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Beginners Guide to PvP in World of Warcraft (WoW)

Last Reviewed: March 26, 2024 by Archdruid Andoris Leave a Comment

Part 9 of a guide for new, beginning, or returning players in World of Warcraft.

Welcome to part 9 of this ultimate guide for new World of Warcraft players. Part 8 looked at player vs. environment (PvE) modes — specifically dungeons and raids. This time around, we are going to look at PvP in World of Warcraft.

What is PvP in World of Warcaft?

PvP is an abbreviation for “player vs. player” and refers to battles between players. You may engage in PvP while exploring the open world (known as world PvP) or you can participate in organized PvP matches. In PvP matches, you team up with other players to achieve objectives that can range from being the first to eliminate the opposing team to capturing their flag.

Let’s jump in and talk about all the different flavors of PvP in World of Warcraft!

War Mode — World PvP

War mode, also called “world PvP”, is a setting that players can toggle on or off. When turned on, it allows players to engage in combat with opposing faction players in the open world.

War mode can only be toggled on in each faction’s major city — Stormwind or Orgrimmar — but can be turned off in any rested area. To do so, you will need to navigate to the talents tab of your Specialization and Talents (shortcut ‘N’) window. You will then see an icon in the lower-right part of the window that can be clicked on or off.

Enabling war mode will provide you with extra benefits as a reward.

World PvP and war mode allow you to use your three PvP-specific talents throughout the world. These can provide an extra boost of power to your character and make some objectives easier to complete.

Enabling War mode grants increased quest rewards and experience but also makes you vulnerable to attacks from the opposing faction.

The final benefit you gain from enabling war mode is being able to earn PvP currencies.

Screenshot of the talent window in World of Warcraft, showing where you turn on War Mode (World PvP)
War Mode can be activated using the toggle found in the Talents tab of the “Specialization and Talents” window.

What are PvP currencies?

Player vs player currencies are points or “marks” earned for participating in PvP. They can be used to obtain gear, pets, mounts, and other power-enhancing items. There are three major PvP currencies:

  • Honor points
  • Conquest
  • Mark of Honor

Honor points

The number of honor points determines your honor level. As their honor level grows, players receive rewards in the form of toys, character titles, mounts, and pets. You can also use it to purchase PvP gear from vendors in just about every major city. For a specific list of the rewards, check out Wowpedia’s great article here.

Conquest

While honor points are level-based, conquest is centered on weekly rewards. Early in a new expansion or patch, the amount of conquest you can earn is capped at a low amount (usually around 500-600) and increases each week. Conquest can be used to purchase and upgrade some of the most powerful PvP gear in the game.

The best way to earn conquest is to win PvP game modes like battlegrounds and arena.

Mark of Honor

The last major PvP currency is the Mark of Honor. Marks are different from the previous two currencies because they are items that can be saved and stored in your bag. You can then visit PvP vendors to exchange them for gear, profession recipes, profession supplies, or other consumables.

Strongboxes, a type of loot received from battlegrounds or arenas, are generally the best way to earn one or more Marks of Honor.

PvP Battlegrounds in World of Warcraft

Battlegrounds are objective-driven battles that include anywhere from 10 to 40 players. Normal battlegrounds have smaller groups — with either 10 or 15 players on either side. In contrast, epic battlegrounds have large groups of 25 or 40 players per side.

Joining a battleground is as simple as queuing up for one in the looking for group window (‘i’ key shortcut) under the “Player vs. Player” tab. You can also choose whether you want to queue for a specific battleground or one at random.

List of battlegrounds and their objectives in World of Warcraft

Overall, there are a few categories of objectives for battleground:

  • Domination – Capture and hold objectives (like King of the Hill)
  • Capture the Flag – Capture enemy flags while defending your own
  • Resource Race – Be the first faction to collect enough resources
  • Power Orbs – Players earn points by holding orbs
  • Payload – Capture and defend a moving vehicle until your team scores
  • Epic battlegrounds — Defeat the opposing faction’s leader, reduce their reinforcements to 0, or destroy strategic structures

At the time of writing, there are 13 battlegrounds you can queue for. The following table shows the name of each battleground, the number of players, and the main objective:

Battleground Name# of PlayersObjective
Warsong Gulch10 vs 10Capture the flag
Arathi Basin15 vs 15Domination
Eye of the Storm15 vs 15Domination
Twin Peaks10 vs 10Capture the flag
Battle for Gilneas10 vs 10Domination
Temple of Kotmogu10 vs 10Power Orbs
Silvershard Mines10 vs 10Payload
Deepwind Gorge10 vs 10Domination
Seething Shore10 vs 10Resource Race
Alterac Valley40 vs 40Epic Battleground
Isle of Conquest40 vs 40Epic Battleground
Battle for Wintergrasp40 vs 40Epic Battleground
Ashran25 vs 25Epic Battleground

In addition to these standard battlegrounds, there are also rotating “brawls.” These are special PvP modes that take the normal battlegrounds or arenas (which we’ll talk about more in a moment) and apply a twist.

