I’d love to see Rated Battlegrounds and/or Arena added to WoW Forever so PvP has a meaningful form of rating-based skill expression.
Regular BGs are fun, but without matchmaking, rating, or a ladder, there isn’t really a competitive environment where players can consistently test themselves against similarly skilled opponents.
A rated system would give PvP players something meaningful to progress toward beyond simply farming Honor:
- Visible rating / MMR
- Seasonal ladders
- Rated Arena and Battlegrounds
- Rewards tied primarily to rating, prestige, titles, cosmetics, mounts, etc.
- A reason for organized PvP teams and communities to form
- Long-term competitive content between major PvE releases
It also doesn’t need to replace or negatively impact normal Battlegrounds. Casual BGs can remain exactly as they are while rated modes exist for players who want a more competitive experience.
WoW Forever already puts a lot of emphasis on player expression, class knowledge, gearing, and mastering the game. A rated PvP environment would give players another place to demonstrate that mastery.
PvE has parses, speed clears, progression, and rankings. PvP should have its equivalent.
Give us a ladder to climb.
70 Likes
No - The Laynerz RMT cabal deserve to lose their flats due to lack of work.
27 Likes
Just no. There’s a new PvP system in place, and we haven’t even seen it work yet. How about we see how this rank up and season change thing works?
36 Likes
There is no rating to discern skill in the WoW Forever pvp system. It rewards afking battlegrounds.
15 Likes
If arenas ever are added, I hope they only add 5v5. It’s the one true bracket where skill can actually be expressed and the ladder is harder to manipulate.
5 Likes
Again, we haven’t seen the new system. It’s possible there are changes that ruin that afk concept. I honestly don’t know why anyone thinks that’s efficient anyways. You get the most honor from winning.
1 Like
Why should skilled players have to compete with people who simply have more time to spam BGs? A rating system rewards performance rather than just hours played. You should be able to have a job, a life outside the game, and still progress based on how well you play.
11 Likes
Love the rated bgs on retail, would love to see it added in Forever.
11 Likes
It appears to me that the new system isn’t like the old (if you don’t play 20 hours a day you can’t make rank). It seems to be an individual progression stream, with levels and rewards that reset ever so often.
That’s fair if the new system really is mostly personal progression rather than a pure time grind. My point is that rated PvP would still give players a way to distinguish skill from participation. Even if everyone can progress at their own pace, there should still be something for players who want competitive matchmaking, meaningful rating, and rewards tied to performance rather than just time spent in BGs.
5 Likes
No, just like mythic plus RBGs and Arenas go against the design philosophy of Forever.
6 Likes
They never addressed what happens when you hit r14. Just like anniversary I’m sure once you hit the r14, most people won’t BG again. Just need some repetitive, end-game, rated PvP to keep the PvP crowd happy
5 Likes
Arenas aren’t really comparable to Mythic+. The concept of arena PvP already existed in Vanilla with places like Gurubashi; what Vanilla didn’t have was the formal rated 2v2/3v3/5v5 system. That system arrived with patch 2.0 in the TBC pre-patch. So I don’t think adding rated arena to Forever is some massive departure from Vanilla’s design philosophy. It’s taking a PvP concept that already existed in Vanilla and actually giving competitive players structured matchmaking and rating.
10 Likes
This is the part that bothers me. Even IF enough people say “just cosmetic” once it’s here, they’ll be begging for like conquest gear that will then outpace BG gear, and in some cases be better than raid gear. Which has an outward impact on other players, like world PvP for example. Don’t say it won’t happen, because we both know it will, people crying for gear, then the gear ends up needing to match the current raid tier, and it’s “oh this is harder than BGs, so we need better gear, etc..
2 Likes
If they’re already talking about PvP seasons, that pretty strongly implies the progression isn’t meant to be permanent. I’d expect ranks/rewards to reset or rotate in some form each season. That actually makes the argument for rated PvP stronger—once people hit the seasonal cap, Arena/RBG rating gives PvP players something competitive and repeatable to keep pushing instead of just finishing the grind and quitting BGs.
4 Likes
5s wen. TBC IS DEAD :
: NO MAINHAND FOR YOU :: THAT OFFHAND ISN’T EVEN YOUR BIS
2 Likes
I get that concern, but that’s an argument against overpowered rated rewards, not against rated PvP itself.
Rated Arena/RBGs don’t need to introduce a separate conquest gear ladder that outscales BG or raid gear. Keep the power level in line with existing PvP gear and make the higher-rating rewards titles, mounts, cosmetics, prestige, or alternative access to the same gear.
The point of rating is giving PvP players something competitive to keep pushing after they’ve finished the normal honor/rank progression—not creating another mandatory gear treadmill.
8 Likes
No, I am a pvper in retail and I dont even do rated stuff. The toxicity in rated matches is unbearable.
3 Likes
That’s completely fair, but that’s also the point: rated PvP would be optional. If you don’t enjoy the competitive environment, you can keep playing unrated BGs exactly like you do now. Other players wanting a rating system, matchmaking, and long-term competitive progression doesn’t take anything away from you.
“Toxic players exist in rated” isn’t really an argument against having rated PvP—it’s an argument for having good moderation, reporting, and matchmaking systems.
8 Likes
Rated brings to much gatekeeping and toxicity. I don’t agree.
5 Likes