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Blizzard releases information on new Cataclysm Twin Peaks battleground
PvP fans can rejoice -- Blizzard released information today regarding the new Twin Peaks battleground today, located inside the Eastern Kingdoms' new Twilight Highlands zone. Twin Peaks is described as a "10 vs. 10, capture-the-flag style battleground" reminiscent of Warsong Gulch. Alliance players will be called to the defense of the Wildhammer Dwarves, who are fighting to regain control of their home territory of Grim Batol. The Horde will be forging a new coalition with the Dragonmaw Clan, who seek to take hold on the territory as well. More details are beyond the break.
Scattered Shots: Transitioning to hunter PvP
Welcome to Scattered Shots! Filling in for Frostheim for this post is Basil Berntsen, also of outdps and the Hunting Party podcast. Hunter PvP is fun. It's a lot of fun. It's also something you can jump into any time, compared to raiding where you have to be in a guild that is managing to continue running content. A lot of people are getting into it for the first time but are having trouble getting started. Start with the gear The average hunter with a bit of PvE experience and gear will queue up for a random battleground and get mulched. Hunters are almost as squishy as mages, and until you get some resilience, you're going to die a lot. The best thing you can do while you're in this state is to use your cooldowns to extend your death, stick with healers and do as much damage as you can before you croak. Hunter damage is insanely high -- the phrase "it goes to 11" doesn't begin to cover it. The problem is that if you can die to a single warlock DoT, you won't be able to apply this pressure for long.
New details about Twin Peaks battleground, Dragonmaws backed by the Horde?
If you're a big ol' lore nerd like me, recent details released on the forums about the upcoming Twin Peaks battleground in the Twilight Highlands probably at least got a "Say what?" out of you. Zarhym - Re: Captured Gronns in Grim Batol! Grim Batol was founded by the Wildhammers. The Wildhammers abandoned their new home after the war with the Dark Irons left the place tainted. The Dragonmaw clan later moved in and attempted to harvest the eggs of Alextrasza for sinister purposes, though they failed to fully satisfy Deathwing. With the four Dragon Aspects confronting both Deathwing and the Dragonmaws, Grim Batol was abandoned. Members of the Red Dragonflight stayed behind to guard its corridors in the Twilight Highlands. ... That I can't say, but there will be a Twilight Highlands Battleground called Twin Peaks. The Alliance will be working with the Wildhammers in a struggle for land against the Dragonmaws backed by the Horde. source The reason this goes into "Did you just say what I think you just said?" territory is apparent to anyone who did the Netherwing dailies in BC or read the novel Day of the Dragon (or our KYL feature on the Red Dragonflight). The Dragonmaw Clan are bad news. As Golluck Rockfist, the Horde Ambassador to the Wyrmrest Accord, so clearly put it, "In years past, the warlock Nekros Skullcrusher abused a powerful artifact to enslave Alexstrasza and much of the red dragonflight. Zuluhed and Nekros are dead, but the debt we owe to the reds is far from repaid." Zuluhed and Nekros? Dragonmaw. The orcs hanging around in the Wetlands attacking people randomly? Dragonmaw. The toothy fellow above? An adventurer disguised as one of the Dragonmaw in the service of Illidan Stormrage himself. The same Dragonmaw clan that made a deal with Deathwing's consort thinking it was Deathwing himself they were working for, mind you. The news that the Dragonmaw are now pledging their allegiance to Garrosh's Horde is very, very interesting, to say the least.
Breakfast Topic: Kill them
I mean, like all of them. I'm not sure who they even are, at this point, but as soon as the Rated Battlegrounds are here I'm gonna be in there killing. Horde, Alliance, doesn't matter. I vastly prefer group PvP to arenas, and I'll admit in no small way that it's because my own tactical weaknesses are much more on display in arena play, while the things I'm pretty good at are magnified in group PvP. For instance, lately I've become enamored of Wintergrasp again. Not because I'm either good at it or geared for it, but just because I enjoy having a mass of targets to charge into. Most of the time I die horribly, (I PvP as fury, so I'm basically asking for it) but when I manage to make a kill or break up an Alliance formation (I don't PvP on my draenei very much, mostly my tauren) I feel pretty good about it. The idea that Cataclysm will be making group PvP more important with Tol Barad and rankings in BG's works for me. I'm very much looking forward to the changes that will let me get PvP weapons by doing PvP. So how about you? Are you deathly averse to PvP, an arena maniac, or a group PvPer?
