Nethaera explains Honor calculations
by Robin Torres 
Dec 21st 2007 at 9:00AM
Ever since Patch 2.3 was released, there have been some honor controversies -- particularly with Alterac Valley. The way AV honor was calculated was changed and, for a while, not working. Though honor is working as intended now, people are still confused. This is understandable because it took quite a long forum post for Nethaera to explain how the whole thing works. Here are the main points:
- Diminishing Returns: In all PvP in WoW, every time you kill the same player, you get 10% less honor. After you kill the same person 10 times, you stop getting honor for the kill.
- Estimated Honor: This number does not take into account Diminishing Returns. Also, all fractions of honor are rounded up to 1, causing the Estimated Honor to be inflated. And the time of day that you view your Estimated Honor could affect the accuracy because the honor just earned may actually not be added until the next day's honor.
- Battleground Bonus Honor on Call to Arms or Holiday weekends: Bonus Honor is not a percentage of honor earned in a Battleground on a holiday weekend, but it is instead awarded for accomplishing certain specific Battleground objectives.
Battleground honor is calculated by "Kill" units. One Kill = 20.9 honor (at level 70). Here is the list of Bonus Honor awarded over and above the normal honor for each Battleground during a holiday weekend.
Bonus Honor awarded per Battleground on Call to Arms/Holiday/Bonus Honor weekends:
Alterac Valley
Bonus Objective: Map Completion (win or lose), Bonus Honor Awarded: 4 kills (83.6)
Warsong Gulch
Bonus Objective: Win, Bonus Honor Awarded: 2 kills (41.8)
Bonus Objective: Map Completion (win or lose), Bonus Honor Awarded: 2 kills
Arathi Basin
Honor per resource is calculated at 1 kill per 200 resources instead of 330 resources.
Eye of the Storm
Honor per resource is calculated at 1 kill per 200 resources instead of 330 resources.
In answer to a poster's question about whether the Wing Commanders returning to base in AV award 1 kill of honor, Nethaera explained that her chart may be incomplete, but here it is in its entirety: Note: Map Complete = Being there for the end of the game, win or lose.
Alterac Valley
Honor
Tower Destruction: Normal: 3 Kill(s), Holiday: 3 Kill(s)
Enemy NPC Kill: Normal: 0 Kill(s), Holiday: 0 Kill(s)
Captain Kill: Normal: 3 Kill(s), Holiday: 3 Kill(s)
General Kill: Normal: 4 Kill(s), Holiday: 4 Kill(s)
Map Complete: Normal: 0 Kill(s), Holiday: 4 Kill(s)
Per owned Graveyard: Normal: 0 Kill(s), Holiday: 0 Kill(s)
Live Captain: Normal: 2 Kill(s), Holiday: 2 Kill(s)
Per Undestroyed Tower: Normal: 2 Kill(s), Holiday: 2 Kill(s)
Per Owned Mine: Normal: 0 Kill(s), Holiday: 0 Kill(s)
Reputation
Tower Destruction: Normal: 12, Holiday: 18
Enemy NPC Kill: Normal: 5, Holiday: 5
Captain Kill: Normal: 125, Holiday: 185
General Kill: Normal: 350, Holiday: 525
Map Complete: Normal: 0, Holiday: 0
Per owned Graveyard: Normal: 12, Holiday: 18
Live Captain: Normal: 125, Holiday: 175
Per Undestroyed Tower: Normal: 12, Holiday: 18
Per Owned Mine: Normal: 24, Holiday: 36
Warsong Gulch
Honor
Flag Capture: Normal: 2 Kill(s), Holiday: 2 Kill(s)
Win: Normal: 1 Kill(s), Holiday: 3 Kill(s)
Map Complete: Normal: 2 Kill(s), Holiday: 4 Kill(s)
Reputation
Flag Capture: Normal: 35, Holiday: 45
Win: Normal: --, Holiday: --
Arathi Basin
Honor
Honor per resource: Normal: 1 Kill(s) per 330 resources, Holiday: 1 Kill(s) per 200 resources
Win: Normal: 1 Kill(s), Holiday: 1 Kill(s)
Map Complete: Normal: 1 Kill(s), Holiday: 1 Kill(s)
Reputation
Reputation per resource: Normal: 10 per 200 resources, Holiday: 10 per 150 resources
Win: Normal: 0, Holiday: 0
Eye of the Storm
Honor
Honor per resource: Normal: 1 Kill(s) per 330 resources, Holiday: 1 Kill(s) per 200 resources
Win: Normal: 1 Kill(s), Holiday: 1 Kill(s)
Map Complete: Normal: 1 Kill(s), Holiday: 1 Kill(s)
Reputation
Reputation per resource: Normal: NO REP available, Holiday: NO REP available
This clarifies a lot of things for me, but I'd still like to see a more detailed breakdown of the honor in AV. Does this answer your honor questions? Do you see any honor awards that are missing?
