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The Art of War(craft): Wintergrasp
Now that you've familiarized yourselves with the zone and Wintergrasp gameplay, it's time to look at the strategies used in order to win. As you can probably guess, the strategies for offense and defense are somewhat different. Playing defense, you must play for the full 40 minutes in order to win while playing offense, you want to finish the game as quickly as possible. If the timer hits ten minutes and offense hasn't broken down the doors to the inner sanctum, it's in trouble.Just like other Battlegrounds, organization goes a long way. Unlike other Battlegrounds, however, you won't automatically be grouped into a raid, so a lot of the time players will be looking to join a group when the battles start. As long as you know what you're supposed to do, you should be fine, though. The good thing about the zone is that the map will show you where battles are and where vehicle movement is taking place, so even if you're going solo, you'll have an idea of where to head for some action. %Gallery-39429%
Breakfast Topic: Casual play
I have a confession to make. I don't have as much time to play this game as I'd like. With the Holidays coming around, there's just a lot to be done... last minute shopping for gifts, family dinners, and rushing work all on top of taking care of an increasingly hyperactive thirteen month old toddler. My wife and I find it difficult to raid with our future Horde crying for attention and trying to tug at our set-ups' wires from underneath our tables. With merely a few hours a week to play, I think my wife and I have become something of casual players.That said, we've gotten our share of playing time and snagged a few epics here and there. I made sure to craft myself a Titansteel Destroyer and a Spiked Titansteel Helm just so I don't have to worry about drops from normal Naxxramas. Not that we do it a lot, anyway. I log in roughly every 2.5 hours to make sure I play some Wintergrasp and do the dailies there. My wife makes sure to do at least her Jewelcrafting daily quest and logs in to Research or Smelt Titansteel. Even casually, though, the game's been pretty good to us. Wrath gives such awesome rewards now that even with little playing time, we slowly get geared up.What would you say are the best things to do with casual play? I thought it was an appropriate question because a lot of us are going to get some playing time this weekend and with the Holidays coming around. This is usually Robin Torres' domain, and she has excellent suggestions every time (another WoW Casually is coming out today, yay!). What are you casual players doing this weekend? What gives the most bang for the buck? I was planning to do Wintergrasp, but maybe you've got a better suggestion...
Wrath 101: The battle for Wintergrasp continued
CannonsWhile cannons aren't technically siege vehicles, they certainly play a huge part in siege warfare as these are Wintergrasp Fortress' primary form of defense. For attackers to have any success, it is imperative to take out these cannons, as they deal massive damage to players and siege vehicles alike. Cannons have extremely long range so can deal damage even before attackers reach the keep.Cannons are mounted between destructible walls, and a pair on each fortress tower. It's good to note that the three Southern towers, belonging to the offense, also have four cannons mounted on top, making them defensible. RP-GGAlso part of siege warfare are the RP-GGs found on the floor in front of Goblin Workshops. These rockets can be carried in stacks of five and it's always a good idea to carry them around. Firing the RP-GG is a 5-second cast spell, and deals about 5,000 damage per hit to vehicles and splash damage to players. While players can deal more DPS to siege vehicles, the RP-GG has a long, if unpredictable, 150 yard range, allowing players to defend similar to tower gunners. The RP-GG is also usable while riding a Demolisher, extending its range of attack. If you kill a player carrying an RP-GG, they will drop it and the rockets can be picked up from the ground.Goblin WorkshopsThe siege vehicle workshops are the key to many Wintergrasp battles. There are a total of six workshops throughout Wintergrasp, two are housed inside Wintergrasp Fortress, on the East and West sides. These workshops cannot be captured but can be destroyed. Two workshops, the East and West on the Broken Ring and Sunken Ring zones respectively, are right outside the fortress and can be captured or destroyed. Two workshops on the Southeast and Southwest, called the Eastspark Workshop and Westspark Workshop respectively, are like the workshops inside the keep. They cannot be captured but can be destroyed.The number of workshops under a faction's control, whether intact or destroyed, determines the maximum number of siege vehicles that faction can deploy. Each workshop entitles a faction to four siege vehicles. Because each faction