Adventures in Azeroth

I love PVP, and whenever I wax poetic about it my fellow n00bs ask how, exactly, it works. So...here's how it works. :-)

From a N00b to a Fellow N00b: Random Battlegrounds

Table of Contents:

1. Full disclosure
2. Introduction
3. The Basics: All the mechanics of getting in, around, and out which are common to all BGs
3.1 When, How, and with Whom You Can Queue
3.2 Zoning In
3.3 Tools (i.e., How Your Screen Will Look)
3.4 Leader? What Leader?
3.5 Joining a Battle In Progress
3.6 Battleground Maps
3.7 Battle Begins
3.8 What to Do in BGs When You're Dead
3.9 How and When Things End
4. Gameplay and Victory Conditions
4.1 Warsong Gulch
4.2 Arathi Basin
4.3 Eye of the Storm
4.4 Alterac Valley (Coming Soon)
4.5 Strand of the Ancients (Coming Soon)
4.6 Isle of Conquest (Coming Soon)
4.7 Battle for Gilneas (Coming Soon)
4.8 Twin Peaks (Coming Soon)
5. Choosing a BG (Coming Soon)
6. What is a twink?
7. Gearing for PVP
7.1 Stats for PVP
7.2 How and Where to Get PVP Gear
7.3 What to Get in What Order
7.4 Enchants and Gems

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1. Full disclosure

I've been playing World of Warcraft for 8 months and I've been doing BGs for less than half that time. Hence the title! But sometimes the stuff that player-since-Vanilla don't even think to mention are the things a n00b needs to know. So let's give this a shot! I encourage more experienced players to point out any errors or misconceptions in the comments and I will edit to include/correct.


2. Introduction

So, you've decided you want to try out Random Battlegrounds (BGs for short). Maybe you want to poke at PVP and someone told you BGs were the place to start. Maybe you're just curious. For whatever reason, you've decided to jump in. But you don't want to jump in totally cold. That's what this post is for.

First, some clarification so that we all know what kind of PVP we're talking about.

Random Battleground (BG): An instance isolated from the main world of the game. Members of the team are selected and grouped at random, hence the name.

Rated Battleground (RBG): A battleground in which the teams are pre-made. That is, you get your own group together (usually guild groups) and go in as a unit. You are facing off against another pre-made group. Rated battlegrounds contribute to a ranking system. Randoms don't.

Arena: An instance isolated from the main world of the game in which teams of players compete to kill each other. There is no other objective. Arena teams can be of two players (2v2), three players (3v3), or five players (5v5). You may belong to a formal arena team, or you may ask around and get a partner (or partners) to play with you for a handful of matches.

Duel: When two players meet up in the main world of the game, issue a formal challenge, and complete to kill each other one on one. You may challenge your own faction members to a duel.

I'll only be talking about Random Battlegrounds, as I have little or no experience with the other types at the moment.


( 3. The Basics: All the mechanics of getting in, around, and out which are common to all BGs )

( 4. Gameplay and Victory Conditions )

( 5. Choosing a BG (Coming Soon) )

( 6. What is a twink? )

( 7. Gearing for PVP )

End Notes

Please leave comments, corrections, questions, and so forth in the comments! I wrote a lot of this from memory and I am pretty new myself, so I welcome all constructive help. :-)