jwl
FC - Pagle
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Table of contents:
I) What is flag carrying?
II) Creating your flag carrier
III) Terminology
IV) Gameplay
V) FAQ
Druid
Extremely versatile class, that is by far the superior choice for solo-play flag carrying. Druids are capable of purging themselves out of crowd control effects such as frostbolt, concussive shot and polymorph with their bear form ability; allowing them to weasel their way out of sticky situations. Taking advantage of that knowledge, and making use of other abilities such as rejuvenation or entangling roots can make druids incredibly mobile and very annoying to play against.
Key abilities: bear-form / bash / rejuvenation / hibernate / faerie-fire / entangling-roots
Paladin
Not as versatile as the druid, but still a jack of all trades; The paladin is a durable class that can prove to be very powerful with proper awareness and positioning. Paladins can negate all movement impairing effects with their blessing of freedom ability, or stun foes in their tracks with hammer of justice.
key abilities: hammer-of-justice / blessing-of-protection / lay-on-hands / devotion-aura / holy-light / blessing-of-freedom
Dwarf
Racials: frost-resistance / stoneform
Base stats: Strength 24, Agility 16, Stamina 25, Intellect 19, Spirit 20
Human
Night Elf
Base stats: Strength 18, Agility 25, Stamina 19, Intellect 22, Spirit 22
Tauren
Racials: endurance / nature-resistance / war-stomp
Base stats: Strength 26, Agility 15, Stamina 22, Intellect 17, Spirit 24
Druid
Helmet: green-tinted-goggles / lucky-fishing-hat (libram-of-constitution)
Neck: scouts-medallion / sentinels-medallion
Shoulder: talbar-mantle
Cloak: engineers-cloak (greater-resistance)
Chest: blackened-defias-armor (major-health)
Bracer: wranglers-wristbands [3/3 eagle or 5 stamina] (superior-stamina)
Gloves: scouting-gloves [4/4 eagle] (superior-agility)
Belt: deviate-scale-belt
Leg: scouting-trousers [5/5 eagle] (libram-of-constitution)
Boots: grizzled-boots / nat-pagles-extreme-anglin-boots (minor-speed)
Rings: seal-of-sylvanas / blood-ring
Trinkets: arena-grand-master / insignia-of-the-horde
Weapons: face-smasher (mighty-intellect) / furbolg-medicine-pouch
Paladin
Helmet: green-tinted-goggles / lucky-fishing-hat (libram-of-constitution)
Neck: scouts-medallion / sentinels-medallion
Shoulder: talbar-mantle
Cloak: engineers-cloak (greater-resistance)
Chest: blackened-defias-armor (major-health)
Bracer: fortified-bracers [3/3 eagle or 5 stamina] (superior-stamina)
Gloves: defender-gauntlets [4/4 eagle] (superior-agility)
Belt: deviate-scale-belt
Leg: chausses-of-westfall (libram-of-constitution)
Boots: silver-linked-footguards / nat-pagles-extreme-anglin-boots (minor-speed)
Rings: seal-of-wrynn / blood-ring
Trinkets: arena-grand-master / insignia-of-the-alliance
Weapons: face-smasher (mighty-intellect) / arctic-buckler (greater-stamina)
Druid
https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/druid
-1x Nature's grasp
-4x improved nature's grasp
-3x natural shapeshifter
-2x improved entangling roots.
Paladin
https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/paladin
-5x redoubt
-3x improved devotion aura
-2x guardians favor
You will encounter plenty of terms while playing Warsong Gulch, and it is very important that both you and your team are farmiliar with them all. Here is a quick list of abbreviated terms that every player should know.
