#0 - Nov. 15, 2006, 10:30 a.m.
22/09 New honour system details
(This is all subject to change!)
We’d like to share the following Honour changes that will be introduced with The Burning Crusade:
Honour:
Arenas:
After the Expansion, the old Honor system will be completely removed and players who achieved ranks in the old Honour system will be able to choose to display their highest gained Rank as a title. We are interested in reintroducing these titles in the future but we have no specific plans in place yet.
There will be new titles that players can earn through the Arena system and these titles will only last for the duration of each Arena Season.
Arenas are currently planned to be cross-realm just like the Battlegrounds. The Battlegroups should be the same as they are now.
03/10 The Arena System - update
The Arena System will do its best to match by gear as closely as possible. There will be some slight leeway to how close people are matched, however, since we don't want people to have to wait too long.
They will be x-realm, however the actual rankings will be based on what is going on within your own realm.
You will not be able to make custom arena matches but you will get to choose your team that you would like to use as well as the alternates that are a part of the team.
Drysc posted some points about the Arena system not too long ago:
- When a player enters an arena battle, all buffs and conjured items are purged/deleted. This is done to ensure no outside buffs or items from members outside of your team are able to be used in an arena battle.
- No consumables other than bandages and conjured items can be used while in the arena. There will be a waiting area similar to the current battlegrounds where players on the team will be able to conjure items and cast buffs.
- Abilities/spells/items with cooldowns longer than 15 minutes cannot be used while in the arena.
- Each arena team will be given a rating, and will be matched up in the arena queue against teams of a similar rating (matching within that specific cross-realm battlegroup). As time progresses the matching system will broaden its search up to a limit if a closely rated team cannot be found.
- Ratings adjustments are made in the same way that ELO ratings adjustments are made. This system works by adjusting each arena team's rating from a specific match based on the rating of the team they are up against. If a team wins against a team of a higher rating, the increase of their arena rating would be much higher than if they had won against a team of a lower rating. This system will help promote players improving their skill and besting teams which may have previously held the top spots.
- At the end of each week, characters receive arena points based on their team's rating. A team must have fought a minimum number of battles for the week, which we have announced as currently set to 10 games. A player must have played in at least 30% of the team's battles that week in order to be eligible to receive arena points. Each eligible player will then receive a fraction of the teams total awarded points to spend on arena rewards.
- Players may spend their points on arena rewards, or save their points until they have enough to get the rewards they desire.
- There is a limit to the number of points a player can stockpile, which is currently planned to be as high as the most expensive item.
- At the end of a season, players on a team are given a title based on their team's relative position on the ladder which will last through the next arena season.
12/10 How ranking points are counted
While you can be on one team of each type, at the end of each week you'll only gain points from the team that earned the most points that week.
However, note that given equal rating, 5v5 teams earn more points per week than 3v3, which earn more than 2v2.
To clarify with an example:
- Let's say you're on three teams (one of each format).
- Let's say that at the end of the week, each of the teams you're on ends at a 1500 rating.
- Assume that you were an active player on each team (played in at least 30% of the team's battles)
Results at the end of the week:
- Each active player on the 5v5 team would be eligible to gain 408 arena points
- Each active player on the 3v3 team would be eligible to gain 244 arena points
- Each active player on the 2v2 team would be eligible to gain 163 arena points
So, you'd gain 408 points that week.
Note: in the example we provided above the 1500 refers to the team's rating. The number of points an active player gets from a team is derived from the rating value plotted on a logistic curve.
Also, one of the points we were trying to illustrate above is that active players on that 5v5 team will gain 408 points each. This is the case regardless of whether there are 10 total active players on that team (the max possible), or merely 5 active players (the practical min).
We don't want to "split" points among active players, as that would encourage you to not have alternates on the team, and we don't want to pressure you to minmax the system by always having the min number of players for a team.
Update
Bear in mind that the arena point return for your team's rating ins't linear. So to throw out another example...
- Each active player on a 5v5 team with a 1500 rating would receive 408 arena points at the end of the week.
- Each active player on a 3v3 team with a 2000 rating would receive 632 arena points at the end of the week (as compared to 244 at a 1500 rating).
That being said, we are deliberately trying to encourage the most competitive players to participate in the 5v5 battles, as we feel considerably more comfortable with the potential class balance in this environment. 2v2 has far more potential for certain class combinations to be heavily favored, and as such we're being conservative about how strongly we reward the smaller format sizes.
Your team only needs to fight 10 battles per week to be eligible for points. You can fight more if you so choose. However, due to the way the rating system works (and the way points are derived from rating), teams with high ratings are (in theory) increasingly likely to play only the minimum required number of battles.
15/11 Questions and answers about PvP in TBC
Players: Will we still be able to buy any Honour System rewards that we could've with the old system (for example, can I buy the rank 5 bracers, even after the system resets)?
Blizzard: All of the current rewards will be available in the new system.
Players: Will there be all new PvP rewards and/or are old ones being redone?
Blizzard: New BG rewards up to level 70. All the Arena rewards will be new.
Players: Are the Arena rewards separate from Honour rewards?
Blizzard: Yes.
Players: Will our current reputations with the Battlegrounds be reset? (Example - my 45 shaman is honoured with WSG and AB, if I don't PvP with them from now till BC launches, will I still be honoured?)
Blizzard: No. Reputation will be left as is, but because of the reward system change, will not have the same value or meaning.
Players: Are there any plans to limit twinking in the expansion, or make it harder for them to get honour? As I see it now, what’s to stop people from sitting at 19/29/etc and pooling honour till they can buy anything with it (if that is how the honour system will work).
Blizzard: Not at this time. We find it to be a viable player-generated approach to BGs. Level requirements of items is likely to prevent the scenario you mentioned. It wasn't really the case in the current setting, so that will likely remain the same.