If You Have to Cheat…

So yesterday I decided that my bank guild HAS to have the Horde Slayer meta… so I can have the little pet over there to sell stuff too for soloing.  I figured I’d also take it as a chance to try to finish the monk’s legendary… and to try some PVP battlegrounds… and if I liked it I could work on some of it on Askevar for achievement totals.

I started out trying to complete the legendary but that wasn’t making Horde Slayer go very fast… 10 versus 10 is limited on race/class combos… so I queued up for both 40 man BGs… and tried both and decided that farming Isle of Conquest looked to be my best bet.  It has a high chance of ally winning and it provides some very good points from which to aoe and get lots of kills with a pack.  Both the Workshop and the Docks were great.  I got a couple of groups that were kill farming in the keep… called TBT for some reason so that helped some.  But… in this experimentation with PVP, I discovered something extremely distasteful that I don’t find much in the PVE aspect – True honest to goodness cheating.

The first time I noticed it, it was whilst waiting for the gate to open… and someone from our side capped a node.  There’s apparently some kind of speed hack that’s popular in the battlegrounds presently.  I won’t list the name here that I was told in BG chat but suffice to say it’s popular.    This particular time the guy was reported and kicked from the BG in short order.  I was pleased to see that.

The next two times I encountered this, the offender wasn’t kicked [though I reported them for cheating and tried to initiate a bg kick].

This latest time I saw this particular hack, there was a lot of commentary in BG chat about it… and a chorus of “Yay, he’s making us win!”.

I responded, “And he’s reported.”

“OMG WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!!?!!  HE’S MAKING US WIN!!!!”

I responded that I wasn’t willing to risk my account for someone else to cheat.  I have no idea if it’s a true risk there… I feel like I’ve done my due diligence… but I remember people getting suspended back when win trading was a thing, because they randomed into the wrong battleground where a form of cheating was going on…

Before much else could be said I got kicked.

Yes, they kicked me, for admitting to reporting a cheater and encouraging others to do the same.  [And to no surprise to me, the cheater was from the Kel’Thuzad realm… a good experience with that realm is rare anyway and this is PVP where things are more rabid].

Despite that, I’d do it again.

But anyway, that’s not my point… if you have to cheat in a bg… especially one that alliance seems to win 95% of the time anyway [I’ve lost one game and played 13 thus far], then what kind of player are you?  I mean win ratio, aside, you’re a cheater too.

I’ve seen complaints about the lack of integrity in PVE content… what I’ve seen today in battlegrounds makes those people look like pristine angels.

But seriously, if you have to win by cheating, how can that possibly be satisfying?  And how is it even a win?

How to make the PVE’ers do what you want in PVP… [or what worked on me]

The first day of Children’s Week, EotS was a nightmare.  Every time I entered it consisted of PVE’ers getting screamed at by PVPers.  “Who cares about your stupid achievements, I care about winning, so play my way or else”.  Most of the PVE’ers replied “Blame Blizzard.  We don’t want to be here any more than you want us here.  We get done and we’re out of your way”.   *Cue sniping back and forth*

So for most of my toons I waited until Monday morning to get EotS done.  And it worked – most of them I got first shot and most of them Alliance won!  Why?

On Monday, as I entered most battlegrounds, there was a PVPer saying “Okay guys, I know you’re here for the achievement but we’ve got to take and hold 2 towers so you have somewhere to take flags to.  Let’s take those and you guys can run the flag”.  So more than half the PVE’ers would rush toward the Draenei Ruins [DR] and Mage Tower [MT] to take them.  Several PVPers then came and helped us hold the middle.  I even had an instance where I got the flag, was almost back and died.  One of the PVPers killed the pally who killed me, picked up the flag and held it until I rezzed then dropped it for me to cap.  I sent him a thank you tell – “I love you!  Thank you!” and then instead of afking out as I would’ve the day before due to the verbal abuse, I did my level best to help others cap the flag…  Heck, I even zerged and killed the pally that got me!  And we won, EASILY!!!  We held 3 towers most of the battles [though as soon as we got the third one, they started attacking and we quickly lost one of the other two]

The battles where PVPers were screaming or holding the flag to prevent us from capping?  Most of those were lost because the PVE’ers had NO motivation to do anything and no direction – so they just sat in the middle or ran around aimlessly and got ganked left and right by horde.

So, for minimal EotS interruption?

1. Recognize that PVE achievements are as important to the PVEers as winning the battleground is to the PVPers.

2. Recognize that the two purposes are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

3. Give the PVEers some direction to accomplish their goal – and to help you accomplish yours.  You PVPers are more experienced here.  But it is all in the presentation.  Like it or not, your battlegrounds are invaded this week.  You can yell and scream OR you can teach the PVEers something about how to play.   Who knows, you might even entice more people to learn to play!  I know I’m a bit intrigued on my disc priest – who actually has a PVP set and spec I don’t use much.

4. Recognize that some PVEers are jerks.  Just as some PVPers are jerks.

I Hate PVP.

I absolutely entirely 100% hate pvp. The only interest I’ve had has been in Wintergrasp and that was mainly for achievements and mounts, and such…

Now I’ve tried a little lower level pvp… Specifically Alterac Valley, starting at level 59… Let’s just say that four AVs later, I hit 60. I’ve been shocked at how decently easy AV is [at least for my mage]. I just follow the pack and nuke things, freeze things, sheep things, turtle things, rabbit things and the like… And I’m rewarded with achievements and a TON of experience.

So maybe PVP isn’t that bad on the right toon at the right level…

So from now on, on my mage, I’m going to sit in the AV queue whilst questing.

PVP sucks in PVE!

I should clarify that while I understand that some people enjoy pvp – I play on an RP server for a reason.  I rarely do any form of PVP – save for achievements [and an occasional WG].  Heck, I don’t even RP really.  I got here by random server choice

I see absolutely no point in putting a PVP encounter in ToC [10/25].  Especially since we come in severely disadvantaged.  PVP gear does NOT work.  Resilience is pointless and typical PVP abilities are stupidly unuseful.

For that matter, basing changes to PVE on PVP is the ultimate stupidity as well.  There really should be a separate spec for PVP.