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Warriors are often known as the leader, because the Warrior is typically the one calling out the targets and strategies. Warriors are one of three pure dps classes and they are also one of two classes that do not use mana. Warriors have a special bar called rage. Mana runs out when spells are used, Rage does not, but rather is infinite. Rage starts at 0, but when Warriors attack or are attacked, they get rage. Warriors put out very high dps and if they are attacked then they have more rage to do more damage (many people call this “feeding them rage”).

Warriors also have very high armor and health points, when combined with how Rage works, and this means Warriors are not often targeted in 5v5. Warriors also have an amazing ability called Mortal Strike. Mortal Strike reduces the amount of healing done on the target by 50%. This means that enemy healers have to spend much more time and mana keeping their teammates alive. This is one reason why almost every 5v5 team has a Warrior on it.

Warriors also have the unique ability to become almost permanently immune to fear, through various spells they have. There is usually only a 5-10 second window that they can be feared through. This means Warriors are effectively unable to be crowd controlled by one of the two major CC’s. Warriors, similar to Warlocks, also have very high synergy with two classes: Paladins and Shamans.

Paladins and Warriors have been one of the most apparent synergies in the Arenas. Both classes wear plate (most protective armor) so there are no weak spots to melee on the team. The Paladin and the Warrior both have an array of stuns and defensive abilities that make them hard to kill. The Warrior is also greatly complimented by the paladin through Blessing of Freedom and allows Warriors to move without fear of getting rooted or snared, which is the biggest weakness to Warriors. The Warrior also meshes with Paladins well because Mortal Strike makes the opponents healers have to use more mana and time to keep the Warriors target alive. When coupled with the Paladins’ second to none mana efficiency, this team can rarely be outmanad (fights where whoever runs out of mana first wins).

Shamans and Warriors have been recently showing alot of chemistry in 3v3 and 5v5, especially when the Warrior already has a Paladin. Shamans windfury totem gives Warriors a chance to get an extra attack on every hit, which procs (happens) often. This means the Warriors already powerful dps (damage per second) is greatly increased giving them more burst to take down an opponent. The Shamans Heroism buff works even better with Warriors and is magnified when they also have a windfury totem. This means the Warrior not only is hitting harder but also attacking faster. Lastly, the only real defense against a Warrior is a blessing of protection on his target. The Shaman can quickly purge this off and allow the Warrior to continue his carnage.

Warlocks are the 2nd of the support dps classes. Warlocks have great crowd control and silences, like Mages, and also have the ability to put out great dps, also like Mages. Warlocks also have more hp than Mages and also have a 20% healing bonus that they self apply. The difference between a Warlock and a Mage, though, is that Warlocks do not have the kiting abilities and survivability of a Mage. Most of a Warlocks dps comes from various dots (damage over time) which they can apply to one person or a whole team. The great thing about this is they can be damaging various players and then able to control healers or dps other targets at the same time. The downside to dots is that they can be removed using cleanse or dispel (Priest or Paladin). Warlocks also have two very powerful curses which are the following: Curse of Tongues, which makes all casting 100% longer, and Curse of Agony, a powerful dot.  That being said Warlocks also bring great chemistry to teams, especially ones with Shadow Priests on them. Warlocks have two separate fears (which are considered one of the best abilities in the Arena) and have a silence with one of their pets.  Warlocks also have a wide variety of specs that are viable in arena: Felguard spec (Deep Demonology tree), UA spec (Deep Affliction Tree), and Soul Link Hybrid (Part Demo/Affl).

Felguard Warlocks are known for their ability to survive better than other Warlock specs. The reason Felguard Warlocks are called Felguard locks is because they get an insane pet called the Felguard. The Felguard is known for putting out huge dps and constantly harassing the target. The pet also has an ability to intercept players for 3 seconds, a great tool for shutting down healers. The Felguard Warlock also gets higher spell damage through talents in their spec and also get 20% damage done rerouted to their Felguard, allowing them to survive longer. With the Felguard combined with the Warlocks standard spells gives Felguard Warlocks deceptively great burst dps, which, combined with their great crowd control and survivability make them a great asset to any teams.

UA spec Warlocks are known for their ability to make all of their dots unable to be removed, and this is through Unstable Affliction. Unstable Affliction is a dot that also will silence the dispeller for 5 seconds and do 3000 damage to him. This makes removing dots a huge risk for someone to remove. The downside is that this spec does not have soul link, and removes their ability to survive for long periods of time. Because of this most UA Warlocks play on 4 dps lineups, which as I said earlier try to burst down an opponent very quickly. UA Warlocks also have huge chemistry with Shadow Priests as Unstable Affliction protects their dots as well. These Warlocks usually use their Felguard (silence) pet to contain the other team’s healers.

