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Tom Chilton ESL Interview

The majority of content in the interview is PvP related (obviously since its an eSports channel doing the interview) but here are some key notes:

• The resilience change in 3.2 is meant to slow the game down. This should hopefully make PvP more about strategy and skill (assuming equal gear) and less about crazy burst and 2 second kills.
• PvP was designed for group combat with a lot of different classes playing nice together. 2v2 Arena bracket doesn’t really embody this and makes keeping classes in balance a nightmare so that explains the removal of 2v2 from official rewarded brackets.
• The new emblem system’s purpose is to make older gear and content obsolete. This drives players to see new content over farming older/easier content.
• Blizzard is incentivizing being a good player by giving better rewards for not wiping on boss attempts.

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More Isle of Conquest Changes

More changes have been posted to the new battleground, I can’t wait to try this out.

In addition to the changes originally listed in this thread, the following change was recently added and is now live on the test realms:

• Players gain a new buff after being launched out of the catapult that reduces all falling damage taken.

We intend to make the following changes to Isle of Conquest in the next test realm build:

• Increase siege damage from Glaive Thrower.
• Increase all damage from Siege Engine and its turrets.
• When the parachute effect ends from jumping off the Gunship, players will gain a new buff that reduces all falling damage taken.
• Increase the timer before a Catapult without a driver explodes from 30 seconds to 120 seconds.

It would be greatly appreciated if anyone who has experienced the following bug could provide us with as much information as possible on the circumstances surrounding its cause:

• Sometimes the Keep Cannons are being despawned and they never return. This should not happen.

Given that the changes originally detailed in this thread are now live, we’d love to get feedback on your experiences in this new Battleground. Is the average length of each battle better now? Did the changes to the Huge Seaforium piles help address the overly advantageous strategy of capturing the Hangar and parachuting into the enemy’s base? Do the Keep Cannons still feel effective now that they do less damage given that you can now repair them? Any information you can provide on your game play experiences will help us a great deal to make this Battleground as fun as possible. Thanks!

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Isle of Conquest Changes on the 3.2 PTR

I’m liking that Blizzard is actually showing effort and attention with this new Battleground. Here’s a list of new changes coming up to the battleground in the Patch 3.2 PTR. They’ve doubled the health of the keep gates and the amount of reinforcements present to help making the fights last longer. The turret cannons and siege vehicles also got some health boosts and you can actually repair the keep cannons after they get destroyed with an 8 second channeled action, like capping a flag in AB.

Based on player feedback and testing, we will be making several changes to Isle of Conquest in the next test realm build. We’d like to lay them out for you here in the hopes we’re able to encourage continued participation and feedback.

• Increased all the gates’ health from 300,000 to 600,000.
  
• Increased the reinforcement count from 200 to 400.
  
• Significantly increased the health and damage of the keep generals.
  
• Seaforium
  
  
  • Reduced effect range of the siege damage caused. Both the player damage and the siege damage caused should be 10 yards now.
    
  • The Huge Seaforium piles will now despawn for 20 seconds once looted.
• Glaive Thrower
  • Reduced the cooldown of Blade Salvo from 60 seconds to 30 seconds.
    
  • Reduced movement speed.
• Demolisher
  
  
  • The Hurl Boulder and Ram effects no longer share a cooldown.
• Keep Cannons
  • Fixed a bug that was causing them to do much more damage than intended.
    
  • Keep Cannons can now be repaired once they are destroyed by clicking on them. This repair process takes 8 seconds and can be interrupted, similar to capturing a PvP objective.
• Siege Engine
  • Significantly Increased health.

Your testing of this new Battleground thus far has proven invaluable and we ask that you please keep the feedback coming once these changes have been applied.

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Isle of Conquest Design and the Zepplin

I’m actually pretty damn excited about this new battleground. My favorite always has been Alterac Valley from the golden days of classic WoW, just the grand scale and scope of calling in air strikes, cavalry charges, big bruiser super weapons; it was just plain awesome. A lot of people are concerned with good reason, that it’s just going to be AV 2.0 where players will rush as fast as possible to the kill the enemy general and win the match; with the inclusion of giant siege walls, vehicles, and air transport – I don’t think it’s going to be such an easy race mess like AV has become. The fastest way to win will be to capture the strategic points (airship, tank factory, etc) and the fastest way to grind honor from now on might just be to keep the mines and oil rig flowing with honor per tic.

The whole battleground is designed with the intention of you seizing your goal. So yes, rush to the hanger and acquire the airship so you can assault the enemy keep. Or rush to the factory, and claim it, so you can bring the walls of the enemies keep down around their ears. Don’t think for an instant though, that you’re going to be able to win the day without the assistance of at least one of the three offensive locations.

As for reinforcements and why you should hold the resources that garner them. We don’t have a fixed number to give for their totals just yet. However, the Oil Derrick and the Cobalt Mine aren’t just conduits for reinforcement acquisition. They also give you honor. The longer you hold either of them, the more honor you’re going to amass – win or lose.

Having 8 to 10 hour games isn’t really an ideal situation for a battleground. While it may have been fun for a select group of people, many others were joining, participating, and leaving without ever garnering the appropriate reward.