permanently controls 2 workshops, players can always create a minimum of 8 vehicles, up to maximum of 16 if they control both the East and West workshops. If a workshop is destroyed, it will no longer be able to produce any more vehicles. So while each side will always be allowed a minimum of eight vehicles, it's entirely possible to cut off vehicle supply. Capturing either the East or West workshop after it has been destroyed will repair it.Capturing a workshop is similar to gaining control of a tower in Eye of the Storm or the flag in Halaa. The more players of one faction are within the vicinity of the workshop, the more control shifts over to that faction. At the beginning of the game, the workshops inside the fortress as well as the East and West workshops are under the control of the defense. In order to mount an effective offense, with siege vehicles needing to travel a shorter distance to the fortress, attackers usually take control of the workshops at the start. Because of their proximity to the landing camps, the default spawn point for offense, East is usually susceptible to Alliance attacks and West to the Horde. Workshops have about 30,000 hp.Wintergrasp FortressThe main fortress is protected by walls and towers. Towers are extremely sturdy, with around 80,000 hp, making it difficult to take down with only one siege vehicle. It grants bonus Honor when partly destroyed at 50%, and again when completely destroyed. It's always best for attackers to focus fire on one point in order to break through as quickly as possible. Each tower is flanked by portals which defenders can use to enter the fortress. There is no physical way for players to enter Wintergrasp Fortress other than to use the portal or to break down the walls. Inside the fortress is a giant version of the portal, usable by siege vehicles to exit the structure.In order to get to the Titan Relic, attackers must break through three barriers -- the Wintergrasp Fortress Walls, the inner Fortress Walls, and the Wintergrasp Keep Door. Fortress Walls and the Fortress Door have about 40,000 hp. The walls will become partly destroyed when they reach 50%, although they do not grant any Honor. The Wintergrasp Keep Door will become partly destroyed when reaching 66-75%. Attuning the Titan Relic is a 10-second action that breaks when taking damage. The Titan Relic despawns when Wintergrasp is controlled.Wintergrasp NPCsIn Patch 3.0.8, when the battle begins, elemental mobs will despawn. In the current game, the elementals are something of a nuisance as they constantly aggro players and vehicles. There are constantly respawning Warsong and Valiance Expedition Level 76 elite NPCs at key points of the map, such as the ends of bridges and guarding towers. Players may kill these NPCs to gain rank, which enables even a sparsely populated Wintergrasp to see siege vehicles in play. Tower ControlIn Patch 3.0.8, Blizzard will introduce Tower Control, a buff that grants 5% more damage dealt, stacking up to three times. The Southern towers -- Shadowsight, Winter's Edge, and Flamewatch -- grant this buff to offense at the beginning of the game, giving attackers a slight advantage. Destroying these towers will transfer the buff to the defense, making towers a strategic part of the game and not just a source of bonus Honor. If both sides are equal in number, a 15% damage increase is a substantial buff. It also promotes a better offense, giving more opportunity for Wintergrasp to change control.TenacityBlizzard's answer to foreseeable faction imbalance is a buff called Tenacity. If a side is outnumbered, members of that faction gain Tenacity, a stacking buff that grants 25% more health and faster mana regeneration as well as 18% more damage. This buff stacks as many times as necessary, although it's not certain how much of an imbalance creates a Tenacity stack. There are Wintergrasp battles where players can possibly run around with over 50,000 hp. If you encounter a player with Tenacity of more than a few stacks, it's generally best to avoid them. Players with Tenacity should pick on solo players or even groups of 2-3, keeping in mind that crowd control can still overcome the buff. A stunned player with 50,000 hp isn't going to be doing very much. Wintergrasp is all about coordination, so even a player with 20 stacks of Tenacity won't be able to succeed against an organized bunch. Conversely, a small group of organized players with Tenacity can be brutally efficient.Now that we have a grasp of the basics of Wintergrasp gameplay, in the next part of this series we'll take a look at strategy on offense and defense. We'll also be going through the daily quests as well as Achievements in Wintergrasp. Whether or not you're a fan of PvP, we think you'll enjoy Wintergrasp. Blizzard's latest and greatest attempt at World PvP is one of the most fun aspects of Wrath of the Lich King, and the more people play it, the crazier it gets! Learn all about Wintergrasp in WoW Insider's complete guide.
