Based on my own experience and that of many others the most potent combo in 2v2 arenas tends to be a Restoration Druid and MS Warrior. Finding a way to control this combo is the starting point for many teams. The problem we currently have on our 2v2 team is that we are a Restoration Druid and Dagger Rogue combo. We own most others except for this particlar combination which seems to give us a severe beating.

Now this is not to say that others are not very effective as well. In fact we fought a Shadow Priest and Warlock combo today that just was very organized in their crowd control. Their approach was to keep me dotted and chain feared while they worked on mana draining my partner. This approach was very effective and after a long and proatracted battle (Most of which I spent feared and dotted) we lost to these combonation.

While yes the Druid/Warrior team is very, very effective it is not the end all of teams. All teams are very effective if the communication is there and your tactics are very sound. One of the most important things to remember when in arenas is to have a plan in place for each potential combination and spec that comes about.

The really effective teams are those that communicate well and have played at least a few hundred arenas together. This is very important to get to a point of comfort with your teammate. The top teams in arenas have played many matches together and have strategized every combination that they could come across. So do not let the fact that you are going against a warrior/druid combo discourage you. Any team can be beat on any given day. It just may take some work and a really coordinated plan.

I guess I can’t really understand why anyone in their right mind would want to pay to have their characters leveled for them using illegal 3rd party software or pay for gold from one of the untold number of gold farmers that abound the World of Warcraft universe. With Blizzard constantly monitoring for these types of Terms of Service breaches and issuing bans at a rate not seen before why would you consider taking the chance.

Many people justify their decision to buy gold for example with the reasoning that making gold is just to hard and time consuming. While your choice in professions does have a direct bearing on how much you will earn within the economy of your particular server there is still money to be made.

Leveling your character is another puzzling issue for me. I am always surprised at the number of characters I see running around in the same area for endless hours being operated by bot programs. Why would you consider doing this. Sure you may not want to spend the time to level your character because you more important things to do or simply want to enjoy the end game content, but what do you really get from having this done. Many new players choose this route to simply have a level 70 toon, but come on people are you really learning to play your character to its fullest potential?

There are ways to help you level quicker or even to make money in your servers economy without breaking any rules that Blizzard has in place. First you can get an addon called Quest Helper. This particular addon is a levelers dream. Prior to its release many people would have to visit sites such as Thottbot, Allakhazam and other similar sites to find tips, tricks or simply to find out where to go to complete a quest. By using Quest Helper you have a series of routes and quest locations placed on your map with optimal routes to complete each quest in the most efficient manner. Simply put this will save you hours of time by not reducing your visits to third party sites to almost nothing.

Another addon that is available and is very useful for making gold is Auctioneer. This addon has been one that I have used for almost 2 years with tremendous success in the Auction House on all my servers. This addon helps you to determine the best price for any item based on known averages over a period days on your auction house. All you have to do is scan your AH on a regular basis. I do this on Fridays, Mondays and Wednesdays at minimum, but most times I scan it daily. This gives me the most current information when posting auctions and allows me to undercut by 5% automatically and maximize my profits.

This is not the only benefit of Auctioneer as you will find useful information such as how many merchants sell a particular recipe, enchant or other items so that you do not pay for something that you could have gotten from a vendor at a much lower cost. You will also find information on what items sell to vendors for which can help you to know whether to pickup that gray item or leave it behind. You will also see what items will dis-enchant into and the percentage chance of what it will de into.

So with tools such as these and many more why take the chance on getting your account permanently banned from a game you enjoy. You only need to read the numerous posts on the Customer Service forums at WorldofWarcraft.com to understand why the risk of using third party software is not recommended. The fact is just enjoy the game for what it is intended for and do not make it a chore to level, but instead make it a game.

Blizzard has announced here that they are going to be adding aerial combat to their new expansion. This is something that I know I am looking forward to as well as many others. Rumors of this type of combat system surrounded the Burning Crusade expansion 2 years ago as well, but no actual confirmation was ever given by Blizzard then that this would be a feature of that expansion.

Blizzard has however made it official that they are adding aerial combat as part of the new expansion. Exact details on how this will work have yet to be announced, but the hopes of many of us are that we will be able to compete in a new form of PVP with others.

