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PvP Gear in 5.2 and Beyond
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Change is coming to PvP gear in the relatively near future, and we wanted to provide a not-so-brief update on the improvements we’re planning, while pulling the curtain aside a bit so you can see the thought processes that motivated the coming changes. We also thought this would also be a great time to get the World of Warcraft PvP community involved in the discussion.

The Challenges
There are a few main issues that we’re working to address within the next couple of patches:

Early Advantage
Currently, it’s very common for players that have a head start at the start of the season to earn the best gear quickly and gain a dominating position on the ladder with a very high Match Making Rating (MMR). It’s then pretty common for those players to only participate on the ladder in a minimal way before reaping their rewards at the very end of the season. That’s not particularly good for competition, and we don’t think that it’s a very fun way for a competitive ladder to work. We would like to see the ladder remain active, and for high ranking players to earn their positions throughout the season, instead of just blitzing early and camping a spot above a certain threshold.

Mid-season Start
Players getting into PvP mid-season face a very significant challenge to gear up and become competitive because players that started earlier in the season are so far ahead in terms of gear. We want to make it more reasonable for a player to join in on organized PvP mid-season, while still rewarding the commitment of players that have remained invested in PvP throughout the season.

Rating Requirements
The current rating requirements on PvP gear create an artificially sharp division between players over 2200 rating and those below that rating threshold, which is unduly difficult to cross. We’d prefer that teams progress up the ladder on a curve against gradually more difficult opponents, instead of running into a wall at a certain rating.

Gear Advantage
Over time, the gap in power between Honor and Conquest PvP items has widened. This happened, in part, because it’s necessary for us to preserve the balance in power between PvP and PvE gear so that one doesn’t become the most obvious path to victory for the other. Right now, there are four tiers of PvE items, but only two tiers of PvP items. To keep Honor items from being the best choice for entry into PvE, they needed to have a lower item level than equivalent Raid Finder items. At the same time, Conquest gear still needs to be better for PvP than Heroic raid items, which puts it way over on the opposite end of the power scale from its Honor counterpart. While there are items that bridge the gap between Raid Finder and Heroic Raid loot, there really haven’t been any PvP items to bridge the gap between Honor and Conquest gear. We plan to solve that problem by introducing new tiers of PvP items, changing which currencies it takes to buy items and when, and by making PvP weapons more readily available in general.

Flexibility
While the item upgrade system has the benefit of allowing players that have “finished” their PvP set to continue to progress their character’s power, because there’s built-in pressure to continue upgrading their main set, it also means that players don’t always feel comfortable spending those points on alternate sets of gear for different specs (though it’s worth mentioning that the upgrade system will be disabled for patch 5.2). We’d like to make it easier for players in this position to experiment with alternate specs and stats.

Moving Forward
Meeting these challenges will mean that some changes are coming to MMR, PvP gear, and how gear is earned and paid for:

Team Rating Inflation
As we’ve mentioned previously, we want to see the ladder rankings decided toward the end of a season, and not a foregone conclusion dictated by what happens at the start. As discussed in the PvP in Mists of Pandaria Dev Watercooler, as of patch 5.2 Team Rating will gradually increase as players participate in PvP over the course of the season. We expect the new system to help ensure that the ladder remains active at all ratings and that the competition stays fierce from start to finish.

Gear Changes
To accomplish the goals of making PvP more accessible and less punishing, gearing more consistent and flexible, and flattening the power curve out over the course of a season, there are some significant changes in the works:
  • 2200 rating requirements removed from all PvP gear. (5.2)
  • Gear will be available in four tiers:
    • Dreadful Gladiator’s gear will be crafted. (5.2)
    • Malevolent Gladiator’s gear, including weapons, will be purchased with Honor Points. (5.2)
    • New tier of PvP items: Tyrannical Gladiator’s gear will be purchased with Conquest Points. (5.2)
    • Tyrannical Gladiator’s gear can be purchased for Honor after 27000 Conquest Points are earned for the season. (5.3)
    • Elite Tyrannical Gladiator’s gear can only be purchased with Conquest Points after 27,000 Conquest Points have been earned for the season. (5.2)

The 2200 rating requirements on gear will be removed in patch 5.2, and when that happens, the only barrier to acquiring top of the line Elite gear will be the 27,000 Conquest Point seasonal currency requirement. While highly rated players will still earn gear more quickly, there won’t be an invisible wall to progression at 2200 rating.

