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(over)Rated Battlegrounds
Everyone seems pretty excited by rated battlegrounds. Uh, why?
By Michael 'Zechs' Radford
Dec 8, 2009 11:41
Everyone seems pretty excited by rated battlegrounds. Uh, why?After last week’s backward-looking column, the logical follow up to that seems to be looking forward. So, what’s happening in the future of WoW? Well, er… Cataclysm. You might have heard a little something about it.
Since basically nothing has been mentioned about arenas in the next expansion I’m going to give you my two pence about rated battlegrounds.
I’ll come straight and out and say it: I think rated battlegrounds are potentially the worst thing to happen to WoW as an esport. I know a lot of people are looking forward to them, and I’m sure they will be a lot of fun. But for competitive play? Forget it. There are several reasons it’s a bad thing but the most obvious one to me is that it simply will not work. If Blizzard’s intention is to make rated battlegrounds the new esport of choice then I think they have finally found something they can’t pull off.
This isn’t an argument about skill, balance, burst, comp or any of those things. The reason that rated battlegrounds cannot replace arena is simple: nobody is going to take a 10 man team onboard. The online ladders might be pretty cut-throat but there is no way in hell that organisations like SK or EG is going to send 10 guys to a LAN.
In a world where sponsors, leagues and teams are all paying late, paying for 10 flights is just not going to happen. To take a realistic example: what if those players are from five different European countries, flying to, let’s say, Anaheim? That’s going to cost at least double the same trip for a CS team. Now bear in mind that most CS teams are made up of five players from the same country and it’s going to be more than double.
My other concern is that maybe Blizzard is sort of giving up on esports for WoW. If they realise that rated battlegrounds won’t work the way arena has – and I’m sure they do – how intense will the focus shift be? Will the PvP experience be balanced around battlegrounds? That would be disastrous for arena. Again, it’s simple maths: a game balanced for 10v10 (or even 15v15) allows for much more damage because there will be at least three healers on a team. Move that over to 3v3 where there’s just one healer and you have season five all over again.
Oh, and let’s not forget one of the biggest criticisms thrown at WoW. In a game that is already very difficult for non-players to watch, how is tripling the team-size going to help?
But then again, maybe I’m just being paranoid. Maybe Blizzard’s “focus on battlegrounds” just means that the rewards will be worthwhile. We have heard slightly differing stories from different staff members. Some implied little short of scrapping arenas while others made it sound like they will just add new armour and titles and leave it at that.
I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see.
The Zechs Files returns next Tuesday, but you can follow me on Twitter for regular updates.
Since basically nothing has been mentioned about arenas in the next expansion I’m going to give you my two pence about rated battlegrounds.
I’ll come straight and out and say it: I think rated battlegrounds are potentially the worst thing to happen to WoW as an esport. I know a lot of people are looking forward to them, and I’m sure they will be a lot of fun. But for competitive play? Forget it. There are several reasons it’s a bad thing but the most obvious one to me is that it simply will not work. If Blizzard’s intention is to make rated battlegrounds the new esport of choice then I think they have finally found something they can’t pull off.
"Rated battlegrounds are potentially the worst thing to happen to WoW as an esport."
This isn’t an argument about skill, balance, burst, comp or any of those things. The reason that rated battlegrounds cannot replace arena is simple: nobody is going to take a 10 man team onboard. The online ladders might be pretty cut-throat but there is no way in hell that organisations like SK or EG is going to send 10 guys to a LAN.
In a world where sponsors, leagues and teams are all paying late, paying for 10 flights is just not going to happen. To take a realistic example: what if those players are from five different European countries, flying to, let’s say, Anaheim? That’s going to cost at least double the same trip for a CS team. Now bear in mind that most CS teams are made up of five players from the same country and it’s going to be more than double.
"Move that damage over to 3v3 where there’s just one healer and you have season five all over again."
My other concern is that maybe Blizzard is sort of giving up on esports for WoW. If they realise that rated battlegrounds won’t work the way arena has – and I’m sure they do – how intense will the focus shift be? Will the PvP experience be balanced around battlegrounds? That would be disastrous for arena. Again, it’s simple maths: a game balanced for 10v10 (or even 15v15) allows for much more damage because there will be at least three healers on a team. Move that over to 3v3 where there’s just one healer and you have season five all over again.
Oh, and let’s not forget one of the biggest criticisms thrown at WoW. In a game that is already very difficult for non-players to watch, how is tripling the team-size going to help?