This new system will add a whole new exciting dimension to the game and keep many of interested for quite a while. Lets hope that Blizzard makes this new combat system as fun as we all hope it will be.

One of the newest features that I know I am looking forward to is a concept that Blizzard has only recently announced. Passenger quests will part of the new game mechanics being put into play as part of the upcoming expansion in WOTLK.

In this new type of quest certain vehicles and mounts will be able to carry passengers to allow for exciting new escape versions of quests. In one quest you will be a passenger (the NPC will be driving) during a daring escape. As you flee your pursuers the Worgen you will have to throw explosives to slow them down and keep them from stopping you. Another quest will have you taking to the skies in a new type of flying machine and searching for the survivors of some catastrophic event that has befallen them.

With these new quest features the new expansion is shaping up to be one exciting new adventure. In my opinion if these things come about as Blizzard says they will we can expect WOTLK to be a much expansion then even Burning Crusade.

Blizzard just released more information about the upcoming expansion and I can say that I am having a hard time waiting for it to come out. One of the best new features that is going to be introduced into the new dugeons that will be available is a system that allows raid parties to be either 10 or 25 man with the same loot available for either.

According to Blizzard with the new system the dungeons will be fine tuned and balanced according to the raid size. This new feature is exciting for smaller guilds that have a hard time obtaining enough PVE oriented players to conduct larger raids of value.

With many players only wanting to join a guild that is allready raiding Kara or similar instances now this new change for the upcoming expansion will be welcome by many smaller guilds who are anxious to have a chance to receive the same gear as their larger counterparts.

Another key feature is that players will not be locked out of the 10 man raid format if they particpate in a 25 man raid or vice versa. This would have been a concern for many, but Blizzard has stated that this will not be the case at all.

I for one look forward to this new expansion and will most likely have it installed and playing from the very first day. Besides I do not want to be still at 70 and looking at the pointy end of a sword from a level 80 player.

As the anticipation builds with World of Warcraft players over the new Death Knight class that will be available with the next expansion Blizzard released a small taste of the new talents that they will have. This class looks to be the most versatile and mixed class that Blizzard has come up with so far. Consider the fact that so far if things stay the way they are the plate wearing Death Knight will be a nice mix of a Warlock and Warrior. The dps that this class will be able to deliver is looking to be quite formiddable for sure.

One of the questions that many have though still seems to be over how they will create a Death Knight. This is quite simple and has been easily explained by Blizzard on their Death Knight page. The easiest way to remember is that you only need a character on your server of at least level 55 to be able to create a Death Knight. One of the untruths that are spreading is that you will have to change one of your characters into the new Death Knight. This is simply not true as Blizzard tells you that you will be able to create a Death Knight from any of the races as long as you meet the previous requirement. This being said there is no reason to worry about having to get rid of a character you love and enjoy to play.

I have also seen many people who are talking about leveling a toon to 55 and not worrying about gear so that they can turn them into a Death Knight at a later time. Do not waste your time unless you need a level 55 character to meet the requirements to role a Death Knight.

Another rumor is that you will have to do a series of quests to even unlock the Death Knight class. So far Blizzard has given no indication of this. The only quests you will be required to do after roling your new Death Knight will be a group of quests designed to teach you your new found abilities as a Death Knight. This is also stated in the second paragraph of the Death Knight page.

So if you are worried about deleting that much loved toon I would not even get worked up over it. Simply wait and enjoy your characters and when the expansion finally comes to a store near you then go and get it and have fun with your new Death Knight as everyone else will.

Recently on the pvp forums at World of Warcraft a thread was started by Barthilas asking which people preferred: Battlegrounds or Arena. Some of the answers so far have been overwhelmingly leaning towards the old days and what the battlegrounds meant. As an active arena player each week you would think I would disagree with these people, but I do not. While I enjoy the arenas and what it can do for you gear wise, I still miss the old days when you would battle against the top players and teams in Alterac Valley, Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin to see not only who was better, but for titles and gear.

In pre-arena days it actually meant something when you had your gear put on from the battlegrounds. People knew you spent the time needed and put forth the effort to succeed. I honestly do not believe blizzards true intention was to make gear become as common place as buying a sandwich at Mcdonalds, but this is exactly what has happened. In fact the days of true fun in the Battlegrounds are essentially over. Battlegrounds are nothing more now to people then a means for them to simply gear up a character in quick and easy purple epics.

