Here is a video from Round 4 of the second Best of Five Grandfinals match between SK Gaming Asia and HON. Yea I don’t know what means either, I’m just quoting what I read from the description. All I know is that this is a match between two well known Arena teams, and Mages were involved. Thanks goes to ex-ViewFromBehind Rogue, now ViewFromAfar Hunter, Doomilias for showing me this video.

It was a 3v3 Arena match, and each team had the same class set up, Rogue/Mage/Priest, or RMP for short. The video shows how versatile an Arcane Mage is in PvP, and goes from barely escaping a 2v1 disadvantage; to bursting down an opponent, leading to a victory.

First Part:

Both Rogues were taken out of the match, and it was Mage/Priest vs Mage/Priest. When HON’s Priest goes down, Orangemarmelade, the Arcane Mage, is forced into a 2v1 situation. While the announcers were calling the match over, Orangemarmelade keeps fighting, and evens the match by taking out the opposing Mage. Still, for a Mage, playing against a Discipline Priest is very tough.

Second Part:

The match keeps continuing until the time limit of the match is reached, and a victor is decided by whoever does the most damage. SK Gaming Asia needed only to win that match to win the $30,000 prize, but Orangemarmelade not only prevented that, but him and his team won the next match also, giving them the $30,000 prize.

Final Match:

This match shows how quickly matches can be decided in a Rogue/Mage/Priest set up. Watching these videos makes me want to start participating in Arena seriously again. But I’m lazy… and don’t feel like respecing. Maybe I’ll start up again after Dual Specs are out.

I played 10 games the first week on Geldin, in a PMR 3v3 setup. Doomilias was the Rogue, and our friend Carl was playing his Priest. We went 5-5 and ended up with 1505 rating. We blamed competitive nature of the first week of the season, and the fact that last season’s high rating teams are now at 1500 with us. That plus this being the first time we played PMR together, we lacked the teamwork and communication, but we are getting better.

This week we did much better. We coordinated our CCs better, and focused DPS a bit better. Now we just got to get used to each other’s playstyle. So we don’t end up CCing the wrong target, or breaking each other’s CC. More time playing together will make us better.

Match #1

BM Hunter / SL Warlock / Priest:
To be honest, this match was all sorts of unorganised chaos. Hunter popped Beastral Wrath, I went in close and AoE’d, Doom was on the Warlock, then the match was over.

We won. +15 rating, Current Rating: 1520

Match #2

BM Hunter / SL Warlock / Priest:
Same team, same “strategy”, same results.

We won. +14 rating, Current Rating: 1534

Match #3

Warrior / Resto Druid / Rogue:
Carl got Sapped, I sheeped the Rogue, switched to Warrior, my Frostbolt got Pummeled, and then I died within three seconds. The rest of the team was dead shortly after. Warrior had Season 3 weapon, and it hurts.

We lost. -11 rating, Current Rating: 1523

Match #4

Warrior / Rogue / Rogue:
Only me and the Warrior are visible. Doom was stealthed, our Priest was Shadowmelded. I Ice Lanced the Warrior putting him in combat so he couldn’t get the initial Charge. Both Rogues opened up on me, and our Priest got them off me with a Psychic Scream. I sheeped the Warrior, and me and Doom started working on one of the Rogues. Doom Blinded one of the Rogues, I broke it with my Pet’s Freeze, but all ended well and they both died, then we killed the Warrior. We will now start calling CC ahead of time.

We won. +15 rating, Current Rating: 1538

Match #5

Warrior / Feral Druid / Priest:
Sheeped Warrior, killed Druid (he couldn’t run away from Doom). Their Priest was keeping the Druid up, while Carl was Mana Burning him. Their Priest ran out of mana, the Druid died. Warrior and Priest without mana, it was an easy clean up.

We won. +16 rating, Current Rating: 1554

Match #6

Mage / Warrior / Priest:
Sheeped the Warrior, then we went after the Priest. Their Mage didn’t even try to Sheep us (I don’t think), and Carl was able to keep himself alive for awhile. Warrior eventually became Immune to Sheep and him and the Mage were able to kill Carl, their Priest also died at the same time. 2v2 I was fighting the Mage and Doom on Warrior. I beat the Mage, and I was at 25% Health. Doom had to Vanish because he was about to die. I kite the Warrior around long enough for Doom to go eat and get himself healed up, then I Ice Blocked. Doom opened up on the Warrior and kept him stunned, while I run to a safe distance and Frostbolt away.