FR: Flag room (refers to your factions flag room)
EFR: Enemy flag room (refers to the enemy factions flag room)
Fc: Flag carrier (refers to your flag carrier)
Efc: Enemy flag carrier (refers to the enemy flag carrier)
Gy: Graveyard (refers to your graveyard)
Egy: Enemy graveyard (refers to the enemy graveyard)
Tun: Tunnel (refers to the tunnel leading to your flag room)
Etun: Enemy tunnel (refers to the tunnel leading to the enemy flag room)
TOT: Top of tunnel (refers to the top of tunnel)
Roof: Roof (refers to the top floor of your flag room)
Eroof: Enemy roof (refers to the top floor of the enemy flag room)
Connector: (refers to the room next to FR, leading to GY)
2nd: (Refers to the small room down the hallway of the connector room)
Ramp: Ramp (refers to the rampway leading to your flag room)
Eramp: Enemy ramp (refers to the rampway leading to the enemy flag room)
Mid: Middle (refers to the middle of the map)
Cap: Capture the flag (Informs your FC to get ready to cap)
Inc: Incoming (Informs your group of incoming players)
Knowing is half the battle; Never take a route just because you feel like it - Scout the map prior to advancing, because you're better safe than sorry.
IV.2: Baiting
A smart flag carrier knows that they can dictate the entire game with their position; Where you go, the enemies will follow. This is information that you can capitalize on, and use in your favor. Allow me to share a few examples of what baiting is so you can understand what I am talking about, and why I personally consider it the best skillset any flag carrier can have.
Example A
Say your offense is struggling to kill an EFC, because the enemy team is doing an 8 man turtle on defense at their graveyard. Your team has no possibility whatsoever of securing a kill on the enemy flag carrier because they just have a much stronger team than you do. Well, there is a simple trick that I often incorporate in my gameplay that allows my team to secure a kill, and that trick is creating a diversion; If I notice my team struggling during a full Defense turtle, I'll often head over to enemy graveyard, knowing that once the enemy sees me, their priority will change from protecting their flag carrier, to killing the enemy flag carrier.
I'll either bait enemies down their graveyard then climb my way back up, or bait them down graveyard and force them to chase me back to my flag room as my team faces better odds at killing the EFC.
This is something I'd suggest trying once you've become very comfortable with the map and the players on the enemy team, as it can be extremely dangerous to make yourself vulnerable to them.
Example B
Another great example of baiting that I often do, can be performed when I dont even have the flag on my back. This trick is something I call Decoy, and I often request other players to do this for me, so I can cross mid in a safer fashion; Decoy basically means sacrificing your life for the greater good of your flag carrier.
If the enemy flag room is packed with 3-4 players and I have no possibility of making it out alive, I'll request someone else to sacrifice their life and distract the enemy team just the slightest bit, so I can drop from second floor, grab the flag, and hopefully create a little bit of distance between myself and those players anticipating my arrival.
Another quick example of this would be when I see my flag carrier exiting the enemy tunnel, and a wave of enemies just spawned: I'll often run straight into the enemies expecting them to prioritize me (because 99% of players are mindless zombies that attack whatever is in range), and I'll stall them out for as long as I can, so my flag carrier can successfully make their way to our base.
There are other ways to bait the enemies into bad positioning...Whether it be leading them to a particular player on your team, or tricking them into falling off a nearby ledge, baiting will always be a flag carriers secret weapon and I highly suggest you utilize this strategy!
IV.3: Jumps & gap closers
Jumps are fairly controversial among the community. Some think they should be allowed, while others think they should be blacklisted. Regardless of how you personally feel about jumps, I will say that knowing how to close the gap between you and the enemy is extremely important when it comes to keeping yourself alive, and being able to execute jumps will make you stand out as a player.
Remember when I said earlier "knowing is half the battle"? Well, being able to jump is the other half. Here is a quick video showing some of the more practical jumps that you can incorporate into your route:
Another thing that I've learned over the years, is that you dont always want to do whats easy, most practical, or faster. This is actually one of the greatest pieces of advice I give a lot of people that ask me questions regarding flag carrying. You WANT to learn and prioritize the jumps that require more steps & have a lower success rate.
People will try to mimic your jumps, and if you take the easier & safer choice, they most likely will too.
