Rant
by Loreal
As far as WSG PuG's go, 19 twinking is pretty much dead. Half an hour wait during "prime time"? I'm glad I didn't pay the transfer fee to bring over BoA's.
Class changes have shut out a lot of possibilities in the bracket. There used to be real choices about how to deploy your team on the map, but changes have enormously limited "correct" roles and placement. There are only 2, maaaaybe 3, viable pursuit classes. The other 6 classes are completely boned on O if they don't have hunters/shaman with them (assuming that the FC is a druid or shaman... and it usually is). IMO, the speed boosts broke the bracket by making the non-speedy classes feel irrelevant over such a huge swathe of the map and for such a long part of the match-- i.e. until debuffs are up. Some classes (*cough*rogues*cough*) are barely worth bringing into WSG, period.
I don't want to hear any "You don't know what you're talking about! Mages are amazing on D!" or "The paladin can really make a difference by tossing a HoF on his FC as he runs by," because you'll just be proving what a narrow supporting role these classes now have.
Gross class imbalances are a huge part of why 19s aren't as appealing to as many people as they used to be, but part of the bracket's decline is due (IMO) to player behavior. The "style" of level 19 WSG play is very different from what many of us used to love. I think a lot of people really want more player vs. player, NOT the player vs. terrain, chase-the-jump-exploiting-druid-up-to-the-gy-over-the-tunnel-up-to-the-roof loop that every match has become these days. A bracket where there are more counters to the endless running looks really enticing after a few such matches at 19.
Furthermore, the constant AFK'ing and faction hopping for best win chance is a huge detriment to the bracket. Throwing matches away gives off the idea that these BG's are trash... and the more you do this, the more the bracket does become trash. If PuGs matches are somehow beneath you or not worth your time, DO NOT QUEUE. You are just ruining the experience for everyone else. Sadly, this behavior is so prevalent that waiting 40 minutes in queue just to see your teammates abandon the match does not feel worth it. Why queue at all if you can't get onto a full team of dedicated players?
I also want to add that many (not all, but many) of the 19s here in Ruin are amongst the rudest, most immature, most foul-mouthed players I have encounted in WoW. And no, that's not a compliment. The unpleasantness is a turn-off for a lot of people. If you comport yourselves like decent human beings, more people might want to play with you-- or at least fewer would want to avoid you.
Talk up your superior Ruin premade experiences all you want, but if PuGgers struggle to get matches, then twinking is doomed. Without a healthy PuGging community you won't be finding fresh players to recruit for those premade matches when your teammates get burnt out. Team rosters are already pretty thin and incestuous.
After playing a 19 for four years, I'm seeing this bracket reach a nadir. Level capped pvp >>>>> 19s at this point. Maybe that's as it should be, but it's too bad that this bracket fell so far as to make that true. Here's hoping that Cataclysm brings some changes to make the bracket more fun for all, not just a few golden classes in one lousy battlegroup. But I'm not holding my breath.
TL;DR -- 19s bracket is lame anymore.
R Version: The OP that the OP quoted is wise. Good read.
HERESYOURGUILDSKRUB".
UDUNNOHAOTOPLAYURCLASS JUSTLVLOUTOFBRACKET". 19's will eventually, not saying today, or tomorrow, or in cata, but think of it. Matthughes (if anyone knows him) played for 5 years, since the game started (Kinda like Admin here) and he is now retiring. The current twinks that are playing will eventually retire, everyone has to grow up sometime in their lives, rather they want to or not...
