General Game Play
Controlling the Middle
The 4-Cap
Controlling Towers vs. Running the Flag
When to Call for Backup
Know your Role as a Player and as a Teammate
Sample Match Strategies





General Game Play:

Eye of the Storm is a resource accumulation style battleground.  There are four nodes that each team attempts to control and one flag that players can attempt to capture.


The 4-Cap:

The 4-cap simply refers to one team controlling all four nodes.  A 4-cap can occur at any point during the match.  Please see sample match strategies for strategies on how to 4-cap.


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Controlling the Middle:

The middle is an important area of the map as this is where the flag is.  Capturing the flag can be worth valuable points.  The more nodes that your team controls at the time your team captures the flag, the more points the flag is worth when captured.  Your team must control a node for the flag to be captured at it.  If your team doesn't control any nodes there is no sense in controlling the middle or attempting to run the flag.  

Also, you do not gain control of the middle in the same way as you would a node.  Players are actually able to capture and control a node whereas the middle is simply controlled by having players of a certain team run the flag.  In other words, the other team cannot gain access to the flag if your team "controls" the middle - whether it be with one or two players, or 8 players.

To control the middle you will need several members of your team to go there, preferably at least 2 or 3.  One person will take the flag and run it while the other players stay in the middle.  Do not run with the flag carrier.  When the flag is captured, another player will grab it and run with it while the last flag carrier runs back to the middle.  If at any time your team is carrying the flag but loses control of the middle (too many enemies show up to battle) just hold the flag at one of your controlled nodes and do not capture it until your team regains control of the middle.


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Controlling Towers vs. Running the Flag:

As a general rule, it is best to focus on gaining control of the towers rather than running the flag.  Ideally, your team will capture three of the nodes before attempting to run the flag. 

If your team controls three nodes and the enemy only controls one, your team will gather resources rather quickly.  Even if the enemy is attempting to run the flag while controlling just one node, it would be difficult to catch up and your team should still be ahead in resources.  Capturing the flag is not worth many points when you only control one tower, or even two.  Once your team has secured three of the nodes, you can assign players to run the flag.  Just make sure to call incomings and assist the nodes as needed. 

If your team is having trouble capturing a third base and the enemy team is running the flag, the enemy can creep ahead of you in resources for each flag they capture.  If this is the case and several minutes have passed in which your team has been unsuccessful in capturing another node, you may wish to start focusing on the flag.  If anything, you should try to gain control of the flag, whether or not your team actually captures it or just holds on to it so the enemy can't capture it.  If your team has easy access to the middle and, for instance, one player can continue to run the flag without confronting too much resistance or interruptions from the other team, have this player continue to run the flag while the rest of your team focuses on capturing a third node.

If the middle is overrun by the enemy or the enemy will not allow your team to run the flag without a lot of resistance, attempt to gain control of the flag and have a player hold on to it without capturing it.  However, if the enemy team is ahead of you in resources, you will need to put effort towards gaining another node, regardless of whether or not you are controlling the flag.  If your team can get a few flag captures in without risking the other team gaining control of the flag, you  may choose to go for this.  When matches are extremely close in points, any extra resources your team can get will make a big difference. 

Below is a breakdown of how many resources your team can expect to gain in various situations.

The calculation of points for towers controlled are as follows:

1 tower controlled = 1 point every second
2 towers controlled = 2 points every second
3 towers controlled = 5 points every second
4 towers controlled = 10 points every second

 The number of points gained per flag capture are as follows:

 75 points with 1 node owned
85 points with 2 nodes owned
100 points with 3 nodes owned
500 points with 4 nodes owned

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When to Call for Backup:

It is a good idea to have some defense at any of the towers that your team controls.  This may be one player or several (one or two is typically preferable).  If you are at a node and you see the enemy nearing it, call out for backup if you do not think that you can handle them on your own.  Even if you believe you can handle the incoming enemy, it is good to at least announce to your team that you have one or more enemies approaching your node. 


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Know your Role as a Player and as a Teammate:

If you are playing on a pre-made team you may already have a role assigned.  However, if you are not, there are some simple things you can do as an individual player to help your team win.  No matter what your role is you should always communicate with your team.  Role, in this context, refers to whether you will be playing offense, defense, or where you should otherwise be and what you should be doing in the battleground.

