World of Warcraft: Zero to 70 in seconds!

[TomChick]

Seems Blizzard finally noticed Guild Wars.

IRVINE, Calif. – February 14, 2008 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to launch a new type of tournament competition using the Arena System in World of Warcraft®, its popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The tournaments will take place on special realms that allow competitors to instantly create level-70 characters with epic equipment, placing the focus on tactics and execution rather than normal adventuring.

Is there anything WoW can't do?

Here's the rest of the announcement:

“eSports is one of the most exciting facets of online gaming today,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re pleased to expand World of Warcraft’s tournament options for players who want to focus mainly on the competitive aspect of the game.”

The tournaments are scheduled to start in April with two rounds of online qualifiers in Europe, South Korea, North America, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Each qualifier round will have a per-competitor entry fee -- €15/£12 in Europe; 20,000 won in South Korea; $20 in North America; and NT$450 in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau -- and will run for six weeks. During this time, teams will play 3-vs.-3 matches on the tournament realm in their region, with the top four teams from each round advancing to the regional finals to compete for more than $27,000 in cash prizes. Winners from each region will then be invited to a global championship event to compete for $120,000 in cash prizes, including a $75,000 grand prize.

[zabuni]

Segregating the PVPers, wow. Not totally, of course, but it could lead to the back and forth tug of war they've had with PVE and PVP balancing.

Gear/talent/tactics wise, they have been growing away from each other for quite some time. I have to wonder how the gear will be selected though. Will everyone be given the same gear, or will those who have level 70s be able to bring characters over? Even with full Season 3 gear, certain items gained from PVE could put those who have played in main game at an advantage.

I wonder if they will actually allow for normal adventuring on the servers. Having characters gear in lvl 70 purples, even pvp ones, will allow leapfrogging over a great deal of content.

[TheWombat]

I've maintained all along that WoW PvP is a stand-in for sports, and here it's pretty much confirmed. Which, while neat-o for many, is exactly the reason I don't play WoW any more. Controlled, arena-style PvP isn't my cup of tea, though obviously it's much to the liking of many people.

[Mordrak]

Do you have to enter the tournaments to get access to these special realms?

It doesn't seem evident that all the players will have access to this just by selecting a different server in the server menu.

[JD]

Do you have to enter the tournaments to get access to these special realms?
Seems like it (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/tournament/faq.xml).
How do these dedicated tournament realms work?

By signing up for the tournament, players will be granted access to special tournament realms. They will be able to create up to three new level-70 characters of any race and class combination on these realms. There will be special vendors available who will have epic gear for players to choose from for equipping tournament characters. These realms have been created for the sake of the tournament and will not have any PvE instances or Battlegrounds available. Only Arenas will be available at this time.

-Julian

[Mordrak]

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Then this isn't that big of a deal. It doesn't mean anything for a majority of players. With Guild Wars, I can start regular PVP at max level anytime I want not just in sanctioned tournaments where I have to shell out cash.

[TomChick]

Ah, I didn't realize this was a one-off event rather than a new feature. I guess that'll make Guild Wars happy.

-Tom

[AndrewM]

I wonder if you have to pay a subscription on top of the entry fee. Probably...

[Mordrak]

Ah, I didn't realize this was a one-off event rather than a new feature. I guess that'll make Guild Wars happy.

-Tom

Honestly, I doubt Blizzard would ever let players make instant 70s for regular battleground or regular arena play. The honor gear grind is the alternate progression path to raiding, so Blizzard would hear a bunch of complaints from PvE players that only PvP for gear.


I wonder if you have to pay a subscription on top of the entry fee. Probably...


Certainly. Though, this will likely only appeal to current players. And if you wanted to be in the tournament then you're going to want to practice on normal servers anyway.

[sluggo]

I don't think this will be a one-off event. My suspiscion is that this is something they're doing to cultivate tournament play, and special servers will be added so people can play WoW this way on a daily basis if so inclined (sorta like having deathmatch-only servers).

[Lokust]

I'd love to play on a server that was just this style of play, and no PVE.

[TomChick]

Honestly, I doubt Blizzard would ever let players make instant 70s for regular battleground or regular arena play. The honor gear grind is the alternate progression path to raiding, so Blizzard would hear a bunch of complaints from PvE players that only PvP for gear.

It works for Guild Wars. Granted, there's a certain amount of apple/orange in that comparison, but as sluggo suggests, I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard felt there was enough of an audience for this style to merit separate deathmatch servers.

But, yeah, you're absolutely right that there's no way they'd let instant-70s mix it up with earned-70s.

-Tom

[Athryn]

Here's some more info (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/tournament/faq.xml)

How do these dedicated tournament realms work?

By signing up for the tournament, players will be granted access to special tournament realms. They will be able to create up to three new level-70 characters of any race and class combination on these realms. There will be special vendors available who will have epic gear for players to choose from for equipping tournament characters. These realms have been created for the sake of the tournament and will not have any PvE instances or Battlegrounds available. Only Arenas will be available at this time.