IgroMir 2009: Cataclysm panel recaps
by Michael Sacco 
Nov 21st 2009 at 4:00PM
Thankfully, Blizzard themselves have released their own recaps of the Cataclysm panel. In his talk, Brack discussed rated battlegrounds, Tol Barad (briefly), and guild progression. It turns out that I was pretty thorough in the guild leveling post, but here's the stuff I didn't cover:
- Rated Battlegrounds will be an alternative way to gain Arena points for those who prefer large-scale PVP.
- Your personal rating gain for a win will vary depending on the specific Battleground.
- There'll be featured Battlegrounds each week with bonus rating gain for wins.
- You will not lose points or rating for a Battleground loss.
- Arena points can be used to purchase pets, mounts, vanity items, and perhaps best of all, the old honor system PVP titles like Grand Marshal.
- Tol Barad will provide bonus daily quests and instances for the faction that wins the battle for the zone, somewhat like, as Brack put it, a cross between the Isle of Quel'Danas and Lake Wintergrasp.
You can check out our previous IgroMir post here, or read Blizzard's official recap on their IgroMir site.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.Filed under: News items, Expansions, Interviews, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Edge Nov 21st 2009 4:07PM
Old titles? That's not right... :(
Igantinos Nov 21st 2009 4:08PM
I kinda hate that now people can walk around with titles that feel unique
dark.phantom5 Nov 21st 2009 4:09PM
R.I.P. the uniqueness of Private Parts. :(
Sean Nov 21st 2009 4:10PM
Wow...are they so desperate to boost Arena participation? Why not just let it go, or keep it on the side for people who like it?
MazokuRanma Nov 21st 2009 4:21PM
How does this -boost- arenas? You can now get all the same rewards without ever setting foot in an arena. Instead of needing arena points and rating, you can now use arena points (now gotten from your rated BG isntead) and the necessary BG rating. If anything, this will likely result in a drop of arena interest. I know many people who would switch to BGs in a heartbeat if they gave the high level PvP rewards and never set foot in arenas again.
Jamin Nov 21st 2009 4:11PM
Will your BG rating qualify you for obtaining the same gear that's available to arena players? I apologize if this has been answered before--but I've not seen anything definitive.
Mike Nov 21st 2009 4:13PM
I wonder why they keep comparing Tol Barad to Quel'Danas and Wintergrasp and completely ignore the Argent Tournament (which is every bit of Wrath's version of Quel'Danas)?
kashback Nov 21st 2009 5:09PM
Maybe it's like the Argent Tournament but without all the suck? Kind of like Quel'Danas was.
Riltia Nov 21st 2009 5:19PM
Argent Tournament didn't involve instances, whereas IoQD and Wintergrasp do. The Argent Tournament is also a Sanctuary, and isn't known as a PvP hotspot. AFAIK, IoQD was a PvP fest on PvP realms.
Siddaru Nov 21st 2009 6:50PM
Because the Argent Tournament is really just a quest hub in Icecrown, whereas Quel'danas and Wintergrasp are entire zones dedicated to a specific purpose. They're not at all the same thing.
Dale Nov 21st 2009 4:21PM
Does this mean that you will be matched with a battleground at your skill level? I am really looking forward to some high quality team mates and opposition, instead of the usual trash players that participate battlegrounds.
I don't mind if the titles are purchased as long as it requires some level of skill to obtain.
Azhariel Nov 21st 2009 5:15PM
Skill? Titles never required that!
They used to, and I presume they will continue to, require infinite grind. Back in the day for HK, tomorrow for Arena Points.
Jagoex Nov 23rd 2009 11:54PM
@Azhariel
I beg to differ. I'm not sure what Battlegroup you play on, but back in the day, the Rank 14 grind took plenty of skill and especially so on extremely competitive servers or Battlegroups.
Think of it like this: in order to rank up, players had to acquire as much honor as possible, and in the top tiers were competing against players who were on 24/7 and accumulating upwards of 1.2 million honor per week. In order to even stand a chance at Grand Marshal or High Warlord, one would have had to win as many games as possible and kill as many opponents as possible while dying as little as possible - time spent in a GY was time lost, as well as time your opponents could use to pull ahead in the race for more honor.
And not to state the obvious or anything, but none of these players could afford to risk getting booted from a BG (which BG leaders had the power to do at the time), so AFK'ing was a no no, as was shoddy play and poor sportsmanship. Yes... you had players that began taking advantage of a poorly implemented system post-cross-server BGs were introduced, and these guys soiled the accomplishment of the few just as Arena smurfers soiled the Gladiator titles in early seasons... but do you respect those who achieved Gladiator any less because of them? You shouldn't. And neither should you insult the skill it took for old school PvPers to hit the top rank legitimately.
Jagoex Nov 21st 2009 4:33PM
Some items should remain unattainable once their time has passed. Gladiator mounts, PvP weapons, special instance drops (ala ZA Bear), Achievement rewards, etc. I strongly believe that the old honor system titles belong on that list too, being that they are feats of strength from a different time. They used to mean something significant (4 months of PvP without a break, anyone?), but bringing them back in a purchasable way will label them as vanity titles, and that devalues them greatly in my opinion.
Yes, I know... games progress and items or titles from the past lose value as time moves forward. But as I said, some items should remain sacred, especially when it required so much time and effort to obtain them. The Rank 14 grind was and still is the most difficult progressive mechanic ever introduced into WoW... so difficult in fact that even those trying to milk the system with account sharing often failed at obtaining the top titles. Having the kind of dedication it took to get it done should be respected... and left alone.
Branch Nov 21st 2009 5:47PM
Agreed Bliz need to really respect the old afk/account shared BG titles. Everything was perfect back in the day.
Jagoex Nov 22nd 2009 12:54AM
@Branch
No one ever said it was perfect. Nothing is. Consider Arena smurfing, win-trading, and magnified class imbalance, and while you're at it, ask Blizzard devs how they truly feel about the Arena's inception (hint: how it was done is WoW's biggest mistake in 5 years).
The old system was FAR from perfect as well for the reason you stated. AFKers were a terrible thing, especially to those who were competing for the titles legitimately. But their presence doesn't take away from the sheer magnitude of time it took to go from Rank 1 to 14. And to those that did it without resorting to cheap means, yes, I do believe it is something Blizzard themselves and all WoW players should respect.
m_rydelis Nov 21st 2009 4:43PM
how much do I O U for being on podcast :D
Dinger Nov 21st 2009 4:49PM
I agree with the R.I.P of the uniqueness of the people who had the old PvP titles. Also I really hope that to respect those who acquired Grand Marshal and not let that title be purchased.
Kia Nov 21st 2009 4:59PM
If one already has an Arena team, if that team participates together in battlegrounds will the rating contribute to their team Arena rating, or will it be separate from 2v2, 3v3, etc?
Holgar Nov 21st 2009 5:39PM
Definatly seperate.