What PvP is
Player vs. Player, or PvP, means any combat between players, as opposed to PvE, where you fight monsters and other parts of the game world. Some forms, like arenas, are pure combat; others, like battlegrounds, add bases, flags and other objectives. Almost every form gives some reward, and the higher-level options give better ones.
Ways to fight other players
| Mode | What it is |
|---|---|
| Duel | A one-on-one fight that the other player must accept. Not allowed inside cities, and gives no reward. |
| Battlegrounds | Alliance against Horde team games such as capture the flag and resource races, from 10v10 up to 40v40. You queue and are teleported in. |
| Rated battlegrounds | Premade teams that rely on composition and tactics, for bigger rewards. Rated Battleground Blitz is a fast 8v8 version. |
| PvP Brawls | Twisted battleground rules that keep things unpredictable. |
| Training Grounds | Battlegrounds against bots: PvE combat that still pays normal PvP rewards. |
| PvP zones | Large open-world fights at set times with vehicles and buildings to destroy, such as Wintergrasp, Tol Barad and Ashran. Winning can open dailies, rewards and raids. |
| Arenas | Small deathmatch fights with no objectives, in 2v2 or 3v3. Teams of either faction can meet. |
| Solo Shuffle | A solo arena queue of 6 rounds where everyone ends up teaming with everyone. |
| War Games | Unrated practice matches in any arena or battleground, even against your own faction. No XP, Honor or other rewards. |
| World PvP and War Mode | Unplanned fights out in the game world. Since Battle for Azeroth it only happens for players who turn on War Mode. |
PvP currencies
| Currency | How you earn it | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Honor | War Mode, quests and world quests, battlegrounds, arenas and honorable kills | Unrated PvP gear; capped at 15,000 and shared across your Warband |
| Conquest | Rated PvP above all, mainly by winning rated arenas and battlegrounds | Rated PvP gear; seasonal, it resets to 0 when a new season starts |
| Mark of Honor | Found in the crates of battlefield goods given for winning battlegrounds | Older PvP rewards, as transmog appearances |
| Bloody Tokens | World PvP activities | Gear |
PvP gear and rewards
PvP gear is made for fighting players, with stats and bonuses suited to it. Collecting competitive PvP gear is the main way PvP characters progress. To keep gear from deciding everything, items above the PvP item level cap are scaled down at max level in battlegrounds, so less-geared players still have a chance.
- A personal rating of 2000 or more lets you start getting the elite gear of the current season.
- Rated play also gives titles, mounts and achievements, and rated Solo Shuffle counts toward Great Vault progress.
- Many Achievements reward PvP, from battleground goals and arena ratings to world PvP feats.
From PvP realms to War Mode
Since 8.0.1Before Battle for Azeroth, players chose PvP Realms, where you were flagged automatically in contested zones and could be attacked by the other faction at almost any time while leveling. Patch 8.0.1 removed them: world PvP now only happens through War Mode, which any character on any realm can switch on in a capital city.
Sources
- Warcraft Wiki: Player vs. Player
- Warcraft Wiki: Honor
- Warcraft Wiki: Conquest
- Warcraft Wiki: Arena
- Warcraft Wiki: Solo Shuffle
- Warcraft Wiki: Battleground
Game pictures: © Blizzard Entertainment · worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com
