Home/WotLK Classic/General Guides/2v2 PvP Rankings

2v2 Arena Composition Tier List / Guide for WotLK Classic

Last updated on Oct 03, 2023 at 13:00 by Seksixeny 1 comment

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 2v2 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 3v3 bracket and 5v5 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 Wrath of the Lich King's Arena in the 2v2 bracket.

The meta changes over time, but it will naturally change less and more slowly in a game as well understood as Wrath Classic. We will also be getting the final talent balance of Wrath 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, Physical damage dealers will start off with low Armor Penetration and thus have much lower damage potential than they will in the later phases of Wrath.

While most compositions have a favored healer, alternative healers can often be employed to some degree of success, especially as healers are significantly more versatile and capable with Wrath talents and spells. Also, note that within each tier the compositions are not listed in order of power.

2.

Wrath 2v2 Arena Tier List

2v2 is generally considered an unbalanced bracket, where only a few classes and compositions rule at the top, but even then there are good compositions for almost all classes and specializations, and a lot of diversity at the top!

Retribution Paladins are particularly notable for bringing great burst damage, crowd control, defensive abilities, and off-healing in a single package, making them very strong with any other class, even when not explicitly listed below.

2.1.

Best Wrath Arena Compositions for 2v2

The best 2v2 team compositions have both strong defensive and offensive capabilities, and generally are composed of classes whose crowd control (CC) does not share diminishing returns (DRs), facilitating setups. These teams also tend to have very few bad matchups or counters.

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

Composition Strengths Weaknesses
  • Paladin healing is vulnerable to interrupts and offensive dispels;
  • Limited crowd control.
  • Low healing and survivability if caught off-guard;
  • Damage output is vulnerable to silences and line-of-sight.
  • Limited healing and self-sustain capabilities;
  • Limited offensive dispel from Tranquilizing Shot IconTranquilizing Shot lowers pressure potential against some compositions.
  • Multiple interrupts and Fear IconFear and Hex IconHex do not share diminishing returns;
  • High spread pressure through Affliction dots;
  • Dispels and disruption from both Warlock and Shaman.
  • Lack of mobility;
  • Weak against Warrior comps;
  • Low burst damage.
  • Low healing and survivability if caught off-guard;
  • No way to remove poisons or curses can be troublesome against certain compositions.
  • Strong crowd control chains with Predatory Strikes IconPredatory Strikes instant Cyclone IconCyclones into Psychic Scream IconPsychic Scream;
  • Feral has great mobility, damage, and Infected Wounds IconInfected Wounds's powerful slow, as well as Curse and Poison dispel;
  • Priest can contribute damage during CC chains and can remove diseases and friendly or enemy magic debuffs, perfectly complementing the Druid kit.
  • Feral damage requires ramp time and Cat Form IconCat Form, making this composition have to pick between damage or defense against heavy Physical compositions;
  • Damage requires melee uptime, which can be disrupted by enemy CC and certain classes with high mobility.
  • Low healing and survivability if caught off-guard;
  • Damage output is vulnerable to silences and line-of-sight.
  • Can be difficult to fend off double DPS pressure, especially if Hunter can be disarmed, which prevents the use of Deterrence IconDeterrence;
  • Overall damage output is not huge, relying on the long CC chain to land kills.
  • Vulnerable to Mortal Strike IconMortal Strike comps as much of the defensive power comes from limited off-healing;
  • Double melee allows for enemy kiting, as both classes lack reliable gap closers and slows.
  • Double stealth ensures strong openers, and crowd control chains are powerful due to stuns, Cyclone IconCyclone, and Blind IconBlind not sharing DRs;
  • When "Restokin" spec (even Balance / Resto mix), the Druid can contribute a lot of damage, especially while both members of the enemy team are CC'd.
  • Cyclone IconCyclone and Blind IconBlind share DR in Wrath, making CC setups much harder to execute;
  • No offensive or defensive dispels, lowering the survivability of the Rogue especially.
  • Limited dispel from Devour Magic IconDevour Magic;
  • Warlock and their pet are obvious targets with low mobility and survivability.
3.

Other Wrath Arena Compositions for 2v2

While the teams listed above are, arguably, the best ones in the current meta, there are plenty of other strong options as well, which we will list below. If your desired composition is not on this list, it is likely because it lags further behind the current state of the meta.

This list, as all others in this page will be adjusted over time, as teams match against each other in Wrath Classic.

Composition Strengths Weaknesses
  • Double stealth ensures strong openers, and both classes have a lot of crowd control abilities to capitalize on a strong start;
  • Balance Druid and Rogue have insane burst damage capabilities, allowing their opener to easily translate into a quick win.
  • Cyclone IconCyclone and Blind IconBlind share DR in Wrath, making prolonged CC setups much harder to execute;
  • No offensive or defensive dispels, lowering the survivability against classes such as Frost Mages.
  • Great durability;
  • Easy to drink for Druid.
  • Low overall damage;
  • Warrior CC vulnerability can leave Druid exposed for extended periods.
Alternative healers:
  • Difficult to keep healer alive when focused as Death Knight's peel is limited;
  • Very limited crowd control.
Alternative healers:
  • Incredible offensive potential;
  • Excellent at pinning targets.
  • Vulnerable to root effects and curses;
  • Limited crowd control.
  • Great burst damage on opener (both as Frost and "PoM Pyro");
  • Multiple interrupts and CC options.
  • Low healing and personal survivability;
  • No spread damage or way to deal with Divine Shield IconDivine Shield.
  • Priests bring high offensive and defensive abilities, including the ability to remove most crowd control from the Rogue and themselves;
  • Being able to remove many slows, damage-over-time effects, and Faerie Fire IconFaerie Fire can often allow the Rogue to restealth many times during a match, especially if not focused.
  • Psychic Scream IconPsychic Scream and Blind IconBlind share diminishing returns in Wrath;
  • The low mobility of Priests makes them a good target to train for most compositions;
  • Well-timed slows, especially of the Physical or Poison kind, can easily stop Priests from being able to chase enemy targets or stay in line-of-sight of their Rogue.
  • Warlock
  • Rogue
  • Strong damage all around;
  • Multiple interrupts and CC options.
  • Fear IconFear and Blind IconBlind share diminishing returns in Wrath;
  • Weak healing and survivability capabilities;
  • Limited dispel from Devour Magic IconDevour Magic.
  • Double stealth ensures a favorable opener;
  • High mobility and multiple CC options from both classes.
  • Cyclone IconCyclone and Blind IconBlind share DR in Wrath making CC setups much harder to execute;
  • Restoration Druid options for damage dealing in Wrath are limited and Feral Charge IconFeral Charge is too low on the tree to be taken;
  • No offensive or defensive dispels, lowering the survivability of the Rogue especially.
4.

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 3v3 and 5v5 arena tier list / comp guides as well if you are interested in those brackets:

3v3 Arena Tier List 5v5 Arena Tier List
5.

Changelog

  • 03 Oct. 2023: Updated for Phase 4.
  • 19 Jun. 2023: Reviewed prior to Phase 3 patch.
  • 21 May 2022: Page reviewed for Phase 3.
  • 21 Sep. 2022: Page added.
Show more
Show less
Need any help? Check out our General Guide Comments Forum! 1 comment