World of WarCraft PVP Arena Guide

Whether you're on a PVP, RP, or Normal server arena is a fun addition in the Burning Crusade addition for all to enjoy. It's a unique player Vs. player feature that's not over crowded as battlegrounds was. You can build your own teams and play exclusively with friends on your team. It's not a random bunch of strangers as you'll often find in BG. This also helps greatly with organization, teammates can communicate via Ventrilo or Teamspeak for better strategies.

In order to enjoy a ranked arena game you must have acquired level 70. However, you can have fun prior to this if you wish to test it out or practice. Practice arenas are un-ranked and will not win you any arena points towards items. In these arenas you do not need a pre-formed team. You are able to enter a queue as you would in battlegrounds and will be paired with a random teammate(s).

Upon hitting level 70 you can then form your team or join an already existing team. If you decide to create your own team it will be similar to guild creation. You will need to purchase a "charter" and have your selected teammates accept an invite to sign it. There is a limit to how many friends you can invite at the time of creation, however you will be able to add others after the team has been formed. 

You can find Arena Organizers in Nagrand, Tanaris, and Blade's Edge Mountains. These are who you will purchase and turn in all you need to create your team. There are costs to purchase a charter and create the guild and different options are available.

- 2 Vs. 2 - 80 Gold

- 3 Vs. 3 - 120 Gold

- 5 Vs. 5 - 200 Gold

After choosing a name for your team and returning the charter you will be able to customize the team by choosing a team flag. This is very similar to a guild tabbard and allows you to pick out a pictured logo and colors. 

The 2 Vs. 2 and 3 Vs. 3 teams are able to compete for arena points and your servers ranking. A 5 Vs. 5 team is the only group able to compete in the official Arena Tournament. This is a competitive feature from Blizzard where you compete against all servers for prizes. The Arena Tournament is split up into seasons and a new winner will be announced for each one. 

No matter which sized team you decide to join or create, points are tallied once a week. Arena rankings can be found on the official World of WarCraft website. You can spend your points at the Arena Vendor in Area 52, Netherstorm. There are really nice epic level 70 set items and weapons that can be bought. Not to mention, they look awesome!

Unlike Battlegrounds, you will not earn points for each match you play. In arena it is based more upon skill than participation alone. If you win you will gain points, if you lose then points will be removed. Your overall weekly arena rank will be determined on how many points you have earned throughout that week. 

Here is the formula released by Blizzard to calculate points you will earn each week:

X = Team Rating, Y = Arena Points 

If X>1500: Y = 1426.79/(1+918.836*Power(2.71828, -0.00386405*X)) 
Else: Y = 0.38*X-194

Note: 2v2 teams only earn 60% of the arena points, 3v3 teams get 80%, while 5v5 teams get 100% of the arena points.

* Update: As of 3-13-07, 2v2 teams now receive 70% of the points generated from the equation. Confirmation on 3v3 arena point adjustments is still needed.
* Update: On 29 May 2007, the formulas used to calculate Arena Points were changed as outlined in a post on the Official WoW Forums by Eyonix.

In order to receive your points, which are awarded each Tuesday, you must meet a criteria. You must have participated in at least 10 matches for the week and have taken part in at least 30% of the total matches played by your team.

In arena you can expect to rotate between three different, and all challenging maps. The Ring of Trials, 
Circle of Blood, and Ruins of Lordaeron - the newest addition just released in patch 2.1. Each map is uniquely styled and will spawn floating diamonds in which you can pick up to have increased stealth detection for a limited time. 

You will begin your time in arena within a secluded area. At this time you can use all mana based skills at no cost, this is a great time to buff your group. All of your prior buffs and conjured items prior to entering will disappear. Hunters pets will also be dismissed before arriving in the arena, however they can be re-summoned once the battle begins.

The objective for arena PvP is quite simple, kill your opponents. There is no side missions as you'll find in battlegrounds, its simply a battle to the last man standing. Once you have died you have the option to come back in ghost form to view the conclusion of the fight. When the last player on either team has fallen the score board will appear and you can click to leave the arena. The score board will show damage and healing done, as well as the total points you have accumulated or lost during the battle. The limitations are few but include no consumables and cool downs that last longer than 15 minutes once you have entered. Bandages and buffs are allowed.

If you haven't checked into Arena PvP as of yet, I would highly recommend doing so. It's a breath of fresh air from BG's.