#1 - June 6, 2015, 12:52 a.m.
First, it’s important to consider what isn’t changing in the next season. Like any other season, players will be able to acquire a full set of Wild Gladiator gear, including their weapons, by doing nothing more than competing in the Arena and then going to the gear vendor. Play Arenas steadily, and you’ll earn a full set of gear at the maximum ilevel possible for PvP. This ensures that a player can be competitive at the highest levels without ever worrying about Champion’s Strongboxes.
At the same time, when a player wants to pursue a very specific set of gear, we want Patch 6.2 to have some new avenues to do so.
We’re making some items obtainable exclusively from Champion’s Strongboxes, and there are two ways to get them. The first way you can earn a Champion’s Strongbox is by winning 3 rated battlegrounds in a week. Before Patch 6.2, you had a chance to win an item for each of your first 3 wins, but in Patch 6.2 you’re guaranteed to get an item after your third win each week. You can also earn an additional Champion’s Strongbox each week by completing the weekly quest Ashran Dominance.
We’ve heard loud and clear that some players take issue with the fact that Champion’s Strongboxes are only available from Rated Battlegrounds and Ashran. We feel that the unique nature of the reward lends itself well to being obtained via PvP content that is exclusive to an expansion, as Ashran is for Warlords of Draenor. We also like it when a reward like this requires a higher degree of player organization, like Rated Battlegrounds do.
As always, our goal is to make it possible for players to acquire the gear they need to compete and enjoy PvP in WoW, while bringing some variety to the acquisition process. Overall, players will be receiving more gear next season than ever before.
We appreciate your feedback on PvP, and look forward to seeing you out there.