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Major Alterac Valley changes coming to Patch 2.3

Robin Torres
Updated ·2 min read

Blue poster Vaneck announced on the European Forums that Alterac Valley would be undergoing some major gameplay changes in Patch 2.3.

In order to emphasize strategy more in AV, they are introducing the concept of "reinforcement count". Both teams will begin with a starting number of reinforcements which can be reduced in various amounts according to what is lost. A team loses when its reinforcement count is reduced to zero.

The death of Drek'Thar or Vanndar will still end the game, as all reinforcements will automatically be eliminated. Losing towers and Galvangar or Belinda will cause significant amounts of reinforcements to be lost. And staying alive will now be very important as player deaths will reduce the reinforcement count by one.

To quote Vaneck:

Defending your own teammates, towers, and key NPCs will be an important aspect of maintaining team resources and achieving victory in Alterac Valley.

More on the AV changes after the jump...



Warmasters:

  • Each team will start with 4.

  • Warmasters and Generals will be linked so pulling one will bring all of them.

  • Destroying a tower will still eliminate the appropriate Warmaster, but your team will no longer gain a Warmaster at the same time.

Towers and Graveyards:

  • It will now take 4 minutes instead of 5 to control Towers and Graveyards.

  • Honor for controlling Towers and Graveyards will be increased over what is awarded now.

  • You will only respawn in the starting tunnel if your team no longer controls any graveyards. Otherwise, you will respawn in a team-controlled graveyard, no matter where you die.

Bonus Honor:

  • Players will only receive Bonus Honor during the battle for killing the captain and destroying the towers.

  • At the end of the battle, Bonus Honor will be rewarded for a surviving captain, intact towers and victory.

Elite NPCs:

  • Stormpike and Frostwolf Holds will have fewer elite NPCs.

  • All of the Lieutenants and Commanders will be removed from AV altogether. Quote from Vaneck: They are currently in search of other battle opportunities.

I'm a huge fan of Alterac Valley. I particularly enjoyed getting my Frostwolf mount just before BC came out. The new Zerg-only battles I've been experiencing lately haven't been quite so much fun, but I don't know how I feel about these changes. I guess I'll have to reserve judgment until I'm able to experience them firsthand.

Do you think these changes will make Alterac Valley more fun?