Steppes(English: The Barrens) is a vast plain in central Kalimdor, mostly under the control of the Horde. The zone is a wide savanna with several oases in the northern and central regions of the region.
In ancient times, these lands were home to several major night elf cities, but now only a few brave souls explore these plains, occasionally being attacked by centaurs or quilboars. Despite the uninviting terrain and hostility of the local inhabitants, the Barrens attracted representatives of both the Horde and the Alliance, as well as some of the native races of Kalimdor.
Many trade routes from nearby regions converged here, the most notable of which was the Golden Road, which crosses the Steppes from north to south and extends far beyond the zone's borders. Rumors circulate throughout local towns about valuable minerals and treasures hidden in the ruins, but few are brave enough to explore them.
Story
In the distant past, today's Steppes were a thriving forest, protected by the entire race of night elves. The entire zone was dotted with their settlements, and there was no ocean for many miles around.
After the invasion of the Burning Legion and the ensuing Great Schism, which shook the lands of Azeroth to its foundations, the once lush forest turned into a scorched plain, dried out by the rays of the hot sun. Now the Steppes are a dry shroud stretching from
Map
Standard fight
Meeting engagement
Team fight
Legend
Description
Open, flat terrain, with slight elevation changes and abundantly strewn with bushes and stones. Both bases are connected by a road, hidden in the lowlands from what is happening on the flanks. IN Center The map is located on a field - the main scene of action for light tanks at the beginning of the battle. The field is framed by small hills with stones and bushes, the so-called Ridges- places where anti-tank vehicles and lightly armored vehicles with good weapons accumulate. On the right is Valley, and on the left are located Stones.
The type of camouflage used on the map is summer.
The map was added in update 0.6.4. Name in the battle recording file: stepspes.
Combat tactics in a standard battle
At the beginning of the battle, the LTs try to show off the careless PTs who disdained to stand in the bushes on Ridges, and rolling heavy tanks to To the stones. PTs take positions on the same Ridges to help allied LTs, STs traveling to Valley, but willing to give the initial shooting. For heavy tanks there is a choice, you can also To the stones, and in Valley. Arta can give one shot from respawn, and then can take positions near the red line. Now let's look at the classes of equipment:
Light tanks
Lower Base (I in the diagram)
The role of light tanks is, first of all, to provide initial illumination of the movement of enemy tanks, as well as counterlight. Don't waste a second if you want to bring maximum benefit in the first minutes of the battle. WITH Positions in the center you can highlight the rolling of the TT to To the stones, as well as tanks on Ridges.
Position on the right more risky, especially near a stone (often a one-way ticket) but gives the opportunity to highlight tanks that are rushing towards Valley. They can also be highlighted having rolled to the right, but the risk of taking damage or even going to the hangar is higher. The red trajectory is extremely dangerous, pay attention to your opponent’s setup.
Positions on the left are not as productive, but can bring no less benefit to the team. Clearance is provided on the left side of the ridge, and the stone will cover you during the light. Be careful when taking position at the beginning of the fight.
If you stand in the bushes near Kameni, you will be safe, but there will be clearance here only for TTs that are rushing to To the stones.
Upper base (II in the diagram)
Changing the base does not change the task of the LT. Classical position in the Center to illuminate the nesting areas of enemy vehicles on Ridges and transfer of equipment to To the stones. True, there is a risk of catching a blind, the bush is “standard”. There are alternative bushes a little further, although there is a risk of “catching a lamp” and going to the hangar.
Concerning positions on the left, then it’s easier to drive under the stone here than from the lower base. But if both you and an enemy light tank came here, then in terms of exposure you “turn off” each other. Any departure due to a stone is punishable by loss of HP, knocking down the harp, and an early ticket to the hangar. Note the mirror version rolling, you just have to calculate the trajectory of safe movement.
Positions on the right they are also not particularly popular, although a skilled player knows how to benefit from them both for himself and for the team. Position at the Stones not only allows you to highlight heavy objects, but also shoot at them. But be careful, choose blind targets and don't take unnecessary risks.
While loading, evaluate the team compositions and come up with a plan of action. Give initial exposure by standing in a bush or riding aggressively. The priority task in the first minutes is to “turn off the lights” and show the opponent’s driving position. Don't lose HP and watch the minimap. Support your allies, change positions, monitor the location of enemy tanks. The central hollow is a good road to enemy artillery or lonely anti-tank missiles, gaping at Ridges. And remember, the closer the end of the battle, the more valuable a light tank becomes.
Medium tanks
When you get to the steppes on ST, evaluate the composition of the teams. Since a medium tank is a universal vehicle, try to use the strengths of your vehicle, especially since the map allows you to do this. But you shouldn’t stop your allies from doing “their own thing.” Do not prevent the LT from shining and the PT from conducting aimed fire.
And after the initial shooting with Ridges, medium tanks are sent to Valley. In the Valley there are main positions for combat:
Upper base
Position 1- rather for PT, but if it is empty, you can occupy it too. Points 2 and 3- choice of ST with excellent guns, good air defense, but weak armor protection (for example leopard 1). Don't forget to roll away after shooting. Position 4- a more risky variation of 2 and 3 points, and there is nothing for tanks to do here without smart UVNs. Position 5- more universal, here you can perfectly implement a ST with a strong turret. Position 8- for ST with good armor.
Lower base
There are similar points from the lower base. Point 12 similar to point 2 - for cardboard tanks with a good gun. Positions 13 and 15- already closer to the battle line, position 14 similar to position 3 - shot, reflection, shot. Position 16 for direct firefights with the enemy, cardboard tanks are sent straight to the hangar from here. Point 17- is quite specific, but worth noting.
The positions described above are not without alternative. Assess the composition of the teams, travel and act according to the situation. Random battles are an unpredictable thing, so it’s impossible to predict all situations. Realize your strengths and neutralize your weaknesses, help your allies in the Valley, and don’t be afraid to change flanks. And don't forget to check the minimap.
Heavy tanks
Gone are the days when cords only traveled to To the stones. In every battle you can notice that the TTs are sent to Valley. Let's look at it first.
Valley
For classic heavyweights, which are designed for head-on collisions, the scene of action is positions 8 and 16. From them the teams begin to fight for position 9. But be careful, roll in zone 9 It's dangerous alone. Any CT can get under the stone above and cause a lot of problems. Also, do not forget that the Steppes is an open map, and there is very little shelter in the Valley. The artillery is watching you.
Stones
Usually slow heavy tanks and assault tanks go here. Perhaps, Stones- the only place where there is good shelter from artillery. If there are not many of you here, you can take up positions near the rocks before reaching the water, or stop around the bend near the river channel (although it is more like a lake) and shoot at the rolling water. To the stones. If you have enough strength, or you are confident in your cover, take positions with yourself Stones. Here the classic game for TT begins - playing from the alpha, tanking from the corner, exchanging HP.
As with other tanks, evaluate your team compositions before the battle begins. The presence or absence of artillery is one of the most important factors. Determine the direction of movement, and try to cooperate with your allies. Don't be alone - you become an easy target. And look at the minimap, returning to your base on time or helping your allies is important.
