Post by Calran on Jul 19, 2006 3:42:25 GMT -5
I wrote this guide on my other guild's forums and took it very well (which was strange because it was my first guide and I didnt expect it to get anything but deleted), so here it is for you to use and comment on (no need to sugarcoat it either ;D).
Hey, there arent really many battleground guides around these forums so I figure I'll make one of my own. I've been spending alot of time in WSG and after checking out other sites and stuff I think I know enough to write this guide (I hope :oops: ). This is an open guide so feel free to post up any tips or comments you feel like adding.
Basics
Warsong Gulch is a 10 on 10 battleground with its main entrance located on the Barrens - Ashenvale border and can be accessed from a battlemaster in any of the major cities. It's similar to capture the flag games in Unreal Tournament (actually, it is capture the flag) and it's banded by level (10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60s only), so you dont have to worry about getting smacked around by someone twenty levels higher than you. You can gain both kills, honor, and reputation with the Warsong Outriders through this instance. If you manage to win (capture the flag 3 times) you'll be rewarded with 3 marks of honor which you can turn into the warbringer for a hefty chunk of experience and a rep bonus.
Topography
Although WSG isn't as big as Alterac Valley it still has its fair share of routes, hiding spots, and choke points.
Each base is similar in layout with 2 main entrances. The first and most used entrance is the tunnel which opens to the mid-field area of the map. This is a good choke point for the defense to utilize because the opposing team is going to be forced to group together closely, making them a perfect target for AoEs (arcane explosion, frost nova, blast wave, etc). The tunnel has another exit that leads to the roof of the base (a great area to hole up and defend the person carrying the enemy flag if the match is gridlocked, be aware jumping from the roof does cause a bit of falling damage) and a small alcove where the speed power up spawns (more on this later). The tunnel isn't my favorite entrance mainly because the assault team can be easily turned back by the defense and its a pretty long stretch of indoor space before reaching the flag room (meaning you'll spend more time dismounted or out of ghost wolf). If you do choose to use the tunnel as your point of entry be ready for quite a fight and be sure to have at least two others with you (if your by yourself the defenders will rip you to shreds with ease). There arent many strategies when it comes to defending the tunnel (pretty much self explanatory), but having a hunter put down some traps about midway up the tunnel (not at the entrace because it'll wear off before they reach the flag room) or have a rogue stealth and hide in the alcove where the power up spawns (a good spot to ambush the enemy flag carrier if she wants to grab the power up on her way out).
The second entrance to the base is a curving ramp that leads up to the second level where the graveyard and two other doors are located. This is my route of choice, its more open than the tunnel, is outdoors, and generally very tough to defend (usually defenders will have to wait until you're in or in very close proximity to their flag room before putting up any substantial resistance). Once you're up the ramp there are two openings into the base, the one closest to the graveyard is a small hallway that leads directly into the flag room, the one farthest from the graveyard (closer to you as you come up the ramp) goes to an elevated area parallel to the hallway with a ramp connecting the two that leads to a small balcony above the flag room. The balcony can be a good position to put a ranged defender (hunter/mage) because they can fire down at the flag carrier with relative impunity (usually takes a while for them to find out where you are). Although these routes are easier to handle than the tunnel you should still move in with a group to deal with defenders in the flag room (if there arent any, grab the flag and /chicken all the way back to your base for the easy cap, better to be safe than sorry). This section is a little harder to defend and my advice is to stay in the flag room and not try to spread out through the two entrances, remember guarding the flag is your number one priority if you're on D.
The largest part of the base is the flag room, this is where the magic happens. Its a large square room with a small hidey-hole underneath the balcony (a good spot to conceal a warrior and jump on an enemy attempting to grab your flag). The flag itself is prominently displayed in a recess on the back wall of the room, this is a good area to lay down a trap or have a rogue stealth in (or for a hunter to feign death if they're in the enemys flag room waiting for the flag to appear after a capture). The defense and assault of this area is about as basic as it gets, if your attacking beat down the defenders, grab the flag, and haul. If your on defense drop as many snares and stuns on the attacking group, focus all the attention on the flag carrier, and if they manage to get out of the flag room run 'em down.