As of patch 5.3, patches that don’t include the start of a new season will offer players the opportunity to purchase Conquest Point weapons without first meeting the seasonal currency requirement for them. We’re relaxing these restrictions because, by the mid-point of the season, the restriction has served its purpose and is no longer necessary. It’s worth noting here that the 27,000 Conquest Points earned requirement must always be met to buy Elite armor and weapons in every season.

In terms of relative power, we’re tuning the item levels, PvP Power, and Resilience on the new set of PvP items so that the difference between Malevolent and Elite Tyrannical Gladiator’s gear is similar to the relationship between this season’s Dreadful and Malevolent Gladiator’s gear. This helps accomplish the goal of smoothing out the power curve by adding a tier in the middle of the PvP gear spectrum. Also, to add choices and flexibility, once the seasonal currency requirement is met, players will have the option to purchase Tyrannical pieces for Honor, which should allow players to more easily experiment with alternate stat loadouts and specs.

Mid-Season Catch Up
Players who are starting their journey into PvP mid-season start significantly behind the gearing curve. While we want to avoid invalidating the effort of players that have competed for the whole season, we agree with the feedback we’ve received that the starting gap is too large, so a new Conquest Point catch-up cap will be implemented using the following formula:

(Current week of the season) * 1000 – (Conquest earned thus far this season)

Here are some examples of how this will work:

Player A is starting PvP for the first time in week 10 of the season, and hasn’t earned any Conquest Points at all that season. He will have an additional cap of 10,000 points added to his normal weekly rating based cap.

Player B has already earned 5,000 Conquest Points by week 10, so she would have an additional cap of 5,000 points added to her normal weekly rating based cap.

Player C has been playing all season long, and has earned more than 10,000 Conquest Points by week 10. He only has the normal weekly cap to work with (but should already be on their way to being well geared).

If a player “redeems” their catch up cap by earning all those points, then they’ll begin the next week at their normal weekly rating based cap. Should they miss more weeks, then the catch up cap accrues again.

So, to sum up the planned changes for Patch 5.2:
  • Rating requirements will be removed from PvP gear.
  • Malevolent Gladiator’s gear, including weapons, will be available for purchase with Honor Points.
  • A new tier of Conquest Point gear will be added that becomes available once 27000 Conquest Points have been earned for the season.
  • Team Rating will gradually increase during the season for teams and players that continue to compete in PvP. This system is explained in the Mists of Pandaria PvP Dev Watercooler.

And here are the specific changes that are planned to hit in Patch 5.3:
  • In patches that don’t include a new season (including patch 5.3), the seasonal currency requirement of 27,000 Conquest Points earned will be lifted from weapons. The seasonal currency requirement must always be met to purchase Elite items, though.
  • Once the seasonal currency requirement is met, players will be able to purchase Tyrannical Gladiator’s gear with Honor Points.
  • The Conquest Point catch up cap will be introduced.

