Could the veteran players explain the basic dueling rules or conventions of dueling to me?
I was invited to duel a rogue in Tarren Mill a few days ago and he was really upset that I didn’t “let the Rogue open” (meaning let him attack first).
I’m bad at dueling.
I barely won.
I had a great time and thanked him.
Then he started cursing at me for not letting him open.
So is this true?
Are there basic conventions of dueling that people follow?
A lot of people played pvp private servers like henhouse (instant 60 server dedicated to dueling where cds would reset after each duel) and there was a general agreement there that you would let warriors and rogues open.
However on classic i have seen nothing like that and when i asked my guild they said that they dont let any class get open deliberately.
My guess is the guy is from a pvp private server.
Edit: i’d just like to add that the logic behind it is that it is more realistic of the open world, rather than a hunter sitting on a flare and trap. However warlocks being able to pick a pet that best suits the duel is obviously not like the open world. So there really is no perfect way of doing it.
I let warriors charge and rogues ambush/cheap shot, but thats just personal choice.
I can’t for the life of me understand why. that’s just idiotic. warriors sure I can see cause they suck solo. but rogues? they get to open first and your probably gonna stay stun locked until dead.
About the only rule back in Vanilla was “Don’t use consumables”, if you potted in a duel it meant you were bad.
A streamer named TipsOutBaby is hosting a dueling tournament called Classic Duelers League, with a prize pool of $15,000. I was watching a stream of him going through the T&C’s, and one of the rules was you must allow a rogue to open on you. You can’t pull them out of stealth by any means before they’ve clicked their first ability on you.
Do you know if you have to let warriors charge in the tournament Betaheal?
Yeah, there are unspoken rules of dueling, like letting warriors/rogues get the opener or not using potions.
Duels are fair to some extent, It’s not wpvp where everything goes. If you didn’t let warriors get a charge, they’d just die. Same goes for rogues. What’s the point in knocking rogues off stealth and then just destroying them? If rogues can’t get an opener, what’s the point in fighting them?
I’m uncertain of that one, sorry. I only specifically remember the rogue part as it was new information I’d never heard of, so I paid more attention.
Thanks all! Very interesting responses!
That’s fine. I can look it up. Thanks for the tournament information 
Its part of the gentlemen’s agreement.
If the Rogue sees you spamming aoe trying to get him out he would never run into it and get knocked off of stealth so he just sits there in stealth waiting for a chance to open. The duel would be a stalemate with nothing happening.
No problem mate. It’s an interesting question and discussion, i’m glad that you asked.
Never give a rogue an even break.
What if it’s a warrior vs a rogue, who gets the opener?
Should I go sit on your trap, so you get the opener?
It’s only fair, right?
I’ll let a rogue stealth before the duel. That’s as far as my courtesy goes. If they get the jump on me, good for them. If I find them and pop them out of stealth, good for me.
Regardless, duel rules are what the game makes them; anything additional should be discussed before the fight if people want to get hurt backsides about it.
I agree with this. Don’t let anyone convince you to take a handicap, like ‘let me stun lock you for a while, and then you can fight back’. LMAO.
Which is monumentally stupid considering how many options a rogue has for regaining stealth. Warriors though, if you don’t get your charge, I hope bloodrage alone is enough to get your rage generation to cascade.
First rule is to expect rogues not to lose well.
This has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard, first you cant use alchemy but they can use engineering…now you have to let them get the first hit?? …it all reminds me of playing fighter games when I was younger with friends …I am new to this game go easy on me…the only way people can win is by handicapping their opponent, I will use EVERY tool and ability available to me I am sorry not sorry that my arcane explosion takes you out of stealth if it hits you
…get gud.
Yeah, I treat a duel like I treat someone in battle. Kill or be killed. Didn’t get me first? Act faster. Why the hell would you sit and LET someone come smack you with their strongest abilities back to back and keep you stunlocked if that’s not how it’s 100% guaranteed to go?