Soul Link Hybrid locks are the most popular build for Warlocks as it brings great dps from Affliction and also has the Survivability of Demonology. This build is used by almost all top 5v5 Warlocks. These Warlocks can drain life (giving hp back to themselves) without interruption, and using this to maintaining their survivability. These Warlocks have less burst dps than the other two specs but their long term dps is the same, if not better.

Mages are one of two support dps classes (the other being Warlock). Their main job is to not only provide good dps, but also constantly apply crowd control and silences on the opponents. Mages have Sheep (a great CC) which turns the opponent into a sheep therefore preventing them from doing anything and they also have counter spell, which either silences all trees for 4 seconds or if a person is counter spelled during a cast, they cannot cast a spell in that tree (fire/holy/shadow/frost) for 8 seconds. Alongside this, Mages have great dps, which makes them a great support class. Mages also have great kiting abilities and they can keep melee out of range very easily. They have blink (shoots them 15 yards ahead), frost nova (freezes everyone in a range for X seconds), and armor that when hit slows or freezes opponents. In order to maintain balance, though, Mages are notorious for being very squishy (weak) and can die very quickly. Mages have various specs that they can effectively use in arena. Most Mages go deep frost, which provides more survivability where they otherwise lack it. Some Mages with exceptional kiting abilities will play as 21 fire or deep fire, which provides substantial burst dps.

Frost Mages are most often on more defensive teams where the fight will be prolonged, as a Fire Mage cannot survive consistent damage for a while. A Frost Mage has 2 ice blocks (frozen and immune to everything but heals), an ice barrier (absorbs damage), more kiting options (chill armor), and a pet, with its own frost nova and abilities that greatly increase the Mages’ overall dps. Because of these defensive abilities, Warriors will usually only hop on a Frost Mage if it has Blessing of freedom to get through all the kiting. Frost Mages are not often targeted in 5v5 arena, though, as a ice block will stop all dps on him.  Although this does not apply until very high brackets of 5v5, Mages high up often spend the majority of their time crowd controlling opponents and mitigating heals and dps through CS and kiting. Mages will only really start to dps once one of the opponents drop below the 50% range, then the mage goes all out hoping to drop the target.

Fire Mages are more often seen on very aggressive teams, such as PvE Clickers and some 4 dps lineups. They have considerably less survivability than their Frost Mage counterpart, but they make up for that with the ability to put out extremely high burst dps. Fire Mages shine even more when they are played by people who have learned how to kite effectively with one. Deep Fire mages have a chance to get a sprint when attacked, and they do not lose the frost nova and blink that allows them to keep people off them. I had a personal problem in one 3v3 arena with a Fire Mage as he was extremely good at kiting/sheeping/ccing and we could not bring him down. Along with this he had the ability to put out insane damage over a very short amount of time. He could take me down, with over 13k hp and 250 resilience (very good), in 8 seconds after he counter spelled me. This damage definitely comes in hand with 4 dps teams, where their goal is to kill an opponent extremely fast. The Mage is usually targeted first in this scenario (unless their is a Shadow Priest) so its job is to get a sheep and/or a cs off during the initial phase and then unloads all of its abilities on their target before it dies, although as mentioned earlier some top

Shamans are the only other hybrid class in the game with the same spec differences as a Druid. A Shaman can either choose to primarily heal, do caster Dps, or do melee Dps (not done in Arenas). Both Restoration (Healing) and Elemental (Caster) Shamans bring three great assets to an Arena team: Totems, Heroism, and Purging.

Totems are an ability unique to the Shaman class. The various Totems each have their own specific ability that it does. The most popular Totems are the following: Wind fury Totem (chance to grant an extra attack for melee, great for Warriors), Grounding Totem (absorbs spells shot at teammates), Tremor Totem (removes Fear/Charm effects from teammates), and Poison Totem (cleanses poisons off of Shaman and teammates). These Totems provide great buffs to teammates and can really help turn the tide of an Arena match.

Shamans also have the ability to cast a huge buff once every arena, Heroism. Heroism increases every teammate’s casting/attack/healing speed by 30%, which is extremely helpful. Heroism can easily turn the tide during a crucial part of a fight.

The last ability that all Shamans bring to an Arena match is the ability to Purge. Purging removes all beneficial effects on a member of the opposing team. By removing buffs from the opponents, Shamans can help make their team more effective in the long run.

Elementals Shamans are now one of the most popular casters in a 5v5 team as they provide great chemistry. Elemental Shamans have the ability to put out very huge burst Dps (rivaled only by Fire Mages) which can quickly bring down an opponent. They are also able to off-heal, which removes from stress from the other two healers during intense parts of a match. Their ability to pop Heroism/Purge/ and drop Totems seal the deal and is the main reason why most top 5v5 teams have a Shaman.

