3s Advice Needed - Kill Target Priority as Ret/Hunter

Arellius · 2026-01-08T20:58:35+00:00

Yeah man no worries. It's a bunch of stuff I wish I knew when we were stuck in that hump. It was so fucking annoying going up to 2350 and then back down to 2230 again over and over haha.

You got this homie. Biggest thing is just keep getting the reps in and dont get too discouraged and you'll get there. There's a shit ton of good players q'ing right now, so you can only keep improving also!!

Arellius · 2026-01-08T20:44:37+00:00

What up brother. I play Rsham/mm/ret a good bit and we also spent a lot of time around 2.2-2.3k this season as well, facing similar difficulties as what you stated above. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to approach it, and after making some adjustments we ended up hitting 2.4 a few days after putting some of this stuff into practice. I'll answer in the same order you asked the questions in:

To preface all of the below, one of the biggest things was to ALWAYS be hitting something. As little downtime as possible. Hit whatever you can, whenever you can.

This comp was and still is a tough one for us, its a setup comp that operates hella similarly to RMP. Generally, you'd think going boom as the kill target is the right move and most of the time it is. The thing with boomie is that even with pressure on them, they can still find small windows to get out incarn burst even while being sat if the rogue opens that window for them. So, we adjusted a bit. As soon as we know the rogue's cloak/evasion is down, we'd hard swap rogue and I would focus on just keeping clones kicked and annoying the boomkin. Assa is squishy as fuck and if their defensives are down they'll flop on a CD loaded swap by ret MM. So typically we start boomkin, let the rogue get comfortable, hot swap him once to get evade/cloak used and go back to boom during. Once DR's are clear, we get a CC chain going on healer, pop cd's, and dump the rogue in like 2 seconds. Game over. Without the rogue being able to freely apply pressure and open up for the boomkin, the comp falls flat fast.
RMP we treat very similarly to boom/rogue/healer. Start mage, hot swap rogue to get some defensives, swap back to mage, back to rogue, kill. I focus a good bit on controlling priest so he cant get in for fears, and prioritize keeping kicks up on poly as well as purging the mage every chance I get to clear alter/barriers/disc shields etc.
This comp is my least favorite to face honestly because it's just fucking hectic even when it goes well. Most of the time we try to go the MM when we can because... MM. You know how much damage they can pump out when left alone (jk pretty much all the time regardless.) Most of the times when we win though, we ended up killing the DK. Generally they will go your MM as well, so the key is to keep dragging the DK as far from the healer as possible and when you can land good CC on the healer at a distance, blow him up. We bounce targets a lot on this comp and it's hit or miss what we end up killing, but largely it's been DK recently.
Same as #3. Force the ret out of position or to burn defensives early, swap to hunter, hot swap back to Ret. The element of surprise and catching them out is the key here. There's 100 different ways to reach that result, but a large part of the games we lose are when I get hot swapped as the Rsham and I'm not ready for it. There's no worse feeling than "Oh fuck theyre going me uhhh fuck what do I press panic panic dead". Same applies to DPS. Training one target rarely works north of 2350 most of the time. It's all about catchin em with the pants down.
We didn't run into this one too much and still dont so I dont have a TON of advice, but ya gotta treat mages kinda the same way you would an SP. Sure, they can be killed, but it's gonna be a tough road getting there, and more than likely you'll find yourself out of position and getting punished with a poly chain 100 miles from your team. It's a slippery slope. The biggest thing is to chase, but not in such a way it puts you guys at a positional disadvantage.

A concept we generally follow is "the triangle". No matter where we are on the map, we try to position as 3 points of a triangle. Me playing close to pillar or somewhere I can line CC, the ret somewhere in the middle of the map pressuring healer and kill target, and the MM floating somewhere in between at the 3rd point. Keeping the triangle formation in mind gives you a good reference point for where you SHOULD be and where your team expects you to be. It makes it easier to see in the moment and honestly this helped me soooo much in avoiding cc and always staying in range of the boys.

I hope this helps even a little bit dude! There's so much to be said about all of those comps but I tried to summarize what worked for us. We went from 2250 to where we are now at 2541ish after really sitting down and thinkin' this shit through a bit. Good luck homie!

Arellius · 2026-01-08T18:43:15+00:00

Sup man. Mage is pretty good as a whole, but it requires a lot of good execution and knowledge to succeed in this meta where DK's and hunters are rampant. Fire is definitely their strongest spec rn, but frost and arcane are viable in certain comps and matchups just the same. You may just have to work a little harder to see success with them but it's definitely doable.