A great example of this is on the wings of Alliance TOT. I'll ALWAYS do the jump that requires extra jumps [RED] because I know that enemy players will try to copy me and will have a much harder time keeping up. Which is why I never do the alliance wing jump that only requires 1 wall-clip [BLUE]. Also with the red clip jump, if they fail the initial jump to point #1, they'll fall off the terrain complete and have to restart. Whereas with the blue jump, if they fail they'll still be on the wooden beam and can quickly attempt a second time.
Harder jumps = lower success rate.
Lower success rate = less enemies keeping up with you.
Utilize this.
It is worth noting, that Horde flag carriers and Alliance flag carriers will have different routes and jumps at their disposal. Therefore, they must be played differently.
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V) FAQ
Yes, I feel it is appropriate for me to include a FAQ to this guide, since I am constantly questioned as to why I (and other flag carriers) play the way we play. Hopefully this portion of the guide doesn't get overlooked, since I will be covering some of the most popular questions that I receive.
Question #1
"Why dont you always stand on the cap?"
This is a fair question, I suppose, and extremely frustrating to explain to ignorant players that assume flag carriers are throwing the game, but the answer at its core as very simple and any reasonable player should be able to comprehend it; Flag carriers dont stand on the cap because you are cornering yourself there, and essentially, putting yourself right in the enemies crosshairs. Enemies expect you to be on the cap. Not to mention, while you're there, you have no real way to peel multiple players off of you. Whereas if you're horde/alliance fence, you have 3-4 ways to quickly peel them off, multiple kite routes you can take, access to your allies when they respawn at graveyard...The list goes on and on.
A flag carrier often has to kite enemies off him, and cant afford to sit in one place for too long.
Question #2
"We've returned the flag, why didnt you capture it!?" (enemies repicked)
It's also very smart for the offensive team to delay the flag return as long as possible (in some cases, let it naturally return) to prevent the enemies from getting repicks sooner.
Question #3
"Why aren't you crossing mid? Get off of their roof!"
The final question that I plan to answer is another one that I commonly receive, and it has a lot to do with baiting & stalling; A flag carrier may often sit enemy roof for a couple of minutes to confuse the enemy team. Its a very untraditional move, that can be effective when the enemies tire of waiting for you to cross mid, and finally realize that the EFC is probably on their roof. Once they gather and head to their roof, that is your opportunity to drop and attempt to cross.
The key is to always be 2 steps ahead of the opponent, and if you can get them behind you and in their flag room, that's one less person that you have to worry about in mid.
FC streams:
https://www.twitch.tv/johneffer Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/bownerpvp Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/Cellicheals Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/verberry Druid
https://www.twitch.tv/hairytreeman Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/jwl1996 Druid
Check us out to see some crazy ankle breakers!
I) What is flag carrying?
II) Creating your flag carrier
III) Terminology
IV) Gameplay
V) FAQ
___________________________________________________________________________
I) What is flag carrying?
Self explanatory, but it is worth mentioning what this guide will be about; Flag carrying is the act of carrying the flag through Warsong Gulch. I will be sharing a fair amount of information that I have obtained over the years, with the intent of potentially improving the gameplay of others, and perhaps exposing more faces to what I personally find* to be one of the most fun ways to enjoy world of Warcraft. I hope you find this read beneficial, and I hope it may encourage you to create a flag carrier twink of your own!
Lets get started.___________________________________________________________________________
II) Creating your flag carrier
There are quite a few variables to consider minimaxing when it comes to creating and building the perfect flag carrier. Here I will be discussing everything you need to know in order to develop a character that suits your needs!
II) Creating your flag carrier
There are quite a few variables to consider minimaxing when it comes to creating and building the perfect flag carrier. Here I will be discussing everything you need to know in order to develop a character that suits your needs!
II.1: Class
Extremely versatile class, that is by far the superior choice for solo-play flag carrying. Druids are capable of purging themselves out of crowd control effects such as frostbolt, concussive shot and polymorph with their bear form ability; allowing them to weasel their way out of sticky situations. Taking advantage of that knowledge, and making use of other abilities such as rejuvenation or entangling roots can make druids incredibly mobile and very annoying to play against.
