Synergy – “The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.” This is the dictionary definition of what synergy is. Basically, the combination of two classes together brings a lot more to the table than just two of the same classes paired together. Synergy in arena has been developed through the first couple of seasons, and several combinations have been found to work very well together. This article will look over some of the more popular synergies that exist, along with explaining what creates great synergy, and how it’s used in all brackets.

Synergy has been a huge force in many aspects of plenty of games, and WoW is no exception. In PvE, groups are set up together to gain the most beneficial advantage to help accomplish a goal. This can include: placing a Shadow Priest in Mage groups to replenish their Mana, putting an Enhancement Shaman in a Rogue/Warrior group to enhance DPS, or placing a Restoration Druid in the main tank’s group to provide additional healing. With the arena scene, this idea of synergy was brought up once again to make a dominate team — whether it be in the 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5 brackets. Experiments were done early on in season 1, with many make-ups to test how they would work. As time went on, answers became clear, and some combinations either grew more popular or fell completely off the map. Synergy does not have to exist between the entire group; it can only exist between a couple of the players, if need be. In 2v2, of course, synergy has to exist to be successful, because there are only two of you to defeat the opponents. A good example of a 2v2 combination with synergy is Paladin/Warrior or Druid/Warlock. An example of a group with little to no synergy would be Shaman/Mage or Spriest/Paladin. Then, there is the 3v3 bracket, where only two of the classes could have a good synergy, but the 3rd becomes a peripheral to this synergy. Obviously, it would be better to possess a complete group that has great synergy all throughout. But, as the amount of classes goes up, so does the difficulty of synergism. And, then, there is the 5v5 bracket, which may consist of two pairs of synergy classes with an odd one out, or so on.

The 2v2 bracket has been found to have been called unfair for certain make-ups, and the balance in it just is not the same as it is in the 5v5 or 3v3 bracket, even. This statement is said because of the synergy some combinations of classes bring to the table. A popular 2v2 combination that synergizes well is the Paladin/Warrior team. The first obvious reason to why these two work so well together is the fact that they both wear plate armor, the highest melee resistance in the game. Plate armor, however, does not matter against caster damage, but this is where survivability and outlasting ability comes into play between the two. The Paladin class has always been known to have the best ability to outlast others as a healer in the game. When that’s combined with the best out-lasting DPS in the game (Warrior), the strongpoint of this combination becomes very apparent. The Rage a Warrior has allows them to stay in the game the whole time and prevent others from drinking, while they do not have to drink themselves. Because of the great outlasting ability a paladin has, as well, several make-ups will try to focus on the Paladin instead, and CC the Warrior. This, however, can be countered easily with a quick Dispel from the Paladin. It also helps that Warrior will be, basically, immune to fear 75% of the battle. If the opposing team tries to CC the Paladin instead and kill the Warrior, the Warrior can switch to a shield, increasing his armor even more against melee classes, and can shield reflect against huge nukes to prevent being killed. Blessing of Freedom is also a Warriors best friend against snare effects, and can prevent him from being kited. When it comes down to it, the combined outlasting ability these two classes have, along with being able to survive if another gets CC’d, brings a great synergy between the two. If you look at the combination of Paladin/Rogue, you will notice various flaws. This includes the leather armor for Rogues, and the fact they have to rely on long Cooldowns to survive in dire situations. This is just an example, but it shows that a Warrior makes a much better partner for the Paladin.

Another great 2v2 lineup with great synergy is the Druid/Warlock combination. This combination has a Restoration Druid and a SL+SL Warlock, thus burst is not an option, and games can take a while. But, because of this, the synergy shines between the two and can lead to easy defeats of opponents. First off, both classes bring their own form of CC, Druids have Cyclone/Entangle Root and Warlocks, of course, have Fear. They are on separate diminishing returns, so switching between the two classes, or using one then the other on the same class, can be huge in most matches. The Warlock, however, will be taking hits in several situations – and, this is why being Soul-Link/Siphon Life spec is a must for this synergy to perform well. The channeled Drain Life on a target, the 20 percent less damage done to the Warlock, along with the hot heals from the Druid, makes the Warlock a very hard target to take down – especially, with only one DPS. With that said, attacking the Druid will prove to be a failure, as kiting is what a druid thrives on, especially, against melee classes. Even if some sort of CC is put on the Druid – although, sheep and blind are unlikely to work — the Warlock’s survivability is still there, and the Druid just needs a split second out of CC to cast an instant Lifebloom or Rejuvenation to help keep his Warlock partner up. The lack of burst from the Warlock is made up with abilities such as Drain Mana and CC from both the Druid and the Warlock. In the end, most of these lineups will have ended up draining the opposing healers’ Mana, then, slowly but surely, getting both of the opponents down. Despite the lack of Dispel from the Druid to keep the Warlock from being CC’d, it is not as costly then if the Druid was paired with a Warrior or Rogue, even. The reason for this is because the Warlock does not need to be in melee range to effectively help his Druid. But, instead, can cast CC from a long range and damage as well.