A brawl usually lasts only a week or two before changing. You can queue for a brawl like any normal battleground; they are a great way to keep PvP feeling fresh.

PvP Arena

The final PvP activity we are going to cover is the arena.

Arena matches are played with smaller groups than battlegrounds — either 2 or 3 players on each side. Like battlegrounds, you can queue for a basic arena match through the Player vs. Player tab in the looking for group window. For a normal arena match, you will want to select “Arena Skirmish.”

The objective of arena is simple: defeat the opposing players before they defeat you.

Once your HP reaches zero, your character is out for the match and it is up to your teammates to win. Winning an arena skirmish will reward you with honor points and conquest.

Player in arena PvP in World of Warcraft
Arena is an extremely popular form of PvP in World of Warcraft

Rated PvP

Rated PvP is a great option for players seeking a more competitive player vs. player experience. This mode includes the same battlegrounds and arenas but wins/losses impact your player rating. Wins increase rating, while losses drop it. Your rating determines the skill of the players you are matched against and rewards at the end of a PvP season.

To play rated PvP, you will either need a group of friends to play with or you can find a group through the “Premade Group” option. If you choose to find a group, it is helpful to understand a few abbreviations that commonly appear in the group name.

  • CR = Current rating
  • LF = Looking for
  • EXP = the highest rating a player has played at.

So a group advertised as “2s 1.6kcr, exp 2.2k LF healer” would mean that the group leader has a current rating of 1,600 but has played games in the 2,200 rating bracket and wants a healer for their 2-person arena group.

If you are new to rated PvP, your rating will start at 0 and you need to win games to increase it. At lower ratings, you will not lose rating for losing matches. As you increase your rating, you will receive greater rewards and special rewards reserved only for the best players. This includes better gear in the Weekly Vault in Oribos. The rating tiers are as follows:

  • Unranked: 0 – 1399
  • Combatant: 1400 – 1599
  • Challenger: 1600 – 1799
  • Rival: 1800 – 2099
  • Duelist: 2100 – 2399
  • Gladiator: 2400+

Final Thoughts

If you are more of a visual person, you can also find helpful videos that walk you through how PvP works like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpf8KFWQtQk

There is a lot to learn when it comes to PvP, but just remember that it is still a game and meant to be fun.

In the final part of this new player guide, we will look at the Basics of Using Addons. If you want to revisit another part of the guide, check out one of the following:

  1. Introduction Guide for New WoW Players
  2. Creating Your Character
  3. The WoW User Interface
  4. Questing, Combat, and Movement
  5. Introduction to Gear in WoW
  6. Items in World of Warcraft
  7. Professions in World of Warcraft
  8. Dungeons and Raids in World of Warcraft
  9. You are here
  10. World of Warcraft (WoW) AddOns (for Beginners)

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Customizing Your World of Warcraft User Interface (UI): Quick Guide and Best Addons

How to Take Screenshots in World of Warcraft (WoW)

Mastering the World of Warcraft User Interface: A Comprehensive Guide for New Players

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A Beginner’s Guide to World of Warcraft (WoW): Getting Started, Realms, and Costs

World of Warcraft (WoW) AddOns for Beginners

Is World of Warcraft (WoW) Free to Play?

What is a Rotation in World of Warcraft (WoW)? [Beginner’s Guide]

Dungeons and Raids in World of Warcraft (WoW) [Beginner’s Guide]

Professions in World of Warcraft (WoW) [Beginner’s Guide]

Items, Auctions, and Banks in World of Warcraft (WoW) – Beginner’s Guide

Filed Under: new-player-guide Tagged With: arena, battlegrounds, guide, new player, pvp

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About Archdruid Andoris

I'm glad you found me! I am a veteran World of Warcraft player who has played off-and-on since the game first released in 2004. I have been a guild master for several guilds with the focus of helping new players learn how to play the game and try new activities like dungeons and raids. I hope the guides and information on this site help you on your journey thorough Azeroth!

If you have any thoughts or questions on the article, feel free to leave a comment. An e-mail is not required (I just use it to catch spam bots).

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