Trilium
Legend
Title:
Positioning and Movement around the Gulch (For PuGs)
Quick Introduction:
Since this is going out to all different brackets, I thought I would do a quick introduction on who I am. Hello */wave*, I am Trilium most known for my involvement in the 19 bracket as a rogue. I have also participated in brackets such as the 20/24 bracket. I am somewhat of a veteran player, playing for 8-9 years, and I am hoping to contribute somewhat useful knowledge to newer players verse veteran players who already know what I am talking about.
General Summary:
Boasting over 2800+ flag returns, I have learned how much of an essential skill it is to know how to move around Warsong Gulch. Whether it is infamous “jump” tricks, or just your general position on the battlefield, both can contribute towards victory for your team. Being at the right place at the right time can mean a return, cap, or essential peel your team needs to win the entire game. Over my long World of Warcraft experience, I have seen countless players wandering around in terrible positions leading to the eventual downfall of a team that could have won the game. This is aimed at all these people so they know when to stay defence, when to break off offense, whether they should chop mid, etc.
Table Of Contents:
- General positioning in midfield
- Offense or Defense?
- ”Jump” Tricks
- Conclusion
General Positioning in Midfield:
You’re charging out your factions tunnel furiously thirsting for that pure euphoria you experience when you land that killing blow, but some things come to mind first. Do I try to chop them in mid? Do I go around them? Should I follow my team? Should I do my own thing? You are instantly bombarded with an array of questions that can determine the rest of your life (of your character before you rez).
My first strategy is to look around: What is your team doing? What is the other team doing? You always want to support your teammates to the best of your ability, but if 4 of them are plowing into the other team 4v10 while the remainder of your team avoids the mid-battle entirely, you dying will not contribute anything to your team.
As a healer in midfield, you have a unique role because you don't want to be near the enemy, but near your team. Your basic position should be behind the group to avoid CC and damage, but not far enough where you can't heal and get picked off by a rogue.
So the goal is to avoid death while assisting your team is the overall goal of capping flags. Objectives are the whole point of the game, so you need to do whatever it takes to capture/return those flags! I thought the best way to explain this way explaining some scenarios.
Scenario 1: Your team advances towards the other team in midfield to attempt to chop them, every member of your team is going for it, do you follow them in the chop?
Answer: From the circumstances listed, I would say yes support your team in this assault because without you being there, a 9v10 puts them at a disadvantage. The only exception to this is if you can offer some type of flag carrying capabilities to your team while they hold them off in midfield.
Scenario 2: The majority of your team is in mid and your flag carrier is coming out the opposing factions tunnel and is clearly in need of help, do you abandon your 8 other team mates to assist this one?
Answer: Yes! Objectives, objectives, objectives is something I can’t stress enough. Your team can have the most damage, kills, and least amount of deaths but it all boils down to who captured the most flags. The two primary objectives in Warsong Gulch are 1. Holding/Capturing the flags, and 2. Returning the flags. Hopefully your other teammates see this and you all move in to assist your flag carrier together.
Scenario 3: Your flag carrier is alone and has 8 members of the opposing faction on him killing him, you are equidistant from the horde base and your Flag Carrier. Do you drop back and attempt to assist him, or do you progress for a return/repick?
Answer: If your flag carrier is alone and death is imminent, I would say full speed forward! You want to prevent that cap at all costs, whether it requires you returning it before he dies or repicking the flag from the horde base. You want to take the option that bests prevents the other team from capping the flag.
Offense or Defense:
When mid-strat is not in play, a big question the average player would have is do I stay and protect my flag carrier or go for the return on offense? You being the adaptive player, will need to examine all the factors and decide which will increase your chances of victory.
My first step in deciding this is looking at the score of the match. I can’t even count how many times my team was winning, and we lost because we ran an aggressive offensive strategy. I am not saying turtle the flag whenever you’re winning, rather run a more defensive strategy which still applying pressure to the other team.
Another useful tip would be to try and take up the inverse role of the majority of your teammates. If most of your team is on offense, try to help defense, and the opposite is true. No matter your class or spec, you can always offer some type of peel support on defense or damage on offense. The only role the inverse rule doesn't apply to is healers. You are going to want to go offense of defense depending on where your other healers are. If you are the sole healer, most likely you are going to want to stay defense to heal your flag carrier.
That leads into my next topic of healer positioning. As a healer, you should always be near someone, because alone you are not only vulnerable to enemies but you are not fulfilling your job as a healer, which is to keep your team alive. Although your primary goal is to keep your FC alive so the other team doesn't cap, you also need to keep your other teammates alive. Whether it is offense of defense, try to remain behind your teammates to avoid people attacking you.