But then again, maybe I’m just being paranoid. Maybe Blizzard’s “focus on battlegrounds” just means that the rewards will be worthwhile. We have heard slightly differing stories from different staff members. Some implied little short of scrapping arenas while others made it sound like they will just add new armour and titles and leave it at that.
I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see.
The Zechs Files returns next Tuesday, but you can follow me on Twitter for regular updates.
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but if WoW is to be an e-sport game it will be arena 3v3
game mechanics are too complicated, balance is just a dream for wow pvp
blizzard is taking time w8ing for sc2, then they'll probably give up with wow as an e-sport
Also the World of Casuality virus is spreading more and more... it first started to rip open the hardcore PVE experience, but it looks like PVP scene is getting the casuality slapstick aswell.
deal with it....
.....or just play something else...
You could argue that rated BGs is "wellfare for casuals", however if you think you are better than these casuals, then even gear shouldn`t be an obstacle to beat bads, right?
It was the most WATERED and stupid thing ever. A dude who have no rights to say what other "higher" devs THINK sad for all of them and in UBER watter NON-STRAIGHT format.
GC is the only who can say what DEVS think and he next day or two explained that if arenas were bad they would remove them. And hell only PvE noobs hate Arena. Othere if dont like it just dont play it.
And Pve noobs hate Arena ONLY cause sometimes they COULD NOT get BEST weapons in the game by pressing 2 simply buttons for a hour or more whyle selecting boss a target lol. Had to work abit ya know..
Tom Chilton, however, has always been the "PvP" developer at blizzard and he's been seen at arena tournaments around the world. Implementing arenas meant blizzard had to extend a budget for a pvp development team, esports team, and compensate for the PvPers instead of the casual masses[in otherwords, arenas may not have been cost effective for blizzard].
There you have it, kinda. Ppl want proper rewards from BGs if they are good enough at it, just like arena, so my guess is simply that there will be the same pvp rewards for both arena and bgs.
Easier to follow a ctf than a 3v3 arena
Way more fun to watch
Its less about burst and more about team work
Way more fun to take part in
u have to remeber when someone (say ur friend who isnt all that into football) is watching footy with you they can kinda see whats going on, when its a good goal and when its ana amazing challenge etc, in arena you can not see this unless you know what your looking at.
Yes the "Pro" players will still say omg that was amazing because of what he did but the average Joe will still see omg he just got the flag back with seconds to go etc
there making esports more casual
arena is like 5-side football
bg's is like 11-side football
which one is easier to follow ?
which one takes more skill??
which one is to fast paced for some people???
I won't get into the which take more skill argument but i would question whether WSG - the most likely candidate for being half-decent - is easier to watch than arena. For a start, there's 20 people instead of 6. While the overview of a CTF game is very easy to watch and understand, you're really going to miss a lot of individual brilliance that you can see easily in a 3v3 game.
Slightly off topic, but I'd be happy if future battlegrounds were simply newly textured versions of WSG. If rated battlegrounds are going to be more than a flash in the pan, WSG is the only battleground worthy of competition imo.
Though commentating will have to change, you wont be following one player, you wll be following a team on a overlay map and then just like in counter strike the commentators could go to areas of potential fights etc commentating would have to evolve and maybe have a 3rd commentator with action replays of what we missed.
Its different and i dont think it has the potential to be an e-sport because e-sport is about 1-5v1-5 individual skill, this is more of a team game and i think this will be one of the first things you will properly see on tv (cgs was awful lol).
bg's have more spectator potential than arena for the simple fact you have alot more to look at after the match, unlike arena u kinda go through it step by step anyway, commentators keep up with important cd's, this would be kinda the same in bg ecept you would miss alot more and you could easily build an after match show around it.
Arena is hardcore Bg is casual
but ask yourself what would blizz get more money from Tv or Little lans
i could see myself watching a bg with people i play wow with, i dont do that with arena because i like to stay foucsed and watch how they play.
Rated BGs are awesome. Even if they will be screwed its much better to have SOMETHING besides Arena.
All shooters have capture the flag stuff why not WoW? I mean we have Ninjas - ROGUES, sneaky mages tanking locks/dks...
We will have alot of "change COMP all of a sudden to surprise opponent".
DKs Eye of Archerus WILL have a use now! Sentry Totems!
Peaople will have to use brain more than in Arena (analise overal situation and change on the go..).
Clever use of Long CD abilites (Lava Totems or whatever, Lay on Hands...). Also Blziz will balancethose much closer / make balanced.