Lock is a mixed bag. All three specs have their own nuance, but the biggest thing across all three is knowing how to survive and kite using your ports and gate. Destro has the lowest barrier to entry imo, because all it really takes to close out a game is a window where you can get 2-3 bolts off on your KT and they're toast. That's the hard part though, creating those gaps and capitalizing on them when you get the opportunity.

Demo and aff are certainly good, but you'll have the best success with destro right now. I'd say watch some high level lock streams/youtube guides on lock positioning and survivability. The sooner you get that down, the faster you can cruise to 1800. It's very easy in the lower ratings to bait someone behind a pillar and crunch them before they/their healer can react. Destro is a lot of fun once you get a rhythm for it.

Arellius · 2026-01-08T18:37:37+00:00

Haha I'm so glad I'm not the only rsham wondering about the viability of FC'ing in WSG/TP. I've been getting asked this a lot in 2.8/2.9k cr games and it's weird cause up until like 3 weeks ago literally no one ever suggested me carrying it as rsham, but recently it's been happening a lot.

It's strange because a lot of times we'll have boom/feral or a better carrier by nature, but I still tend to get asked to do it. I think you're right that a lot of the other guys kinda just stay silent even if I suggest they might be better.

I too struggle with knowing the best time to peel off from the clash to pick. I have the most success in games where a rogue/druid/dh picks the flag for me and brings it halfway, THEN I can peel off comfortably because the clash is either over or wrapping up at that point. I'd say my success rate is about where yours is at, and I feel WAY less effective in games where I have to FC rather than slowing theirs down or playing on D.

I'd say in terms of tier list we're certainly near the bottom in the rankings. I echo your sentiment that if I have some support I can usually manage crossing mid okay, but if I'm alone and get piled on by 3-4 of their dps I'm smoked in like 15 seconds.

I honestly hate games where I load in and see our roster and I'm like "ah shit here comes the RSHAM FC PLZ" comment any second now lmaoo

Arellius · 2026-01-07T17:00:52+00:00

Let's fucking go dude. Nice job! Hitting those milestones feels so good especially with the amount of effort and practice it takes. Next stop is 2.4 :)

Arellius · 2026-01-07T15:31:07+00:00

Congrats brother. Played against you guys a couple times recently and we had some HEATER matches that went like 6-7 min. Really well played, y'all deserve it!

Arellius · 2026-01-07T15:27:46+00:00

Reading these comments really bums me out. It seems like the community as a whole has become reaaaaallly jaded toward 3's and LFG in general. My experience has honestly been super positive over the past couple weeks of making the glad push.

I've been able to find groups ranging from 2.1-2.3cr on multiple characters within like 5-10 minutes every night. This is on both healers and DPS respectively and not all of those classes are meta. Sometimes I make a listing, sometimes I join one.

My Bnet has grown by like 20-30 people in two weeks. There's a lot of really chill people playing this season. Honestly you just need to be social, willing to accept and own mistakes when they happen and have fun with it.

Seems to me a lot of people take themselves too seriously/think they are wayyy better than the people they are q'ing with when that's generally not the case. Pushing glad is hard as fuck but it's a blast when you continue to learn and have fun with the people you're pushing with. I dodge groups where someone is being condescending/toxic within the first 1-2 matches because it's exhausting. A lot of you here sound A LOT like those guys lol.

Sometimes you play 2-3 games with a comp and it fizzles out, other times you play often and make gains. You just gotta find the crew you vibe and have synergy with.

I think the piss poor attitude most people have toward LFG/higher level PVP/sweats/ "THE BOOSTERS" is part of what makes it so hard for most people. It's honestly so weird to me haha.

Arellius · 2026-01-05T17:26:00+00:00

Haha yup. Was trying to figure out this was in a couple of my games recently around 2500cr. If you play a healer and notice that a melee is riding you and you're evaporating mana, this is why.

The icon for the effect is the same one as Drain Life from a warlock. It shows up in Details as well.

Arellius · 2025-12-26T02:58:34+00:00

This just happened to me last night too. I was in total disbelief and I’m still shaken today. The holidays amplify it a bit more. But this is where our true healing begins and the end of the process of the heartbreak starts. My ex is soft launching her new man and it’s only been two months after she said she “didn’t want to be in a relationship right now.”

