Arena viable teams - Now and until Cataclysm

[heyaz]

Trying to get an idea of what's really viable in arena as I use my last bit of RAF and energy to play with other teams. I know there are plenty of viable setups for just general pvp (5x druid, mage, etc.) but in general I'm interested in teams that can at least hit 1800 in arena, and even more so - ones that can do it without another player.

Here's my list so far:

Definite:

-4 elemental Shaman + 1 dedicated healer
Has been viable since BC, although apparently a lot more difficult in wrath due to a lot of aoe cc and no true instant nuke.

Potential:

-4x ret paladin + something (non dedicated). Can't say definite yet because only one person is doing it. But I can see it working
Massive burst potential, can actually kill destro warlocks, great synergy with auras and blessings, best aoe is also a group heal, instant heals, bubbles, ability to do damage through shields, etc.

-4x. warlock + dedicated healer
Heavy magic mitigation could really trump wizard cleave teams. Decent melee mitigation as well. Massive amounts of CC - four target fears, aoe fears, 4 target seduce, 4 target death coil. Teleport.

Possible?

4x enhancement shaman + dedicated healer
Absolute anti-caster melee class, including warlocks. High burst, 30 second god mode (sprint, 30% reduced damage, 8 pets), 4 stuns (via wolves). Carry over some of the elemental shaman benefits as well (totem farm, 4x hex, 4x wind shear), + the ablity to break snare, and snare targets with frost shock. Instant casts.


--

I'd potentially like to get another team before Cataclysm to try out maybe at the end of this season and next, especially one that doesn't need a dedicated healer. Plus I'd hate to have shaman my only 80 team when the expansion comes out in the case that for whatever reason something breaks shaman multiboxing viability so bad I no longer want to play them in pvp.

Thought and ideas?

[Ualaa]

Pretty much, I'd agree with your assessment.
For Arena at 2000+ (you wanted 1800+) we have:

4x Shammy + 1x Healer (Someone else on the healer, several successful teams)
4x Ret Pally + 1x DK (One successful team)



For Arena, we're looking for a team with a decent amount of burst potential.
Stuns are good.
Mitigation is good.
If you can support heal, that's a bonus too.

I'm having a lot of fun with the 5x Druid team.
They're very strong in battlegrounds.
For Arena, we'd want a dedicated healer, so go with 4x Druids.
At the moment, as others have pointed out, this team is lacking burst.
I like 12x Treants, mouse broadcast onto the healer.
Hurricane if they bunch up.
Root vs Melee.
Cyclone.
Mobile stealth to open with.
Strong support heals (instant HoTs).
Strong armor vs melee in Moonkin form.
Innervate vs drain teams.
2x DoT's which don't require facing.
But the lack of Instant Cast Big-Spell really hurts.
If Nature's Swiftness ever worked with any of their spells...

[Kromtor]

Also consider replacing 1 of the melee's with an arms warrior. MS for multiboxers would be nice (no successful teams have had it yet afaik)

4 feral druids + dedicated priest healer could work if the priest can stay away from them and mass dispel the fear bombs that send cats scared

4 DKs + dedicated healer is definitely viable. paly would be best for buffs probably

4 boom/resto druids + priest would last forever. you'd need a build that dipped far into resto for the rejuv + mana talent and didn't use any shapeshifting. fear again is the main issue, they'd have to be kept far apart. your damage would come from 4 insect swarms + SWP, SWD and moonfire to finish while healers were cycloned or feared.

[remanz]

What is the main thing that makes the melee paladin team viable over other melee combos? Is it the instant flash of light + hot from art of war? It seems like they are nerfing retribution's survivals. And If the sacred shield nerf doesn't cut it, I bet the flash of light + hot will be the next thing on the hit list.

I hate to level a team only to catch the nerf stick when I hit the level cap (happened to my shaman team with the infamous lightning bolt normalization). With the way blizzard balancing this game, I would think what is the weakest within all "boxable" classes might be worth more consideration.

With that said, DK x 4, Druids x 4 I think will be good for the days to come.

