E
Eldorian
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Drysc on the official forums has recently made this post which reveals what Arena Season 4 is going to consist of.
To summarize the new items will be comparable to what you find in the 25 man raid Sunwell Plateau, if a characters personal rating is more than 150 below a team rating their rating will be based on their individual rating instead (getting rid of "buying" points), also if a player's rating is 150 below the team rating the ranking system will use the average personal ranking to match up opponents (making it so that lesser player's can't quickly raise their personal rating on a better team).
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To summarize the new items will be comparable to what you find in the 25 man raid Sunwell Plateau, if a characters personal rating is more than 150 below a team rating their rating will be based on their individual rating instead (getting rid of "buying" points), also if a player's rating is 150 below the team rating the ranking system will use the average personal ranking to match up opponents (making it so that lesser player's can't quickly raise their personal rating on a better team).
While Season 3 is still going strong, we wanted to
announce ahead of time the rating requirements that will be present for
arena items once Season 4 begins. We also wanted to give everyone a
heads up to some changes that will be in an upcoming patch, altering
how points are gained and players are matched in the arena system. The
patch with these changes is scheduled to release before the start of
Season 4.
First though, the rating requirement changes:
When Season 4 begins, Season 3 items will be reduced in personal and team arena rating requirement to:
Shoulders: 1950
Weapon: 1800
The new Season 4 items will have the below personal and team arena rating requirements:
Shoulders: 2200
Weapon: 2050
Head: 1700
Chest: 1600
Legs: 1550
Gloves: none
Off-hand: none
In addition, some of the Season 4 quality items that will be
purchasable with honor will also carry a personal and team arena rating
requirement:
Boots: 1700
Ring: 1650
Bracers: 1575
Belt: none
Necklace: none
Trinket: none
The Season 2 items, which will move to the honor system when Season 4 begins, will continue to have no rating requirement.
The changes to the rating requirements for these items reflect the
nature of the items, their power, and the relative difficulty that
should be had when attempting to obtain them. These items are
comparable to those found in the newest 25 person raid zone, Sunwell
Plateau, and should therefore also feel very challenging to obtain.
To help ensure that the challenge in obtaining these items stays
true to those achieving these ratings, we'll also be implementing new
rules with an upcoming patch to curb practices that undermine the core
concepts of the arena system.
These rules are as follows:
"If a character’s personal rating is more than 150 points below
the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating
instead of the team rating."
This means that a player cannot join a highly rated team and begin
earning points based purely on the pre-established rating of the team
before they joined it. They'll need to compete, improve, and gain a
personal rating worthy of the points they would receive.
"If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a
game is more than 150 points below the team’s rating, the team will be
queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal
rating."
This means that players cannot join a highly rated team and
immediately face highly rated opponents, easily and quickly bringing
their personal rating up. Instead they'll need to again compete,
improve, and earn their rating.
**Update**
"If a team does not enter an arena match that is starting they
will lose points equal to the amount that would have been deducted if
they had played and lost."
This change makes it less viable to participate in illegitimate
team match-ups by requiring every game be played; not just those that
are against a team's desired opponent.
We're excited to see these changes implemented, which will continue
to emphasize the strong competitive nature of the arenas, and the
challenge in obtaining the highest end rewards available for PvP.
announce ahead of time the rating requirements that will be present for
arena items once Season 4 begins. We also wanted to give everyone a
heads up to some changes that will be in an upcoming patch, altering
how points are gained and players are matched in the arena system. The
patch with these changes is scheduled to release before the start of
Season 4.
First though, the rating requirement changes:
When Season 4 begins, Season 3 items will be reduced in personal and team arena rating requirement to:
Shoulders: 1950
Weapon: 1800
The new Season 4 items will have the below personal and team arena rating requirements:
Shoulders: 2200
Weapon: 2050
Head: 1700
Chest: 1600
Legs: 1550
Gloves: none
Off-hand: none
In addition, some of the Season 4 quality items that will be
purchasable with honor will also carry a personal and team arena rating
requirement:
Boots: 1700
Ring: 1650
Bracers: 1575
Belt: none
Necklace: none
Trinket: none
The Season 2 items, which will move to the honor system when Season 4 begins, will continue to have no rating requirement.
The changes to the rating requirements for these items reflect the
nature of the items, their power, and the relative difficulty that
should be had when attempting to obtain them. These items are
comparable to those found in the newest 25 person raid zone, Sunwell
Plateau, and should therefore also feel very challenging to obtain.
To help ensure that the challenge in obtaining these items stays
true to those achieving these ratings, we'll also be implementing new
rules with an upcoming patch to curb practices that undermine the core
concepts of the arena system.
These rules are as follows:
"If a character’s personal rating is more than 150 points below
the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating
instead of the team rating."
This means that a player cannot join a highly rated team and begin
earning points based purely on the pre-established rating of the team
before they joined it. They'll need to compete, improve, and gain a
personal rating worthy of the points they would receive.
"If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a
game is more than 150 points below the team’s rating, the team will be
queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal
rating."
This means that players cannot join a highly rated team and
immediately face highly rated opponents, easily and quickly bringing
their personal rating up. Instead they'll need to again compete,
improve, and earn their rating.
**Update**
"If a team does not enter an arena match that is starting they
will lose points equal to the amount that would have been deducted if
they had played and lost."
This change makes it less viable to participate in illegitimate
team match-ups by requiring every game be played; not just those that
are against a team's desired opponent.
We're excited to see these changes implemented, which will continue
to emphasize the strong competitive nature of the arenas, and the
challenge in obtaining the highest end rewards available for PvP.
More...