Breakfast Topic: Lake Wintergrasp
by Alex Ziebart 
Dec 10th 2008 at 8:00AM
Yesterday in our guide for Eternal Farming, it was made very clear that Wintergrasp is hands down the best spot for farming Crystallized Whatevers if you don't have Mining or Herbalism. That's not the only thing that's easily farmed there, either. It's packed full of herbs and ore. It's currently the only place in all of Northrend that you can find Frost Lotus nodes. Not just Frost Lotus dropping off of Icethorn or whatever, but actual Frost Lotus nodes.Now, I'm a PvE kiddie at heart. I'll PvP from time to time, but it's not exactly my favorite thing ever. I usually avoid it. Wintergrasp has totally sucked me in, though. The draw of riches has pulled me into the zone, and when the PvP starts it's legitimately fun. I originally thought it was silly that the best farming spot for everything was a PvP zone, but I've warmed up to it. I'm on a PvE server, but the element of risk and reward has become kind of exhilarating. I still have no interest on playing on a PvP server, however.
If I don't want to PvP, it's a test of how well I can hide while farming successfully. Turns out I can do it pretty well. Hit-and-Run warfare against a Warrior is awesome. Go ahead, intercept me through this pack of elementals. Have fun with that! Oh, and Bladestorm a bit, too. I'll be over here on the other side of them, aggroless, droppin' DoTs.
Then there's the zone-wide PvP, of course. That's sort of the point of Wintergrasp, right? Well, while the zone is still kind of buggy, most of the game-breaking ones are gone. Most of them. The orb in the Keep is actually clickable now, but you still run into things like workshops not turning over to your faction and rendering you unable to get vehicles from certain points and other stuff like that. It's funner than expected overall, though.
Experience may vary from server to server, but on my home server it seems like the zone changes hands often enough. The first week or two of Wrath, it was definitely Alliance-dominated. It didn't seem like that Horde even went there at all, but that's changed since then. It's a knock down, drag out fight and it's awesome. Tenacity really makes a difference, though it could use some tweaks so people farming or idling off in the distant corners of the zone don't have such an impact on the buff, and therefore the battle.
What do you guys think? Zach Yonzon, one our avid PvPers, practically lives there. I'm a PvE player at heart but have found quite a bit of entertainment there. How about all of you? Have you been to Wintergrasp yet? How did you like it? If you can't get there yet, do you plan on going?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Breakfast Topics, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Myk Dec 10th 2008 8:09AM
Frost Lotus nodes? Wow, no wonder why they're placed so low on the AH. They go for 8g on my server! It's nuts. I hope they take em away =/
Brian Dec 10th 2008 8:19AM
It's not a bad thing. If flasks are more affordable, maybe the lazy people will actually flask up for raids now.
bob Dec 10th 2008 8:20AM
Fel Lotus was pretty cheap when BC first came out, but that was mostly because no one needed it for high level recipes yet. Even with dedicated spawns once raiding really ramps up (not just the hardcore, me first crowd) demand and price should go up.
Clasifyd Dec 10th 2008 8:22AM
Does anyone have a link (WoWinsder, or otherwise) to a 'guide' to Wintergrasp? I felt really confused as to what I should be doing the last time I was there...
Mastique Dec 10th 2008 8:45AM
Try this:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Wintergrasp
Muse Dec 10th 2008 11:16AM
Wowwiki's article is so extremely out of date that it is all but useless.
Chris Anthony Dec 10th 2008 1:17PM
You know you can update it yourself, right, Muse?
Llanion Dec 10th 2008 3:58PM
I wrote a couple guides after getting frustrated at the lack of resources; the basic run-down can be found here or here.
Tigress74 Dec 10th 2008 8:24AM
Yes its fun the first week or so. But if you wanna just log in and do some farming in peace and tranquility and you have to fight for every node or spawn it will get old quickly.
I'm not sure I like the idea of the best area to collect mats being a PvP zone, and whether or not you are successful depends on how well you avoid getting ganked.
But I guess in the end it all sorta balances out.
RogueJedi86 Dec 10th 2008 9:06AM
You could just farm in peace in all the other zones. Lower droprates, but safer. You may've heard of the risk/reward system. Greater risk=greater reward. And instead of trying not to get ganked, just try killing the other players first. If you don't want to get burned, get out of the fire. :)
Tumleren Dec 10th 2008 9:13AM
"Yes its fun the first week or so. But if you wanna just log in and do some farming in peace and tranquility and you have to fight for every node or spawn it will get old quickly."
But here's the thing: Why are you trying to avoid PvP in a zone literally dedicated to PvP? If Blizzard let you farm everything in a zone which was normal, how many farmers would bother going to that other zone at the other end of the continent? Not many. If you are going to put in all of the Crystallized whatevers, you have to make sure that people don't just camp that zone with no consequences.
I think it's a great combination - You can grind mats, but not just brainlessly. A reason they might have put it in the PvP zone could be to make it more difficult for the botters.
But anyways: Kewl.
