1.9 patch notes

[dusematic]

Rogues play an integral part of a well balanced team; They often the first casualties on either side (remember, you get no HKs while dead!) If you work in pairs, you can usually ambush and kill one or two healers before you get jacked.. this will usually turn the tide of the batttle. YOU, however, will likely be taking a dirt nap.

HKs are so overrated.  Wins get you Honor.. HKs get you crap.  After a good 3 runs of AB, Titan Bar will be pointing out that I'm getting 0 honor for every HK.  I can get 60 HKs a night defending the farm as a healer or 500 HKs a night assaulting stables in shadowform and I'll get basically the same honor, maybe +/- 1000.  It's because wins are vastly superior to kills. 

Titan Bar is wrong.  It's not an accurate honor calculator.  It doesn't factor in a lot of variables.  HK's are the best way to get honor.  You want to do damage to as many people as possible.  If you're grinding honor, you get about 60% of your honor from kills and the rest from winning.

[cevik]

Titan Bar is wrong.  It's not an accurate honor calculator.  It doesn't factor in a lot of variables.  HK's are the best way to get honor.  You want to do damage to as many people as possible.  If you're grinding honor, you get about 60% of your honor from kills and the rest from winning.

I belive you are way wrong, diminishing returns means that if you want to grind honor you want to win.  Titan Bar being wrong or not I'm telling you that I can vary DRASTICALLY in the number of kills in a night (literally anywhere from 60 to 500), and just so long as I get the same number of wins I'm very close to the same honor at the end of the night (real actual honor that is reported the next day when I log into the game). 

After the 4th kill on any person by anyone in your raid, you get no honor.  Rarely does an AB end without the entire set of alliance getting killed 4 times.  The next time I see them in rotation (usually the very next game) I get no honor for killing them.  Most nights I'm in rotation with the same alliance group every single battle (since they join as group and we join as group the moment the battle ends).  That means I'm getting no honor per kill after the first battle with them, unless they exchange members, and they usually only exchange 1 or 2 members per battle, if that.  At 3k honor per win, I'm getting much more honor for winning than I would be if I just spent the whole time killing and disregarding the score.

ETA:  At the end of a night, it's not uncommon for me to have killed the same person 50-70 times.  I only got honor the first 4.

[Fabricated]

HKs will net you more honor if you tend to get stomped really, really bad in AB. I usually get something like 800-1400 honor in just kills ber AB, and then whatever honor I get for the win or loss.

[tazelbain]

So do you think Battlegrounds will be about engaging PvP rather Point Farming in the next year?

[Ironwood]

I have no idea why they put any form of grinding in PvP at all.

I hated it then and now.

Don't get me wrong - I do it.  But I do it to destroy the other guy.  Not as some road to my OMFGLegs of leet leather.

[bhodi]

I have no idea why they put any form of grinding in PvP at all.

I hated it then and now.

Don't get me wrong - I do it.  But I do it to destroy the other guy.  Not as some road to my OMFGLegs of leet leather.

I play2crush, but I also like getting geared. I'm trying to get the blue pvp set, just need a few officer ranks!

[cevik]

I play2crush, but I also like getting geared. I'm trying to get the blue pvp set, just need a few officer ranks!

I'm the same way, I play to win.  I actually enjoy the pvp.  But at the same time, I need to stay geared to stay competitive (at least that's what I've been told), so I look for the best way to grind up my rank while I'm having fun. 

[Ironwood]

Hmmm, Ok.  I find myself fairly competitive at the mo with my blue gear and a couple of purples gained in MC.  I don't get the drive for the Grandmarshalls shit.

Bear in mind, I'm still using my Shanker because I like the look of it.

 

[cevik]

Hmmm, Ok.  I find myself fairly competitive at the mo with my blue gear and a couple of purples gained in MC.  I don't get the drive for the Grandmarshalls shit.

Bear in mind, I'm still using my Shanker because I like the look of it.

