Rated Battlegrounds = Huge Letdown

[Blacksen]

Rated Battlegrounds have already become incredibly painful. 14 of our past 15 games have been a 10+ minute queue for a 0-point win. We're now sitting at 28-4 and 1163 rating, but we're yet to go up against a team above 800 rating.

Overall, I think that the entire system lacks follow through. So far, the actual PvP is pretty solid and standing up quite nicely. It's both different and fun. But from a systems standpoint, there are a few things that really need changing:

1 - Ratings should be hidden before the match

It allows teams to try various "All-In" strategies because they know they have nothing to lose. We haven't lost to any yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. It also works the other way: if we go up a team that has an average team rating of less than 50, we know they're probably a trade chat PuG and thus take on a more aggressive strategy. The end result is less fun and fair games for both sides.

2 - Games that could result in 0 rating change should not exist

We'd rather sit in the queue for another 5-10 minutes than wait on another trade chat PuG to get destroyed. Below 1500 rating should give at least a few points for a win, regardless of the other teams' rating. Not only that, but it plays into the "All-In" ideology above. If you know you're not going to lose any rating, why not risk everything?

3 - Rated battlegrounds should award at least equivalent honor to random battlegrounds

As of right now, it seems our time would be better spent just hitting the "random battleground" button and making premades that way (yielding the "random" honor win). You should get additional incentive to play rated battlegrounds in the form of honor once your'e capped on conquest points.

4 - Rated battlegrounds should not be faction specific

With Horde outnumbering alliance in battlegrounds, it seems that part of the problem could just be that more horde are queueing, thus "drowning out" their rating. It's ridiculous that most of the top-end teams right now are Alliance side, and they have no way of competing with one another. Please go back to the "green" vs "gold" mentality.


Screenshots of our past 5 games:
- http://img406.imageshack.us/i/wowscr...910185432.jpg/
- http://img574.imageshack.us/i/wowscr...910191312.jpg/
- http://img842.imageshack.us/i/wowscr...910193023.jpg/
- http://img202.imageshack.us/i/wowscr...910195454.jpg/
- http://img510.imageshack.us/i/wowscr...910201845.jpg/

We've been making an elite rated battlegrounds team since late October, and so far, we've all been simply disappointed. The entire system seems to be more about getting Conquest capped and less about real competition.

[Phildozer]

you play on zul'jin right? here's to getting your rating up so we don't have to run into you.

[Bobzor]

Tried queueing up a few times buy quickly got tired of the 30minute queues so haven't been many games. I'll be sticking with arena and just play a rated BG or two once in a while just for fun with friends.

[juzalol]

Played 9-0, stopped after 2nd 0 point win a row.

Only difference from normal BGs so far has been that you get Conquest points, it's the same zergfest with absolutely zero skill involved. This might not be the case if there would be a team of 15 Gladiator+ level players with a good leader but my guess is that the good players will simply stick with arena.

And from healers pov the rated battlegrounds are a mess. It reminds me more from PvE where you just stare at the health bars smashing your biggest heal to keep people somewhat alive.

I simply enjoy arena a lot more as a healer. There you can go offensive, CC, pillarhump and it's quite easy to keep track where your opponets and your teammates are and position yourself well based on that.

TL;DR
Don't approve rated battlegrounds.

[Tizdale]

I think rated BG's should just be the normal BG's with a rating added based on -preformance- as an individual..

Oh well.. back to arena then, as currently.. I'm having the same issue OP.

[Atelniar]

Having tested it I can safely say that it is still, no matter how bad the system is, the best PvP in ages. It's so much more fun than arena tbh.