The bases are seperated by a large stretch of fairly open land (aka middle) dotted with a few tree stumps (good for trying to shake Line-of-Sight) and trees on the edges. This is where the assault teams will converge on eachother and all hell breaks loose. There are a few little one-room houses close to the main base where power ups can be found (its easy to get cornered so be careful if you're after a power up). This area is the most simple and savage in the entire battleground, get across it as fast as possible and leave a trail of bodies behind you.
Strategy
In this segment I'll be going over overall strategies that the affect the entire team.
First off, invite everyone into a 10 man raid group, this makes things much easier (theres a 1 minute warning before the match starts so take the time to invite). Try to have people on defense and assault (I like 6 or 7 on assault and no less than 3 on defense), this can be hard to do in a pickup group, but dont get too frustrated. If I can stress one thing, its communication. This battleground is about as fast-paced as they come so be sure to call out where your going if you have the flag, where the enemy is going when he has the flag, if there are enemies incoming to the base, if you need more on defense/assault, etc (this is why having everyone in a raid group helps).
Its fine and dandy to just run around slaughtering people and racking up HKs, but you can only win if you capture the flag. The most important thing with this is to stay together as a group, you'll most likely be running into a hornets nest. The group going after the flag should have at least one healer (druid, priest, pally), a few general-purpose or DPSers (warriors, hunters, rogues, mages, pallys, etc), and one flag-capper (shaman, druid, rogue, priest). On your way in just beat everyone down and let your flag carrier get the flag. It gets hairy on the way out, be sure to protect the person with the flag at all costs. Dont run off to go get some HKs and assume someone else will take care of it, the entire enemy team is gonna be after him so hes going to need all the cover he can get. Drop snares, stun or kill anyone coming after him, keep his health high, and buff/sheild him when ever you can. If you're the one with the flag, dont stop for anything! Dont bother trying to kill anyone, your escort will take care of that, just keep running, and stay in communication with your team (telling them where you're going, whats your status, handing off the flag, etc). If your a druid or a shaman be sure to use your travel form to get an edge. Use what ever you can to improve your speed (sprint, goblin rocket boots, etc) and dont be afraid to drink a potion if your health is dipping (dont get stuck waiting for a heal that may never come).
Its a little trickiery on defense, you really have to keep an eye out and stay on the same page as your teammates. You dont want to be running in one direction while everyone else is going someplace else. A good defensive team usually consists of some heavy DPS (rogue, mage, warrior) to bring down the flag carrier fast and a class capable of inflicting alot of status ailments or debuffs (druid, shadow priest, warlock, hunter). Be sure to set up traps near or on the flag. You need to be observant and listen to where you have incoming enemies and how many there are. Patience is key, dont go charging out into the feild, wait for them to come to your meat grinder where you can kill with ease. If your chasing the flag carrier dont worry about her escort, focus on her. They're going to be doing everything they can to stop you, but just keep pouring on the damage/debuffs. Stun, snares, and roots are all crucial in getting the flag back so be generous. The flag carrier is likely to use the tunnel or drop down from right next to your grave yard to exit so be prepared for both.
The real players start to stand out when each team has the opposing team's flag. The defense group should switch to protecting the flag carrier at all costs. The flag carrier should find a good hiding spot and wait it out. Some of my favorite spots are the roof of your base, in the hidey-hole in your flag room, or a remote area of the map. If you have the flag be sure to try to get it stuck in a wall (the collision detection isnt great) so you can hide that streamer of light it gives off. If the enemies are on to you switch spots quickly and keep your escort/defenders around you at all times. The assault group should scout all the likely hiding spots and once the flag carrier is found move quickly and bring him down. This is where good communication really comes in. You have to be able to find the flag carrier and move as a group before they have time to switch to a new location. Dont have our entire team defend while one or two people try to go on the attack. Coordinate your groups so you have the right number on each job.
