Tips for Strand of the Ancients and how to win it
by Mike Schramm 
Jan 7th 2009 at 4:00PM
Eye for an Eye has a great set of tips up for the Strand of the Ancients battleground. Their tips are aimed towards Ret Pallies, but they're useful for almost anyone, and especially any melee-based classes. And the general idea -- focus on the relic and getting to it, not the players attacking you or other teammates -- is great for anyone to know.I don't know what it is about Strand and Wintergrasp that has pulled new players into PvP, but there's something new there -- DanO also has found himself PvPing in those places when he never guessed he would. It seems like the objective is a big part of it; the goals in Strand and Wintergrasp just seem more epic than the skirmishes in Warsong and Arathi Basin (and they come with none of the major issues in Alterac Valley).
Still, while most of the tips are common sense, some of them are worth listening to if you haven't though of them yet (I liked the tip about sniffing out Rogues around the tanks -- whenever I've played Strand, I've always headed for the walls, but protecting the tanks is a great tactic, too). If you haven't tried either of the new PvP areas yet, give them a look, and bring these tips along with you.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Instances, Raiding, Battlegrounds
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Eddie Jan 7th 2009 4:17PM
I havent tried any of the new pvp area's out yet.
Going to soon, though I will have to see what its like as a holy priest now in Wrath
Damntheman Jan 7th 2009 4:29PM
oh god I loled. You'll love it. Holy priests are invincible. Well once they're in angel form that is. But don't worry, you'll be dead within seconds and quickly assume your role of angel healer!
stevens.ce Jan 7th 2009 5:51PM
I loled at Damntheman's lol - my sentiments exactly - there is just a much love for pvp healing priests in Wrath pvp as their was in BC - none.
Urza Jan 8th 2009 9:43AM
The PvP dailies in Grizzly Hills are pretty awesome. Check those out first.
exastris Jan 7th 2009 5:48PM
lagrasp? no thanks. 10 second instant casts is not my idea of fun. Besides, that ret is going to mow me over anyways..Ret with tenacity? Even less fun for me.
Keith Jan 7th 2009 4:50PM
Wintergrasp has become my number one thing to do in WoW. When there are lots of people on each side, it's just an epic battle. When there's only a few people on each side, it's more of a game of chess where each action you personally make (or fail to make) can be the difference between winning and losing.
My tips for winning on defense - never let a wall cannon go unused if it could be hitting vehicles; if you're attacking vehicles on foot, begin to do so as far away from the walls as possible - every strike they make on a wall puts them closer to victory; if you can organise a group of people to capture and (this is the important bit) hold the vehicle workshops, do it; ignore the enemy if they're on foot (unless they're attacking your vehicles) because vehicles should be your number one target.
On offense, the best tactic I think is to concentrate your forces. Don't send up one vehicle at a time - build a bunch of them at once and send them up in convoy. It makes it much more likely that you'll get hits on the walls, which is your number one, number two, and number three priorities. When your vehicle is destroyed, if there are friendly vehicles around, defend them. If not, high-tail it back to create a new one. Also, if you see a destroyer with an empty gun turret, jump on and start blasting
yazah Jan 7th 2009 6:18PM
Also, remember that you can attack while riding as a passenger in the tanks.
My favorite thing to do is have a melee class drive, and me (Frost mage) keep everyone away with frost nova, blizzard (slows them down) polymorph or counterspell (keeps casters quiet)..
If anything gets past that, they are pretty easy to take down while in the relative safetly of the tank, and in the mean time, the tank gets through a few extra doors.
Horris Jan 7th 2009 4:52PM
SotA has given me a brand new love for PvP. Whenever I want a break from dailies or heroics, strand is my new favorite in-game pastime.
Amaxe Jan 7th 2009 4:54PM
Strand of Ancients feels like Wintergrasp "On the Cheap." Given a choice, I'd rather play Wintergrasp with all the chaos of siege weapons, hand to hand fighting and desperate tactics.
SoA has some of those elements, but it feels rather limited in carrying it out. I may go there if I ever have to grind tokens, but not for any other reason
Angel Jan 7th 2009 4:59PM
Something useful i discovered was that Resto Shaman can cast earthshield on the tanks :)
HunterFromTheStart Jan 7th 2009 5:00PM
I just hope the horde isn't reading this now!!
