Hello everyone!
Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin received a bit of an visual upgrade which got me thinking
about the reasons why we fight within the battlegrounds.
Of course there’s honor and glory, loot and rewards, but lorewise ...why do we fight?
What stories can be told?
“To ask why we fight is to ask why the leafs fall.”
Eye of the Storm: Hovering high above the ravaged landscape
of Netherstorm is the island known as the Eye of the Storm.
Coruscating mana storms suffuse the island’s towers with energy, even as they wear away
the barrier between Outland and the Twisting Nether, realm of the demonic Burning Legion.
These nexuses of power (and the Eye’s proximity to the Naaru fortress of Tempest Keep) make
an otherwise barren rock irresistible to the Light-worshipping draenei refugees of the
Exodar and the driven blood elves of Silvermoon City.
It’s a 15 vs 15 domination battleground, where each side attempts to control the Mage
Tower, Fel Reaver Ruins, Blood Elf Tower, and Draenei Ruins for as long as possible.
The draenei seek to claim it due to its proximity to the naaru's mysterious vessel, Tempest
Keep while the blood elves seek it for its rich energy deposits.
Netherstorm is part of Outland, a world once known as draenor and back then the area was
called Faralohn.
This is the planet where the orcs come from, but it would change severaly with the arrival
of Velen and the Draenei.
They were on the run from Kil’jaeden and the Burning legion.
The orcs were corrupted, manipulated and used to wipe out nearly all of the draenei.
The corruption of their people reflected in the world itself.
The world wasn’t doing too well so the orcs ventured through the dark portal to conquer
a new one, Azeroth, an invasion that ended in defeat.
The second time they journeyed to azeroth was to claim artifacts of power which would
allow them to make portals to different worlds in the hope of conquering those.
Again there invasion ended in failure, but portals were created.
All across its corrupted surface portals opened up causing massive damage and turning Draenor
into the Outland as we see it today.
Velen and those that had survived their war against the orcs prayed for aid, a call that
was answered by the naaru and their dimensional fortress called Tempest Keep.
but Velen was not the only one that saw the arrival of the naaru.
Kael’thas Sunstrider and his blood elves did as well.
They stormed the vessel and took it as their own.
Velen eventually lead some of his forces to storm the keep themselves, managed to take
the exodar and escape outland.
What they didn’t know was that the blood elves had sabotaged the vessel causing them
to have a massive crash landing on Azeroth.
There they teamed up with the alliance and when the dark portal opened once more, they
traveled back to take the battle to the demons as well as Illidan, Kael’thas and whatever
else was a threat.
Alliance and their new draenei allies, Horde and their new blood elf allies, fighting here
in the eye of the storm.
“For the horde!”
“For the alliance”
Alterac Valley: Long ago, when the horde invaded azeroth for
the first time... the warlock Gul'dan exiled a clan of orcs called the Frostwolves to a
valley hidden deep in the heart of the Alterac Mountains.
The Frostwolf Clan eked out a living until Thrall triumphantly united many of Azeroth’s
orcs.
The Frostwolves, however, chose to remain in the valley rather than joining Thrall in
Orgrimmar – and their relative peace has since been challenged by the arrival of the
dwarven Stormpike Expedition.
The Stormpike Expedition’s desire to mine and plumb the underexplored caves for relics
has invited conflict with the Frostwolf Clan, but opinions are divided on who struck first.
Were the dwarves who arrived in the valley peaceful explorers who were massacred by the
orcs, or did they plan to poach and conquer?
A question for the ages, one our forces on the battlefield are too busy to think about
as they’re working hard at overcoming their enemy by taking bunkers, towers, summoning
bosses, recruiting troops...
Battles could go on for days until only the general was left standing.
Vanddar Stormpike is the leader of the Stormpike Expedition where as Drek’thar is the one
that showed Thrall the way of shamanism and fights here for his frostwolf clan.
Despite them being slain, this would not be the place where their story ends.
Vanndar Stormpike and Captain Balinda would eventually travel to the ruins of southshore,
making plans to unite the stormpike with Ivar Bloodfang and his bloodfang worgen to take
back Hillsbrad from the Forsaken and the Horde.
Only because of the heroic sacrifice of a Kingslayer Orkus is the Horde informed of
this attack.
Drek’thar leaves alterac valley as soon as the burning crusade, traveling to outland
to revisit the land of their people.
He has aged quite a bit, up to the point where he was deemed too old and weak to serve in
the battle of alterac valley, not only by the long years of fighting but also his prophetic
dreams that take their tole.
He foresaw the coming of the cataclysm and now resides in alterac, being taken care of
by Captain Galvangar.
Seeing how they’re still living in alterac, it would suggest that the frostwolves have
won the battle or atleast were not forced to give up their home.
