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5v5 Arena Composition Tier List / Guide for Cataclysm Classic

Last updated on Jul 30, 2024 at 19:00 by Seksixeny

This guide will focus on rankings for the Arena, where 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5 matches occur. Doing well increases your team's rating, and the higher you go, the more points will be gained upon the weekly reset. These points can then be used to buy arena gear, which mirrors PvE gear in item level, but with some item budget allocated to Resilience and PvP-oriented set bonuses.

We will be listing and ranking some of the best arena compositions for the 5v5 arena bracket in this guide. These compositions rely on having a synergistic combination of abilities that can put pressure on opponents and deflect incoming aggression successfully, and we will be offering a brief explanation on each.

Feel free to also consult the 2v2 bracket and 3v3 bracket tier lists, as well as our PvP DPS and PvP Healer rankings in order to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each class and specialization when individually assessed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
1.

Introduction

In this guide, we will be presenting the compositions that form "the meta" of Cataclysm Arena in the 5v5 bracket.

The meta changes over time, but it will naturally change less and more slowly in a game as well understood as Cataclysm Classic. We will also be getting the final talent balance of Cataclysm right away, and thus most of the changes will come from having better gear for classes that scale well as we progress in tiers. To give a practical example, Casters will not have immediate access to their Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest Icon Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest legendary right away, making them much weaker in the first phase than they will be by the end of Firelands.

Also, while we will present some of the most recognizable arena compositions, the sheer amount of combinations possible is well beyond the scope of this guide, and replacements can easily be made in most teams without massively compromising the end result. Also, note that within each tier the compositions are not listed in order of power.

2.

Cataclysm 5v5 Arena Tier List

5v5 is a rather unbalanced bracket, owing to the crazy amount of abilities available when 10 players are involved, which leads most matches to be decided within the first minutes. Melee classes tend to have a hard time staying alive, as they often need to put themselves into the middle of the enemy team in order to deal damage.

2.1.

Best Cataclysm Arena Compositions for 5v5

Contrary to the other Arena brackets, crowd control (CC) is of limited usefulness in the 5v5 bracket as it is likely to be interrupted, dispelled, or simply arrive too late to have an impact on the fast paced matches.

Thus, the best 5v5 team compositions rely on burst damage, mostly of the ranged and cooldown-bound sort, and the strong defensive cooldowns and bubble of a Holy Paladin to score a kill quickly before the other team can do the same.

Overall, many compositions can work, but casters are generally favored as are classes with powerful cooldowns due to the short nature of most matches.

This list will be adjusted over time as teams match against each other in Cataclysm Classic.

Composition Strengths Weaknesses
Gripcleave: Alternative healers:
  • Very high burst damage potential with Death Grip Icon Death Grip and Chains of Ice Icon Chains of Ice to quickly pick someone off;
  • Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike to prevent enemies from quickly healing up whoever is focused;
  • Able to dispel offensively and defensively, with double Paladin utility and defensive abilities to stay healthy and out of CC at all times;
  • No squishy targets against Physical damage.
  • Melee range requirements can easily take your team out of position if Death Grip Icon Death Grip target manages to flee;
  • Area-of-effect attacks and CC are especially effective against heavy melee teams.
2347:
  • Widow Venom Icon Widow Venom is deadly when combined with Elemental Shaman and Warlock burst;
  • Everyone is ranged, making swaps easier and enabling kiting;
  • Multiple offensive and defensive dispels.
  • Multiple members of the team are very squishy to Physical damage and can be quickly killed if caught off guard;
  • Casts are required for damage, allowing line-of-sight and interrupts to be a strong counter.
2346:
  • Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike is deadly when combined with Elemental Shaman burst;
  • High sustained damage allows for a long game backup plan;
  • Multiple offensive and defensive dispels.
  • The solo Warrior is a huge target for most enemy teams.
2345:
  • Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike is deadly when combined with Shaman and Mage burst;
  • Multiple offensive and defensive dispels.
  • The solo Warrior is a huge target for most enemy teams;
  • Cooldown and Mana dependent, weak in long games.
Shadowplay Plus:
  • Huge amount of non-DR CC available;
  • High damage potential, both burst and sustained;
  • Multiple offensive and defensive dispels.
  • No Mortal Strike Icon Mortal Strike effect to shut down healers;
  • Low healing, which is easy to shut down after Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield.
Eurocomp:
  • Strong opener potential with multiple CC options to follow up;
  • High burst potential and Wound Poison Icon Wound Poison;
  • High heal-over-time healing, which is difficult to disrupt with interrupts.
  • Heal-over-time effects are vulnerable to offensive dispels;
  • Multiple squishy targets for the opposing team.
3.

Conclusion

No matter what class or specialization you play, there is always a strong team composition you can utilize. Every team has a weakness and it is important to know them. Teams and their weaknesses can change frequently throughout a season. If there is a team comp that is missing, please let us know in the comments so we can add it to the list.

Feel free to check out our 2v2 and 3v3 arena tier list / comp guides as well if you are interested in those brackets:

2v2 Arena Tier List 3v3 Arena Tier List
4.

Changelog

  • 30 Jun. 2024: Reviewed for Phase 2.
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