We won. +17 rating, Current Rating: 1571

Match #7

Boomkin / Mage / Priest:
Doom was on the Mage, and Carl was Mana Burning everyone. The Boomkin did a great job keeping me Cycloned, then went Bear form and charged me to keep me stunned. But their Priest couldn’t keep up with healing the Mage while getting Mana Burned, and eventually the Mage died. The rest was easy.

We won. +15 rating, Current Rating: 1586

Doom calls a timeout so he could go purchase his Bracers which required a 1575 rating. Ten minutes later, he returns with his [Guardian's Leather Bracers] all gemmed and enchanted. Break time is over!

Match #8

Warrior / Rogue / Priest:
Carl got Sapped, and we were on the defensive. My Ice Block was Mass Dispelled pretty quickly and Carl was unable to keep me alive.

We lost. -14 rating, Current Rating: 1572

Match #9

Warrior / Rogue / Priest:
Same team, same results.

We lost. -14 rating, Current Rating: 1558

Match #10

Priest / Mage / Rogue:
We finally run into the same setup. We get a good Psychic Scream by Carl at the beginning and go on the offensive. I get a sheep on the Rogue and work on the Mage with Doom. Carl kept burning away at the Priest’s mana. The Rogue is eventually immune to Sheep and then gets Blinded by Doom. Mage goes down, then Rogue dies next, then the oom Priest.

We won. +14 rating, Current Rating: 1572

We stopped after ten matches because I had to go grab dinner. We ended up going 7-3 for the week with a 1572 Rating. I blame those two last losses on Doom for making us take a break, and disrupting our flow.

We are getting better at playing together. We are still breaking each other’s CC but it is less frequent now. CC chains are looking better too! Soon we will be able to anticipate what each of us are going to do, and hopefully we won’t have to call out for CC chains, it’ll just happen naturally.

One of the top rated 3v3 team setup in Arena is Priest/Mage/Rogue (PMR). PMR is known for its excellent burst damage, great survivability, and superior crowd control. It is a force to be reckon with. An offense oriented team, PMR applies a lot of pressure, and forces the other team to be stuck on the defensive until they crumble.

Priest:

Talent Build: 41/20/0

The popular Priest Spec for PMR is at least 41 points into Discipline for Pain Suppression, and Holy for Blessed Recovery. The remaining free points differ depending on the player. Improved Mana Burn and Focused Power are also a necessity for quick Mana Burns, and fast Mass Dispels.

Role: Dispel, Mana Burn, and sometimes Heal

Offense – Believe it or not, the Priest will mostly be on the offensive instead of healing. With the amount of pressure the Mage and Rogue puts on the opponents, the Priest will be free to Mana Burn their healers/casters, and dispel whoever the Mage and Rogue are on. Power Infusion can be used on the Mage to apply more pressure. Using Fear at the right moment on their healers can mean death for one of their teammates.

Defense – In the case of where the Priest needs to play defensive and needs to heal, a Disc/Holy Priest won’t have any problems with that. Pain Suppression are usually saved for themselves, but can be used on the Mage or Rogue if they are in trouble and ran out of cooldowns. Fear can be used defensively to turn the pressure around and go back on the offensive.

Mage:

Talent Build: 17/0/44 or 0/0/61

The most popular build for an Arena Mage is a Frost Mage with Improved Counterspell. The second favorite is the Full Frost build. First build is more offensive and the second build is more defensive. Also, with Improved Counterspell, you don’t need to catch your opponent casting to silence them, where as Full Frost you need to be ready and quick to CS someone.

Role: Burst Damage, Crowd Control, and Counterspells

Offense – You will assist whoever the Rogue is attacking, and do burst damage with your Shatter Combos. Keep another target Sheeped or Frozen while your Priest is burning away at their healer’s mana. Water Elemental does a lot of damage if left alone. Just make sure he doesn’t break any CC. Save your Counterspell for when you have your target at 50% or below and use it on their healer. You and the Rogue have at least 8 seconds to finish of your target. Save Icy Veins for this moment.

