Let’s Bring 3v3 Back to Life – It Deserves More Than Just 1 Hour a Week

I’d like to bring up an issue regarding the current state of 3v3 arenas on the server.

Right now, 3v3 is nearly dead, and it’s disappointing because it’s supposed to be the most competitive and balanced PvP bracket in WotLK. The fact that it only gets a 1-hour weekly event just doesn’t cut it — it’s not enough to find partners, queue properly, or build a real competitive scene.

Yes, solo queue for 3v3 exists, and that’s appreciated — but let’s be honest, soloQ is not the same as real 3v3 with fixed teams, proper comps, voice communication, and strategy. The two formats are completely different, and soloQ simply doesn’t replace the core experience of real arena gameplay.

Suggestions:

Increase the availability of real 3v3 queues — ideally several days per week, or even permanently.

Add incentives like titles, mounts, exclusive transmogs, or even cosmetics for top 3v3 players.

Right now, 2v2 is the only viable bracket simply because it’s always open and accessible. 3v3 deserves better than being locked behind a short, limited-time window once a week.

Thanks for your time — I hope you’ll consider giving real 3v3 the attention it deserves. It could easily become one of the server’s strongest PvP features with a few changes.

Best regards,
Prains.

For people its easier to just join soloQ 3v3 rather than trying to find partners for normal 3v3... With soloQ just que and play.

Isn't it a player's choice to not play 3v3? Minor perks won't change their mind, never has.

That’s totally fair — soloQ is convenient, and it should definitely stay as an option. But convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of killing off the real 3v3 experience.

Real 3v3 with set teams, comps, and coordination is the core of competitive PvP in WotLK. It’s where players can push strategy, synergy, and teamwork to the next level — something soloQ can’t replicate.

Right now, there's no real choice. People only go soloQ because normal 3v3 is barely available. If we open it up more often and give people the opportunity to form teams and compete, many will try it again — especially the players who want something more than random matchups.

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Originally Posted by Arbiterone

Isn't it a player's choice to not play 3v3? Minor perks won't change their mind, never has.

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You’re right that players make their own choices — but availability and incentives do influence those choices. That’s why 2v2 is so active: it’s always open and accessible.

In the past, special rewards like titles, mounts, or unique transmogs have absolutely encouraged more players to try competitive brackets. Even Blizzard used this method in official seasons to keep players invested.

We're not asking for pay-to-win — just some extra motivation to bring players back into the most strategic and balanced PvP format the game offers. If we do nothing, 3v3 will just stay dead — and that’s a loss for everyone who enjoys high-level arena gameplay.

3 v 3 already has the top rewards. That's because it is a more competitive bracket. Doesn't mean it's the more preferred bracket. Players aren't scrambling to play 5 v 5 either. The important variable here is what players actually want. Not just you, but everyone.

You're not wrong that incentives can drive traffic to different parts of the game. Players have suggested things like this with older PvE raids having custom loot options. But at what point does the game become too custom. Or at what point are we pushing people into things they don't prefer just so they can get a reward. You mess with the formula too much and you can break the game.

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Originally Posted by jmsvanbuskirk

3 v 3 already has the top rewards. That's because it is a more competitive bracket. Doesn't mean it's the more preferred bracket. Players aren't scrambling to play 5 v 5 either. The important variable here is what players actually want. Not just you, but everyone.

You're not wrong that incentives can drive traffic to different parts of the game. Players have suggested things like this with older PvE raids having custom loot options. But at what point does the game become too custom. Or at what point are we pushing people into things they don't prefer just so they can get a reward. You mess with the formula too much and you can break the game.

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I completely agree that player preference is important — and I’m not trying to force anyone into a bracket they don’t enjoy. But the issue here isn’t just preference — it’s also accessibility.

Right now, 3v3 isn’t even getting a fair shot. It’s locked behind a tiny 1-hour window weekly, which makes it practically impossible to find stable partners, practice as a team, or develop any kind of scene. If it were available more often, players might naturally gravitate to it without being “pushed” — simply because they’d have the option to play it in a real, structured way.

As for rewards — I agree 3v3 already has the top ones. That’s great. But when the format itself is barely playable, those rewards become meaningless to most players. Adding cosmetic-only incentives wouldn’t mess with the core formula — it just adds flavor, not power.

I’m not asking for a complete redesign or forcing meta shifts — just a few smart tweaks to bring life back into one of the most strategic and rewarding parts of the game. It’s about reviving an experience, not replacing others.

Thanks again for the thoughtful reply

Oh I see. 3 v 3 hour was the incentive. As long as I can remember 3 v 3 has always been pretty slow. The 3 v 3 hour is actually what boosted it albeit a very tiny amount because again it just isn't a preferred bracket.

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Originally Posted by jmsvanbuskirk

Oh I see. 3 v 3 hour was the incentive. As long as I can remember 3 v 3 has always been pretty slow. The 3 v 3 hour is actually what boosted it albeit a very tiny amount because again it just isn't a preferred bracket.

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That makes sense — and you’re right, 3v3 has always been a bit slower compared to 2s. But I don’t think the low interest is only due to preference. A big part of it is structural: without regular queue availability, it’s hard for the bracket to ever gain momentum.

The 3v3 hour helped a bit, sure — but it’s too limited to build anything sustainable. Teams need time to find partners, queue into others, and develop synergy. A one-hour window just isn’t enough.

