can afford to break a set bonus, a meta gem stack, when you have to get new gems with +hit because you are replacing your hit trinket, etc. This should of course not be interpreted as Ulduar gear not being better than Naxxramas gear, but you may not necessarily be craving or interested in everything that drops in Ulduar.

Source:

World of Warcraft (en) Forums -> Berserker Stance and Warrior Itemisation

[Edgar]

I'm excited about these changes really.

[Beardly]

Furious Gladiator Beardly...i dont even want that lol it sounds pretty stupid. The changes in the system, however, sound pretty awesome. One thing that i will say, though, is that the "teams lower than 1500 will recieve points as if they were 1500" part definitely caters to the lowest common denominator and is just bringing back the "welfare epics" system that ran rampant in s2,s3, and s4. One thing that can be said about it though is that if everyone has the gear, than the only thing that determines ratings is skill (or comp lol), something that i feel arena should be about. I also dont like that they have 2 tiers of weapons...i miss the days of s2-4 when getting 1850 and getting that weapon was a huge achievement...now all we have to look forward to is the grind up to 2200 afterwards...yay.

[soliduck]

I think that change to Imp. Zerker is really stupid on many many levels.

[ebs2002]

One thing that i will say, though, is that the "teams lower than 1500 will recieve points as if they were 1500" part definitely caters to the lowest common denominator and is just bringing back the "welfare epics" system that ran rampant in s2,s3, and s4.

You do realize that 50% of people are lower than 1500, right? That's not the "lowest common denominator" by any means.

i miss the days of s2-4 when getting 1850 and getting that weapon was a huge achievement...now all we have to look forward to is the grind up to 2200 afterwards...yay.

In S4, the S3 weapon was at a lower tier and the S4 weapon was at a higher tier, if I'm not mistaken (although it wasn't 2200, I think it was 1850 and 2050).

This is pretty much the same thing

[Beardly]

oh sorry i should have been more specific. When i said lowest common denominator i was talking about player skill not average ratings of people. soz =)

[ebs2002]

I still gotta disagree though. You can't buy anything if your skill puts you in the "lowest common denominator" because your rating won't be high enough. You'll earn points and have nowhere to spend it.

The "lowest common denominator" are teams that can't stay above 1300. Teams between 1300 and 1500 are "below average", but in no way are they the "lowest common denominator".

[Edgar]

I just wonder how long it takes to get maybe a 1500 rating. If 1 game gives 15 points you'd have to win 100 games and it's unlikely you go 100-0.

[Kazeyonoma]

if you're rating is at 0, you'll lose 0 points if your hidden rating is set at 1500, chances are if you win you'll win much more than 15 points so you'll climb up fast, and it'll taper off as you get closer to your real rating. Who knows, maybe they lifted the 32 point cap.

[ebs2002]

The post says on average 20-25pts for a win and 0-5pts for a loss, until you get close to your matchmaking rating. That means between 60 and 75 winning streak to hit 1500.

Getting to 1500 isn't as big of a goal as it used to be, though. At 1250 you can buy up more deadly gear (if you haven't them already), and 1400 for the new stuff.

[Kazeyonoma]

true, forgot about that.

ebs check your pms!

[Grulgor]

I think that change to Imp. Zerker is really stupid on many many levels.

Care to explain these many levels? I'm intrigued, and vague statements like that contribute absolutely nothing. I would like to know WHY exactly you think this is a really stupid change.

[Kazeyonoma]

the change to improved berserker stance is a double edged sword. Our plate/str gear (pvp) is actually benefiting by it, but our enchants (AP), our buffs (battle shout or blessing of might) are getting nerfed in a sense since we no longer get the AP modifier. for pvp it's less damaging because all of our AP comes from STR. I think it was a general concensus that the change will be deeply hurtful to PvE players who wear leather (myself included)

[Yarock]

You won't be wearing leather for long and for pvp it doesn't make much difference as arms is better than fury now so we won't even be in berserker stance even if it were talented.

BTW, I'm sure most of you know this by now but:

You gain 47 rating with every win at 0 until you get close to your match making rating (which I believe is the average of each of your team members hidden personal ratings).

Also - if you join a team that has already been played you start with a personal rating of 1000 (unless the team rating is below 1000 then you start with the team rating for your personal rating).

Your hidden personal rating is saved from the previous season - so trying a new comp with someone that was a gladiator last season could be punishing at first.

Overall I think blizzard has made some great changes this season. I do think rogue/priest is the new DK/pali and DK/pali takes skill now (but is still viable). I'm happy to see that they fixed druid/war without making it completely OP.

It's pretty easy to get a full deadly set with a couple furious items thrown in - you can play in the 1400s and still get a decent set of gear together. While nobody likes "welfare" epics I also don't like a system where the rich get richer and the poor stay poor - I'm not sure how to make it work but I'd like to see an arena system similar to the tournament where everyone has access to the same gear. (Although this wouldn't help me personally I think I have better gear than skill - bladestorm instagib isn't skill).

[Ferag]

I enjoy PvP as a Warrior once more. It's just too bad it takes forever to get PvP gear and resil, for now I'll stay the glass cannon I guess.

[Beardly]

good thing warriors are the most retarded thing in the game right now...lol.
Its okay though =)
grip healer to you when your in range of the warrior at full RP, switch to blood pres, and throw 4 frost strikes into his ass along with a likely killing machine to howling blast with a deathchill oblit and various darkmoon card: death procs in between. IS NICE

[Kazeyonoma]

Except when I see you, i go shield, shield wall, disarm! BIATCH!

[Beardly]

basically lol...that usually happens =(

[Kazeyonoma]

lol, and I've found a very VERY strong retaliation effect now against melee dps'ers against me is just to stay in defensive stance and sword/board and spam the hell out of revenge with UA. It can be quite devastating. I dropped a hunter who had his pet on me proc'ing revenge, and i fired off 3 revenges in his face and took him from 70% to dead.