The 5-Cap
A Double Assault
Controlling the Crossroads
Defending Bases
Strategy #1
--- Alliance
--- Horde
Strategy #2
---Alliance
--- Horde
The 5-Cap:
A 5-cap simply refers to one team
controlling all five nodes. This can occur at the beginning of the match
or anytime thereafter. If you capture all of the bases at the
beginning of the match and hold them until the match is over without allowing
the enemy team to capture one and gather resources, you will receive a
score of 1600 to 0 which will earn you the achievement "Arathi Basin
Perfection."
See the Strategies section of this page for 5-cap
strategies.
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A Double
Assault:
This can be called a double assault or multiple
assault as it can occur with more than two nodes. It refers to attacking
two or more bases at the same time during a battle. This is useful for
when the enemy team is controlling more nodes than your team is and you need to
gain more resources quickly. You can throw them off guard because they
will need to call incoming for multiple areas as opposed to just one where they
can all simply run to and defend. If you notice that several members
are running to a particular base to capture it and you are near a different base
that could be attacked, you can attempt to attack the one that your teammates are not
running too. You may even ask someone near you to help.
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Controlling the Crossroads:
There are "crossroads" located in 4 different areas in Arathi Basin.
These crossroads are points within the battleground in whish you are between 3
of the nodes. For instance, the area between Stables, the Mine, and
Blacksmith where the hill down toward the Mine begins is a crossroad.
Standing at this location will allow you to run to either 3 of these locations
quickly.
It is typically beneficial to have a few players standing at
crossroads near bases that your team control because they will be able to
quickly assist players when an "incoming" is called. Instead of having
players stand directly on nodes that your team controls, they can stand between
nodes and made the trip faster should they need to.
To control the northern crossroads your team may choose to split the groups with some going to Blacksmith and the others to Gold Mines. Once these nodes are under control your team can attack Stables if it already hasn't been. If you're on the alliance team you can have just one player go to the Stables and capture it while the rest split into two groups to take Blacksmith and GM. When these three nodes are under control you can choose to have just one player defend each and call out incomings should there be any. If players are at the crossroads they can quickly run to the node they are needed at. Players can often anticipate which nodes are likely to be attacked.
Standing at Northern Crossroads (Blacksmith, Stables, Gold Mines)
Likewise, if your team was attempting to control the southern crossroads you could split into two groups heading to Lumber Mill and Blacksmith followed by an attack on the Farm.
Standing at Southern Crossroads (Blacksmith, Farm, Lumber Mill)
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Defending Bases:
Your team should have at least one person defending each node it controls at all times. This way the defending player can call out if any enemy players are approaching. Even if the defending player is killed and the base is assaulted by the enemy, your team may have enough time to run to it and defend before it changes over to the other team's control (you have one minute to defend a base that is assaulted by the enemy). While defending a base you should always stay near the flag in the case that a stealthed player comes and attempts to steal it undetected. However, you can move around a bit as long as you keep a watch on the flag and do not travel too far away from it. You will need to move slightly away from the flag every now and again to check for enemy players coming at the node from various directions. The Lumber Mill, for instance, has a great view of pathways leading up to it as well as a fairly good view of the farm and Blacksmith.
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Strategy #1(Arathi Basin Perfection) :
Alliance:
This strategy is for the achievement "Arathi Basin Perfection" (1600 to 0)
Group One - Go to Mine
Group Two - Go to Blacksmith
Group Three - Go to Lumber Mill
One person from group one will assault Stables and wait for it to capture
One or two players from groups two or three will go directly to Farm and capture it. Once captured, one or both players assist either the Lumber Mill, Mine or blacksmith.
Capturing the Stables should be easy, so just send one player (from group one) to do this. Your team will need to assault the Farm as quickly as possible so that the enemy does not gain control and accumulate resources. Assign one or two players to run directly to the Farm to capture it. The Farm will need to be ninja-capped or the player(s) defending it killed so that your team can assault it before the enemy team gathers resources.
Your team will have to assist where needed but as long as the horde to not gain control of any nodes the will not accumulate resources. Your team can take their time keeping the enemy away from the flag until they are able to assault it or help arrives.
Once a base is assaulted, and until your team has control of all the bases, use as many players as possible to help attack the remaining bases and just leave a couple back to defend the ones already captured. Remember, even if a base is assaulted by the enemy you will have one minute to defend it. Essentially, you cannot allow to enemy to gain control of any of the bases at any time.
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Horde:
This strategy is for the achievement "Arathi Basin Perfection" (1600 to 0)
Group One - Go to Mine
Group Two - Go to Blacksmith
Group Three - Go to Lumber Mill
One person from group one will assault the Farm and wait for it to capture.