David Whyld Jan 7th 2009 5:03PM
I'm a huge fan of both Strand and Wintergrasp, so much so that I find myself strangely reluctant to bother with the older battlegrounds. Even Alterac Valley has lost its appeal to me now. When I can fire cannons, ride around in vehicles and engage in epic PVP battles with 50+ enemies, AND make several thousand honour even if I lose, why would I want to go back to capping flags, defending bases and sitting on graveyards?
Saying that, one of the best things that both Strand and Wintergrasp have that the older battlegrounds don't is a timer. I always know a Strand battle will be over in 20 minutes max and a Wintergrasp battle in 30 minutes; I know I won't be stuck there for two hours because both sides have the flag and everyone is farming honour in the middle or because the Horde have capped a certain graveyard and now it's pretty much impossible for the Alliance to win. Put a timer on Warsong Gulch and I might be tempted back to it.
Quickshiv Jan 7th 2009 5:19PM
I totally agree. Gulch should have a timer for sure. AV is dead in my battle group. Even after getting into one it is almost never full. There is just no point to run AV. Eventually it might get fun again but I think we have all run it enough it can just go away.
Quickshiv Jan 7th 2009 5:08PM
Anyone ever think of getting a SotA premade going with just ShS rogues. Get seafoam charges --> ShS wall 1 --> prep --> ShS wall 2 --> Wait 30 seconds (stealthed of course) --> ShS wall 3 --> Drop bombs --> Win
Can anyone think of a reason this wont work other then finding enough rogues.
Lemons Jan 7th 2009 6:25PM
Wow, yes! I'm gunna have to try that with a rogue buddy of mine! Maybe recruit some more rogues to do it with us.
I think It would work for the first 35 times then horde would have 6 hunters flaring the last gate constantly XP
Dave Jan 7th 2009 7:35PM
I have gotten into the new PVP areas a lot because I think the end objective is more PVE "flavored". It removes a lot of the player differences from the game. For example, I play a hunter. In traditional PVP I die early and often mostly because I suck at getting to range on rogues, paladins and warriors. (I'm sure mages, priest and warlocks hate me just as much as I hate the above classes.) However when I'm driving a tank my suckage in that respect doesn't matter, in fact it's pretty much irrelevant. The same when I've got a gun and am shooting at tanks, and the player that happens to be in range when the tanks are nearby.
Another example, in Strands you are really tearing down walls and getting to the relic, not trying kill other players. The fact that the other players are there is pretty incidental. The focus is on the "big weapons", not the individual player. So I die a lot less and can even use the "big weapons" for cover. Heck, I can even step out of battle and eat/drink if I need to.
A few other points for the new PVP, in my book...
1) Wintergrasp is every 3 hours, so it's a nice break from my normal PVE play .
2) Strands feels more balanced because one side has to beat the other's time.
3) Strands has a set time limit. No turtling and farming kills.
4) The battles seem more EPIC over less space. Even AV is less EPIC because there's so much empty space.
P.S. I play on a PVE server, as you can probably tell.
bradv10 Jan 7th 2009 5:14PM
they pretty much took how people were playing AV (rushing to end boss) and build a game objective around it.
jerzz80 Jan 8th 2009 12:11PM
lol.....
All BLUE!
Kinsbane Jan 7th 2009 5:28PM
One thing about SotA... On D: man the cannons... they are there for a reason. and the biggest slow down for the D is to defend the inner Gy's. It's practically impossible to beat the clock if the other team has to continually run all the way to the beach to get the big hitters up.
I know this sounds obvious to most of you, but I've been in this BG so many times where I seem to be the only one on a cannon and people just ignore defending the gy's.
stevens.ce Jan 7th 2009 5:55PM
I've lost most of my interest for pvp in Wrath due to the change in gear awards - I'm just not going to bother with the craphole they call arena to get gear - but I must admit that SotA is a ton of fun. I like that it's short, relatively clear cut, and usually has decent balance. Wintergrasp I can take or leave. It's nearly always dead on my server (Korialstrasz), and I don't find of ton of joy in a series of unfocused one or two-man battles for nothing. I'd have rather seen a new battleground similar to AV, without all the nasty turtleing.