Tank destroyer
For classic tank destroyers, the Steppes is a good map. Abundance of bushes and stones on Ridges and the space for the LT allows for excellent shooting in the starting minutes of the battle.
Then you can support TT on Stones or take positions on the hills in Valley. Or stay in position and wait for light. Be careful, blinds are often thrown into the bushes near the stones. So if you are confident in camouflaging your car, and you have a camouflage net, you can stand away from bushes and stones. The risk of getting blindshot becomes minimal.
Follow the development of the battle, take positions, cooperate with the tank. They often click on the minimap of the place where they plan to expose. And don’t rush to exchange HP if the flank is broken, it’s better to retreat and deal damage without receiving damage in return. And look at the minimap.
Self-propelled artillery units
Keep an eye on the allied tank, you can fire one shot from the spot if your reload allows it. Then you can safely roll over the railway embankment (upper base) or go to the mountains (lower base)
The map is open, allowing you to shoot through the vast majority of the map. Aim at clusters of enemies, if not with damage, then with stunning, you can turn the tide of the battle, first on the flank, and then in the battle. Don’t be afraid to change your position, enemy tanks are not asleep. And look at the minimap.
Tactics in the "Encounter Battle" mode
The base in the oncoming battle mode is located in a low-lying alley. Compared to a standard battle, the starting positions of the teams are located further west. The opponents are close to each other and the battle in the “stones” breaks out very quickly. Often players forget about the base and get involved in a shootout. In this case, the outcome of the battle can be decided even by a lone light tank standing up for capture. Although the capture time is increased, getting to the base is not so easy: the shortest route is through an open field, where vehicles are an easy target, and detour through the base takes a long time. In addition, the base is located in a low place and in order to knock down the capture, you need to be in close proximity to it. All this creates a variety of tactics and behavior options in battle.
The tactics of conducting an oncoming battle differ from the tactics in a standard battle only by being shifted closer to To the stones team respawns, which reduces the travel time for tanks to a given position. The general base is located on positions 9, and high-speed tanks arrive there first. For LT, the priority is the stone with bushes on the left side Central field. You can also take a risk and highlight enemy self-propelled guns while still on the patrol, but this is a very risky maneuver. ST it’s better to go straight to Valley to the base, TT should not be forgotten about it either. Analyze team compositions and look at the minimap more often.
Screenshot gallery
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History of changes
Cards
| Summer |
Karelia Malinovka Prokhorovka |
While preparing our next World of Warcraft: Cataclysm review articles, we met with game designers Dave Kosak and Roman Marotte. Our questions concerned the significant changes to the landscape of the Southern Barrens that have occurred in this seemingly familiar place due to the return of Deathwing, and the ongoing struggle between the Horde and the Alliance.
Q. What was the original concept for this area?
ABOUT. The Barrens is one of the areas of Kalimdor that suffered the most in Cataclysm. Why, she was literally torn in half! The Northern Steppes retain the spirit of the original zone and serve the same purpose as before - low-level Horde characters train and learn about the world there. The division of the Steppes gave us enormous freedom of action, which we took advantage of by creating completely new game content in their southern part. By the start of Cataclysm, the Alliance had organized an aggressive expansion into the heart of the continent from the eastern shore. When players enter this area, they will immediately realize that the Horde is not ready to yield. The intensity of the confrontation between the two factions is the main theme on which the plot of most missions in this area is based.
Q. What factions and levels is the Southern Steppes designed for?
ABOUT. This territory is intended for Alliance and Horde players from level 30 to 35.
Q. What is the story, in a nutshell, of this area? How has it changed from the original design?
ABOUT. The main slogan of the plot is “an eye for an eye.” Both sides will either gain or lose positions. Their confrontation as a whole will become more fierce. Players who side with the Horde will learn of the sinister fate of Camp Taurajo and Honor's Watch. Then they must gather together the forces of their faction, change the local leadership and take revenge for the devastation of Taurajo. The Alliance, meanwhile, will fight to retain the captured territories, repelling attacks on all fronts. Players will take part in the defense of the Northwatch fortress, the loss of which will cut off the Alliance forces in the Barrens from Theramore. In addition, both factions will have to deal with the sudden lush growth of strange jungles that are spreading throughout the Steppes. Players will encounter all these innovations for the first time.
Q. What is the most exciting new feature or feature of the area?
ABOUT. This is definitely a conflict between the Alliance and the Horde, which has not happened before in the Barrens. We've tried to make sure that players have the full experience of participating in large-scale PvP battles, even if they're playing alone. Representatives of the Alliance and Horde will capture key positions on the battlefield, as well as defend them from the enemy army. New technology will allow players to see events completely differently. For example, the Horde's attack on the fortress of Bale Modan and its consequences will motivate players to take action, revealing impressive changes in the game world.
And finally, one word: Mankrik.
Q. How did the remodel work proceed?
ABOUT. The southern steppes have been completely redesigned. Essentially, we started from scratch, identifying the key points of confrontation, and then coming up with ideas for each of them a little story. Ongoing fighting in disputed territories constantly highlights factional conflict. In addition, a number of missions will appear in this area that will lead players into the thick of battle. We also put a lot of effort into creating the right emotional tone for each location. If, for example, you play as the Horde, you will probably be absolutely furious when you see what happened in Taurajo!
Q. By the way, what happened in the Taurajo camp? It looks like it's in ruins.
ABOUT. Well, it depends on who you ask! Alliance players can chat with General Hawthorne at the Forward Headquarters and learn his thoughts on the destruction of Taurajo. On the other hand, if you speak to Horde leaders at Hunter's Hill, Camp Una'fe, or Camp Vendetta, you will hear a very different opinion. We suspect that the fierce debate over the ethics of this action will not subside for some time.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of adding all these changes to the existing zone?
ABOUT. The real test for us was working on the plot. It was important for us to make it whole and harmonious from beginning to end. After all, key NPCs do not stand still; they are killed in battle, which greatly complicates the situation. But, despite the difficulties, we successfully completed the task.
Q. What do you recommend players watch or try first?
ABOUT. Alliance players should definitely visit Northwatch Keep as soon as possible. If they don't hurry, the fortress will fall to the Horde. Horde players should head to the destroyed Taurajo camp. Someone... will... have to... pay for this.
Q. Why does the Great Gate prevent one from entering or exiting Mulgore?
ABOUT. The Horde built the Great Gate as a response to the aggression of the Alliance, which came from the Dustwallow Marshes and began to build a road from Theramore to the Barrens. The construction of the gate was completed just in time: the Alliance forces broke deep into the Barrens and reached the entrance to Mulgore. The gate stopped the enemy exactly for the time that the Horde needed to regroup its troops and organize a counterattack. Of course, not without the help of the players!
