Battleground

Battlegrounds are instanced areas used for player versus player combat. Each classic battleground (Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley) has two red instance entrance portals: one for the Alliance, and one for the Horde. Crossing these portals was originally one of the ways to enter the queue for their respective battlegrounds. Now, to enter the queue for any battleground, the player must seek out a Battlemaster, which can be found at the portal or in any capital city, or do so through the Player vs. Player tab. Once inside the instance, the two teams will engage in large-scale PvP, with various objectives determining the winner. Players will earn honor points making PvP rewards available.

If a character goes AFK, he/she will leave the battleground and gain the Deserter debuff. This prevents entry to another battleground for a 15 minute duration. You can report an inactive player by right clicking the player's portrait and selecting "Report AFK". When enough reports are registered, a 60 second debuff will begin to count down. Once the timer is up a new debuff will appear that will prevent the player from gaining any honor or marks while it is on. This debuff can be negated as soon as the player engages in PvP combat. This system is often abused, since a player can have good reasons for not participating in PVP, for example when he is defending.

The two initial Battleground areas, Alterac Valley and Warsong Gulch, went live June 7, 2005. Arathi Basin was added to the list in Patch 1.7 on September 13, 2005. A fourth battleground, named Eye of the Storm, was released with the Burning Crusade. A fifth battleground, the Strand of the Ancients, was added in Wrath of the Lich King. The sixth battleground, the Isle of Conquest, was added in Patch 3.2 on August 4, 2009. Silvershard Mines and Temple of Kotmogu were added with the introduction of Mists of Pandaria. Deepwind Gorge were later added in patch 5.3

Winning a Battleground with characters below level 110 awards a Crate of Battlefield Goods. Players on the opposing team also have a chance to receive a crate with an increasing chance based on team score at the end of a match. The crate contains a piece of armor appropriate for the character’s level and specialization with a chance for the crate to contain additional rewards such as weapons or relics.

Types

Blizzard separates the various battlegrounds into three separate types:

• Resource Race
  • Keep the resources flowing into the stores of your faction by capturing and holding nodes. Stall the enemy, disrupt their operations and you may soon be cruisin’ the road to victory.
• Capture the Flag
  • Sneak into the enemy’s fort, take their symbol of pride (flag) and return triumphantly (means: alive) to your own flag. Do not allow the enemy to take your flag or you will be unable to capture theirs.
• Warfare
  • Ride into the fields of battle and clash with the enemy force. Burn down their towers, obliterate their defences and eliminate, or secure, high priority targets.

Existing battlegrounds

Warsong Gulch

WSG loading screen

WSG in-game map

Factions	Silverwing Sentinels	Warsong Outriders
Base	Silverwing Hold	Warsong Lumber Mill
Entrance	Silverwing Grove	Mor'shan Base Camp

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range
10-19	20 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49
50 - 59	60 - 69	70 - 79	80 - 89
90 - 99	100 - 109	110	-

Combatants

10 per faction

Arathi Basin

AB loading screen

AB in-game map

Factions	The League of Arathor	The Defilers
Base	Trollbane Hall	Defiler's Den
Entrance	Refuge Pointe, Arathi Highlands	Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range
10 - 19	20 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49
50 - 59	60 - 69	70 - 79	80 - 89
90 - 99	100 - 109	110	-

Combatants

15 per faction

Alterac Valley

AV loading screen

AV in-game map

Factions	Stormpike Guard	Frostwolf Clan
Base	Dun Baldar	Frostwolf Keep
Entrance	Headland, Hillsbrad Foothills	Northeast of Sofera's Naze, Hillsbrad Foothills

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range
20 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49	50 - 59
60 - 69	70 - 79	80 - 89	90 - 99
100 - 109	110

Combatants

40 per faction

Eye of the Storm

EotS loading screen

EotS in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Factions	No factions are directly associated with the battleground, but members of The Exodar and Silvermoon City appear during its battleground holiday.
Base	Northern rock	Southern rock
Exterior entrance	There is no exterior entrance to the battleground as in the classic battlegrounds, but the Eye of the Storm is located somewhere above Netherstorm.

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range
15 - 19	20 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49
50 - 59	60 - 69	70 - 79	80 - 89
90 - 99	100

Combatants

15 per faction

Strand of the Ancients

SotA loading screen

SotA in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Factions	No factions are directly associated with the battleground, but members of The Silver Covenant and The Sunreavers appear during its battleground holiday.
Base	Neither side has a fixed base as teams alternate playing offense by attacking the keep and defense by preventing the attack
Exterior entrance	There is no exterior entrance to the battleground as in the classic battlegrounds, but the Strand is presumably found south of Dragonblight.

