World of Warcraft: A Guide to Strand of the Ancients

Szark

MMORPG.com World of Warcraft Correspondent Robert Duckworth writes this guide to the Strand of the Ancients battleground in Blizzard's hit game.

This is written assuming that you've played the battleground Strand of the Ancients (SotA) before, but perhaps haven't discovered how everything works. Unlike the regular battlegrounds, where it's rather easy to see what you need to accomplish and there are multiple methods to doing that, in SotA the best method is outlined quite clearly. It's also the only battleground to have siege engines and wall defenses. Many players have been wanting this kind of battleground since WoW was first announced, since they wanted an experience tied closely to the Warcraft RTS. Only now, with Wrath of the Lich King, has Blizzard finally implemented destructible buildings and the like.

Read this guide to World of Warcraft's Strand of the Ancients.

Seith

Good well written guide there.

Here are some other specifications from my own experience in SotA.

 

Attacker

- Tank drivers: Please learn to get UNDER a turret, that way, only one of the two will be able to attack you. Turrets cannot shoot stuff close or underneath them. Also, if you see that there is only one turret manned, get under that turret to receive no damage.

 

- Tank drivers: Remember when I said you get under a turret? Then some of you might say: "Well I'm too far to hit the gate then!!". Well you are wrong, you do not actually have to hit the gate (door) to deal damage to it, you can use your ram right underneath the turret, to the wall and still deal damage, same goes for the catapult.

 

- To all those protecting the tanks on the beach, anticipate the gate's destruction. When you notice it's about to go down, get out of combat and mount, then rush the graveyards. Doing so, you should be able to rush the first, and maybe even the second graveyard, before the other team realizes it.

 

- And please... ranged dps and healers should sit shotgun on tanks, you can deal sooooooo much damage that way.

 

Defender

- If you ask me, turrets should be ignored at the beginning of the battle. Everyone should go to the docks and wait for the opposite team. Try to spread out evenly on both sides, focus all the dps on the players first, if you can kill them before they reach the tanks, they won't be able to heal or kill you without being immuned. Beside, a well geared player, can deal so much more damage than those turrets can and also that since more group now all focus one side, those 2 players sitting in turrets are doing nothing.

 

- Be more aware. How many times did I see players still fighting on the beach when our team got blitz and that they are taking down the yellow gate? Far too many.

Myrathi

Decent guide. You really do need much better proof-reading, though.

Zayne3145

As someone who doesn't really have much interest in PvP, SotA is actually a lot of fun in short bursts. It seems to have a faster pace than the other BG's.