Let’s be frank, World of Warcraft is not known to be a haven for PvP fans. If you ask a random WoW player about their in-game preferences, they are likely to confide to you that they are here for some dungeons and raids. And epics. Yes, especially epics – and it doesn’t matter how they are getting them as long as it’s not too hard. So guess what? PvP is actually deemed to be too hard by many players. Most of whom haven’t even had any considerable experience with it.
But we know that they just don’t know. That is, PvP is not all that difficult. It can be very fun and it has really changed for the better recently. Has been changing, to be more precise, since the process of turning WoW PvP modes into something accessible and loved by millions is still not over. So to help you and lots of other gamers better understand the current state of PvP in the modern WoW, we’ve come up with this brief and sweet article. Check it out!
What is WoW PvP?
Let’s start with the very basics. PvP stands for player-versus-player and it’s what you do when you shoot everyone in Fortnite (or get shot by everyone) or play a League of Legends game NOT against bots. So you got the idea: one player (you, for example) opposes another or others. Some games are primarily focused on this way of playing while others are more about player(s) fighting some non-playable characters (NPCs). WoW is and has always been more about the latter. And it’s not just because it’s an MMORPG – there are examples of games of this genre that are very PvP-inclined like Guild Wars 2 or Black Desert Online.
But again, World of Warcraft is mostly about PvE: dungeons and raids all the way. PvP exists, of course, and it has a very well-developed community around it. Arena enthusiasts must establish the tightest bonds in the game since some of them have hung around since the early days of TBC or WotLK (circa 2007-2008). Yet it will be an exaggeration to say that the majority of the playerbase participates in PvP activities like the arena or battlegrounds. But don’t expect the PvP community to be just a handful of geeks. It’s a considerable portion of the playerbase anyway.
What’s the state of it in Dragonflight?
In the latest expansion of the game, Dragonflight, we still have 3 primary PvP activities and they are:
- Arena
- Battlegrounds
- Open world PvP
Arena is the king of PvP since it draws the most attention and activity. If a player is into PvP, they are likely to be into the arena kind of PvP. It’s a convenient format that involves small teams of 2 or 3 players. Since recently players don’t even have to go to the arena with a premade team since the new mode was added called “solo shuffle arena”. It automatically finds a team for you and you play against teams that were made in the same way. And you can earn practically the same rewards there, excluding the coolest ones like the gladiator mount and title. So if you don’t care much about reaching the highest ranks, solo shuffle mode might become a great source of fun and thrills for you.
Battlegrounds exist in 2 distinct forms: unranked and ranked. Unranked battlegrounds can be played starting level 10. They are mainly used to farm decent gear at the max level. This decent gear is further needed for the arena. So it’s some sort of the preparation course for future arena fighters. The ranked version of battlegrounds has a bit different function: it’s deemed a full-fledged alternative to the arena itself. The only problem with RBGs (ranked battlegrounds) is that much fewer people play them than the arena. The biggest obstacle is the huge size of a team needed for queueing up for games. It’s 10 people minimum. So it’s like finding a raid team but for PvP in a mostly PvE game. You can already see the problem with it, can’t you? The rewards for it are quite satisfying though and it’s a pity that this game mode can’t become more popular since the concept of it is pretty good.
Finally, there’s open world PvP. It’s not exactly a separate game mode. It’s just fighting other players in the open world. Dragonflight has several incentives for it: you can get some alrighty gear for the currency earned during open world fights (bloody tokens) or special crafting materials. There are a handful of achievements related to that too. It’s not much but people interested in world PvP don’t usually need many incentives. They are encouraged by the process itself. For example, in Dragonflight you can knock a player out of their dragon by doing barrel rolls. So PvP action takes a brand new shape and feels fresh. It’s just fun to fight others in the game and if there are lots of people with their war mode toggled on, why not fight them?
So answering the question in the headline of the article: is PvP fun in WoW right now? Yes, it is. It’s just you gotta try it. And be smart about it – make some preparations first.
How to prepare your character for PvP?
There’s nothing too difficult about that. These days you can get enough good gear via PvE activities and then switch to PvP, if you so please, or vice versa. So here’s your very short to do list:
- Get good gear
- Do some unranked PvP action to have a better idea of what it is
It’s all clear with the former but the latter usually becomes a huge stress for players. Like, having a duel? No way, that’s too daunting. But why not? It’s also a part of the game. And even if you lose your first (ten) duels, there’s nothing bad about it: you will learn what abilities make your character vulnerable, which abilities deal lots of damage, how to resist them, how to act during a fight yourself. Those are going to be tough lessons but necessary ones.
You can start with a battleground too. Being in a team, trying to complete some objective together, and fighting hostels together – it might be a better way to get a taste of it. It will also give you some lessons about what you can do and what your opponents can.
But the best and less stressful way to get some experience with PvP for newcomers is PvP boosting. You hire a professional player and play together with them. Pros are an endless source of gaming wisdom and skill. Just watch them and ask questions – and you will become a better player very shortly. A great place to look for related carries is ArmadaBoost, a pretty well known boosting store that offers a wide range of WoW Boosting services. Don’t be shy to try their coaching or win boost, for example. It’s a great way to start with very little pressure. They can also help you get better gear in no time which is, as you already know, very important for starting your PvP adventure the right way.
