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World of Warcraft: Battlegrounds Live!
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Blizzard Entertainment has announced the launch of "Battlegrounds" for World of WarCraft. This large addition is the first major update to the ground-breaking MMORPG from these gaming giants.
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® LAUNCHES
BATTLEGROUNDS FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT® A new era of player-vs.-player warfare has arrived in Blizzards critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online game PARIS, France June 07, 2005 - Blizzard Entertainment® today announced the release of the first two player-vs.-player (PvP) Battlegrounds for World of Warcraft®, its record-setting subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Featuring distinctly different map designs and game objectives, these highly anticipated PvP battlefields provide an entirely new dimension of competitive gameplay for both expert and new World of Warcraft players. While World of Warcraft has been expanding with new content regularly since launch, the PvP Battlegrounds represent the single biggest update to the game yet, stated Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. Were excited that players can now experience Horde-vs.-Alliance combat as it was meant to be, and were looking forward to adding even more Battlegrounds to the game with future updates. World of Warcrafts Battlegrounds are PvP-enabled zones where players compete against each other to achieve victory, Honor points, and valuable in-game rewards. Each Battleground has different goals and gameplay styles, providing an addictively engaging experience for participants. The two initial Battlegrounds now available to the public are Alterac Valley, a high-end zone designed for large groups of experienced players, and Warsong Gulch, a more casual zone designed for all players level 21 and up. In Alterac Valley, two teams of 40 battle each other for all-out domination. The snowy zone, nestled high within the Alterac Mountains of Lordaeron, features a fully functioning base for each faction, NPC defenders, PvP quests, and unique allied monsters to create a challenging and epic conflict. Players can spend hours executing carefully planned strategies in Alterac Valley, earning bonus Honor points by achieving key objectives along the way and ultimately by winning the Battleground. Victory in Warsong Gulch, situated on the border between Ashenvale Forest and the Barrens, likewise requires strategy and teamwork, but the pace of play is faster, with games lasting 45 minutes on average. In Warsong Gulch, two teams of 10 vie to capture each others flag and return it to base while defending their own flag from capture. Three successful captures result in a win, with each capture conferring bonus Honor points. The Honor points gained in both Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley accumulate to help players advance in rank in World of Warcrafts Honor System. Designed as an alternate means of character advancement, the Honor System allows players to access increasingly powerful items as they move up through the ranks. Blizzard is currently in the process of designing additional Battlegrounds, complete with exciting new settings and new styles of gameplay, which will be available for testing in the months ahead. For more information about World of Warcrafts Battlegrounds and the PvP Honor System, visit the official World of Warcraft website at www.worldofwarcraft.com. About World of Warcraft In World of Warcraft, players assume the roles of legendary heroes and interact with thousands of other players online as they explore and adventure across a vast world. Whether journeying together or questing on their own, players will engage in heroic battles, develop friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory. The game features customizable character classes with thousands of weapons, spells, and abilities. With an innovative, easy-to-use interface, an action-packed combat system, and thousands of quests that build an immersive storyline, World of Warcraft offers a MMORPG experience that will appeal to both veteran and casual players alike. For more information on the game, visit www.worldofwarcraft.com. About Blizzard Entertainment Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft® series,StarCraft®,and the Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment® (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Universal Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industrys most critically acclaimed games. Blizzards track record includes nine #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The companys free Internet gaming service, Battle.net®, reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users. |
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
I take your point - Battlegrounds is definitely not the savior of this game - there are still many issues that need to be addressed... but when you say WoW is "sub par", you need to define what the "par" is.
Exactly which game is the benchmark of MMORPG perfection you're comparing WoW to?
All I have to say is....FINALLY!!!!!
Joined - July 2004
My first day review about Battlegrounds.
After waiting 3 hours for the stupid patch from Blizzard to downloading using the worst MMORPG Updater to ever be programmed, I finally log into WoW.