Wrath 101: The battle for Wintergrasp
Now that you've taken a look at the zone, it's time to understand how to play the game. The battle for Lake Wintergrasp is one of the most fun parts of the game today -- it's certainly my favorite thing, such that I sometimes only log in whenever I know there's a battle. The great thing about Wintergrasp is that there are numerous battles throughout the day. It's the game's best mini-game, and I'm looking forward to seeing it get even more awesome as more and more players reach Level 80 and Blizzard makes improvements to the zone. Pre-game An hour before each battle, an NPC in Dalaran -- Arcanist Braedin for the Alliance and Magister Surdiel for the Horde -- will yell that a battle will soon begin. He will repeat this battle cry again at thirty, fifteen, ten, and five minutes in order to alert the inhabitants of Dalaran to hopefully drive players into going to the zone. To make it easy, portals to Wintergrasp appear at the Silver Enclave and Sunreaver's Sanctuary. Generally, a portal to Wintergrasp appears in Dalaran for the controlling faction and observably disappears about an hour before battles begin. This usually means that defenders must make their way through flying mounts into the zone before the battle begins or wait until the game ensues whereupon their faction's respective Wintergrasp Battle-Mages will open a portal to allow reinforcements. Defenders will port directly in front of Wintergrap Keep, where the Titan Relic is housed, while players on offense will port into their respective landing camps -- the Horde on the West side, and the Alliance on the East. %Gallery-39429%%Gallery-39251%
Wrath 101: Wintergrasp zone overview
These days, my schedule revolves around partitions of two and a half hours. This is the time I allot for meals, errands, work, showers, and most other mundane things. In between those two and a half hours, I take a break from whatever I'm doing and play ten to forty minutes of Wintergrasp. Ever since I made my way into the zone, I've made it my second home in the World of Warcraft. I log out in Wintergrasp about as often as I do in Dalaran. I know I said that PvP is sort of pointless right now, but Wintergrasp is the most fun I've had in Wrath and the game in a while. Nowadays, whenever I dream, I dream of siege vehicles and exploding walls and towers.Wintergrasp is the smallest zone in Northrend, bordered by Sholazar Basin, Icecrown, and Dragonblight. It is a PvP zone, which flags all players entering it for PvP. This isn't an issue on PvP servers, but on normal or RP servers, this makes everyone in the zone fair game. There is no physical way to access Wintergrasp other than through a flying mount, creating a natural Level barrier of 77 although lower-level players can be summoned or take the portal from Dalaran. It is my favorite zone in Wrath of the Lich King, although it isn't without its flaws. %Gallery-39251%
New items show up in Patch 3.0.8
While we've gotten a glimpse of the two new Kirin-Tor rings that Adam gushed about, more items have shown up on the PTR for Patch 3.0.8, such as the promised Sigils for Death Knights. One, in particular, is the much-needed tanking Sigil. Death Knights, who have no shields for mitigation, thirst mightily for Defense, many even going to the point of looking for Burning Crusade enchants such the Enchant Bracer - Major Defense. The Sigil of the Unfaltering Knight should help relieve that need, and is available for fifteen Emblems of Heroism.Notable changes include the availability of rare Northrend gems from pimp daddy Harold Winston in Dalaran, purchaseable with ten Emblems of Heroism. PvP gear will finally become available with 3.0.8, as well. Savage, Hateful, and Deadly Gladiator gear purchaseable from various sources, from the Arena vendors in Dalaran to the Honor vendors in capital cities. More interestingly, new boots and helm pieces, as well as trinkets will be available in Wintergrasp for Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. Prior to 3.0.8, the Marks were purely cosmetic, but the new patch will allow players to buy account-bound Honor as well as gear. A comprehensive list of the items can be viewed over at World of Raids and MMO Champion,
World of Warcraft PTR 3.0.8 Patch notes
While the PTR isn't up and active yet, we're very likely to see it within the next couple of days given the information that Ghostcrawler has been handing out lately, or even later today. The full patch notes have seemingly already leaked, so we have them for you here as well. It seems that we're getting patch 3.0.8, not 3.0.4 like we've all been saying. Not a big deal in the end, but interesting nonetheless.Reading through these notes, keep in mind that they're probably not complete and we'll see updates to them when the PTR itself goes live. The test realm always has quite a few undocumented changes as well to keep an eye out for. Again, when we know more, we'll let you know.Edit: Updated to reflect the official patch notes.
