World of Warcraft PTR Patch 3.3.3 PvP Changes

There have been some changes made to the PvP system in World of Warcraft in patch 3.3.3. I like some of them, others not so much. These just hit the PTR so don't expect to find patch 3.3.3 in Tuesdays shutdown. The changes below are in the 3.3.3 Public Test Realm patch notes, let us know what you think.

PTR Notes Disclaimer: The test realm patch notes only apply to features that exist on the Public Test Realms. They will more than likely make it into the game but there is always the chance some may not.

PvP

• The amount of Honor awarded for an Honorable Kill has been increased by 100% for characters of all levels. Given that all avenues in the game which award players with Honor do so with a calculated conversion from a specific amount of Honorable Kills, this change means that all Honor players can obtain through various means will be increased by 100%. To offset against this in two key areas, experience gains in Battlegrounds have been reduced by 50% and Honor awarded for completing each Wintergrasp weekly quest has been reduced by 50%. When pairing the Honor rewarded from Honorable Kills being increased by 100% with the 50% Honor reduction from Wintergrasp weekly quests, and 50% experience-gain reduction from completing objectives in Battlegrounds, players will notice no change in the net amount of Honor or experience awarded in either case.
  

• Battlegrounds
• The Random Battleground system has been added! Similar to the Random Dungeon system in the Dungeon Finder, players can now queue for a random Battleground.
• The Random Battleground option can be found in the Battleground tab of the PvP frame and is only available for level 80 characters at this time.
• If this option is selected, players may not queue for specific Battlegrounds and a random Battleground simultaneously.
• Similar to the Random Dungeon system, players will not know for which Battleground they are chosen when selected from the queue until they zone into the Battleground.
• The Random Battleground option will only allow a group size of 5 players to queue together.
• Bonus rewards will be offered for choosing the Random Battleground option.
• Winning a Battleground using the Random Battleground option for the first time in a day will award players with 30 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency and 25 Arena points.
• Winning additional Battlegrounds using the Random Battleground option after the first random win will award players with 15 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency.
• Losing a Battleground using the Random Battleground option will award players with 5 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency.
• Daily Battleground quests have been removed in place of the Random Battleground option.
• Battlegrounds will no longer award Marks of Honor.
• Players with existing Marks of Honor can still turn them in to their respective faction's quest givers, including individual marks for those who may have more marks for one Battleground than another.
• Items which previously required Marks of Honor will have their costs adjusted to remove these requirements.
• Whenever a Battleground has the holiday bonus active, it will now be referred to as "Call to Arms" in the Battleground tab and Calendar. In addition, Call to Arms Battleground Honor rewards have been changed.
• Choosing a specific Battleground with the Call to Arms bonus active will yield the exact same rewards as when choosing the Random Battleground option.
• Winning a Call to Arms Battleground for the first time in a day will award players with 30 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency and 25 Arena points.
• Additional Call to Arms Battleground victories after the first win for a player that day will award them with 15 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency.
• Losing a Call to Arms Battleground will award players with 5 Honorable Kills worth of additional Honor currency.
• When using the Random Battleground option, players will not receive additional rewards if the Battleground chosen under the Call to Arms bonuses. In addition, the rewards for the first victory of the day cannot be earned more than once, regardless of whether or not it is obtained from the Random Battleground system or the Call to Arms Battleground.
  

• Wintergrasp
• The internal balance system now only changes when a faction achieves 2 consecutive defenses after an initial capture of Wintergrasp, up from 1.

You can always find the latest PTR notes Here and the latest Patch notes Here.

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The Battle for Alterac Valley - 2/10/10

The battle for Alterac Valley rages on and the Alliance weren't doing too bad in there for a change. I fought in 9 battles on Wranngar, 6 wins and 3 losses. Out of the 6 wins we had 3 of them were Blitz's.

It was different seeing the Alliance working together enough as a team to pull of the Blitz's. It wasn't total teamwork though, in 2 of the battles 1/4 of our team was AFK and out of the remaining players only about 1/3 made it all the way to FWK for the Blitz. We pulled it off with what I didn't think was enough players the first time, but I knew we could do it the next two times after that.

