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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzard releases new Cataclysm preview: Tol Barad
by Anne Stickney 
Nov 16th 2010 at 5:00PM
Blizzard has released another zone preview -- this time, it's the world PvP zone of Tol Barad, otherwise known as Cataclysm's Wintergrasp. Located off the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, Tol Barad is a strategic point for both Alliance and Horde, making it a highly sought-after piece of property. Some highlights from the preview:
- Tol Barad is not only an open PvP zone; it's also a daily quest hub.
- Unlike Wintergrasp, Tol Barad won't have a Tenacity mechanic. Instead, players will be matched up at a 1:1 ratio, with a maximum of 80 players allowed in the zone.
- Much like Eye of the Storm, players will have to claim three keeps around the zone. Unlike Eye, if a player dies while defending a tower, that will directly affect the slider bar, moving it in favor of the opposing faction. So stay alive!
- Winning Tol Barad opens a raid, just like Wintergrasp. The Tol Barad raid takes place in Baradin Hold.
- And of course there are reputation rewards, including two brand new mounts with a ghostly look.
Check out the full post by Zarhym for more details, screenshots and information -- and check out our gallery of Tol Barad, below, for a closer look at the new zone.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.Filed under: News items, PvP, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
danarchy Nov 16th 2010 5:52PM
I think your going to see allot less of "just ten people showing up" if the numbers are forced to be even. On my server it is not uncommon for alliance to go into WG completely naked as their x3 numbers makes it mostly a race for them just to find someone to nuke. After awhile the horde players just stopped showing up until it was late enough all the kids went to bed. Even then the numbers were usually 2 to 1, but at least then we had a chance.
With an even playing field I imagine I will que up every time, and if I don't get in I imagine I will being queing up for the next one right? Which means people will be more aware and likely way more likely to que in the hopes of getting in.
Either way wintergrasp was a fail idea that just gave the faction with larger numbers free pvp gear and weekly's while further depressing the lower pop side. It's how wg should have been.
Tabasa Nov 16th 2010 6:03PM
@Kadamon - The balancing aspect should hopefully improve attendance on both sides.
The problem with Wintergrasp imbalance is that it's something of a downward spiral for the underdog faction. People show up with Tenacity, get frustrated because of the lack of numbers on their side, and then, next game, a few of those people decide that they don't want to go through that again, reducing the show on the already outnumbered side. This continues, getting progressively worse as more and more people get fed up with being steamrolled by overwhelming odds, until you get games where one faction can barely see any showing at all.
Meanwhile, the faction that has the advantage of numbers consistently becomes known as having a strong showing, increasing it's advantage when more people start to tag along to get an "easy win".
With the 1:1 balancing system in place, people know they'll be entering a fair fight, and so many of the people on the underpopulated side will feel more incentive to show up knowing that the server imbalance won't impact the game.
Jeremy Nov 17th 2010 12:31AM
@Natsumi: What are you talking about, "The only people that have an issue with this are going to be the people that can only do well in pvp if they outnumber their opponents by a huge margin"? Most comments I've seen haven't complained about the potential difficulties they'll have winning, they've been complaining about the difficulties they'll have even getting into a game. I play on one of those servers where Alliance outnumbers Horde in WG every game. It's been ages since I've seen Horde in WG have less than 5 tenacity, and they're normally around 8-10. Sure, forcing a 1:1 ratio may convince more Horde to play TB, but it's not going to create players who are interested in that type of PVP out of thin air. There will still be a ton more Alliance on my server wanting to play TB than Horde, and it's going to be incredibly hard to actually get into a game if you're not waiting in the queue when it starts.
arixian Nov 16th 2010 5:22PM
With the limit on the number of players at 80 per side will they implement multiple battles at the same time like they do with BG's to allow more players to participate?
Also did they clarify if both factions will still have access to quest regardless of which faction holds the zone at the time since each faction has it's own quest hub unlike Wintergrasp?
kia Nov 16th 2010 7:54PM
Everyone gets access to 6 daily quests; the faction controlling Tol Barad gets 6 extra. There is a large pool of quests that gets randomly cycled through.
Slaytanic Nov 16th 2010 5:28PM
Actually, the 1:1 ratio has already been implemented in Wintergrasp. Just tried to queue and it said that WG was full,please wait. Usually, this was a bug, and you could leave the queue and re-join and it would let you in.
No longer. Every time I tried to re-join, it said, "Wintergrasp is full. Please wait." I did a /who, and only 13 people were in the zone.
Hopped on my horde alt and did another /who. Sure enough, only 13 horde in the zone, and it would let me in on my horde toon right away.
arixian Nov 16th 2010 5:23PM
Did they clarify if both factions will still have access to the quest regardless of which faction holds it at the time since each has their own quest hub unlike in Wintergrasp?
With the limit of 80 players per side are they implementing multiple battles simultaneously like they do with BG's to allow more players to participate?
arixian Nov 16th 2010 5:27PM
comment system fail, sorry please down vote.
Jason Nov 16th 2010 5:30PM
Can't imagine I'll be going there much, 5 alliance versus 40 horde was kinda fun, if not pointless fun, with tenacity in WG. A 3 to 1 against server ratio means alliance rarely capture any PVP objectives and it's just tantamount to wasting my time attempting them. I very much doubt most alliance on my server will see the inside of Baradin Hold.
(cutaia) Nov 16th 2010 5:47PM
Well, yeah, Tenacity is going away, but it's because they're only going to allow the battle to be evenly matched. So if only 5 Alliance show up, they will be there fighting 5 Horde.
If your Alliance never wins, it will be the direct result of the skill of the people who sign up for battle, not because they were outnumbered.
(Not that I'm looking forward to the possibility of such small Tol Barad battles.)
cocoboom Nov 16th 2010 5:34PM
err, so what happens if you are doing your daily quests there and the pvp event starts with your faction being in excess of 80 players in there? Do you get ported somewhere else or is the pvp action phased
Is it that 80 players can tackle the pvp objective in the zone yet potentially another 300 could be in there and just roflstomp the other smaller faction on the server?
Slaytanic Nov 16th 2010 5:52PM
Yes, you get ported out and sent to where your hearthstone is based. WG does the same thing now.
Natsumi Nov 16th 2010 5:54PM
yes
Hangk Nov 16th 2010 6:39PM
As a veteran of several Solo Wintergrasp Assaults, I have to say I welcome this change.
Hangk Nov 16th 2010 6:39PM
As a veteran of several Solo Wintergrasp Assaults, I have to say I welcome this change.
Hangk Nov 16th 2010 6:43PM
I didn't even press the button twice!
Hangk Nov 16th 2010 6:43PM
I didn't even press "Add Comment" twice! WTH, WoW Insider?
(cutaia) Nov 16th 2010 6:50PM
Happened to me earlier, too. The comment system is running amok!
Darky Nov 16th 2010 11:07PM
Did you refresh the page? Thats what did it to me earlier.
jfofla Nov 16th 2010 7:11PM
On my server the Alliance cannot rush out of the Keep fast enough to start farming Horde at the Flightpath. No contest, no sense of war, only slaughter.
The 1:1 Mechanic is a Godsend.