Q. Can you tell us a little about the Wild Thickets and the new Horde camp Una'fe?
ABOUT. Players are probably familiar with the story of Naralex, a brave druid who tried to fill the springs of the Wailing Caverns with life force to restore lush vegetation to the Barrens. This story continues in the Southern Steppes, where Naralex tries to stop the unforeseen consequences of his descent into Emerald Nightmare, which almost became fatal for him. The uncontrolled spread of vegetation in this part of the Steppes threatens both the Alliance and the Horde equally. In the east, while trying to deliver supplies to the Alliance front, Tigan's expedition finds itself in a trap. And in the west, in the Una'fe camp, the surviving inhabitants of Taurajo find themselves in a similar unpleasant situation.
Q. What are the goals of the Alliance forces in Forward Headquarters and Fort Triumph, and the Horde forces in Fortress of Despair, trying to take control of Battle Scar?
ABOUT. This conflict is geographically determined. The Battle Scar is located in the center of a narrow gorge, a sort of natural bottleneck. The Alliance needs to break through it so as not to lose contact between Theramore and the Northwatch fortress. Not to mention the path to the Stonetalon Mountains, where the Alliance’s allies are waiting for help. If the Horde can seal this passage, Theramore will no longer be isolated from the outside world. It is at Battle Scar that the conflict reaches its peak... and the future of Kalimdor may depend on its outcome.
Thank you for taking the time to tell us about the work done, which inspired new life The Southern Barrens in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has inspired new adventures!
The fight will be tomorrow, but for now
The platoon buried itself in the clouds
And he left along the pass.
V. Vysotsky
In the cramped central room of the Silver Wing Fortress, under open air heroes appear one after another. From the very first seconds, chaos and confusion reign here. “We invite you, tsigel-tsigel!” - some shout. Druids and paladins quickly cast blessings on everyone. Someone critically assesses the class composition of the assembled crowd, and the holy elf grumpily yells at the entire fortress: “The first group is attacks, second—defends! Fershtein?
The last seconds expire, and an unknown commentator announces the start of the battle. A bright flag appears in a bright corner - the main value of the castle. At the same time, two grates open in the room, and the attacking group (sometimes all ten people) jumps out into the fresh air of the War Song Gorge. On the opposite side of the gorge, a crowd of Horde soldiers pours out of the sawmill. Now it all depends on how quickly the self-proclaimed raid leader can unite the heroes and turn the “herd of sheep” into a single, well-coordinated squad.
The equator again
The development of my characters slowed down and then froze. The dwarf paladin has been sitting on the outskirts of the fifty-ninth level for days now, saying: “I feel good here too.” Sometimes he goes to the dungeons of the Black Rock with groups and raids and every two days he sells the arcanite transmuted by him.
Recently, the paladin has again become a frequent visitor to the Wetlands - there he collects herbs for healing and accelerating spells. This is for the family. His elf sister spends them at great speed. The dungeons of Numbergan helped her reach level thirty, and here she decided to spend the winter to try her hand at the battlefields of Azeroth. And going out onto the battlefields without a bunch of elixirs of speed, health and drinks stuffed into your pockets is a thankless task.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have time to tell you about how they fight in the Warrior Song gorge. In the meantime, a few words about how and what my heroes live with.
Brother gnome and sister elf
Saints of Numbergan
How does the robber swing? Goes and kills monsters in “solo” mode. Paladin? He grabs all the quests in a row and tries to find a group for them. And the priest? It doesn't swing. It is downloaded every time after successfully completing a dungeon.
Numberrgan helped me jump from the early twenties to the very equator. Now I know this dungeon like the back of my hand and can walk through it blindfolded. The seemingly lost capital of the dwarfs, confusing at first glance, turns out to be quite simple after a dozen playthroughs. There are two entrances - front and back, for those who have a key. The latter will allow you to cut off two-thirds of the dungeon and quickly get to the main boss - the Termaplagg robot. But the last third of Numbergan are the most powerful nullifier robots and the most dangerous dark gnomes. So, if the group is not working well or is simply inexperienced, it is better to go long way.
Entrance to the tunnels. A deep shaft, an elevator that goes up and down so fast that a hurried adventurer can simply crash if he misses the platform. Several small mutant dwarfs and emerald troggs. Here the road splits: to the left is the main entrance, straight ahead is the black one. We go to the left and, having passed the ghostly wall separating the “instant” dungeon and the rest of the world, we find ourselves under the ceiling of a giant hall.
Along a narrow balcony, a team of adventurers slowly makes their way through harmless and stupid troggs (or simply troglodytes - cavemen). If there is a robber in the group, you can go to the central device in the hall and open the locked chest. If not, we immediately turn towards the stairs and find ourselves in the “green” zone.
This is a small hall controlled by ordinary gnomes. Here you can rest, heal, pick up mail (I’ve never seen a dungeon with mailboxes anywhere else) and use the surprise vending machines. Tokens for them drop from dungeon monsters. Each surprise costs three silver. As a rule, these are pieces of coal, ore or semiprecious stones.
It's time to move on - into a room with a crowd of troggs and a computer from which you can read information for one of the quests. The engineer will also receive a diagram of a primitive recombobulator that removes discombobulation. They have never tried to discombobulate my elf, so the recipe for the recombobulator is lying around in the general heap, idle. However, this unit also removes sheeping.
After the room with the troggs and the goblin (he asks everyone to take him to the exit of the dungeon), the group finds themselves in a familiar hall, but not on the balcony, but on the first floor. Harmful spirits of radiation and Viscous Fallout live here. After almost every death, he throws off his excellent shoes for magic classes - this is why he is loved by them (and hated by robbers who for a long time cannot knock a good dagger out of him).
Up to a certain point, the priest may not strain himself. In a competent team, superhuman feats are not required of him. Warriors with paladins and robbers attack the monsters, and the elf just stands behind and, with the generous hand of a sower, prescribes “health treatments” that slowly add health. Sometimes he will throw treatment at a warrior who is carried away by “tanking”. To suit your taste, you can curse or “slow down” the fleeing trogg with a rip off spell. Meditation. Rest. Boredom.
But already in the next corridor problems begin. Dwarfs in diving helmets with guns and they are on fighting mechanical chickens are very unpleasant in themselves. But walking alarms that pop up around the corner at the most unpredictable moment and raise the alarm are many times worse. Because of them, you will have to walk the rest of the dungeon, constantly looking around.
The universal dwarven remote control can help in the fight against fighting chickens. We press the button - voila! - and the chicken is under our complete control. We immediately throw him into battle with the dwarf. If you're lucky, the elf will “hold” the chicken for a whole minute. But in a serious battle you should not use the remote control - it is very dangerous. Firstly, the entire time the remote control is working, the priest completely drops out of the team - but he needs to be treated. There is not always a paladin or druid for backup. Secondly, as soon as the robot “breaks away” from the remote control (and this can happen in less than a minute - depending on your luck), he angrily rushes at the elf. The whole group immediately has to remove the “aggression” from her - and this can be very difficult to do.
Behind the long corridor is a hall inhabited by crowds of mutant dwarfs in company with fighting chickens. Having a bomber mage on your team will come in handy here. And in the center of the hall is the second boss, very easy - this is the dwarf Electric Chair in a self-propelled tank. Gives out the key to the back entrance and a good general strengthening nut (the elf still wears it on her finger).