Wyred Dec 10th 2008 8:33AM
Haven't tried out much of the actual battle yet, but will soon (have become very addicted to Strand of the Ancients). But for farming, it seems to be a truce. The other day I was farming motes of life (still calling em that) on a plateau with 3 alliance. As a deep holy priest anyone of them could have ganked me, and we were fighting pretty hard for mob spawns. But no pvp. On my server, if you're there to farm you're there to farm, at least that's how it seems for the moment.
Jay in Oregon Dec 10th 2008 12:55PM
That would be nice, but I get people of my own side faction trying to gank a piece of Titanium off of a node while I'm mining it; I have no hope of "farming only" truces with the other side, especially in a PvP zone.
The farming is so competitive, especially for Titanium, that I find myself overriding my normal practice of autolooting when mining so that if someone comes anywhere near me while I'm hitting it, I can just keep the loot window open and deny them the node until they're gone.
Sarem Dec 10th 2008 8:39AM
It's a Blast and its access to a SUPER EASY raid boss.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Dec 10th 2008 10:22AM
My guild finally got a chance to go in and jump that boss - it was fun trading taunts with the other tank. :)
FenSat Dec 10th 2008 8:43AM
80 warlock here, with enchanting and tailoring as professions. I haven't been there yet, as PvP has very little appeal to me, despite the best farming occuring there. I'll probably go eventually once I get curious enough, but I won't go there to farm materials. I do like the concept of the zone...minus the fact that farming there is reportedly so much better than elsewhere in Northrend.
I do occasionally participate in consensual world PvP on my server, but I rolled on a PvE server for a reason: I want to go about my business unmolested by PvPers. I do not want to be farming for supplies to support my PvE activities and have some "brah" who lives in the arena and/or BGs come along and nail my lock's resilience-free butt to the wall just so he can get his kicks. For that reason, I think putting the prime farming spots in the expansion pack in a PvP area on a PvE server is a mistake.
I know they are trying to provide an incentive for going there, but I think there's enough incentive without making it the primary farming spot. The incentives are the raid you gain when you control the zone, gaining the experience buff for alts, the ability to gain currency to buy PvP gear with, the honor, and - for those that love PvP - the fun of PvPing.
I sense they are trying to draw more people in to PvP as well as recreate the old Tauren Mill/South Shore experience (which still goes on a lot on my server, btw), but I'm pretty sure most of the people that enjoy PvP are already PvPing frequently. As it stands, the PvEers who are drawn to the zone for materials will eventually be nothing more than sheep led to the slaughter, especially since you can't mount up and fly off when you see the opposing faction coming at you. Just wait until the PvP gear gap starts to grow again...you'll only see PvPers being able to farm the zone consistently.
In closing, I know the zone is one big consensual PvP fest...kind of like a PvP server, only limited to one zone. I, nor any other PvEer, has to go there, as the mats are available elsewhere. They can even keep the farming goodness that is there for whoever controls the zone. However, I think they should increase the drop rates and farmable spawns outside the zone, so that PvEers on a PvE server aren't at a disadvantage to PvPers in the market too.
Kylenne Dec 10th 2008 11:35AM
THIS. Call me a care bear but I rolled PvE for a reason. I'm also a Tailor/Chanter, but fortunately I know good farming spots for eternals outside Hatfield-and-McCoyville.
Kaphik Dec 10th 2008 12:38PM
THEN DON"T GO!
Simple. I have found tons of mats every other zone on both my miner and my herbalist. My priest, who herbs, is sitting on a stack and a half of Frost Lotus, and is only level 75 and has never stepped foot in Wintergrasg.
I play on a roleplay server. Lake Wintergrasp is incredibly fun. It changes hands quite often on my server. People are even starting up raids 15-20 minutes before the battle, getting ourselves ready.
Look, folks, Northrend is a dangerous place. Lake Wintergrasp even more dangerous to those of you who prefer to avoid conflict. I'm sorry that there's n one to protect you from the big bad meanies who are trying to kill you as you pick your flowers or dig for your rocks. Find a safer spot, and bring your blanky.
;)
talkingmike Dec 10th 2008 3:18PM
Looks like others have already said it, but I'll repeat: if you don't want to PVP, then pick herbs/farm motes/mine nodes in a different location. They are everywhere!
In Wintergrasp, by opening yourself up to potential ganking, you get a higher rate of materials gathering.
Dah Dec 10th 2008 8:49AM
This is how Wintergrasp is in my eyes:
Run to attack/defend, then either get stuck in combat for a good couple minutes or get ran over by a vehicle.
If I get into a vehicle, then the next half our is little more than ride around spamming 1-2 buttons as I either smash a wall, smash a vehicle, or smash people until I die. Then rinse and repeat.
Oh and tenacity is a joke. I think I've seen a group with tenacity win maybe once.
Personally, I can't wait until people are actually doing BGs again (not strand of the ancients). The vehicles aren't a bad idea, but making such an important part of winning a game based around pressing 1-2 buttons while often moving at a crawling pace is just lame imo. Blizz has made some awesome vehicles, such as the plane in the Icecrown quest, but the ones in PvP are far from this.