[Update: Edited for Clarity.]
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Forums, Battlegrounds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Good_Idea Feb 13th 2008 12:02PM
Pretty much illustrates how the objectives pale in comparison with the honor you get from HKs, AS LONG AS THE GAME ENDS relatively soon. No wonder people zerg, less chance of dying and more likely to rack up HKs. (
Callandra Dec 21st 2007 9:15AM
So essentially during AV weekend, you get about 80 extra honor per BG, win or lose.
Based on the above info, it seems that holiday weekends are as much of a boon as I thought.
Synistra Dec 21st 2007 9:50AM
Can't play AV anyways. On Executus Server - Stormstrike Battlegroup we have 1.5 hr AV queue times. :-(
me Dec 21st 2007 6:43PM
Great returns for botters thou. A guaranteed 84 honor per round. If you avarage 30 minutes per round thats a minimum of 4032 per day. Not bad for just leaving your computer running.
JPN Dec 21st 2007 9:16AM
Neat, but complicated. Or maybe it's just too early. Would be nice to see in a chart format or something?
Anyway, what does "map completion"/"complete" mean in WSG? Is that a 3-0 victory?
Robin Torres Dec 21st 2007 10:11AM
Map completion means completing the game, win or lose.
Chriasas Dec 21st 2007 9:18AM
Wow. Everyone look! Mines are 36 honor each! Maybe they're worth taking afterall..
Callandra Dec 21st 2007 9:21AM
you mean 36 reputation
Chuddy Dec 21st 2007 9:24AM
"Bonus Objective: Map Completion (win or lose), Bonus Honor Awarded: 4 kills (83.6)"
I was in an av, started after 12pm, frostwolf people were out, bonus honor had started or, had it since I signed up prior to midnight? We ended up winning the match but alliance got 0 honor. Wouldnt the Bonus Objective be tallied in at the end given that reasoning? Did it appear in their pvp screen but not the battleground totals screen? I'm lost.
xfr3386 Dec 21st 2007 9:37AM
Wow, i really thought bonus honor weekends meant worthwhile bonus honor, but this chart makes me realize that it's worth it if you care about rep, but otherwise who cares.
Come on, 86 more honor for AV only if you win?!?? This MAY be worth something if i AV didn't have queues that were an hour or more. However, 86 more honor every 1-2 hours is pitiful, and they may as well not have the bonus weekend at all.
IMO they should make bonus honor weekends only occur every once and a while, maybe on holiday weekends or on weekends that are in between holidays, and they should give double honor for everything.
Or maybe i read the chart wrong? I hope so, but i guess these numbers go in line with the fact that, when AV queues didn't suck, I still got more honor/hour in AV than I did in a pre-made on WSG "bonus" honor weekend.
"Bonus" honor, bleh!
p.s. what the heck is the difference between "win" and "map complete" in WSG?
p.p.s. I guess my comment is really about AV queues, i apologize for bashing on the bonus honor, but my suggestion still stands. Bonus weekends should be fun, rare, and bring tons of people in for an event, not every single weekend.
Balasan Dec 21st 2007 9:56AM
"Map complete" means the BG has ended, and has closed, i.e. you can see the final scoreboard. So basically whether you win or lose you'll get 84 extra honor just by completing the game. Not much IMO.