The group then descends the stairs. So far, the enemies haven't put up much resistance, although the Dwarven flamethrower tanks can spoil the mood. After the mini-boss, a small elevator and a corridor with tanks, the most difficult part begins - battles with dark gnomes and super-powerful robots - nullifiers.
Most often, complete destruction overtakes the group at the very first turn, where four gnomes are on duty. In battle, these vile creatures lay down mines; If you don’t break the mine within fifteen seconds, it explodes and removes half the health of even a warrior. And if two mines explode in a row, the team is finished. It is very easy to waste precious time in a heated battle, and by this turn you can easily determine whether the boss’s group will win or not. If everyone died the first time, there will be further problems. I had three and even four “exterminations” in a row - and all in the same place. And here’s another misfortune: if someone gapes and comes too close to the parapet, then a robot or a gnome will be alarmed below - he will run around the group, picking up his comrades along the way. A minute later, a whole crowd of gnomes, fighting chickens and nullifiers gallops towards the dumbfounded adventurers. If the path to the back entrance is clear, then the priest who made his feet in time still has a chance to run to it and then return and resurrect the others. I even succeeded a couple of times. Shifting your feet, feeling the approaching clanging of robots and chickens behind your back - you know, it’s invigorating! Several times the path to the exit was blocked by a random patrol tank - with invariably fatal results. You can’t shout at a robot and you can’t take it out of fear.
Meckinger Termaplagg himself, a crazy robot and the new mayor of Numberrgan, is a very easy enemy for the priest. All the adventurers are in full view, there is only one goal. Just know, heal and run from the walking bombs that creep up.
Being a priest is also convenient because you can fit into a group while being indecently short. The little warrior will miss in battle. The little magician's spells will fly away from monsters without causing them any harm. A paladin of the twenty-third level will not be accepted into Numbergan under any circumstances (except perhaps for altruistic reasons). And the elf’s only name was that instead of a serious practicing doctor, an intern or a nurse Tamara would do. The level is growing at an indecent rate. Once, again, many, many times. Termaplagg greets me politely when he sees me.
The elf spent the late twenties in Numbergan, and she did not have to hang around under the dark and gloomy treetops of the Sunset Forest. But I still had a chance to look there once - the quest “The Legend of Stalvan” could not be missed.
For the defense of Darkshire
I was sent to Darkshire from Red Ridge to take lunch to the guard patrolling the northern road. The city guard gave me a task - to investigate the legend of a crazy killer who lives in a house nearby. The Legend of Stalvan is a very long chain quest. In search of clues and clues, the hero will have to visit the town of Moon Creek in the Sunset Land, drop into Storm, run through its environs and return to Darkshire to eliminate Stalvan himself. This is a difficult enemy, but no one will stop the team from recruiting an “adult” hero from Darkshire to help them. It's not a long walk, but the work costs two pennies.
| The entire Horde raid was killed. The brave guards return to their post. |
And when I was about to leave the hospitable forest on a griffin, Horde hooligans came from the south. Two robbers and a magician over forty began to terrorize the city. They couldn't just break into Darkshire - the guards would have stopped them instantly. No, they settled on the southern outskirts of the city and indiscriminately killed everyone who passed by. The first attack on the city was easily repulsed - a high-level hero was found and drove the surviving troll through the fields and copses. The troll was unable to escape - the elf stopped him with a spell to strip his mind, and the toothy little ear fell into the tenacious hands of the heroes of the Alliance.
The failure greatly angered the Horde, and they took the city seriously. And I decided to check how well the elves, famous for their secrecy, can hide. When one of the robbers ran across the elf with obvious intentions, she took a potion of invisibility (a gift from the paladin), jumped to the side of the road and, hiding behind a tree stump, hid in the shadows. The invisibility-shadow combo worked great. The robber and his accomplices scoured the area for a long time, rolling random passers-by into the asphalt. But they found me only when the elf ran back to the city.
| This will happen to everyone who encroaches on our city! Storm's defenders stand vigil. |
The robbery continued, no one could stop the trolls. Several times I rushed into battle, but the population of Darkshire could not offer any serious resistance to the bandits. And then the elf called a paladin for help. It was a complete failure for the Horde. Arriving from Storm, the paladin jumped out of the city and attacked the illegal Horde formations like a kite. Seeing unexpected help, all the small townsmen rushed towards the Horde.
Poor robbers - they found themselves in a difficult situation. Their invisibility did not save them with a difference of fifteen levels. The magician was never able to marry me, although he honestly tried to do this several times before his death. I chased the Horde for about an hour, killing each of them several times. Finally, realizing that they had nothing left to look for near Darkshire, they went south.
Know ours. You won't be spoiled with a Warrior of Light!
Uncle paladin, buy a toad
Nobody likes bandits who come into low-level zones and start pestering newbies. This behavior has nothing to do with an honest raid. Just like the Horde raid on Storm that I remember. My paladin at that moment happened to be in the vicinity of the city quite by accident - he was visiting a fair that had opened nearby, in Goldshire.
The Darkmoon Faire, another gaming event from Blizzard, took place in early August in Elvin Forest. It all started with heralds - they wandered around the cities and announced the upcoming event. The curious poured into the Elvinsky forest to Goldshire and saw a whole camp. The vans, painted purple, stood in a cleared area in the forest. Builders wandered around and hammered stakes for setting up awnings. The racial composition was mixed: people, elves, goblins - even a couple of dead workers from the Abandoned were wormed into the general pile.
A few days later, when only the lazy did not know about the fair, it opened.
The owner of the fair, the dwarf Silas Darkmun, personally greeted all visitors: “Welcome, friends! Come in and see what we have. Delicious food, healthy drinks, exotic artifacts, prizes and a lot of entertainment! Remember that you can exchange prize tickets for valuable amulets."
In brightly painted tents, people and trolls offered to buy souvenirs. A large tauren was selling hot dogs, fried kodo legs and other delicacies. The shooting gallery was guarded by an old troll, but he didn’t let me shoot with a gun. But in the fortune telling tent I found a hunched dog-head who gave me a psychological test. It seems that my answers were truly paladin, as the results of testing gave me a two-hour armor boost and a small lucky ticket advising me not to gamble unnecessarily.
A little green orc was running all over the fair. He was chasing a runaway frog and could sell a couple of pet frogs to everyone - not for food, but for entertainment. The same little orc was selling leather balls at an unprecedentedly low price - a copper coin apiece. The tree frog I bought from the green guy for gold is still in my jar. The role of the bouncer at the fair was played by a huge, gloomy and taciturn ogre.
| At the fair you can meet workers with the most unexpected appearance. |
The fair lasted for exactly a week. All week, people hungry for valuable prizes have been earning exchange tickets from it. Then, without saying a word to anyone, the camp folded its tents and left in an unknown direction. In Goldshire's clearing there were only patches of withered grass and a couple of someone's uncleaned corpses. The fair went to the Horde, to the tauren Mulgore.
Will she come back?
