Static

I rarely get sick of Arathi Basin (AB). The only time I do is if I have been grinding through battleground after battleground there for some while; usually getting reputation or Honour (or Honor if you are from the combative states). It's fairly quick because the points keep ticking over regardless of the bases occupied; only at the beginning does neither team have a base and that doesn't last long.

The Stables are the first base taken for the Alliance, of course, however what gets taken next is always a point of conjecture, discussion or argument in battleground chat. Some people seem to have a formula for what to do. There are fifteen players, so send 5 to each of three bases, take them and hold them. The natural grouping, for a host of reasons, is the three raid groups so they say group 1 - Stables (ST), group 2 - Goldmine (GM) and group 3 - Lumber Mill (LM). My belief is that this simple formula has the least chance of success. If it succeeds it is because of dumb luck or the group is a "premade" and has already balanced the teams and discussed tactics before ever going in.

Why does it fail so often? The groups are each made up of people who have probably never met before, each with their own agenda, class, level, individual PVP ability and knowledge of the battleground. Each has also varying levels of courage, timidity and feelings of group responsibility. This formula is a guideline and rarely is it followed. Few players want to stay and guard the Stables at the begining of the game. There is a race to claim the banner and then people head for the GM, LM and even BS (Blacksmith). You will usually find that most head for LM and 3, give or take, for GM. There is reason in the random madness which I will discuss later. The Horde seem to have a monopoly on the BS in the majority of the games I have played in. The geography of the battleground gives them a more direct run to it.

The reason most people go into a battleground is to fight. If you are not in the fight then you are not getting kills or participating in kills. Staying around to guard a banner can be lost moments of boredom interspersed with intense battle - death loss effort elation - depending on the outcome. I have played both frontline and rearguard many times across different battles and also in the same battle. Both are exciting and rewarding for me.

However, given these observations, it is remarkable that the Alliance get it together enough to win an AB. Yet despite these observations I have participated in many, many AB wins. There is one observation that I can make that will start to make sense of AB. It is not a static game as the simple formula implies. It is fluid and if it isn't played with this in mind your side will be washed away. The Horde know this and have every appearance of being masters at it. Very frustrating at times :) They particularly like to be the washers rather than the washed.