World of Warcraft Horde Players are PvP Sweatlords and I Love That For Me

It’s Tuesday. I pick up my Weekly Quests in World of Warcraft, and between doing some World Quests, I need to go win a couple of Battlegrounds — Blizzard Entertainment’s attempt at cooperative PvP. It can’t be that hard, I think, I as I queue up on my Alliance side Death Knight. How I was wrong. For the next few hours I get trounced. Blood Elf Demon Hunters Swarm me, an Orc Fury Warrior rips me apart, and a Zandalari Troll Warlock sicks her minions on me. Within a matter of moments I’m dead on the ground, waiting six seconds to respawn.

I think this has to be a one-off. So I try again. And I keep trying. Eventually I decide PvP isn’t for me. Struggling uphill just to get a few Marks of Honor for a transmog and get some gear for endgame activities isn’t really worth it. But a few other friends that play on the Horde side coax me into joining them on my Blood Elf Marksmanship Hunter. I sigh and queue up with them.

And we win. And we just keep winning. I’m giddy with excitement, because even if I die it feels like our teams are more coordinated, and once the ball gets rolling we start to win. And I mean we win hard. We grind the Alliance to dust, and I’m twenty Marks of Honor richer and closer to the zweihander from Shadowlands that I’ve been coveting for months.

Admittedly I still don’t quite know how Battlegrounds work in World of Warcraft. Only that you need to capture a point, sometimes run a flag somewhere, defeat a boss, or just kill a lot of other players. But I’ve found more success on the Horde side than on Alliance. I asked fellow Siliconera staff member GC Vazquez why that was a thing (he’s been playing since Vanilla), and he explained that the Horde just get better PvP passives. Tauren get an extra stun, Orcs are just more resilient, and the Forsaken aka the Undead can shake of charms and what not.

Now, that gives you quite the edge over your standard Human, Night Elf, and what other options are available to the Alliance. Reputation gain doesn’t mean much if you’re getting trounced by a pack of Mag’har Orcs. Being able to move faster in ghost form isn’t going to stop a Tauren from stunning you to death while a pack of Blood Elf Demon Hunters descend upon you. Not even the extreme ability to hold out and simply not die when you’re a Death Knight will keep you alive. (Trust me, I’ve lived a lot longer in skirmishes with about six or so people descending on me than I should have as a Frost Death Knight.)

I’ve all but switched over to Horde when it comes to PvP for that reason. It’s also made me actually enjoy playing my Marksmanship Hunter, who I absolutely abhor doing PvE content on. Nothing felt more satisfying that shooting down a Draenei Paladin from across a long stretch of bridge, or raining down a volley on a pack of Alliance players. Or, and this is one of my favorite moments, getting a kill shot on a Night Elf Demon Hunter that was gliding towards me. It also gives me an excuse to use my traps, that I feel are functionally useless otherwise. But if you’re a Marksmanship Hunter and I’m playing my class wrong please feel free to let me know!

I think I’ve finally found a place in the Horde, and a spot for my Marksmanship Hunter. As I’m writing this I’m waiting in a Battlegrounds queue, eager to join my comrades in another fight. Who knew PvP would be fun when you’re winning, or when you snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. So I’m pouring one out for you, sweatlords of the Horde. I’m happy to join your ranks, and I can’t wait to maybe one day figure out just how Battlegrounds work in World of Warcraft.

World of Warcraft is available for PC.