Class Roles
I'll be adressing each class and my interpretation of how they work best in WSG.
Druid
Offense: Druids make great flag carriers because of their shapeshifting abilities. They can flat out run with travel form and also tank some heavy damage with bear form. When not carrying the flag druids play a major role in assisting with damage (rooting, moonfire, insect swarm, etc) and healing. They can drop heal over time spells on the flag carrier so even if she runs out of their range she'll still get some added health. Their buffs are also great to use at the beginning of the match, although dont get worried about reapplying them during the fight. Just focus on using all your mana to heal or do damage, not keeping mark of the wild up.
Defense: Cat form is a blessing because of its added DPS and stealth abilities (great for scouting). On defense a druid's spells become incredibly usefull for rooting the enemy with the flag or dropping alot of DoTs. A druid can also provide secondary healing. This class plays a jack-of-all-trades role in WSG and can be a great help throughout the entire match.
Hunter
Offense: Hunters can easily rack up kills with their pets in combination with their damage dealing abilities. I cant count how many times I've been brought down by a damn cat chasing me and repeated stings and critical hits. As a hunter you can use your aspect abilities to help out all over, but your main role will be dealing damage and bringing down people chasing after your flag carrier quickly. Dont forget to use Flare on your way into the enemy flag room to detect any rogues trying to be sneaky. When range fails dont be afraid to engage in melee, if you flee and try to get range you'll just end up dead.
Defense: On defense Hunters can lay down traps to hinder the other team (frost and freeze definately) and strike hard and fast on a flag carrier. Use stings to your full advantage along with your pet. Let loose with Wing Clip as the carrier runs past you then pile on the damage as he makes a break for it. A pet with a fast attack speed can spell the end for a spell caster. Nothing is more frustrating not being able to get that heal off due to a cat clawing your face off.
Mage
Offense: DPS is the name of the game. Mages can kill an enemy in seconds with their spells. Blink is helpful for getting around or confusing your attackers. Polymorph can really piss off people going after your flag carrier. AoEs can work wonders in the tunnel, and Frost Nova/Cone of Cold can put a pursuit on hold. You will die in this battleground, dont worry about conserving mana, fire away with your most potent spells and hope you kill that rogue before he gets close enough to take you down.
Defense: Mages can use their AoEs to great benefit on defense, killing off a large percentage of the attack squad in a few seconds. Instant arcane explosion or frost nova can really slow down the enemy flag carrier. Be sure to drop any snares you have and focus your damage. Once again dont worry about mana, just play to your strengths and try to take the flag carrier down. One dirty trick that has happened to me is when a mage blinks in front of me, Frost Novas, hits the instant arcane explosion, and just has their way with me until back up can get there.
Paladin
Offense: Paladins are a pain, they can soak up damage, heal themselves and others, and beat you up all at the same time. They make pretty good flag carriers because of their sheild and healing abilities combined with their high armor class. A retribution specced pally can decimate defenders and still heal the person carrying the flag. If you arent carrying the flag support the carrier with healing spells or just sacrifice yourself to hold back the defenders on pursuit (generally taking some down with you).
Defense: On defense a pally can hold back the attackers for a good amount of time while the rest of the squad gets set up. They can provide more DPS and heal anyone thats getting too low. Theres not much you can do against an enemy flag carrier except pound on him, unfortunately. The paladin ends up playing more of a support role on defense, but can really come through in a pinch.
Priest
Offense: Shadow priests make me angry. Very angry. Fear is the devil, so use it to your advantage. Pour on the Psychic Scream and hit them with some DoTs as they run around like chickens with no heads. Its tough to be a falg carrier but you can make a big difference if you do it right. Grab the flag, hit fear, drop a sheild on yourself and get outta there. All the better if you have shadow-form. If your a healing priest you can still play a big role. Shield the flag carrier, drop your biggest heals, theres no need to worry about drawing agro. Dont be afraid to run from a fight though, use fear to make a break for it if you need.
