PvE Tokens and Badges Tradeable for PvP, Arena Gear

Late-breaking news this evening reports that the latest achievement on the Sunwell Plateau on the PTR unlocked a vendor that will exchange tier tokens and badges for different seasons of arena gear. I talked a little about patch 2.4 altering the pvp gear progression path to move people back into instances yesterday when discussing purchasable, reputation-based pvp blues that will be added to the game, but it looks like Blizzard's changes are set to make this even more dramatic. Here's the current exchange rate:

• Tier 4 tokens = equivalent Season 1 pieces (gladiator set)
• Tier 5/6 tokens = equivalent Season 2 pieces (merciless gladiator set)
• Badges of Justice = Veteran's boots (40), bracers (25), belt (40)
• New T6 tokens = equivalent Vindicator's gear (boots, bracers & belt)

I expect a lot of QQing about raiders getting free epics, but the truth is that the current pvp gear progression is even more time consuming than raiding -- a serious pvping friend of mine who's leveling a warlock for arenas did the math and figured he'd need to log 100 straight hours of Alterac Valley to gear his character up for Season 4.

While this change might even be a bit too far in the opposite direction, I still maintain that increasing the pace and means by which players get pvp gear is going to make all arena play -- not just the high end -- much more about skill and much less about who's managed to log enough pvp time to get ___ amount of resilience.

How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Hunter

It's been almost embarrassing to admit it, with all the great hunter blogs out there extolling the class as well as the fine examples in my guild, but after getting my own hunter to 70, I just really wasn't feeling it. It just all felt so complicated, so much micromanaging to play a dps class.

And then there's the pulling. See, I don't actually like pulling, as far as I can tell. Perhaps it stems from being a mage, but there's something intrinsically suicidal about having one's job be to run ahead and shoot things in the face.

I did regular Shattered Halls run followed by heroic Ramparts a few weeks back, and although it was a good guild group and things went smoothly enough, I'd never felt more off my game. (Also, my gun broke in the middle of Ramparts. This didn't help any.) It's like the 5 man hunter playstyle just wasn't meshing with my own finely attuned PvE ranged dps skills. Sure, I appreciated hunters more than ever, but did I really want to play one?

And so my hunter went back to sitting dormant in Skettis, earning me a few gold here and there with daily quests, until The Boy and I decided to form a 2v2 team with our alts. I named us the Dark Iron Scraps, and up until this week, the name was the best thing we had going for us. Quite frankly, we started with no gear and 11k health between the two of us. His mage was sporting PvE tailoring epics, and I was in... well, quest greens, some of which were leather. To be frank, we're still pretty atrociously geared, we've lost at least 80% of our games, and our rating is abysmal.

But back to huntering, because here's the thing: I respecced for arena this week, and suddenly I'm having fun with my hunter! Ramekin's now 0/42/19, and for being such a noob, he's the most godawful arena pest you've ever laid eyes on. My other arena partner, A Moonkin in San Francisco, says he could've told me that months ago:

Me: Wow, my hunter is annoying now that I've respecced for arena.
aMiSF: Well, duh.
Me: Heh.
aMiSF: Oh, you have buffs on you? Lemme get rid of those. What's that, you want to heal? Well we can't have that do any good, let's just cut that in half. Oh, you want to cast spells too? Now now, none of that.
Me: Just think of these as gifts. Like this lovely scattershot.
aMiSF: Oh, and here is an animal for your face. You can't CC him, so just deal with it.