Strand of the Ancients
This expansion adds the fifth instanced Battleground (BG) to the game, Strand of the Ancients, open to characters that are level 71 or higher. The new BG is a 15-on-15 attack/defense scenario played out in 2 stages where the teams switch roles. Attackers sail in on two ships, and they have a limited amount of time to reach the relic in the fortress. Once on the ground they use siege weapons and explosive charges to breach the gates, while the defenders man turrets on the walls and try to slow them down. The vehicles make Strand of the Ancients feel very different from earlier BGs, and more variety on this front is always welcome.
The Wintergrasp PvP Zone
Like everything else in the game, WoW's PvP elements have evolved over the years, and the emphasis on instanced Battlegrounds has not been to everyone's liking. Some people even seem to long for a return to the Hillsbrad push and pull that raged on prior to BGs (although there is actually nothing stopping groups of players from doing that if they want to). PvP objectives placed in persistent zones in the Outland did revive that aspect of PvP for a while, at least on PvP servers, but the better rewards have always been in BGs and arenas, and so have most of players.
In their ongoing effort to offer some sort of structured, persistent-world PvP, WotLK introduces the game's first zone dedicated entirely to PvP, nestled between Dragonblight and Scholazar basin. Like Strand of the Ancients, Wintergrasp has an attacking side and a defending side, in this case vying over control of a large fortress. Attackers use siege weapons earned through kills to smash through the keep walls and ultimately capture the relic. If the attackers fail to do this within 40 minutes, the defenders win. The winning faction holds the zone for two hours, after which another battle begins.
There are numerous rewards for fighting in Wintergrasp, one of which is that the controlling faction gains access to the Vault of Archavon raid, where the boss drops PvP gear.
Unlike BGs, the teams in Wintergrasp are not automatically balanced in numbers, and the portals to the zone close while the battle is underway. The side with the numerical disadvantage is given a buff called "tenacity" to even things out a bit. This buff can stack on a player many times if one side is badly outnumbered, resulting in characters so powerful that you they simply can't be killed in a 1-on-1 situation. Subsequently, for players on the larger team, coordinated attacks are often the only effective strategy.
One issue with Wintergrasp is that some servers have significant imbalances in faction populations which will spill over into this contested zone. I can't imagine that the cross-server solution which largely resolved this problem for BGs would work here.
The mechanics of Wintergrasp are fairly complicated compared to other PvP features in WoW, and some tweaks to the system seem inevitable. It's not perfect, but growing numbers of players are jumping in as they reach the level cap, and having a good turnout on both sides means more action for everyone.
Inscription
The new profession added with WotLK is inscription. It allows players to make glyphs that enhance spells and abilities much like enchanting and jewelcrafting enhance items. Glyphs sometimes involve a trade-off, such as making a spell less powerful in exchange for a reduction in cast time. The game now has 11 primary professions, all of which have been revisited to make them less tedious and more rewarding. Recipes are easier to obtain, bonuses come earlier, and progress has been streamlined.
The Bottom Line
It's clear by now that World of Warcraft's remarkable success has put Blizzard in the enviable position of having a development budget that other companies can only dream of. The result is an ever-widening gap between WoW and the competition. WotLK is a shining example of this, with a stunning continent to explore, quests that show real effort and imagination, more accessible raid content, a growing range of PvP options, and greater group flexibility. Of course, they haven't strayed far from the fundamentals that brought them this success, and they continue to make the game appealing to the majority of players, who don't spend every spare minute of their time playing. The Burning Crusade was a good expansion, but WotLK proves that Blizzard isn't just sitting back and watching the cash roll in, they're as devoted to the project as ever. There's so much goodness in this expansion people at the level cap are being drawn back into the game like never before, and that's a sure sign that Wrath of the Lich King is delivering on fun.