Defense: A priest protecting a flag carrier in a gridlock is a pain. All the heals and sheilding is hard to stop. If your on D, fear as they are about to grab the flag then let your buddies pound away. Drop all your DoTs on the flag carrier (Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Flay, etc etc) and fear them. Two priests are even worse because all that shadow vunerability can really make a big difference. Holy priests can outheal just about anyone and provide a much needed period of invunerablity.
Rogue
Offense: A good rogue can be crucial when attacking the flag. Their combination of stunning and incredible DPS they can cause alot of problems. A few rogues working in good coordination can pretty much handle anything that comes their way, and if things go bad just Vanish! As a flag carrier the rogue can sprint and use evasion to avoid damage, but dont go stealth because that will automatically make you drop the flag.
Defense: Rogues are equally efficient at defense. Stay stealthed in the flag room, then wait for the assault team to storm in. Sap the one that looks the most dangerous then go to work on the flag carrier. Be sure to have crippling poison on your weapon and make use of your stuns and back attacks (they'll be trying to run away so their back will be to you most of the time). Interupt healers with your fast attack speed and mow them down easily. Dont get confused and run into the fray, you arent a main melee class. Try to stay out taking alot of damage from multiple targets and just take down people one at a time.
Shaman
Offense: You have a lot of tools at your disposal so make the most of them. Drop buffing totems to help your team out on the assault and shock the crap out of anything that moves. Windfury is your friend. Dont be afraid to grab the flag, put on ghost wolf and bolt away. I suggest you invest in the Improved Ghost Wolf talent. If your getting low on health drop out of ghost wolf, heal up and return to ghost wolf. Dont be so focused on attacking people that you dont support with some healing. Although you may not be as potent as a druid or a priest a last second LHW or HW on the flag carrier is a big help.
Defense: When on defense make good use of your totems and abilities. Drop earthbind totems to slow things down and fire away with frost shock and fire shock on the flag carrier. Windfury is still your friend. Hammer away on the enemy flag carrier and keep chasing him and firing off your frost shock to keep him slowed. Learn which totems work in what situations and take advantage of them. Lightning Bolt is too slow to be useful so stick with shocks.
Warlock
Offense: Pet management is a big part of WSG. Dont use your voidwalker, you cant taunt another person. Stick with the Imp if you dont have a succubus or fel hunter. A succubus can mesmerize while you drop every DoT you have. Dont forget a fel hunter with paranoia to sniff out those pesky rogues. You have fear too, so use it. Warlocks arent made to run the flag, so plan on hindering the enemy
Defense: Drop DoTs on the flag carrier, that way you have a chance of bringing him down even if he gets out of your range. Keep a fel hunter up to find stealthed rogues trying to sneak in. Dont worry about soulstoning or anything like that.
Warrior
Offense: A fury/arms warrior can really tear through the defenders with dual weild or a good 2h weapon. Dont be afraid to run in and get their attention. You're great at distracting people while someone else goes in and gets the flag. If all else fails go ahead and grab the flag yourself, but you better hope someones there to heal you otherwise you arent going to last to long. Use intimidating shout if things get too intense, dont worry about wasting too much rage it builds up quick in all the fast paced fighting.
Defense: On defense make use of charge to stun the flag carrier and get some damage in, dont forget to hamstring. You can stay alive for a while so dont be afraid to harass the assault team while the rest of your defense focuses all their attention on the flag carrier without having to worry about getting too much damage. In a gridlock a warrior is a good choice to hold the flag, if things go bad he might be able to stay alive long enough for help to arrive.
Power Ups
There are 3 power ups that spawn in the houses near each base and in the alcove in the tunnel.
Berserking - Increases all damage caused by 30%, all damage taken by 10% and increases your size by 10%. Lasts 1 min.
Restoration - Restores 10% of your health, mana and pet's happiness every second for 10 seconds. Attacking or being attacked will cancel the effect.
Speed - Increases movement speed by 100% for 10 seconds.
