So you hate PvP...

For as long as I can remember in WoW, dungeons and raids have commanded a much higher level of interest among players than battlegrounds and arenas. Blizzard themselves were largely responsible for this in the earlier days - battlegrounds were long and inconvenient to queue for, rewarded no gold or experience and tended to attract elite (read: e-peen) players. As for arenas - if you were a casual player, forget it. They were intimidating, crushing and slightly mysterious places best to be avoided.

Thanks to many improvements in game design, PvP is now a less gruelling and much more rewarding experience, but enthusiasm for it has nonetheless been slow to spread among the player base.

For me, PvP is one of the most fun, varied and exciting parts of WoW, and I would like nothing more than to see as much interest within our guild for PvP as there is for dungeons and raiding. To that end, I'm going to spearhead an effort to get things moving, beginning with the following tips to having fun in PvP...

1. Teamwork wins every time

The key to having fun in PvP, like so much in WoW, is good teamwork. We all know how frustrating pick-up dungeon groups can be. In battlegrounds, having 10, 15 or even 40 or more random players can make things chaotic, rageful and depressing. But even a small amount of co-ordination and team spirit can turn things around. This can be as simple as keeping an eye on the chat, calling out when things get hairy and being ready to go where needed when called in return.

Such little things can make the difference between wall-to-wall fail to wipe-the-floor-with-them fun. And let's face it, there are few things more enjoyable than wiping clumps of gnome off your sword, sending your pet raptor in to claw off someone's face, or turn someone into a penguin and watch them waddle around ineffectually while you capture the flag from right under their nose.

We have a guild full of great players who regularly group up together and are used to each other's play style. We have a guild culture that rewards people who are patient, willing to help others and willing to learn. We even have Vent. We could be SO GOOD at this! *drools a little*

2. Every match is different

With dungeons and raiding, there's a tendency to hit upon a preferred strategy that works and then use it every time. While there are definitely good tactics to follow in battlegrounds, you are playing against real people not NPCs, so there is always an element of the unpredictable (with the possible exception of Horde zerg rushes in Alterac Valley). Not knowing what to do in a battleground can make people a little ill-at-ease and can be especially demoralising if spend most of your matches chatting up the Spirit Healer.

Advice? PvP is less about damage rotation and more about cunning. Experiment. Be a pest. Use those crowd control spells and interrupts and hotbar those weird abilities you never use. Find a healer to keep you alive long enough to put a dent in someone's day. If you are a healer, make a damn nuisance of yourself. Whatever your role, be prepared to go with the flow and do whatever you can and whatever it takes to help your team win.

3. Getting good gear is easy

There are two stats that matter in PvP, both for gear and for attitude. They are stamina and resilience. The more of both, the better. Happily, getting decent gear is neither difficult nor time-consuming. Every match you play earns you honor points whether you win or lose, though the winning side gets roughly twice as much honor. With a winning ratio of 50%, you can expect to play roughly 10 matches to afford 1 piece of gear. Play the crazy-go-nuts Tol Barad battleground and things will move even faster.

In short, there's no excuse not to at least consider making PvP a part of your recommended daily intake of WoW. What's more, to help people get over their inhibitions and have a chance to learn the mechanics of the different battleground maps without getting picked off by hunters, mashed into a fine paste by bladestorming warriors or pack-raped by rogues, I will be running a series of guild war games.

These are basically practice matches where we can safely play against other guild members without fear or reprisal or ridicule. Check the calendar to sign up for the next event! My Earthbind Totem and I will see you there...