“Jump” Tricks:
This section is directed towards newer players, and not really to the 19 bracket as many of this knowledge is common. “Jump” tricks are certain areas in the terrain that you can use to your advantage to kite other players. These are essential to know because if you are versing a Flag Carrier who knows them, you won’t be able to return, and by knowing them as a flag carrier it will allow you to more effectively flag carry.
They are so many jump tricks I don’t even know where to begin, but in this article I am going to over the basic ones.
1. Alliance Tunnel Jump - Difficulty 3.5
-This jump is great to “LoS” range pressure and usually altogether avoid melee damage. There are few different ways to get here, but these are my personal favorites.
2. Horde Tunnel Jump - Difficulty 3
- I decided to include this jump, because it is so easy and I have seen so many people mess it up. There are a lot of different movements you can do around horde tunnel, but this is just the basic jump to get to the second “floor”. There is an invisible ledge, so just walk out to your right, and then jump left.
3. Side of Field Double Stump - Difficulty 1.5
- This is just a simple run up the root and jump from stump to stump. Not particularly effective against range, but good for kiting melee.
4. Alliance Ramp Shortcut - Difficulty 5.5
- This is a one jump shortcut to lose melee, it may not seem very different from just walking on the path, but it’s always comical how many people will try to follow you and lose you.
5. Alliance Mid-Stump #1 - Difficulty 3
- For this you just need to walk up on the triangle I marked. It appears as if you wouldn’t be able to walk up it, but it works. If people don’t know about this, they usually won’t be able to figure out the way up.
- There are a lot more tricks like these, but these are the basics that will allow you to FC/keep up with flag carriers who know them.
Conclusion:
A lot of your positioning has to do with is experience and examining the factors so you know where to be that would most benefit your team. This review is just my personal opinion, and hopefully some newer players took some useful tips from it. The whole point of Warsong Gulch is to capture the flag, and you want to put yourself in a position where you can most effectively achieve this goal. I would really love to hear your questions, comments, and constructive criticism so feel free to post below.
Also, if you have a suggestion what I should write about for my new article, please feel free to direct message me/comment below. Possibly more focus on jumps with video tutorials? Let me know. Thank you.
Positioning and Movement around the Gulch (For PuGs)
Quick Introduction:
Since this is going out to all different brackets, I thought I would do a quick introduction on who I am. Hello */wave*, I am Trilium most known for my involvement in the 19 bracket as a rogue. I have also participated in brackets such as the 20/24 bracket. I am somewhat of a veteran player, playing for 8-9 years, and I am hoping to contribute somewhat useful knowledge to newer players verse veteran players who already know what I am talking about.
General Summary:
Boasting over 2800+ flag returns, I have learned how much of an essential skill it is to know how to move around Warsong Gulch. Whether it is infamous “jump” tricks, or just your general position on the battlefield, both can contribute towards victory for your team. Being at the right place at the right time can mean a return, cap, or essential peel your team needs to win the entire game. Over my long World of Warcraft experience, I have seen countless players wandering around in terrible positions leading to the eventual downfall of a team that could have won the game. This is aimed at all these people so they know when to stay defence, when to break off offense, whether they should chop mid, etc.
Table Of Contents:
- General positioning in midfield
- Offense or Defense?
- ”Jump” Tricks
- Conclusion
General Positioning in Midfield:
You’re charging out your factions tunnel furiously thirsting for that pure euphoria you experience when you land that killing blow, but some things come to mind first. Do I try to chop them in mid? Do I go around them? Should I follow my team? Should I do my own thing? You are instantly bombarded with an array of questions that can determine the rest of your life (of your character before you rez).
My first strategy is to look around: What is your team doing? What is the other team doing? You always want to support your teammates to the best of your ability, but if 4 of them are plowing into the other team 4v10 while the remainder of your team avoids the mid-battle entirely, you dying will not contribute anything to your team.
As a healer in midfield, you have a unique role because you don't want to be near the enemy, but near your team. Your basic position should be behind the group to avoid CC and damage, but not far enough where you can't heal and get picked off by a rogue.
So the goal is to avoid death while assisting your team is the overall goal of capping flags. Objectives are the whole point of the game, so you need to do whatever it takes to capture/return those flags! I thought the best way to explain this way explaining some scenarios.
Scenario 1: Your team advances towards the other team in midfield to attempt to chop them, every member of your team is going for it, do you follow them in the chop?
