Wrath of the Lich King has landed, and hopefully you’ve been keeping up with the insane amount of changes being made to each and every of the current nine classes in WoW. However, if you’ve found all of the patch notes and forums posts a little confusing, GotFrag is here to make it much simpler for you.
In this article, GotFrag will take a focus onto the new 51 point talents in the major three trees of each class, and how they just might affect PvP and arenas at level 80. Many class defining abilities and spells were also changed along with the introduction of these new talents, so if you’re looking to find the best way to spend your talent points once you’ve hit 80 and are ready to duke it out in an Arena, look no further.
Warriors have had quite a decent overhaul in all three of their trees for the 3.0/WotLK patch. The biggest change that most people seemed to be interested in is the addition of the 51 point talent in Arms called Bladestorm. For only 25 rage, you do a whirlwind every 6 seconds and (practically) immune to every form of CC out there. This skill is often called the "spin and win" move as it is very hard to escape if the warriors plays it smart and uses it when his opponent has no more outs left. However, with the tweaking of certain talents like Improved Disarm, you may see some hybrid specs or even tri-spec warriors in arenas. However, the reality is that both Shockwave and Titan's Grip are far too removed from the burst nature needed in 3.0, and will most likely rarely be used except in the case of gimmick or fun runs.
A few other key skills for warriors have changed to make them even more desirable in PvP, beyond the MS and hamstring one/two trick ponies they were before. Recklessness and Shield Wall are now usable in an arena, which means they will have significantly higher burst or defense on call whenever they need it. Post 3.0, there is definitely a higher skill cap for warriors in high end arenas. Most warriors will go with a Bladestorm-esque build and get to a decently high arena rating, but a warrior who can handle a hybrid or tri-spec will have the utility and DPS to be very appealing in the professional scene.
Warlocks at the end of 2.4, had it fairly easy with the WLD arena composition and seemed like they weren't going anywhere. However, the name of the game changed from outlasts to burst when 3.0 hit and Warlocks have been left in the dust. Metamorphosis is the new Demonology 51 point talent, and seems to be the only one worth even attempting for in Arenas. 600% increased armor and 20% reduction on damage taken for 30 seconds is huge, and allows them to tank melee with ease.
The other two 51 point talents, Haunt and Chaos Bolt seem to provide little needed utility to Warlocks in arenas. Haunt has the ability to do nice damage over a short period of time (if not dispelled), but not anywhere near the burst needed and will sadly fall far behind when compared to Mages. Chaos Bolt is something completely out of left field, and seems more like a neat gimmick rather than a spell to be feared. It used to be decent when it would actually penetrate an Ice Block or Divine Shield, but no longer actually penetrates immunities functions, only spells such as Power Word: Shield or Cloak of Shadows.
A much needed buff to the control and utility of pets was completely passed over with this patch, and sadly Warlocks will probably be the 2.4 Ret Paladins or Shamans of WotLK, rarely seen and rarely taken seriously. Expect a few tweaks over the next patches to bring them back up to speed, hopefully Blizzard gives them more sustained DPS as it seems like they're out of the burst game for now.
Shamans have finally stepped into the ring of being truly viable in high level 3v3 arena play. Before, Shadowplay was the only time a shaman was ever seen, and now they will definitely be competing for the top spot in arenas both as healing and DPS. Thunderstorm has the ability to knock players back, which was recently introduced in the 3.0 patch. This may come into some very strange plays, but don't be surprised to see a few elemental shamans running around trying to gib players. With the 3.0 patch, however, Shamans also received two new very interesting abilities: Hex and Cleanse Spirit. Hex is a decent CC ability that still gives the CC'd player the chance to move, and Cleanse Spirit means that Shamans finally have a de-curse.
Feral Spirit is also an extremely viable 51 point talent for a shaman to try out. They have a stun and they heal the shaman for a percentage of the damage done, which is nothing to scoff at. However, most shaman will try out the 51 point restoration talent of Riptide as it provides the shaman with a great heal over time, and also allows for a decent bonus on the amount healed by Chain Heal. Look for Shamans to come back with a force, both as DPS and healing specs, or even a mixture of the two. There have been a few specs floating out there that allowed for a Shaman to fulfill both roles with deadly force, and they're definitely a deadly combo together.
Rogues, as always, will be popular in PvP, and Wrath will not be changing that tune. Shadow Dance will allow for an insane amount of burst in a fashion not seen before. Being able to cast stealth-required spells such as Ambush and Cheap Shot while the buff is active is a force to be reckoned with. Casters caught off guard by a SD spec'd rogue have a Garrote -> Ambush -> Cheap Shot -> Ambush -> Ambush chain to fear.
Killing Spree definitely gives combat the needed burst instead of the usual sustained damage, however the damage is fairly negligible if used when two (or more) targets are near. Look to see a healer or caster caught off guard and bursted down with a quickness thanks to the Adrenaline Rush and Killing Spree combo. The third and final 51 point talent for rogues is Hunger For Blood and sadly seems fairly lackluster for PvP. It comes with a 9% increased damage effect (when stacked three times) and has a chance to remove a bleed effect which is one of the more annoying aspects of playing a rogue. Rogues will most likely be a dominant class in the 3v3 arena bracket at 80, as being able to pick up both Shadowstep and Shadow Dance means a player can do ridiculous burst and stay on top of their target with ease.