I’m not saying it should be as active as 2s — just that it deserves more than a single hour if we really want to see what it could become.

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Originally Posted by Ezrage

For people its easier to just join soloQ 3v3 rather than trying to find partners for normal 3v3... With soloQ just que and play.

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right. and you think it's fun playing soloq when either you have to wait for 5 minutes per queue? or playing as healer and having to deal people that don't have a single clue about how to do 3v3? or having to deal with cliques, trolls and griefers? SoloQ is anything except for fun and convinient.

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Originally Posted by idkmanwhateverx

That’s totally fair — soloQ is convenient, and it should definitely stay as an option. But convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of killing off the real 3v3 experience.

Real 3v3 with set teams, comps, and coordination is the core of competitive PvP in WotLK. It’s where players can push strategy, synergy, and teamwork to the next level — something soloQ can’t replicate.

Right now, there's no real choice. People only go soloQ because normal 3v3 is barely available. If we open it up more often and give people the opportunity to form teams and compete, many will try it again — especially the players who want something more than random matchups.

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this!
totally this!

it's totally true, it's really difficult to play 3s any day of the week since it barely has people to queue and match with and most of the time, there are almost no people queueing at all. in top of that it's really inconvenient and stressful the fact that you have to literally wait 7 days of the weeks just to be able to queue, find people and play for an hour as it was a race against the clock (which it is pretty much that). if there was way more time and day of the week where actual 3v3 is incentive to play, it would chance and revive the bracket as whole.

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Originally Posted by Arbiterone

Isn't it a player's choice to not play 3v3? Minor perks won't change their mind, never has.

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Actually. it's way more complex than just "a player's choice" reasoning.

Not being able to play and have a 3v3 scenery at all also hurts the player's and the gearing progression for anybody that wants to get gear. for example, lordaeron players don't have any other choice but to try and get people to play 3v3 if they ever want to get the chance to purchase shoulders and Tier 2 wrathful weapon. and since it's also not possible to get said gear from soloq either, it's pretty much virtually impossible to fully gear up with pvp stuff due to the low population of players in that realm.

Blackrock players don't even have problems with gear at all since everything can be purchased by just doing 2v2 alone. but still, it's really difficult to have a 3v3 scenary if there is barely any team queueing up all times. and yes, there is the 3vs3 extravaganza hour is there, but it's only there for 1 hour every 7 days.

and then you have icecrown people, it pretty much shares the same situtation as lordaeron but with the catch that people will simply coin and donate their shoulders and everything pvp above 2k easily without having to put any effort on pushing or simply even playing 3s ever.

however, has people has mentioned, having a simple tweak and an smart fix can easily adress this problem. Something has to be done since the moment onyxia server hits Wotlk stuff there will be a massive drop down in 3v3 where it's pretty much going to become like once it was frostmourne realms in regards of arena pvp (non-existant competition).

I don't get it. Did you guys think 3 v 3 only existed during one hour of the week? Pretty sure it's played all week. It's available.

Highlighting what you perceive as problems doesn't matter. We're talking about suggestions. The couple that were actually given are incredibly vague.

Let's add more hours. Let's add more mounts/titles/coins/transmog. But what? Top 100 teams get Scarab Lord mount? Should they add a cash prize? Get a signed replica Frostmourne sword by Warmane staff! Losers get t-shirts. Maybe if we add 3 more hours then 3 times the amount of players will do 3 v 3. What if we do 50 hours! 50 times the amount of players wow. You guys need to think through these things a little more.

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Originally Posted by jmsvanbuskirk

I don't get it. Did you guys think 3 v 3 only existed during one hour of the week? Pretty sure it's played all week. It's available.

Highlighting what you perceive as problems doesn't matter. We're talking about suggestions. The couple that were actually given are incredibly vague.

Let's add more hours. Let's add more mounts/titles/coins/transmog. But what? Top 100 teams get Scarab Lord mount? Should they add a cash prize? Get a signed replica Frostmourne sword by Warmane staff! Losers get t-shirts. Maybe if we add 3 more hours then 3 times the amount of players will do 3 v 3. What if we do 50 hours! 50 times the amount of players wow. You guys need to think through these things a little more.

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No one said 3v3 is literally only available during that one hour — but let’s not pretend it’s the same as 2v2 either. Normal 3v3 with real teams and MMR progression isn’t consistently active because it doesn’t have the same support or visibility. SoloQ 3s is open, sure — but again, it’s a different format.

As for the suggestions — yeah, they were intentionally broad to open the discussion. Nobody’s asking for Scarab Lord or Frostmourne replicas.

The point isn’t to bribe people with junk, it’s to give the bracket more visibility and support so it doesn’t fade out completely. And yeah — if giving it a few more hours per week helps teams form and queue more consistently, what’s the harm in trying?

Nobody’s expecting miracles. But acting like nothing can be improved just because it’s always been this way isn’t really helping either.

I'll add a suggestion for fun.

Add a new type of reward. The Flawless Victor title which was actually in the original game. It was given to players in early Wrath for 10 wins over 2000 rating.

You give this title to players with the highest win streaks over a certain rating in 3 v 3 only. This promotes players playing more games. You could take it even further by adding a weapon reward with gamemaster item transmogs like Ashbringer, Frostmourne, Red Warglaives etc.

Something like that honestly wouldn't be too far outside the scope of the rewards currently. They already give out an unobtainable TCG card game mount and titles.