Key abilities: bear-form / bash / rejuvenation / hibernate / faerie-fire / entangling-roots
Not as versatile as the druid, but still a jack of all trades; The paladin is a durable class that can prove to be very powerful with proper awareness and positioning. Paladins can negate all movement impairing effects with their blessing of freedom ability, or stun foes in their tracks with hammer of justice.
key abilities: hammer-of-justice / blessing-of-protection / lay-on-hands / devotion-aura / holy-light / blessing-of-freedom
II.2: Race
Racials: frost-resistance / stoneform
Base stats: Strength 24, Agility 16, Stamina 25, Intellect 19, Spirit 20
Racials: perception / the-human-spirit
Base stats: Strength 22, Agility 20, Stamina 22, Intellect 20, Spirit 22Base stats: Strength 18, Agility 25, Stamina 19, Intellect 22, Spirit 22
Racials: endurance / nature-resistance / war-stomp
Base stats: Strength 26, Agility 15, Stamina 22, Intellect 17, Spirit 24
II.3: Gear
Helmet: green-tinted-goggles / lucky-fishing-hat (libram-of-constitution)
Neck: scouts-medallion / sentinels-medallion
Shoulder: talbar-mantle
Cloak: engineers-cloak (greater-resistance)
Chest: blackened-defias-armor (major-health)
Bracer: wranglers-wristbands [3/3 eagle or 5 stamina] (superior-stamina)
Gloves: scouting-gloves [4/4 eagle] (superior-agility)
Belt: deviate-scale-belt
Leg: scouting-trousers [5/5 eagle] (libram-of-constitution)
Boots: grizzled-boots / nat-pagles-extreme-anglin-boots (minor-speed)
Rings: seal-of-sylvanas / blood-ring
Trinkets: arena-grand-master / insignia-of-the-horde
Weapons: face-smasher (mighty-intellect) / furbolg-medicine-pouch
Helmet: green-tinted-goggles / lucky-fishing-hat (libram-of-constitution)
Neck: scouts-medallion / sentinels-medallion
Shoulder: talbar-mantle
Cloak: engineers-cloak (greater-resistance)
Chest: blackened-defias-armor (major-health)
Bracer: fortified-bracers [3/3 eagle or 5 stamina] (superior-stamina)
Gloves: defender-gauntlets [4/4 eagle] (superior-agility)
Belt: deviate-scale-belt
Leg: chausses-of-westfall (libram-of-constitution)
Boots: silver-linked-footguards / nat-pagles-extreme-anglin-boots (minor-speed)
Rings: seal-of-wrynn / blood-ring
Trinkets: arena-grand-master / insignia-of-the-alliance
Weapons: face-smasher (mighty-intellect) / arctic-buckler (greater-stamina)
II.4: Talents
https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/druid
-1x Nature's grasp
-4x improved nature's grasp
-3x natural shapeshifter
-2x improved entangling roots.
https://classic.wowhead.com/talent-calc/paladin
-5x redoubt
-3x improved devotion aura
-2x guardians favor
___________________________________________________________________________
III) Terminology
III) Terminology
You will encounter plenty of terms while playing Warsong Gulch, and it is very important that both you and your team are farmiliar with them all. Here is a quick list of abbreviated terms that every player should know.
