Arathi Basin Battleground Guides


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Each team begins with zero resources and work towards gaining 1,600 (prior to Patch 3.2 2,000 resources were needed) before the other team to win. To gain these resources your team will need to capture the resource nodes located in Arathi Basin. There are five resource nodes (Lumber Mill, Stables, Mine, Blacksmith, and Farm), and when captured these nodes each provide resources every few seconds. The more nodes you control, the faster your team will gain resources, leading to quicker wins. To capture these nodes, simply activate the flag located at one of the above five locations. The flags have activation times of eight seconds (down from 10 seconds as of Patch 3.2), but beware as any damage done to the person activating the flag will interrupt the cast, and you will have to click the flag again and start the timer over. Any player standing at a node that they control will gain the Honorable Defender buff, which will grant them +50% honor from each kill.

All nodes start out in a neutral state, with no owners. After the flag at a node has been capped it will officially belong to the team that managed to successfully cap the flag. Anyone who seeks to assault the location will have to activate the flag which will throw the node into a conflict status (much like the neutral state the nodes start in). The team that originally held the node has exactly one minute to reclaim the node before it’s ownership is transferred to the other team. If a node is reclaimed by the originall team while it’s in conflict, that team will instantly gain back control of the node. A node in conflict will provide no resources to either team, and players will no longer be able to rez at that node’s graveyard.

If any players die during the game then they have the option of releasing to the nearest graveyard. Each side has a permanent graveyard at their starting location, just outside of the exit portal. When nodes are successfully captured, players from each team will be able to rez from the closest node controlled by their team. Each graveyard has a Spirit Healer that will resurrect any players within their radius once every thirty seconds, but be careful not to walk outside of this range or you will not be resurrected.

Single groups of five, and premade raids of 15 may enter Arathi Basin allowing players to team up with their friends for more coordinated battles. Check out our Communication is Key section for more information on groups.

Honor, Reputation, and Marks of Honor
During the course of the match you will notice that you and your team will be gaining honor, reputation, and at the end of the match Marks of Honor. Most players strive to increase these gains, so here are some ways to do just that:

Honor
You can gain extra honor by meeting these goals:

Collecting multiples of 260 resources

Winning the match

Honor gained will scale depending on your level, at higher levels you will gain noticeably less honor.. Some scored events do not grant honor such as: killing blows, capturing a node, assaulting a node, or defending a node, however honor is awarded for honorable kills. For even more honor goodness keep an eye out for the Arathi Basin Holiday weekend.

Reputation
Players’ reputation will increase with either The Defilers (Horde) or The League of Arathor (Alliance) by completing the following goals:

Collecting multiples of 160 resources

Completeing Quests in Arathi Basin

Marks of Honor
Unlike reputation and honor there is only one way to make sure you gain the max amount of Marks possible; win the match. Winning a match will grant your team three Marks of Honor, while losing will only gain you one.

The Lumber Mill
Located on a hill on the west side of the map, the Lumber Mill is one of the easiest nodes to capture and defend for either team. It’s location gives players good scouting positions, that will allow them to spot attackers from a distance. This also gives the Lumber Mill a great tactical advantage, as it gives your side a bird’s eye view of the Blacksmith, Farm, and Stables. Defenders can call out which of the other nodes are most vulnerable to attack, or about to be overrun by a large group from the opposing team. As such this is a good node to capture early on in the match.

The Lumber Mill encompasses a very small amount of actual land, meaning attackers have little option but to charge straight in if they wish to assault the flag. Caution should be taken here, as one wrong step (or a well timed mind control), could send a player crashing over the edge of the steep cliff (no durability loss will be taken). To assault the Lumber Mill simply go up the cliff and fight! As mentioned previously the location of the Lumber Mill leaves little options for attackers, so give your best battle cry and charge in.

The Mine
The Mine can be found on the eastern side of the map, and is a location that is generally assaulted early in the game, but rarely defended. However there are a few easy ways to defend the Mine without using a ton of manpower, or strategy. Simply hide one of your team inside the Mine, or use a player that can stealth. Once the flag at the Mine is assaulted the player (or players) will usually leave, assuming that no one is there to defend it. Once the players have departed the hidden or stealthed player can quickly recapture the flag and then hide once again.

The Mine is surrounded by relatively wide open space, and has a sheer cliff that can be used by ranged classes to effectively snipe from, which can be effective in either defending or assaulting the node. This cliff also provides easy and quick access to the node as you can head east from the Blacksmith and simply jump over the cliff. However it should be noted that you will take falling damage, so it may not be the best idea to plummet into the midst of your enemies unless you have a friendly Mage or Priest around to give you Levitate or Free Fall. The free bonus here can be found near the Mine in a small cart.