We'll fight on the bridge
My paladin came across a major Horde raid completely unexpectedly while driving from the fair to Storm. There was complete silence in the chat, but when I approached the gate, I almost flew into two Horde soldiers intently watching the battle on the city bridge. They were completely absorbed in the spectacle - a huge crowd of trolls, orcs, tauren and the dead fought with the guards and a couple of heroes who happened to come to hand. The battle was raging on the bridge, and stone statues looked indifferently at all this disgrace from above.
I did not bother the spectators, but drank an invisibility potion and, on tiptoe, clanking my armor, ran across the entire bridge. Around the corner, where the city's shopping district began, peaceful life reigned.
- Raid, gentlemen! Let's go see how these greenskins fight! - I shouted to the whole city and noted the time.
The horde held out for exactly four minutes. One after another, the attackers died under the blows of the swords of the brave guards of the city. When the first high-level heroes arrived on the bridge, it was already over. At the gates of the city, several Horde soldiers stubbornly resisted with their last strength, but they soon died too.
The entire raid fell. Tired guards went to their posts in a flock. Silently, the crowd of heroes who had come running to the noise looked at the bridge strewn with dead bodies. Suddenly, one by one, the corpses began to turn into skeletons. The Horde were reborn. Is it really in a cemetery? I spurred my horse and galloped to the churchyard - no one!
Meanwhile, only skeletons remained on the bridge. Nobody understood anything. Suddenly a cry was heard:
- Guys! They're all hiding from us underwater!
The heroes, who were on what - on foot or on horseback - jumped from the bridge into the ditch. And for a long time the squad trampled the Magi with their bay horses.
The brilliance and poverty of an engineer
The elf continues to master engineering. But the further you delve into this entertaining science, the more you understand, clearly and bitterly, that an engineer is destined to be a beggar in the game. The costs for materials and recipes are enormous. Profit is doubtful.
It all started when they stopped buying wires from me. I hoped to sell each one for five gold pieces. When making high-level engineering items, you cannot do without them - and wires do not occur in nature. And what? We bought it once, bought two, three, five... and how it was cut off. For a whole week I walked from the auction to the mailbox and back. Nobody gave a price for the cow. Finally I gave up - and four wires (I used the fifth for a cloaking device) lie quietly and peacefully in the safe deposit box. They'll come in handy someday.
I also made a mistake with parachute raincoats. If you think logically, what kind of engineer would be bothered by this necessary household item? He put on his raincoat, jumped, and landed softly. Having spent a lot of money, I sewed four raincoats at once. And not a single one was bought from me! Three cloaks now lie dead weight in my bank. If the dwarf paladin had not helped with money on time, the elf would have been sitting on beans for a long time. It’s good that there is almost always a demand for fashionable mithril guns and gyrochronatoms.
It was not difficult to upgrade engineering to the maximum 225 units (higher - only when the elf conquers the thirty-fifth level). True, a lot of money was spent on this - mithril is expensive these days, you can’t buy it. Not all recipes are equally useful, but the value of, for example, a dwarven cloaking device is undeniable. This is a free invisibility for ten seconds and can be used once per hour.
Solid iron bombs work great on the battlefield: throw such a bomb from top to bottom and the Horde are in ecstasy. There is a much more powerful mithril bomb - it can stun an entire room, but it costs so much... I wish I could live like that!
Or here is a mechanical dragon, the diagram for which I bought the day before yesterday. You call a free dragon and he will protect you. The creature's level depends on its engineering proficiency. It works for a minute, the time until the next call is an hour.
And here's another excellent thing - a discombobulation ray. Behind the tricky name lies the banal transformation of the enemy into a small leper dwarf for twelve seconds. At the same time, his attack parameter - magical or melee - is reduced by forty units. But most importantly, the speed of a discombobulated enemy drops to a snail’s pace. The discombobulator is invaluable in a hopeless battle or on the battlefield, when it is necessary to slow down the Horde at any cost. The bad thing is that the device only has five charges, and when they are used up, you will have to make a new one. But it’s hard to go broke on cheap jade, silk, cotton and bronze.
At level thirty-five it will be time to develop engineering further. And then I will have to seriously think about which path to choose - the gnome or the goblin. This choice is one for the character’s entire life. The path of the gnomes is the path of all kinds of useful devices. Goblin engineering - bombs, grenades, homing sheep, powerful cannons and the like that make loud booms. Dwarves and goblins have similar recipes - for example, boots that speed up running. There are recipes that can be obtained independently of both.
Not to say that choosing between gnomes and goblins is very difficult. Explosive Sheep and Goblin Suicide Belts probably work well in combat, especially in mass PvP. But what can replace the legendary Dwarven Death Ray? Let's see...
Before I had time to write these words and go out to the Forge, a miracle happened - a certain engineer instantly bought all four wires from me. Twenty gold pieces makes a great living. The unpredictable business is engineering.
He fell into a boiling crater
If you suddenly find yourself in the south of Kalimdor, be sure to take a look at the picturesque Un-Goro Crater. Don't let the name fool you - there is no boiling lava or sulfur fumes here. The Un-Goro Crater cooled long ago, and tall trees grew from its fertile ashes. Geysers gave the crater a warm tropical climate, and where it’s warm and stuffy, look for large animals!
Evil raptors scurry between the trees and lay eggs in their nests. In the east of the crater, overweight herbivorous (but no less evil) lizards roam, and pterodactyls fly along the rocks around the crater. Predatory flowers and giant gorillas add spice to the region, and only the fiery spirits in the center of the area remind you that this is, after all, a volcanic crater and not a resort.
But the most powerful beasts in the crater are devilsaurs. I still remember my first meeting with one of them: a thoughtful orc jumped out of the fog towards me and ran away into the distance with concentration. And, in the best traditions of Spielberg, he was chased by a huge tyrannosaurus the height of a five-story building. This was the devilsaurus, a rare species: their number in the crater is limited, each is given a name, and each roams its own territory. These monsters are hunted by tanners - wonderful things are made from the skins of devilsaurs.
There are rivers and lakes everywhere, and in the north of the region there is the only settlement, Marshall’s refuge. No griffins, no segregation - quests are distributed here to both the Alliance and the Horde. And then anyone can visit one of the most beautiful places in Azeroth - a cave with multi-colored crystals. The crater level is early fifties. Quests in Un-Goro should only be completed in a group. Meetings with the Horde are inevitable, and it is better if the force is on your side.
And if you want a truly hellish landscape, lava, burnt stumps instead of trees and gothic surroundings - then welcome to Scorching Gorge and the Burning Steppes.
Tierra del Fuego
The Firelands begin at the threshold of the dwarven and human capitals - between Dun Moro with his Forge and the Storm. Like two huge sores on the body of the Eastern Kingdoms, the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes lie here.
The gorge can be accessed through the Blightlands or through Loch Modan. True, the last exit is locked, and its guards will not give the traveler the key until he kills the quest monster. It’s not really necessary - there is a Griffonian post in the north of the gorge, and the flight time from Kuznya is simply ridiculous.
