Warsong Gulch

Silverwing Hold

he calm over Ashenvale was pierced by the shriek of goblin shredders grinding into motion, tearing into trunks. Gorshaka grinned as she wheeled the worg around and gestured to two others with her spear. Together the trio rode confidently across the plain toward the enemy base.

A quick look around the entrance ramp confirmed it was deserted; with weapons ready, the attack party followed warily behind their leader as she strode into the lair of the night elves...

"Just a few steps closer..." Aron thought, his breath held as he kneeled on a perch overlooking the flag room below. The stench of unwashed orcs drifted through the corridor long before they showed themselves. The filthy creatures were sauntering into the stronghold as if they owned the place!

The orc wench and her two lackeys strode in, closing in on the battle standard displayed proudly in the main hall. He unsheathed his daggers. The time was right.

Aron jumped down from his hiding place behind the trailing orc and shouted, "NOW!" He stabbed swiftly at the unprotected back of the shaman, and the orc quickly fell to Aron's poisoned blades. Two other night elves appeared from concealment, weapons drawn and springing into action.

Gorshaka whipped around, eyes wide. A trap! She shoved the remaining orc forward. "Grab the flag," Gorshaka yelled, as she drew her sword.

The young orc stumbled blindly toward the flag, too terrified to notice the menacing Freezing Trap set in his path. Instantly he was caught in its teeth, unable to move or to scream. The trap's owner took aim and let fly three arrows in rapid succession, and Aron and the remaining night elf pounced on the stunned orc with vengeance in their hearts.

Boots of Speed

Realizing she was caught fighting a losing battle, Gorshaka turned and fled down the hallway, leaving her acolyte to his fate. All too soon, trailing shouts in the alien elf-tongue echoed behind her. Pursuit was not far behind.

She'd seen something on her way in... there! Off to the side, a strange magical rune of some sort. The swift elves were closing in on her. The warrior grabbed the rune in desperation, her chances of escape quickly fading. The rune burst in her hand, and magic flooded into Gorshaka's body, strengthening her legs. She felt renewed, recharged. Glancing back once at the angry throng just behind her, the orc dashed away at speeds rivaling her worg at full charge. The defenders were left far behind as she left their compound and fled to the safety of the lumber mill.

Gorshaka slowed to a walk as she entered her own base. The night elves were trickier than she had assumed. She would be ready next time - that base, and the whole of the forest, would belong to the Warsong clan in good time.

Welcome to Warsong Gulch

The development team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on this, the second battleground. Alterac Valley is designed to be the epic battle, with teams of 40 fighting each other for domination, while Warsong Gulch is meant to be the 10-man-team mini-campaign. A maximum of 20 people, 10 per side, may enter into a game of Warsong Gulch.

By releasing Warsong Gulch with Alterac Valley, we want to demonstrate that a battleground's core focus is fun and engaging team gameplay. Everything else is flexible.

Concept

The goal is to take the other team's flag and bring it back to your own base while your flag remains intact. A capture wins the round, and three captures wins the battle.

Warsong Gulch Map

Warsong Gulch is designed for small, balanced teams, and a game of Warsong will not start without the requisite 10 members per side. We want to make Warsong Gulch a fast-paced affair, and team balancing is a very important part of making the experience fun for all participants. In addition, players will be grouped by level sets of 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, and 51-60. Every consideration was made to create an environment you can jump into and get involved in right away.

There are two bases on the field - Silverwing Hold to the north and Warsong Lumber Mill to the south. In between lies a dense field of brush and tree stumps - perfect for covering your tracks in your comings and goings.

Silverwing Hold vs. Warsong Lumber Mill

Each base has three entrances. The main entrance is a long ramp located in the front of the base. Within the ramp are Boots of Speed (a special battleground item) that will grant you greatly increased run speed for several seconds. The other two entrances either take you straight into the flag room or onto a balcony that overlooks it. These entrances are closer to the flag, but they also take longer to reach and have no special items along the way. Attached to the ramp is a detour that leads to the top of the base. This path, while a great deal longer, is a good strategic point from which to view the entire flag room while avoiding detection.

Located on the field, close to each base, are several huts that also house special items which can give advantages to the players who obtain them.

Flag carriers

Retrieving the Flag

True to its massively multiplayer roots, Warsong Gulch is designed for team play, and players will quickly discover the value of teamwork in determining the outcome of a battle.

Should a player take the enemy's flag, that player will not be able to mount, forcing him or her to run the length of the field back to the home base. Without support players to escort the flag carrier, the enemy could quickly reclaim the flag. Likewise, a single defender would be hard pressed to stop an attack party. Thus, everything must be coordinated in a team effort of balancing offense vs. defense.

Unique Battleground user interface

User Interface Once you enter Warsong Gulch through the red portals, you will notice two small icons at the top of the screen that indicate the amount of captures for both sides. In the minimap is another icon, which you can click to open a scoreboard that displays individual statistics for all players during the game, including Honorable Kills, Killing Blows, Deaths, Honor Gained, Flags Returned, and Flags Captured. Each Battleground will have unique user interface elements designed around the gameplay of that Battleground.

Where do I sign-up?

Warsong Gulch Entrance

Warsong Gulch is currently in testing on the Public Test Realms. To join the fight, Horde should head to the northern Barrens to find the entrance to Warsong Gulch, while the Alliance will find their red portal in southeastern Ashenvale.

The gauntlet has been thrown and the stage has been set for this test of skill and strategy, pitting the Horde vs. the Alliance in the battle for domination of Ashenvale. Assemble your team and challenge your enemies; glory and honor await you on the battlefields of Azeroth!