 

Heh, I meant blue Gear.  My wife would strike me down if I even thought about getting a single piece of purple pvp gear (well I'll end up with epic AB stuff I'm sure, getting closer by the day).  I have no epics at all at the moment and only half my gear is blue and I'm still pretty damn competitive.  :)

And I use gear because of it's looks as well, or more aptly, I try to avoid robes and only wear "tunic" looking chest pieces, mainly for the extra 2 seconds of confusion it causes when people are looking for the cloth wearers (if they are like me, they tend to scan for people wearing dresses! :))..

[Rasix]

I play2crush, but I also like getting geared. I'm trying to get the blue pvp set, just need a few officer ranks!

I find myself a little behind in the gear race when out there.  I've got just about the full elements set, a blue quest shield and a blue quest pigsticker from back in the day.  Green helm is the really only bad spot.  But.. everyone out there seems to be either in full pvp schwag or at least 3-4 piece of MC gear, especially the weapons.   GOD THOSE WEAPONS HURT.  I shouldn't have been so goddamn nice to my guildies when I raided, I could have at least gotten my elements coif and a purple weapon in MC. /sigh

Still getting used to the PVP, the AB battleground and just playing again.  At least I don't have to get used to healing again, since it seems like I'm everyone's number one target and the one I tend to have to heal is myself.  I guess the crescent wrenches protruding out of my shoulders give me away. Getting new gear through this would be nifty and in the end may end up helping me out a bit.   I don't think I'll ever get high up officer gear, I frankly just don't play enough. 

But mainly, I just like killing elves.  And gnomes.. god, I almost like killing them more than the blueberries.

[Ironwood]

We have a bloke on our server who is weilding that gold epic from ragnaros.  The one that looks like his mace.

I swear to God, people actually quake in fear when he comes into the Blacksmith area heading for the flag.  Ouch.

[Hoax]

I dont mind the pvp rank system in all honesty, but the faction grinds make me feel sick.

I've been trying to figure out what gear I can get without involving myself in any "true" raiding for the warrior I inhereted on a friend's account I'll post the results of my search once I am finished, because I am wondering if anyone has opinions on the level of difficulty getting the gear or knows of something better.

Shit for that matter I really need an epic mount because AV sucks, and I refuse to do a fluid BG like AB/WSG without the faster mount.  I know you can get one from pvp ranks, or from high levels of honor (in AV?) or buy one for 900g.  Any thoughts on what the easiest path to obtaining it is?  My warrior is 60, has a few good pieces of gear all blue/purple (except rings/trinkets) I'm rank 3 -almost 4- after he had been inactive for about a month.  I took him over about half a week ago.  I know jack shit about how to effectively farm faction and/or gold.

[MrHat]

It's like Rank 11 for the mount.

You're better off farming.

[Merusk]

Yeah, piss on the Rank mount.  There's one in AV, I think, but AV is up only two days every 3 weeks (The holiday) starting at Midnight on my server.  Unless you have someone log you into the queue early in the day I've heard of wait times of 10 1/2 hours without getting in.. so fuck that too.

900 Gold, however, is a little bit of Auctionhouse wrangling to buy-low/ sell-high and a few instance runs with friends to get good sellables. LBRS is fantastic for this on my server.   (Might want to scoop up low-priced Deck Cards and hold onto them until after the patch when their prices will start going up because the drop rate is being decreased.)

Why LBRS? Nobody goes anymore, because there's enough UBRS keys in various guilds and stealth runs are better suited for the Rogue stuff.  (And generally, everyone says Fuck Hunters and their bits.) You can jump down to the Orcs that are just before the spiders to farm for the Major Fire Resist potion recipie and the purple robe pattern (mage I think.. might be lock) that drops.  Those sell for ~400 gold each on my server.  Check out the prices on your server and it might be something to look-into. You also have a chance of getting the BOE Mage, Priest, and Lock belts from kiling stuff which also sell for a good price.

