New BG ideas

Here are a few ideas for new Battle Grounds, which could be implemented for WOTLK. None of these ideas are unique per say, but might be fun to try to mix up PVP a bit.

1. A BG similar to Eye of the Storm where you hold areas until you capture them (minus flag runs), yet it takes place on floating islands. Each person entering the BG is given a trinket to summon an epic mount and there are 5 areas which can be taken over, but none can be reached unless flown to, and the grave yards are based on starting areas and none of the opposing faction can enter that area so no res killing.
2. A flag capturing area similar to Arathi Basin, with 5 areas, yet each area takes place on a tall tower over a huge lake. Each tower is connected to two others via bridges, and if not by bridge, players can reach other towers by taking the long route of falling to the water and swimming over and climbing up.
3. Again an EOTS type area minus flag running, yet the entire game takes place in a giant castle, each team trying to conquer a certain valuable area of the castle such as the armory, library, courtyard, stables, etc. The castle can be a giant maze with interconnected passages and secret doors. The idea is from some of the old games like Quake 2 and Unreal Tournament maps.
4. Finally, another idea borrowed from Unreal Tournament where there is an attack and defend area. The attackers assault a defended area to reach a goal (all deaths taking longer to resurrect so there is caution on each side), and try to break through a defensive area to capture a target. They are given a time limit for this, perhaps 10 minutes. Once captured, the sides switch, and the attackers defend and vice versa. If the original attackers took less then 10 minutes to capture the target, lets say 8 minutes, the new team attacking will only have that time to capture the target. Obviously this is a new way to do BGs altogether, but once again it can breathe a bit of life into an area which has gotten a bit stale lately.

Do rogues HAVE to be the bad guys?

It seems that rogues have the unenviable stereotype of being the bad guys even when do not wish to be. I cringe a little bit when someone assumes that all rogues do is run around and gank people when they are most vulnerable. I would be lying to say that I have not crept to the rear of someone and slipped a dagger into their back when they were eating and drinking after a fight, because I have, though this is more the exception than the rule. The main problem is that by being a rogue, many other players assume that I prefer to harass players instead of enjoying the main content of the game. I would much rather spend my time raiding, doing a dungeon or even helping out a guild mate who is trying to level instead of traveling to Thousand Needles and picking on a low level horde or three for a few hours.
I still remember leveling up my rogue in Ashenvale, and for a solid two hours I could not complete a single quest because this one rogue would follow me and pick me off every chance he had, to the point where I logged off in disgust and played an alt for an hour then went back. When I ressed, I made it no more then 6 seconds before I was killed again by the same rogue who made it a point to laugh at me, jump on my corpse, and do something so distasteful that I will not refer to it here, yet I will say that to this day I cannot drink tea without wincing a little. Perhaps it was this moment where I decided I would not play a stereotypical rogue and would never be known as a “griefer.”
To this day I will not kill players who are more then ten levels below me for the sole purpose that they would not stand a chance, and even if I find someone who is the same level as me, yet they are at only at 10% health, I will not kill them simply because I find it distasteful to take advantage of the situation and gain a point or two in honor, yet I just did one of the most dishonorable things in the game. Since Blizzard will never take away honor for players who grief, I ask the players themselves to resist the blood thirst they feel when they see someone lagging and auto-running into a tree for the last minute, or catching two players who are dueling in the middle of Nagrand and bring each other to a sliver of health. Just take a deep breath and take the high road. Instead of killing, try something else that can instill just as much fear into another player. When you catch someone mining, sap them then appear in front of them and tell them “No!” then shoo them away and stealth again. You have just claimed that area as your own yet shed no blood and that player will think twice before trekking across your property in search for ore. If you like to gank, then gank away because I will never tell you that you are wrong to play the way you want, I just hope you can take a moment to think outside the box and consider another option or two before inserting your blade into the back of the neck another player. I like to think there is something to that old motto of “Honor among thieves.”

Give Daggers some love!

One thing I noticed that I deem unfair to all those OP rogues out there, is the lack of daggers as a specialty for weaponsmiths. Swords, hammers, even axes are available to specialize in, yet not daggers, fist weapons, nor polearms. I understand that specialization is good to a degree, where it then begins to get tedious and nit-picky, yet I think if you give us 6 main forms of melee weapons, it is unfair to give us a chance to specialize in weaponsmithing for only 3 of these. I will throw this against the wall and see if it sticks. Imagine a fist weapon which has a chance to give the next attack from it the ability to cause bleeding damage to the target equal to the attack over 8 seconds, or a dagger to have a chance to cause the next attack to attack the target as if they had no armor at all, (give a neat attack for rogues to warriors) or a polearm which has a chance to cause the target to lose 10% of their max health for ten seconds and then get it back. You have to admit these are abilities that can make things a lot more fun in PVP. Well, for the owners of these weapons at least.