Now that we’ve all settled in for a Panda-themed expansion, it’s time to look at what’s actually going to change with World of Warcraft’s newest expansion.
The player community has only known about the upcoming WoW expansion, Mists of Pandaria, for about a week. But as with most things Blizzard, the official announcement marked the beginning of an incredible information surge, with previews, images, videos and all sorts of other stuff cropping up across the web. Last night, the Pandaria dev team hosted a live Q&A session packed with information about the expansion, but one recurring theme was the return of world PVP.
Fans of the original World of Warcraft (Vanilla WoW) will remember that world PVP was an integral part of the experience. From raids on Southshore, occupations at Gadgetzan and the enormous pain that was Blackrock Mountain, world PVP managed to crop up quite a bit in the old days. After the addition of a sanctuary city in Burning Crusade and another in Wrath, it became difficult to find a good, steady world fight.
Blizz seems to be aware that world PVP has fallen away and answered a few questions on the topic in the Q&A:
Q: At Blizzcon Tom Chilton mentioned possible incentives for raiding enemy towns to encourage world PVP in mists, can Greg or Cory elaborate on this at all?
A: In regards to extra rewards for world pvp, we are contemplating the idea of increasing players conquest point caps by an extra 10-15%.
Q: Hey there. Will Pandaria have a new Dalaran like city or will we be using the ones already existing ingame?
A: We will have separate player hubs for both the Horde and Alliance on Pandaria. Separate hubs means we do not have to make them sanctuary and will encourage world PVP. These hubs will have access to an AH, Bank and general vendors. Valor, conquest, profession and faction vendors will be scattered around the world to encourage travel.
Q: One of the current issues discouraging World pvp is the presence of highly overpowered guards around cities and hubs, 1-shotting anyone who engages in PvP. How will this be in MoP?
A: We know this is an issue in the current game and we plan to address it in Mists. We want to encourage world PVP, not make it a one-shot game for NPC guards. This is one of the main reasons we decided to make two separate player hubs instead of a shared sanctuary.
Q: I don't like PvP, I play on a PvP server, because my friends on a PvP server and most people from my country is playing on that particular server. I have to face world PvP every time I am doing my business in the new hubs in Pandaria? I love the new zone, but I don't want to be backstabbed by a rogue while I am selling my stuff, or buying equipment. Can non-interested players avoid the world PvP
A: Yes, we certainly don't want you to always be back-stabbed while you are setting up your auctions. However, if a group of the opposing faction wants to form a raid and attack your city, we want them to have a chance to be successful. So yes and no. =)
Q: With the world PvP that is being talked about, are there any plans to add any Quest Hubs in Mists of Pandaria which functions like a smaller scale of Baradin Hold/Wintergrasp that will change faction when it is assaulted? Maybe even ones with actual leveling quests instead of just more dailies to add a dynamic questing experience like the ones that were talked about at Blizzcon?
A: Yes, this is exactly the kind of thing we are thinking about. We will share more info on our ideas for this soon. The idea is that we want to give players more options and not just always have one place to go or one thing to do.
As a former WoW player and fan of flash raids and other world PVP content, I’d hope to see much more of it in future World of Warcraft builds. In the old days, before cross-realm battlegrounds and instant-queue, teleporting dungeons, it was possible to build up a rivalry on your realm. It had less structure and more excitement.
Perhaps these new changes in Mists of Pandaria will rekindle those flames?
If you’re a WoW fan or player, you should read the entire Q&A posted at MMO Champion.
Now that we’ve all settled in for a Panda-themed expansion, it’s time to look at what’s actually going to change with World of Warcraft’s upcoming content update.