World of Warcraft: Deepwind Dunk

The bi-weekly brawl mode makes a return to the World of Warcraft in epic fashion this week. Blizzard is known for changing up the rules pretty frequently and using their wide player base to see what works. The brawl is actually a latecomer to the massive multiplayer scene, joining the WoW ranks after similar modes making appearances in the WoW spin-off Hearthstone and the team shooter Overwatch. Of course, with all the play styles of these games, the similarities end at the mode itself and the types of PvP games are drastically different. The one that was just announced for the 17th through the 24th of August is called Deepwind Dunk and is being met with much player enthusiasm.  This enthusiasm has been hard to come by lately as many players have already quit World of Warcraft.  The exodus of players has been felt even here at Accountwarehouse with many players choosing to sell WoW accounts on their way out.

            Deepwind Dunk is a resource race-style battle. Resource races are best compared to capture the flag and the brawls are often fun variations on that same concept. The resources in this instance, unsurprisingly, are balls. Deepwind Dunk is a brawl based around a game of dunkball, the Warcraft variant of basketball. Balls have replaced flags as items that are claimable for points, with the primary goal to be to shoot the ball you are carrying into your opponent’s base in order to gain points. The ball can either be long shot or dunked, hence the name.

            The first part of the Deepwind Dunk namesake comes from the fact that it is played in the Deepwind Gorge. You may have already begun to sense a theme here and that’s okay because there is one. Because of Deepwind Gorge’s location within Pandera, this particular area requires characters to be level 90 or above to access it. So if you are interested in checking out some of the sweet D-ball moves, then you better have a higher-level character prepared.

            Deepwind Gorge is also the largest of the level 90 brawl arenas, the only one that can accommodate a full 15 v 15 player spread. This is one of the things that makes resources races like Deepwind Dunk so much fun to play in Deepwind. Deepwind Dunk has multiple balls that the team can focus and prioritize on. Coordination and precision can win you the day, and the more people you have the more resources to stop your opponent. The larger the team, though, the harder it is to coordinate. This is what makes Deepwind Dunk as interesting as it is.

            How does someone play Deepwind Dunk to win? There are a lot of strategies and techniques that work for different builds, so these tips for winning in Deepwind Dunk should be taken with more than just a pinch of salt. That being said there are choices you make to increase your chance of winning a match. Or, at the very least, choices you can make that will make it harder for your opponent to beat you.

            Firstly, Deepwind Dunk is a tank favor game. You have a much better chance of scoring points in your opponent’s base if you can survive getting there. Warriors have an easy time of handling a lot of that damage all while continuing to control the ball. Warriors would be the most basic option though if you are looking to getting the hang of how people move in dunkball matches.

            In contrast, if you are playing a rouge, you are going to have a much harder time dealing with the amount of damage you will be taking and trying to hold onto the ball at the same time. You are too squishy, and carrying a ball towards where your enemy is spawning from is going to paint a huge target on your back that your enemies would have to actively try and miss. Rogues have some potential for mobility powers which definitely can help when it comes to the need to cover the distance in Dunkball, but they don’t have the health to back it up.

            A good combination of mobility abilities and tanking is the paladin. Paladins have abilities that allow them to rush and charge, allowing them to make massive progress across the map and push enemies away at the same. They also have a combination of healing abilities and heavy defenses that can keep them alive while their other abilities are in cooldown. The best part? Deepwind Dunk has no time limit, so you can truly tank your way through the brawl, taking it slow and steady to make sure you milk every possible point out of your paladin. Altogether, thats what makes this class perfect Deepwind Dunk team candidates if you are looking to rack up a few wins.

            The paladin is not the top recommended class for racking up shots in Deepwind Dunk, though. No, the highest recommended type of character are the Demon Hunters. The access to heavy mobility based abilities and attacks will make you both a threat in combat and momentum. Infernal strikes alone will allow you to become fairly competitive in Deepwind dunk, but the real edge of the Demon Hunter comes with the Mighty Leap ability. Especially if you have specced yourself so you can use Mighty Leap multiple times in row, their will be little standing between your and your opponents scoring area. On top of that, Demon Hunters have the versatility in build and potential for damage output that you don’t have to be carrying the ball to be helping your team. The Demon Hunter also makes prime ball carrier support, dealing out the hurt so that the opposing team can’t get near them.

            If you don’t get your fix of dunkball this week, don’t worry. It already has a week of play announced for November. And between then and now you will surely have a whole slew of other brawls you can test your skills on before the return of the real test and tournament of champions, Deepwind Dunk. Remember to keep us in your hearts while your slamming into those baskets and remember us when your tank is able to walk straight through your enemies to score the winning point.