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I am, without a doubt, totally and
utterly hopeless when it comes to PvP. I have zero redeeming
qualities, I only wish I was exaggerating. I fail at levels that you
can't even imagine, until you see it for yourself. So when Blizzard
released a brand new blog post with updates concerning PvP in
Warlords of Draenor, I read over it with a heavy sigh and a sense of
duty.

I started reading fully expected to be
fully and totally disinterested, considering my past and present
experiences with PvP. With that being said, I was pleasantly
surprised. After checking out the latest on PvP in Warlords, I can't
help but be kind of excited. It seems like there will be a lot of
great stuff to look forward to, even for PvP failures (like me).
Here's what we have to look forward to:

Goodbye to the Trial of the Gladiator

We were first introduced to the idea of
the Trail of the Gladiator. A ranked Arena competition that would
only be available during certain hours for play and would require
players to wear special gear. Behind this was the idea to concentrate
intense competition into very specific times and being able to
accurately match players against competitive and worthwhile
opponents. Sort of like a high end raid for PvP.

While this system sounds good in
writing, the community saw some major flaws. One of which was the
inability of some players to make the specific times set forth.
Blizzard took these concerns to heart and went about evaluating the
system. Unfortunately, the Trial of the Gladiator was deemed to be
unsalvagable. So, we won't be seeing it in Warlords of Draenor, or
perhaps ever.

Don't be sad though!I'm certainly not,
considering the Trial of the Gladiator probably would have required
some PvP skill. With this feature gone, Blizzard has decided to focus
their efforts on some other fun ways to PvP. And, in this authors
humble opinion, they are totally going in the right direction. Check
it out:

Hello Skirmishes

Take for example Skirmishes. Skirmishes
are a new, old feature that are being added in Warlords of Draenor.
Skirmishes used to go hand in hand with ranked Arena play and was
pretty similar to ranked play. Since they were so similar, and very
few players participated in them, Skirmishes got the boot in
Cataclysm.

However, there has been a pretty high
demand for some PvP with less pressure. Especially from players like
me, who might be interested in PvP, if it wasn't so competitive. No
one wants to be the wobbly wheel on the Arena team or the person the
team has to carry match to match. It is no fun for anyone involved.

So, the idea of Skirmishes was
revisited and, happily, they will be reappearing in Warlord of
Draenor. However, while the idea is the same, they are new and
improved. Now Skirmishes will be a form of unranked Arena play that
will allow players to queue for 2v2 or 3v3 battles with friends OR
individually. That's right ladies and gentlemen, you will be able to
PvP all by yourself, something that is pretty appealing to me.

While this is certainly exciting, it
gets better. You see, winning a Skirmish will reward you. Players who
win will get Honor and a random bonus, like gold, more Honor, or
Conquest Points. Who would have thought that Honor could ever be
obtained from these babies? I know I wasn't expecting it when I first
read about them, but it is pretty exciting nonetheless.

Spectator Invite System

The good stuff doesn't stop there. For
those players who play more top-end PvP, Warlords of Draenor will be
featuring an exciting addition; a Spectator Invite System. This
system will allow a match organizer to invite two teams to face off
in a War Game. Once the match begins, anyone in the match organizer's
party will be able to watch the two teams battle to the death. Also
coming with this new system is Tournament Mode gear, a special set of
equipment that can only be used in War Games and designed to keep
teams on equal ground.

This is something that players have
been doing for awhile, with the use of third-party add-ons. However,
Blizzard has finally decided to add it directly into the game. No
more jumping through hoops to observe a PvP match!

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That doesn't mean that these add-on
developers are out of business. Blizzard will be opening the feature
up so that developers can come up with cool new tools for the
tournament organizers. The possibilities here are immense, especially
considering how creature add-on developers have proven to be.

This feature is also exciting for
players like me, who would much rather be on the sidelines than in
the frey. While I typically shy away from participating in PvP, I do
like to watch teams face off. It can be very exciting, especially
when you get two teams who are very skilled.

Warlords of Draenor PvP

The new PvP features announced for
Warlords should have all types of players looking forward to them.
From top-level competitiors, to players more on my skill level, it
seems that PvP in the next WoW expansion is shaping up to have a
little bit of something for everyone. This expansion keeps looking
better and better, even in the PvP department, and that is a pretty
big compliment coming from me.

What do you think of the new additions
coming to PvP in Warlords of Draenor? What other features would you
like to see added or removed? Share your thoughts with us in the
comments section below!