I am not sure what is wrong with people, but when the gate goes up I am on my mount and moving. Moving towards whatever the plan is, whether it is to get Galv, Towers and Drek, or straight to Drek for the Blitz. When we are riding across the Field of Strife there are still people trickling out of the cave. The Field of Strife is the half way point, that means some people are half way through the battleground and some people are still in the cave... The problem with that is while we are riding through the Field of Strife going south, the Horde are riding through it going north. People still in the cave at that point are stuck north and pretty much useless to us as offense, they are not going to get through.

In an unrelated group we zerged twice. Those were the first 2 battles I was in. The plan was everyone to Drek and about 1/4 of us actually make it so we couldn't Blitz, but we could start east and west towers capping and get the relief hut going. Once those were down we killed Drek for the win. In the third battle the Horde were on to us and we met up with their entire team at Iceblood. There was a long drawn out battle there which lead to a turtle, just what the Horde wanted. With the reinforcements Alterac Valley is set up to the Hordes advantage in a turtle. We ended up turtling in Dun Baldar for the loss.

I would have liked to stay in there longer as the Alliance was doing well but it was getting late and I had to log off.

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Alterac Valley - 2/9/10

I fought in 2 battles for Alterac Valley tonight, both losses. I don't even know why I bother any more. We start off so outnumbered that we really don't stand a chance of winning and we usually don't. It is not too hard for the Horde to beat us when we start off outnumbered 2 to 1 or more and it shouldn't be.

Add to that the chronic AFK that never seem to go away, even when you put in a ticket on them. I am so sick and tired of these leeches taking a spot from someone who could be fighting. Blizzard needs to step up and do something about this problem. There was one person in there tonight that was running into the Valley of Harpies and hitting a Ram, then spending the entire battle healing itself while the Ram beat on it so it would show some kind of activity on the score card. That is really sad, these losers need to start getting lifetime bans from the battlegrounds.

We lost both battles I was in tonight to turtles. Being so outnumbered at the start we would get forced back into Dun Baldar and spend the entire battle farming HK's. We did try to Blitz once but that worked out as it usually does. I always ask, when someone brings it up, if we have a tank and heals for that. Sometimes someone will speak up, sometimes not but that doesn't stop people from yelling "BLITZ BLITZ" as we are coming out of the cave. By the time we get to Drek we are lucky if we have 1/3 of the team. 1/3 is still crossing the Field of Strife, and the other 3rd is still trickling out of the cave or AFK. The tank will run in as soon as we get there and aggro Drek, before anyone else is inside, and die. It is the same stupid crap over and over again...

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Isle of Conquest - Daily Battleground - Epic Horde Fail 2/9/10

Today the daily battleground was Isle of Conquest. I did it on Wranngar and we won the first one I was in. It was one of the weirdest battles I have ever been in. This will give you an idea just how much the Horde suck in the battlegrounds and why Blizzard starts the battlegrounds off so unbalanced in the Hordes favor.

The battle started off 4 Alliance to 39 Horde as evidenced in this screen shot. I didn't think we had a chance, nobody would, we were outnumbered 10 to 1. Seems like kind of high odds doesn't it? We won this battle. At the 6 minute mark we had 28 players. At the end we had 40 and killed the Horde General, Overlord Agmar, for the win as evidenced in this screen shot. We started off outnumbered 10 to 1 and won... It took 28 minutes to win it, imagine how fast we could have won it if we had actually started off even. Once in awhile you get a really good group together and this was one of those times even though they trickled in over 8 or 9 minutes.

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Alterac Valley 2/8/10

The Alliance is still having a really bad time in Alterac Valley. I fought in 1 battle on Brieanna a loss. That wasn't entirely our fault though, we started off outnumbered 28x40. That is pretty bad considering the people in there range from 71-79. I was in queue the entire time I was on and that was the only battle that came up. I was in queue for over 2 hours before that one came, the queues are incredibly long lately for some reason and we are starting off outnumbered most times, it is getting to be just like the 80 slot.

I fought in 5 battles on Wranngar, all losses. He was queuing up a lot faster but it didn't really matter, we were starting off so outnumbered it was unbelievable, 4 to 1 in one battle... The funny thing was there were always 3 or 4 battles going on at the same time and we were still starting off outnumbered. Blizzard says the battles start off unbalanced because not enough people are queuing. In view of 3 or 4 battles going on at the same time and still starting every one outnumbered I have to say that is bullshit. When we start off 40x40 the Alliance wins 19 times out of 20, I think Blizzard is doing this intentionally so their precious Horde have a chance to win and get some honor.