Also I'd like to mention frost mages x 4 as I played some dual , and triple mages actions recently. They seemed to work fine boxed. The kiting needs some skills to master. They actually counter melee more than warlocks.

[CplBob]

What is the main thing that makes the melee paladin team viable over other melee combos?

I dont think its just Paladins that make a viable melee team. I think its mainly because they are the first major melee team to get in the spot light. 4x Enhancement + dedicated healer seems like it would be viable. At least on paper. There are a few bonuses that the shaman get that Paladins dont, totems being just one. It just needs someone to do it instead of going Elemental :D

[Void]

my plan once i get all elemental gear is grab weapons+ enhance gear and try it out as offspec. seems like it would work out with 50 wolves that clutter the screen. At the very least the other team wont be able to see anything with lusted wolves.

[Ellay]

I remember trying DK's before Auto Interact (granted my gear was pretty bad) but it just didn't seem like it had the ooomph in PvP to make some magic happen.

[Ellay]

Also looking at the match history for Krom his healing done is extremely high compared to an Ele Shaman setup and he can go pure offensive, I think this is what helps a ton.

[Fat Tire]

Also looking at the match history for Krom his healing done is extremely high compared to an Ele Shaman setup and he can go pure offensive, I think this is what helps a ton.

Alot of passive healing thru dmg. JoL and DS help alot. Wovles heal also,but not as much. Totems would negate some incoming caster dmg and having a full time healer I think would equal out the healing.

[Ogloo]

ok so,
im going to give enhance a try now that i am stuck at 1750 lol with my titansteel+full furious...... so why not try? buy titansteel weapons and stuff, go pvp get the gear, try it out for u guys.. might work, already got myself a full naxx set on my main woot :0

[Ruodhaid]

Also consider replacing 1 of the melee's with an arms warrior. MS for multiboxers would be nice (no successful teams have had it yet afaik)

4 feral druids + dedicated priest healer could work if the priest can stay away from them and mass dispel the fear bombs that send cats scared

4 DKs + dedicated healer is definitely viable. paly would be best for buffs probably

4 boom/resto druids + priest would last forever. you'd need a build that dipped far into resto for the rejuv + mana talent and didn't use any shapeshifting. fear again is the main issue, they'd have to be kept far apart. your damage would come from 4 insect swarms + SWP, SWD and moonfire to finish while healers were cycloned or feared.

im pritty sure ellay had a 82-0 score in one of his movies, whit 4 shamans and a warrior

[Ualaa]

I believe he used either Resto Druids or Holy Pallies in most of his movies.
I have a slug of dual-boxing movies downloaded, and love that the community shares.

[Ellay]

I had a 75-0 record until I lost a game, it was with a Holy Paladin. I got the team up to 100-2 before I dropped it and remade to a different team.
I did help a warrior friend to 2000 rating as 4 ele + 1 war, but it was rough and didn't work that well.

[Altsoba]

I had a 75-0 record until I lost a game, it was with a Holy Paladin. I got the team up to 100-2 before I dropped it and remade to a different team.
I did help a warrior friend to 2000 rating as 4 ele + 1 war, but it was rough and didn't work that well.

Sorry to be a bit out of OP but where are you Ellay? ^^ I miss so much your guides/movies for shaman arena....

[asonimie]

My plan this season was already to buy enhance gear once I finish off my ele set.

[Fat Tire]

Sorry to be a bit out of OP but where are you Ellay? ^^ I miss so much your guides/movies for shaman arena....

WotLK happend.

[Fat Tire]

I am also trying out a new comp of 1affliction lock + 3 hunters with a shaman healer. Should be fun atleast!

Trying a bunch of different comps for fun.

[Ualaa]

Affliction + Hunters could be a pretty decent drain team.
Not sure if the mana drain shot stacks 3x or not.

Pets can be a pretty strong annoyance in healers faces.

What spec's would the Hunters be?

[Fat Tire]

Affliction + Hunters could be a pretty decent drain team.
Not sure if the mana drain shot stacks 3x or not.

Pets can be a pretty strong annoyance in healers faces.

What spec's would the Hunters be?

I did marks, it went pretty bad overall. No idea if more practice is needed or if its not that great of a comp. /shrug