If someone on your team requests backup and you are not occupied with something important go and assist them.  If you see a node that your team controls and it is left undefended, go and defend it.  If you see an enemy node that is undefended, announce it to your team and attempt to assault it.

Try to remember your limits at all times.  If you are a healer or struggle with damage output or survivability, do not go off on your own. 

Casters, especially healers, should always be as far away as possible during a battle.  Healers are often picked out from the group and targeted.  It is important that you stand far back so that it is hard for them to reach you while you are still able to heal your teammates. 

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 Sample Match Strategies:

 Sample Strategy 1 (Alliance):

As always, have your groups assigned before you enter the battleground.  Make sure that everyone remembers what group they are in.  Try to allocate one healer for each group. 

Group 1: Go to Blood Elf Tower
Group 2: Go to Fel Reaver Ruins
Group 3: Have one player go to Mage Tower until it is captures.  Have one player go to Draenei Ruins until it is captured.  The single player used to capture Mage Tower or Draenei Ruins would preferably be a dps and not a healer.  Send the remaining three players to Blood Elf Tower.  If you find that more reinforcements are needed at Fel Reaver Ruins, you can send one or more reinforcements there. 

Groups are sent to both Blood Elf Tower and Fel Reaver Ruins not just to attempt to gain control of these nodes, but also because if there were no players at one, it allows for easy access to the other nodes by the enemy.  For example, if both groups focused on Blood Elf Tower instead of splitting and having one group go to Fel Reaver Ruins, both Fel Reaver Ruins and Mage Tower would be practically wide open for the enemy and it would take some time for any of your teammates to reach these locations (especially Mage Tower) should they be attacked.

If the strategy goes as planned, your team will control Mage Tower and the Draenei Ruins while you battle for Blood Elf Tower and Fel Reaver Ruins.   Hopefully, your team will gain control of either BET or FR if not both.  Once your team has control of at least three nodes, place defense where necessary and watch for incomings.  Your team should attempt to hold three nodes.  If one node gets taken by the enemy, attempt to regain control of it or attack another node. 

If your team is struggling to hold three nodes do not risk using players to run the flag or go for a forth node.  You can assign players to constantly attack the forth node, however, just to keep pressure on the enemy and hold as many players as possible there.  If you are doing this, the enemy may likely catch on and attempt to ninja-attack another one of your nodes that isn't heavily defended.  Just keep an eye out for this and call incomings.

The map will look like this at the beginning of the match:


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 Sample Strategy 1 (Horde):

As always, have your groups assigned before you enter the battleground (groups can change once you enter the BG).  Make sure that everyone remembers what group they are in.  Try to allocate one healer for each group. 

Group 1: Go to Mage Tower
Group 2: Go to Draenei Ruins
Group 3: Have one player go to Blood Elf Tower until it is captures.  Have one player go to Fel Reaver Ruins until it is captured.  The single player used to capture Blood Elf Tower or Fel Reaver Ruins would preferably be a dps and not a healer.  Send the remaining three players to Mage Tower.  If you find that more reinforcements are needed at Draenei Ruins, you can send one or more reinforcements there. 

Groups are sent to both Mage Tower and Draenei Ruins not just to attempt to gain control of these nodes, but also because if there were no players at one, it allows for easy access to the other nodes by the enemy.  For example, if both groups focused on Mage Tower instead of splitting and having one group go to Draenei Ruins, both Draenei Ruins and Blood Elf Tower would be practically wide open for the enemy and it would take some time for any of your teammates to reach these locations (especially Blood Elf Tower) should they be attacked.

If the strategy goes as planned, your team will control Blood Elf Tower and the Fel Reaver Ruins while you battle for Mage Tower and Draenei Ruins.   Hopefully, your team will gain control of either MT or DR if not both.  Once your team has control of at least three nodes, place defense where necessary and watch for incomings.  Your team should attempt to hold three nodes.  If one node gets taken by the enemy, attempt to regain control of it or attack another node. 

If your team is struggling to hold three nodes do not risk using players to run the flag or go for a forth node.  You can assign players to constantly attack the forth node, however, just to keep pressure on the enemy and hold as many players as possible there.  If you are doing this, the enemy may likely catch on and attempt to ninja-attack another one of your nodes that isn't heavily defended.  Just keep an eye out for this and call incomings.

The map will look like this at the beginning of the match:









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