The WoW Arena Championships are underway!

The fall season of the World of Warcraft Arena Championship is already well underway, and we are now two cups in. Hard to believe though that may be, we’ve already seen some dramatic highs and heart-stopping lows. Not everything has gone smoothly for the competitors, and some more than others have struggled with Blizzard’s latest changes. One of the most interesting comeback stories so far this season, has been that of Method Black. Usually in the top spots, it was somewhat disheartening to see this veteran team drop down to the lower bracket very early on in the competition. The team just couldn’t co-ordinate well with the latest changes to come out victorious over their fellow competitors, Daily Feed.

© Blizzard Entertainment

That didn’t dampen their spirits or stop them though and not only did they reclaim their top spot in the lower bracket through an amazing 15-4 run, but they almost sailed through on a 4-1 finish in the grand finale too. With the first cup over now and Method Black firmly locking in their place at BlizzCon, things are definitely looking up for the team. Fans and eSports enthusiasts alike are going to have a lot more tactical action to watch at the developer’s yearly event.

That rocky start resulted from not only some of the recent changes made, but also from a somewhat different play-style adopted by the team for this season. Dampening has been a high feature for the previously aggressive and hard-hitting team, taking into account the new changes they’ve definitely been using this to their advantage. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as we know, but these new and improved tactics saw them through; even bringing them on to win in matches where they were decidedly behind right up until the end. Gone are the days of holding Plunder Armor and Icy Veins back for dramatic match finishers. Instead it’s all about dampening well, just about everything that goes on and forcing the other teams into submission.

For those who might have missed it, the main changes that have been made regarded trinkets. These unique, game-changing items are now usable in arena matches and they’ve brought new life into the ring with them. Two main tanking trinkets have featured heavily so far, and with them a new tactic, dampening. There has even been a record 70% dampening achieved in one match between Method Black and XRB.

All of the competitors have had to adapt to these new changes, and those able to do so more effectively like Method Black, are starting to come out on top. It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the remainder of the season, and which teams ultimately make the best use of this new-found meta.

One thing is for certain though, the world of PvP Arena matches has been changed significantly with just a few small tweaks on Blizzard’s end. Fans across the globe are in for a real treat this season as the action continues.

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