Conclusions
Overall, we expect that these changes will create a more active and competitive PvP environment, narrow the gear gap between the highest rated players and those still working their way up the ladder, and open the door for more experimentation in terms of class or spec.
We look forward to hearing your opinions and feedback on these upcoming changes!
This article was originally published in forum thread: PvP Gear in 5.2 and Beyond started by chaud View original post
Comments 264 Comments
  1. siafu's Avatar
    carrot on a stick ? lol this is pvp we are talking about here. no one should be at a advantage at any point in time. to true pvpers gear is meaningless, all they care about is playing and showing who the better player is, not who has the most stats or the prettier colors. there should be no gap besides skill in a pvp situation. i more than welcome this changes.
  1. Lirina's Avatar
    I've been 2400+ the past 3 seasons, I have been Glad x2. (never a R1 though) I more than welcome this change. I have quiet a few friends in the game who are currently 2200-2300 rated with T2. When the TR realm came out in S11 alot of these players had 2200+ teams. For some strange reason I can say about 75% of them never made it past 1900 on the TR. With a level playing field their "true" skill came out. Granted there were other factors, later patch w/ last seasons gear but still, there is no excuse for a 2300 player to not make it into the 2,000's. It just opened my eyes on how HUGE of a gap T2 weapons made. I always knew you had an advantage but to the extent my fellow 2200+ players wern't able to make it 2k+. I am happy that the 2200 bar is gone. I welcome all the compatition in world. PvP will reward those who are "skilled" by allowing them to achieve their gear faster and climb up the ranks quicker. I those players choosenot to play they will fall behind in the gear race and potentially lose that top spot. If they come back after sitting for 2 months they may not have the gear to compete anymore until they continue to play and prove that they deserved the top spot! It's excellent. I don't see how people think this is a bad idea, Wintraders and Boosters have plauged the PvP community. Your 2200+ Achieve has become like Warth's PvE iLvL.
  1. Zoros's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by siafu View Post
    carrot on a stick ? lol this is pvp we are talking about here. no one should be at a advantage at any point in time. to true pvpers gear is meaningless, all they care about is playing and showing who the better player is, not who has the most stats or the prettier colors. there should be no gap besides skill in a pvp situation. i more than welcome this changes.
    There are other possible rewards besides gear, additional glyphs, items like the ones droped by rares, cinematics, multi player mounts, the skybreaker. Something more cool than a tabard, and something less unbalancing than gear.
  1. NoRest4Wicked's Avatar
    From what I've seen most high rated played like this change or are indifferent. Pretty sure the ones who are going to complain the most are the pvpers who can barely break 2200 and are about to get their epeen stripped away. PvP should be a test of skill, ranging from knowledge of your class and the classes/comps you are battling - Not lolt2wepIwin.
  1. mickx's Avatar
    I have played on and off in arena since season 2 with a rogue warrior warlock feral druid, shadow priest, holy paladin and DK and reached well over the weapon requirements every season. I took a massive break and started MOP almost 4 months late and decided to level healers to play with friends and solely due to the gear and slight lack of practice i've literally not broken 2100 so far this season but im still rocking alot of blues.

    That right there is why they needed to change the current system, its disgusting that 2500 players cant get on alts, farm full upgraded honor gear and not get decent rating with a t1 comp and any1 who disagrees needs to open their eyes and realize that you shouldn't get an unfair advantage simply because you decide to log on and play 1 character from the day of the season starting until it ends.

    The biggest things im looking forward to with this change are:
    -the fact that u still need to earn the points to get the weapons, even if u get a 10k cap mid season u still have to win, so better players or players learning a new class/spec will be rewarded the same as if they started early.
    - personally, and i think itl be the same for others, but i made my druid resto and my shaman resto for this xpac and due to RL commitments i don't have time to gear them in dps to mess around in bgs or dailies or try a diff comp or rbg. I am really looking forward to doing 3s as resto on them and then grabbing a full set of moonkin or ele gear and messing around on live from just honor once ive reached the 27k cap.
    - THIS is probably the biggest thing. alot of my good arena partners have quit, while leveling a shamna and gearing ive met alot of really nice but horrific pvpers and may or may not be good with ur class in arena, now i still do 2s wtih them but 2s is broken and because i started late i need to get as high as possible in rbg or arena for gear to even stand a chance. Having this system will allow u to inadvertently help ur friends get better in arena because in time they will have full elite gear whether u did 3s or rbgs with them or not, and ull have off specs that may suite a comp. It is extremely hard to help some1 learn arena atm when they are half blues, ur half blues and u do 2s and 2 t2 mages come out of invis and kill him in a blanket silence.

    i know its a wall of text, but tbh there is no downside, if i was stil playing at 2500 rating like wotlk/cata and i had full t2 id rather do it knowing we beat them just coz of comp/skill not coz i logged on since release of season. people need to relax and realise that messing around with cool people and teaching them to even go up 100 rating from 1500 is just as fun sometimes as being on front page of the ladder
  1. Nathiest's Avatar
    If Dreadful Gladiator gear is going to be crafted does that mean the demand for Ghost Iron is going to go up?
  1. mmoc6d2550104b's Avatar
    If it works exactly like you guys say it works, it will be amazing
  1. JhanZ's Avatar
    New enchant confirmed in 5.2 for 2200 players. There's your carrot on a stick. Hahahahah.

    Have fun! No special gear for you. <3
  1. HeedmySpeed's Avatar
    After a full season of trying to break 2200 rating in RBGs, I don't really like this change.
    I think it removes a huge incentive to PVP, or rather, it diminishes the incentive to want to play better or to push yourselves.

    It's no longer a reward for high level game play but a reward for time spent on the game.
    It's like daily rewards where there's no skill involved, you just do them for a long time and you get rewards for showing up.

