Antosha (Anton Stepanov)
Antosha has played World of Warcraft for over 15 years, across PvP, raids, and seasonal content. He's an 11-time Rank 1 Gladiator and a regular competitor in Blizzard's official PvP tournaments, and a former official Blizzard tournament caster who called Arena matches live for the WoW community.
Away from arena, he's raided at a high level for years, with deep experience in modern Mythic progression and the endgame eras before it. On NextTier he writes guides about what wins games at the top of the ladder: meta picks, comps, real cutoffs, and the small things most guides skip past.
Articles by Antosha (197)
Best WoW Midnight Season 1 PvP Comps: 3v3, 2v2, Solo Shuffle, Blitz
The best 3v3, 2v2, Solo Shuffle, and Battleground Blitz comps in WoW Midnight Season 1: full tier list, every comp's game plan and counters, a complete 2v2 partner matrix for all 27 DPS specs, and how to pick a comp by your rating bracket.
PoE 2 League Start Gearing Guide (Runes of Aldur): Runic Ward, Crafting, and Resistances
A complete PoE 2 league start gearing guide for the Runes of Aldur league (patch 0.5): cap resistances, add Runic Ward with Verisium Runeforging, craft with Runic Alloys and the reworked Divine Orb, learn what to roll in every slot, and pick a smart map-tier farming plan.
Best DPS Specs in WoW Midnight Season 1 PvP: Tier List for Arena and Solo Shuffle
Our WoW Midnight Season 1 PvP DPS tier list ranks all 27 damage specs for arena and Solo Shuffle, from S-tier Subtlety Rogue, Windwalker Monk, and the Mages down through A+, A, B, and C, with a bracket-by-bracket breakdown, the gap between editor lists and the live ladder, best comps, and gearing tips.
Best Healers in WoW Midnight Season 1 PvP: Healer Tier List, Comps, and Rankings
Our WoW Midnight Season 1 PvP healer tier list ranks all seven healer specs for arena and Solo Shuffle, from S-tier Mistweaver Monk and Discipline Priest down through the A and B picks, with the best comps for each healer, a bracket-by-bracket breakdown, and gearing and rating tips.
WoW Midnight Rank 1 PvP Cutoff Rules (Season 2): Solo Shuffle and Blitz Top 8 Per Spec Explained
A complete breakdown of World of Warcraft Midnight's reworked Rank 1 PvP cutoffs: Solo Shuffle and Battleground Blitz now hand Galactic Legend, Marshal, and Warlord to the top 8 players of each specialization per region, with no rating or win threshold, while 3v3 Arena's Galactic Gladiator title stays on the old top 0.1% rule.
WoW Patch 12.1 Curse of Ula'tek and Midnight Season 2: Release Date, Raid, Dungeon, and Everything New
Everything coming in World of Warcraft Patch 12.1 Curse of Ula'tek and Midnight Season 2: the expected release window, the new Coiled Isle zone, the eight-boss Venomous Abyss raid, the Altar of Fangs dungeon, Lairs, three new Delves, the Season 2 Mythic+ pool, Player Housing blueprints, and UI updates.
WoW Midnight Season 2 Class Changes (Patch 12.1 First PTR Build): Every Spec Explained
A complete breakdown of every class change in the first WoW Patch 12.1 (Curse of Ula'tek) PTR build that opens Midnight Season 2: the 25% health and enemy-damage increase, the DPS cooldown smoothing, the new missed-interrupt indicator, and condensed per-spec tuning for all 13 classes. These are first-PTR-build changes and are not final.
WoW Trading Post June 2026 Rewards (Midnight): Flame-Painted Sun Roc, All Items, and Costs
Every World of Warcraft June 2026 Trading Post reward and its Trader's Tender cost, including the Flame-Painted Sun Roc bonus mount, all mounts, the pet, full armor and cosmetic sets, and weapon transmogs, plus how to earn your 1,000 Tender fast through the Midsummer overlap.
Path of Exile 2 Trade Guide (Runes of Aldur): How to Buy, Sell, and Use the Currency Exchange
How trading works in Path of Exile 2: the three systems (the automated Currency Exchange, Merchant's Tab asynchronous trading, and direct player trade), how to use the trade site, how to price and sell items, how to flip currency, and how to avoid scams. Solo Self-Found characters cannot trade.
Path of Exile 2 0.5.1 Class Tier List (Runes of Aldur): Best Ascendancies for League Start and Endgame
Every Path of Exile 2 ascendancy ranked S to D for the Runes of Aldur league as of patch 0.5.1, covering league-start comfort, time to Tier 15 maps, and endgame power, plus what 0.5.1 changed and the safest picks for new and solo self-found players.
Path of Exile 2 Ice Shot Deadeye Build Guide (Runes of Aldur 0.5.0): Leveling, Skills, Gear, Endgame
A complete Ice Shot Deadeye league starter for Path of Exile 2 Runes of Aldur (0.5.0): full leveling path, skill and support setup, ascendancy order, gear and stat priorities, the boss and mapping rotation, and an endgame Atlas plan. No mandatory uniques.
WoW Midnight Patch 12.0.7 Revelations: Release Date, Sporefall Raid, New Zones, and All Features
A complete overview of WoW Midnight Patch 12.0.7 Revelations: the expected release date, the new Sporefall raid, the Naigtal and Val zones with Heroic World Tier, the Omnium Folio power system, Tier 6 Ritual Sites, Dragonflight Timewalking, catch-up gearing, housing updates, and the troll-themed story and events. PTR details may change at launch.