Our Community & PvP

[Mit213 20]

How active is our community with PvP? Just curious as to if even a slight amount of active users PvP (I know this is a PvE website for the most part). If you do, is it more casual or what?

[Damien 1,514]

Looks like most people here are not very interested in PvP

[Archimage 98]

Main reason would be that there are no Class guides for PvP. 

"It's like gravity, all it needs is a little push"

[Elro 47]

I PvP on occasion, but nothing serious. Part of it is, like Archimage said, no PvP class guides.

[Mit213 20]

That's a huge problem, because PvP doesn't allow for as much guidance; most actions have trade-offs, everything is situational, and even specific specs have different roles within each comp that they run (such as ele/affli/healer and ele/warrior/healer where elemental shaman's role changes a lotttt). It wouldn't be too tough to write rough overviews, but they wouldn't be nearly as directly applicable to the reader as the PvE guides are as that would be more of having to write guides for specific comps. It would take quite a few people that all span multiple classes and are at pretty competitive (I'd say ~duelist range or above, steady 2k players in 3v3 this season should be knowledgeable enough) to get enough information on comps; I've found that playing each comp provides a lot of insight on it even if I previously had played against it many times and thought I understood it.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Mit213

[Roided 3]

I PVP and PVE simply because i enjoy playing different aspects of the game but I am a pvper at heart. I love the unknown of pvp (comp groups you'll be facing/who are they targeting/who will you target/etc). Alot of people ask for class guides for pvp and usually the response is "there is no set rotation for pvp". While i somewhat agree with this statement there are tips and strategies for each class to use that would make them better prepared for the match. Most players that pve or are casual players use only certain abilities (basically abilities to do the most dmg). PVP uses almost all your abilities in some way. I think the guides should be set up as, not whats the best rotation, but 1) What is your class good at in pvp 2) What abilities and damaging spells should you be using (break down certain abilities and why or why not use them ex.) most affliction locks in pvp dont use malefic grasp simply because its tough to use while getting hit constantly, instead they focus on dotting and cc) 3) cc'ing and how to cc appropriately 4) What is your goal when the match starts 5) macros 6)reforging etc, etc. I feel there is a lot that guides could break down regarding pvp without going into a set rotation guide. I think with great guides and tips for pvp, alot more players would be more inclined to trying pvp.

[Marco 51]

The amount of responses here surprised me a bit, but allow me to elaborate Damien's comment.

 

Back in May of last year I emailed Icy Veins, because I thought the site was providing good PvE content and, being a PvP player at heart, I did not like the lack of good and detailed PvP guides on IV and especially in general. I originally intended to write a Windwalker Monk PvP guide, which is the class I played back then and would still play if I had not stopped playing WoW a few months ago.

 

Instead of jumping at the class guides right away, we decided to write general PvP guides first and battleground guides second. An initial batch of these guides was published back in September or October here. The response was underwhelming, the click count is still astronomically underperforming, so we came to the conclusion that the market for PvP guides is just not big enough to pursue a more complete and visible PvP guide portfolio. This is why we never made the effort to write concise PvP class guides.

[Mit213 20]

Yeah Roided, I was thinking that if one were to be made, it'd just have to have general information to help portray what the spec does and it would have to be split into categories like as follows (but obviously I'm sure the structure and such could be improved upon):
 

1. The spec as a whole and what it can do. Multiple specs could be lumped into here such as warriors, mages, rogues, etc. In a later section the differences between them could be explained.
2. Outline of the tools of each spec, excluding talent choices.
3. Talent choices could be explained; with classes that have choices that vary depending on the comp they are running or are up against this could help give a clearer understanding of how they can contribute to a team.
4. The macro section you posted could be pretty useful, but people macro different ways for PvP just depending on personal preference (mouseover, focus1/2/3, modifier to focus, etc), so maybe just general macros and in a general PvP guide it could be explained how to manipulate macros because I know they can be confusing for a lot of players, especially to do specific stuff in PvP.
5. General comps that could be run. An example would be warriors can run pressure comps like with warlocks, swap cleaves, like with mages, or just flat out training cleaves like with death knights (although they can swap as well... haven't seen many higher up TSG this season). Comps could be rated based on overall popularity at higher rating so people could get a good idea of who they should play with.
6. This could just branch off of 5, but just what classes they synergize well with and how.
7. More advanced stuff here, like mages or warlocks setting up ways to get cc off while getting trained, or how to set up a kill.

So basically, a lot like what you said lol

 

Also, a general PvP guide might help people due to the importance of kicks and positioning especially in PvP. Peels, counter pressure, swaps, and other stuff are all mandatory depending on what comp you play.