Additionally, you can try farming Dead-Side Strath for Devout Bracers.  Those fuckers are so god damned rare they sell for ~100-200 gold on my server.  They are something like a 1.8% chance drop from the shadow caster guys.

[Hoax]

I can run AV at any time on my server during prime time their are typically 2 instances running during the week.  The wait is under 30min and averages about 15-25.  So getting into AV is not hard, what is the best way to max my stupid faction gain so I can get the mount?

[Merusk]

My understanding of the best way to raise faction is to do the quests and the turn-in stuff that the 60's usually 'leave to the lowbies.'   I believe everyone in the zone (or possibly just the raid..) gets faction for it, but the more turn-ins the better.

[Fabricated]

I was mostly in greens when I started doing AB, and I do okay against pretty much everyone outside of people in Tier 2/3/High Warlord junk.

Of course, I'm a warrior, which means most of my effectiveness is from my weapon, which is a decent two-hander axe (Dreadforge Retaliator, a.k.a. the Arcanite Reaper Lite).

[XMackenzie]

Speaking of arcanite reapers, I was looking at this thinking it was an arcanite reaper type upgrade (Stamina and AP) thinking it wasn't an amazingly huge upgrade for a Nef drop.... then I noticed it was one handed.  Sick ain't it?

[Hoax]

Dear god, the power creeeeeeeeeep!!!

[Malathor]

Not surprisingly considering the length of time AV has been around, this has become more common than dirt on my server. A very solid piece of gear by just about anyone's standards, and no raiding whatsoever required.

[Ironwood]

Hmmm, You don't consider AV a raid ?

[Malathor]

I don't consider AV a raid. There is nothing preventing you from going in there and not joining the main raid. I never join the raid myself. When I go generally operate with 1 or 2 groups of friends/guildies. If there are no guildies in there, I just afk out.

[bhodi]

I enjoy AV more than any of the other battlegrounds. Unfortunately, on my server, icecrown, it's up only during the holiday. On stormscale, my druid is only 46, not nearly high enough to participate.

[El Gallo]

I know you can get one from pvp ranks, or from high levels of honor (in AV?) or buy one for 900g.  Any thoughts on what the easiest path to obtaining it is? 

Paying a farmer fifty bucks will get you one, and is almost certainly easier/faster than grinding the gold yourself.

[bhodi]

I know you can get one from pvp ranks, or from high levels of honor (in AV?) or buy one for 900g.  Any thoughts on what the easiest path to obtaining it is? 

Paying a farmer fifty bucks will get you one, and is almost certainly easier/faster than grinding the gold yourself.

There are a few ways. If you're a disenchanter, there are a number of instance runs you can do and disenchant for shards, sell the shards on AH. I like marudon, becuase I'm a stealther, stealth in and kill firebeard... Unfortunaetly you can only do these 5 per hour, becuase of the hotfix to prevent the dire maul farming. Another good run is marudon, but it's such a PITA to lug yourself all the way there once you hearthstone... but you can get 5 or 6 small brilliant shards off the disenchants from that place... rogue+druid split should net about 10g per run.

Another easy way is to farm dark iron, both in the instance and overland. Dark iron sells for a good amount, and farming BRD for it is again a good money maker.

Dumb luck is always good; I didn't even think of being able to afford my epic mount until i got an ace of beasts drop and kick-started my funds with it selling for 350g. You could go slow and steady, with arcanite transmutes, sell herbs, camp the AH to see what sells a lot. Some potions are always popular, like frost oil. WoWecon FTW.

Lastly, you do NOT need 900g. You only need 720g.  If you're honored with the vendor, that's 10% off, and if you're at least a seargeant rank, that's another 10% off. If you're not, or don't feel like pvping, you CAN get someone you trust to buy the mount for you and trade it. It only becomes soulbound on first use. Keep in mind, it has to be the same type as the mount you have, as it uses the riding skill you purchased. If you want say a kitty mount, you need enough faction to purchase the riding ability... getting someone to buy the mount does you no good.

