RULES THAT APPLY TO ALL BATTLEGROUNDS

These are activities that apply to the process of getting into a battleground, and rules that apply to all of the battlegrounds. If you have played battlegrounds for awhile, you probably know them already. I list them here for the convenience of players who are new to the game.

Getting a Battleground

The easiest way to find a battle is to use the PvP BG panel. The battlemasters do the same thing, but you have to interact with them first.

Battleground Panel

Click on the PvP button on the action bar that includes the Interface, Character and Achievement buttons. Then click on the Battlegrounds panel.

This panel shows all of the battlegrounds that you are eligible to play. You can click on up to two specific battlegrounds, or you can click on Random Battleground. (Currently, random is only available to high level players, so you may not have that option on your panel.)

Clicking a battleground will put you in the queue for that battleground. Clicking on Random will put you in the queue for the next available of all the battleground that you can see on your list.

A PvP icon attached to the minimap display indicates that you are queued. Clicking on the icon will show you your queues and give you a (generally poor) estimate of how long you still have to wait.

When a battleground comes up, you will have a short period of time (currently 60 seconds) to click the OK button. You cannot click OK if you are dead or in combat. When the battleground ends, you will be returned to where you were when you clicked OK.

Note that Wintergrasp and Tol Barad are not battlegrounds. They are PvP "zones" that host periodic battles. To queue for the Wintergrasp battle you must go to Dalaran and visit the NPC next to the Wintergrasp portal. Tol Barad can be reached via a portal near all the other Cataclysm portals in Stormwind or Orgrimmar. The queues become available fifteen minutes before a battle starts.

When you click OK for a battleground, you will clear the queue for the second battleground if you were queued for one. You will NOT clear the queue for Wintergrasp or Tol Barad.

Battlemasters

In certain locations in the major cities you can Battlemasters for each battleground. Clicking on a Battlemaster opens an "Enter Battleground" dialog. This used to be the only way to enter a battleground, but these are not much used since the bg panel became available.

Battleground Entrances

Three battlegrounds have specific "real" entrances.

Warsong Gulch: Ashenvale (Alliance)/Barrens (Horde)
Alterac Valley: Alterac Mountains
Arathi Basin: Arathi Highlands

The entrace includes a battlemaster, a quartermaster who sells gear specific to that battleground, and a group of npcs who sell food and drink. Some of the npcs have quests that you can complete inside the battleground. There is no need to ever go there unless you are interested in the items or the quests.

After a Battle

When a battleground is closed, the following happens:

• All players are prevented from moving or acting.
• All players are fully healed.
• The score screen is displayed with a "Leave Battleground" button. Clicking on the button will return you to wherever you were when you entered the battle.

This is true only of battlegrounds. Remember that Wintergrasp and Tol Barad are not battlegrounds.

Chat Channels

The chat channel for all battlegrounds is: /bg.

Since they are not battlegrounds, Tol Barad and Wintergrasp have no /bg channel. You can talk to your raid group with /ra, and to everyone on your team with /1.

Leaving the Battleground Before the Battle Is Over

If you exit the battleground before the battle ends, you will receive a fifteen minute debuff named: "Deserter". While the debuff is active, you will not be able to enter the queue for any battleground. If you are in a group, the group will not be able to queue. The purpose of this is to keep players from popping in and out of battlegrounds until they find a match-up that they like.

Reporting Absent Players

Some players come to a battleground and just sit ... trying to get honor points without actually playing. To report them, find their dot on the map or minimap, right-click, and then select "report player as away". When enough reports are registered, a 60 second debuff will begin to count down. The debuff will mark them as a deserter and remove them from the battleground with no honor points.

Battleground Experience

Battlegrounds give experience. However, you have the option of stopping the XP gain. This ability costs 10 gold to switch on or off and prevents XP gain in all aspects of the game. A NPC located near the Battle Masters in Stormwind or Orgrimmar does the switching.

If you are not receiving XP, then you will only be put into battlegrounds with others who are not receiving XP. This only seems to happen in battlegroups that have a large enough number of people with XP turned off.

Flags

• Dropping the flag in a battleground debuffs you so that you cannot pick up the flag again for 3 seconds.
• Flag carriers can be tracked on battleground maps 45 seconds after they pick up the flag.

Honorable Defender

To encourage people to defend flags, the game gives a buff called Honorable Defender to anyone who stands near a flag for a period of time. This buff grants +50% honor gained from kills. Honorable Defender is available in Arathi Basin, Eye of the Storm and Isle of Conquest.

LINKS

Blizzard General Battlegrounds Page

Wowwikki - includes list of battlegrounds