It so happened that my paladin missed the Scorching Gorge. The level of the monsters living on it is in the late forties. The gorge is inhabited by the eternal enemies of the Forge - dark gnomes and their golems. In a huge underground Cauldron they weave their insidious plots. But the gnome paladin still found them useful - I trained my ability to swing a two-handed ax on them. The Stone Raven halberd became too small for me, and at an auction at a reasonable price I bought an excellent blue hatchet - Alexander's battle ax - increasing strength, agility and endurance by sixteen units.
| They say that pets often resemble their owners. I will not argue. |
Of course, it would be much better to take Destiny - a purple epic two-handed sword. It does not give increases to characteristics, but in battle it can increase strength by two hundred units for ten seconds, that is, approximately twice. Add to this the Crusader's enchantment (plus one hundred units of strength for fifteen seconds), a double paladin strike, and increased damage after a critical hit... you get very decent numbers. An ideal thing for a paladin, but, alas, I don’t have enough money for it yet. The price for Destiny at auction sometimes goes beyond three hundred gold, and this is more than a serious amount. Let's wait - maybe the sword will become cheaper.
Having enchanted my new axe, I ran into a problem - the paladin’s skill with two-handed axes was zero. This means that a paladin with an ax will miss even an elephant. It took me the whole day to raise my skill to acceptable levels. And I spent it in the Scorching Gorge, exterminating dark gnomes.
The Burning Steppes are much more familiar to me - after all, it is on the territory of these steppes that the Black Rock Tower rises, where the heroes of the last levels go to pay their respects. And there are three of the most popular dungeons: Black Rock Depths (BRD), Lower and Upper Black Rock Spires (LBRS and UBRS). I haven’t been to the Upper Spire yet - it’s impossible for a level fifty-eighth paladin to break through there: they simply won’t take you to the raid. And the dwarf paladin has already been to the Depths and Lower Dungeons several times. They're not that scary.
The steppes around the mountain are inhabited by very cute creatures: giant cannibals from the Fire Guts tribe, dark gnomes, their tame golems, baby dragons and large winged dragons. Near the forgotten statue of Uther, orcs live in watchtowers, and small imps roam in the lava lakes. Encounters with the Horde are rare here - all because the Alliance settlement with a griffin is located in the east, and the lone Horde bat post is in the north, a stone's throw from the Black Rock. The roads intersect only at the dungeons themselves - and here you have to keep your eyes open. A horde does happen, although only very self-confident orcs would think of ambushing Alliance heroes here. The level is the same - sixtieth.
There are three ways to get to the Burning Steppes. The easiest way to fly from Kuznya is by griffin with a transfer in the Scorching Gorge. From the same gorge you can walk through the palaces of the Black Rock - they connect the two regions. The easiest way to get from Storm is by flying on a griffin to the blessed Red Ridge. And from there, on a horse (on a tiger, a ram, a mechano-chicken - whichever is easier) head north, through a dark gorge.
Oh this Red Ridge with its lake and lakeside town! How many memories I have with him! Raids, quests, acquaintances, battles with the Horde. In recent days, my paladin has taken up residence in a tavern in Lakeshire, just a stone's throw away from moving to the Burning Steppes.
Under the black, black rock
The fun begins inside the Black Rock. Imagine a long winding road along which the heroes rise to the gigantic gates. Once inside, you feel like just a bug. The size of the gigantic grotto is amazing! Seas of lava gurgle deep below, casting an alarming orange glow on the stone walls of the palaces. Chains ten meters thick stretch from wall to wall - it is along these chains that the heroes get to the dungeons. To the Depths - down, to the Spiers - up.
Strange feelings overwhelm you when you run along the chain under the arches of the fiery palaces above the lakes of lava. After all, somewhere very close is the passage to the molten core of Azeroth and to the halls of Onyxia itself. However, Onyxia is not yet available for our paladin. It is still too small for higher dungeons.
The depths of the Black Rock is not a very difficult dungeon, but it has its own secrets. Dark gnomes live here with their dogs, and here they keep prisoners in dungeons. In the round arena, the team of adventurers will be greeted by a gladiatorial fight with monsters, and spectators will watch everything that happens from the stands. They won’t touch the team, but don’t even think about hitting even one - they’ll throw hats at you instantly.
After meeting the fire lord, the dungeon becomes more complex - dark gnomes roam in groups of five. This is a parody of the classic team: some hit, others heal, and the third behaves like the most natural paladin, including an impenetrable shield. The boss of the dungeon is a huge fire golem.
The lower dungeon of Blackrock Spire seems unexpectedly short at first. Cramped rooms filled to capacity with orcs. Gloomy stone halls with cracks in the floor. The first battles follow a simple and predictable pattern. Attack, more attack. Orcs stand in small groups, and it is easy to lure them to the team. The road can be shortened by jumping from the ledge to the lower floor.
Quite unexpectedly, the team is given a light by spiders - they are very strong, with them are flocks of their little spiders, the bites of which no warrior can withstand for long. Next are the cannibals, it’s easier with them, you can avoid them. A bomber mage can deal with swarms of insects. A giant wolf - a worg with puppies - is a rather comical boss, and there is a quest associated with the wolf cubs, after completing which I got a funny pet - a gray wolf, no match for your cats and mechanical squirrels.
And around a few turns is the boss, the dragonling Wyrmtalak. Easy opponent, good loot.
It was in these dungeons that I mastered the paladin's sacrifice in favor of the priest - Divine Intervention. And he mastered it so well that by the middle of the Spire, a priest from my team cried out from the heart: “Timon, stop dying for any reason!”
Wall to wall
Chaos League
Battlefields appeared in one of the recent game updates. They had to completely solve the problem of mass battles in the vicinity of Tarren Mill and reduce the number of people wishing to “upgrade” their ranks in younger brothers according to reason.
What is this anyway? Simply put, these are isolated dungeons in which Alliance and Horde groups of approximately the same level meet. The wall-to-wall fighting spaces brought both relief and new problems. Firstly, their number is limited, so during peak hours you have to wait for your turn “to fight” for hours, especially at the upper levels. At the same time, it can be very difficult to determine how much time you have left before moving into the dungeon - the timer shamelessly lies in both directions. In order to “sign up” for the queue, previously you had to go to Kalimdor or to the same South Shore. It’s good that after the next update the developers placed NPC “recruiters” in all major cities.
On the battlefields you can really quickly and efficiently gain honor points and gain ranks. Therefore, the pressure on newcomers who do not want to stumble upon a raid in the jungle of Cape Thorn has eased. Positional battles, of course, take place - especially around “neutral” NPCs handing out tasks. But now, at least, we don’t hear about mass roundups of swinging newcomers.
Due to the specifics of combat on the battlefields, it turned out that some classes received a clear advantage in battles. The Druids outdid everyone. The Horde are rejoicing - they have shamans that we don’t have. The robbers also feel very at ease in battle. The priests are doing great, and the magicians are doing well. And the paladin can only count on the role of “goalkeeper”.
So far, I have just begun to master the battlefields. And the first of them was Warsong Gorge in Kalimdor.
The war begins
Having gone into battle as a paladin a couple of times, I realized that this class does not fit well into the rules of the game. And one day, playing as an elf, I returned to the Forge after... my eleventh playthrough of Numberergan. This dungeon was already in my mind, I had the thirtieth level behind me, and I asked the guild:
— What levels are good for battlefields?
