I thought this worthy of a report. We won Arathi Basin 2000 - 0. The horde never stood a chance, perhaps there weren't enough of them to play the game initially and that helped us do it. Whatever. One person took the Stables and the remaining three groups went GM, BS, and LM. Each one claimed. From each claiming team a few then converged on the Farm. A couple of defenders were overwhelmed and we 5 capped in the first 60 seconds. Game over not long after. Outstanding humiliation for the Horde team and nice to be doing it to them for once.
Although. Out the last ten ABs I have been on 8 winning teams. Each and every one we controlled the Blacksmith. The two losses - no Blacksmith; in fact we followed the strategy of hold 3 and win. Apologies to the Battleground Leader who wanted us to do that but we lost, it's in your record. Never be satisfied with holding 3 and winning, it rarely works.
By the way. Also won an Eye of the Storm 2000 - 1. Almost as good and we capped all towers soon as.
Showing posts with label Arathi Basin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arathi Basin. Show all posts
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Blacksmith
Sometimes you just need a defining moment, or just doing something for long enough that you get bored and your mind actually bubbles things over in the background. Well about 5 or 6 weeks ago I finally worked out the thing that has been staring me in the face for so long. In Arathi Basin the Blacksmith (BS) is in the centre of the map!!!! Well, der!
Just like in chess if you control the centre then you can control the game. So, what have the Horde been doing for so long? Winning more ABs than Alliance. What else have you noticed? More often than not BS is taken by the Horde first, and more often than not they hold it for most of a game. It's the shortest point to any other flag in the game.
Not long after realising this I flukily ended up as battleground leader. So i thought "what order do i give an anarchic, chaotic, narcissistic bunch of self serving toons?" Hmm perhaps I didn't really say that to myself but I should have. I asked the people to do something they weren't used to - take BS first. Quite a number did try and help take BS first however because the Alliance do not have a direct route to the flag (and I am sorry but the Horde do) we reached it a little after they did and found it difficult to take. I kept asking people to try (I do not insist, I just ask and advise) but we were losing the other flags and people's attention was beginning to wander.
Then up jumped a voluble turkey who kept insisting that it was a crap strategy. "The only strategy is to take Stables, Gold Mine and Lumber Mill. Hold them and you win. If we don't win then it's because you are all crap noobs who can't hold a flag." Hmmm, I think I might have my hands full with this one. The game is too short to change minds and evangelise. So I pretty much left it alone, firing off the odd verbal shot when the turkey started using CAPS and telling us we were all crap noobs, we should leave the field and not do AB again. Striking exercise in leadership I thought.
Anyhoo. The BS is the centre of the board. It is the shortest distance to any other flag in the game - for either attack or defence. The premades know this and so do the Horde. Now you do too. Good luck :)
Just like in chess if you control the centre then you can control the game. So, what have the Horde been doing for so long? Winning more ABs than Alliance. What else have you noticed? More often than not BS is taken by the Horde first, and more often than not they hold it for most of a game. It's the shortest point to any other flag in the game.
Not long after realising this I flukily ended up as battleground leader. So i thought "what order do i give an anarchic, chaotic, narcissistic bunch of self serving toons?" Hmm perhaps I didn't really say that to myself but I should have. I asked the people to do something they weren't used to - take BS first. Quite a number did try and help take BS first however because the Alliance do not have a direct route to the flag (and I am sorry but the Horde do) we reached it a little after they did and found it difficult to take. I kept asking people to try (I do not insist, I just ask and advise) but we were losing the other flags and people's attention was beginning to wander.
Then up jumped a voluble turkey who kept insisting that it was a crap strategy. "The only strategy is to take Stables, Gold Mine and Lumber Mill. Hold them and you win. If we don't win then it's because you are all crap noobs who can't hold a flag." Hmmm, I think I might have my hands full with this one. The game is too short to change minds and evangelise. So I pretty much left it alone, firing off the odd verbal shot when the turkey started using CAPS and telling us we were all crap noobs, we should leave the field and not do AB again. Striking exercise in leadership I thought.
Anyhoo. The BS is the centre of the board. It is the shortest distance to any other flag in the game - for either attack or defence. The premades know this and so do the Horde. Now you do too. Good luck :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Elite Player
This is a short Arathi Basin tale of something unusual that I saw. I was outclassed being level 44 in an Arathi Basin however there is always some way to contribute positively. For me the contribution was as fodder for the Horde. Distract them, annoy them, slow them down - it still takes time to kill a Paladin. Heh heh.
We had lost the Stables, which makes you want to cuss, and we were about to lose the game; there was probably 40 seconds remaining before the Horde realised 2000 pts. I headed out of the gates at Trollbane Hall and feinted towards the Gold Mine but what I really wanted was a last hit at the Horde defending the stables. As I was approaching the horse yard another Alliance character came up on my left. I don't remember why but I clicked on them. I vaguely remember that I might have wanted to whisper them for a co-ordinated attack. I didn't do that in the end, their icon was surrounded by a silver dragon. It was an elite player. The only thing I know is that they were not from Khaz'goroth. Game over and they disappeared of course.
Since then I have been trying to work out how I can get an elite player. There is nothing on the web about it. They may have been a Blizzard employee. I have an idea that there must be something special available to players who take the trouble to get Exalted with all the core factions. Much more than just being able to get an epic mount from an alternative faction.
We had lost the Stables, which makes you want to cuss, and we were about to lose the game; there was probably 40 seconds remaining before the Horde realised 2000 pts. I headed out of the gates at Trollbane Hall and feinted towards the Gold Mine but what I really wanted was a last hit at the Horde defending the stables. As I was approaching the horse yard another Alliance character came up on my left. I don't remember why but I clicked on them. I vaguely remember that I might have wanted to whisper them for a co-ordinated attack. I didn't do that in the end, their icon was surrounded by a silver dragon. It was an elite player. The only thing I know is that they were not from Khaz'goroth. Game over and they disappeared of course.
Since then I have been trying to work out how I can get an elite player. There is nothing on the web about it. They may have been a Blizzard employee. I have an idea that there must be something special available to players who take the trouble to get Exalted with all the core factions. Much more than just being able to get an epic mount from an alternative faction.
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