We know for certain that after the fall of the lich king, the alliance and horde got
together to sign a peace treaty.
Part of that was ending all hostilities including the struggles at alterac valley, if only for
a brief time since the game is still World of Warcraft.
“The drums of war thunder once again.”
Arathi Basin: Arathi Basin is a mountain-rimmed valley with
some of the most arable acres in the Eastern Kingdoms.
The basin has long been a prime point of societal development, offering lumber, gold and prime
grazing land for livestock.
It was only a matter of time before this fertile place was viewed through the sights of bows
and guns.
The Basin’s earliest days (and original owners) aren’t even footnotes in history
– the land frenzy driving Alliance and Horde now dominates the landscape.
The League of Arathor, the remnants of the once-proud kingdom of Stromgarde (now occupied
by ogres and the criminals of the Syndicate), would claim the basin to profit their allies
in Stormwind (and, through them, the whole of the Alliance).
Set against them are the forsaken Defilers, free-willed undead who strive to savage the
human kingdom of Lordaeron and secure their home in the Undercity – and they demand
Arathi’s resources to do it.
It’s a 15 vs 15 domination battleground, where each side attempts to control the Stables,
Blacksmith, Mine, Lumbermill and Farm for as long as possible.
It was a long time ago when ,within the arathi highlands, the different human clans gathered
together and formed a mighty capital called Strom.
Eventually they would venture out and form different human kingdoms like Dalaran, Alterac,
Stormwind, Gilneas, Kul Tiras and Lordaeron.
It’s that last one that would see dire times with Prince Arthas becoming an agent of the
Lich King and a plague transforming its citizens into the undead, into the scourge.
They would regain control of themselves and rally behind Sylvanas Windrunner.
Claiming the capital of Lordaeron for themselves and now going by the name Forsaken.
Those are the forces that we see clashing with eachother.
Fighting over control of vital resource points, that’s the key to victory.
Control all five, and you are virtually guaranteed it.
Tol barad:
Another battleground that calls back to the early human kingdoms is tol barad.
Built over 1200 years ago it was considered part of the stromgarde area, but during the
second war...the horde saw it as a prime target to take out.
Unprepared for such aggression, the Alliance were expelled from Tol Barad and the citadel
was razed, a charred symbol of the Horde’s brutal victory.
What remained of the blackened, derelict battlements was left to languish until the wizards of
Kul Tiras claimed the isle for a new purpose.
Towering walls were again stacked high from the war-scarred stones, but in their cleverness,
the arcanists turned the citadel’s defenses inward, designing a mystical prison to hold
the most powerful criminals.
Danger lurks though as Baradin hold’s integrity has been comprimised during the destruction
of the cataclysm.
Now Tol Barad once again hosts a battle between the Horde and the Alliance amidsts their conflict
during the expansion.
Warchief Garrosh Hellscream sent the handpicked elite warriors known as the Hellscream's Reach
to the island, charged with taking it from the humans.
Defending it against them are the Baradin's Warden.
They claim ancestry form Stromgarde, are not shy of recruiting mercenaries to bolster their
ranks and have guarded the island for generations.
However, as the two forces fight for supremacy over the island, something sinister is taking
over the prison fortress of Baradin Hold and the whole island in turn.
With prison guards murdering each other or letting their charges free, insanity amongst
Alliance soldiers, undead corpses rising from their graves and spirits reliving their final
battles.
A lot of daily quests can be done on the peninsula where as the real battle, similar to wintergrasp,
takes place in a timed matter.
Every hour the factions have a chance to defend or assault the keeps.
That’s how victory is earned by capturing or defending the 3 keeps in a match that lasts
for 15 minutes.
The winner gets access to a couple more quests in the center of the zone as well as entry
into the prison itself where 3 bosses await.
Argaloth, a massive pit lord so powerful that the cells of Dalaran couldn’t contain it.
Occu’thar, a demon that broke free out of its cage to then devour all the inmates in
the western wing causing it to grow in size and effectively turning the whole wing into
its new holding cell.
Alizabal, Mistress of Hate has a malicious influence despite arcane wards restricting
her powers.
Her influence alone caused her guards to murder one another in
sudden fits of rage.
Her transfer to Baradin Hold prior to the cataclysm has only aggravated the ruined prison’s
increasingly dire conditions.
So who wins this battle?
It seems to be the demons as, during Legion, warlocks returned to tol barad for their scepter
of sargeras questline and the island as well as the prison apperars to be overrun by the
forces of the Legion.
And the final one we’re going to be talking out today, that is Wintergrasp:
My personal favorite outdoor pvp zone has to be wintergrasp because it combines pvp
and pve elements to unlock access into a pve raid with pve and pvp rewards and of course
since this is northrend, a connection to the titans.