Breakfast Topic: Lake Wintergrasp
Yesterday in our guide for Eternal Farming, it was made very clear that Wintergrasp is hands down the best spot for farming Crystallized Whatevers if you don't have Mining or Herbalism. That's not the only thing that's easily farmed there, either. It's packed full of herbs and ore. It's currently the only place in all of Northrend that you can find Frost Lotus nodes. Not just Frost Lotus dropping off of Icethorn or whatever, but actual Frost Lotus nodes.Now, I'm a PvE kiddie at heart. I'll PvP from time to time, but it's not exactly my favorite thing ever. I usually avoid it. Wintergrasp has totally sucked me in, though. The draw of riches has pulled me into the zone, and when the PvP starts it's legitimately fun. I originally thought it was silly that the best farming spot for everything was a PvP zone, but I've warmed up to it. I'm on a PvE server, but the element of risk and reward has become kind of exhilarating. I still have no interest on playing on a PvP server, however.
Wrath 101: Farming for Eternals
So you're level 80. What now? Raiding? PvP? Hah, no, not really. It's time to start farming mats for... everything! When you're off farming, Eternals (the Wrath equivalent of Primals) are probably on the top of your list. We've had a lot of people asking us what the best places for Eternal farming are, so we're here with the answer.Below is a quick guide to the best spots for every type of Elemental Eternal in Wrath of the Lich King, and it's assumed that you have Cold Weather Flying when you're out farming. Most of the best farming spots aren't exactly tuned for players lower than level 77, and you can't get to the really awesome spots at all. So hold off on your farming until you're 80, or near 80. It will make your life easier.
The Queue: Bloody rare
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.We had no maintenance today, what a pleasant surprise! Rolling Restart Tuesdays are always a nice breath of fresh air. Or wait, was that what regular maintenance Tuesdays are for? Hmm. I can't keep this 'fresh air' concept straight at all so let's just start on the Q&A. Etcee asked...Can you explain exactly how rare spawns in Northrend work? I've heard multiple theories - from "Every 20 or so hours for spawn," to "Only one rare mob is alive at a time, and the next one doesn't spawn until that one dies," etc.
The Art of War(craft): The pointlessness of PvP in early Wrath
Wrath of the Lich King has been great so far. Blues and purples have been easy to come by, with raids and heroic instances -- criticized by some as being too easy -- working as intended. With barely a few weeks after the game's release, many players are decked out in epics. Our Guild Master just got the Superior Achievement a couple of days ago, with many of our members soon to follow suit.Of course, this comes after repeated Heroic runs, the clearing of Naxxramas, and the extremely easy reputation grind thanks to the new tabard system. Overall, it's a phenomenal gearing system... for PvE. On the other hand, the delayed release of Honor-bought PvP items and mid-December start of Arena Season 5 leaves PvP enthusiasts like myself out in the cold.
Majority of player base does not have a level 80 character
Vaneras on the EU forums this morning responded to some criticism that everyone is already 80, etc... He makes a few interesting points.First, he notes that they have internal numbers that the majority of players don't yet have a level 80 character. This might be a known or assumed fact by some, but for many of us it's interesting to hear Blizzard extrapolate on the issue.Vaneras goes on to point out an important tidbit – don't assume just because all your friends are 80 that everyone else is as well. People that play all the time tend to gravitate towards other people that play all the time, and folks that only log on once or twice a week gravitate towards each other as well.This means that just because everyone on your friends list is 80 doesn't mean the whole server is yet. I know that for myself nearly everyone's main is either 80 or high 70s now, and most have alts quickly getting up there in level too.But then I'm reminded of my brother, who just dinged 77 a couple days ago.This is also good to know as it means battlegrounds and Wintergrasp will be filling up more as a greater number of folks ding. That's only going to lead to more fun for everyone.
