WoW Forever PvP and Honor

What we know for WoW Forever

Only what has a source. Everything else is marked as not announced.

• PvP ruleset

  Official

  WoW Forever is realmless: you pick a ruleset instead of a realm. The PvP ruleset is for players who want open world conflict in contested territory. On the Normal ruleset, player-versus-player combat needs mutual consent. There is also a Roleplaying ruleset.

  Source: Blizzard

• Faction balance

  Official

  Blizzard says the PvP ruleset will include systems to support Horde and Alliance balance, similar to the approach from Season of Discovery. Horde and Alliance still cannot group together, and there is no grouping across rulesets.

  Source: Blizzard

• Darkspear Islands battleground

  Official

  A new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor that mixes strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense.

  Source: Blizzard

• Honor and PvP ranks

  Unconfirmed

  Wowhead, citing Blizzard's interview with Kotaku, reports a new 14-rank Honor track each patch cycle. Honor comes from battlegrounds and PvP-related content, and the track rewards cosmetics and PvP armor with stats. Rank thresholds, weekly caps and whether ranks decay are not announced yet.

  Source: Wowhead

• Hardcore

  Official

  Hardcore is a ruleset that arrives after launch, as a fully enclosed ecosystem. If a Hardcore character dies it can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP. No date has been announced.

  Source: Blizzard, Blizzard

• Future PvP updates

  Official

  Blizzard's roadmap lists PvP updates after launch, alongside more raids, dungeons and Hardcore. What they contain is not announced yet.

  Source: Blizzard

• Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley

  Not announced yet

  Not announced yet. Blizzard's panel recaps name only the Darkspear Islands, and no official source lists which Classic battlegrounds return or when battlegrounds open.

• Arenas

  Not announced yet

  Not announced yet. Blizzard's WoW Forever announcements do not mention arenas.

• PvP in the beta

  Not announced yet

  Not announced yet. The beta level cap is 30, so level 60 PvP cannot be tested there.

Classic 1.12 reference — may change. This is how PvP worked in Classic, summarized in our own words from the sources below. WoW Forever reworks honor ranks and changes class talents, so treat it as background, not as WoW Forever rules.

Honor system basics

• Killing an enemy player close to your level (an honorable kill) and completing battleground objectives earns Honor.
• Killing the same player again within 24 hours is worth less each time, and eventually nothing.
• Killing enemy civilian NPCs counts as a dishonorable kill and lowers your standing.
• Ranks update once a week at the reset. Your Honor that week, compared with everyone else on the realm, decides how many rank points you gain.
• There are 14 ranks, from Private or Scout up to Grand Marshal or High Warlord. Higher ranks unlock rank gear to buy, ending with epic weapons at rank 14.
• In the original game your rank points decayed when you stopped playing, so holding a high rank took steady weekly play. Current Classic Era realms have no rank decay.

Battlegrounds

Class roles in PvP

• Warrior

  • Burst damage

  Mortal Strike cuts enemy healing and Intercept closes gaps, but a Warrior is easy to kite and needs a healer behind it.

• Rogue

  • Burst damage
  • Crowd control

  Opens from stealth with stuns, then Blind, Gouge and Kidney Shot keep a target locked down; Vanish and Sprint get it out.

• Mage

  • Burst damage
  • Crowd control

  Polymorph removes one enemy from a fight, Frost Nova and Blink create distance, and Frost or Fire spells burst from range.

• Warlock

  • Crowd control
  • Burst damage

  Fear and Death Coil break up healers, damage over time pressures whole groups, and Felhunters strip buffs.

• Hunter

  • Burst damage
  • Crowd control

  Long range, Scatter Shot and traps for control, and Viper Sting drains the mana of casters and healers.

• Priest

  • Healing
  • Crowd control

  Strong heals and Power Word: Shield keep carriers alive, Psychic Scream breaks melee pressure and Mana Burn punishes enemy healers.

• Druid

  • Flag carrying
  • Healing

  Travel Form speed and shapeshifting out of roots and slows make Druids natural flag carriers, with heals over time to stay up.

• Paladin

  • Healing

  Plate armor, Divine Shield and Blessing of Freedom make a hard-to-kill healer who frees teammates from slows and roots.

• Shaman

  • Burst damage
  • Healing

  Instant shocks and Windfury burst, Purge removes buffs, Grounding Totem absorbs a spell, and Shamans can heal in a pinch.

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WoW Forever PvP FAQ