Overlooking the frozen plains of the Great Dragonblight and the inhospitable wastes of
Borean Tundra lies a region known to the denizens of Northrend as Wintergrasp.
Seated atop a high plateau, Wintergrasp has remained undisturbed for ages, its icy winds
howling unheard amongst the ancient titan fortifications that dot the landscape.
However, an abundance of elemental materials and its strategically important titan fortifications
are making Wintergrasp the focus of a vicious tug-of-war between the Horde and the Alliance.
It's no accident that Lake Wintergrasp is the seat of ceaseless battle.
Every few hours on the lake brings another skirmish, the thunder of cannon fire and crunching
tread of tons-weight vehicles re-powdering the snow.
Every outbreak of violence is a chance for a peon or peasant to find riches in the mines,
or for an adventurer to seek treasure in the unearthly vault below the keep.
Horde and Alliance fight for Wintergrasp's plunder, but not blindly.
If they bolster the war machine that brings down Northrend's horrifying undead, they buy
their soldiers the hope to return home.
And then there are the persistent rumors of an ancient titan vault beneath Wintergrasp's
keep.
One can only marvel at the thought of what treasures may be waiting there..
Depending on who won the last fight, you’re either defending the vault or attacking it.
The idea of having aireal combat was actually a thing, but during development they decided
against it.
Instead we see siege vehicles, towers to be captured, ranks to be earned and siege weaponry.
Run out the clock and you’ve defended the keep or blow up the door to click on the relic
inside and claim it.
Engineering allowed the Goon Squad to do this in under 2 minutes which is ridiculously fast.
Once inside you’ll have two and a half hours to raid your heart out and maybe even check
out Archavon’s log, explaining more about what has happened here.
On day 10 he writes that the makers are gone and he’s been left here to watch.
Day 10500: The Halls are quiet.
Empty.
I thought the Makers want me to watch the Hall, but they never specifically said, Archavon,
Watch the hall...
Maybe it's okay if I watch the outside too?
It would probably be less boring outside.
It's decided- I am now responsible for watching the Hall AND the outside.
I shall take on my new responsibility next month.
Day 20120: The outside is much more open than the Hall.
There are convenient cliffs and mountains bordering it.
I'm now confident that the Makers meant for me to watch this too.
I hope they don't notice that I've only been in the Hall for the first decade.
Day 900500: Been very boring outside.
Archavon go to sleep.
Some noises outside.
It get cold.
(This is most likely during the sundering, 10.000 years ago as this caused the land to
split apart and send northrend further up north.
Day 1051213: I invented a new game today too.
It's called "Kick the Revenant".
I made it from the front of the keep to the main road today.
Before next year, I'm going to try to land it over the river.
Archavon wake up, notice face feel soft.
Not important.
Go back to sleep.
(The curse of flesh from the old gods designed to weaken the titan keepers creations and
make them more volnerable to their corruption while litteraly giving them flesh.
Gnomes, dwarves and humans are prime examples of the effects of the curse.
Day 2145617 Large quakes outside.
Little people seem to be busy.
Archavon stay in home.
Some little green people came today.
I have added them to my watching responsibilities.
Day 2145657 The little green people have built extra buildings
here now.
More buildings seem good.
I think I will speak to them this week and thank them.
Day 2145666 I thanked one of the little green people today
for the extra buildings.
He told me that he'd be bringing more people for me to watch soon- lots of them.
I'm excited to have more things to watch.
Day 2145866 The little green people brought a lot of others,
pointed them at each other, and then they all started fighting.
I have trimmed my watching responsibilities back to the Hall for safety, but I brought
a lot of their baubles with me so that it can maybe be less boring this time.
Day 2146240 Things have gotten much worse.
I am not sure what the Makers want me to do.
I'm trying to stay in my hall, but the violent people come in after me several times a day.
They take my baubles.
(Alliance and horde fighting in winterspring, attacking poor Archavon and stealing his loot)
Day 214702 My brothers are back!
It turns out they were sleeping in other closed off halls.
I'm a little mad that they left me alone to do all the watching, but I shared my shinier
baubles with them anyway because I'm tired of being alone and attacked all the time.
Day 2147060 The violent little people have started attacking
my brothers, which is sad.
They leave me alone mostly now though, which is not sad.
I think they want the shiny baubles I gave away.
I feel guilty.
Day 3613725 The little people come to Wintergrasp from
across the ocean.
Fight many times everyday.
Archavon watch.
Day 3613760 At night, Archavon sneak out and collect the
armor they leave behind.
Archavon try to fix.
Tough to do.
I love that we get a little insight on what it’s like to be a raid boss and forgotten
about teams as the others offer better loot.
Poor Archavon but I think we’ve been going on for long enough today.
Next week we’ll finish up the list and cover the remaining battlegrounds.
So for now thank you very much for wathing everyone!
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guys...see ya!