Let’s Talk: PvP
Player versus Player systems and content are always debated and done differently on servers with custom changes. Blizzard has changed the system every expansion, sometimes even looping back to features they had in the past.
With that in mind, our goal is to create a PvP system using our favorite elements of how PvP was handled in various expansions while maintaining the Classic aesthetic and feel. We're ready to share that plan for PvP systems on Project Epoch. Keep in mind that Project Epoch is still in development and everything is subject to change based on feedback, testing, and time.
PvP Ranking
We will not have the PvP Ranking system from Classic. The old titles from that system are still obtainable as achievements, but they are not required to purchase any gear item. Arena ranking does exist, and it is detailed in the Battlegrounds and Arenas section below.
New Stat
In The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King PvP gear had a stat called "Resilience" which was an attempt to slow down PvP combat and let PvP gear be more useful in PvP combat. We aren't using Ratings here on Project Epoch as part of our effort to maintain the Classic feel and we would like to avoid some of the issues Resilience had, such as it affecting the stat budget.
Introducing a new percentage stat: PvP Defense.
This stat simply reduces your damage taken from players by a flat percentage. This also affects damage taken by pets and other summons, and the effect applies to your pet and other summons. It is not part of the stat budget, meaning your PvP gear can be taken into a raid or a dungeon without being less effective than other items at the same item level. Every PvP item (excluding Trinkets) has this stat, which should help incentivize players using PvP gear in PvP combat. We are aware that Resilience also affected Mana Drain effects and we plan to watch closely and see if it needs adjustments.
PvP Currency and Seasons
When Project Epoch launches we will enter a "Pre-Season" mode of PvP. Only basic gear will be available (more information in the PvP Gear section below) and the only PvP Currency that will be obtainable is Warsong Gulch Marks of Honor, which will be used to purchase all of your gear.
Some time after launch we will release Season 1, which will include more Battlegrounds (listed in the Battlegrounds and Arenas section below) and enable Arenas. You will also be able to earn Honor Points and Conquest Points (more information below) in addition to Marks of Honor from every available Battleground. Season 1 will continue for some time, mirroring or close to mirroring the major Raid content releases. When Season 1 ends you will lose any unspent Conquest Points but you will retain Honor Points and Marks of Honor. Each season will feature new gear to ensure that PvP Gear doesn't get outmatched by PvE Gear. Pre-Season PvP gear will remain available after the start of Season 1 from a vendor inside the PvP Hall. Previous season items will remain available from a vendor somewhere else.
Champion's Hall, Stormwind
Hall of Legends, Orgrimmar
PvP Currency Details
Honor Points are awarded from any PvP activity, such as Battlegrounds, Arenas, Honorable Kills, and slaying Faction Leaders.
Conquest Points are primarily awarded from completing Arenas and completing your first Random Battleground win of the day. You will also earn them from Battlegrounds after your first, but at a much slower rate. There is a weekly limit on how many Conquest Points you can earn, but your weekly cap will increase if you did not earn as much as you could have in the previous week.
Marks of Honor are awarded from the completion of a specific Battleground. Every Battleground has their own Mark of Honor, such as "Warsong Gulch Mark of Honor". Winning grants you 3 while losing grants you 1.
PvP Gear
Every stat-providing gear slot can be filled with PvP gear. In the table below we will break down each slot.
| Slot | Properties | Price in Warsong Gulch Marks of Honor |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Part of the Class Tier Set. | 7 |
| Neck | Can be upgraded once with additional PvP Currency. Some PvE players might feel incentivized to PvP for this item, we believe that a single slot being potentially useful in higher end PvE could be a nice way for players to see if they enjoy PvP. | 3 (16 to upgrade) |
| Shoulders | Part of the Class Tier Set. | 5 |
| Back | Large selection of options: such as Hit, Crit, Damage, Healing, MP5, and Dodge. | 3 |
| Chest | Part of the Class Tier Set. | 7 |
| Wrists | Basic item. | 3 |
| Hands | Class specific Equip bonus. In addition, it is part of the Class Tier Set. | 5 |
| Waist | Basic item. | 3 |
| Legs | Part of the Class Tier Set. | 7 |
| Feet | Part of the Class Tier Set. | 5 |
| Rings | Large selection of options: such as Hit, Crit, Damage, Healing, MP5, and Dodge. Unique-Equipped, you must choose two different rings. | 4 |
| Weapon | Basic weapons as you would expect. Two-Handed weapons have twice as much PvP Defense as One-Handed weapons. | 6 (12 for Two-Handed) |
| Ranged Slot | Full selection of ranged weapons, with multiple wand elemental types as well. Also includes Idols, Librams, and Totems. (Work in Progress) | 6 |
Trinkets are not listed as they are more complicated and have their own section below.
In Season 1 and afterwards each item will have two variants: Honor and Conquest. Honor gear costs Honor Points and various Marks of Honor and will be blue quality gear. Conquest gear costs Conquest Points and various Marks of Honor and will be purple quality gear. PvP Gear will generally be less powerful than PvE Gear but we hope to make the gap as small as possible. The PvP Defense stat and the Trinket information below should create a situation where PvP gear is Best in Slot for PvP content while PvE gear is Best in Slot for PvE content, while allowing the use of gear in the other mode with no penalty.
