BG Tips and Concepts

[Yano]

Ok, so I'm still working on the Glider grind spots, but since grinding is slow around 49, I figured I would try to give a few tips and tricks to battlegrounds. I'll try to provide any information I can on what I've learned from making a General-ranked character, a Stone-guard, and AV exalted player, and 3 twinks with reputations between honored and revered.

Warsong Gulch- The concept here is to capture three flags, easy enough right? Wrong, it can be very annoying if the team decides to hide or both teams are equally balanced between skill and gear. I would say WSG is gear heavy in comparison to AB and AV. While we're at it, let me throw this opinion out there. WSG---->AV---->AB. That would, in my opinion, be the level of gear dependency in comparison to skill.

If the other team gets your flag and they are hiding, I can likely tell you where:

If Alliance has flag, check:
1. The roof. Obvious.
2. Behind the base, around the corner straight as you leave the exit to the GY. Use a target macro and spam it, they may be in a glitchy little hidden tree area, unseen, but not untargetable.
3. Run past the GY and spam the macro, they could be to the right side of the portal behind a stake, or run past the portal and look down. They could be on a hidden hill right below.
4. Check in the openings in the doorways as you exit any given area of the top base. Characters can fit in there, and never be seen.
5. Try the overhanging above the alliance tunnel, they sometimes just hang out there. Not likely, but sometimes.
6. On the opposite side of the base there is an alcove that some people don't know about; run around the area past the house that ISN'T near the graveyard spamming the target macro.
7. Try midfield on the left side facing the alliance base. There are a few little crevices that prevent being seen, sometimes players hide there simply because it isn't expected.
8. As you turn and pass the doorway to go to the roof, turn around. Chances are you'll find a lock or warrior waiting to MS/Shadowbolt you if you spot them.
9. Check your base...sheesh.

If Horde has flag, check:
1. Check the roof, the pathway to the roof, and the alcove near the boots. I've used the boot alcove to completely conceal myself, sometimes I get stuck, sometimes I'm fine. May have been fixed.
2. Check under the saw outside near the GY...I loved this spot.
3. As you exit toward the graveyard, run right a little and turn back. You may find the FC behind the wall that pokes out to conceal them from the angles you might try to see them from.
4. Check behind the tree near their ramp.
5. Check the area above the tunnel, and fallen between the roof of that area. Sometimes hordies use this, sometimes allies do. They likely will not be attackable. May have (I hope) been fixed.
6. Try to the left of their portal, it's a fairly good spot to hide.
7. Try the lumber yard area, various angles prevent hordies from being spotted there.
8. Spam the target macro a few good times around the ramp, sometimes it's possible to wedge between the spikes. It's not a very good spot, but it's been used.
9. Finally, I've hidden off the opposite end of the Graveyard, where the ramp is, but further back in. Certain spots entirely cover the FC from LoS if you are running up.

For tactics, the best is to have a few DPS intercept midfield with the healers and a protection warrior run for the flag. Then have the DPS meet the FC as they come out of the building. Sometimes this isn't a viable tactic, but it works well if teams are balanced.

If a team is DPS heavy, but yours is healer-heavy, send a healer and the tank, leave the rest in the base or patrolling, and ambush the DPS, using the healing capabilities to keep you alive and wear the dps down.

If you have a DPS heavy team, but they have heals, send the whole team for their base, have any rezzers run midfield to intercept.

That's all the advice I can offer. I love to have 2-3 druids (or replace one with a hard hard MS warrior), 1 tank, 2 mages, 1 warlock, 1 priest, 1 hunter, and a shaman hordeside. Alliance, 2 druids, 1 pally, 1 lock, 1 priest, 1 tank, 1 MS warrior, 2 mages, 1 hunter.

Arathi Basin:
I never played enough of this to really get a good feel for it. I got exalted, but still, didn't play this enough. My take on it:

I recommend setting up groups as teams. Group 1, Blacksmith. Group 2, LM. Group 3, Mine. Leave one capper to defend farm/stables. Send 1 or 2 rogues to ninja opposing stable/farm. Send 2 warriors, 2 pallies/shaman, a warlock, a druid, and a priest to the Blacksmith. You will likely have the most resistance here and need to outlast them. Send a pally/shaman/druid, and a warrior to the mine, and a warrior, pally/shaman/druid, a warlock, and a mage to the lumber mill. You'll want the LM before you want the mine, because the mine has a terrible vantage point. This setup is how I led my groups if I could get the classes I wanted and came into a semi-good/bad pug.