The Daily Quest: PvP fun
Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Take a look at the links below, and be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW related sites. Today's TDQ was inspired by the lovely time I had in Warsong Gulch late last night. It was a PUG, not a premade, and yet people were competent, encouraging, communicative and polite. If only all battleground experiences were so pleasant. Perhaps these links from the community will help make this happen more often. No matter the battleground, Cynwise's Battlefield Manual recommends you Fight at the Flag. Gnomeageddon stresses that Midfield is not an Objective. Cynwise also breaks it down into Simple Battleground Strategies. Our Basil Berntsen at Outdps writes about Communication in Battlegrounds.
WoW, Casually: Things to know about upcoming patches
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win. The above video has absolutely nothing to do with WoW or upcoming patches or even gaming. It's just a feel-good video that is currently at the top of my current YouTube favorites. Besides, everybody's doing it. Now, onward to the actual content... So, rumor has it that patch 3.3.3 will be out either next week or the week after. The PTR seems stable-ish and the downloading of much of the patch has already been happening. So, let's talk about what we have to look forward to in the patches before Cataclysm, particularly 3.3.3.
Breakfast Topic: I will destroy you
(With apologies to anyone who played Mass Effect or who brings Jack along in ME2.) More and more lately I use the dungeon finder as a pure stress release. I don't sign up to tank: we seem to have hit a decent steady state on Stormstrike where a queue rarely lasts more than 10 minutes for DPS, so it's safe for me to let someone else tank and play around with DPS ideas. It's actually to the point where I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what kind of group I'll get on any particular run. One run was myself as DPS, a warrior tank, two more warrior DPS and a very confused ret paladin who'd accidentally queued as a healer. A brief discussion and we decided to see if he could heal the group with Art of War procs. Turned out he could. Quite frankly, that was the fastest CoT run I've ever had, with two furies, a prot and an arms warrior plus a ret paladin doing our level best to play combine harvester with the undead hordes. With the new Battleground Finder on its way, I'm wondering if this will be an experience I get to have in PvP as well. Except now I'll be able to get my stress relief on by defending a flag while everyone else fights on the road, I guess. Will you be lured back to the BG's to crush faces, or have you already been there all along?
Breakfast Topic: If you could redo features in Wrath, what would they be?
With Cataclysm looming on the horizon, as Wrath of the Lich King winds down, it's a good time to reflect on the expansion and see how things could've gone better. In the recently concluded developer chat over Twitter, one person asked what features in Wrath Blizzard would redo or remove if they could turn back the clock. Their answer is something close to my heart, personally, and I agree wholeheartedly. "I would have really liked to see more Battlegrounds in Northrend," one of the tweets noted, "that is an area that I feel we fell short on." Another area that the developers felt lacked a little more polish was the emblem system, which they described as "clunky". Of course, they admit that in hindsight there happens to be quite a number of things that they'd like to redo, pointing out that they are their own worst critics. I'm sure we've got our own ideas about what could have gone better, so let's have at it. Personally, I'm quite happy about their plans to improve Battlegrounds play in Cataclysm, so I guess I'll kick it off with that. What about you guys? If you could ask a favor of Chromie and her Bronze Dragonflight cohorts, what things would you have done differently about Wrath?
The Daily Quest: PvP edition
Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we ought to follow? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! If you're interested in PvP battlegrounds, you're probably aware that patch 3.3.3 is turning the system on its head -- completely removing Marks of Honor as well as increasing honor gains across the board. Have a bank full of the things? Well, we've got good news for you -- at present on the PTR you can convert them to honor at the rate of 2000 honor per mark. Combine that with the recent explanation of Wintergrasp mechanics and what have you got? A lot of excitement about PvP battlegrounds. Here's what's making the rounds of the blogosphere. Cynwise thinks now's the time to be running battlegrounds and collecting Marks of Honor. Holypaladin.net talks about Wintergrasp imbalance. Birdfall discusses seeing the opposite faction as people. Getting back to the basics, Spiceytuna explains resilience and gives talks frost mage PvP 101. Already a PvP expert? Over on the official forums Nethaera is looking for Warsong Gulch advice to be included in the next World of Warcraft magazine.
