Is There Too Much Honor in Crossrealm BGs?

Since my Shaman hit the big six-oh, I've found myself checking more and more into the BGs, especially Alterac Valley (where we picked up a hardwon victory late last night, with the help of a gigantic Ice Lord). And from everything I've seen, they're as much of a hit as everyone first said they were-- queues are almost nonexistent, there's always lots of people around to play, and quality of play in there is-- well, it's not entirely terrible. Sometimes. But at least the honor and rep flows quickly.

In fact, that's exactly the problem Luriah has over on Detheroc. He hates the new cross realm battlegrounds, not because he isn't getting more honor-- he is-- but because he isn't getting better ranks for it. This past week, he reports, he picked up three times the honor he had the previous week, but his rank rose by barely half of one. Because of that, he says the honor system is actually worse.

Now, technically the point is moot because the expansion will bring a complete revamp of the honor system, and ranks as we know them are going bye-bye. And I'm not one to stand up and defend the honor system as it is now-- any way you look at it, it's a grind. Players who spend way too much time in the battlegrounds will get the highest ranks, period, and I think Blizzard should be rewarding skill in battle, not necessarily the time investment.

But I don't think Luriah's argument holds much water. The new honor system isn't worse-- it's the same, with more players (namely me-- this last week, I played more than I ever have). More time in the BGs means everyone has more honor. Blizzard didn't ruin anything if you can't get ranks-- they just made the gameplay better, so competition is more fierce. Is that good news if you're trying to reach HWL or GM before the expansion hits? Nope. But it is good news for those of us who were tired of spending more time in the queue than the BG itself.