And they answered me:
- Multiples of ten. That is, the thirtieth, fortieth, fiftieth...
In the war hall of the Forge, I found two NPC recruiters: one from Warsong Gulch, the other from Alterac Valley. My campaigns against the Horde began from the Gorge. In the mornings you don’t have to wait long for your turn - sometimes five minutes, sometimes you are thrown “into the zone” special attention" instantly. In the evening, the wait can last for an hour or more.
This time it was morning, and three minutes later an unknown force transported me to the Silver Wing fortress.
The first impression of the Alliance team is noise and disorder. A crowd of alliance heroes of the twentieth level, among them only a couple of “old men”.
From the very first seconds, when the players were just crowding into the raid, I noticed a druid with strong-willed facial features - he was impatiently dancing at the barred exit from the room with the flag. When the herald announced the start of the battle, the druid rushed out into the street and immediately turned to the right, went down the hill, turned into a cat and ran “along the wall” to the Horde sawmill - the second fortress.
- Wait, I'm following you! - I cried. - Got your back.
The druid turned around, waited for me to catch up with him, and again galloped towards his cherished goal. At this time, blood-red names appeared in the distance - the Horde were running along the opposite “wall” towards our fortress. The priest and the druid, unnoticed by anyone, overcame the palisade, climbed the hill and entered the enemy fortress from the upper entrance. The druid received a damage-absorbing “bubble” from me, nodded: “And may the Force be with us. One, two, three - go! - and jumped from the second floor balcony straight into the enemy room with the flag.
A couple of Horde men were dumbfounded for a moment - and this time was enough for the druid to pick up the flag. Howling, they rushed to intercept, but a horror on the wings of the night - a priestess - swooped down on them from above. In fear, the Horde began to rush around the room, and the druid again turned into a cat, ancient and inviolable, and rushed to the exit of the first floor.
Having come to their senses, the Horde gave chase. They did not pay attention to me, seeing only the departing flag in front of them. It was as if the priestess had suddenly gained invisibility at her disposal. I ran shoulder to shoulder with my followers, constantly prescribing health-improving procedures to the druid, and when the time for “cooling down” of my mental scream passed, the Horde were again seized with fear, and they scattered to the sides, hopelessly lagging behind my protégé. They tried to intercept him on the field between the fortresses - but the priestess was again nearby and, using her “invisibility”, scared, slowed down, scared again...
The Druid safely carried the flag to our fortress, and the “midfielders” of the Alliance managed to preserve ours. First winning point out of three. Twice more after that I ran with the druid for the flag, and both times successfully. A completely unexpected crushing victory.
Remembering this triumph, I understand: both teams were worse than the other. And the only thing that saved us was that the Horde were worse - they didn’t even try to resist or organize a serious defense.
In the area of special attention
The Warsong Gorge zone is designed simply - it is a rectangular field, on both sides of which there are strongholds - the Horde sawmill and the Silver Wing fortress. Both are located on hills, which means there are two entrances to the fortress - the main one and the “black” one.
The main entrance is located exactly in the middle of the fortress hill - it turns into a long tunnel that ends in a room with a flag. In order to get through the back entrance, you need to climb the hill - there is only one road, and it is always on the right when you are facing the fortress. Having climbed into the fortress from the second floor, you can go out onto the balcony - it hangs over the room with the flag and makes it possible to quietly get close to the room and “jump like that”! Instead of jumping, you can go down the ramp and enter the room with the flag, “like a white man.” But most often this ramp is used to escape with the flag as unnoticed as possible. He jumped from the balcony, picked up the flag, ran out through the second entrance, climbed the ramp and jumped out onto the hill - there is a chance that the Horde will automatically think that the flag bearer ran in the other direction.
There are three entrances to the room with the flag. One is a balcony. The second leads into a long tunnel and to the “front entrance”, the other leads to a ramp and exit to the hill. There are many options for assault, but for some reason the Horde most often prefers the “front entrance” and very rarely tries to take control of the balcony.
Once on the hill, you can choose two paths - go down the hill on the left or jump off the steep slope on the right. Near the same steep slope, near each fortress there is a cemetery - here heroes killed in battle are reborn every half minute.
Here and there in niches and small houses on the map there are special “runes” - enhancing, restoring and accelerating. I haven’t noticed anyone seriously using them, perhaps except for accelerating ones. Only speed is really useful here - it means life. Lack of speed means death.
Universal machine
The battlefield is not so much a place where trolls and dwarves kill each other. It's more of a brutal sports competition in the spirit of the League of Chaos. As you may have guessed, the main task is to take the enemy’s flag to your base and not let the enemy take his own. Three flags carried away is a victory.
This concept is not new - it is copied from the ancient Team Fortress modification, created for the first Quake. Why TF and not Capture The Flag, which was made before? Because only in Team Fortress, the team on each side was clearly divided into several classes with their own role: scout - fast and weak, medic - heals his own and infects others, engineer builds defensive structures, spy can change his appearance and deliver fatal blows from behind.. .
The concept was so good that a game of TF between two competent teams turned into a real chess game, in which victory depended not on the spinal cord, but on competent team play and the ability to penetrate the enemy’s plans. As the people say, know yourself, know the enemy - and in a hundred battles you will have nothing to fear.
Battlefield developers have taken Team Fortress off the mezzanine with forgotten games, they moved the game to Azeroth - and it was good. But, alas, the set of classes in the game did not make the gameplay as elegant. And therefore, the demand for a character in the race for the flag began to depend on two things: the ability to run quickly and stop those running. If you know how to sprint, well done! You can freeze an enemy to the ground - great! If you can’t do either one or the other, you rest.
Now let's look at classes through the prism of their usefulness in battle.
Warrior. He cannot run fast on his own, but he can instantly jump up to an enemy and briefly stun him. All bread. Of course, it is better to use it defensively, in the room with the flag.
Mag. Slowing spells, ice captivity, blizzard, instant teleportation several meters forward - that's five! Let's leave the magicians. For defense they are invaluable.
Witch. He can throw curses after a fleeing Horde warrior, and send a little animal to bite him on the heels. Can use a succubus to charm an enemy. The sorcerers will be useful in the room with the flag, we'll leave them.
Robber. Branded sprint. Stealth. Stunning blows. The robber is incredibly tough on the battlefield and is equally good both in defense and at the forefront of attack. But he cannot carry the flag in stealth mode. According to the rules of the game, any invisibility - be it robber, druid, elven, alchemical or engineering - resets the flag from the "non-sun". But the class is still very strong.
Hunter. Invaluable for defense. The enemies are very surprised by the ice trap placed by the hunter near the flag. Add in slowing and stunning shots in the back - and the flag bearer has no chance. And if we take into account the hunting animal, which grabs the thighs and slows down the runner... Finally, let us remember that the hunter has a “cheetah aspect”, with which he runs a third faster than usual. The hunter is five, we leave him.
