Circle of Strife

Really, I never thought I’d be one of those people getting frustrated in Alterac Valley.

I’m talking, of course, about the poor caps-locked souls who spam orders in that commanding orange battleground chat, only to be ignored by the raid at large. They start strong, outlining their strategy during the pre-game buffs, and gradually realize as the game starts that people aren’t really listening to them at all. They so want the dots on the map to do what they ask, but alas those dots seem to have minds of their own. So their commands turn to sarcastic queries, and then to bitter cynicism and disdain for the raid at large. Finally, near the end, they are silent. Until the next pre-game buff session.

It’s the circle of life, without Sir Elton John.

Actually, I’m not one of those people. But last night for the first time in my WoW life, I found myself actually getting angry at my fellow AV raiders, and feeling the slightest twinge of sympathy for the PvP folks who must have to deal with this stuff on a daily basis.

I’m not even close to being a fan of PvP. It was kind of fun on my warlock (go figure, ‘cause they fucking rock), but beyond the grind to obtain my Whistle of the Black War Raptor, I really had no reason to return to PvP.

But now I find that I want the Ice Barbed Spear, for my hunter. One nice polearm. The price? Nothing really. It’s a simple matter of killing Vann Stormpike, the Dwarf general of Alterac Valley.

Really not as easy as it sounds, apparently.

I seem to recall, back in my old battlegroup, that the Horde continuously won AV without any difficulty whatsoever. Whether it was through sheer luck or consistent player coordination, we seemed to roll up the map, cap the twin Stormpike bunkers and proceed to effectively apply the smack on Vann till he wept like Lil’ Timmy upon losing his kittens. So I didn’t think I would have much difficulty in obtaining my spear. I was, it appears, several different kinds of wrong.

I went in first at level 51, which is when you are first eligible for the quest. Definitely on the low end of the bracket, but I was able to make myself useful on several kills. We still lost several games in a row, however, often getting cut off at the Stonehearth Graveyard and forced into a flailing defense at the Frostwolf Bunker. And that’s fine. That sort of loss translates to the Alliance players simply out-strategizing us and taking advantage of our uncoordinated raid composition.

So I gave up on the quest for a few levels and went back in last night at level 56. I entered a game in progress, so I immediately checked the map. EVERYONE was at Stormpike. I was like “fuck yes,” and raced up the map, praying that I would get make it before my fellow Hordies got Vann down so I would get my quest credit. I made it. Fought my way to the flag outside Vann’s bunker. Like I said, the whole damn raid was there, and everyone seemed to be standing around waiting for something. Once in a while someone would run in and aggro the angry Dwarf, only to run out quickly and fall dead as Vann one-shotted them. People kept shouting for a tank to grab him, but the tanks kept shouting for healers to cover them. And then DPSers would start the pull, only to be torn apart immediately by Vann and his lieutenants. One time we actually moved in as a group and waited in the split entryway for the tank to pull Vann outside for the kill. Those of us in the rear were summarily cut down by a warrior zerg from the Alliance players, with rogues de-cloaking everywhere. They outflanked us, and tore our ranks apart before we could even begin the Vann fight.

I was frankly appalled by the lack of coordination on our part, and this in turn surprised me, because uncoordinated battleground PUGs really shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.

We made several more attempts at rushing Stormpike, but to no avail. We’d cap the Stoneheart Graveyard, kill Balinda Stonehearth, destroy a couple of bunkers and then run up to Vann. We’d get slaughtered and then resurrect at the Frostwolf Bunker, realizing then that while we were getting creamed by the damned NPCs and random players, the rest of the Alliance had been systematically re-capping the graveyards and funneling us back down to Frostwolf, where they’d keep us on the defense until they won.

It could have been plain bad luck, but I think we lost mostly due to poor coordination and skill. I’m still struggling with the hunter in PvP. She can plink away with the best of them, and my raptor seems unstoppable, but it’s just not the same as all of those glorious DoTs my warlock has. I may consider some pure PvP if I ever find my way back to him.

So in all, I suppose I’ll keep trying for that Vann kill. I’m not holding my breath though. I opted to do the quest because I believed it to be relatively easy with a decent reward (yes, I’m totally guilty of that mindset, but if it’s there, why not take advantage?). But as I approach the end of my 50s, I wonder if there’s anything better than the spear in the first few quest of Hellfire Peninsula? I’ve only ever looked at damage-caster rewards for those quests, so it should be fun to experience the loot bump for a different sort of class.