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· Honor System Launches · Test of Honor Contest · WoW Spotlight:   Battling Onyxia · On the Horizon:   Battlegrounds Player Guides: Warrior Guide Druid FAQ Hunter FAQ Paladin Talent Guide Check out the latest Fan Art: See More! PvP strip by Scott Kurtz See More! Forward To A Friend

Watch every fork in the road, travel in packs, and keep your weapons close at hand - player-versus-player (PvP) combat in World of Warcraft just got a little more competitive. The Honor System is up and running, and players will be ranked weekly based on how well they do in the PvP game and can earn special rewards based on that rank. We recently caught up with Tom Chilton - a Lead Designer on the World of Warcraft team - and asked him a few questions about the Honor System and how it was implemented. Why was it decided to implement a ranking system [in World of Warcraft] that is similar to the Warcraft® III ladders on Battle.net®? Since player-versus-player (PvP) is competitive by nature, we felt that the system that measures success in World of Warcraft's PvP should be a competitive system. A ladder-style ranking offers many benefits that other systems don't. For example, since a limited number of players at any given time can make use of the PvP rewards, it ensures that the honor system rewards are very meaningful without running the risk of the PvP rewards drastically devaluing PvE loot (i.e. if it took less total playtime to get the PvP rewards in comparison to the player-vs-environment (PvE loot). This is important to us as PvP and PvE are both aspects of World of Warcraft as a whole, and not two games that are completely independent of each other. In addition, a ladder-style system ensures that players entering the game long after the honor system has been active have a chance to rise to the top ranks. . . 'Test of Honor' Contest - Play to Win an nVidia® 6800 Graphics Card! To celebrate the launch of the Honor System, Blizzard is giving away top-of-line nVidia 6800 series graphics cards and other prizes to lucky participants in player-versus-player combat. How It Works: Everyone that participates in player-versus-player combat from the time it is patched into the game until the contest ends on May 24th will have a chance to win prizes ranging from nVidia graphics cards to free WoW gametime. The higher your ranking in the Honor System on May 24th, the better your chances of winning - but anyone that participates has an opportunity to win something. For every rank you advance in the Honor System during the contest, you will receive 100 'virtual tickets' that are each a chance to win*. The Prizes: 100 First Prizes: nVidia® GeForce™ 6800 Ultra Graphics Card and a Kingston DataTraveler Elite 256 MB USB Flash Drive 300 Second Prizes: One free month of World of Warcraft gametime Also, the top player for each faction (Horde and Alliance) on each server according to the honor system rankings on May 24th will receive a custom in-game Tabard proclaiming their prowess. * No purchase necessary to enter or win. Must be an adult in your country of citizenship, or over the age of 13 with your parent or guardian's permission, and a resident of the U.S.A., Canada, Australia or New Zealand to enter. Void where prohibited. Directors, officers and employees of Sponsor, its parent, and any of their respective affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families of each are not eligible to win any prizes. Odds of winning dependent upon the number of entries and PvP Honor rankings achieved. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Alternate "mail in" method of entry available. Blizzard Entertainment is not be responsible for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, damaged, postage due or misdirected entries or mail. See Official Rules for details.

	WoW Gameplay Spotlight: Battling Onyxia the Dragon Dragons are among the deadliest denizens of Azeroth - gigantic and graceful, cunning and terrible in their wrath. Onyxia ranks high among the dragonken of Blackrock, the brood of Deathwing, and is one of the most dangerous foes in World of Warcraft. In this featured snapshot from the game, watch a brave raid group take on this fearsome creature...and prevail!
	On the Horizon: Battlegrounds Warcraft is a universe constantly in strife, shaped by nearly unceasing warfare among the vast armies of the numerous conflicting factions of Azeroth. These large-scale battles will soon find their way into World of Warcraft, as special zones designed for large team-combat play are released in the 'Battlegrounds' patch. The first of these new areas is Alterac Valley, but several others are in the works and will make their way into the game over the next few months. Along with the Honor System that has just launched, the Battlegrounds will expand the PvP aspect of World of Warcraft and provide new incentives for warriors to battle it out for the domination of Azeroth. Watch for this new zone in a future patch. Check here for more information on Battlegrounds, including a preview of Alterac Valley and how this new zone will play.

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