Take for example the fact that much of the reputation gear including that of the new Shattered Sun Offensive is essentially only filler pieces until season one arena gear is fully equipped on a character. The reason is that blizzards attention has been more focused on the arenas and they have paid little attention to those that want better gear from the pve side of the game that is more in line with what is being provided to arena players.

I know this sounds strange coming from someone who plays in arena, but I honestly would prefer to go back to the old ways. What is happening in World of Warcraft is reminiscent of what Nascar is doing today with their race cars, by making everything on the mechanics side so equal that essentially it is becoming quite boring. Well lets hope that Blizzard will finally come to their senses and balance out their efforts to make both arena players and pve players happy.

One of the things that bothers not only me, but many others is the lack of teamwork within the battlegrounds these days. A good example of this was an Alterac Valley that I was participating in only this morning. While trying to capture the Dun Baldar South Bunker I was fighting a Paladin who had been attacking a Warlock from our team. This in its self is nothing unusual, but what happened during the fight was. While fighting the Paladin the Warlock ran behind a pillar and stopped fighting him. In addition a holy priest came in and stood there while I was being chewed up by the Paladin and the Archers at the same time. Not one heal nor any help with dispensing the Paladin led to my ultimate death right as I killed the Paladin.

For my efforts I was chastised by these same players who said I was worthless because I could not kill the Paladin quick enough through the archer fire. These are the types of issues we are facing in the Battlegrounds on a daily basis whether you are Horde or Alliance. The problem with many of todays players is that they have no idea what teamwork really is. Most of them are in the Battleground for themselves and could care less whether the team wins or loses; As evidenced by all the Afk’ers these days.

What these same people fail to realize is that simply by helping each other out we could make the battlegrounds go much smoother and gain many more honor points in a much shorter period of time. While there are still a good many of us who play by the rules of good teamwork wins Battlegrounds there are yet more who believe that it is like solo questing where you do not need be helped nor help others. This leads to failed battlegrounds since these same players do not understand how you win and make the maximum honor in a short period of time.

If we could simply get most people back into the teamwork mode as was once the case then our experience as a whole within the Battlegrounds would be a much more rewarding time.

This is a debate you see ongoing everyday in the WoW forums and other sites across the Internet. Most combat speced Rogues will state that they have the best build for PVP and then you hear the others tout how good their spec is. The truth of the matter each has its own advantage and disadvantage.

I have a friend who has his rogue combat/mace speced and simply loves it. It allows him to raid and participate in arenas on a competitive level. Now I have my rogue dagger speced and setup for more PVP and I love my spec. Is it to say that my spec is inferior to his or vice versa or that a sword spec rogue is better then both? The answer is No. Quite frankly each spec is only as good as the person playing it.

Take daggers for example. One of the biggest points that almost every person makes about this spec is that you cannot fight multiple mobs in PVE. This is simply not true. I have been dagger spec on my rogue all the way to 70 and can honestly tell you that it is possible to engage in battle with 2 or 3 mobs at once and survive with no problem. Sure if you want to look at the combat spec Rogue who can simply run from mob to mob without worrying about stealth then yes their spec is far surperior to a Subtetly/Assassination speced rogue in this case, but honestly I prefer to choose my targets wisely and look before I leap.

Another argument is that in PVP the sword and mace spec’ed Rogues do more damage and rule in the arenas. I will totally disagree with that as well. Daggers have a huge dps output and if you use your abilities correctly with ambush, backstab, etc you will easily win in a fight.

Sure I may sound biased towards daggers because of my own Rogue, but honestly each spec is great in its own way. Take combat/mace Rogues for example. I have seen Rogues who are spec’ed like this go one on one with everyone and come out on the winning side of the fight because of the abilities that they receive from the combat tree. Mace speced rogues will simply stun you to death. For a dagger spec’ed Rogue it is extremely important that you get that huge ambush off against a combat spec’ed Rogue and take them down quickly because they will stun you almost to death.

Now this is not to say they are better because I can say that anyone can lose and I quite frequently destroy the combat spec’ed Rogues, but I must use all my abilities to do so. Simply put Combat Rogues are the best in PVE overall, but the others hold their ground quite nicely in this environment.

