Alterac Vally as it stands now is completely biased, this was shown in the recent info on mmo champ and has been known for a long time by players of the game on both factions.
It has the potential to be an epic battleground once again and I cant understate the value it would have to players who enjoy battlegrounds to have AV upgraded to a standard which can be enjoyed by both factions whilst being faction neutral at the same time.
Now, as for the changes made that would make AV epic; I could name loads but one which I like the sound of is this:
At the moment there is a massive rush at the beginning to cap towers/bunkers and kill mini-boss's. This is the point at which Alliance have the upper hand, no matter what they seem to cap everything first and thus have first dibs on killing last boss first. Horde cap everything second and cant regroup to kill boss in time (with the exceptions of the odd AV where people defend) but generally this is the commonality between every match.
So, what if at the beginning neither faction could cap a single base or kill the mini bosses till they have disarmed a defensive mage shield which protects the bunkers/towers, the shield is generated by remnants of the Dalaran mages in the Alterac mountains.
These shields are generated in the field of strife, say 50-100yards apart on opposite sides of the middle ground for each factions north/south starting points.
This would mean a mad rush to the mid for both factions and not only will there be a massive battle over attacking/defending the mages for each faction but would mean each faction has equal chances at downing the shield so they can then start to cap towers/bunkers . The only thing then that makes one faction faster than the other is teamwork in mid.
Promoting teamwork in AV over just plain bad mapping/designing is better IMO.
Also maybe have a certain way of bringing back a mage for your faction to halt the progress of destroying towers/bunkers for the opposing faction.
I know people will say, laaaggggg.... unplayable due to nameplates and crappy cpus..... however!!!! taking down the mage shield would not require the entire team as you could send people out to the bunkers/towers in preparation for the shield taken down. So that would lose the number of players the zerg in mid.
Well this is one idea anway, I like sound of it. Well I would wouldn't I. But let me know what yall think please, provide feedback so I can try and refine and roll out creases in the idea.
And control of the mines could be the deciding factor weather or not your faction could get the shield up again.
Cheers Scrimjaw
ps posted for a friend as they do not have an account.