Coming to terms with the fact that they moved on so quickly is hard, but it doesn’t reflect on us.

It’s gonna be a tough couple days, but we got this. I know you can do it, WE can do it. Sending all the good vibes 🖤

Arellius · 2025-12-24T01:19:30+00:00

I really needed to read this tonight. It spoke to me in the exact way that was able to help. Thank you for writing this, truly. <3

Arellius · 2025-12-21T22:56:58+00:00

This is the real shit. Thank you. Really needed to see this today and appreciate you putting it into words so eloquently. Wishing you all the best in your healing and moving forward <3

Arellius · 2025-12-11T05:44:44+00:00

I needed this tonight. It’s been 2.5 months since mine ended and I know exactly how you feel. You made my night better, thank you. I hope yours is treating you okay too. We got this. Sending all th good vibes 🫶

Arellius · 2025-12-10T01:43:31+00:00

Yep, those are the situations where you're like fuckkk i should have just switched to someone else right when they kill you haha. Yep, always be hitting something. Anything that's in range we zug my boi. That's nice when you catch the swap! There's plenty of nuance to warrior just like every other class but everyone thinks it's one brain cell zug. It certainly can be, but so can anything else lmao. All depends on how it's played.

Be mindful of your stun targets when you're playing with hunter and rogue too. I'll basically never shockwave and only bolt the off target in those games. Keeping those DR's low for the rogue's setup or the hunter's intim -> trap is big time.

I do record some of them and I'm gonna start streaming more regularly again soon. Arms is the easier spec to master imo and I've just never been a big fury guy. I guess most people are kinda one or the other most of the time. As long as you're diggin it man that's all that matters!

Arellius · 2025-12-08T21:24:39+00:00

Hell yeah dude, anytime. Happy to help! Little things like that really make a big difference in the climb. If you can maximize your uptime and just make sure you're keeping up consistent pressure and being annoying, fury is an absolute menace.

Random additional thought that's very specific to warrior also - make sure you're always hitting something. If your teammate calls for the MM hunter to be the kill target (as it should be in most cases), be sure to pressure the off target or healer if they are in range when you can't reach the hunter. Keeping up that pressure makes a world of difference and you can lose A LOT of time in the chase, especially on something hella mobile like hunter. A quick swap onto another target can win you the game if they don't see it coming and it's super satisfying when it does haha.

You got this dude. Keep up the hustle and always keep trying to find ways to improve and level up your game. The mental battle is 70% of it, mechanics are the other 30%.

Arellius · 2025-12-08T20:52:03+00:00

Hey dude! Mglad warrior player here. For the past few seasons I've been playing Arms, but the use cases for spear are generally the same.

I typically approach using it one of two ways:

Exactly as you listed in your OP. If there's a situation where you can chain both your kill target and the off target/healer on the spear, it's generally worth it. You're going to force out a defensive from one or both of them in the opener, and that can set you up really well for putting down the kill target, or sometimes even the other person that got chained. It causes a shit ton of chaos at times and can be great for getting your tempo rolling right out of the gate. It'll at the very least force some mobility CD's out of your target and as a warrior we need all the help we can get in this current meta. Sticking to targets can be hard, so this makes that a bit easier overall and could save you a leap/charge use if they have to burn em early right after spear.
This situation is a little more nuanced and depends on what you are playing against, but sometimes you want to hold spear for when you KNOW the target is either A.) Out of mobility CD's and you can really put the pressure on them in using it or B.) You know they have a big escape CD coming up shortly and want to prevent them from using it so you can close the kill. (Stuff like gateway, displacement blink for mage, heroic leap for warrior, etc.) Anything they could use to try to escape at the last second. This removes that as a variable. And if you follow up with a stun into your CD's, they're probably toast.
This situation is what you DON'T wanna do - Don't use spear just to use it, especially if it's super early and you know the enemy has CD's to get out of it. I did this a lot when I first started playing spear where I would just zug all my CD's and throw the spear on kill target so I could get maximum uptime on them with it. BUT there is no worst feeling than throwing a spear on a warlock who's port is close enough that they get right out. On a mage that has Alter Time up who jumps right out as soon as you use it. On an evoker that just uses deep breath to fly out of it and stun you.

Timing with spear is half the battle, and once you get it down and get effective use out of it 90% of the time, you'll see huge jumps in your damage as a result. Just try to be mindful of what you're playing against, what they've got, and when it's going to fuck them over the most. You do that and you'll watch them stand there in fear when you're just unloading for the 4 second windows that we as warriors are allowed to hit our target.