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: New battleground mark conversion
Check out the latest from the PTR -- battleground mark to honor conversion is now up, with each battleground mark you've squirreled away worth an astonishing two thousand honor per mark. For people that have been PvPing since vanilla, that adds up to a lot of honor. Thankfully, there's places to spend it. PvP Mounts Level 60 Legacy PvP Armor - page 1, page 2, page 3 Level 60 Legacy PvP Weapons - page 1, page 2, page 3 Level 70 Outland PvP Armor - page 1, page 2 Level 70 Outland PvP Trinkets - page 1, page 2 Check the gallery below for a full list of new prices on PvP mounts and legacy PvP gear. As of the current PTR build the new Commendations of Service are not account-bound, which means you can't send them off to alts like their Wintergrasp counterparts -- meaning players may be swimming in gems when the patch finally goes live. If this changes, we'll let you know. Stay tuned for more 3.3.3 PTR info as it develops! %Gallery-86565%
Breakfast Topic: What are you most looking forward to in Patch 3.3.3?
So just when it looked like things might be getting quiet in the wake of Patch 3.3, Blizzard stirred things up again last night with a release of PTR Patch 3.3.3. There's some pretty big changes coming our way. In addition to various class changes, we've got some other cool stuff too, including an abolishment of battleground marks, a way to get rid of all those annoying Frozen Orbs clogging our banks, new auction house functionality, and a lot more.
EverQuest II releases Battlegrounds video
Battlegrounds have arrived on the EverQuest II Test and Test-Copy servers, and Sony Online Entertainment invited players to log in and give them a try. The new Battlegrounds feature is set to arrive in game on February 16th, and Sony Online Entertainment released a new video today giving an overview for those who haven't checked it out for themselves yet. Cross-server play is available on the three different maps, with up to 48 players able to participate in a match, so finding a battle should not be a problem. During testing, the SOE team is even getting in on the act: "several members of the SOE staff will be available for match-ups on Thursday, February 11th from 4 until 6pm PST." If you win, you'll receive a special in-game title. Players that win regular matches during testing will receive a battlegrounds cloak. If you want a closer look before logging in, EverQuest II has released a brand new Battlegrounds video. Follow along after the jump to take a look, and good luck in battle!
EverQuest II rolls out the battlegrounds
Starting February 16th, get ready to PvP across servers. EverQuest II is catching up with the mainstream MMO trends by adding battlegrounds to the mix, giving EQII PvP players the instanced scenarios that they've been looking forward to for a while. The three scenarios include the Battlefield of Ganak, a 6 vs. 6 game of capture the flag in Iksar territory, Smuggler's Den, a 24 vs. 24 game of hold the point conducted on small islands, and the Gears of Klak'anon, a 6 vs. 6 game of hold the relic that saps your heath but makes you do crazy damage. Playing these scenarios does not go unrewarded, of course, as winners can look forward to claiming the very sexy new chaos armor set -- an armor set of dirty, twisted, spiked platemail that looks good on any battleground champion. And, if you were wondering what yesterday's puzzle post was all about, wonder no more! We had pieces of of the battleground maps of Klak'anon and Smuggler's Den. But, not to worry, we've included the full maps and screenshots in the gallery below for your viewing pleasure. Happy battling! %Gallery-83975%
Reminder: Battleground Bonanza II today
It came from the Blog is holding its second Battleground Bonanza today: When: Saturday, January 16th, 4:30pm EST (1:30pm PST, 2:30pm Server time) Where: The Hall of the Brave (where the Battlemasters are), Orgrimmar, Zangarmarsh U.S. Who: Any level 10 or above Horde character. How: Ask any It came from the Blog Lurker or Robinator for a guild invite. What: Battleground premades We will be forming groups and hitting as many level/group-size appropriate BGs as we can for an hour or so. If you can't make it to the Hall of the Brave in time for the event, you will miss out on the first screenshot, but will still be able to participate. We will also be doing some BG related quests, so there will be some traveling for certain level ranges. If you are unfamiliar with Battleground play, please do some homework so that it will be more fun for both you and your teammates. Also, if you have any questions about the WoW.com guild, please read our FAQ. Come join the fun!
