Alterac Valley is one of the first battlegrounds in World of Warcraft. It was therefore one of the first to be introduced on December 11 2019. Read below to not only learn how to ensure victory and reap the rewards from this mountainous frontier, but also discover the history behind this conflict.
How to Join Alterac Valley
If you want to queue up for Alterac Valley, you should talk to one of the following faction NPCs:
Alliance
- Thelman Slatefist in Stormwind Keep
- Brogun Stoneshield in the Warrior's Terrace in Darnassus
- Glordrum Steelbeard in The Military Ward in Ironforge
- Any Stormpike Emissary in an Alliance Capital
Horde
- Kartra Bloodsnarl in The Valley of Honor in Orgrimmar
- Grizzle Halfmane in the Apothecarium in Undercity
- Taim Ragetotem in The Hunter's Rise in Thunder Bluff
- Any Frostwolf Emissary in a Horde Capital
General Information
Alterac Valley is a 40v40 Battleground which is available from Level 51. All eligible players are grouped together, including Level 60s.
Once you enter Alterac Valley, Alliance players will start near Dun Baldar, in the north, while Horde players will start in the south, next to Frostwolf Keep. Each team has a single objective: kill the enemy commander.
Battleground Breakdown
At first glance, the map is cleanly separated in two by the Field of Strife. Tower and graveyards above this point start the round under Alliance control, while those below are held by the Horde. Each tower and graveyard may change hands throughout the course of the battle if captured by an opposing player.
- Destroying a tower will cause the associated Marshal/Warmaster to flee the General's side, drastically reducing his power
- Capturing a graveyard will allow your Faction's players to respawn there if it is the most advanced graveyard that you control. As such, it's imperative that you avoid capturing graveyards without thinking it through!
The northern and southern Mines, like towers and graveyards, can be captured by killing the captain within. Capturing a mine allows your team to collect supplies from this location, which allows your side to lead a ground assault with elite troops.
You'll find countless other crucial optional objectives throughout Alterac Valley, read on to find out more about them.
Strategy
There isn't a singular strategy to speak of, and as this battleground can go on forever if both sides are evenly matched, it's difficult to put forward a viable plan that can last hours.
However, at the beginning of the game, players should be split into two groups:
- A larger group of around 30 players on offence
- A smaller group of around 10 on defence
The attacking players' objective is to capture the towers as quickly and efficiently as possible, which will destroy them. It's best to focus on sending Rogues and Druids to do this, as their stealth is a real asset. Similarly, it's a good idea to send your best-equipped players to battle the enemy head-on, all the while keeping just a few of them back on defence.
Some Important Rules:
- Don't run away once you've captured the flag of a bunker or a tower: defend it, ideally in numbers.
- Communicate with you team: announce incoming enemy attacks, how many players are at your location, and how many more reinforcements you'll need to dfend.
- Pay attention to your allies' orders: for example, don't pointlessly capture a graveyard if it would mess up your spawn points.
- If you respawn next to a point under enemy attack, help your allies to defend it.
- Escort and defend your faction's important NPCs (see below), as they are crucial to victory and will offer you serious advantages over your enemy.
- Use your Stormpike Insignia (Alliance) or Frostwolf Insignia (Horde) to quickly return to your base to defend, don't waste time uselessly running from one end of the map to the other.
- Make sure you loot all corpses you can and give their drops to you Faction's quest givers, as they'll offer your team serious advantages on the battlefield.
Generals
Each faction is led by a General. Functioning as true raid bosses, they require most of your team to be defeated. At the beginning of the round, each General is supported by 4 accompanying Marshals/Warmasters who each provide a stacking buff that increases HP and damage by 25%, giving the General +144% HP and damage from the start.
This buff loses a stack every time a tower or bunker is destroyed, as it will cause its corresponding Marshal/Warmaster to disappear, which weakens the General and makes him more susceptible to a direct assault. In WoW Classic, it is very risky (or even impossible) to kill a General without having already destroyed at least 3 towers or bunkers beforehand.
Captains
Though they are rather powerful, there is only a single captain per faction in Alterac Valley. They will periodically provide players of their faction a 20% HP buff. You'll need around 10 players to kill the enemy captain, provided that there aren't any players of the opposite faction on defence!
Killing the enemy captain will put an end to their buff for good, which will drastically reduce the survivability of the enemy players.
Commanders
Commanders are much weaker than Captains. They can be found in towers and bunkers belonging to their respective faction, or even patrolling graveyards which begin the round under their control. Killing a Commander requires around five players, provided that they aren't protected by any enemy players.
Killing an enemy Commander prevents certain troops from respawning, which reduces defence at the enemy main camp.
Lieutenants
Lieutenants are NPCs that can be found patrolling their faction's roads and graveyards factions throughout Alterac Valley. Defeating these NPCs doesn't require a full group of 5 players, provided enemy players aren't nearby.
Killing an enemy Lieutenant prevents certain troops from respawning, which reduces the defence at the enemy main camp.