Priests have always been good healers in Arenas; however mobility was their weak point. However, with the arena play shifting towards burst, the time finally seems appropriate for Priests to rise back up in popularity. Rapture seems to be a ridiculously good talent for priests, which allows them to recoup mana on certain heals and damaged absorbed by PW:S. While mana may not be the largest limiting factor at 80, the fact that so many spells are costing a large portion of base mana, it definitely seems like a much needed spell. Penance, the 51 point Holy talent, is definitely a great HPS spell and does decent damage if cast on an enemy player. There are two downfalls however, as it is a channeled spell and is also fairly costly in respect to mana. Look for Holy priests to be the best straight healers in arenas without as much versatility as other healers.
Guardian Spirit is sadly another talent that will not see much use in PvP because it seems strictly designed around PvE ideas. Depending on how insane the burst gets at 80, however, this spell may just actually come into play. It basically allows the player to live for at least 10 seconds, if not longer because of the heal if the target is bursted down while the buff is active. Dispersion, the final talent in the Shadow tree, is definitely a must if you plan on spec'ing into shadow for Arena. 90% reduced damage taken alone is enough to convince most folks to take it, and can definitely be a huge life saving clutch play when you're forced to LoS a healer.
Paladins had a chance to fulfill the burst role when they're Ret tree was insanely broken in the early days of 3.0, but have since fallen back into obscurity. Ret runs out of mana extremely quickly, and if they're unable to take someone down in the initial burst they're basically out of luck. Divine Storm is definitely a skill to fear, but any form of kiting on a paladin will quickly put them out of sight and out of mind.
Holy Shock seems to have gotten some decent buffs that will allow them to fill the healer/hybrid roll in a much more complete way, which is something most paladins have wanted since day one. Sadly, Protection really offers nothing valuable to paladins in terms of PvP and arena, and will most likely stay that way for a vast majority of the time.
Mages are without a doubt the strongest DPS class in arenas right now. Two trees that serve two different play styles but ultimately allow for such extremely control over an opponent means that practically every top comp will include a mage (in their current incarnation, anyways.) First off, Arcane has the ability to completely wreck and destroy practically any class. Slow affecting cast times means it will be fairly difficult for a competent mage to miss an improved counter spell, and Arcane Barrage with a three second cooldown is absolutely brutal. Not to mention the painful Arcane Power -> Presence of Mind -> Fireball/Frostbolt macro can still be executed with skill and grace.
Frost, on the other hand has the control that Arcane does with no less than four different roots, but also presents a nice opportunity to lay down the burst with the 51 point talent of Deep Freeze. A 5 second stun that is also a freeze means a potential 3 or 4 spell sequence of insanely high crits even while on the move with instant Ice Lances. Improved Water Elemental means higher utility out of your pet, Shatter Barrier adds one more annoying way to root any melee who might be sticking onto you, and finally Fingers of Frost adds more RNG allowing you to cast spells as if the target were frozen. Burst with frost will become even much more RNG dependant than anyone could have hoped for with the ability to proc instant (and mana free!) fireballs as well.
Fire, sadly, is not looking so well as Living Bomb is a much more AoE oriented spell and will rarely be seen outside of the occasional battleground. However, the other two trees more than make up for the short comings of Fire and Mages are looking to be extremely dominant at level 80.
Hunters did fairly well in the 3.0 / Wrath of the Lich King expansion as far as revamped skills are concerned. Aimed Shot now has a Mortal Strike like debuff, meaning that a warrior is not the only option when needing to cut down the utility of an opposing teams healer. Pets also received some decent buffs such as an intercept ability that will make them more of a pain to casters than they ever were before.
Concerning talents specifically, Chimera shot is an incredible ability that will probably be the most common spec for quite some time. It will basically wreck any mana user, which will drastically reduce the burst potential of an opposing arcane mage or similar class. Explosive Shot seems like a decent talent, although much more PvE oriented than most hunters were hoping for.
In all, however, the extra ten talent points seem to really be where the hunters will shine overall. The ability to grab the Beastial Wrath talent and Readiness will be really hard for decent hunters to give up, especially depending on how good some pets DPS will end up being at 80 along with their masters’.
Druids, everyone’s favorite healer, definitely is not the end all be all dominant force it used to be. Lifeblooms coefficient received a heavy nerf . However, that does not mean that the Druid is out of luck just yet. Blizzard may have finally done the impossible and given a hybrid class just the right tweaks to allow them to choose just enough talents to make them useful in Arenas without being overpowered (or underpowered.)
Typhoon and Starfall and some really decent utility and DPS to boomkins in arena, though they are extremely mana intensive. Berserk will probably attract a lot of feral druids in the beginning, though most will find feral a lacking tree in terms of utility, eventually being swapped out for a rogue or warrior (or even a Death Knight!) Wild growth is definitely not an arena oriented spell, or at least for the 3v3 bracket. It will find its place in 5v5/PvE, and there is definitely talk of it being nerfed in the near future.
Death Knight
No real point in talking about how amazing the 51 point talents are, because Death Knights overall haven’t even been seen in arenas in the first place. However, DKs are definitely going to see a ton of action over the first few weeks of the Arena season as they are the new class on the block. The ability to, literally, pull any target directly on top of themselves, an anti-magic shield, silences and interrupts and decent DPS to boot means that they will be able to fill almost any roll you can think of. They have the opportunity to have great synergy with Frost Mages, and are a direct counter to any healer that casts a HoT, so look out for a complete shutdown if you just happen to face a DK with the wrong class composition.
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