Druids are one of two hybrid classes in World of Warcraft. Hybrid classes are those that can fill various roles depending on their spec (the talents the Druid decided to choose). Druids can be Caster Dps (shoots at a range and is magical), Melee Dps (must be in melee range and is physical), or a healer (Restoration Spec). Druids are also unique in that they have various forms they can shape shift into. Cat is a very quick (attack + speed) form that has the ability to go on stealth mode similar to a rogue. Bear is a very slow but durable form similar to Warriors. Cheetah form is used when the druid needs to get away (+30% movement speed).

Druids must master all of these forms to play their class to the best of its ability. Druids are considered top healers in 2v2 and 3v3 for many reasons. Druids have the most powerful healing in the game, and almost all are instant cast. Druids also have amazing kiting abilities (cheetah form) and the ability called Cyclone, which makes a character unable to do anything (Cyclone can’t be dispelled). The only downside to Druids, the reason why not many of them are in 5v5, is that they are extremely squishy in human form. In 5v5 there are between 2-4 DPS (targets doing damage) on a target and a Druid cannot survive that in human form and must go into bear form. Bear Form allows them to stay up for a while but they cannot heal while in this form and are effectively shut down. Very good Druids though can still heal effectively with good usage of kiting (moving around as to avoid damage/CC). Sheep is one of the most powerful CC’s in the game and druids are the only class that can get out of it constantly (through shape shifting), others can only remove sheep through usage of a PvP trinket (a onetime removal of a CC/Snare every 2 minutes). Although Druids were widely regarded as an underdog in all the arenas, they are becoming more and more prominent in 2v2/3v3 and starting to sprout in top 5v5 teams.

Moonkin Druid and Feral Druid are also fairly decent specs, with Moonkins sprouting on some top 3v3/5v5 teams and Feral Druids having a few spots in top 2v2/3v3/5v5 teams. A Moonkin Druid has a small arsenal of very powerful spells and also has extremely high armor for a caster, making the Moonkin near last on the list of targets. Moonkins bring great CC (Cyclone and Entangling Roots) and the only real downside to them is that they have very little defensive abilities. Teams with mostly casters can easily burn down a Moonkin and it will not be able to defend itself. With that, though, many top Moonkin players have improvised and often will heal/kite in order to maximize their ability in the Arena. Feral Druids are very tough to play, but when they are played with peak performance Feral Druids become phenomenal. Feral Druids bring very high DPS through cat form, very good survivability with bear form, and very good crowd control in human form. Feral Druids can very easily lock down two healers with Feral Charges (Bear form) and well placed Cyclones. With this and the ability to heal, Feral Druids can be a great asset to any team.

Priests play a huge role in both PvE and PvP. They bring an amazing buff called Fortitude, which increases the hp of whomever it’s put on. Priests have a very wide range of non-casting heals (they are instant) in their arsenal. These abilities allow Priests to focus on other things during the fight, such as mana burning (taking mana away from the opponent targeted) and dispelling, either taking buffs off opponents (like Fortitude) or taking off debuffs (bad buffs) on his teammates. Priests have three different specs (various areas to choose abilities) that are all viable in Arena.

Holy Spec is the best Priest spec for healing as they gain many buffs to their heals through talents. Discipline Spec is what most 5v5 Arena Priests use as it gives the Priest many Defense abilities and because of this Discipline Priests aren’t often targeted (the person the opposing team tries to kill). Discipline Priests also receive a quicker mana burn, which helps stop the enemy from healing long term, and better spirit regen, which allows them to be efficient longer into the fight.

The last spec that Priests can be is Shadow. Shadow Spec is vastly different from the previous two because the Priest primarily does damage in this spec. They have abilities such as Mind Blast and Mind Flay which do a very high amount of damage. Shadow Priests also have two unique abilities Vampiric Touch, which gives hp back to all teammates when damage is done to target, and Vampiric Embrace, which gives mana back to all teammates when damage is done to the target. All of this and the Priest still gives Fortitude and Shields to its team. The downside to a Shadow Priest is that when it’s in damage form the Priest cannot heal at all. Shadow Priests also do not get the defensive abilities that holy/disc Priests do and they are very squishy (easy to kill) and are usually targeted first. Because of the variety and the amount of Priests on Arena teams they are regarded as one of the best balanced classes in the game.

E-sports (electronic sports) have been around for quite some time. Quake and Counter-Strike were the two most popular E-sports, with online leagues and tournaments with tens of thousands of dollars in prizes. Starcraft is another popular E-sport in Korea where the top players earn over 200k a year! With World of Warcraft growing larger and larger, it was only a matter of time before competitive gaming came to it, in the form of Arenas.