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range	Level range
65 - 69	70 - 74	75 - 79	80 - 84	85 - 89

Combatants

15 per faction

Isle of Conquest

IoC loading screen

IoC in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Factions	No reputation can be gained while playing in the Isle of Conquest, however the Alliance is represented by members of the Alliance Vanguard and the Horde by members of the Horde Expedition
Base	Alliance Keep	Horde Keep
Exterior entrance	There is no exterior entrance to the battleground as in the classic battlegrounds, but the Isle of Conquest is located northwest of Sholazar Basin and west of Icecrown.

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
75 - 79	80 - 84	85 - 89

Combatants

40 per faction

Battle for Gilneas

BfG loading screen

BfG in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Factions	There are no specific reputation factions for the Battle for Gilneas, but the Alliance are represented by the local Gilnean worgen and the Horde is reperesented by the invading Forsaken.
Base	There are no bases, just initial spawn points (Forsaken start from the Forsaken Landing Site from a ship docked along the northern coast and worgen from the Gilnean Outpost in the southwest).
Exterior entrance	There is no exterior entrance to the battleground as in the classic battlegrounds, but the Battle for Gilneas appears to be located northwest of Gilneas City.

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
75 - 79	80 - 84	85 - 89

Combatants

10 per faction

Twin Peaks

TP loading screen

TP in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Factions	Wildhammer clan	Dragonmaw clan
Base	Wildhammer Longhouse	Dragonmaw Clan Compound

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
75 - 79	80 - 84	85 - 89

Combatants

10 per faction

Silvershard Mines

Note: This is a generic section stub. You can help expand it by clicking  Edit to the right of the section title.

SS Mines loading screen

Requires World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Factions	There are no specific reputation factions for Silvershard Mines.
Base	There are no bases, just initial spawn points (Alliance start from the Northern Caves, and the Horde from the Southern Caves).
Exterior entrance	There is no exterior entrance to the battleground as in the classic battlegrounds, but it appears to be located in Northern Stranglethorn.

SS in game map.

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
90	90	90

Combatants

10 per faction

Temple of Kotmogu

Note: This is a generic section stub. You can help expand it by clicking  Edit to the right of the section title.

Temple of Kotmogu loading screen

Temple of Kotmogu in-game map

Requires World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Factions	?	?
Base	?	?

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
90	90	90

Combatants

10 per faction

Deepwind Gorge

Note: This is a generic section stub. You can help expand it by clicking  Edit to the right of the section title.

Deepwind Gorge

Requires World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Factions	?	?
Base	?	?

DG in-game map

Levels

Level range	Level range	Level range
90	90	90

Combatants

15 per faction

In Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King.

• "Call to Arms" battlegrounds added in Patch 3.3.3 for battlegrounds holiday.

In Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

Main article: Battlegrounds holiday

In Cataclysm Patch 4.1, another Dungeon Finder incentive called "Call to Arms" was added which encourages under represented combat roles to join dungeon queues, but it is not to be confused with the Battlegrounds holidays also prefixed with "Call to Arms".

Patch 4.3 cross-realm battlegrounds

As of Patch 4.3, Real ID cross-realm groups/parties can queue for battlegrounds together.

In Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

Note: This is a generic section stub. You can help expand it by clicking  Edit to the right of the section title.

• Several new battlegrounds.
  • Silvershard Mines
  • Temple of Kotmogu
• Ability to "blacklist" some battlegrounds from adding you to their queue.
• Call to Arms battleground available everyday.

Patch 5.3

• Deepwind Gorge

Canceled Battlegrounds

Azshara Crater

Originally slated to be an Alterac Valley style instance, this battleground was far enough along in development that there were even Horde and Alliance entrances in Azshara. It never saw release, however, and with the zone overhaul in Cataclysm removing the physical location in which it would have existed, its fate seems to have been sealed.

Azshara Crater in Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

This section concerns content that is not yet implemented.

At BlizzCon 2011, Blizzard revealed that they may be working on adding it into World of Warcraft's fourth expansion pack.^{[citation needed]}

Gurubashi Catacombs

A "deathmatch" style battleground, it was scrapped early in development but the concept eventually turned into Arena PvP.

Notes

• ...

XP in Battlegrounds

• Blizzard stated that XP for playing in the battlegrounds has been added in Patch 3.2.
•  Slahtz and  Behsten are the NPCs that can eliminate your experience gaining for a 10 fee should you decide you want to stay a certain level in the battlegrounds. Note that turning off xp will do so for all sources of experience, including quests.
• In Patch 3.1.3, Alterac Valley (AV) you can earn XP by killing mobs, however the XP gain is very low if a lot of your faction players are within range.
• By glitch or by design, XP awards were increased to move twinks to next bracket quickly, but Call to Honor weekend play still acts as a multiplier of this increased amount, allowing the player to add one level in as little as three wins.^{[citation needed]} Players that know this can use PvP for leveling. Example: Level 42 to level 47 was done on a Sunday in about 5 hours. Incredible XP! :)

Patch changes

• Patch 7.0.3 (19-Jul-2016): Winning a Battleground with characters below level 110 now awards a Crate of Battlefield Goods.
  