One or two players from groups two or three will go directly to Stables and capture it. Once captured, one or both players assist either the Lumber Mill, Mine, or blacksmith.
Capturing the Farm should be easy, so just have one (from group one)player do this. Your team will need to assault the Stables as quickly as possible so that the enemy does not gain control and accumulate resources. Assign one or two players to run directly to stables to capture it. The stables will need to be ninja-capped or the player(s) defending it need to be killed so that your team can capture it before any resources are gained by the enemy team.
Your team will have to assist where needed but as long as the alliance do not gain control of any nodes they will not accumulate resources. Your team can take its time keeping the enemy away from the flag until they are able to assault it or help arrives. As long as the enemy does not capture a node and begin to accumulate resources, your team will have a chance to get this achievement.
Once a base is assaulted, and until your team has control of all the bases, use as many players as possible to help attack the remaining bases and just leave one or two players at each node that was captured by your team to defend it. Remember, even if a base is assaulted by the enemy you will have one minute to defend it. Essentially, you cannot allow to enemy to gain control of any of the bases at any time.
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Strategy #2 (3-Cap and Hold Crossroads) :
Alliance:
This strategy can be used for rated battlegrounds.
When playing a rated battleground and your team begins as horde, replace the "Stables" with "Farm" when following this guide.
The groups will not be evenly split, you will need to specify which players are in which group before the match begins. When assigning groups, attempt to spread out the healers among the groups and mix up players' abilities (i.e. try to send players with Time Warp or Heroism to different nodes).
Group One (1 player): Go to Stables
Group Two (3 players): Go to Lumber Mill or Mine*
Group Three (6 players): Go to Blacksmith
Your team needs to send the majority of players (in this case 6 players) to Blacksmith because this is usually where the more populated battles take place. The enemy team will likely send several players to Blacksmith.
One player is needed to capture and defend the Stables for the entire battle. This is usually a player with a pet such as a mage or warlock, a rogue, or a tank such as a prot warrior. Their main duty is to guard this node. They should call out any incomings, including the number of players incoming. Rather than attempting to just fight the enemy, this player should do what they can to stay alive and keep the enemy from assaulting the base.
Group Two, which will consist of three players, will go to either Lumber Mill or Mine. The node that you choose to attack will depend on several factors - what class each of the players are, the classes that make up the enemy team, and how many enemy players are attacking the node your group chooses. If your team has players with knock-off abilities it is typically best to choose Lumber Mill. If the enemy team has players with knock-off abilities and your team doesn't, you might choose to assault the Mine instead. If your team decides to assault the Lumber Mill but you notice a large number of enemy players headed there, select to divert group Two to Blacksmith and choose 2 players from Blacksmith to assault the Mine.
The following picture will describe how the typical scenario would appear:
Assaulting the Stables, Blacksmith and Lumber Mill.
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Horde:
This strategy can be used for rated battlegrounds.
Note: When playing a rated battleground and your team begins as alliance, replace the "Farm" with "Stables" when following this guide.
The groups will not be evenly split, you will need to specify which players are in which groups before the match begins. When assigning groups, attempt to spread out the healers among the groups and mix up players' abilities (i.e. try to send players with Time Warp or Heroism to different nodes).
Group One (1 players): Go to Farm
Group Two (3 players): Go to Lumber Mill or Mine*
Group Three (6 players): Go to Blacksmith
Your team needs to send the majority of players (in this case 6 players) to Blacksmith because this is usually where the more populated battles take place. The enemy team will likely send several players to Blacksmith.
One player is needed to capture and defend the Farm for the entire battle. This is usually a player with a pet such as a mage or warlock, a rogue, or a tank such as a prot warrior. Their main duty is to guard this node. They should call out any incomings, including the number of players incoming. Rather than attempting to just fight the enemy, this player should do what they can to stay alive and keep the enemy from assaulting the base.
Group two, which will consist of three players, will go to either Lumber Mill or Mine. The node that group two chooses to attack can depend on several factors - the classes of players that your team is sending, the classes of players that make up the enemy team, and how many enemy players are attempting to assault the node that your team is going after. If your team has players with knock-off abilities it is typically best to choose Lumber Mill. If the enemy team has players with knock-off abilities and your team doesn't, you might choose to assault the Mine instead. If your team decides to assault the Lumber Mill but you notice a large number of enemy players headed there, select to divert group Two to Blacksmith and choose 2 players from Blacksmith to assault the Mine.
The following picture will describe how the typical scenario would appear:
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