Bring Back "Old School" AV

There are no plans to bring back "old school" Alterac Valley. We've discussed this several times before and are not entertained by the idea.

As fun as it was to log out for the night in the middle of an Alterac Valley match with no end in sight, only to join the queue the next day and jump into the same game, we favor battlegrounds that end.

Q u o t e:


This isn't about what the developers or Blizzard reps want, it is what many players have asked for.

AV now is boring.

It is about how we delegate hours of development time to make the best game possible though, and when it comes to battlegrounds we're looking forward, not backward.

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Development time? Did you delete the NPC data?

If you're suggesting developing and patching any given piece of content comes with a simple "reverse" switch, you're misinformed.

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Considering nobody even plays AV anymore, I'd say you need to give it some serious work. I don't want endless AVs back, but I do want to play it again, as it's my favorite battleground.

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Pretty much every battlegroup is experiencing horribly lopsided battles. Unlike last years little incident where alliance were universally getting rocked so you could move the horde starting area back, both factions are experiencing it now. If reverting AV back is not an option, how do you plan on fixing AV, so I and many others can zone into the bg knowing we have a chance to win, instead of seeing 12 of us getting camped in the starter cave?

The fact alone that Alterac Valley marks will be required for the quest turn-in is likely to increase participation.

Q u o t e:
So are you suggesting you are happy with the way AV is now?

We're happy with the tuning, yes. We are going to be watching to see if matches start with a more equal number of participants after 3.1 hits.

A new battleground is in the works for Wrath of the Lich King. We feel this may provide the best compromise for those who like Alterac Valley but miss it's original iteration.

Q u o t e:


Is it going to be 40 on 40? I think a lot of us pine for the mass carnage that "old school" AV offered, and wouldn't mind watching AV rot if your new BG was superior to it.

We'll be providing more information some time after 3.1 is released.

Look, I'll approach this from a slightly different angle since my previous posts in this thread haven't gone over so well. I've played in Alterac Valley more times than I can count in every single iteration through which the battleground has evolved. There were things I loved about the original Alterac Valley -- aside from the fact that it would only be possible to play it maybe once a day since cross-realm battlegrounds didn't exist -- from the pushes whenever riders or elementals were available, to stopping the opponents from summoning said elementals, to the incredible challenges just to push past the front lines in the Field of Strife.

I do still have fun in Alterac Valley as it is now though, and find plenty of good PvP opportunities assaulting/defending towers and graveyards. I think it's quick and clean, even though that's not what some people want. When it comes to the epic feeling of the original iteration, I have to say -- and I'm sure there will be those that disagree with me here -- that I have a lot of fun in Lake Wintergrasp. There are aspects of that zone that take me back to the days of Alterac Valley in the original World of Warcraft. It usually never lasts long enough for me.

When it comes to the battleground system in general, there are active discussions around the office about how to better reward skill, increase the amount of players queuing for all battlegrounds, and give new and exciting objectives in a brand new battleground in Wrath of the Lich King. We're looking for something epic this time around, and we're working hard to give you something you'll enjoy.

We think that those of you who want the old Alterac Valley back will find a bit of fun in the new battleground. For those that just want balanced matches in Alterac Valley, and decreased queue times, we feel that adding the marks from this battleground to the turn-in quests in 3.1, along with the many changes we're considering for a later patch, will bring back the shorter queues and even teams.