Posted Jul 11, 2007 at 12:31PM by Enrico S. Listed in: World of Warcraft, News Tags: Blizzard, AFK, Nethaera
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World of Warcraft: Have you gone AFK in the Battlegrounds? - Image 1A common complaint among players in World of Warcraft is the AFK'ers in Battlegrounds. The AFK'ers would just join the battle and wait in the bunkers or the cave to see which side will win; if it's their group, they quickly join in to reap the rewards.

So how many people really do this? Numbers aren't that alarming, but it's large enough to bother the whole community. So a lot of WoW Players have been griping about this and finally Blizzard Poster/Forum Moderator Nethaera gave her two cents on the topic.

I've never gone AFK unless it was because I got pulled away by a phone call or something. If I go into a battleground, I'm there to participate. We are aware of the concerns that people have in regard to other players AFKing in AV. We are also aware of concerns players have for the future of AV.


More than that, I couldn't say at this time. I know that's a much hated answer, but it's what I can give you right now. I can say that with any battle or encounter, we want people to be participating and AFKing does go against the spirit of what is intended.


I think that's one of the major complaints that I see the most is that others feel they are being shorted their victories because others aren't helping to make those victories happen. Yes, I'm aware there are other concerns that players have about what they see as flaws in AV, but that doesn't negate the general feeling of abandonment I see players speaking of when they talk of the battlegrounds.


What you are doing when you AFK is basically abandoning others for the sake of yourself and then reaping the rewards of their labors. In a nutshell, it's lazy and selfish. That is largely the issue that you see other players complaining about. They want to feel they are a part of a successful team or at the least a team that is at least putting their heart into it.


I think this rather long post sums up the topic quite well. It's sad that some players profit from the work of others but it's a part of the game. Hopefully, the GMs will be able to find a solution to these leechers soon, but till they do we're going to have to put up with them.



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5 Comments


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   by Pro-Horde (Unregistered) - 2007-07-11
 » AV Broke

AV is a blizzards bastard child. It's been broken from the beginning. The setup has driven people to give up on attempting to win because it rarely ever happens.

"So how many people really do this? Numbers aren't that alarming, but it's large enough to bother the whole community. "

This is not accurate. AV in the morning is worse then in the evening but until about 3pm there is about half of the people in AV AFKing sometimes more (15-25 people). It’s possible that since they keep themselves moving in the cave they don’t allow themselves to be AFK and thus aren’t figured in to actually being AFK.

Suggestions:
For starters they need to upgrade all the rep rewards in AV. They are worthless and all of them stop at level 60, including the mana and health potions. We pay coin and honor for these and they've never been upgraded for level 7o's.
Alliance npc's vs Horde npc's. If you've ever played AV you may have noticed that horde npc's don't attack like Alliance npc's. Almost all Alliance NPC attack like warriors with the ability to charge, which allows them instance melee range to stun and also rend. Horde npc's only attack in normal melee range; with no special abilities.
The map: the map as everyone knows is really screwed up. On the Alliance side of the map the first grave yard for the Horde to capture is between two towers and a narrowing which creates a bottle neck. Alliance have archers at the tops of these towers (Horde by the way do not have archers at the tops of their towers.) So the Alliance with a minimal force can hold off a Horde offense quite easily. On the Horde side of the map our towers are well spaced from the grave yards in open areas with no bottle necks. This prevents us from forming an effective defense since it is so easy to just ride around and attack from the side or behind. The Horde on the other hand being forced through THREE bottlenecks (the first one I already explained the second bottle neck is through the windy passage to the second grave yard and lastly the infamous bridge) and having to fight through every opponent we have.


   Re: Jason (Unregistered) - 2007-07-12
 » 100% Correct

The above statement is absolutely correct, except the Horde towers do have guards.

Landscape is horribly skewed towards Alliance and many more of their NPC's have Plate armor while most Horde have Mail
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   by Dastan (Unregistered) - 2007-07-12
 » AV is broken

Both the above statements are correct. In my battlegroup, Rampage, we have at least 12 AFK'ers every AV. AV is my favorite part of the game, and I have quit WoW due to AFK'ers and the un-fair terrain advantages.


   Re: Me too (Unregistered) - 2007-07-12
 » I quit as well...

I also thoroughly enjoyed AV, but the AFK'ers giving us 2/3 of an army, coupled with ridiculous terrain, I have quit WoW after 2 years. I think I was in Rampage too.

I now play PvMP in LOTRO until Warhammer comes out.

Warg Stalkers FTW!
   by Tirin (Unregistered) - 2007-07-12
 » AV well-broke

The previous posts are correct. But even aside from AV's balance issues (and it really is solidly uneven), the AFKers are a huge problem. I have no idea why Blizzard haven't taken to this before now. The fact that it is very difficult for Horde to win an AV match may well contribute to the high number of AFKers - Allies can AFK knowing that they'll easily be carried through, Horde AFK reasoning that they won't make much of a difference anyway. I've been playing a lot of AV in the last two weeks and I don't think I've been in a match with less than 10 people AFK, the record for highest was 25-30. No joke. I raid-heal so I quickly learn who's there and who isn't.

I play Horde on the Bloodlust group.



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