As for skipping objectives … that is something we’ve thought about. In this particular battleground, the objectives are more of a strategic choice and less of a “you must cap them all” scenario. Though kudos will be in order for those who manage to take all of the unique objectives.

The airship will have a set flightpath, though you will need control of the hangar to be able to get on board.

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UPDATED – New “Isle of Conquest” Battleground details!

Earlier today this was discovered on the WoW – Taiwan website and I expect this to hit the US and EU websites relatively soon! The new battleground may just be the last, best hope for PvP in the battlegrounds.

Update 1: Saw this over at WoWRaid and they in turn got it translated by Curll from Scrolls of Lore. I’ll update again when the information hits the English speaking sites and hopefully they’ll include some images or something.

Update 2: Post information confirmed by European WoW forums.

Update 3: On the official US page http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p2/isleofconquest.xml

An island somewhere off the shores of Northrend. A rock, hardly worth a second look. But as insignificant as it may seem, this is no ordinary place. A sound of thunder as waves crash endlessly against rocky cliffs; a sound of fury as swords clash on the blood-stained fields of this island on the edge of forever.

Welcome to the Isle of Conquest.

The ongoing struggle between Horde and Alliance has turned many once peaceful (and some not-so peaceful) places into theaters of constant war. The Isle of Conquest is the latest such place, set to be the location of a battle of epic proportions over the island’s precious resources.

An Alliance and a Horde general are fighting for dominance, overseeing the action from the safety of their keeps. Whichever side manages to eliminate the enemy general first will triumph on the island; failure to protect your leader will bring shame, dishonor, and defeat. There is no peace accord here, and it’s an all-out war between the factions.

Once More into the breach…

Isle of Conquest, a new battleground scheduled to make its debut in the upcoming content patch, Call of the Crusade, will pitch teams of up to 40 players against each other in a massive battle over this small island off Northrend’s northern coast. To win, your team will need to make use of the island’s unique strategic locations including an oil derrick, a siege workshop, and a fully equipped airship hangar. You will deploy devastating siege weaponry on the field; Light have mercy on anyone caught between you and your ultimate target, the general holed up in the enemy keep.

There are five points of interest on the Isle of Conquest for the factions to battle over. Each one offers its own benefits and strategic value. Which one will you claim for your side, and will it be enough to ensure victory?

Capture Locations

Consider your options before storming out of your keep to confront the enemy head-on. Spread throughout the Isle of Conquest are several capturable locations (as seen on the map), each granting a unique strategic advantage to your team.

The Oil Derrick: Located on the northwestern end of the island, this smudge in the Frozen Sea produces enough black gold to run a thousand siege engines. Taking this resource garners precious reinforcements and a continuous flow of honor to the side that controls it.

The Cobalt Mine: This snow-covered assembly, located on the southeastern end of the island, hides untapped supplies that must be harvested. Taking this resource grants reinforcements and a continuous flow of honor to the side that controls it.

The Docks: The western shore’s docks will further expand your selection of siege weapons with the devastating new Glaive Thrower and the Catapult. Unleash the destruction of the Glaive Thrower upon the walls of the keep, or launch your invading party over the walls to assault the keep from within.

The Airship Hangar: This sturdy steel structure stands on the peak of Mt. Conquest overlooking the eastern side of the island, allowing players to board the airship docked there. This devastating weapon of war is capable of raining death upon the heads of your enemies and destroying enemy defenses. Once onboard the airship, players will find it comes equipped with parachutes enabling a strike team to drop into the enemy keep from above.

The Siege Workshop: Situated right between the Alliance base and the Horde base, this siege workshop occupies a strategic hot spot. Seizing it grants the controlling party the ability to utilize an arsenal of siege vehicles perfectly suited to reducing the enemy keep’s walls to dust and ashes.

Graveyards: There are five graveyards in the Isle of Conquest that are attached to different points of interest on the map: the Horde base, the Alliance base, an oil spill island in the center of the map (attached to the siege workshop), the northeast corner (attached to the airship hangar), and the southwest corner (attached to the docks).

Main Objectives

The Keeps: The Horde and Alliance keeps sit at opposite ends of the island. These citadels host four easily accessible defensive cannons set on the ramparts, capable of unleashing hot fury onto oncoming attackers. Additional explosives sit safely stowed in the base of the keep along the back wall. At least, they’re safe as long as they don’t fall into enemy hands. If they do, though, they can be employed to bring the stone walls down from within.

The General: Holed up behind the keeps’ massive walls, the generals command their forces from a position of relative safety. Should the keep fall and the general be slain, the Isle of Conquest will fall to the victor.

Reinforcements: Isle of Conquest uses a reinforcements system similar to that of Alterac Valley. The clock is ticking and every individual counts. If too many of your comrades fall to the enemy the battle will end in defeat. Killing enemy players will reduce their reinforcements by one for each kill, Once your faction’s reinforcements reach their limit, so too does your bid for control of the island and the wealth of resources you’ve fought so hard over.

An island somewhere off the shores of Northrend. A rock, hardly worth a second look. A test of strength. A chance to prove your might, to crush your enemies, to make a difference, a chance for endless glory and conquest.

Will you seize it?

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