Breakfast Topic: I think this combat just might be mortal
by Matthew Rossi 
Sep 29th 2009 at 8:00AM
Before you alert my local mental health professional (I saw him this weekend, actually, he was pretty jazzed about a Wintergrasp string of wins he'd pulled off this week) let me explain: I like AV because I like the total mass chaos potential. Sure, a lot of times we end up with both Horde and Alliance zerging to their objectives and very little PvP, but that's not what I enjoy. What I enjoy is sitting in a tower with a buddy and waiting for the enemy and then seeing them come running in the door, six against two, and doing my level best to Bladestorm their faces off before they manage to cap the bloody thing back. Or going prot and becoming the most annoying man alive, zipping around with Warbringer and popping Shockwave in the middle of a pack before throwing every defensive cooldown I have up to annoy them even more.
I enjoy Flame Shocking a DK from behind just as he's about to take Dun Baldar North back from us. Orcs just look cool shocking people.
I enjoy twenty vs twenty on top of the Frostwolf Relief Hut flag. Everyone just trying to find a target, while I throw Death and Decay on top of the sixteen other AoE spells going off, my video card screaming in protest. Often, I admit it, we end up dead and the enemy takes what we were fighting over. But ah, the satisfaction when they don't! This week I actually got to experience what it is like to stand two against six and hold the tower until it capped, then fight our way out of the burning tower and even finish the melee on the ground. (All I can say is, I love popping Bladestorm in a confined space.)
While I actually miss the sub-80 presence in AV (hey, at least on Stormstrike the leveling players seemed to do things like kill Galv, take towers and defend them, and cast healing spells on me - Shadowburn, the AV's seem pretty unchanged, with Balinda still kind of a "Oh, we should have killed her" target at best) and I admit partly because I could wear full PvE gear and still kill four of them without really paying attention, I'm still having fun pitting myself against my peers. And denying them at every turn. So now I turn to you, dear readers: are you enjoying the new AV?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, PvP, Battlegrounds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lightsource Sep 29th 2009 8:09AM
I spent the majority of my day today duking it out in AV. Quite enjoyed having the shammies come out a few times to melt face. (wish my shammy was that good at melting faces)
Josin Sep 29th 2009 8:09AM
I'm glad my Prot Warrior PvP experience is the same as yours. I always tell my team, "Hey, I won't kill much, but they're going to HATE me!"
Who says PvP doesn't have an aggro table?
Kia Sep 29th 2009 9:41AM
That's pretty much how I feel about PvPing with my mage. My girlfriend turned me on to the idea, convincing me to take newly 10 mages into the infamous 19 twink bracket against my better judgment.
Needless to say, we both died a hell of a lot, but we harried the horde so much between freezing and sheeping, it still brought us the win. xD
Jamesisgreat Sep 29th 2009 10:08AM
Ditto - my feral druid suffers from sudden terrible lag sometimes (he's seeing a shaman about it), so when that happens he puts on all his high stam gear on, goes bear and annoys the hell out of the horde as he stumbles around randomly swiping them while they try to kill him. Fun times.
Karilyn Sep 29th 2009 10:19AM
The greatest joy of a Prot Warrior.
Seeing a nice tightly crowded group of people, and shockwaving all of them at the same time.
Nothing says hate, like 10-20 people all being stunned at the same time.
Josin Sep 29th 2009 10:46AM
Once they're stunned, charge in and hit them with Intimidating Shout. It's two great tastes that taste great together!
Then hit Spell Reflect, because you've got a lot of pissed off casters incoming.
West Sep 29th 2009 12:19PM
Same reason i love playing my mage in AB.
In order to retake LM, I usually:
1. run up and blink to the cliff edge near the flag to draw the melee defenders onto me
2. take a few steps so they are between me and the cliff
3. blast wave
4. /wave
It never gets old and almost always results in a cap if it was protected by melee only defenders.
Johan Forn Sep 29th 2009 8:14AM
Yes and no. It used to be much more fun. Why? Well, there were more elements involved in a single battle. ... They need to make the cavalry (Wolf/Ram Riders), bosses (Ivus/Lokholar) and air support easily accessible once again!