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The Battle for Alterac Valley - 2/07/10

The battle rages on in Alterac Valley, and the Alliance is taking a beating. At least in the 71-79 slot. It is hard to believe people that were doing so good could do so bad but it's true. The only thing I can think of is it was the weekend and it was full of different people. I can only hope things will get back to normal again during the week. I fought in a total of 14 battles on Brieanna, 5 wins and 9 losses. The queue time was incredibly long and we started most battles heavily outnumbered.

After that it was just the quality of people, they were not the same people, they didn't work together, they couldn't follow a simple plan, it was almost like a holiday weekend in there. I still plugged away in there though because I need the honor. All I can say is I am hoping it will get better during the week.

On a different note, I fought in 13 battles on Wranngar Sunday, 10 wins and 3 losses, it was just the opposite situation in there for him. We had teamwork, not a lot, but more than usual, and for the most part people that seemed to have at least a little experience fight in there. I will see what the week brings for him.

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Eye of the Storm - Daily Battleground 2/6/10

Brieanna's daily battleground was Eye of the Storm today. I fought in 3 battles to get a win.

We weren't doing too bad in the second battle I got into late but we lost it. The first battle was a wash, we started off outnumbered 9 to 15. In the 3rd battle we did a lot better, we had some teamwork going and not too many Flagtards. We ended up taking and holding 3 towers throughout most the battle and ran the flag a few times. We won that one by about 500 points.

I handed the daily in for 5g30s and 471 bonus honor. I mainly did it for the honor, I need to get some gear for Brieanna for when she hits 80, she is 73 now.

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The Battle for Alterac Valley 2/5/10

The battle for Alterac Valley rages on. I fought in 16 battles on Brieanna tonight, 16 wins, 0 losses. I love the 71-79 slot, too bad I will have to eventually move into the 80 slot.

None of the battles I was in were even close, we dominated. We took down all the towers, killed Galv and then Killed Drek, we were unstoppable. Almost all the battles started off with even numbers and that usually spells a win for the Alliance. It is when we are outnumbered 2 to 1 or as many as 4 to 1 that we don't really have a chance. A typical battle went as follows: We would hit Galv and take him and any defense out. From there we would move on to IBT and TP, taking IBGY in the process. After those burned/capped we would move up and take FWGY, east and west Frostwolf towers and the RH. We would wait for those to cap and kill Drek. We did that over and over again for maximum honor.

I got my first piece of 80 gear tonight, even though I can't wear it for 8 more levels. I got Wrathful Gladiator's Wristguards of Triumph for 43,400 honor, a pretty nice piece. I also got a Stormpike Battle Charger for 50 Alterac Valley Marks of Honor. At 80 there are very few things you use marks for and they were coming in the mail again. I don't want to start throwing them out just yet.

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Stormpike Perfection - Brieanna 2/04/10

I fought in a bunch of battles for Alterac Valley on Brieanna tonight. 3 losses while I was still in the 61-70 slot then 4 wins after I leveled and got into the 71-79 slot. I am liking the 71-79 slot a lot better, the people seem more organized and work together a lot better. It really dosent make any sense as these are the same people that were sucking in the 61-70 slot, some of them anyway.

Brieanna got Stormpike Perfection after she got into the 71-79 slot and it was close. You have to have all your Bunkers (Allaince) or Towers (Horde) plus you still have to have Balinda (Alliance) or Galv (Horde) and control all the other sides towers. Needless to say it is not an easy achievement to get. The Horde had our North Bunker capping when we started on Drek and it looked like we were going to miss getting it by that, but we got it back about one and a half seconds before Drek went down. It was so close I didn't even notice we had gotten it back before the announcement popped up saying I got the achievement. I think almost everyone else in there got it too, I doubt there were too many that already had it.

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Arathi Basin - Daily Battleground 2/4/10

Today the daily battleground was Arathi Basin. I was a little leary to do it on Brieanna because, at 70, she is at the bottom of the level range. I decided to do it anyway and it turned out Ok. I actually killed a level 68 Druid solo a couple times. He obviously wasn't very good at playing his class.

