Breakfast Topic: Lake Wintergrasp
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
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Rob Dec 10th 2008 10:08AM
Tenacity is nothing without coordination.
Jst two days ago I got the achievements for Winning with Tenacity and Winning in 10 mins or less in the same game.
crsh Dec 10th 2008 8:50AM
I don't like the idea of making a zone designed for PvP the best farming area for those of us who don't care about PvP. Sure it's convenient to keep farmers under controls, but it also contributes to allow those legit nutcases who play the game 12 hours+/day have too much control over prices on the AH (aka not bots/gold farmers, actual people who can afford to play so much, but is there much a difference?).
On the other hand, my craft is so terribad this time around (tailoring) that I'm debating whether I'll bother leveling it at all.
Axel Dec 10th 2008 8:57AM
People who still are afraid to PvP or don't want to put time into getting any resil at all deserve to get their asses handed to them. Those who get resil and can fight deserve more access to more nodes/essences. Again it's PVE vs PVP when most people just don't see that if you do both you get it all.
I never understood people who try to limit their interaction with others in a MMO by hiding on carebear servers. Sorry I just don't see it. The more there is to do, the more you die and the more you kill, the better experiance you will have.
And Horde vs Alliance is a war waged since the 90's. Who buys WoW knowing very well that there are two sides to this conflict and doesn't want to fight?
FenSat Dec 10th 2008 9:17AM
People who only want PvP should roll on PvP servers and not be looking to gank people with no resilience. Those who can and do fight do not "deserve" anything extra. There's enough "reward" for being in the zone without the extra farming potential. And why would I want to do both...I rolled on a PvE server, so why should I have to? In order to farm better? On a - I'll emphasize this again - a PvE server?!?
Please try to see beyond your own preferences. Those of us who are on PvE servers aren't hiding: most of us just don't like PvP like you apparently do. Why should we participate in something we don't enjoy? Because YOU like it? So, if you like turd sandwiches, something is wrong with other people if they don't try, eat, and like turd sandwiches? Please, different strokes for different folks...PvP is not an inherently superior or inferior way to experience the game. (FYI, if I want to PvP, I'll play a game that's built for it: a FPS. The less they try to turn WoW into Call of Duty with magic and swords, the better.)
Let me make sure I understand something correctly here...until Wrynn just declared war on the Horde, there was an uneasy peace between the two. It was not all out war...hasn't been since the last RTS pack. The stuff that went on in BG's...those were proxy wars. The two factions weren't officially at each others' throat. Of course, that's lore, and you might not be interested in that...but don't assume that fighting the "other side" is inherent in WoW the MMO. WoW the RTS?Yes, but not WoW the MMO.
RogueJedi86 Dec 10th 2008 10:10AM
FenSat:
FYI, you don't HAVE to farm in Wintergrasp. There's plenty of Revenants/elementals you can farm elsewhere in Northrend. If you want to take the risk of fighting other players in PvP, you get the rewards of another zone to farm. Think of it like Elemental Plateau in Nagrand, lots of PvP to fight over the elementals(at least on pvp servers). There's plenty of other places you can go, but EP has them all in one spot.
Kylenne Dec 10th 2008 11:53AM
Millionth verse, same as the first: thinking something is stupid and a complete waste of time is not the same thing as being afraid of it.
But you're right on one statement. I am indeed "limiting my interaction with people in an MMO" by playing exclusively on PvE servers (and an RP server, when I'm in the mood to do so). That's because I'd rather go about the business of having fun without having to deal with sociopathic 13 year old brats whose parents should have taken belts to them more, and the creepy 40 year old shut ins they grow up into.
Pro Tip: If you use the term "care bear" as a serious insult without a trace of irony, you might be one of the above.
Gottalot Dec 10th 2008 5:20PM
Couldnt said it better my self. You took the words out of my mouth.
PvE'rs on PvP servers are just a bunch of whiners. Basta.
Cy Dec 10th 2008 9:01AM
Really? It's "funner"? Come on, Alex. I'm not normally a member of the grammar police, but that's a pretty obvious one there.
DigitalMonitor Dec 10th 2008 10:11AM
Mr. Webster says its okay:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funner
Hudders Dec 10th 2008 10:10AM
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funner
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fun1.htm
crsh Dec 10th 2008 10:24AM
It's a funner use of the Engrish language that prevails on teh interwebz.
Aka it could be a lot worse.
Cy Dec 10th 2008 2:56PM
DigitalMonitor: I never said the word didn't exist in the language, which is all that Mr. Webster tracks.
Hudders: Thanks for proving my point. "But if your question was really asking whether it is acceptable to use [funner and funnest] in all circumstances, then I have to say firmly that, no, it isn’t, not yet anyway. They are definitely informal and they should still be avoided when speaking or writing standard or formal English.:
crsh: Yes, you're right.
Sannald Dec 10th 2008 9:01AM
My only complaint about the zone itself is placement within Northrend. There have been a number of times when I quested in Sholazar when I had to fly WAY around to get back there from Dalaran. There also were a number of times when I had to fly pretty far around to get to something in Borean from Dalaran. = /
I've been in the zone a couple of times though for the battle, and I will say that's pretty fun. I just wish Blizz would have considered the impacts of having a no fly-zone right in the middle of the continent.
RogueJedi86 Dec 10th 2008 9:14AM
Lore dictated its placement. They couldn't just randomly move Wintergrasp to between Storm Peaks and Zul'Drak.
Hudders Dec 10th 2008 10:11AM
If you're high enough, you can get "over" the zone without being dismounted. Same goes for Dalaran.
Nzete Dec 10th 2008 10:57AM
The only good thing to be said about it is that you do no have to explore it to get the "explore northrend" achievement.
Balius Dec 10th 2008 11:15AM
Connecting Icecrown FP to Scholazar would solve all the problems, as far as I'm concerned. Instead of flying all the way to the south west of the map and then swinging north from Borean Tundra, the path would be almost directly west from Dalaran to Scholazar.
I'd be willing to drop some money on a shorter trip rather than taking my mount there myself, if it actually cut time off the flight.
zappo Dec 10th 2008 9:06AM
Keep farming and buffing the other side with tenacity.
It's actually pretty cool the way they essentially did an anti afk buff. The less people that participate the higher the chance is that your side will actually lose, even if you outnumber them. That actually seems to be an issue on some realms where people just farm instead of help out.
Yakuko Dec 10th 2008 9:17AM
@ people from PvE servers who are upset about this: Do you seriously expect an area that is so rich in resources to be that easily accessible? PvP is the risk you take. Deal with it. It's not like you can't farm the same mats in other zones. It might take longer, but making the prime farming zone contested does not prevent you from acquiring the materials.
FenSat Dec 10th 2008 9:33AM
And here's what people from PvP servers don't seem to acknowledge or comprehend: people on PvE servers should NOT have to risk PvP in order to gather materials. On a PvP server, that should be a risk. On a PvE server, it should not be.
Farm elsewhere you might say...why should PvPers get access to materials more easily than people who don't like PvP...on a PvE server? Because the zone is designed that way? I contend that that choice is a flaw in an otherwise decent concept.
Then again, the more I think about it, the less I'm liking the idea of the continued comingling of PvP and PvE...period.