Guest Post: Three fresh ideas for world PvP events
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Of all the PvP events I've participated in over the years, the battle for Halaa in Nagrand always sticks out in my mind as one of the best-executed examples of world PvP that the World of Warcraft has ever produced. The battle for Halaa brought together several areas of warfare in perfect harmony.
The element of surprise The battle for Halaa took place at any time. Whenever the opposite faction felt like taking control of the city, they could form a raid and start bombing. It left the controlling faction scrambling to assemble a defense when the words "Halaa is under attack!" popped up on their screens.
Aerial assault Players had to activate one of four wyvern stations and fly over the city of Halaa to drop bombs, causing massive amounts of damage. Until the defenses were weakened, players could not successfully enter the city.
Sabotage While enemy players were taking to the skies, one of the keys to success was to destroy the activated wyvern stations to prevent those enemy players from immediately taking off for another bombing run.
Siege warfare Once the city's defenses were eliminated, the conquering force moved into the city center and held the city captive. Either the defending faction would break the siege and regain control of the city or it would be lost to the conquering heroes.
Spoils of war Defeating your enemy within the boundaries of Halaa yielded you a Halaa Battle Token. Once you controlled Halaa, those tokens could be spent on various rewards, including the coveted Dark War Talbuk.
With new expansions come new territories to explore and conquer. Sadly, Nagrand and the war-torn city of Halaa fell to the wayside in favor of Wintergrasp once Wrath of the Lich King was released. So what does a player who is hungry for world PvP do now? If you have some friends and are will to do a little organizing and promoting, here are three new ideas to spring on your server.
Sunreavers vs. The Silver Covenant
When people think of Crystalsong Forest, only two things come to mind: Dalaran and Glassfin Minnows. However, there is an unused PvP gem on the eastern side of the map. In the Unbound Thicket, you'll find the Sunreaver's Command and the Windrunner's Overlook (home to the Silver Covenant) directly across from each other.
The idea here is simple. Capture the enemy camp. Keep the enemy out of your camp. Kill the guards. Destroy their leader. Hold their forces in check and claim victory. Aerial assault would be too easy in this case, so flying mounts are not allowed.
The first faction to successfully capture the other camp and hold it for 10 consecutive minutes is the winner of the battle.
Battle for the Dark Portal
The Dark Portal is of major strategic significance to both the Horde and Alliance. While they have cooperated over its use to this point, the time has come for a group to ultimately hold the Dark Portal for its own uses.
The idea here is to slaughter the opposite faction and hold control over the area surrounding the Dark Portal. Protect your lower-level players who are arriving from the Blasted Lands portal and ensure they make safe passage through the Dark Portal. Slaughter any new recruits appearing from the opposite faction.
A winner will be decided when one faction is able to keep players alive on the steps of the portal for at least 10 consecutive minutes.
King of the Amphitheater
The Amphitheater of Anguish offers more than just a chain quest and an achievement. It is a structure that would make a great place for a serious world PvP battle. If you look behind Gurgthock, the fight promoter, you will notice a staircase that leads up to what appears to be a throne room, complete with a throne. It's just begging for someone to sit upon it and hold it as their own!
In this scenario, each faction selects its best fighter to start in the throne room. The remainder of the players line up across from each other on the fighting floor of the Amphitheater of Anguish itself. When the battle is signaled to begin, all hell breaks loose.
In the throne room, the victor in single combat takes his rightful place on the throne. Down below, the factions battle each other on their way up to the throne room. Flying mounts would take the fun out of this battle, so they are forbidden.
The faction that keeps a player alive on the throne for 10 consecutive minutes is crowned the King of the Amphitheater, and the other faction must mount up and leave in shame. Or continue to spill blood in rage. Their choice.
Tips on promoting world PvP events
If you have enough willing friends on your friends list, start your promoting and player recruitment there. Your friends are more likely to follow the rules than someone on trade who would rather just crash the party.
Make sure at least one person is recording video of the event. It will make recruiting for the next event easier when you can actually show them what a great time it was.
Welcome feedback on how the event went. Would it be more fun if some of the rules or objectives were tweaked? Be open to new ideas!
Keep in touch with the players who participate. After doing this a few times, you'll have enough contacts to organize future events.
With the right group of players, these events could be loads of fun. All it takes are good leaders from each faction and players who are willing to follow the rules. Good luck, and I'll see you out on the battlefield. Lok'tar ogar!
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