Waiting to keep Battlegrounds as a surprise for myself, I decided to do some other stuff in the mean time.
About 1 hour later, I finally decide it's time to experience this "great new free expansion".
Walk to Alterac Mountains, didn't know where to go, so I followed another Level 60 player and luckily he was heading there too.
I enter the cave, gather a couple new Level 60 quests on my way there, w00t!
I finally see the red portal... I walk through it... not knowing what's going on, I ask around. Someone told me to place my Mouse Cursor on the little Battlegrounds Icon on the Map Window.
QUEUE LINE: 3 HOURS AND 21 MINUTES
YOUR WAIT TIME: 0 MINUTES
OMFG!!
I try to calm down and ask nicely if this is a dream or reality. Apperantly it's true. The queue lines are horrific and stupid. Everyone in the cave waiting is p1ssed and hates Blizzard, luckily this allowed me to relieve some anger too and not be insulted back for dissing Blizzard.
I mean come on! I played Guild Wars, I loved the fact you could enter the Arena town, click Enter Mission and get inside a battle right away!
Battlegrounds will not start unless you get 30 alliance and 30 horde minimum on each team! And until those people are done, it won't let people in nor create another team.
So my review... well, I can't say much other than the fact that I waited another hour hoping some people will leave the queue... but no... I did a Dire Maul run with some people, 1 hour later, I felt like logging off since the Queue Timer had gone down 1 hour with 1 hour of gameplay. So I gave up... no Battlegrounds!
Good job Blizzard... you've proven that you really SUCK when it comes to adding content in a MMORPG! And to think I had faith in company. If this is what we've all been waiting for the past few months, it's really really disapointing!
___________ ___ __ _ _ _
Stealth - Ambush - Hemorrhage - Sinister Strike x2 - Cold Blood - Eviscerate - Vanish - Preparation - Cold Blood - Ambush - ... you're dead! :P
Queues are a good decision:
-Let 1,000 people in = bad time for everyone = 1,000 people hate it
-Let 80 mpeople in = good time for those people who make it in = 80 people love it, 920 hate it
It would have been a huge sacrifice in quality to handle that quantity. Queues will be long for a while while people are anxious to try it out. Eventually thre will be more battlegrounds - eventually. As time goes on the server loads are dropping and the community and game is getting better - everyone fed-up and whining about Blizzard are FINALLY starting to stop playing instead of logging in anyway just to complain.
If you don't like it don't play it - you won't be missed. If you do it'll be rough for a while, especially for new content.
As far as I'm concerned this game is getting better every week - but I guess that takes a little patience.
~It's taffy.
I havent been able to play in the Battlegrounds yet due to being at work until 10 PM, but there is a line to get in? I thought the battle grounds were supposed to be an instanced map. So this means that out of all the people on the server, only 60 (or whatever the battle ground limit is) people get to play it at a time? To be honest, if it is like that then it sucks. I dont pay each month to wait for others to finish playing something before I can use it.
In reply to your post Tainted, its not that people hate WoW so much, they hate the way Blizzard has set up many things. There is simply no excuse for having to wait in line to play the game. Although I understand server limits, how long did it take them to come up with a "solution" to it? Also considering how long it actually took them to release these first battlegrounds, dont expect any new ones any time soon; unless they change their track record on releasing any kind of new content.
Oh... WHAT??!! Another patch?
...and I just got Cosmos working how I wanted it. Now I have to scrap it and start all over again, with all the bugs the new patch is going to cause with my version of Cosmos!
this system is PERFECT. I never imagined something so much fun. I tought that DAoC one was excellent but this one is EXTREME!
HAIL TO BLIZZARD! HAIL TO BATTEGROUND!
I've had a lot of fun in them so far. The most I've had to wait is about 20 minutes. If you're with a large group, break up into smaller ones and make sure you pick the same instance. Otherwise if you're solo, just pick 'first available'.
I'm sure Blizzard will continue to add further instances to the Battlegrounds.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.