A frustrating phenomenon which has plagued battleground groups for as long as I've been PvPing is the headless chicken syndrome. However, it seems a lot worse of late -- or maybe I've been playing more.

The first indication of a headless-chicken battleground is when ten or fifteen players stand around at the start of a match yelling "inv", none of whom seem to want to do the work of inviting themselves. Fortunately this will stop in 1.12, though the sentiment won't. If one player is brave enough to step up as leader, chaos usually ensues despite his or her best efforts.

The worst experiences in battlegrounds I've had occur when one player takes leadership but several others somehow think they are leader too, spamming raid warnings and contradicting the leader's orders. Disorganisation ensues, people spread all over the battlefield and a quick loss is on the cards.

In some battleground matches, however, one player taking leadership early works wonders -- everyone listens, does what they're asked and a coherent team emerges. It's highly dependent on the individual players, and the leader in question, as to whether this happens or not; nine out of ten times, it doesn't. Have you noticed the headless chicken syndrome, or does your server manage the impossible and create organised battleground PuGs?

Filed under: PvP, Instances