WoW, Casually: The increased benefits of Battlegrounds to casual players
by Robin Torres 
Nov 16th 2007 at 4:30AM
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.
Happy Patch 2.3! I know that Blizzard gave raiders Zul'Aman, but the rest of the game really became much more casual friendly. This week we're going to talk about many of the Battleground benefits that are there for those of us with limited playtime.
First, let's talk about this weekend's Call to Arms. Eye of the Storm is the battleground giving the bonus honor this weekend. Levels 61 and up can participate in EotS and the battles are often only 15 minutes, not including queue time. Or course, one of the benefits of the Call to Arms is the reduced queue times.
I can't guarantee that the EotS queue times will be that much lower this weekend, however. The fact that Alterac Valley has recently been changed may mean that a lot of people will be trying that battleground out instead of EotS. Also, whatever battleground is in the PvP Daily Quest may affect queues as well.
Happy Patch 2.3! I know that Blizzard gave raiders Zul'Aman, but the rest of the game really became much more casual friendly. This week we're going to talk about many of the Battleground benefits that are there for those of us with limited playtime.
First, let's talk about this weekend's Call to Arms. Eye of the Storm is the battleground giving the bonus honor this weekend. Levels 61 and up can participate in EotS and the battles are often only 15 minutes, not including queue time. Or course, one of the benefits of the Call to Arms is the reduced queue times.
I can't guarantee that the EotS queue times will be that much lower this weekend, however. The fact that Alterac Valley has recently been changed may mean that a lot of people will be trying that battleground out instead of EotS. Also, whatever battleground is in the PvP Daily Quest may affect queues as well.
Speaking of the Battleground Daily Quests, they are not as straightforward as I was expecting. The battleground changes according to server and day and faction and possibly time. So if you have alts across multiple servers, you can't assume that everyone has the same battleground for their daily quest. The level availability differs with the BG. So if the Daily Quest is for Warsong Gulch, anyone level 10 and higher can pickup the quest. But if AV is the battleground, then you must be 51 or higher for the quest to be available to you.
Otherwise, the quests are very simple. Go win a particular BG and return for cash, honor and presumably experience if you aren't level 70. Why do I say presumably? Because the Horde on my server can't seem to win a WSG in any bracket in which I have characters. "They're all twinks. Let's all stand on the hill by the graveyard until they win." Grawr! So, I am writing this column during enforced graveyard breaks in between flag carrying attempts. (Tough job, huh?)
Anyway, if you are trying to gear up a level 70 without raiding, you have a little more time to collect honor before Season 1 gear is available. As you may know, Arena Season 3 has been delayed and the ability to purchase Season 1 gear for honor along with it. But you'll still be able to buy purplez with honor on November 27th (28th for Europe). So running the BG Daily Quests and taking advantage of the honor bonus weekends and trying out the new AV is a great way to spend your limited playtime.
(It's gotten to the point where my warrior just looks nekkid without a hunter's mark over her head.)
Let's talk about AV a bit. Some people say it's great and others say they don't see much of a change. Regardless of whether the strategies have changed in the AV you get into, there is now a kind of time limit. Those useless battles on the bridge? Every death on either side gets you closer to the end of the game. Is a turtle (a side does nothing but play defense) bogging down the gameplay? Your sacrifices onto their defenses will at least bring the game to an end, even if it isn't the end you want. The point is, for those of us who don't have much time to play, Alterac Valley isn't as much of a time sink -- though it is more PvP oriented. (Update: According to the commenters, AV game time results may vary.)
Much like this week's column is more PvP oriented. I know that PvP isn't the way everyone wants to spend their 1 to 2 hours a session. I actually stink at PvP, which the twinked-out Gnome Rogues who jump around me like fleas can attest to. But you don't have to be good at killing other players in order to be extremely valuable in BGs. Healers are particularly valuable. Just pick a warrior, follow, buff and heal. Let everyone else worry about the kills. In WSG, follow and heal the flag carrier. You'll be a hero.
If PvP still isn't for you, I promise that next week, we'll cover more things you can do in 2 hours or less that don't involve players DOTting and sicking their pets on you.
As of this writing, Robin Torres still doesn't know what it's like to win a Warsong Gulch after patch 2.3.
Filed under: Tips, Events, PvP, Features, WoW, Casually, Battlegrounds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
arb Nov 16th 2007 6:55AM
"The point is, for those of us who don't have much time to play, Alterac Valley isn't as much of a time sink..."
Sorry, but I disagree. In the days of the zerg, just prior to Patch 2.3, an average AV lasted 15-20 mins. Sure there was the odd standoff for 30-40 mins, but they were rare. Since the patch, almost all AVs last 30+ minutes, making the average time spent much higher, and sadly the honor is no better (and arguably worse). As a casual who enjoys PvP and wants S1 gear on 28th I found that AV was the most efficient way to grind honor, even when compared with AB/WSG/EotS weekend bonus honor. This doesn't look to be the case any more - I'll be in EotS this weekend far more than AV.
Rahrnok Nov 16th 2007 7:16AM
Though, the increased honor gains for the other battlegrounds make this much more viable. I didn't feel compelled to run the other BGs nearly as much as I've been saving up for the purples because they weren't as lucrative, but I enjoy playing them, so I'm excited that they've brought the honor gained in those BGs up to be similar to the honor that you can gain in an AV run. Plus, the daily quests are an outstanding addition.
RanWitScissorz Nov 16th 2007 7:31AM
On my battlegroup AV is horrible compared to the old style. The matches last between 45 min - 1 hour, with alliance losing 95% of the time. This usually interprets into somewhere between 150 - 300 honor for an hour long match.
