Players will now be awarded experience for completing objectives and actions that yield honor in Battlegrounds (honorable kills not included). Players who do not wish to gain experience through PvP can visit Behsten in Stormwind or Slahtz in Orgrimmar - both located near the Battlemasters in either city - and turn off all experience accumulation for the cost of 10 gold. Disabling experience gains will prevent a player from gaining experience through any means available in the game. Players with experience gains turned off who compete in Battlegrounds will face off only against other players with experience gains turned off. Behsten and Slahtz can reinstate experience gains for players, for a 10 gold fee of course. Any experience that would've been accumulated if experience gains were enabled cannot be recovered.
Battlemasters in major cities affiliated with specific Battlegrounds have been replaced with a Battlemaster for each faction that will allow players to queue for any Battleground. Battlemasters for specific Battlegrounds will still be seen around the cities during corresponding Battleground holiday weekends. When standing at a capture point that you control, you will gain a buff called Honorable Defender. This buff grants +50% honor gained from kills. This currently affects Arathi Basin, Eye of the Storm and Isle of Conquest.
Arathi Basin
The time it requires to capture a base has been reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10 seconds. The game now ends when one team reaches 1600 victory points, down from 2000.
Eye of the Storm
The time it requires to capture the center flag has been reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10 seconds The game now ends when one team reaches 1600 victory points, down from 2000.
Strand of the Ancients
The faction starting on attack/defense will now be randomized at the start of each match.
Warsong Gulch
There is a now a 20-minute timer on this Battleground. After that time, the team with the most flag captures wins. If this would result in a tie, the team that captured the first flag wins. If neither side has captured a flag, then the game ends in a tie.