Lake Wintergrasp Hotfix
Nethaera announced today a hotfix that was applied over the holidays last week. There were issues in Lake Wintergrasp, the level 80 realm PvP zone, that prevented "objects" changing factions. This has now been fixed.This included things like the teleport pads outside the base and several NPCs. Because of this bug people were often times only able to attempt the raid boss once. When the group wiped they went to the teleport pat to zone back in. It didn't work. However now it does, and people can be happy.This comes from a post entitled "November / December Hotfixes," so we're assuming that there'll be more of them on their way. We'll keep you updated.
The Queue: Can't get enough sockets
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Just a few questions today, because slow weekends are slow. Who wants to ask questions when you can be playing? Certainly not me. I will still answer questions, however. Let's jump right in with ender's question... What, in your own opinion, is the easiest faction to start to grind on for rep as a new level 80? I know there is the "championing" but with dailies etc, what seems to be the easiest?
The Queue: Death Knights in the arena and other things
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Hey, welcome back! How was your Thanksgiving, my American pals? Did you sit around and laugh at Europeans like I did? You did? Great! High five! No, I'm just kidding, I love all of you equally. My Thanksgiving was pretty good! Well, as good as Thanksgiving can be when nobody feels like cooking so you buy a pound of sliced turkey and drop it in a pot of warm canned gravy, toss some of it on bread, and have a can of jellied cranberry sauce on the side. It's not good unless you can still see the can ripples in it. Mmm. Can ripples. Delicious.Right, right, the Q&A! Let's start with Rasman's question...I was just thinking about Death Knights and PvP and realized, Casters are really going to be hurting in the areas now if they match up agianst a DK. Death Knights don't care about your casting bar because they can just yank you in or go Vader on you because you forgot his cookies, and choke you for the Silence. Matter of fact, if they get you close, they really have 3 or 4 ways to interupt those casts, if you include the stun from an Unholy DK's Ghoul, that is. Am I just stammering on and not knowing what I'm talking about, or are Death Knights going to make this upcoming Arena season VERY Melee heavy?
Wrath 101: Heirloom items and how to get them
Wrath of the Lich King introduced not only new content, but an entirely new type of item. These items are called Heirloom items, or Bind to Account (BoA) items. They aren't tied to any one character and can be freely passed from alt to alt, but they're all tied to one account, the account that bought the item. No handing them over to your friends, no mailing them to other players, no mailing them to your second account. So far none of these items are drops, but rewards for more veteran players of the Wrath content. There are two different ways of earning these items, but they dovetail nicely.Quite simply, you need to participate in Wrath's content. Items suited to PvE are acquired via Emblems of Heroism, and items suited for PvP are acquired via Stone Keeper's Shards.
Yes, that 2H mace makes you look fat
Important news for all 20 of you playing female Tauren out there (of whom Robin Torres and I are two, so I guess it's for the other 18); beware the port to Lake Wintergrasp from Dalaran when your faction controls the fortress. Our reader Amalline wrote in to let us know that an unfortunate bug from the beta concerning the room you're ported to has made its way to the live realms. And by "unfortunate bug," I mean "hilarious joke for all those of you not playing female Tauren" -- you can't get out the door.Those who have played female Tauren since World of Warcraft classic will recognize this as the latest iteration of the old and equally annoying "I can't get into Molten Core!" bug. Now, while I personally have no intention whatsoever of entering Wintergrasp (which, given my previous track record on such resolutions, means that one of my more sadistic friends will make sure I get stuck there within 2 weeks), I realize that there may be people among the remaining 18 worldwide players with an itch to go an ungainly killin' spree. If I were you, I would plan on being solidly part of the defense for the time being.
