This thread has been the most interesting thread on CGA in weeks.
just saying
Indeed.
...Ok, kidding aside, I dig the idea of getting back to a conflict between factions. Cataclysm started it back up with Garrosh taking over and initiating hostilities in resource laden areas like Ashenvale but, at its core, this is a game about WAR. Remind me again, what was the title of the first RTS in the series? Oh, that's right, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.
/start rant.
When you said "getting back to a conflict between factions" I think you really meant to say "starting a conflict between the two factions." For a series that has had such an impetus on conflict between Horde and Alliance throughout its past, the fact that WoW's PvP is severely lacking (read that as nonexistent) is pathetic. It took Blizzard 3 expansions and almost 7 years to get on this?! Come on. If they haven't gotten around to doing it by now, I seriously question how good it will be - especially when in the past they've made every effort to quell World PVP by adding flying mounts and 9,000 hidden level 85 guards at every city, everywhere.
When you compare WoW's current offering of PvP to other current games and even past games (like DAoC, which had the best PvP... EVER) WoW falls hundreds of miles short. In these games, PvP had a purpose. If you controlled enemy points the rest of your realm/faction got bonuses to various aspects to the game, such as enhanced crafting or enhanced leveling, etc, etc. In WoW, you PvP just so that YOU can get better at PvPing. You do it for yourself, not for your faction or your guild.
Additionally, before you say "Tol'Barad is large-scale PvP similar to DAoC and WAR, and so was Windergrasp!" No, no they aren't. The main difference between TB and WG and what both DAoC and WAR had was that WoW's PvP is
very controlled. Only every two hours can you attack or defend and on the opposite side of that coin, there was a large chance that you could only enjoy the bonuses of controlling those zones for a maximum of two hours because of how Blizz engineered TB and WG (they were easier to take than defend).
In DAoC/WAR if you took a keep it might be 15 minutes or 15 days later when that keep is attacked. DAoC/WAR PvP solely relied on the players' choices in PvP. Also, advantages in regards to keep taking in DAoC/WAR were totally dependent on the force you
chose to run with, not timers, lockouts or being lucky enough to be randomly grouped with people with good gear or PvP experience. DAoC/WAR didn't control how many people could enter the zone at a given time like Blizz does with TB and WG, either.
Honestly its like Blizz showed up to a gun fight with a pickle and some paper (I dunno...). Even Warhammer's end-game pvp (regardless of how broken it was) was infinitely better than what WoW offers at level 85.
/end rant.
Edit: I just read a
short article about the changes to PvP. The resilience changes sound interesting, but also disappointing to the people that only PvP (such as myself). Whats the point of PvP gear if I can't own the snot out of somone in PvE gear? Also, the "totally" new battlegrounds are long overdue - regardless of that they're still welcomed. Despite all of this, it does not seem that Blizzard has made enough changes to the way BGs work and how the results of PvP impact the rest of the game - it sounds like its still very much an afterthought.