My first match in the new AV style played out the way it used to, everyone running past each other and trying to get the kill, we won and ended up with 650 honor and horde had 450ish in 13 minutes. Now that is good honor gain, but the next AV and all afterwards, horde began defending and thus began the turtle wars.
Dave Lamarre Nov 16th 2007 8:20AM
How can you still find it fun to play the same game over and over again ? AV WSG AB, I was already bored of AV when the new honor system came out a long while ago. Only the look of it makes me sick lol.
ThorinII Nov 16th 2007 8:59AM
I love Capture the Flag! However, I am tired of WSG. On my server the Horde win almost every time. For some reason the Alliance want to stay in the middle and PvP, not play CTF. Why? If you want to PvP flag yourself and run around the barrens or something. If you come to WSG play CTF for crying out loud! We win most AV runs, but we can't figure out how to protect our flag carrier and kill theirs?!?
Anyway, as a casual player I enjoy BGs especially on the weekends. Nice article keep up the good work.
Heartless_ Nov 16th 2007 9:47AM
I have found every AV match I've been in to last longer and be more enjoyable. Plus, I actually got to fight players without camping Snowfall for newb Alliance members!
However, many of my guildmates have mentioned AVs that have lasted less than 20 minutes and some seem to believe AV is worse. I strongly believe that AV is just getting felt out again, and players will adjust for better fights soon enough.
I'm not sure where some of the other posters play, but on Azgalor, standoff AV matches were common and could ruin a whole night of play as they lasted for a couple hours. All because one person wanted to take Snowfall and force the Alliance to turtle. Now, at least there is an end in sight.
Makros Nov 16th 2007 11:33AM
@4 Dave
"How can you still find it fun to play the same game over and over again ?" O.o
Bgs are the only truly dynamic thing in this game. It is almost never the "same" game as the team make-ups are always different and therefore so are the results. The PVE stuff NEVER changes. Once you run an instance it will forever be the same pulls/trash/boss. PvE = Farm, Farm, Farm.
Dave Nov 16th 2007 11:39AM
Overall, I'd say the changes have really hurt BG's in the short term, at least in quality. Maybe this will balance itself out as people either give up after losing most of the time, or they'll figure it out and hopefully gear up with PVP gear (instead of coming in with T4 and thinking they're going to own the whole game).
The BG's are taking too long because of the dailies pumping new people into the games. Since they're persistent... they'll keep coming in and screwing the games up and losing and losing and losing... and it really hoses it for the people who were hoping to get all the S1 gear when S3 launches.
It's way too much to ask of new people to at least try and understand the winning strategies for a BG, or at least understand the losing strategies and NOT do that. (fighting in the middle in WSG, not guarding objectives in AB, not attempting to 1-man a node in AB, not holding bases in EOTS, and basically not comprehending how to win in AV, etc).
I like how blizzard does most things, but this is something that really negatively affects the people who actually like to PVP on a regular basis in the BG's. Maybe it'll work itself out sooner or later as people give up on the idea of winning, or they'll figure out how to win or something but right now it's mostly killed my drive to cap my honor before S3 even with the extra week.
Mat Nov 16th 2007 11:53AM
I've noticed that AV wins garner more honor. ~700-800. Games last a minimum of 30 minutes, and the new tactic is defending towers/bunkers.
It is a bit annoying to have to stay at a tower/bunker to let it cap now, but it is a lot easier to kill Vann/Drek. I remember a game I played last night we were down to 10 reinforcements while allies still had ~150. We downed drek with 12 ppl and eventually won the game with 5 reinforments left.
Smurk Nov 16th 2007 12:38PM
One thing I like about the daily quests is that it pulls people in from across the level range, much more than in the past - it's not all level 38s and 39s on both sides.
Of course, some classes are pretty useless at the bottom of a level range, but I can happily top our healz chart with my 32 paladin.
DJ Nov 16th 2007 5:01PM
It looks like eveyone's experiences in the new AV are radically different. My warlock was on a 10 game losing streak prior to 2.3 and now I'm on a 6 game wining streak. (Alliance by the way.)
The shortest match was 10 minutes (my boss had a 9 minute last night) and the longest is 45. According to the addon I have running my pre 2.3 honor rate was averaging about 1000 honor per hour of AV play. (The occasional 2 hour match lowers that number dramatically.) While the sample rate after 2.3 is small, I am averaging about 1250 honor per hour (not including daily honor points).
It's a different game with the resource limits in place and it has most definitely increased the stature of healers. The biggest downside, however, is that my prot warrior is now pretty much useless in AV. With fewer elites, easier elites and the fact that you can win without fighting the end boss, the prot warrior is almost useless.
turkeyspit Nov 16th 2007 5:22PM
Frankly, I just don't get it. Alliance wins about 2% of the time on my server (Echo Isles) and it really detracts me from even wanting to play them...I do, but that's because I need to gear up for Endgame play.
I honestly think that if I rolled a Hordie, I would have him epiced out by lv 61 =/
And that's the key btw; since Horde almost always wins, they get the 3 battle rewards, which makes it easier (and quicker) for them to get a full suit of Purple Gear. This in turn makes it easier for them to win, as they have a distinct advantage over their opponents. Nothing anyone can do about it, but I really want to understand why it is that Horde dominates Alliance in pretty much EVERY BG on pretty much EVERY server (from what I hear), despite the talking heads over at Blizzard who say it isn't so.
Sigh...
I need to go through 30 more AV runs (1 reward each) before I can get 1 piece of Purple Gear...
..and people say grinding sucks?
WeirdoKitty Nov 16th 2007 6:59PM
Battlegrounds are a good place to learn about your character and yourself. A really, really good place to learn just what you are capable of. Expecting anything else, like winning the match, getting elite gear, feeling the respect of your peers, and so on, is just setting yourself up for disapointment.