FR: Flag room (refers to your factions flag room)
EFR: Enemy flag room (refers to the enemy factions flag room)
Fc: Flag carrier (refers to your flag carrier)
Efc: Enemy flag carrier (refers to the enemy flag carrier)
Gy: Graveyard (refers to your graveyard)
Egy: Enemy graveyard (refers to the enemy graveyard)
Tun: Tunnel (refers to the tunnel leading to your flag room)
Etun: Enemy tunnel (refers to the tunnel leading to the enemy flag room)
TOT: Top of tunnel (refers to the top of tunnel)
Roof: Roof (refers to the top floor of your flag room)
Eroof: Enemy roof (refers to the top floor of the enemy flag room)
Connector: (refers to the room next to FR, leading to GY)
2nd: (Refers to the small room down the hallway of the connector room)
Ramp: Ramp (refers to the rampway leading to your flag room)
Eramp: Enemy ramp (refers to the rampway leading to the enemy flag room)
Mid: Middle (refers to the middle of the map)
Cap: Capture the flag (Informs your FC to get ready to cap)
Inc: Incoming (Informs your group of incoming players)
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IV) Gameplay
Now this is where things get interesting. We've covered the basics, and it is now for me to share the information that truly makes a great flag carrier stand out from the good. Brace yourself, this will be a lot to take in!IV) Gameplay
IV.1: Scouting the Field
One of the first mistakes that I see flag carriers make is trying to cross mid without familiarizing themselves with the location of both their team and the enemy team. It is crucial to always know what classes you are going against (as enemy composition plays a vital role in how you should play) and where everyone is at. More often than not, I'll see a flag carrier say "OWM tun" after grabbing the flag, without considering the fact that enemy players may or may not be waiting outside tunnel for him...Then to his surprise, he dies in a 4v1 battle & complains to his team. You must scout the field! This is why when I pick the flag, I often head to the alliance/horde fence and get a view of what the battlefield looks like. I'll also open my map to see where my healers / control classes are. Dont feel obligated to cross mid either. Sometimes it's best to bait the enemy team through their flag room just so you can have a clear mid to cross through.
Knowing is half the battle; Never take a route just because you feel like it - Scout the map prior to advancing, because you're better safe than sorry.
IV.2: Baiting
Example A
Say your offense is struggling to kill an EFC, because the enemy team is doing an 8 man turtle on defense at their graveyard. Your team has no possibility whatsoever of securing a kill on the enemy flag carrier because they just have a much stronger team than you do. Well, there is a simple trick that I often incorporate in my gameplay that allows my team to secure a kill, and that trick is creating a diversion; If I notice my team struggling during a full Defense turtle, I'll often head over to enemy graveyard, knowing that once the enemy sees me, their priority will change from protecting their flag carrier, to killing the enemy flag carrier.
I'll either bait enemies down their graveyard then climb my way back up, or bait them down graveyard and force them to chase me back to my flag room as my team faces better odds at killing the EFC.
This is something I'd suggest trying once you've become very comfortable with the map and the players on the enemy team, as it can be extremely dangerous to make yourself vulnerable to them.
Example B
Another great example of baiting that I often do, can be performed when I dont even have the flag on my back. This trick is something I call Decoy, and I often request other players to do this for me, so I can cross mid in a safer fashion; Decoy basically means sacrificing your life for the greater good of your flag carrier.
If the enemy flag room is packed with 3-4 players and I have no possibility of making it out alive, I'll request someone else to sacrifice their life and distract the enemy team just the slightest bit, so I can drop from second floor, grab the flag, and hopefully create a little bit of distance between myself and those players anticipating my arrival.
Another quick example of this would be when I see my flag carrier exiting the enemy tunnel, and a wave of enemies just spawned: I'll often run straight into the enemies expecting them to prioritize me (because 99% of players are mindless zombies that attack whatever is in range), and I'll stall them out for as long as I can, so my flag carrier can successfully make their way to our base.
There are other ways to bait the enemies into bad positioning...Whether it be leading them to a particular player on your team, or tricking them into falling off a nearby ledge, baiting will always be a flag carriers secret weapon and I highly suggest you utilize this strategy!
IV.3: Jumps & gap closers
Remember when I said earlier "knowing is half the battle"? Well, being able to jump is the other half. Here is a quick video showing some of the more practical jumps that you can incorporate into your route:
*Keep in mind, different races/genders must execute jumps differently. Be aware of this when creating your twink!*
Another thing that I've learned over the years, is that you dont always want to do whats easy, most practical, or faster. This is actually one of the greatest pieces of advice I give a lot of people that ask me questions regarding flag carrying. You WANT to learn and prioritize the jumps that require more steps & have a lower success rate.
