Battleground stories

[MongoJerry]

But I am very interested in battlegrounds. However...I will probably very much suck at PvP, so I was wondering (since I'll likely lose alot at first) if these are fun places to learn PvP skills.

Both are very fun and each are very different from one another. The Warsong Gulch capture-the-flag battleground is fast paced and intense. Matches last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and half depending on how evenly matched and well coordinated the opposing sides are. Matches are 10-on-10, so every player matters, and it's important that everyone knows what to do and where to go. There's no relaxing even for a minute in these matches.

On the other hand, I find Alterac Valley much more relaxing and fun in a different way. The battleground involves a 40-on-40 all out war, where one can capture graveyards, destroy opponent's bunkers, and kill opponent's NPC commanders. Alterac has a mix of PvE and PvP content in it, so if you get tired of the fight at the front, you can do some side quests that can also help your side. For example, you can tame and gather wolves/rams (depending on your side) and bring them back to your stable master and then kill rams/wolves to gather ram/wolf hides (depending on your side) and turn them in. After enough of them are collected, you can spawn a cavalry charge of wolf-riders/ram-riders involving ten elite NPC mobs that can really mess up the opponents ranks. If your team coordinates their charge with them, they can use the charge to get the next graveyard or bunker. There are lots of other things as well -- stuff involving capturing mines and gathering supplies, stuff involving getting a Frostwolf banner (if you're Horde), stuff involving rescuing a goblin from 3rd-party trolls (the goblin will make a shredder for you if you bring him materials once you rescue him), and even a quest involving the syndicate (one I just learned about and did today). Meanwhile, at the front, there's lots and lots of fighting and dying and rezing and fighting and dying and rezing. And while the fight is chaotic at times, it's also a lot of fun.

As far as learning PvP skills in the Battlegrounds, I think each would give you a different perspective on what PvP is like. Alterac Valley is very much about killing your opponent as quickly as possible whereas Warsong Gulch is more about snaring and disrupting your opponent. So, for example, a full-on fire built mage would be great for Alterac Valley, where his or her massive damage could kill a lot of people. On the other hand, ice mages rule in Warsong Gulch with their ability to snare and disrupt the other team.

I find each of the BG's fun in their own ways, and I choose which to play based on what I'm looking for at the moment. For my part, I couldn't stand to enter Warsong Gulch without at least a group of five on Teamspeak or Ventrillo. No way could I face entering Warsong Gulch solo with a bunch of other random people, because I know that we would inevitably be stomped on by any opponents who are at all organized and cooperating on teamspeak. So, when I'm solo and want to just have some relaxing fun, I join Alterac Valley. It usually means joining up with a randomly thrown together raid with strangers, but that's OK. I usually talk to the party of five I'm in and try to organize things a little bit in our small group. It helps being a priest when doing this, because people are amazed at the idea that someone, a complete stranger even, would actually heal them in the big zerg-fest at the front lines. The fight in Alterac Valley may seem at times so big that you might feel that your contribution doesn't matter. But believe me, having a simple party of five working together with a priest (or paladin) healing and giving dispells and the group coordinating together can make a big difference in the fight. And also, a party of 5-10 players who know each other and who work together can accomplish a lot in that battleground and really turn the tide. Finally, even if you're playing solo in an uncoordinated group, sometimes pushes just need that one extra person who's on the ball and is at the right place at the right time to take that graveyard or destroy that bunker. Individual contributions do definitely make a difference.