Rewards
After you become friendly with the Outriders or Sentinels depending on your side you get access to some pretty nice loot. Most of it is pretty self explanitory and since writing out stats is stupid, just click on this.
Hey, there arent really many battleground guides around these forums so I figure I'll make one of my own. I've been spending alot of time in WSG and after checking out other sites and stuff I think I know enough to write this guide (I hope :oops: ). This is an open guide so feel free to post up any tips or comments you feel like adding.
Basics
Warsong Gulch is a 10 on 10 battleground with its main entrance located on the Barrens - Ashenvale border and can be accessed from a battlemaster in any of the major cities. It's similar to capture the flag games in Unreal Tournament (actually, it is capture the flag) and it's banded by level (10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60s only), so you dont have to worry about getting smacked around by someone twenty levels higher than you. You can gain both kills, honor, and reputation with the Warsong Outriders through this instance. If you manage to win (capture the flag 3 times) you'll be rewarded with 3 marks of honor which you can turn into the warbringer for a hefty chunk of experience and a rep bonus.
Topography
Although WSG isn't as big as Alterac Valley it still has its fair share of routes, hiding spots, and choke points.
Each base is similar in layout with 2 main entrances. The first and most used entrance is the tunnel which opens to the mid-field area of the map. This is a good choke point for the defense to utilize because the opposing team is going to be forced to group together closely, making them a perfect target for AoEs (arcane explosion, frost nova, blast wave, etc). The tunnel has another exit that leads to the roof of the base (a great area to hole up and defend the person carrying the enemy flag if the match is gridlocked, be aware jumping from the roof does cause a bit of falling damage) and a small alcove where the speed power up spawns (more on this later). The tunnel isn't my favorite entrance mainly because the assault team can be easily turned back by the defense and its a pretty long stretch of indoor space before reaching the flag room (meaning you'll spend more time dismounted or out of ghost wolf). If you do choose to use the tunnel as your point of entry be ready for quite a fight and be sure to have at least two others with you (if your by yourself the defenders will rip you to shreds with ease). There arent many strategies when it comes to defending the tunnel (pretty much self explanatory), but having a hunter put down some traps about midway up the tunnel (not at the entrace because it'll wear off before they reach the flag room) or have a rogue stealth and hide in the alcove where the power up spawns (a good spot to ambush the enemy flag carrier if she wants to grab the power up on her way out).
The second entrance to the base is a curving ramp that leads up to the second level where the graveyard and two other doors are located. This is my route of choice, its more open than the tunnel, is outdoors, and generally very tough to defend (usually defenders will have to wait until you're in or in very close proximity to their flag room before putting up any substantial resistance). Once you're up the ramp there are two openings into the base, the one closest to the graveyard is a small hallway that leads directly into the flag room, the one farthest from the graveyard (closer to you as you come up the ramp) goes to an elevated area parallel to the hallway with a ramp connecting the two that leads to a small balcony above the flag room. The balcony can be a good position to put a ranged defender (hunter/mage) because they can fire down at the flag carrier with relative impunity (usually takes a while for them to find out where you are). Although these routes are easier to handle than the tunnel you should still move in with a group to deal with defenders in the flag room (if there arent any, grab the flag and /chicken all the way back to your base for the easy cap, better to be safe than sorry). This section is a little harder to defend and my advice is to stay in the flag room and not try to spread out through the two entrances, remember guarding the flag is your number one priority if you're on D.
The largest part of the base is the flag room, this is where the magic happens. Its a large square room with a small hidey-hole underneath the balcony (a good spot to conceal a warrior and jump on an enemy attempting to grab your flag). The flag itself is prominently displayed in a recess on the back wall of the room, this is a good area to lay down a trap or have a rogue stealth in (or for a hunter to feign death if they're in the enemys flag room waiting for the flag to appear after a capture). The defense and assault of this area is about as basic as it gets, if your attacking beat down the defenders, grab the flag, and haul. If your on defense drop as many snares and stuns on the attacking group, focus all the attention on the flag carrier, and if they manage to get out of the flag room run 'em down.