Jafari Sep 29th 2009 11:32AM
Seriously. I always feel kind of sad for the newer players when they get all excited because "The druids are on the move!" and they've been working so hard to get the turn ins done.
They only ever manage to start the druids when both teams have less than 90 reinforcements left.
A reduction in the number of turn ins (and rams, and wolves) is definitely in order, for all of the really cool PvE tide turning events.
I MISS LOKHOLAR
Betherian Sep 29th 2009 8:15AM
I love being in AV. I'm a prot pally with 35k health UB, I usually just enter it in full pve and I never die. Its not like I'm avoiding the action either. I can just avenger's shield three fleeing hordies and just laugh at how they are torn apart by my comerades. Or I can easily defend a tower 5 on 1 which is always good.
But saying that, I hate pvp and the only reason I was in there was because I want my Knight's Colours which goes perfectly with my tier 9 gloves and helm.
Raenz Sep 29th 2009 8:23AM
Went into a couple of AVs on my mage (lvl73) having just specced him frost, and it was great fun, now all the lvl 80's are gone it feels less like a pointless grind for exp and like you can actually do something constructive, definatly enjoyed it :)
Comito Sep 29th 2009 8:28AM
Yeah, since the new level divide, the battles at lvl 80 have been dragged out alot longer! With battles of like 20v20 near the middle of the map! Crazy stuff!
Scott Sep 29th 2009 8:33AM
In my battlegroup, Alliance usually whips on us in AV in all brackets. I still love it, though it can be a great challenge being a low level rogue. I love playing defense and defending towers and graveyards. I have the most fun keeping high level enemies off the flag through saps, stuns, and blinds; with vanish/preparation it's wash, rinse, repeat. It's the game of cat and mouse that makes AV a blast for me.
Jinggutt Sep 29th 2009 8:35AM
AV is fun, and being a PVPer with prot spec, i do relish having among the most hated person on the battleground ( to the opposing team anyway).
Warbringer, Shockwave, Shield Bash, Concussion Blow, Spell Reflection..... damn if i wasnt the bane of casters
Cameron Sep 29th 2009 8:36AM
I went to que up for AV last night while waiting for some guildies to log on so we could do the heroic daily.
Normally there'd be anywhere from 5-8 AVs already in progress. Last night, however, there were just two. *Two*.
So if this changes decreases the available pool of players for 80s running that battleground, I'm not so sure I'm happy with it.
Dere Sep 29th 2009 9:43AM
^This
I may have not liked having a big mix of 70-80's in AV, but at least the ques were quick and like someone else said the low levels knew they were a waste on the bosses in AV so they would hold towers or at least try to hold the towers for maximum XP.
It will just take a bit for the up and coming 70's to hit 80 and AV will be back to instant ques...maybe.
jealouspirate Sep 29th 2009 8:36AM
The world of PvP and Battlegrounds is a strange and mysterious place to me... I find reading posts like this interesting, and maybe just a little motivating.
The first and only time I've ever set foot in a BG was for "School of Hard Knocks". After a few hours I successfully got my achievement, left whatever BG I was in and have never returned.
Maybe it's time to give battlegrounds a fair chance...
Treason Sep 29th 2009 1:41PM
Children's week screws up battle grounds ALOT
I personally suggest going in a non-maxlevel version first.
AV is most tolerant of PVEers, and strand of the ancients is next.
Least tolerant are wsg at the worst, and AB at second worst.
Find someone who types clearly, who can explain why to cap which graveyards, etc and why to NEVER cap others, etc, and AV will be great fun to you.
clundgren Sep 29th 2009 4:07PM
Treason, PLEASE don't promote the myth that some graveyards must "never" be capped, no matter what. The last thing we need is more inexperienced pvpers spamming "OMG YOU CAPPED SF GY WHAT A NUB!!!!!".
Different battles demand different strategies. Sometimes, you need to control sf gy, south gy in Strand, etc.
Cheers,
Clint
Kala Sep 29th 2009 8:40AM
AV is fun... but as an ele shaman, AB is my favorite. It never gets old thunderstorming people off the lumber mill cliff. :P Strand is pretty fun too, I love to sit as a passenger in a demolisher and just blast away at people... tstorm/frost shock/earthbind so they can't melee the demo and then just destroy them.