Answer: From the circumstances listed, I would say yes support your team in this assault because without you being there, a 9v10 puts them at a disadvantage. The only exception to this is if you can offer some type of flag carrying capabilities to your team while they hold them off in midfield.
Scenario 2: The majority of your team is in mid and your flag carrier is coming out the opposing factions tunnel and is clearly in need of help, do you abandon your 8 other team mates to assist this one?
Answer: Yes! Objectives, objectives, objectives is something I can’t stress enough. Your team can have the most damage, kills, and least amount of deaths but it all boils down to who captured the most flags. The two primary objectives in Warsong Gulch are 1. Holding/Capturing the flags, and 2. Returning the flags. Hopefully your other teammates see this and you all move in to assist your flag carrier together.
Scenario 3: Your flag carrier is alone and has 8 members of the opposing faction on him killing him, you are equidistant from the horde base and your Flag Carrier. Do you drop back and attempt to assist him, or do you progress for a return/repick?
Answer: If your flag carrier is alone and death is imminent, I would say full speed forward! You want to prevent that cap at all costs, whether it requires you returning it before he dies or repicking the flag from the horde base. You want to take the option that bests prevents the other team from capping the flag.
Offense or Defense:
When mid-strat is not in play, a big question the average player would have is do I stay and protect my flag carrier or go for the return on offense? You being the adaptive player, will need to examine all the factors and decide which will increase your chances of victory.
My first step in deciding this is looking at the score of the match. I can’t even count how many times my team was winning, and we lost because we ran an aggressive offensive strategy. I am not saying turtle the flag whenever you’re winning, rather run a more defensive strategy which still applying pressure to the other team.
Another useful tip would be to try and take up the inverse role of the majority of your teammates. If most of your team is on offense, try to help defense, and the opposite is true. No matter your class or spec, you can always offer some type of peel support on defense or damage on offense. The only role the inverse rule doesn't apply to is healers. You are going to want to go offense of defense depending on where your other healers are. If you are the sole healer, most likely you are going to want to stay defense to heal your flag carrier.
That leads into my next topic of healer positioning. As a healer, you should always be near someone, because alone you are not only vulnerable to enemies but you are not fulfilling your job as a healer, which is to keep your team alive. Although your primary goal is to keep your FC alive so the other team doesn't cap, you also need to keep your other teammates alive. Whether it is offense of defense, try to remain behind your teammates to avoid people attacking you.
“Jump” Tricks:
This section is directed towards newer players, and not really to the 19 bracket as many of this knowledge is common. “Jump” tricks are certain areas in the terrain that you can use to your advantage to kite other players. These are essential to know because if you are versing a Flag Carrier who knows them, you won’t be able to return, and by knowing them as a flag carrier it will allow you to more effectively flag carry.
They are so many jump tricks I don’t even know where to begin, but in this article I am going to over the basic ones.
1. Alliance Tunnel Jump - Difficulty 3.5
-This jump is great to “LoS” range pressure and usually altogether avoid melee damage. There are few different ways to get here, but these are my personal favorites.
2. Horde Tunnel Jump - Difficulty 3
- I decided to include this jump, because it is so easy and I have seen so many people mess it up. There are a lot of different movements you can do around horde tunnel, but this is just the basic jump to get to the second “floor”. There is an invisible ledge, so just walk out to your right, and then jump left.
3. Side of Field Double Stump - Difficulty 1.5
- This is just a simple run up the root and jump from stump to stump. Not particularly effective against range, but good for kiting melee.
4. Alliance Ramp Shortcut - Difficulty 5.5
- This is a one jump shortcut to lose melee, it may not seem very different from just walking on the path, but it’s always comical how many people will try to follow you and lose you.
5. Alliance Mid-Stump #1 - Difficulty 3
- For this you just need to walk up on the triangle I marked. It appears as if you wouldn’t be able to walk up it, but it works. If people don’t know about this, they usually won’t be able to figure out the way up.
- There are a lot more tricks like these, but these are the basics that will allow you to FC/keep up with flag carriers who know them.
Conclusion:
A lot of your positioning has to do with is experience and examining the factors so you know where to be that would most benefit your team. This review is just my personal opinion, and hopefully some newer players took some useful tips from it. The whole point of Warsong Gulch is to capture the flag, and you want to put yourself in a position where you can most effectively achieve this goal. I would really love to hear your questions, comments, and constructive criticism so feel free to post below.
Also, if you have a suggestion what I should write about for my new article, please feel free to direct message me/comment below. Possibly more focus on jumps with video tutorials? Let me know. Thank you.
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