So the shaman Q&A is out and it has some pretty interesting discussion points in it, but one that really stuck out to me was the shaman paladin dichotomy.
As envisioned from the start, shamans were also the “offensive” hybrid. Things have inevitably blurred a bit since then, but they are still a counterpart and complement to paladins – paladins have cleanse, shamans have purge; paladins will let an ally move freely to escape or catch an opponent, shamans will snare an enemy to let their ally escape or catch him or her; paladins will make sure their allies’ casts aren’t interrupted, shamans will interrupt enemy casts; and so forth.
We all know that paladins and shaman where faction specific classes back in vanilla, but to still maintain the counterpart and complement strategy (C&C), would lead many to believe one of the best 2v2 teams should be a paladin/shaman. C&C would imply that each brings the tools the other needs to really shine. Think Hand of Freedom paired with Earthbind Totem. If Blizzard insists on balancing brackets, they really should start here. With 10 classes, the 2v2 SHOULD work on pairing system. We all know that certain groups dominate arena performance, so instead of pretending like that’s not the case, why not just take the classes and pair them up and work on encouraging players to work with other classes. Team philosophies could extend out to specs, and instead of Blizzard pretending that all classes should have a fighting chance in the arena game that they insist on promoting, they could then center the arenas around class makeups. If you are too stupid to pair up with your correct compliment, then you deserve to die at the hands of an equally skilled team that insured they had the correct makeup.
The “bring the player not the class” can then reach across the aisle from PVE to embrace PVP. All teams need w, x, y, and z. If your pair has all of those, then balance is more obtainable. The biggest complaint about paladins in PVP is what they don’t have. Instead of focusing on what they don’t have for QQ, they should focus on what they are missing to find the best arena partner. Certain teams will always do better against other teams because like basketball, it’s all about matchups. Where things start to get ugly is when some classes have no classes that have no complements.
Once the 2v2 system is fixed, the same design will apply to 3v3 and upto 5v5. Each team needs x and when they stack x at the cost of y and z, they will suffer at the hands of a more balanced team. Each class needs at least one of the recognized tools for arena, whether it’s a gap closer, cc, etc.
Here’s to looking forward to the day that my spacegoat in shining armor rides up on his war elekk.
/raise glass
-Rhab
I have done a few skirmishes in 2v2 with a guild pally. Nobody wants to make a real team with me as I am the battlegroup worst PvP'er...no really I am!
ReplyDeleteBut in the few skirnishes I have done we fair fairly well against equally geared teams. Now if only I could figure out this whole cast and move thing, and LoS, and kiting I think I could really have a go at PvP.
It is hard to find a partner though when you truthfully advertise your skill in PvP.