The game has evolved in a completely different ways, even tbc/wrath glad /r1 are now very very terrible.
It’s not getting rustied but just you need to adapt to the new game design which is insanely hard in sl not gonna lie 
Imo the must have addon is :
-Weak aura (sad but mandatory now)
-Gladius or gladiusEx or sArena
-big debuff
-fly plate buff
-omnibar
-omniCd
But then you have to recognize which spells can kill you (they are actually a ton of them) and spam q.
The usual PvP addons are :
If you get that and set them up properly in a way that you like and can use, you’ll have a lot of information already, and enough tools to be successful. More addons exist, many people like to use a couple more or a lot more, but that isn’t necessary at all and I guess comes down to personal preference.
OmniCD is cool for timers and stuff iirc.
Weakauras are a nice bonus especially if you lack awareness about some buffs or CDs, but you can do without if you’re really trained to see the ones that happen to be important now (which I believe you are not so consider the addon).
Find right people to play with and stick to 1 comp. After few hundred games you will start to notice that there are some comps you are crushing and some that you are losing to. That is the time you should start thinking about how to beat them…
Damn you’re alive wb
I m a bit hesitant to chime in as I’ve only just managed to push 1400 in 2’s (1395) in 3’s.
So uhh this may not even be of use to you.
But I found recording my games and watching them back helped me improve. At a certain point I had to start asking other priests what I was doing wrong.
If you don’t know it’s wrong how do you fix it? Was my mentality.
So I’ve finally hit 1.4 and I think I might even manage 1.6 this season. Fingers crossed.
Sorry if this nab ruined the post! 
Best of luck to you 
and to OP
Isheartears is my Alliance Shaman but I cba playing Alliance anymore. It’s on Outland and I’m tormented by Kazzak players everytime I try to get to Covenant. I have to ress 6 times at least. Also whenever I try to do sth with pug it’s taking to long.
Dude, just play the game, and understand that no matter how good you play, your opponent will play worse, and win. It’s that type of season.
Opt out of warmode? /4head
Greetings from a kazzak player <3
Only if it was made during 4.3
Then it’s boring without it.
As a player in a VERY similar situation to yours; played a lot of WoW over the years but haven’t played for the 2 expansions before Shadowlands and I decided to return to WoW then picked up arena for the first time so I can give a tiny bit of advice.
I feel the same way as you also in the way that I underperformed in arena when I first started due to nerves and panic even when I know I’m a far better player than I was showing.
Firstly you need to just know your class. Guides, playing time and searching for knowledge and tips/tricks.
Secondly just generally watching arena guides, particularly for your specific class/spec but also positioning guides etc. And asking specific questions on this forum for the rest.
Third one is just regarding the occasionally toxic player base. Try to find similarly skilled and chilled(ish) players to run with and don’t be put off if someone says you’re bad or nerd rages on you because you didn’t perform. It’s funny how hard-stuck 1200 rated players will STILL sometimes be angry and abusive over a misplay.
I’ve managed to push fairly comfortably to Challenger my first proper season (played a tiny bit of s1 too) and haven’t had a crack and pushing to Rival yet but I feel confident I can now.
Lots of good advice on here from far better players than myself but I thought I’d chime in too given our similar predicament.
Good luck and most importantly have fun, don’t let anybody ruin it for you.
ADD: also just seen the addons Shadenox mentioned and definitely check them out but i’d also mention GladiatorlosSA2. Basically verbally says impactful abilities opponents are using - so you’ll have to learn the abilities to be wary of too. Not reacting to enemies damage cooldowns will always result in dying VERY quickly.
I’d definitely never ever recommend gladiatorlosa, this add-on will just help you to get stuck and make you never be able to develop your awarness cause all you have to do is nothing except pressing button when the adodn tell you to do it.
Trust me it’s a really bad idea even if it seems good.
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