[SurfD]

if you like spending lots of time doing not much, fishing for Stonescale Eels in Ashzara during server "night times" can be fairly profitable also.  Depending on your server, the eels may go for as much as 2 gold EACH.

[Mesozoic]

I have no idea why they put any form of grinding in PvP at all.

I think it goes like this:

1. Devs release game with no or little pvp
2. Players demand pvp
3. Devs add pvp
4. Players demand reason to pvp
5. Devs add motivation to pvp
6. Players complain that pvp=grinding.

Points (2) and (4) seem schizophrenic.  If pvp is the game people want to play, why does that game need to have a reason to exist?  But if pvp is only the means to an end, why aren't PvE XP and loot enough? 

The answer might be that people want meaningful pvp unrelated to gear/points, but how?  If players gain and lose meaningful territory a la DAoC, then players will pile on to the winning side while the losers quit.  If the territory earns no significant advantage to the winner (a la Planetside), then players complain that there's no point. 

There seems to be no satisfactory macro-level (territory) or micro-level (points and gear) reward for pvp.  Yet people demand both pvp and rewards for pvping. 

[Ironwood]

I think you're right.  I also think that by using your reasoning we come right back to my point.  I have no idea why they do this.

[Hoax]

Difficult?  Yes
Immpossible?  No

For the record, I quit because of BG's they are stupid and I hate them.  All I wanted was for Blizz to fix world pvp, you know so it wasn't pointless and stupid.

[Alkiera]

I would argue that They argue (2) because they want to PvP... and (4) because they want other people to participate in PvP.  To use Bartle terms, The 'killer' types want (2).  Other people whine about being attacked, etc...  Then the 'killer' types decide, hey, maybe if we could get other people to want to PvP, maybe they wouldn't whine so much.  Let there be rewards for achievers to gain from PvP!  The Achievers don't mind, as it's another route to power, which may well combine additively with their normal PvE power-gain methods.  Devs realize this, so make it hard to gain powerful rewards from PvP, similar to the amount of time it'd take to grind thru instances and gather raids to get such stuff from PvE.  Then everyone complains about it, just like people complain about the amount time required for raiding.

Alkiera

[Dren]

It could be because it is missing "The Gank."  They should just add a message that comes up after each kill.

"You have now killed your opponent and they are extremely pissed.  So pissed, in fact, they have just quit the game."

Realistically, nothing like this happened, but they'll get the satisfaction they wanted along with a swelling in the pants.

Or maybe not...

[Ironwood]

Difficult?  Yes
Immpossible?  No

For the record, I quit because of BG's they are stupid and I hate them.  All I wanted was for Blizz to fix world pvp, you know so it wasn't pointless and stupid.

Sigh :  WHAT DID YOU WANT ?

[cevik]

Difficult?  Yes
Immpossible?  No

For the record, I quit because of BG's they are stupid and I hate them.  All I wanted was for Blizz to fix world pvp, you know so it wasn't pointless and stupid.

Heh, this sounds like Alliance code for "When we don't have a 3:1 zerg we suck to much to win, so I quit!"..

At least that's what I hear from the Alliance on my server. :)

[Hoax]

I'm not going to bother going into it, I see now that a game that isn't designed from the word go to involve pvp will have terrible pvp no matter what they try to do after the fact.  Every mechanic and every decision has to take pvp into account that sure as fuck didn't happen with WoW so the pvp in WoW will always get a resounding meh from me.  Thats not to say it isn't fun, but it will never be more fun then any fps/rts game because it will always be just as meaningless.

If you can't understand the concept of meaningful versus meaningless pvp, your welcome to go look up my posts about BG's when they were first announced, or you can check out my posts in any thread about planetside or daoc.  Hell I would estimate at least 300 of my 900 posts have to do with this subject indirectly or directly.

[HaemishM]

I'm not going to bother going into it, I see now that a game that isn't designed from the word go to involve pvp will have terrible pvp no matter what they try to do after the fact.  Every mechanic and every decision has to take pvp into account

Glad to see you caught up with the rest of us.