For a SKILLED group, I recommend running for a 3 cap through the farm/stables, mine, and lumber mill. This is if you know you're outgeared and outskilled (hey, it happens sometimes). You'll be using a rotation of caps. Let them take the blacksmith, hold the mine, the LM, and the farm/stables. Have 3 defending each spot, and 3 on each intersection to the BS. If the mine gets taken, shift to the blacksmith, or defend the mine, based on the numbers you face. If the LM gets taken, go for the BS or shift defense to the LM, based on numbers. This strategy enforces a centerpoint (stables/farm) of defense branching out, preventing any REAL threat from appearing if you have a responsive obedient team. Sometimes, teams are just too strong, at that point, trade the focal point of defense. Just send your whole team across to the opposing base (farm or stable), and immediately branch out and organized three group to each spot, leaving 3 at each crossroad.


Alterac Valley-
I had the honor of working with one of the best leaders I've ever come across. Despite gear, ability, or obedience, this guy had lost a TOTAL of 3 AVs out of 4 characters getting exalted. UNBELIEVABLE. I can only give a horde strategy here, as I haven't dealt extensively with the complications of alliance AVs. I'd LOVE to get some help with that if anyone wants to make an AV strat for allies.

Starting- Rush stonehearth, send the most capable tank and a few healers to Snowfall GY and cap it. Ignore the Stonehearth bunker. Ignore Belinda. When Snowfall rolls over send sub-60s to farm harnesses for wolf riders, and send the Snowfall team to Belinda, but NEVER let up pressure on Stonehearth GY. This buys time for Snowfall to cap. From there, pressure can stay almost consistant, provided you have 10 or so capable healers and 3 or 4 hardcore tanks. Be sure to use CC like fear, intimidating shout, anything to burn the defense down and move them back. When it looks like the pressure is close to the Stormpike GY, DON'T STOP. Press INTO the rezzing point, causing them to be forced to rez into hordies. Have someone cap once most of the team is in the spawn graveyard. After the cap, fight back any passerbys trying to run THROUGH the Stonehearth area. They are going to cap Snowfall and right now you don't want that. Just kick their ass and hold the fort until the GY turns. You've reached the midpoint of the fight. Begin preparing the wolf riders...

Midway- After turning the graveyard, begin moving down the road, creating an impassible well....horde lol, that just spawns over and over and push down the path towards Stormpike. Send a couple healers, a good tank, and an aoe class into the Stormpike tower to destroy it. NO ONE ELSE NEEDS TO GO. Trust me. Keep pushing down the hill until the riders are ready. At this point, have people a few at a time go to turn in stuff for the reavers. Let the forces fall back to the Stonehearth GY (still don't let the allies pass to Snowfall). When the riders reach Stonehearth, follow them CLOSELY and don't let them get out of reach, keeping heals on them and pushing to Stormpike. This should give you the power you need to decimate them, the opening the fallback provides ensures the alliance will evenly sprea their attack into waves, allowing your riders to hit the gy with full health and giving you just enough kick to move the entire force into their graveyard. Do NOT stand at the flag, move into their spawn point and set of fears for every single ressurection wave, killing them until the whole force literally sits on their spirit rezzer. Then cap the flag. Hold the base until turnover/reavers. When reavers are ready, hold just a little longer, and kill off the alliance trying to gank you from behind the GY on the hill. Push onto the bridge and take the first tower, this is the longest and most difficult process yet. You can't loose the reavers yet, so the tower has to go on its own. I recommend sending tanks in with healers and bringing the mobs across the bridge. Kill them off then take the tower on the right. A good caster tip: go around the right side, mount up and jump from the mountainside into the tower. Or stand there and kill any opposing allies while the insiders take the tower. Anyways, once the tower is ready, prep for the final stage.

End it-
Release the reavers, while holding the bridge and the Stormpike GY. When the reavers arrive, run STRAIGHT to the Relief Hut capping point, then have the reavers run into the spawn point. Send a few locks/warrs to fear bomb rezzers, and cap that final spot. Send half the raid back to the Stormpike GY, because allies will be rezzing from their spawn point and going straight to recover Stormpike gy (smart ones will zerg your base in hopes you stall for reputation gain). After the Relief Hut turns over, start pulling the wardens a few at a time. Don't pull Vandaar Stormpike yet. When ready, take out Vandaar, and win the game. If you want a small added rep bonus, take out the other tower while you wait, not that hard to do.

Gratz, you win!

Hopefully this tactic works well, I wish you the best of luck employing it like the player that led me to exalted.

And thanks for reading my guide to pvp. I'll add more later if possible, maybe good pvp sets, etc. Good luck pvping and remember, sometimes the best strategies are your own.

Yano

[juanes]

nice guide +rep

[Matt]

great guide +rep

[Yano]

If you all have any input or ideas to add, or even criticisms, feel free to post them as well.