Tol Barad and Wintergrasp changes

I was reading MMO-Champion and read something I quite liked. This is a blue post that was on the forums regarding Tol Barad/Wintergrasp balance issues.


"Population Balancing
Keep in mind Tol Barad is still deep in development, but we do have plans to implement more stringent faction balancing measures than those which exist for Wintergrasp today. We want to have the queue system try to create a battle with as close to a 1:1 team ratio as possible. In other words, if 40 Horde and 150 Alliance players are in the queue, it's going to make the battle somewhere close to 40 vs. 40. There will be a maximum cap of players allowed on each side as there is with Wintergrasp, but there will also be a minimum cap as well. Since the system will be looking for a 1:1 team ratio, the minimum cap will be designed to ensure a battle can't be thrown by a faction if no one shows up. So, say if the minimum cap is 25, there is a chance the battle could be 25 vs. 5.

Because of this new design, it'll be much more beneficial to play on a realm where the faction balance is roughly equivalent rather than seeking a realm where your faction dominates. For this reason we'll continue to monitor faction balance on all realms and work to ensure players enjoy the best gaming experience possible.

[...] Right now the issue with Wintergrasp is it actually encourages the behavior of selecting a realm where your faction dominates. If the reverse becomes true for Tol Barad, that only serves to help improve faction balance rather than further impact it. In Cataclysm it will be more beneficial to be on a realm where your faction is underpopulated (which will lead to a natural trend of balancing out the population), or be on a high-population realm where the maximum Tol Barad cap is reached, or close to reached for each battle.

I hate to ask, but would you explain again how the maximum and minimum caps work, or shall I say how you think they are going to work? I'm a bit confused. :x

The maximum cap will essentially work the same as it does in Wintergrasp. If there are hundreds of players in the queue for Tol Barad on both sides, the system is not going to overcrowd the zone and make it unplayable. It will create an even match with up to a certain number of players on each side.

The minimum cap is intended to prevent griefing from factions which are extremely underpopulated. For example, if it's 3 in the morning and the Alliance have a very low population on a realm, a single Alliance guild could decide to boycott Tol Barad. If there were no minimum cap with the 1:1 ratio queuing system, this could lead to a situation where Tol Barad ends up being a, say, 3 vs. 3 battle leaving many Horde players locked out. So if we set the minimum cap to 25, it means in this scenario that it would be 3 Alliance vs. 25 Horde. In other words, the underpopulated faction on an imbalanced realm can't fully dictate the battle size of Tol Barad all the way down to 0 participants on either side.

Does this apply to Wintergrasp too?

I just got word that we are planning on implementing this new balancing mechanism for Wintergrasp sometimes shortly after the next Wrath of the Lich King minor content patch. So you'll get a chance to see it in action and provide us with feedback prior to the launch of Cataclysm!

So in cliff note form: With the minimum cap is 25, if 25 Horde que and 150 alliance que, the battle will be 25 vs 25.
And if 25 Horde que, and 10 alliance que, will it then just 10 v 10 or 25 v 10?

Your first example is correct. For your second example, the battle would be 25 Horde vs. 10 Alliance.

1) Will Tol'Barad flag players between battles on PvE servers? Please say yes!
2) Will flying mounts be disabled in the zone when the battle isn't taking place?

The current plan is for Tol Barad to function like Wintergrasp with regard to your questions. So it will be a PvP zone at all times and flight will be disabled once the battle begins."

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As someone who has been complaining about Wintergrasp every time I join a match, I am glad to say that these changes would make me a happy Paladin.

What Are You Ready For?

This is a list taken directly from http://www.wow-heroes.com showing what the level 80s of the guild are ready for. Use this as a guide to what you should be running for gear improvement. If you are unable to perform at these levels, don't worry. Just practice on lower level runs until you feel comfortable and always ask advice of more experienced players. List updated as of 4/20/10:

--------------- ICC ---------------
Haystealer - DPS/Tank - 3083
Impassive - Tank/DPS - 3081
Kennosuke - DPS - 2999
Yukaya - DPS - 2995
Cubex - DPS - 2993
Wrathian - DPS - 2957
Graynight - Tank/DPS - 2941
Danaris - Healer/Tank - 2937
Bloodstained - DPS/Tank - 2932
Septism - Healer/DPS - 2893
Lisha - DPS - 2891
Sinscribe - Healer/DPS - 2877
Zerkofark - DPS - 2868
Jinda - DPS/Healer - 2851
Netherkerk - Tank/DPS - 2839
Anrief - DPS - 2812
Cellindia - DPS - 2810
Nannyzo - Healer/DPS - 2801
Beastbrother - Tank/Healer - 2785
Gnarkilldave - Healer/DPS - 2784
Darkmantle - Tank/DPS - 2768
Lashtail - DPS/Tank - 2727
Demonevil - DPS - 2725
Wadataka - Tank/Healer - 2713
Electroheal - Healer/DPS - 2711
Pallaman - Tank/DPS - 2707
Jayboy - Healer/DPS - 2693
Gnarky - Healer - 2689
Azrek - DPS/Healer - 2680
Hellswrath - DPS - 2673
Bandage - DPS/Healer - 2673
--------------- ToC ---------------
Darthscarz - Healer/DPS - 2613
Uugo - Tank/Healer - 2611
Deadlydorite - DPS - 2605
Moldren - DPS - 2605
Cottonrocket - Tank/DPS - 2602
Huracan - Tank/DPS - 2584
Black - DPS - 2569
Hellpiggy - Tank/DPS - 2562
Dialysis - Tank/DPS - 2558
Muertedehoof - DPS/Tank - 2541
Exarkun - Tank/DPS - 2528
Aenicus - DPS/Healer - 2522
Savros - DPS/Tank - 2520
Grimmjou - DPS/Tank - 2510
Soulshift - Tank/Healer - 2505
Lashstar - Healer/DPS - 2495
Colloquial - DPS/Tank - 2469
Geronimoo - DPS - 2462
Hellpig - Healer/DPS - 2446
Smokesniffer - Healer/DPS - 2423
Nisu - DPS/Healer - 2412
Boheeka - DPS - 2402
Bloodbayou - DPS/Healer - 2391
Bamabear - Tank/Healer - 2373
Loktahr - Tank/DPS - 2369
Mahaliel - Healer/DPS - 2356
Evella - DPS - 2347
--------------- Uld ---------------
Deathsmacker - DPS - 2299
Pridehorn - Tank/DPS - 2255
Bonzeye - Healer - 2236
Tyrokor - DPS - 2201
Bubblebutte - DPS - 2176
Deadrush - DPS - 2171
Dinkadink - DPS - 2136
Stolie - DPS/Healer - 2120
Sammara - Healer/DPS - 2116
Lichknightt - Tank/DPS - 2044
Ternul - Healer/DPS - 2013
--------------- Hero ---------------
Wylard - DPS - 1937
Zalaa - DPS - 1850
Ribb - DPS - 1803
Buluva - DPS/Healer - 1778
Nefezie - DPS - 1729
Paladius - Healer/DPS - 1621
Becca - Tank/DPS - 1611
Grellthar - DPS - 1527
Bloodor - DPS - 1496
Banality - DPS - 1437
Skreken - DPS - 1077
Theblitz - DPS - 1056
Showtiime - DPS - 1046
Impwned - Tank/DPS - 984
Doola - DPS - 607
Finduilas - Tank/DPS - 258

Welcome to our new guild members.