Winning, of course gives you more honor (duh).
Verit Dec 21st 2007 12:50PM
I'm on alliance - takes maybe 5-10 seconds to get into AV, of course its not worth it usually :(.
JPN Dec 21st 2007 9:47AM
I forgot about bonus REP also in bonus weekends. Something to remember as I aim for my goal of obtaining my Conqueror title, due to happen in 2012. (Besides arena and Champion of the Naaru, it's pretty much the only solo title that I can think of that's possible to earn for a "solo" player who doesn't have much time for WoW.)
Brian Carnell Dec 21st 2007 9:54AM
"In all PvP in WoW, every time you kill the same player, you get 10% less honor. After you kill the same person 10 times, you stop getting honor for the kill."
I only play on a PVP server. I really wish they would remove this stupid rule, at least on PVP servers.
Chris Anthony Dec 21st 2007 10:43AM
Oh, God, I'm glad they haven't. I play an Alliance holy priest on a PVP server; in the eyes of Horde players, I have a giant neon sign over my head that says "FREE HONOR KILL: INQUIRE WITHIN". Do you seriously believe that if there were no diminishing returns, I wouldn't be camped for /hours on end/ just for playing while Alliance?
Brian Carnell Dec 21st 2007 11:02AM
"Oh, God, I'm glad they haven't. I play an Alliance holy priest on a PVP server; in the eyes of Horde players, I have a giant neon sign over my head that says "FREE HONOR KILL: INQUIRE WITHIN". Do you seriously believe that if there were no diminishing returns, I wouldn't be camped for /hours on end/ just for playing while Alliance?"
Well, at least on my server, no that wouldn't happen. Typically I'll find some 70 horde and kill him. Then kill him again and again. By the 4th or 5th time, usually I've got 5-6 horde swarming the area ready to return the favor, and then I'm out of there.
You get in general chat or local defense and ask for help dealing with corpse campers and typically you'll get the assistance to deal with them. At least on my server the only people who get ignored in that situation are those who brought it on themselves. There's this one idiot on our server who is always trying to gank people at Elemental Plateau, gets owned, and then whines that the Horde are corpse camping. In that case, fine, he's on his own.
I've personally never been in a situation where I could literally corpse camp someone for >5-6 rezzes where they didn't ultimately either get away or bring in reinforcements.
What I frankly miss are the spontaneous World PVP events like the South Shore/Tarren Mill battles that used to occur. Nothing like that happens on my server anymore because its a complete waste of time...the diminishing returns means that you're *much* better off being in a losing AV than doing any World PVP. Every hour I spend on World PVP is a huge opportunity cost compared to what I could accomplish in a BG, even though they're repetitive and boring as hell.
Verit Dec 21st 2007 12:59PM
@Chris
So when they are corpse camping - typically what I do play my other character.
thunder Dec 21st 2007 9:55AM
I always heard that the BG holiday weekend awarded Double Honor on those weekends... if you could do a follow up article on this, because I'm considering going back to running BG's only for the daily quest money.
Robin Torres Dec 21st 2007 10:14AM
Thunder, the bonus honor I listed above is all you get for the Call to Arms or Holiday weekends. There is no double honor.
Ryver Dec 21st 2007 9:55AM
Bonus weekends every weekend is somewhat nice, but it would be more helpful if it was really a worth while bonus.
I'm currently playing in a lower bracket (40s).
If I"m reading this correctly, then I believe these are the bonus honor points.
WSG:
win - bonus honor of 4 (2 for win and 2 for map complete?) kills.
lose - bonus honor of 2 kills
I don't know what the honor for 1 kill is at my level, but take the level 70s listed value of ~21. So, losing gives a bonus of ~ 42 and winning gives a bonus of ~84.
AB:
bonus weekend: 10 honor if you win (2000 / 200)
non-bonus: 6.6 honor if you win (2000 / 330)
So, AB is only a 'bonus' of 4 honor if you win. That seems kind of poor.
Personally, I think I would rather see a flat percent boost to honor / kill on the bonus weekends. The diminishing return could still set honor to 0 after ten kills in a BG against a single player.