We’ve come to the point, where apartheid has taken over and a new order has been born led by the holy trinity of Rogue, Mage and Priest.

So, this is how it went down: In the early stages of WoW arena team Pandemic dominated the WSVG with their 3v3 setup consisting of a Rogue, a Mage and a Priest. The word quickly spread and RMP became the ultimate 3’s comp.

Based on superior control over enemy characters, to prevent their damage output and setting up damage bursts on enemy players, while stopping the healer from casting, RMP was the go-to comp if you were into arena, and most importantly playing it took skill. RMP went on being strong, though not so dominant in the following tournaments battling various Warrior/Hunter Double healer and Warrior or Rogue based (no-skill) cleave comps, as CoM (now SK.Asia) won BWWI.

However, things took a turn to worse with the rise of Warrior/Warlock/Druid (who could forget pff… total imbalance). Mace stunning/Mortal striking machine, supported by an unkillable HoT roller/cyclone spammer and a cloth tank throwing DoTs all over the place, were making life miserable for RMP teams, as WLD powerhouses Fnatic and Nihilum.Plasma took championships home one after another.

Yet, not all was lost. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was called 3.0 – the implementation of WotLK talents into the “not-ready-for-it” BC. As damage went through the roof, WLDs - along with their defensive play style - tumbled off their thrones and RMP reigned supreme once more - there was finally no more imbalance and skill was allowed to shine through…

Not much has changed since in terms of gameplay, but players’ mentality has (sadly not for the better, as there is even more moaning about countercomps and no-skill cleaves then there was in BC, even though we had 4/4 RMPs in the ESL EM ½ finals and 3/4 at MLG Columbus). At the moment we’re in a two sided situation, where, if you play RMP your success in arena is accompanied with being skilled and playing well - you’re the aristocrats living in the good side of town.

However, there, just across the fence, are the slums, populated by the likes of Warriors, Death Knights, Hunters, Paladins and Druids. These are the players, that only win arena matches because, well, they got classes that take no skill and finesse to play and do not require any battle plan upon entering an arena other then cleave their way to victory – to sum it up: teribad facerollers.

How exactly did we get to wherever it is we are now? It’s hard to say, but somewhere along the way people forgot to ask themselves if RMP is still the poor comp that is getting owned by WLD, or maybe now it’s actually RMP the one dishing out the ownage, without even taking all that much skill to play. Let’s face it: RMP’s damage is out of control just as much as PHD’s. Looking back on MLG Columbus, Payce would have been blown up way before Hydra/Realz if he didn’t have 12 seconds of complete immunity at his disposal.

RMPs have to inhibit their god complex and start acknowledging other setups as well. If Wow as an esport is to prosper, there has to be more then one setup viable for tournament play. The more the merrier. Even though different setups require alternative approach to the game, they should not be penalized for it, as they simply do not have the same tools as RMP has, hence they use what works out best for them. Same goes for maps.

I agree RoV has too many RNG aspects to it, but open maps, with limited LoS possibilities should exist, to give classes like hunters an advantage, just like Blade’s edge grants Warlocks better escape options via Demonic portal, or Dalaran Arena, which allows DKs to pull enemy melee down from the platform, preventing them from sitting on the healer, or Nagrand Arena’s pillars that provide good cover for fragile classes.

Games such as Warcraft 3 and Starcraft also have maps that favour specific race, and they’ve always played a major factor in not only the outcome but also in the tactic selection. And that is what it is all about. Using your class and the map you play on to your full advantage. If some comp or map is giving you trouble play even harder and try to find a solution for the problems you encounter.

Great players like Bisu in SC or Sky and Moon in WC3 are all connected to innovations in strategies used in certain matchups or on certain maps, be it Bisu’s Corsair/Reaver vs Zerg, Sky’s Mass Casters tower push against Orc, or Moon’s trademark mass expansion play. WoW also needs these kinds of role models, that will create new viable setups, or new tactics for already established ones. And they should be encouraged in doing so, not being marked as dire imbalance exploiters.

At the end I want to emphasize it again. Give innovative players respect they are due and when you lose in an arena match, don’t instantly blame it on imbalance and countercomping and rage all over the internet about it. Rather, either chill out, or practice even harder. 90% of the imbalance only exists in your heads.