Defense – If you are being focused on, keep Ice Armor on if at least one Melee DPS is on you, Molten Armor for Ranged DPS. Keep Ice Barrier up, and Fire/Frost Ward up depending on the caster. Mana Shield also if it gets bad (you could always gem/evoc). Don’t wait until the last second to Ice Block, especially if your opponent has a Priest. I normally Ice Block at 30-40% to give my Priest some time to heal me up. Good teams can easily switch to Priest and keep my healer CC’d for the entire duration of my Ice Block, then kill me as soon as it wears off. If melee are on your Priest, help them out with Sheep/Frost Nova. Cone of Cold is also good to keep melee slowed enough for your Priest to run away.

Rogue:

Talent Build: 20/0/41

The most popular PMR Rogue build is Subtlety/Assassination with Shadowstep. With Wound and Crippling Poison, a Rogue can provide a ton of pressure and force the opposing the to be on the defensive. If the Rogue can manage to get a Sap off, you are already at a huge advantage, and are instantly on the offensive.

Role: DPS, Apply Pressure, and Crowd Control

Offense – Pick a target, and stay on him/her. The more pressure the Rogue puts on, the less pressure that is on the Priest, and the more the Priest can Mana Burn. Time the finishing moves with the Mage’s Icy Veins and Shatter Combos, and quickly take out a player before they even have time to react. A well timed Blind on a healer when one of their teammate is almost dead can almost guarantee a kill. Use Shadowstep to stay on a target if they manage to run away. Cloak of Shadows/Evasion can be use offensively to make sure nothing happens to the Rogue while he/she is on the target. To prevent a Warlock from fearing the Rogue while he/she is stabbing the crap out of the Warlock for example.

Defense – If the Rogue is ever focused on, there are many ways for the Rogue to stay alive. Evasion, Cloak of Shadows, and Vanish. Blind can even be use to keep a DPS off of the Rogue and swing back on the offensive. Or the Rogue can use Blind to help a teammate in trouble, to get a DPS off of the Priest or Mage.

Teamwork:

PMR is deadly straight out of the box, and even deadlier after playing together for awhile, and communicating together.

Team Focus:

The hardest part of PMR is selecting which target to focus on first. Pick the right target, and it will easily be a 3v2 fight within seconds. Pick the wrong target and it can be a long drawn out battle (which usually don’t end well for PMR).

Team Communication:

Communication is key with this setup. With everyone talking and working together, you can call out targets, interrupts, and dispels that will give PMR the win.

Team Crowd Control:

One of the biggest strengths of PMR is their ability to keep player out of the match for a good amount of time. Each of the three classes has a form of CC, and when used together, it will result in a victory. With Diminishing Returns, one person can keep a player out of combat for a decent amount of time. Chaining three players CC together, can keep a player out of combat for the entire battle.

For example:

• Mage CS a Healer’s heal: Duration 8 seconds
• Priest uses Psychic Scream: Duration 8 seconds
• Mage Sheeps after Fear wears off: Duration 10 seconds
• Mage Sheeps again: Duration 5 seconds
• Mage Sheeps again: Duration 2.5 seconds
• Rogue Blinds: Duration 8 seconds
• Mage CS after Blind if he heals: Duration 8 seconds
• Priest uses Psychic Scream: Duration 8 seconds
• Mage Sheeps again, and so on…

Congratulations, you have successfully kept a Healer out of commission for the entire fight, and his teammate is most likely dead already. But that is only the best case scenario. Of course players will have PvP Trinkets, resist spells, or get dispelled, but you can see how powerful the CC is if used together.

Again communication is important. These long chain CC aren’t possible without calling out durations and cooldowns on vent. Though it is possible after playing together for awhile, that these chain CC occurs naturally. Some more on Crowd Control by Euripedes.

Overall PMR is a very agressive and fun team to play on. I am looking to get started doing PMR again on Utada. I have already starting doing PMR on Geldin with Doomilias as my Rogue partner, and our friend as the Priest.

Good luck and have fun!