Milliards debates on the forums about "best COMP for WSG or AB". Forums WILL go live.
This will make PvE noobs say "hell maybe its time to start PvP now...".
THIS will make Blizz balance classes much MUCH better outside of the BOX. Reconsidering putting lower/bigger CDs on some class Key abilities like Deterrance, Evasion, Sprint even pally buble...
OH! And most important thing is...there will be much MUCH less retards who afk or play like absolute sht heads...cause higher raitings wotn allow this all noobs will stay low...wich will lead to almost equal or EQUAL matches. WHICH IS Fun.
THIS WILL MAKE GAME MOVE ON!
if its 10-15 ppl bg's comps wont matter ecept from maybe we have 6 dk's lets drop 3 etc, people will play with there guild in the most viable comp they have, it wont be discussed to extent on forums, only the hardcore will select a team, but they wont win because of there comp (like some people do in 3vs3 2v2) they will win on tactcs and just familiarity. Blizz will still not balance around this, Arena may be stepping back but atm this has to be almost the closest thing to balance for a long time, blizzard know this and are doing a good job.
Its hard to say it but you will need a pve mentality for this pvp, just like pre tbc it was kind of like raiding ... doing it for a set amount of time etc
and no Arena will always take more brain power ... the more people there is the less skill it takes, (organization isnt a skill)
I'm not sure but if not in WoW (they would be too afreaid to do it) but in second their MMo wich will be Starcraft Online im sure they gona try make "capture the flag" par of e-sport competition.
You already started this forum stuff here..about comps. Its only a beggining and thats how things start. Trow some more players thinking like me or you and we get anothe topic filled replies over 20 pages...
There could be 2 5vs5 fom arena or 3 3vs3+1 or a team wich will try to play as ONE team 10 at once (like 6-7 casters nukers to nuke 1 by one..)..its all funy and great stuff with very alot of variations which do metter. Also setup destroyed by loosing 2-3 players or setups standing on their own much more solid if 2-3 are taken down. I see this all as something which might affect final result of a game.
And the fact that in BG u can use enviroment at your adventage much much mroe than in arenas..melees in a close room...ranged on a hill...distracting with small groups for bigger to pass...theres simply so much more to play around in BGs than it is in Arena. Its much more like real battle than a duel.
And hell I do think all I wrote will happen. Watch! I knew those forum nerds who spend more time on forums than playing a game and I knew how bored of WoW most players are even if still play it.
Im not saying arena or BG would or doest take more thinking there are no rated BGs now anyway..but its definately alot of things to toy around which were unavailable or useless in arena. In arena u get kill u win most of time. In BG u only make that due run again after 30 secs...and kills are important only if they allow to take that win.
With rated BGs things like wining few seconds or holding 2-3 seconds longer alive preventing from enemy capping base would be important. Im thinking about hight skilled players who cound everyting into accaunt. Im alos pretty sure that rated BGs if not so long would look much MUCH more interesting to watch than Arena match.
WoW = esport = lol
and u write about balance ... really good wls know how to beat 3vs1. now they are improved with 100% pet resi... nice nice . no matter which classes they are.
no game works the way as "QUANTITY = QUALITY"
And a big part of playing competetive video games are communication. Communication between 10 people? Yeah sure, everyone yelling on vent. its gonna be nice
Quit trolling please
*UPDATE*
LOL your 15 years old talking about esports. How much idiocy is it possible to maintain within yourself..
Rated BG's will completely ruin arena, cos there are lots of noobs, and u will have to take noobs in team, and just freak out of their fucked up skill.
and atm nothing is pro atm but hopefully next patch might ramp up the hardness
Everything you write down is pure speculation.
and why are so many people complaining about skill in arenas and bgs.
both types can be very skilled and 10 top players vs 10 top players will be more interesting to watch imo.
but also i think that bizz has to invent more bgs like 3 kind of 10v10 ctf's or a 10v10 ab or stuff like that
well designed bgs are a step into the right direction
But this one was just daft and pointless.
Whining because Blizzard are implementing something that the people want (for once), just because it doesn't benefit the eSport community.
MMOs shouldn't be included in the eSports category, and as such Blizzard has failed. And so has this article.
when are you going to realise wow is and never will be an esport, the only reason is picked up by otherwise respectable esports organisations like SK and dignitas is due to its popularity and the resultant exposure that it creates -- not due to its credibility or validity as a competitive platform for gaming.