Patch 5.3 PTR: Tiger's Peak Arena
Editor's Note: This arena first appeared under the name Shado-Pan Arena on the PTR. The article's title has been edited for clarity.
It's always exciting to get a new arena to play with, and come patch 5.3, PvP fans will have had two in just one expansion. We really aren't sure what to do with ourselves! The second new arrival is Tiger's Peal, as pictured above in the header image. You can hopefully make out two tiger statues, facing each other, and behind the right-hand statue you can see a dark door, through which the teams enter the arena.
The run from the door to the tiger statue is very short, and therefore allows you to quickly enter cover, as, of course, they provide good line of sight blocking points. You can also see from the picture that, at the other two corners of the map, are two raised platforms, which have fenced edges. These act a bit strangely, and I am wondering if they are bugged or subject to further adjustment.
When looking at them, one might expect that the fence or steps side of the platform would block line of sight from players below, but actually they don't. It is perfectly possible to cast up or down. The fence can easily be jumped, too, so these, at the moment at least, are simply larger, flat blocks which break line of sight on the lower level, but not from top to bottom at any point we were able to discover.
The purpose of the fences around the edges of the platforms, then is unclear, perhaps to hold players up as they run off the sides, perhaps just for decoration, but it seems a little strange that that is the case given how Blizzard specifically mentioned the fenced platforms in the patch notes. That being said, clicking the arena doors on the PTR currently opens them, so it probably isn't completely ready yet! Edited to add: As ScottOtte asks in the comments, these fences prevent knockbacks to the fenced side, as WoW PvP designer Brian Holinka confirms via twitter.
Altogether, it's a good arena for casters thanks to the plentiful line of sight opportunities, you can see from the image above that the tiger statues, while narrow, are quite deep front-to-back, and provide ample line of sight. The raised platforms can be used similarly to the tomb in the middle of Ruins of Lordaeron, apart from the fact that access from the fenced side is not possible unless you're gripped by a DK or a priest.
Thanks to the relatively small gaps in cover and large line of sight obstacles, melee my find this arena a little frustrating!
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