    If they're talking about advantages and disadvantages then they should probably spend more time balancing the damn game.
    Right now it's a joke how easy some classes/specs have it in PVP and it's the biggest turn off.
    The most infuriating disadvantage has nothing to do with "gear" but all to do with "class balance."
  1. forwards1ca's Avatar
    So, I can only assume theyre goign to do the same thing with pve gear? Its unfair that players starting in the middle of a patch don't have early access to the elite pve gear and get crapped on by people with elite HM gear.

    Instead on inane, fixing-what-isnt-broken changes liek this, the blizzard staff should really spend some goddamn time on working on balancing pvp, not making it so every idiot and their pet can get the same gear. They don't do this for pve because "elite gear issupposed to mean something and be a proofof an accomplishment" so what inthe holy hell jesus-on-a-stick are they doing it to pvp gear?
  1. mmoc93e49d6cd5's Avatar
    i think the new season ilv is messed up. t2 elite is 503 (while currently t2 is 498) and t1 is 483 (they always did t1 new season more powerful than t2 pre season). Also i see some items like staffs at 483 and other staffs at 493. Also when the new season will begin in this way will have old player who played malevolent season with 2/2 upgrade (491) while new players will get 476 ilv.. is it honest or i'm just wrong?
  1. QualityKJ's Avatar
    love it! this is basically why i dont pvp atm, its just a long bridge to cross mid-season if your not getting carried.
  1. Smartass's Avatar
    I have shared feelings about these changes.

    First of all, i am a mid-tier casual player (2,2k-2-4k) since i started playing pvp s9. After a 3 months brake, just before mop came out, i came back and i'm still struggling reaching 2,2k and the precious T2 weapon. Most probably i won't get it by the end of the season this time due to my equip/class and well, obviously lack of skill.

    Honestly i am not good/consistent enough to play for titles and mounts - talking gladiator title here, since any other isn't worth a cent to me.
    If you take the 2,2k gear requirement from me, MY motivation to continue playing pvp in wow goes down really hard. I still enjoy playing, but it just decreases my motivation by 80%- you know, all those days, where you are not sure to log in or not - but you finaly do it, 'cause it might be the day you make it... Those days gonna be gone...
    As said before, being realistic i know, there is pretty much no chance for a gladiator title for me.

    I'm sure, this change is great (gamewise) for hardcore pvp players, who are not stucked in mid-tier pvp (and play for titles) and it's definitely great for finaly kicking all those acc-play-economy-and-gameplay-destroying-pushers asses. But unfortunately, for casual gamers like me, it takes quite some motivation away.
    Sorry for the wall of text and the mistakes, didn't write "a normal text" in english for ages
  1. xtramuscle's Avatar
    First and foremost; I like these changes.

    Blizzard have done a good thing, in a bad spot. The underlying problem is, in pvp gear should be completely balanced. But this is a MMORPG, and if there is no way to improve your character, for alot of people there is no reason to play. I personally think for people who want to improve their character, they should PVE. For those who want to prove they're better than others, they should PVP. Removing all gear would also remove honour farming bots from the game, making everyone's battle ground experiences better (it may even solve win trading and rbg boosting for better gear) but that's a MASSIVE step to take. These are atleast baby steps in the right direction.

    Now the majority of people seem to have an issue with the 2200 rating requirement being removed. This is obvious, because the majority of players won't make it to 2.2k. People are looking at this all wrong, in previous tiers T2 weapon was a reward for players who got the rating, but I see alot of 1800 players saying, 'They're taking away my 2.2k T2 weapon' *spoilers* it was never yours. I see silly posts '1800 cr mage LF group to rush 2.2k'. You don't see PVE'ers '463 ilv looking to kill HC Will' do you? Get a grip!

    For players capable of achieving 2.2+ (without boosts or buying the ach) this is a great change. They are already the better players, and on a more level playing field they will shine. It also means they can hop on an alt and play competitively there aswell; meaning alot more available characters meaning there in theory should be more toons PVPing. For those below 2.2k always striving for that T2, they haven't taken it away. You will get it, when in previous season you wouldn't have. But now once you have it one of two things will happen. You will either rise to higher rankings (there are a few special snowflakes out there!) or you will stay at 1800, because everyone else has T2 just like you, but you don't have the skills needed to push higher. Either then you l2p or you keep losing because you can't significantly our gear your opponent in order to win.