Synergy between two classes can mean great success in the 2v2 bracket, but in the 3v3 and 5v5 bracket, more synergy is needed to be successful. For example, in the 3v3 bracket, a Paladin/Warrior combination can be paired with a Restoration, or, even, Elemental Shaman, and added synergy will have occurred. Although synergy between a Warrior and Shaman may not be as big, it still does exist and can be effective; thus, why it will work well when added in 3v3. You may then look at the 5v5 bracket, and notice that the “cookie-cutter” line-up, or most popular line-up, consists of a Paladin/Warrior/Mage/Elemental Shaman/Priest. A large reason for this being such a successful and popular lineup is because synergy between them exists. The Paladin/Warrior combination is strong, as well as the Paladin/Priest combination for healing. The key to making a 5v5 lineup work is to synergize your healers and DPS for the best efficiency in all situations that may occur. 4 DPS lineups in 5v5 play, as well, have become very popular; and, in most of these lineups, you will see an Affliction Warlock/Shadow Priest combination, which has a very strong 2v2 synergy because of the combined extra Shadow and spell damage.

This synergy is why you will usually never see more than one class on the same team competing together. Rather than combining the same abilities from two players, it is better to combine the abilities of several classes to gain a greater advantage. Although, it is still very possible to run with more than one class, the more synergy and better efficiency will exist when the classes are different from one another.

Arena play between the brackets can be seen as a stepping stone. In 2v2, synergy is created between two classes, and becomes very powerful in its bracket — as we already went over, Warlock/Druid or Paladin/Warrior. When making a 3v3 team, however, it is best to look at what works well together in the 2v2 bracket, or what synergizes, and then combine that with another to further enhance this synergy. Then, of course, in the 5v5 bracket, synergy either needs to be created in pairs, or combined as a whole, to create the most efficient and powerful line-up possible. There are many combinations of classes which create synergy, but some just happen to be stronger than others are. It is a matter of finding that synergy between the classes to create a powerful lineup to gain an advantage over others.

Tags: General · Articles

9 Responses to “Synergy in Arena, The Building Block”

1. Critickle Says:
   October 10th, 2007 at 8:46 pm

   20% less dmg to warlock

   fixed, thanks for noticing that

2. crix Says:
   October 10th, 2007 at 8:59 pm

   “This synergy is why you will usually never see more than one class on the same team competing together”

   exception is fmage fmage in 2s because they provide good Synergy, although it now requires alot more skill and communication since the nerf and as such has become less popular

3. Shaan Says:
   October 10th, 2007 at 10:21 pm

   Well, with novas being on diminishing returns now, I doubt dual frostmages are that good anymore.

4. Basfish Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 7:28 am

   they all turned into frost mage + rogue teams : /

5. SupaVillian Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 8:49 am

   Lets not forget rogue / priest! I hear its up top with the pally / warr..providing the right specs

6. SkyPower Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 9:52 am

   I wonder how paladin/warrior are on the top >.

7. Breaky Says:
   October 11th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

   Just to clarify, the combinations I listed were simply popular ones. I don’t believe I state anywhere in the article that it was necessarily the best combination of classes, but rather just something people can relate too.

   With that said, there are many other combinations that have great synergy together that I did not list, such as priest/rogue. But again, this post was not about listing the best combinations possible, it was more so just explaining the idea of synergy and how it works.

8. Sargsui Says:
   October 14th, 2007 at 4:14 pm

   Nice article.

   Some good examples for your stepping-stone idea include:

   Rogue/Spriest, Lock/Spriest, Rogue/Lock:
   All very strong 2v2 teams, combined to form Rogue/Spriest/Lock 3v3 which also becomes the core for the standard 4dps 5v5 team.

   A nearly identical scenario to the one above can be produced by simply replacing Spriest with Resto Druid in the equation.

9. Hottie - Outlands - Horde Says:
   October 15th, 2007 at 10:37 am

   Very nice guidelines… I am currently working on my resto druid, and I thought about teaming with a lock - you have cleared the last doubt, ty.

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