Mage / Rogue vs. Warlock / Priest 2v2 Arena Strategy

Rogue Arena Tactics

The strategy for the rogue is pretty basic here. If at all possible you want to sap the priest. This will allow you to get a solid start on the warlock and in many cases fill him outright. If you must use shadowstep to pull off the sap, it’s crucial you get it off quickly and cleanly.

Once you’re on the lock you need to be very watchful for fears. The mage cannot afford to burn his CS on the lock, so it’s up to you to kick / kidney shot any single target fear or howl of terror. Additionally, be ready to use your blind on the priest to assist the mage in his crowd control rotation.

I highly suggest using a focus blind macro to make this cc transition as seamless as possible. In an ideal game your rotation might look something like this. Sap –> Sheep –> Trinkets the sheep. Blind –> Sap –> CS — Sheep. While this always isn’t going to work out perfectly like this knowing your CC rotation from the beginning will be a huge aid to your success.

Mage Arena Tactics

While the mage is certainly going to be adding damage your primary role is still to crowd control the healer. Most mages are very confident in their own sheep / CS rotation, but don’t forget the fact you have a rogue. It will be very important for you and your rogue to successfully communicate through the match to maximize your collective crowd control.

Just like with the rogue’s blind, using focus sheep or focus CS macros can be very helpful. Not only do they allow you to quickly pull off your various forms of CS, but many times they can catch your opponents off guard. Many players watch for you as the mage to target them, often this is a dead give away to an incoming sheep or blind. Using focus macros you never actually have to target them, so they have zero idea what’s coming!

Looking for more strategies? Check out the complete rogue / mage 2v2 arena strategy guide!

Priest Macro Guide

These days playing a priest is rough…in PvE you have to compete with shaman’s spamming chain heal on the raid, paladin’s spamming holy light on the tank, and in PvP you’re constantly running and getting beat down but double melee gib teams.

Needless to say, it’s a rough life for priests. However, a few well placed macros can change all of that and give you an immediate edge on your opponents.

Raid Healing Priest Macros
/stopcasting
/cast Greater Heal

/stopcasting
/cast Renew

/stopcasting
/cast Flash Heal

/stopcasting
/cast Circle of Healing

I think of all the macros, this is probably the most simplistic and effective. It drives me crazy watching healer’s jump or move in order to cancel a heal. This is incredibly inefficient as you lose large amounts of overall healing time throughout the fight. Getting used to a system of stopcasting macros will allow you to turret up and let the heals fly, maximizing your available time to cast heals.

Power Word Shield Macro
/cast [target=player] Power Word: Shield

Pretty simple, just cast a PWS on your self without ever having to drop target. Nice in the heat of an arena match or a raid encounter.

Dispel Macros
/target (name of your teammate)
/cast Dispel Magic

Generic quick target defensive dispel on your teammate.

/assist (name of your teammate)
/cast Dispel Magic

Generic quick target offensive dispel, great for assisting your DPS classes to clear shields, buffs, etc.

Note: The above dispel macros were pulled from the more complete guide here, discipline priest arena strategy.

Mouse Over Healing Macros
/cast [target=mouseover] Flash Heal

/cast [target=mouseover] Greater Heal

/cast [target=mouseover] Renew

/cast [target=mouseover] Circle of Healing

Now, this method of healing may or may not work for you. For my shaman I found it ideal to manage raid healing, by using these macros in combination with a raid unit frame mod called grid (to the left is a screenshot of grid). This basically allowed me to mouse over any frame within the grid unit frame and fire on chain heals on my shaman. You could achieve the same result using the clique mod, but I prefer the macros

Rebuffing Macro
/castsequence Inner Fire, Power Word: Fortitude, Shadow Protection

Requires multiple clicks, but will allow you to put all your buffing spells onto one bar. You can simply add any additional buffs you have based on race / talent spec (divine spirit for example) at the end of the macro, each requiring an additional click.

Trinket + Inner Fire + Devouring Plague Macro
#showtooltip Devouring Plague
/use NameofYourDamageTrinket
/cast Inner Focus
/stopcasting
/cast Devouring Plague

Nice macro that further consolidates clicks and action bar use

Trinket + Healing Macro
/use 13
/use 14
/cast Greater Heal

For reference purposes 13 is top trinket, 14 is bottom trinket. These type of macros are a staple for every class and spec. Now, the trinket may determine weather or not you use this macro. Some trinkets shouldn’t be used until a given point (IE…spirit based regen trinkets shouldn’t be used the moment the fight begins). Conversely you could create a +healing trinket and circle of healing for raid spamming, since you’ll want it up as often as it can be used.

Silence / Arcane Torrent Macro
/castsequence reset=45 Silence, Arcane Torrent

A good friend of mine used this a ton when I played with him season 3. Once again, it won’t make or break you, but it’s certainly a nice way to free up some action bar space.

The DoT Bomb
/cast Inner Fire
/stopcasting
/cast Devouring Plague / Star Shards (if you have it either)
/stopcasting
/cast Shadow Word Pain

Smart Shadowfiend
#showtooltip Shadowfiend
/cast [harm,nodead][target=targettarget,harm,nodead] Shadowfiend

This macro will send your shadowfiend to attack your target if it’s hostile. If you do not have a hostile target currently targeted then it will send it after your target’s target if it is hostile.

If you’re looking for shadow priest specific macros, check out this guide, shadow priest macros.

Shadow Priest / Rogue vs. Shadow Priest / Rogue 2v2 Arena Strategy

Nobody likes these, and to be quite honest this fight comes down to racials. If you’re Undead gratz you made the right race choice as the other team is going to be struggling with you. You know unless they happen to be undead too…

Rogue Arena Strategy
If you see the opposing rogue it’s never a bad idea to sap. Anyways open up on the priest and do everything in your power to get him down as fast as possible. You will want to blind/sap the rogue if you’re permitted to do so.

Priest Arena Strategy
The opposing rogue will be starting on you, and you’ll probably want to do as much damage and give out as many DoTs as you can before this happens. If you’re opponents are undead a CC train is almost out of the question.

In the end this fight will come down to luck and your amount of damage, best of luck to you.

Need more strategies? Check out the full shadow priest / rogue 2v2 arena guide!

Strategy courtesy of S-Scythe

Shadow Priest / Rogue vs. Warlock / Rogue 2v2 Arena Strategy

Caster/Melee DPS @ Caster/Melee DPS! This fight comes down to who gets the opener. I pray your opponents aren’t undead or humans. This match will be quick, so get moving. Priest I recommend fear ward on your rogue.

Rogue Arena Strategy
Alright, open up on the lock in all your fury ASAP. If you see the opposing rogue, great give him a sap this is just a pure bonus. Careful of when you pop your trinket, as the opposing rogue can turn the tables via blind/sap.

Priest Arena Strategy
Get on the warlock too and just burst him down with everything you’ve got. The rogue will really be trying to pressure you, so if race permits use a fear—>blind/sap combo to get him outta your hair and win the game!

Act fast, be cool and show them your game face.

Need more strategies? Check out the full shadow priest / rogue 2v2 arena guide!

Strategy courtesy of S-Scythe