Find out about character development in World of Warcraft and what some of the best 2×2 team compositions are to do well in WoW Shadowlands arena matches.
World of Warcraft, first released by Blizzard in 2004, is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that can be played on Windows and macOS operating systems. It is considered by many to be the best MMORPG of all time and remains very popular with a massive following. How popular is World of Warcraft? So far in 2021 the number of average monthly players is over 5 million which is pretty good for a 17 year old game. Since its initial release there have been a total of 8 major expansion packs, with the latest being Shadowlands which came out in November 2020.
World of Warcraft can be played solo but some of the activities will require that players team up with others. Players create a character and can then set off adventuring in the world of Azeroth. Along the way there are monsters to fight, quests to complete and dungeons to explore as well as other activities. Besides dealing with the different challenges that the game throws at you, users can also compete against each other in player versus player combat. To create a character, players start by selecting a race. World of Warcraft has 2 factions, the Alliance and the Horde. The race you select will determine which faction you are in.
- Alliance Races: Dwarves, gnomes, humans, night elves, draenei, worgen, lightforged draenei, void elf, Dark Iron Dwarf, Kul Tiran and pandaren
- Horde Races: Orcs, tauren, trolls, undead, blood elves, goblins, Highmountain tauren, nightborne, Mag’har Orc, Zandalari Troll and pandaren
Once a race has been chosen, the player will select from one of 12 character classes although not every race can play every class. Character class determines the skills and powers a character has, the types of weapons and armor they can use and the combat roles they are best suited for. The 12 classes are:
- Death Knight
- Demon Hunter
- Druid
- Hunter
- Mage
- Paladin
- Priest
- Rogue
- Shaman
- Warlock
- Warrior
- Monk
Each class has 3 specializations they can choose from that provide different abilities and skill-sets. One of the main focuses of World of Warcraft is character development, with players working to level up their character to make them more powerful and obtain better equipment. It can be difficult and take time to rank up and some players use a World of Warcraft boost service in US to assist them.
Top 5 WoW Shadowlands 2×2 Arena Set-Ups
A popular PvP feature in World of Warcraft is arena matches. Arena matches can be 2 versus 2 or 3 versus 3. The team composition is the different class of characters that make up a team and greatly influences the outcome of matches. Character abilities and skills should complement each other for the best results. However character attributes can change with every game expansion and update so the best team set-ups also change. Here are 5 of the best 2×2 arena set-ups for the Shadowlands expansion:
- Windwalker and Holy Paladin: Part of what makes the Windwalker and Holy Paladin a strong composition is that they both have plenty of defensive cooldowns. Windwalkers have high burst damage and good survivability and their skills blend well with those of the Holy Paladin. The Paladin’s stun from the Hammer of Justice is a good counter for the Windwalker’s weakness on lockdown. The Paladin’s Blessing of Freedom and Blessing of Protection make the Windwalker even harder to kill. This is a fairly easy composition to play that doesn’t require any complicated setups. Keep rotating the cooldowns, stay alive and deal as much damage as possible.
- Arms Warrior and Holy Paladin: Holy Paladin has strong defensive cooldowns against melee damage which is something players will have to deal with often in 2v2 arena matches. They also have some of the best mana regeneration out of all the healers. Arms Warriors have typically performed well in 2v2 with their ability to deal out substantial damage as well as sustain damage. Holy Paladins can also provide some good offense. They have the Hammer of Justice and can chain that with Repentance to deal a fair bit of damage. Paladins are susceptible to CC so keep an eye out for team compositions with a lot of CC abilities.
- Fire Mage and Subtlety Rogue: The Mage/Rogue composition has a history of performing well in 2v2 and this still holds true in Shadowlands. Subtlety Rogues provide a high amount of crowd control and consistent burst windows that are predictable. Fire Mages have quite a bit of instant damage and unlike other Mage specializations won’t struggle against melee DPS. One of the nice things about Mages is that they have Spellsteal and can steal HoTs to heal themselves which is especially useful when facing Restoration Druids and Discipline Priests as they have plenty of spells that can be stolen. This is not an easy composition to play and is not recommended for beginners.
- Restoration Druid and Arms Warrior: Restoration Druids are durable and quite good at keeping themselves alive which makes them a great partner for Arms Warriors. They are able to join the Arms Warrior in applying pressure using Feral Affinity and Mighty Bash or as an alternative, use Guardian Affinity and Frenzied Regeneration to stay alive while the Arms Warrior focuses on dealing out damage. An additional benefit is that they can crowd control healers. Restoration Druids are one of the strongest partners for Arms Warriors in 2v2 play.
- Mistweaver Monk and Arms Warrior: Although not noted for their offense Mistweavers are able to deal some damage by using their Paralysis followed by Leg Sweep which can stun multiple targets. They also have some fairly decent healing and are able to kite the majority of melee DPS. Arms Warriors are good partners for Mistweaver Monks as they can apply pressure solo and don’t need much assistance.
After some intense arena battles relax by using the best casino bonuses with no deposit codes for some recreational betting online before returning to Azeroth for more mayhem and combat.