It Came from the Blog: Battleground Bonanza II
I feel the need... the need for another Battleground Bonanza! This Saturday, join It Came from the Blog for some Battleground fun. Here are the particulars: When: Saturday, January 16th, 4:30pm EST (1:30pm PST, 2:30pm Server time) Where: The Hall of the Brave (where the Battlemasters are), Orgrimmar, Zangarmarsh U.S. Who: Any level 10 or above Horde character. How: Ask any It came from the Blog Lurker or Robinator for a guild invite. What: Battleground premades Robinator, my constantly underdressed (they're called trousers, I swear!) level 69 mage, will be playing in the 60's range BGs. We will be forming groups and hitting as many level/group-size appropriate BGs as we can for an hour or so. If you can't make it to the Hall of the Brave in time for the event, you will miss out on the first screenshot, but will still be able to participate. If you are unfamiliar with Battleground play, please do some homework so that it will be more fun for both you and your teammates. Last time, the groups in the 10s, 20s and 50s seemed to have the most fun. If this is your first character on Zangarmarsh, I highly recommend bringing up a Death Knight before the event. If you have any questions about It came from the Blog, see our FAQ. Please join us!
The Queue: Why won't you move, Mr. Bubbles?
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Before I get to your questions today, I have a question for all of you. What kind of dirty monster do you need to be to harvest the Little Sisters in Bioshock? My word, they're adorable. I mean, I have no problem playing jerky characters in games, but I physically could not hit the K key while looking at one of those poor little things. You people running around murdering them willy nilly should be ashamed of yourselves. You know who you are. I'm watching you. And now we actually discuss the game this blog is named for. Fancy that. Radioted asked... "Is there any word on who does the voice for Krick? Every time I run PoS, I can't help but hear Wallace Shawn in the role."
It came from the Blog: Our very first Battleground Bonanza
Last week, some PvP minded It came from the Bloggies got together for our first Battleground Bonanza. We split into groups according to our level brackets and had some Battleground fun. Mike Schramm lead the 20s group and I lead the 60s group. There were also teens and 50s groups. We had quite a bit of Achievement spam, daily BG quest completions and honor earning. And, as you can see from the pictures in the gallery, the requisite number of deaths. As the night wore on, the queue times became painful. So next time -- and I think we had enough fun for there to be a next time -- we'll try for during the day on the weekend. Before we do that, however, we have the Elwynn Extravaganza this Saturday and a Feast of Winter Veil event to be announced soon. %Gallery-79848%
WoW Rookie: The absolute beginner's guide to Battlegrounds
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. For links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's, visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide. Now that you can spice up your leveling experience by adding a little PvP to the mix, you owe it to yourself to do it up right. Battlegrounds can be bufuddling for new players, and WoW Rookie would be sad to hear you'd given up on them based on a couple of false starts. Head straight over to Zach Yonzon's A-to-Z coverage of Battleground basics in The Art of War(craft)'s Absolute beginner's guide to the Battlegrounds. Join us after the break for a complete list of the Battlegrounds you can enjoy, starting at level 10.
WoW Rookie: Leveling with PvP
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. Visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's. When PvP leveling in Battlegrounds was introduced with Patch 3.2 (August 2009), players rushed to try their blades and spellbooks at this new way to gain XP. It was fresh, it was fun -- and boy, was it fast! It took just one month for Blizzard to nerf experience gains (patch 3.2.2, September 2009), rolling back XP rates to more reasonable levels. Today, while we wouldn't say that Battlegrounds are a recommended way to level up, we do continue to recommend them as a healthy part of your leveling experience. (Yes, I was wearing scrubs and holding a clipboard and stethoscope during that last statement.) Let's take a look at all the reasons you should and shouldn't be PvPing on your path to level 80.
Reminder: It came from the Blog Battleground Bonanza tonight
Are you ready for the Battleground Bonanza tonight? A few It came from the Bloggies have been leveling their characters to either the 10 to 19 range or the 60 to 69 range, though I'm sure we'll have attendees in the other ranges too. Here are the details: When: Wednesday, December 2, 11:00pm EST (8:00pm PST, 9:00pm Server time) Where: The Hall of the Brave (where the Battlemasters are), Orgrimmar, Zangarmarsh U.S. Who: Any level 10 or above Horde character. How: Ask any It came from the Blog Lurker or Robinella for a guild invite. What: Battleground premades We will do whatever Battlegrounds are appropriate for our level ranges and numbers. I want to at least do a couple AVs in the 60 to 69 range, regardless of how many people show up, because even a small premade is great for defending Galv and recapping the towers. If you are unfamiliar with Battlegrounds, but still want to join, please study up on the strategies. I don't recommend you attend if you get frustrated by multiple deaths, but we'll be having a couple of non-PvP events this month so you can still have a good time with us soon. Please log on a little before the event so we can start on time. I can't wait!
