WoW Battleground Basics Guide - Warsong Gulch

I've recently gotten over my fear of PvP and jumped head-first into playing battlegrounds.  The first thing I can tell the world is this:  every battleground is different, and you're going to be very confused when you play each one for the first time.  This short guide contains only the things I wish someone had told me before I played Warsong Gulch.

About the Match

Warsong Gulch (also called WSG, not WG) is the first battleground your World of Warcraft characters will have access to.  It's a capture the flag match.  The first team to capture three times, or the team with the most captures when time runs out, wins.  Killing enemy players and recovering your own flag are helpful in shutting down the other team, but they aren't part of the battleground's conditions for winning.

When playing WSG, your chat window will tell you when certain things happen:  When a flag was taken from a base, when a flag was dropped, when a flag was captured, or when it was recovered and returned to the flag room.  These chat notices will be colored according to which team is happy about it; blue text means the Alliance is making progress, red text means Horde is making progress.

There's a small scoreboard at the top of the screen beside the mini-map, showing the number of flag captures for each team.  Whenever a flag is being moved - meaning, whenever someone has taken their enemy's flag and is trying to return to their own base with it - the scoreboard will have a flashing flag.  The map will show you where each flag is. 

Strategy Tips

Battlegrounds are chaos, so the first tip is this:  Be flexible.  Staying on flag defense, against a team that repeatedly attacks in a large group, can make you useless - you're only slowing them down for a matter of seconds, and then you're dead, waiting at the graveyard.  Defenders should be ready to support their team's offense to help with a successful capture, by leaving the base to defend your flag carrier.

Aside from that common snafu, here are some other tips on winning Warsong Gulch.

• If your flag is not at your base, go chase it down and try to recover it, or go help your team get the enemy flag.  Once your flag is away from your flag room, there's no point "defending" the flag room anymore.
• There are four ways to attack a flag room:  The front door, the tunnels, the roof, and the ledge.  Both the roof and ledge are popular for launching "surprise attacks," so if you're on defense, check them often.
• The ledges are reached by going in the front door, and then going up the ramp you find inside.
• The roof is reached by a side passage half-way through the tunnels.
• If you are carrying the enemy flag, do not mount or activate stealth - this will cause you to drop the flag.
• If you are part of the offense, and your team has the enemy flag, there are two basic strategies; stay close to the flag carrier and defend them directly, or engage multiple enemies in battle to slow them down.  Either of these helps your team score.  
• If you're part of the defense and your team has the enemy flag, stay sharp.  If you have enemies in your base, especially if they're using stealth, keep them busy.  Tempt their rogue to chase and sap you; better they attack you, than the flag carrier.  Cast area of effect attacks, especially freezing attacks, when your flag carrier gets close to the flag room.  Keep an eye on the roof and ledge.  Be ready with heals and shields for the arriving team.