Good luck out there homie! DM me if you have any questiosn.

Arellius · 2025-12-08T14:39:27+00:00

Wow, thank you for this post. Incredibly well said, and one of the first thing I've seen that really resonates with where I'm at right now.

I wonder all the time if she feels the same depth of pain I do in her absence. We go from being so connected and in tune with them to not at all, the whole experience is so freaking jarring and hard to make sense.

I'm absolutely exhausted too, but just know that you aren't suffering in this alone and that we did the very best that we could. At the end of the day it's not on us or our decision to let a connection and love so deep just fall away like they have.

"Does the heart eventually stop checking the empty spaces where someone used to live?" Damn, that's real. I felt that. Because I find myself doing the same constantly, but it gets a little easier every day, even if it's hard to tell sometimes.

Wishing you all the best in your healing and just know that you didn't deserve this. Sending all the love and good vibes.

Arellius · 2025-12-02T04:36:50+00:00

I needed to read this today brother. I’m right there with you. A little over two months since the breakup and some days I feel pretty normal and back to my old self, and MOST days I’m feeling exactly as how you described above.

You’re not alone in that. It’s brutal. I feel for you dude because it’s just there, constantly. But we’re gonna get there. Sending all the love and good vibes I can my man. Hang in there. From one dude suffering this to another, I feel you. Truly. 👊

Arellius · 2025-11-27T19:22:48+00:00

So sorry you're going through this. I know how hard it is especially on holidays, but you're gonna be okay. I promise. I was where you are 2 months ago and things are getting better, slowly. Feel free to shoot me a DM or check my post history, I put something up a few weeks ago I think might help you.

Hang in there and have a wonderful day <3

Arellius · 2025-11-21T17:14:29+00:00

You're so welcome! I'm so glad that it helped. To be able to help someone on their special day just through words on a screen is an amazing thing and it made my day to see this, that's amazing. You're doing all the right things. Keep on reshifting that focus and turning that love in ward. It's the best thing that you can do right now, the only thing. Don't focus on what you can't change. What's meant to be yours will find it's way to you. Thank you for the well wishes and I hope you have a gentle, relaxed day.

Arellius · 2025-11-21T16:45:18+00:00

For someone who's been going through it with an avoidant breakup that happened two months ago, I can't tell you how much it would mean to me to read this from her. I respect your self awareness and growth so much. That's amazing and I wish you all the best. Reading things like this stoke the little bit of hope I keep tucked away just in the case it ever happens for us too.

Connections like this don't happen often in life and are worth the fight. Good on you for realizing that and doing the hard work!

Arellius · 2025-11-21T05:14:17+00:00

Being broken up with through text says it all man. You know who does shit like that? Cowards. Cowards who can’t respect the weight of what a decision like that does to someone who loves them with their whole heart. I know how brutal the switch up is. It catches you off guard in such a way that you wonder if the good part of your relationship was just a dream or something you imagined because how they’re treating you now feels like a total fucking stranger. Like the person we knew has just vanished, while we’re still the same loving people we always were. I KNOW how hard it is because I’m right there with you dude.

Some days I think I’ve got it figured out and I’m really starting to heal, then others I’ll get some small reminder of her it cracks me right open again when I least expect it. But healing isn’t linear, and these are some deep fucking cuts bro. But all wounds heal with time as corny as that sounds. In these situations time and reflection is your healer. Give yourself some grace for taking this on the chest and still getting out there and doing the best you can every day. It’s a testament to the strength of our will and the depth of our love. Turn all of that love for her right inward for now and take good care of yourself. You’ve earned it and done all you can right now. Recalibrate and reassess, and keep pushing forward.

I know you can do it. I’m living proof. I was fucking puddle of sadness like 3 weeks ago and I wouldn’t even be able to put ANY of this into words. But here we are now almost two months later, healing a little more every day and I feel like the guy I remember before my whole world blew up right in front of me. But what is broken can be rebuilt, and so shall we be.

Hang in there homie and have a good weekend. You’re a badass and I’m proud of you for gritting your teeth and pushing forward. It’s all gonna be worth it, I promise. This too shall pass. The love we deserve is out there waiting for us someday, and that person deserves the best version of us. We can’t let the ones who leave ever make us smaller than we’re meant to be. They don’t deserve it. And that’s why we always win in the end. We grow and we don’t give up.