Quests
Side-quests
Allied Troop Upgrades
Players can collect Armor Scraps from the corpses of NPCs and enemy players. By bringing them back to their faction's Blacksmith (see below), they can increase the power of their troops once certain tiers are reached, up to a maximum of 3 upgrades:
- Tier 1: 500 Armor Scraps
- Tier 2: 500 Armor Scraps (to a total of 1,000 Armor Scraps)
- Tier 3: 500 Armor Scraps (to a total of 1,000 Armor Scraps)
Note: To upgrade your faction's troops, a player with a reputation of Honoured or greater with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or Frostwolf Clan (Horde) should talk to their faction's Blacksmith and ask them to upgrade their troops once they have given them enough resources.
Ground Assaults
Players of each faction can periodically launch a ground assault once your faction has collected enough supplies from the mines. In order to achieve this, you should gather supplies from one of the mines in Alterac Valley beforehand and bring them to your faction's Quartermaster.
Ground Assault prerequisites
Note: To launch a ground assault, a player with a reputation of Honoured or greater with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or Frostwolf Clan (Horde) should talk to their faction's Quartermaster.
Cavalry Assaults
Players of each faction can periodically launch mounted assaults once your faction has collected enough supplies. In order to achieve this you will need to tame a lot of creatures in Alterac Valley, then collect hides.
Cavalry Assault prerequisites
Note: To launch a ground assault, a player with a reputation of Honoured or greater with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or Frostwolf Clan (Horde) should talk to their faction's Stable Master and give the order to attack.
Aerial Assaults
Once per round, Alliance and Horde players can rescue 3 Wing Commanders held captive by the enemy faction. By freeing them, escorting them, then bringing them particular supplies dropped by enemy players and NPCs, you can launch an aerial assault on enemy troops, giving your Faction a serious advantage on the battlefield.
Note: To launch a ground assault, a player with a reputation of Revered or greater with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or Frostwolf Clan (Horde) should talk to one of their faction's Wing Commanders and give the order to attack. There are two types of assault available:
- An Aerial Assault on enemy targets in the Field of Strife
- A direct assault on the main enemy base by the Wing Commander personally
Alliance Wing Commanders
Horde Wing Commanders
Faction Lords
Finally, players from both factions can summon a powerful faction boss from Alterac Valley itself: Ivus the Forest Lord (Alliance) or Lokholar the Ice Lord (Horde).
To summon your faction's lord, you need to gather a large amount of resources (see below), then escort a Druid/Primalist to their summoning location and defend them while they finish their summoning. If you accomplish this, the enemy faction will be in for a hard time, as these faction lords are effectively walking raid bosses who will attack any nearby enemy players and may even march into the heart of the enemy base!
Reputation and Rewards
This battleground offers players the chance to gain a large amount of unique and powerful rewards from their faction's representative in Alterac Valley. Alliance players can collect these rewards from Thanthaldis Snowgleam in southern Alterac Valley, while Horde players should talk to Jekyll Flandring in northern Hillsbrad Foothills.
Reputation
There are several easy (but lengthy) ways to increase your reputation with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or Frostwolf Clan (Horde):
Meeting one of the following conditions on Alterac Valley will also reward you with reputation:
- Killing the enemy General: 389 Reputation
- Killing the enemy Faction Lord: 125 Reputation
- Killing the enemy Captain: 125 Reputation
- Killing an enemy Commander: 12 Reputation
- Killing an enemy Lieutenant: 12 Reputation
- Killing an enemy Wing Commander: 12 Reputation
- Killing an enemy Guard: 5 Reputation (until Honoured)
- Killing an enemy player: 1 Reputation
At the end of the round, each of the following events will give you reputation:
- Allied Captain kept alive: 125 Reputation
- Enemy Captain killed: 36 Reputation
- Enemy Tower destroyed: 24 Reputation (per Tower destroyed)
- Allied Tower kept intact: 12 Reputation (per Tower intact)
- Enemy Lieutenant killed: 12 Reputation (per Lieutenant killed)
- Enemy Commander killed: 12 Reputation (per Commander killed)
- Graveyard Controlled: 12 Reputation (per Graveyard controlled)
- Mine Controlled: 12 Reputation (per Mine controlled)
Optional:
Turn in the quest Remember Alterac Valley! (Alliance) and Invaders of Alterac Valley (Horde): 150 Reputation
Rewards
Similarly to Warsong Gulch, you can get a reward directly from the battleground under the following conditions:
- 3x Alterac Valley Mark of Honor for a win
- 1x Alterac Valley Mark of Honor for a loss
These marks can be used to complete repeatable quests and earn reputation with the Stormpike Guard (Alliance) or the Frostwolf Clan (Horde). Increasing your reputation with these factions allows players to purchase the following rewards:
Friendly
Honoured
Revered
Exalted
Note: In addition to the items below, players have the chance to get one of the following weapons by turning in the quest Hero of the Stormpike (Alliance) or Hero of the Frostwolf (Horde) and being Exalted with your respective faction:
- Bloodseeker: Crossbow (Strength, Agility)
- Ice Barbed Spear: Polearm (Strength, Agility)
- Wand of Biting Cold: Wand (Frost Damage)
- Cold Forged Hammer: Mace (Intellect)