Ask A Beta Tester: Kalecgos, Wintergrasp, and how much is this going to cost me?
We're going to get right down to business this evening, folks. I was kind of heartened to see Willferal (our first questioner) ask about something that's bugged me for a while.EDIT: several commenters have taken issue with the lack of a spoiler warning on this post when it went live at 9:00 pm EST. I genuinely apologize; it should have occurred to me to write one, and it's entirely my fault that one wasn't present. So consider this fair -- if belated -- warning that there's a significant, if general, spoiler in this AABT concerning an important quest chain in Wrath, and if you're trying to avoid spoilers completely, please do NOT read AABT. This column is nothing but a pile of spoilers compressed into a spoiled package and tied with a spoilery bow.Willferal asks...I know that in Wotlk, the players are fighting Malygos. But in TBC, Kalec/Tyri are blue dragons that help us, and Kalec is especially vital in his help to kill Kiljaeden. What's their role in Wrath?I wish I knew. I never found any mention of Kalecgos while leveling, and Tyrygosa only got a brief mention at last year's BlizzCon. Tyrygosa's role in BC wasn't that extensive, but Kalecgos was all that and a box of crackers in Sunwell, so this is a little...mystifying. They both seem on passable (Tyrygosa) to good (Kalecgos) relations with the mortal races, so the involvement of their entire flight in Malygos' war would -- I hope -- concern them somewhat. I really hope Blizzard goes somewhere with this, but as of now I don't think you can expect to find anything in Northrend.
Lake Wintergrasp: Balance, badges, bosses, and bling
I have to confess that I haven't spent as much time in Lake Wintergrasp as I thought I would. Even when we got premade Level 80s to fiddle around with in the Wrath Beta, I ended up spending very little time in the zone because it was simply too confusing. It didn't help that every build wiped your talent points, so I'd end up logging in to a crossfire without any abilities on my hotbars. In general, my Beta experience with what still promises to be my favorite zone of all time was rather unfulfilling.The good news is that there's a lot of work being done on the zone and the siege vehicles and buildings do a nice job of blowing up. I also appreciate the return of my favorite guys from Alterac Valley, like my Pusoy Dos buddy Lieutenant Murp. In general, though, Lake Wintergrasp needs a lot of breadcrumb quests and hand-holding just for people to get the basics. Blizzard has big plans for the zone, and they detailed a lot of those in yesterday's PvP panel.The zone is massive. In the Beta, there were areas that felt somewhat abandoned and felt empty. This is certain to happen in live realms, as there are off-hours of play. But Blizzard's aim is clear: they want this place to be all combat all the time, with hundreds of players bombing, killing, attacking and defending. In fact, they prepared their servers to handle such a load. If this happens -- and by the Light, I hope it will -- and hundreds of players do fill the zone for unadulterated combat, I'm going to have one hell of a good time.
Ask a Beta Tester: The Borean Tundra, Paladin spells, and more
Welcome to Ask a Beta Tester! We're not going to waste any time today, and just jump in feet first with Jerematic's question...Are there any other world PvP objectives, beyond Wintergrasp?There aren't any objectives as far as things you can capture, no, not really. However, there are little PvP areas in certain zones. For example, there are PvP quests in Grizzly Hills. You take the quest, you are PvP flagged as long as you have the quest, and you have to complete it in a nearby area. In the Grizzly Hills example here, the Horde and the Alliance are duking it out in a massive logging camp that they've chased the Venture Co. away from. Have you ever wanted to ride down a river on the back of a huge log? Wrath'll do it for ya.Chalios asked...I'm a prot pally and I was wondering that since Blessings of Kings is going to be 2% stat increase base with an extra 8% on the improved version, will Greater Blessings of Kings start off with 2% as well at base and scale with the improved version or will it still be 10% and provide me with an extra 4 talent points?The Greater Blessing will work the same way regular ol' Blessing of Kings works in Wrath. 2% per talent point. You don't get to skip out on spending 4 talent points.