    These are great steps in the right direction Blizzard. Next season looks very promising, my only fear is as a main time PVE'er I won't have enough to to keep playing in order to push the higher ranks, and may actually fall behind less skilled players who just have more free time to play than I do.
  1. Osmeric's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Nathiest View Post
    If Dreadful Gladiator gear is going to be crafted does that mean the demand for Ghost Iron is going to go up?
    And leather, and cloth.

    I'm stockpiling SoH's right now.
  1. good diu bro's Avatar
    Resilience should fix it, they said.
    PvP power and defence will fix it, they said...
    Skill > gear they said......
    Just get rid of ratings!
  1. Fatkidonascooter's Avatar
    Congratulations Blizzard you've officially turned your entire game into one mindless grind fest. It just adds another nail in the coffin of this game becoming completely normalized and noncompetitive. Once upon a time it meant something to be a better player in this game, but everything has been so dumbed down I just feel like another face in the crowd; All pvp is now is one giant daily grind. Why are there different tiers of gear still given in pve? To show that a player is an exceptional player, working with an exceptional team of other players, to earn that heroic status gear. How would pve players feel if that level of gear could be obtained from LFR, simply if the player spent enough hours grinding it out? It would make it obsolete.

    I completely understand and agree with the " late mid-season join" logic, and encourage the gear tier system to go in benefiting that direction. However, there still needs to be some sort of upper tier gear status. You could easily have both: make acquiring the malevolent gear easier like they stated, while adding in the Tyrannical as a 2200 status only. It fixes what they were trying to fix as far as season starting time, while leaving the integrity of the elite gear intact. As someone who has been 2600+ several seasons, topped world meters in pve many times, I am nothing but appalled at this change. Whatever Blizzard can do to cater to the masses over the elitist they will do, and continue to do.
  1. Fatkidonascooter's Avatar
    Congratulations Blizzard you've officially turned your entire game into one mindless grind fest. It just adds another nail in the coffin of this game becoming completely normalized and noncompetitive. Once upon a time it meant something to be a better player in this game, but everything has been so dumbed down I just feel like another face in the crowd; Pvp is now one giant daily grind. Why are there different tiers of gear still given in pve? To show that a player is an exceptional player, working with an exceptional team of other players, to earn that heroic status gear. How would pve players feel if that level of gear could be obtained from LFR, simply if the player spent enough hours grinding it out? It would make it obsolete.

    I do however completely understand and agree with the " late mid-season join" logic, and encourage that change. However there still needs to be some sort of upper tier gear status. You could easily have both: make acquiring the malevolent gear easier like they stated, while perhaps adding in the Tyrannical as a 2200 status only. It fixes what they were trying to fix as far as season starting time, while leaving the integrity of the elite gear intact. As someone who has been 2600+ several seasons, topped world meters in pve many times, I am nothing but appalled at this change. Whatever Blizzard can do to cater to the masses over the elitist they will do and continue to do.
  1. Ealyssa's Avatar
    Awesome change, can finally play with guild and RL friends while not being punished choosing social over competition (guildies don't have 2k2 skill, so I have to choose R2 or playing with people I like).

    Catchup system is awesome too, so is mid season "cap" removal for catchup and alts. Allready 3+ friends thinking to come back to wow (they like PVP but are not "good" enough to compete against full R2 opponents).

    RBG conquest points win while loosing will also be nice for random low bracket RBG, increasing the PVP player base.

    Best changes ever made in WOW's pvp.

    Only thing Blizzard should do, imo, is a "challenge gold set" equivalent for PVP. A transmog set unique for the whole extension (no season skin change, unlike actual R2 comsmetic body gear) @2k6-2k8. To let special snowflakes brag about their "mad skillz".
  1. mmocac96309fe0's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Nerraw View Post
    So being the very best suddenly isn't a goal anymore?
    Not if one has no internal ranking of somesorts which allows you to compare onerself to others.

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-20 at 09:18 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by JhanZ View Post
    Exactly my point. People complaining about not having shiny gear that many others don't is absurd. Anyway, I've exhausted my will to argue this shit anymore. Changes are going through and the game will be infinitely better in 5.2. Praise Blizzard!
    No less absurd than desire for everyone to look the same. Even sheep pack mentality has it limits.

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