Priest/Rogue 2v2 Frustrations

[Xame]

Team switching *needs* a cooldown and I don't know why Blizzard is so hesitant to stop people from gaming the system like they do.

I fully agree with you on the cooldown but it doesn't change the fundamental flaws of the Arena PvP system.

The chess rating system (the one they are trying to model in Arena) is based on a few assumptions:

1. The game starts fair<>
   
2. Luck is not a function of victory<>
   
3. Awards are based on Classification<>
   [st]
   Lets take this apart one at a time. "The game starts fair": In chess both people start with the same number of pieces on the board. In Arena, your gear is a huge factor of who walks out with the win. So too does the classes you are playing and facing. If a priest walked in a match with his raid healing set on he will get pwned so fast they might as well not bothering to press a key. Skill can make up for some gear and class but not all of it.
   
   "Luck is not a function of victory" Again in chess, there is no luck. In my younger years when I played chess competitively, a ranking difference of 75-100pts would almost guarantee victory for those ahead in ranking. The differences in play become so small that only very small mistakes are ever made and exploited to victory every time. In Arena, luck is just part of the game. Who you face in matchups, to did that shot crit or get resisted. Victories don't always go to the best, just the lucky. I would not be suprised that from a pure skill perspective (if that could be measured by mistakes made), that the top +100 teams are all making about the same number of mistakes in a match. Some are just having better luck then others, or having better matchups.
   
   Most chess tournaments recognize that there are levels of game understanding that need to be "gotten" to move to the next level of play. Yes the biggest prizes go the the winners and the top 5. But the remaining prizes go to the people at the various skill levels. In Arena the rewards are items that help Arena PvP. Thus those people who have played season 1 have a huge edge on those who didn't. Add to that those that are playing season 2 are gaining huge rewards and advantage over those in season 3. If you leveled a new toon to play season 3 Arena, you have almost zero chance of being competitive no matter what your skill. You will simply be outgeared and no amount of time playing will make up for it.
   
   If blizzard wanted to make Arena a test of skill they would be better off modeling the system of that of Roman gladiators. There were 5 (I believe) types of gear sets in that system that could be used and all where about equal. The rewards from winning where given outside of the arena. It would be a simple change to the preparation period and would make for more even matches (even better if you could see the classes of your oppenents). Today the desire/temptation to create a 2v2 team to gear a friend is so high given that Arena gear makes such a big difference in the win percentage of low end fights. The reforming of teams isn't nearly as big of a problem as gearing in 5v5 and using that gear difference in 3v3 and 2v2 to "escort" friends in the mid-range ranked fights. And sadly, it is one of the only ways I can think of to gear a new toon for competitive Arena PvP in a reasonable amount of time.
   
   But at the +1900 level that you are fighting in Bolty, much of this is moot. You are most likely facing people also decked out with gear equal to yours. Some of these 2v2 teams are breaking up and reforming only to act as escorts and so might even help your rankings. If they are dragging a noob up with them as an escort, they would have out classed you anyways given they have an anchor on their ranking and still found a way to rise in the rankings to the non-cheese level.