Now lets look at those Rogues who decide to go Subtetly/Assasination spec setup, but use swords instead of Daggers. This is where I differ in opinion. This spec is designed to take advantage of daggers to realize its full potential. Many players spec their Rogue down these trees to gain shadow step and other high damage dealing abilities, but fail to realize that most of the damage that is put out in this tree is from the behind the back abilities such as ambush and backstab.

I have read the arguements that state these players love not having to see those annoying messages about being a target to use an ability, but honestly if you are spec’ed down this tree that is half your damage gone when you cannot use what the tree was designed for. Another key factor is that swords are slower in attack speed sure you will see higher white dps strikes on a whole, but over the course of a fight when skills are equal the dagger rogue will normally win. The reason I say this is that even though your white dps hits are not registering as high of numbers on a single hit, over the course of a fight your dps from your weapons is similar. In addition dagger Rogues apply poisons at almost twice the rate as their sword spec’ed counterparts. This can be a huge advantage especially if you are using instant poisons. If a dagger Rogue can apply twice as many poisons as the sword rogue then the damage factor is tipping in favor of the dagger Rogue versus the sword Rogue.

All these arguements aside the best spec for your Rogue would be the one that you are comfortable with and that allows you to use your play style to your advantage. It is important to remember that with each advantage comes a disadvantage. Knowing these will help you to better understand the best way to use your characters abilities and to ultimately come out on top in a fair fight.

The cry goes out everyday from someone who has just lost a fight to another class. It is the same old story about how one class is more powerful then another one. If it is not a mage crying about a hunter it is a hunter complaining about a rogue or a rogue about a warrior etc, etc, etc. The fact is that a class is only as good as its spec and the person playing it. Yes some classes have an advantage over another with their abilities, but that is by design.

What some people tend to forget and these are usually those who have not played the class they are complaining about is that each class in World of Warcraft has its good and bad points. For example it is not often that a rogue can even go toe to toe with a warrior in a one on one fight unless there is a substantial gear difference or the skill of the person comes into to play. This being said each class has its arch nemisis that can quite easily take them down in a fair fight. However, the skill of the person has alot to do with the end result as well.

On many occassions I have taken down warriors with my rogue in a one on one fight or destroyed mages with my warrior even through their crowd controlling abilities simply because I knew what the advantage and disadvantages were of that particular class.

The fact is that if you really want to understand how to beat any class you have to first play them for a period of time to appreciate what the class is about and how they are best used against each class. People do not consider this when crying out for the nerfing of a particular class. They only see their own inability to beat a class.

I too have problems with some classes when I am on one of my characters, but I have found that by studying someone who is simply a better pvper then I am that I can usually find a way to beat them. For example one of the hardest classes for me to beat when I am on my rogue is not the Warrior as many would think, but Paladins. You must beat them down through all their healing and bubbling and healing and Hammer of Justices and other constant crowd controlling to beat them. Now if I have a healer behind me then it is simply game over for the Paladin every time, but in a fair fight I lose almost 60% of the time or better. Of course this is all dependent on the persons skill, gear and spec, but I believe you can see where I am going with that.

The truth is that all classes have high points and low points when playing them. Yes Pallys can heal well and do great buffs and with the right spec they can even do a significant amount of damage, but honestly against many classes they simply will die each time. It is only a matter of time.

The other day for example in the Arenas my partner and I fought a Pally/Hunter combo. The first thing we did was take out the pet of the hunter to get rid of the contant attacks on my friends Priest and to allow me to crowd control if he needed to drink for mana. Even with this I had to beat on the Hunter and Pally until the Paladin had almost drained himself of mana and my friend had taken the rest with Mana drains. This one Arena lasted almost 15 minutes, but ultimately we won because we knew what was the best way to beat their team in a long battle.

This point in case is it necessary to nerf classes simply because you cannot beat them yet? No it is not. The best way to beat them in a fight is to play that class to learn more about them and what makes them vulnerable. Yes Blizzard did make each class vulnerable to certain classes, but it is up to us as players to fully understand what it is that we can do to stop this from happening. This game was designed to allow solo adventures, but honestly it is best when you have the right team makeup.