PvP Survival Guide - World of Warcraft Battlegrounds

Here are the basic things every player should know before they enter a World of Warcraft battleground.  This guide teaches my top five tips for battlegrounds in general, including how to report problem players, how to be a more-effective healer, and how to avoid the single biggest mistake in any PvP match.

Work as a Team

Here's a scenario:  Your team is about to go on the offensive.  Someone just told you there are 5 enemy defenders at the place you're going to attack.  Your team sends 2 from one location, 3 from another location, and another 2 from a third location, for a total of 7 attackers.  Sounds like a sure win, right?  Seven against five.

Then the problem kicks in:  Two of your team arrive and attack, and are quickly cut down.  Three more on your team arrive, and get their butts kicked.  The last two arrive after that, and by this time your enemy is laughing as they dispose of you. 

Before you launch your assault, stage your assault.  Get your people together as a group before moving in.  It's only seven against five if your seven all arrive at the same time.

In general, one or two people alone are an easy target - so you don't want to be alone.  If there are people behind you heading the same direction as you, wait for them to catch up.  You might think you're more useful if you hurry and get to the fight, but if there's a healer 10 seconds behind you and you only survive 9 seconds once you get there, you've made a mistake.

Spies Save Lives

When you're riding around the battleground, report what you see.  If you see enemies moving, announce how many and where.  If someone on your team just said they're launching an attack and you see seven enemy defenders at that location, call it out.  If you have incoming, say how many and where as quickly as possible.

Most of all, if the enemy is "zerging" - sending all its troops in a single unit for overpowering assaults - report it quickly.  Teams that zerg, leave their bases undefended.  If a zerg rush is happening at the south end of the map, then the bases at the north end will be easy to capture - and your teammates, while they may not be able to rescue you, can take advantage of the information.

Dealing with Dead Weight

If someone on your team is standing around being useless, report them as AFK.  Sometimes this will get that player removed from the match, and someone more-useful will join.  AFK players are a gigantic disadvantage, and you don't have to tolerate it.

Dealing with Cheaters

People cheat.  Sometimes if the Alliance is losing battleground after battleground, they'll send a few players to login as Horde players; and then they'll spend the battle being useless, or spreading confusion.  If you think someone is misleading you, they might be.

In particular, don't fall for this old trick:  Someone on your team might emote a message that says you have been reported for being AFK, and instructing you to type /afk in order to stay in the match.  If you follow that advice, you'll be ejected from the battleground and won't be able to re-enter one for 15 minutes.  Enemy players will join your team in order to reduce your team's numbers and help their friends win the match.  If someone does this, report them to a GM, because it's against the game rules.

The Healer Hotkey - Ctrl-Tab

If you're a healer, you need to know about the hotkey "Ctrl-Tab."  Just as hitting Tab will cycle through nearby enemies, Ctrl-Tab will target your nearby friendly units, both players and NPCs.  In the chaos of a battle, healers should use this rather than trying to click a person's toon.

If things are too chaotic for Ctrl-Tab, you can target a specific player by typing a command in the chat box.  That command:

• RIGHT WAY:  /tar PlayerName
• WRONG WAY:  /tar PlayerName-ServerName