PvP Combat involves engaging in battle with other players, rather than creatures roaming the world. There are several different ways that players can engage in PvP. Battlegrounds are large-scale instances where groups of players work towards a common objective, usually involving capturing and defending points on a map, or gathering resources. World PvP is simply when two or more players clash out in the world while doing quests or simply exploring. Arenas and Rated Battlegrounds are available for players who want to focus on PvP as a method of earning ranks, titles, and prestige. Skirmishes are small-scale battles like Arenas, but have no ranking at all—they’re just for fun!
Dueling
Dueling another player is a good way to practice your PvP skills. You can duel on any kind of server, and you can duel players from either faction.
To start a duel, right-click on a player’s portrait and click “Duel.” A duel flag appears, and your opponent can choose to accept or decline. If they accept, a countdown begins, indicating when the duel will start. A duel ends when one player’s health is reduced to 1, if one of the dueling players runs too far from the duel flag, or if a player simply forfeits the match.
Outside of an achievement, there are no tangible rewards to dueling other players. You cannot gain Honor in this way, nor can you loot anything from your opponents. The person who loses the duel doesn’t actually die, so they won’t have to deal with durability loss or reclaiming their body.
World PvP: PvP Servers
On PvP servers, Horde and Alliance players are actively at war. Anytime you enter neutral, contested, or enemy territory, you can be attacked by players of the opposite faction. This completely changes the nature of the game; while you are completing quests, you must also look for and defend against the enemy. Many players on PvP servers game with regular groups for protection.
PvP kills of the opposite faction yield Honor. But you never know what’s ahead. Even if you find a solo character and kill them, they could have friends waiting in the wings to swoop down and take you out!
PvP deaths that don’t involve damage from monsters or falling won’t cost you money. There isn’t a durability loss as a result of these fights. You must still run back and claim your body or resurrect at a graveyard, though.
World PvP: PvE Servers
If you are on a PvE server, you must actively choose to engage in PvP combat. Right-click your own character portrait and click PvP-Enable. You can now engage in PvP with other players who have turned on their PvP flags. Alternatively, you can simply type /PvP in your chat window. Whether you click Disable, or type /PvP, your PvP flag will remain active for another 5 minutes before dropping. If you hop on a flight path after disabling, you will automatically drop your PvP flag without the timer.
You can tell that another player is flagged for PvP because their colors change. If you are not yourself flagged, PvP flagged players will look like a neutral target when you target them. As soon as you flag, they become red, signaling that combat can initiate at any time. Honor rewards and combat dynamics are exactly the same on PvE and PvP servers. The only difference between the servers is that you must flag before you engage in PvP on PvE servers.
If you get in over your head, enemies might kill you and corpse camp your character. That means that they wait for you to resurrect near your body, hoping to kill you again. Disable your flag and wait for 5 minutes, if necessary, to let your PvP flag fall. Doing so allows you to come back to life safely.
As an alternative, you can also call for help from buddies or from people in the region. Use /general chat to let other players know that flagged targets are in a certain area. Someone might show up for a free fight!
Rewards
PvP rewards are typically purchased with either Honor or Conquest points, or earned by ranking. PvP specific armor is available to purchase or craft, from beginner sets all the way to the best sets available. Honor points are typically used to purchase lower-tier PvP gear, and Conquest points are used to purchase the highest tier of PvP gear available. Each season, a new tier of PvP specific armor sets and weapons is released, similar to tiers of armor released with different raids. PvP armor and weapons can be purchased from Quartermasters located in capital cities.
In addition to armor and weapons, players that actively participate in ranked PvP can work towards gaining the best ranking possible. Players in the top percentile of rankings in each Battlegroup at the end of a season will typically earn special rewards like titles or even mounts.
Some Battlegrounds have their own reputations associated with them. Gaining exalted reputation with these factions will grant you additional titles for your character.