When Blizzard released the first expansion for World of Warcraft (The Burning Crusade) they introduced a whole new aspect of PvP (Player versus Player) called Arenas. Arenas were special locations where organized teams of 2, 3, or 5 faced each other in order to get more gear. Arenas use an advanced rating system, similar to chess, that instantly made it the most competitive part of the game. Teams fought against each other day after day trying to get to the top 10 (out of thousands of teams). Blizzard then announced that they would be hosting a tournament for 5v5, and the top 3 teams from each bracket would be invited. This not only ignited the spark in some teams to climb even further but it also drew interest from many top E-Sport sponsors, such as Pandemic and Check-Six. Now not only were teams competing for a $10,000 grand prize but also to be sponsored by many of the top teams. It was a very competitive tournament, with Power Trip winning and Pandemic coming in 2nd, and really opened the doors for WoW to become an E-sport.

Very soon after, Blizzard made an agreement with the E-Sport tournament company WSVG (World Series of Video Games) to allow them to host 3v3 tournaments at their events. With $10,000 first place prizes, many teams practiced all season in World of Warcraft and then would travel to these WSVG tournaments. The 3v3 bracket is often the most popular one for spectators as it is very fast paced and there are fewer players on the screen then a 5v5. There have been 3 tournaments so far with many more scheduled and WoW is only getting more popular because of this. WSVG recently signed a deal with CBS to bring their tournament onto national TV.

A little over three weeks ago, Blizzard signed a deal to allow CGS rights to their last Arena Bracket, 2v2. CGS is a competitive gaming league that pays salaries (yes, real money) to professional gamers in their league. A player can currently make 30k a year just playing in this league. The CGS tournament is currently underway and there are many top contenders vying for a spot. CGS has a contract with Comcast and is often shown on their channels.

World of Warcraft started out as an online game with a very nerdy appeal to it but has very rapidly turned into a very well known game, growing not only in membership but in the E-Sports area. With the prizes dwarfing those of other E-sports, many players are crossing the river over to World of Warcraft.

In 2004, the gaming company Blizzard released their MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), World of Warcraft, to the public. Few, if any, could have predicted the success this game would achieve and it’s impact on the industry. Nearly three years later, World of Warcraft has 8 million subscribers, controlling over 50% of the MMORPG market share. It has shattered boundaries and taken this genre and the gaming industry as a whole to a different level.

If there were a survey done asking people whether they would spend $70 and then $15 a month for a game, few would say yes. Yet 8 million people pay this fee in order to play one of the greatest games ever created. World of Warcraft is a computer-based online game where people can set up a virtual character and then adventure through the world of Azeroth. There are 9 various classes, 8 different races, and two conflicting factions to choose from. The game’s endless possibilities begin with the long journey of leveling. Your character starts as level 1 and must work his way to level 70 by killing mobs, completing quests, and grouping with other people to enter instances (enclosed areas with very tough beasts that drop exceptional gear for your character). The grind to level 70 takes days of actual time spent, meaning it takes weeks to get to level 70.

The grueling time spent to reaching level 70 is not only an adventure but also a stepping stone to a whole different experience. Once one reaches the maximum level they enter a whole new phase of grueling work to obtain gear suitable for their level. A player must spend many hours working to obtain gear through various means that are usually separated into two categories: PvE and PvP. PvE stands for Player versus Environment, meaning characters join guilds filled with other players and work together in tough instances in order to obtain better gear. PvP stands for Player versus Player, where characters either fight the opposing faction in Battlegrounds (large areas where both Factions clash for valuable resources and flags) or both factions in Arenas (small scale, and very organized, battles where players create teams and face other teams for valuable points. Eventually you start to gear up and are then able to access more competitive and harder areas of the game.

Many people wonder why a person would be willing to invest so much time just to be able to be competitive and to have fun. The time spent leveling and gearing up is grueling and frustrating, but the reasons people do it are endless. Both PvE and PvP can be related to team sports (PvP has actually started to become an e-sport, which I will talk about in another article), where people work together to either defeat bosses (extremely hard beasts found in PvE instances) or to kill the opposing faction. Most people not only do it for the experience but also the respect you receive from other players when you become one of the best. The best PvE guilds and best PvP teams are renowned throughout the World of Warcraft Community and players would give up anything to play on them. The experience someone gets from playing World of Warcraft is hard to describe to a non-player, but I can attest to that it has been more fun for me than most activities I have done. World of Warcraft is currently the most popular game in the United States and will continue to be for quite some time.