• β Patch 5.0.1 (Beta): New battlegrounds added. Ability to blacklist some battlegrounds from the queue.
  
• Patch 4.0.3 (15-Nov-2010): New Battleground Level Brackets.
  
• Patch 3.3.3 (2010-03-23): Battlegrounds holidays now called "Call to Arms".
  
• Patch 1.8.4 (05-Dec-2005): Battles must now last at least ten minutes after the start of the battle in order for the losing team to receive a Mark of Honor.
  
• Patch 1.8.0 (10-Oct-2005): Upon completion of a Battleground, the winning side will be awarded three Marks of Honor while the losing side will be awarded one Mark of Honor.
  
• Patch 1.7.0 (13-Sep-2005):
  • Arathi Basin added.
  • In the Battlegrounds, you will now automatically be resurrected by Spirit Healers unless you choose to decline.
  • Characters that use the Battlemaster to enter a Battleground will now port back to that Battlemaster when they leave the Battleground for any reason.
  • Fixed range check for removing insignia from players in Battlegrounds.
  • Entering a battleground now resets the timer for the AFK flag. This should prevent players being kicked by the AFK timer moments after they enter the Battleground instance.
  • Using the /who command while in a Battleground instance will now only display players in your instance.
    
• Patch 1.6.0 (12-Jul-2005): Battleground scoreboards now display the time elapsed in a battleground.
  
• Patch 1.5.0 (2005-06-07): Alterac Valley and Warsong Gulch added.
  

See also

• Battlegrounds holiday
• Rated battlegrounds
• Battlegroups
• Alliance battleground strategies
• Horde battleground strategies
• PvP Brawls
• Advanced Battlegrounds Strategy (silly)
• People in the Battlegrounds (silly)

External links

WoW Official Game Site (US) Game Guide > PvP > Battlegrounds

WoW Official Game Site (EU) Game Guide > PvP > Battlegrounds

Info

franksplace.org Battleground Queue article

WoW-Battlegrounds Battleground Guides

WoW Insider 5 ways to fail at Battlegrounds by Olivia Grace Feb 29th 2012 at 4:00PM

WoW Insider How to heal in Battlegrounds by Michael Gray Feb 23rd 2012 at 3:00PM

Guides

Cynise's Warcraft Manual Cynderblock’s Guide to the 5.2 Twink Brackets by Cynwise March 14, 2013 · 3:00 am

News

Official WoW Site (US) Patch 7.2 Preview: Shake Up the Battlegrounds with PvP Brawls! by Blizzard Entertainment February 20th, 2017

WoW Insider Do Battlegrounds need tutorials? by Anne Stickney Feb 2nd 2014 4:00PM

WoW Official Game Site (US) New Battlegrounds Guides! by Blizzard Entertainment, Jul 11, 2013 2:00 PM PDT

WoW Official Game Site (EU) New Battlegrounds Guides! by Blizzard Entertainment, 11 Jul 2013 22:00 BST

Cynise's Warcraft Manual Analysis of the Post-Hotfix 5.2 Battleground Scaling Changes by Cynwise March 13, 2013 · 3:35 pm

Cynise's Warcraft Manual New Battleground Scaling To Be Hotfixed by Cynwise March 8, 2013 · 12:02 am

Cynise's Warcraft Manual On the Broken Battleground Scaling of 5.2 by Cynwise March 7, 2013 · 9:59 am

WoW Official Game Site (US) The Future of PvP in Mists of Pandaria by Nethaera, Jun 5, 2012 9:00 AM PDT

WoW Official Game Site (EU) The Future of PvP in Mists of Pandaria by Nethaera, 05 Jun 2012 16:05 UTC

WoW Insider Mists of Pandaria Beta: A first look at Battleground blacklisting by Olivia Grace May 29th 2012 at 8:00PM

WoW Insider Mists of Pandaria Beta: Certain PvP maps may be blacklistable by Chase Hasbrouck May 13th 2012 at 1:00PM

WoW Official Game Site (US) Hotfix: Battleground Multi-Queuing by Bashiok 5/24/11 11:39 AM

WoW Official Game Site (EU) New Battleground Brackets by Blizzard Entertainment, 01 Dec 2010 14:30 GMT

WoW Official Game Site (US) New Battleground Brackets by Blizzard Entertainment, Nov 30, 2010 7:54 PM PST

Cynise's Warcraft Manual Battleground Brackets Halved by Cynwise November 30, 2010 · 1:18 pm

Blue posts at MMO-Champion Cataclysm Currency Changes Explained *Update #184 by Nethaera 2010/09/15 06:52:08 PM