People will try to mimic your jumps, and if you take the easier & safer choice, they most likely will too.
A great example of this is on the wings of Alliance TOT. I'll ALWAYS do the jump that requires extra jumps [RED] because I know that enemy players will try to copy me and will have a much harder time keeping up. Which is why I never do the alliance wing jump that only requires 1 wall-clip [BLUE]. Also with the red clip jump, if they fail the initial jump to point #1, they'll fall off the terrain complete and have to restart. Whereas with the blue jump, if they fail they'll still be on the wooden beam and can quickly attempt a second time.
Harder jumps = lower success rate.
Lower success rate = less enemies keeping up with you.
Utilize this.
IV.4: Creating a route
Now that we've covered scouting, baiting, and gap closers, you can combine all of this knowledge and create a dependable route for you to regularly use and comfortably depend on in warsong gulch. The key is to always have a variety of paths at your disposal, so you dont become predictable. Dont crutch on the same exact path over, and over again because people will catch on and start anticipating your plays. Just try to mix things up and throw a curve ball now and then. But dont feel discouraged if you are somewhat predictable; I often do the same route over & over, and the majority of players I encounter still have a very difficult time keeping up with me. Remember, scout the field and know where everyone is at. This information goes a long way.
It is worth noting, that Horde flag carriers and Alliance flag carriers will have different routes and jumps at their disposal. Therefore, they must be played differently.
___________________________________________________________________________
V) FAQ
Question #1
"Why dont you always stand on the cap?"
This is a fair question, I suppose, and extremely frustrating to explain to ignorant players that assume flag carriers are throwing the game, but the answer at its core as very simple and any reasonable player should be able to comprehend it; Flag carriers dont stand on the cap because you are cornering yourself there, and essentially, putting yourself right in the enemies crosshairs. Enemies expect you to be on the cap. Not to mention, while you're there, you have no real way to peel multiple players off of you. Whereas if you're horde/alliance fence, you have 3-4 ways to quickly peel them off, multiple kite routes you can take, access to your allies when they respawn at graveyard...The list goes on and on.
A flag carrier often has to kite enemies off him, and cant afford to sit in one place for too long.
Question #2
"We've returned the flag, why didnt you capture it!?" (enemies repicked)
Another fair question, with another simple answer; Flag carriers are typically on defense with little to no help - We are forced to kite multiple players off of us in order to stay alive. With that said, we aren't always near the cap. That is why it is extremely important for the offensive team to callout when the EFC is going to drop prior, to their drop, so your flag carrier can make their way to the cap.It's also very smart for the offensive team to delay the flag return as long as possible (in some cases, let it naturally return) to prevent the enemies from getting repicks sooner.
Question #3
"Why aren't you crossing mid? Get off of their roof!"
The final question that I plan to answer is another one that I commonly receive, and it has a lot to do with baiting & stalling; A flag carrier may often sit enemy roof for a couple of minutes to confuse the enemy team. Its a very untraditional move, that can be effective when the enemies tire of waiting for you to cross mid, and finally realize that the EFC is probably on their roof. Once they gather and head to their roof, that is your opportunity to drop and attempt to cross.
The key is to always be 2 steps ahead of the opponent, and if you can get them behind you and in their flag room, that's one less person that you have to worry about in mid.
___________________________________________________________________________
I hope this read has educated the ignorance out there, and may have encouraged some of you to try to create a flag carrier twink of your own. It's a very rewarding way to enjoy the game, and there is nothing more satisfying than feeling like you single handedly can outsmart an entire team of players. Thanks for reading! Updates will likely take place!
FC streams:
https://www.twitch.tv/johneffer Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/bownerpvp Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/Cellicheals Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/verberry Druid
https://www.twitch.tv/hairytreeman Paladin
https://www.twitch.tv/jwl1996 Druid
Check us out to see some crazy ankle breakers!
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