Open pvp

Stathis1

So, i quit playing 3 years ago. I don't like raids. I also didn't like bgs that much. I am a fan of open pvp. So, is there any now or is everybody doing raids? What is there as far as pvp is concerned? I heard about the exclusive pvp area with capture points. Is that any good? A friend of mine suggested i should try wotlk. I always found the end game boring due to the non interactive game world. Is there anything else to do apart from raids?

Tarka

With WotLK came a whole world area called Wintergrasp, whose role was for open world pvp.  I don't involve myself in it so I can't pass judgement on it.  However, I know people on my server that regularly had fun in there.  And in Cataclysm, another similar zone is coming in too.  So it must have a certain amount of popularity if Blizzard sought to put another one in.

crapricot

On my server open world pvp has been dead for a long time.  As for the capture points, it is uncommon to see more than two players "fighting" for them.  More like avoiding eachother.

Battlegrounds (instanced large-scale pvp) can be enjoyable, but the fastest way to upgrade your gear is through Arenas, which is a rated gladiator type match with a maximum of 5 players per team. 

Unfortunately I'd have to say that there is nothing to do in the game world as after you hit the level cap.

Azrile

Originally posted by Stathis1

So, i quit playing 3 years ago. I don't like raids. I also didn't like bgs that much. I am a fan of open pvp. So, is there any now or is everybody doing raids? What is there as far as pvp is concerned? I heard about the exclusive pvp area with capture points. Is that any good? A friend of mine suggested i should try wotlk. I always found the end game boring due to the non interactive game world. Is there anything else to do apart from raids?

Wintergrasp is similar to the launch of WOW.  Blizzard wasn't prepared for how successful it was going to be.  The biggest problem with Wintergrasp was that during primetime, it was frequent to see 300 v 300 fights which caused huge amounts of lag, especially in the courtyard.  WG was designed as a huge castle seige, unfortunately, this meant that the 'end' of the fight consisted of an inner courtyard, and the game (and most computers) cannot handle 600 players all casting spells at the same time.

As the expansion got older, wintergrasp dropped down where most of the time on my server, it was usually 100 v 100 which was much more playable.   They also added a 'cap' to WG which is 200 v 200, which I think is a bit high.  High populations still have 'capped' fights almost constantly.

Battles in Wintergrasp are openworld, but only take place for 30 minutes every 3 hours.

The new open world pvp area in Cata will be similar to Wintergrasp except that there isn't one single 'chokepoint' like the courtyard in WG..  This means it will probably be able to handle 600 player fights much easier because we won't all be on the same screen.

There also was a time shortly after achievements went live where raiding the other factions capitals was happening almost every night because there was an achievement for killing all the enemies faction leaders.   Because a few of the factions are getting new leaders in Cata (and trolls and gnomes are getting their own capitals)..  My guess is these raids are going to happen again after the expansion releases.

Aside from those two things.  I think world pvp is dead.  It is a decision Blizzard made and I think is correct.  it is just not fun to play when the enemy is killing your quest givers and camping your auctionhouse.

Also, Blizzard has added a bunch of new battlegrounds in the past few years.  They are much more fun then WSG and AB and have  more to them (and larger maps which make them feel more open).

Azrile

Wintergrasp is similar to the launch of WOW.  Blizzard wasn't prepared for how successful it was going to be.  The biggest problem with Wintergrasp was that during primetime, it was frequent to see 300 v 300 fights which caused huge amounts of lag, especially in the courtyard.  WG was designed as a huge castle seige, unfortunately, this meant that the 'end' of the fight consisted of an inner courtyard, and the game (and most computers) cannot handle 600 players all casting spells at the same time.

As the expansion got older, wintergrasp dropped down where most of the time on my server, it was usually 100 v 100 which was much more playable.   They also added a 'cap' to WG which is 200 v 200, which I think is a bit high.  High populations still have 'capped' fights almost constantly.

Battles in Wintergrasp are openworld, but only take place for 30 minutes every 3 hours.

The new open world pvp area in Cata will be similar to Wintergrasp except that there isn't one single 'chokepoint' like the courtyard in WG..  This means it will probably be able to handle 600 player fights much easier because we won't all be on the same screen.

There also was a time shortly after achievements went live where raiding the other factions capitals was happening almost every night because there was an achievement for killing all the enemies faction leaders.   Because a few of the factions are getting new leaders in Cata (and trolls and gnomes are getting their own capitals)..  My guess is these raids are going to happen again after the expansion releases.

Aside from those two things.  I think world pvp is dead.  It is a decision Blizzard made and I think is correct.  it is just not fun to play when the enemy is killing your quest givers and camping your auctionhouse.

Also, Blizzard has added a bunch of new battlegrounds in the past few years.  They are much more fun then WSG and AB and have  more to them (and larger maps which make them feel more open).

Torik

Originally posted by Azrile

Aside from those two things.  I think world pvp is dead.  It is a decision Blizzard made and I think is correct.  it is just not fun to play when the enemy is killing your quest givers and camping your auctionhouse.

The issue WoW has with world PvP is that Blizzard is just not willing to split the PvP and non-PvP server codebase further than just PvP flags.  Things that would make world PvP much more attractive would be a major nuisance to non-PvPers who specificly chose non-PvP servers to avoid stuff like that. 

AzurePrower

What I'd prefer is a choice and not locked into it by joining a server.

I love Wintergrasp with its world PVP! Why? Because when I got sick of it, I could go do other dailies with out being interrupted.

Some days you feel like PVP and risking it (mining and questing in Wintergrasp for example), some days you don't.

There should be at least two zones like Wintergrasp in every expansion that makes it more profitable to farm/quest/etc. there, but with a high chance of being killed by other players.