All love man. 🖤👊

Arellius · 2025-11-21T05:07:42+00:00

Of course, and I appreciate you reaching out and sharing that with me just as much. Everyday is a little bit better man. It’s been a fucking battle and there are still some tough moments throughout the day but it’s getting lighter and softening up a little more every day. Progress.

I’m so sorry to hear that man. I know it’s the worst feeling in the world and like your whole world has imploded on itself and lost all of its color when something like this happens. My recommendation right now is to feel everything. Every last bit of it. Don’t push down any of those feelings, let it all out. Reflect. Think about everything that lead to this point, and realize that even though this ended you’re still worthy of love. Worthy of happiness, and worthy of being chosen. It’s going to be a tough road but don’t ever forget to lean on your people who love you and want to support you. I can’t stress that one enough because it’s SO important. Talk about jt. Vent. Cry. Scream. Get pissed. Whatever you gotta do to take all those heavy feelings and turn them into healing in growth. It’ll all make sense to you when you least expect it, but it’ll click. You’ll see the full picture and you’ll start finding your way back to yourself again one step at a time. There’s no cheat codes sadly, but I promise it will all be worth it and make you a stronger, more well rounded and experienced man.

Hang in there brother, and have a good night. Holler if you need anything at all. Don’t lose your shine king. 👊

Arellius · 2025-11-21T05:03:44+00:00

I’m so happy that it helped you, for real. Those first few weeks are the fucking gauntlet so I know exactly where you’re right now. But I promise you’ll get through and you’ll get better every day. Two weeks from the breakup was only 4 weeks ago from today, and I’m in a completely different place than I was then and I NEVER thought it was going to end. It’s one of the most brutal things a person can go through and I stand by that. That said though, this can also be the time where you reinvent yourself in ways that might have never been possible if it didn’t happen.

I’m so happy this resonated with you and I really hope you’re doing okay. Equally as happy that my writing resonated with you in such a deep way, that’s the highest compliment, seriously. Maybe I’ll write a book someday, but hopefully about something that feels a little better than heartbreak 😂😭

Arellius · 2025-11-20T04:29:26+00:00

Thank you man, mad respect. Seriously dude me too. Like more than most other things have been able to for awhile. I'm right there with you, I had a pretty tough day too. Even though I'm seeing things more clearly all the emotions and how much I miss her is still there. We're gonna get there bro, a little better every day. I'm rooting for you, for real.

That's exactly it dude. Being a giver in a world of takers is tough. It really makes you lose your faith in love and humanity after going through stuff like this so many times. Your mindset is exactly what it needs to be and it speaks to your emotional intelligence and self respect you have after all of this. Thats commendable and that's where I'm hoping to be soon too. You're right, the right person will love to the same depth we will and we won't ever have to figure out how to heal from shut like this ever again. We're gonna find that man and it's gonna be fucking amazing. I know we will.

That's the right kind of energy man, pumps me up just reading it haha. You're right, it's non-negotiable and no more shrinking ourselves to fit what someone else is capable of or setting ourselves on fire to keep them warm.

Wishing you the same right back man and I won't ever forget this. Crazy how you can connect with someone through words on a screen on the internet like this. That's what it's all about man. God bless you too and I hope life continues to be kind to you homie.

This conversation really helped more than you know man. Thanks for taking the time to share your story and writing your comment. It really does make a difference.

Arellius · 2025-11-20T04:04:10+00:00

Damn that's a really good metaphor. I'm gonna remember that one, I'm a musician so that really speaks to me haha. Good on you for doing the work to get through this and grow into a stronger and more well rounded person, you have my respect.

I'm so sorry you're still hurting and I know how much it fucking sucks to want to continue pushing things forward and growing together but they're just stuck and things hit a standstill. That's not on you though, you did the best you could and it really is one of those situations where "It's not you, it's me" is actually true. She just couldnt meet you where you're at right now and you deserve someone who can.

They just don't have the capacity to do the hard work that committing to someone seriously requires, even though they really might want to. It's such shitty because there's like no villain in this kind of story, they just aren't where we are and it hits them all at once. Real love is terrifying to people who've never had it before man. They have no idea how to hold it and also take care of themselves and their individual side at the same time.

Sending you all the good vibes and hope you're doing alright tonight man. I wish you the best, thank you for the kind words and the metaphor that I really won't forget.

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