Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Tales from the battleground

I may never pug a battleground again. Ok I'm lying, I know I am, because I'll want to PVP and no one else will be up for it and I'll keep hoping for one of those stellar moments where the stars align and a pug group forms with no AFKers or idiots but rather with people who know how to play and want to win. Yeah, I'm an idealist I guess.

I do have some positive stories to tell from the warzone of the battlegrounds though, there is hope.

Last Friday night I was part of a group that just roflstomped all over Warsong Gulch (ok so it was a premade of guildies plus some friends, I promise I have a couple of good pug stories too though).

We won 7 games in a row, mostly in around 8 minutes each. After the 7th game we just couldn't seem to get the queue to pop no matter what how long we waited. Horde of the Cyclone battlegroup I apologise to you. Actually no I don't! HAH! And jimihendrix hunter with the /rofl emote? You picked the wrong hunter. There's nothing like having everyone on voice chat to help organise a little personal extra pwnage.

We had so much fun as a premade we went back and did it all again on Sunday. Good times. Although it sadly got a little boring after a while.

How about a tale or two of triumph in the face of adversity? After a really disappointing 'losing attitude' pug WSG the next one I joined I immediately asked if there were players present who wanted to win. I got a couple of affirmative responses and then a pally piped up: "What are your instructions then oh fearless leader?" (or something along those lines). 'Well crap' I thought, 'You've put your big huntardy foot in it now Jez, better talk fast or forever accept the label of scrub'. So I did: "The main plan is communicate, call all incs and exits, guard your carrier, set picks, control mid, get our flag back. Mostly just communicate." I wasn't very hopeful but zomg people DID communicate and would you belive it - we won! That was a very satisfying feeling.

Then there was that Eye of the Storm incident. Emelin and I were grouped up to PVP together so barely a premade but when thanking someone for a buff I realised that I was Battle Leader. Eeep. Um. Ok, might as well say.. something.. no one else is. So I gave some basic instruction: Grab DR and MT everyone else rush FR. And people actually followed my lead and we captured 3 nodes! I did my 'call incs early' thing and spent most of the battle guarding a node and calling out instructions re where to defend and where to attack. As a hunter I generally end up guarding nodes in battlegrounds like Arathi and EoS so if I've got the eyeline I tend to do a lot of communicating about enemy movements anyway. Well and tell people to fight on nodes not roads. But yeah we won that EoS too!

I don't really like being in the 'leadership spotlight' so to speak in WoW. I prefer the role of support. But it just goes to show that being the one to stand up and give some direction and encourage communication can actually make a difference. I don't think we won those battlegrounds because of me, but I do think that by communicating early a desire to win and offering a strategy it maybe boosted all the other jaded people like me sick of losing attitude pugs into bringing their game faces and doing their best to win instead of just expecting to lose and not bothering to try that hard. A positive winning attitude really does help. Who knew.

3 comments:

Webmosher said...

I am mixed on my opinions of PvP. I admit that I truly enjoy AV, and have had alot of good experiences there... like beating a Horde pre-made that summons Ice Lord. It probably helps that Alliance wins more than half the time, so you feel you're achieving something.

Your post gives me hope, but leaves me lost. I think that leadership IS key to winning BGs. I honestly have no idea what I am doing in AB, WSG or EotS, but I need marks, so I do em anyway. No one seems to do anything coordinated, so I end up just running amok, killing what I can.

So... can you suggest a place to learn these strategies? Where I can understand what "call incs early" means?

Cheers...

Chrom said...

sucess in the node based BG's are definitely tied to mobility and communication as Jezrael has so aptly put. being able to react quickly to "incs" or incoming enemy players is important to your team reacting, and more importantly, reacting with appropriate force. there is no sense in calling out an inc if its one orc shaman zerging node guarded by two MS warriors and a resto druid.
90% of your victories are going to be derived from controling (more) nodes longer than your opponents can control theirs, not 5 capping. To do this your team must be able to weather the storm of zerg's by getting help from other nodes to protect the node from going down. if you are guarding a node with one other person and 4 of the opposing side ride over the horizon to try to take it from you, using the BG chat to let other members of the team know you need help is extremely useful. This may seem obvious to some but honeslty in todays Pug's ive seen some AMAZING stupidity. I think the advice Jez gives is great and If no one is talking in the BG dont be afraid to speak up and give some orders/advice. there will always be people that wont listen but for those who want to win or for those who are BG rookies and still havent figured them out yet, it might just make the difference between one badge and three.

Anonymous said...

I think 90% of the battles are won (or lost) in those moments to minutes before the BG gates open.

Getting people to communicate and giving the indication that you will talk through a win is the best start.

I don't think that BGs groups are filled with 90% slackers and noobs, although I am prepared to concede 10-30%. I think often it is disheartened "veterans" needing a voice in the darkness, because they have lost their voice through futility.

I often find even "Who was in that last winning < insert BG here >. Let's do it again" lifts a completely new group to try harder