Why the PVP Hate?

Aug 27

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During my “what the Hell am I doing on the road before the sun even peeks over the horizon” drive to work, I was listening to the Convert to Raid podcast (Episode #152). Koltrane was reading an email from a listener, and for once it was something I could relate to. After all, CtR is a raiding podcast and I’m not what you would call a raider (unless you’re talking about raiding the fridge, in which case I can get pretty hardcore). The listener’s email involved PVP hate.

“Hey all, I would really like for you to discuss on the podcast why people do not like PVP. Especially those who go out of their way to proclaim PVE content only, like you do on your show. There are many reasons why people may cite, including “I just don’t like it”, that are perfectly acceptable. I’m not suggesting that someone who hates beets eats beets, cause beets are yuck. I think there is more to this issue than a simple dislike. PVP is fun. PVP is more challenging than playing against a scripted PVE encounter. You will learn more about your character, its strength and weaknesses, and teamwork, in PVP than you ever will in PVE. and more importantly, there is no part of PVP that will diminish any part of PVE. It’s win-win. I think PVE people are missing the most important part of the game – the unexpected.”

As a PVE player who has been doing a fair bit of low-level PVP recently, I feel I can weigh in on this subject. Also, blog content baby. I can see why people hate PVP. The CtR hosts touched on it as well during their response. It all boils down to a single word: frustration. Your tolerance for it will determine how you feel about PVP.

When my Windwalker Monk rolled into Warsong Gulch for the first time, I was ready to wreck stuff. Halfway down the field, I was sapped, then feared, then rooted, then blown to pieces. Rinse, repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And… well, you get the idea. That is frustrating, and one of the biggest causes of PVP hate (and rage nosebleeds). That feeling of helplessness when you don’t know what you’re doing, or knowing there’s nothing you can do, sucks donkey balls. There’s no learning curve with PVP. You don’t dip your toe into the water and slowly ease into it. You jump into the deep end and get stabbed in the throat, kited by hunters, and either doggy paddle or say “screw it” and sink.

Engaging in PVP does have its pro’s and cons though.

PROS

  • You learn different aspects of your class – Once the rage nosebleed subsides, you can’t help but flip through the spellbook to see if there’s something in there to get out of roots, or fears. Sometimes you may notice other players of your class who seem to be able to slip out of CC abilities, or bust out spells you’ve never seen before. If you want to not get killed, you are forced to evolve.
  • You adapt to PVE quicker – After leveling my Windwalker Monk in PVP, I decided to try something different and queued up for a dungeon. Once I popped into my group, I found myself tab-targeting mobs and hammering on them as fast as I could. In PVE, there’s a script that the NPC’s need to follow. While the NPC is trying A-B-C, you’re skipping B and going right to STAB-IN-FACE. In PVP you’re used to having to react quickly.
  • Sweet gear – Even at end game, most people try to score PVP gear. It’s better than the quest greens, and some of it is just under raid quality gear. PVP gives honor (and conquest points in rated games), and it doesn’t take too long to scrape together enough to get a few pieces to get you started. Also, it’s some of the hottest transmog gear you can find outside of raiding.
  • Different way to level – When Warsong Gulch was the Call to Arms, my newbie Monk was getting a level per win and a sweet chunk of honor points. Merculees is level 35 with over 2000 honor already. For people who are tired of the questing grind, PVP is an interesting alternative.

    • CONS

  • Frustration – Sometimes people just can’t get past it. Like I said, there’s no easing into PVP. Screaming at the monitor because that damn rogue seems to be hunting you down is enough to drive a person away from BG’s.
  • People are clueless – Try watching arena matches on Youtube. It’s impressive the way they move together, verbally communicating and in some cases simply anticipating each others moves. You don’t get that in battleground. Unless someone actually speaks in the instance, people tend to scatter like leaves in the wind. That’s how people get stomped on. The group that sticks together, wins. I don’t care how good you are, one person will not last long against two or three opponents of equal levels. You can waste 20-30 minutes in a BG, only to end up losing and getting a handful of honor points just because your scatterbrained teammates spread out across the map to look at the flowers.

    • Does PVP suck? Not really. The frustration sucks, and how people deal with it determines if they will continue with PVP. I used to stay far away from it, but after learning more about the Windwalker Monk I’m definitely doing it more. I still get kited by Hunters because screw those guys, and shanked by rogues because screw them too. But I kill my share, deal with the BG losses, and it all kinda works out.

    What are your thoughts on PVP? Yay or nay?

    About Donny Rokk

    Gamer. Writer. Lover. Fighter. Defying stereotypes, one nerdgasm at a time.

    Posted on August 27, 2014, in Blog and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.

    1. Reirreb | August 27, 2014 at 9:43 am

      One of the things I learned while attempting to PvP with my UH DK is the best way to learn to PvP is through dueling. If you have a couple of friends that enjoy PvP a lot and want to get you involved, have them duel you and give you notes and tips on how to be better at it. There’s a really neat website (http://www.noxxic.com) that pretty much outlines different abilities of your class and counters you can perform against other classes. I suggest starting here to most newbie PvPers and then to set action bars and macros accordingly. Different peripherals can help as well; the Razer Naga mouse, for example, allows a variety of macros to be executed in-game and out of game, which can level the playing field quite a bit.

      Just my $.02

      • Herculees | August 27, 2014 at 11:19 am

        I’m definitely going to have to give Noxxic a look. And I know what you mean about the peripherals – I’ve watched PVP’ers on Youtube who talk about their Naga and didn’t understand the love. I have since pulled head from butt (after having it handed to me repeatedly) and it is painfully clear what kind of advantage the Naga would be.

    2. Reirreb | August 27, 2014 at 9:44 am

      Reblogged this on L-rd have mercy on me! and commented:
      If you are a WoWhead, you should follow this blog. The humor and in-depth thought on WoW are both fantastic!

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