The bases are seperated by a large stretch of fairly open land (aka middle) dotted with a few tree stumps (good for trying to shake Line-of-Sight) and trees on the edges. This is where the assault teams will converge on eachother and all hell breaks loose. There are a few little one-room houses close to the main base where power ups can be found (its easy to get cornered so be careful if you're after a power up). This area is the most simple and savage in the entire battleground, get across it as fast as possible and leave a trail of bodies behind you.
Strategy
In this segment I'll be going over overall strategies that the affect the entire team.
First off, invite everyone into a 10 man raid group, this makes things much easier (theres a 1 minute warning before the match starts so take the time to invite). Try to have people on defense and assault (I like 6 or 7 on assault and no less than 3 on defense), this can be hard to do in a pickup group, but dont get too frustrated. If I can stress one thing, its communication. This battleground is about as fast-paced as they come so be sure to call out where your going if you have the flag, where the enemy is going when he has the flag, if there are enemies incoming to the base, if you need more on defense/assault, etc (this is why having everyone in a raid group helps).
Its fine and dandy to just run around slaughtering people and racking up HKs, but you can only win if you capture the flag. The most important thing with this is to stay together as a group, you'll most likely be running into a hornets nest. The group going after the flag should have at least one healer (druid, priest, pally), a few general-purpose or DPSers (warriors, hunters, rogues, mages, pallys, etc), and one flag-capper (shaman, druid, rogue, priest). On your way in just beat everyone down and let your flag carrier get the flag. It gets hairy on the way out, be sure to protect the person with the flag at all costs. Dont run off to go get some HKs and assume someone else will take care of it, the entire enemy team is gonna be after him so hes going to need all the cover he can get. Drop snares, stun or kill anyone coming after him, keep his health high, and buff/sheild him when ever you can. If you're the one with the flag, dont stop for anything! Dont bother trying to kill anyone, your escort will take care of that, just keep running, and stay in communication with your team (telling them where you're going, whats your status, handing off the flag, etc). If your a druid or a shaman be sure to use your travel form to get an edge. Use what ever you can to improve your speed (sprint, goblin rocket boots, etc) and dont be afraid to drink a potion if your health is dipping (dont get stuck waiting for a heal that may never come).
Its a little trickiery on defense, you really have to keep an eye out and stay on the same page as your teammates. You dont want to be running in one direction while everyone else is going someplace else. A good defensive team usually consists of some heavy DPS (rogue, mage, warrior) to bring down the flag carrier fast and a class capable of inflicting alot of status ailments or debuffs (druid, shadow priest, warlock, hunter). Be sure to set up traps near or on the flag. You need to be observant and listen to where you have incoming enemies and how many there are. Patience is key, dont go charging out into the feild, wait for them to come to your meat grinder where you can kill with ease. If your chasing the flag carrier dont worry about her escort, focus on her. They're going to be doing everything they can to stop you, but just keep pouring on the damage/debuffs. Stun, snares, and roots are all crucial in getting the flag back so be generous. The flag carrier is likely to use the tunnel or drop down from right next to your grave yard to exit so be prepared for both.
The real players start to stand out when each team has the opposing team's flag. The defense group should switch to protecting the flag carrier at all costs. The flag carrier should find a good hiding spot and wait it out. Some of my favorite spots are the roof of your base, in the hidey-hole in your flag room, or a remote area of the map. If you have the flag be sure to try to get it stuck in a wall (the collision detection isnt great) so you can hide that streamer of light it gives off. If the enemies are on to you switch spots quickly and keep your escort/defenders around you at all times. The assault group should scout all the likely hiding spots and once the flag carrier is found move quickly and bring him down. This is where good communication really comes in. You have to be able to find the flag carrier and move as a group before they have time to switch to a new location. Dont have our entire team defend while one or two people try to go on the attack. Coordinate your groups so you have the right number on each job.
Class Roles
I'll be adressing each class and my interpretation of how they work best in WSG.