We lost the first one I was in due to the same stupid thing the Allaince does in every AB battle, they were running around all spread out with no defense. The next battle was only a little better but the Horde team was really bad and we were able to get away with it. We actually won that one by less than 10 points which got me the achievement We Had It All Along *cough*. Brieanna is the only character that has that achievement so far.

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Alterac Valley - Daily Battleground 2/2/10

Alterac Valley was the daily battleground today. I did it on Brieanna and we won the first one I was in. We went on to win 4 more in a row after that before the bubble burst. We were doing so well it was hard to believe then it was like flipping a switch, everything changed. The quality of players changed and the winning was over. We lost the next 3 to turtles. The Alliance is like that in AV, you go along doing well for awhile then you couldn't win if your life depended on it. I feel sorry for the players that only get to AV in that time frame, because it is the same time frame every day.

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The Battle for Alterac Valley - 2/1/10

The battle for Alterac Valley rages on in the 61-70 slot. I fought in 12 battles on Brieanna, 4 wins and 8 losses. Yeah, the Alliance isn't doing to well in there, at least in the time frame I was playing in.

We didn't start off too bad, we had one win and a loss, then 3 wins followed by 7 losses... For the first few losses I was hoping I had just got out of sync with the group I was in and would get back in with them but it didn't happen. I guess it was bedtime somewhere or some other reason why they all left but the people that replaced them were not up to the task of winning in AV.

Here is an example of a typical battle, before the gate even opened it would be decided that we would hit Galv, then IBT, TP, while some move on and get FWGY and start the RH, east and west Frostwolf towers capping. If Galv was heavily defended we would skip him and move on to the towers, going back for him later. Well, we would get to Galv and, either I or someone else who could track, would call out if he was defended or not. Almost every time he was defended and we would say to skip him. Every time the Alliance would ride right in there like lambs going to the slaughter.

Keep in mind this is a 61-70 slot and every one of the Horde in Galv would be 68+. Usually 15+. We were starting off outnumbered to begin with, which is when the Horde really like to defend him because they know they can wipe us, and by the time we got to Galv half the people we did have were still trickling out of the cave. Time and time again we would say skip him and time and time again everyone would ride right in. Galv is a Tard magnet.

That would result in the majority of our team being north of IWB, basically at the GY back at the start point. The few of us who were smart enough to skip Galv and take the towers would get wiped out when 8-10 Horde would come into the tower and take it back. That is the type of teamwork we had going on for the losses.

For the wins you could tell it was an entirely different group of people. If Galv was defended we would skip him, everyone would skip him. That gave us enough people south of IWB to actually defend the towers we were taking when the Horde came piling in. People were working in groups. Everyone moved out of the cave at the same time. Everyone stayed together so the Horde couldn't pick us off 5 to 1. We killed Drek in all but one of the wins, and that one we won on reinforcements because the Horde decided to turtle. If you have a good team you can win a turtle. If you have a piss poor team like we did in the losses the best you can hope for is to turtle until reinforcements run out and keep them from killing Vann.

Anyway I got a lot of kills on Brieanna, over 5,000 now and some decent honor. I am at around 20,000 honor right now and I think I am going to save it all until I am 80 and then gear her. I am still coming out with more killing blows than deaths and usually in the top 10 in a decent group.

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Brieanna - Alterac Valley

I have been spending a lot of time in Alterac Valley on my Hunter Brieanna lately. She has even done a couple daily battlegrounds.

Just like the 80 slot, the 61-70 slot has it's ups and downs. It is hard to imagine that the same people that were doing so well in the 51-60 slot can do so poorly some days in the 61-70 slot. A lot of the problem is lack of teamwork, lack of following a plan, the same problem that is so apparent in the 80 slot. How soon people learn not to follow simple directions...

I am having a lot of fun in AV on her though, I love standing back and firing rounds into people :). A hunter has incredible reach with a gun or bow and I really like that. You can stand up on top of a hill or on roofs and shoot down on people that can't get at you, or at least can't get at you before you kill them.

I have been doing more battlegrounds than questing lately and she has gotten a couple levels out of the battlegrounds so far. It seems like you level faster in the battlegrounds anyway. She is currently level 66.

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