Druid. Almost perfect attacking class. He grabbed the flag, threw it at the cat, and took off! If you don’t stop him right away, you can’t stop him with anything, because in cat form you simply can’t catch up with him. Remember also the ability to summon tangling roots. With proper cover, the druid carries the flag quickly, reliably and effectively (from the outside it looks funny - as if the flag was stuck in a cat’s tailbone).
Priest. My elf doesn't have to complain about life. If there is a priest among the defenders in the room with the flag, no one will take away our charm. Having burst into the room, the enemies stumble upon the cry of the priest and lose their will. The whole time they are running back and forth, they are being hammered by defenders. If someone grabs the flag, the priest beats and holds it by stripping the mind: “You’re lying, you won’t get away!” If you need to heal someone, extend your health bar, or increase your resistance to dark magic, the priest is right there. And you already know how well this class covers the flag bearer.
Shaman. Grrrr!! Light, give me strength! Shamans seem to be made for the battlefield. The Alliance, except for the druid, has no classes that could turn into animals and run quickly on four legs. The Horde has shamans with their ghost wolf form. And this totem of slowdown, which slows down everyone who had the misfortune of being nearby... well, how can one not suspect the developers of unfair play in favor of the Horde?
Paladin. Can't run fast. He doesn’t know how to stop people running because he can’t catch up with them. Only by chance can a paladin stun a runner he encounters along the way. But it’s pointless to hope for this, and then the developers decided that when the paladin’s impenetrable shield is launched, the flag should fall from it. Paladin is the most useless class on the battlefield. Bitter truth. Let it stand like furniture in a room with a flag. On occasion, he will heal, apply a blessing - all good.
Don't forget about the "prostheses" that alchemy and engineering can provide. The Elixir of Speed is simply necessary for the flag bearer or for those who want to catch up with him. Invisibility will allow you to sneak up to the flag and grab it behind the backs of the defenders. Potion of release from fetters - no comments here. Elixir of health and magical energy are a must.
But even if the paladin is loaded with potions, he will not turn into a robber, because nothing will prevent the Horde from also acquiring a “strategic reserve” of elixirs. But there are not many engineers among the Horde. At least, I have not met a single engineer on the battlefields who would use his signature gadgets in battle.
My elf uses them. If a horde rushes into a room with a flag, why not throw a bomb to give the defenders three seconds of breathing space? If you meet in an open field with a stray Horde member one on one and are about to die, the decombobulator will save you! What should you do if several trolls are running towards you with a malevolent expression on their gray faces? We press a button on the dwarven camouflage device - and the troll faces stretch out even more.
The flags are flying. Hearts sing
There were defeats, offensive and stupid ones. Most often, one of the teams defeats the other “dry” with a score of 3:0. Very rarely do raids of equal strength collide, and then the battle can drag on for an hour, or even longer.
What does victory depend on? Of course, the raid of heroic heroes has a certain advantage over those who are lower in level. But the main thing on which success depends is a competent leader. There is nothing more dangerous than confusion and vacillation. A well-coordinated Horde will crush an unfriendly group and not notice it. This often happened if there was no commander - or there were two or three of them at once. Once I had to take on the role of leader. That time we won “dry” - we were just lucky, the Horde did not have time to cobble together something intelligible from what they had.
It is difficult to understand what prevents combatants from forming a group or raid. After all, then you can distribute roles in advance, agree on pairs and cover groups, and agree on tactics. But no one does this, everyone rushes into battle one by one... and naturally loses. “Who is the weak link? Who is dragging the whole group down? Yes, everyone is pulling. Sometimes you get the feeling that some people don’t need victory at all. So, run, scream, have fun.
The battle on the battlefield is completely different from an ordinary meeting with the Horde in the vastness of Azeroth. He has nothing to do with even a raid on enemy territory: he came running, knocked on heads, and lay down.
Every match is the last. From the first moments there is maximum tension. Immediately you have to give it your all. The grate opens - go ahead! The Alliance expects everyone to do their duty.
A dirty coffee cup is at stake... as well as the honor of the Alliance, the dignity of the Horde (but what dignity do trolls have) and military rank participants in the battle. In five or six leisurely battles with varying success, the elf reached the first rank. Victory gives a lot of points, defeat gives few.
Although the players’ battles are still more like the fuss of puppies, but the dark priest of the thirtieth level is formidable and has a scary face. In battle, the elf uses a shock-absorbing shield, a frightening psychic scream and a slowing mind peel. Less often - an explosion of the mind. Internal fire, which increases protection, is required. Blessing of Shadow Magic Resistance too.
Star rain is forgotten and abandoned - stripping the mind is both more effective and slows down well. There are also new combat spells that I have not yet mastered, such as burning magical energy from the enemy. Or a spell of silence that prohibits casting for five seconds. Mind control, which completely subjugates the player, is an invaluable opportunity to turn an enemy into a “pet” for a few seconds and send him into battle against his fellow Horde members. But I haven't gotten used to it yet.
At level thirty, the psychic scream only scares three enemies. I can imagine what happens at the highest levels when a single priest puts an entire attacking group to flight.
If in that minute, when the battle has not yet begun, a leader stands out in the herd, the most interesting part begins - the choice of tactics. Usually a simple and reliable tactic is used: whoever can defend remains in the room with the flag. Anyone who can attack runs out into an open field.
A good option is to divide into groups. There are two of them in the raid, so let one of them go into battle, the other guards the flag. And then - depending on your luck.
If the group is good, then defensive tactics can bring victory. One or two people (usually robbers) go into the sunset to try to get someone else's flag. The remaining eight people remain in the fortress, spread themselves in an even layer around their banner and carefully guard it. Horde attacks are broken off by well-placed defenses, and this allows our side to score unimaginable personal scores. In one “defensive” match you can earn three times more honor than in a regular one. Half an hour later, when the Horde’s attacks are drowned out one after another, the orcs begin to understand that something is wrong here. And they also lock themselves in their base. And then the tugging of nerves begins.
Defensive tactics have one big drawback - the initiative remains with the enemy, and the Horde can calmly plan an assault either way. And if the flag is stolen, it is very difficult to return it. Therefore, it is very important to try to penetrate the enemy’s plans in order to quickly upset them. Elves, with their ability to stand guard covertly, are indispensable here. The Horde does not have such elves.
If the flags are taken away from each other by both teams, then a victory point is not awarded until one of the flags returns to its rightful place. And this, of course, heightens the intrigue. “Nesuns” are hiding on both sides, and enemy teams are trying to find them. Found and returned your flag - only then can you carry the enemy’s flag to your base. The game turns into hide and seek - teams comb the entire battlefield in search of the enemy flag bearer. The one who found it first snatched the point from the defeated enemy.
And each such victory brings incomparable moral satisfaction.
While the elf fights with the orcs, Azeroth lives and presents surprise after surprise. Not long ago, the real Nessie was discovered in one of the reservoirs - a level 500 boss. And the other day, at an auction, someone decided to sell that same Single Ring. It added one to each stat, and its description read "Not as good as the Double Ring."
Meanwhile, the developers are preparing a new update 1.7, which ungodly strengthens the hunter class, adds new battlefields and gives all heroes the opportunity to visit the fitting room and try on any clothes.
The world is changing. And the heroes change with him.