Druid
Offense: Druids make great flag carriers because of their shapeshifting abilities. They can flat out run with travel form and also tank some heavy damage with bear form. When not carrying the flag druids play a major role in assisting with damage (rooting, moonfire, insect swarm, etc) and healing. They can drop heal over time spells on the flag carrier so even if she runs out of their range she'll still get some added health. Their buffs are also great to use at the beginning of the match, although dont get worried about reapplying them during the fight. Just focus on using all your mana to heal or do damage, not keeping mark of the wild up.
Defense: Cat form is a blessing because of its added DPS and stealth abilities (great for scouting). On defense a druid's spells become incredibly usefull for rooting the enemy with the flag or dropping alot of DoTs. A druid can also provide secondary healing. This class plays a jack-of-all-trades role in WSG and can be a great help throughout the entire match.
Hunter
Offense: Hunters can easily rack up kills with their pets in combination with their damage dealing abilities. I cant count how many times I've been brought down by a damn cat chasing me and repeated stings and critical hits. As a hunter you can use your aspect abilities to help out all over, but your main role will be dealing damage and bringing down people chasing after your flag carrier quickly. Dont forget to use Flare on your way into the enemy flag room to detect any rogues trying to be sneaky. When range fails dont be afraid to engage in melee, if you flee and try to get range you'll just end up dead.
Defense: On defense Hunters can lay down traps to hinder the other team (frost and freeze definately) and strike hard and fast on a flag carrier. Use stings to your full advantage along with your pet. Let loose with Wing Clip as the carrier runs past you then pile on the damage as he makes a break for it. A pet with a fast attack speed can spell the end for a spell caster. Nothing is more frustrating not being able to get that heal off due to a cat clawing your face off.
Mage
Offense: DPS is the name of the game. Mages can kill an enemy in seconds with their spells. Blink is helpful for getting around or confusing your attackers. Polymorph can really piss off people going after your flag carrier. AoEs can work wonders in the tunnel, and Frost Nova/Cone of Cold can put a pursuit on hold. You will die in this battleground, dont worry about conserving mana, fire away with your most potent spells and hope you kill that rogue before he gets close enough to take you down.
Defense: Mages can use their AoEs to great benefit on defense, killing off a large percentage of the attack squad in a few seconds. Instant arcane explosion or frost nova can really slow down the enemy flag carrier. Be sure to drop any snares you have and focus your damage. Once again dont worry about mana, just play to your strengths and try to take the flag carrier down. One dirty trick that has happened to me is when a mage blinks in front of me, Frost Novas, hits the instant arcane explosion, and just has their way with me until back up can get there.
Paladin
Offense: Paladins are a pain, they can soak up damage, heal themselves and others, and beat you up all at the same time. They make pretty good flag carriers because of their sheild and healing abilities combined with their high armor class. A retribution specced pally can decimate defenders and still heal the person carrying the flag. If you arent carrying the flag support the carrier with healing spells or just sacrifice yourself to hold back the defenders on pursuit (generally taking some down with you).
Defense: On defense a pally can hold back the attackers for a good amount of time while the rest of the squad gets set up. They can provide more DPS and heal anyone thats getting too low. Theres not much you can do against an enemy flag carrier except pound on him, unfortunately. The paladin ends up playing more of a support role on defense, but can really come through in a pinch.
Priest
Offense: Shadow priests make me angry. Very angry. Fear is the devil, so use it to your advantage. Pour on the Psychic Scream and hit them with some DoTs as they run around like chickens with no heads. Its tough to be a falg carrier but you can make a big difference if you do it right. Grab the flag, hit fear, drop a sheild on yourself and get outta there. All the better if you have shadow-form. If your a healing priest you can still play a big role. Shield the flag carrier, drop your biggest heals, theres no need to worry about drawing agro. Dont be afraid to run from a fight though, use fear to make a break for it if you need.
