When Blizzard released the Cataclysm expansion for World of Warcraft, we marveled at just about everything it had to offer. The spiffy new zones like Vashj’ir and the return of crowd control in dungeons. But one feature stuck out like a sore thumb because it was the very definition of unfair, uncool and un-fun. This is Tol Barad.
Tol Barad is a world PvP zone where max-level 85 players fight for control of the island. The attacking side tries to conquer the defending side to seize possession of the island, and reap questing privileges and raiding access to Baradin Hold. Think of it as turf war for use of the playground. Problem was the attackers almost always lose, especially when defenders were at least semi-awake.
Blizzard has even admitted the depth of changes needed to make Tol Barad enjoyable for PvP, with lead content designer Cory Stockton confirming a nerf for defenders:
“[W]e intend to make several updates in the next minor patch to address design and balance issues affecting attackers that we can’t address with hotfixes. For example, we plan to alter the battle slightly so that a team with two bases captured can more quickly and easily capture the third, as opposed to a team with one or zero bases. This way, if the defenders turtle up, it’ll be a little easier for the attackers to take their last base before the defense can take one of the attackers’ other bases.”
With Blizzard gimping Tol Barad defenders, speculation is high on how the change will be implemented–will attackers receive a temporary buff once two nodes are down? Or will defenders respawn slower to avoid the dreaded circle zerg? We’ll keep our eyes and Tol Barad rant forums open in case more news come in.