03-30-2008, 10:06 PM
Ryan: I'm curious about which WSG change actually led to the matches being longer? I did a few yesterday because I was trying to get the 2 minute pvp trinket and I had a shortage of WSG tokens compared to every other battleground. There were matches that were longer than I woudl have liked (win or lose, I just wanted the match over quickly so I could get my token(s)). The length of the match seemed to depend more on the attitude of the participants than any game mechanic. If one or both sides wanted a turtle, they could quite easily drag it out until the 100% damage debuff kicked in. If the match went on for an extended period after that, I can only assume that offence was bad and/or the flag carrier had an platoon of healers. (And yes I was in a match where the flag carrier was sitting in the graveyard with 3 healers).
My observations are that its much harder for the flag carriers to hide now (you can see where they are on the mini-map), and you need a lot of healing to keep them up against a determined assault once the full damage bonus kicks in.
I also wondered if they tweaked the matching system a bit. I wasn't doing a lot of BGs, but I didn't run into a single pre-made all weekend, and most of the matches felt pretty evenly matched.
The token turn in quest was great honor if you had a stockpile of unused tokens. Most serious PVPers have probably moved far beyond honor pvp gear by now, but its much easier to get than it was.
Magister's Terrace: Finally got in to check the place out. Haven't done Heroic mode yet, but I ran normal mode over and over and over. The length of the instance feels right - we were clearing it in 30-45 minutes. There were no upgrades for me, but I suspect other players would find a lot of nice stuff in there. First two bosses seemed pretty easy. The third boss is chaotic fun. It's been called a "5 versus 5" arena match and the description isn't too inaccurate. Normal aggro rules are right out the window, and I was much more successful when I started treating it like a pvp match (cast and run, keep moving, fear liberally etc). Gotta love a boss fight where an explosive sheep gets used against you.
I'm impressed that they managed to keep so much of the Tempest Keep Kael fight for Magister's Terrace. That being said, phase 2 is an unholy nightmare to heal, and I play one of the healing classes better suited for it.
Still I got enough runs in to hit Revered with Shattered Sun Offensive over the weekend.
My observations are that its much harder for the flag carriers to hide now (you can see where they are on the mini-map), and you need a lot of healing to keep them up against a determined assault once the full damage bonus kicks in.
I also wondered if they tweaked the matching system a bit. I wasn't doing a lot of BGs, but I didn't run into a single pre-made all weekend, and most of the matches felt pretty evenly matched.
The token turn in quest was great honor if you had a stockpile of unused tokens. Most serious PVPers have probably moved far beyond honor pvp gear by now, but its much easier to get than it was.
Magister's Terrace: Finally got in to check the place out. Haven't done Heroic mode yet, but I ran normal mode over and over and over. The length of the instance feels right - we were clearing it in 30-45 minutes. There were no upgrades for me, but I suspect other players would find a lot of nice stuff in there. First two bosses seemed pretty easy. The third boss is chaotic fun. It's been called a "5 versus 5" arena match and the description isn't too inaccurate. Normal aggro rules are right out the window, and I was much more successful when I started treating it like a pvp match (cast and run, keep moving, fear liberally etc). Gotta love a boss fight where an explosive sheep gets used against you.
I'm impressed that they managed to keep so much of the Tempest Keep Kael fight for Magister's Terrace. That being said, phase 2 is an unholy nightmare to heal, and I play one of the healing classes better suited for it.
Still I got enough runs in to hit Revered with Shattered Sun Offensive over the weekend.