Defense: A priest protecting a flag carrier in a gridlock is a pain. All the heals and sheilding is hard to stop. If your on D, fear as they are about to grab the flag then let your buddies pound away. Drop all your DoTs on the flag carrier (Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Flay, etc etc) and fear them. Two priests are even worse because all that shadow vunerability can really make a big difference. Holy priests can outheal just about anyone and provide a much needed period of invunerablity.
Rogue
Offense: A good rogue can be crucial when attacking the flag. Their combination of stunning and incredible DPS they can cause alot of problems. A few rogues working in good coordination can pretty much handle anything that comes their way, and if things go bad just Vanish! As a flag carrier the rogue can sprint and use evasion to avoid damage, but dont go stealth because that will automatically make you drop the flag.
Defense: Rogues are equally efficient at defense. Stay stealthed in the flag room, then wait for the assault team to storm in. Sap the one that looks the most dangerous then go to work on the flag carrier. Be sure to have crippling poison on your weapon and make use of your stuns and back attacks (they'll be trying to run away so their back will be to you most of the time). Interupt healers with your fast attack speed and mow them down easily. Dont get confused and run into the fray, you arent a main melee class. Try to stay out taking alot of damage from multiple targets and just take down people one at a time.
Shaman
Offense: You have a lot of tools at your disposal so make the most of them. Drop buffing totems to help your team out on the assault and shock the crap out of anything that moves. Windfury is your friend. Dont be afraid to grab the flag, put on ghost wolf and bolt away. I suggest you invest in the Improved Ghost Wolf talent. If your getting low on health drop out of ghost wolf, heal up and return to ghost wolf. Dont be so focused on attacking people that you dont support with some healing. Although you may not be as potent as a druid or a priest a last second LHW or HW on the flag carrier is a big help.
Defense: When on defense make good use of your totems and abilities. Drop earthbind totems to slow things down and fire away with frost shock and fire shock on the flag carrier. Windfury is still your friend. Hammer away on the enemy flag carrier and keep chasing him and firing off your frost shock to keep him slowed. Learn which totems work in what situations and take advantage of them. Lightning Bolt is too slow to be useful so stick with shocks.
Warlock
Offense: Pet management is a big part of WSG. Dont use your voidwalker, you cant taunt another person. Stick with the Imp if you dont have a succubus or fel hunter. A succubus can mesmerize while you drop every DoT you have. Dont forget a fel hunter with paranoia to sniff out those pesky rogues. You have fear too, so use it. Warlocks arent made to run the flag, so plan on hindering the enemy
Defense: Drop DoTs on the flag carrier, that way you have a chance of bringing him down even if he gets out of your range. Keep a fel hunter up to find stealthed rogues trying to sneak in. Dont worry about soulstoning or anything like that.
Warrior
Offense: A fury/arms warrior can really tear through the defenders with dual weild or a good 2h weapon. Dont be afraid to run in and get their attention. You're great at distracting people while someone else goes in and gets the flag. If all else fails go ahead and grab the flag yourself, but you better hope someones there to heal you otherwise you arent going to last to long. Use intimidating shout if things get too intense, dont worry about wasting too much rage it builds up quick in all the fast paced fighting.
Defense: On defense make use of charge to stun the flag carrier and get some damage in, dont forget to hamstring. You can stay alive for a while so dont be afraid to harass the assault team while the rest of your defense focuses all their attention on the flag carrier without having to worry about getting too much damage. In a gridlock a warrior is a good choice to hold the flag, if things go bad he might be able to stay alive long enough for help to arrive.
Power Ups
There are 3 power ups that spawn in the houses near each base and in the alcove in the tunnel.
Berserking - Increases all damage caused by 30%, all damage taken by 10% and increases your size by 10%. Lasts 1 min.
Restoration - Restores 10% of your health, mana and pet's happiness every second for 10 seconds. Attacking or being attacked will cancel the effect.
Speed - Increases movement speed by 100% for 10 seconds.
Rewards
After you become friendly with the Outriders or Sentinels depending on your side you get access to some pretty nice loot. Most of it is pretty self explanitory and since writing out stats is stupid, just click on this.