Pre-Season level 55 PvP gear will use a unique recoloring of the Dungeon Set class tier sets.
Pre-Season Level 55 PvP Mage Set.
For those that enjoy doing the occasional Battleground while leveling, fear not! Vendors in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and the Battleground areas such as Silverwing Grove in Ashenvale or Mor'shan Base Camp in the Barrens have vendors that sell full sets* of PvP gear for levels 15, 25, 35, and 45. Once you reach the level requirement of the next tier of leveling PvP gear you may trade in your item for the next tier up, at a cost. For example if you bought a level 15 Belt you can then visit any of these vendors at level 25 and for the cost of 1 Warsong Gulch Mark of Honor and your level 15 belt you can receive the level 25 belt. After the release of Season 1 the prices of this leveling gear will change to become a mixture of Honor Points and Marks of Honor.
*Librams, Totems, Idols, and the Epic Neck Upgrade not included at 15, 25, 35, and 45. Trinket selection limited at 15 and 25. Healing gear not included at 15, however upgrading Caster gear from 15 to 25 will give you the option to change the item to a Healing item.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a much different situation than the rest of the PVP Gear. Historically PvP Seasons have been altered heavily by the existence of PvE trinkets that perform excellently in PvP situations. To resolve that, PvP trinkets will now be the most important part of your gear set, and they come with a Set Bonus to greatly incentivize their use and help slow down PvP encounters.
There are two types of PvP Trinkets, Insignias and Emblems. Insignias are your typical Crowd Control mitigation trinkets, with more options than the one players are used to in this version of WoW. Emblems are your combat trinkets, doing things such as increasing damage, health, or healing. You can only equip 1 Insignia and 1 Emblem. No stacking two of one type. Below is a list of every PvP Trinket currently.
| Trinket | Properties | Price in Warsong Gulch Marks of Honor |
|---|---|---|
| Insignia of the Horde / Insignia of the Alliance | Use: Removes all movement impairing effects and all effects which cause loss of control of your character. (2 Min Cooldown) | 1 |
| Insignia of Adaptation | Equip: Removes any loss of control effect with a duration of 5 seconds or more. This effect can only occur once every 1 min. | 1 |
| Insignia of Relentlessness | Equip: Duration of incoming crowd control effects reduced by 20%. Does not stack with similar effects. | 1 |
| Emblem of (Vigor / Ferocity / Magick / Cogitation / Betterment) | Use: Increases (Strength / Agility / Spell Damage / Spirit and Mp5 / Healing) by an amount for 15 sec. (1 Min Cooldown) | 3 |
| Emblem of (Dominance / Alacrity / Power / Upturn / Renewal) | Equip: Your spells and abilities have a chance to grant you (Strength / Agility / Spell Damage / Spirit and Mp5 / Healing) by an amount for 20 sec. | 3 |
| Emblem of Tenacity | Use: Increases maximum health by an amount for 15 sec. (2 Min Cooldown) | 3 |
The lists of stats correlate with the names on the left. For example, Emblem of Magick increases Spell Damage.
Values are a Work in Progress, tooltips will include real numbers when this is seen in game.
Our goal with these trinkets is to essentially prevent Raid or Dungeon trinkets from being the best trinket in Arenas or Battlegrounds, while also ensuring that we provide enough options for players that like to try different playstyles.
Battlegrounds and Arenas
When Project Epoch launches we will feature only one Battleground: Warsong Gulch. When Season 1 begins we will open up two more Battlegrounds, which will be Alterac Valley and the new Gillijim's Isle we announced previously. In addition, Battleground events will start to occur.
Later on we will open up Arathi Basin as well.
Winning a Battleground will reward you with Honor Points, Marks of Honor for that Battleground, a small amount of Conquest Points (Level 60 only), and Experience. Your first Random Battleground win of the day will also reward additional Conquest Points (Level 60 only).
In addition, with the start of Season 1 Arenas will open up. We currently plan to include 2 maps at launch: Ruins of Lordaeron and Dalaran Sewers.
Winning an Arena will reward you with Conquest Points and increase your Arena Rating. Arena Rating can be increased to eventually earn cosmetic rewards. More information on this system will be provided in the future.
Miscellaneous Additions
Visibility is an extremely important aspect of PvP. You need to know at a glance if you're looking at a hunter pet or a Druid in bear form. It is common to see Druids use Savory Deviate Delight to mask what Shapeshift they are using, and it might be more difficult to tell that you're looking at a Druid if they have a Glyph applied. To resolve these issues, you will now see an icon above the head of any player that is using a cosmetic to hide their current shapeshift. This will appear during Bear Form, Aquatic Form, Cat Form, Travel Form, Moonkin Form, Tree of Life Form, and Ghost Wolf Form if you are using anything to mask your appearance.
Conclusion
Project Epoch is a primarly PvE focused server, but we will still aim to provide content for players that enjoy PvP. During Beta 2 you will be able to test up to level 45 PvP Gear which includes our new trinkets. PvP can be a difficult topic as many players enjoy it for entirely different reasons, and often passionately so. We are eager to hear what you think!
