World of Warcraft Patch 2.0 Honor System Changes
Patch 2.0 introduced changes to the honor system. The following
selection of questions address those changes:

What is the new
player-versus-player (PvP) honor system?
Like the current PvP honor system, the new honor system provides a way
for players to participate in PvP combat and obtain rewards by defeating
their opponents. The key difference in the new honor system is how the
rewards are obtained. With the new honor system, you will obtain honor
points that can be accumulated and spent like currency on rewards such
as items, weapons, and armor.
Do I need to keep playing to
keep my honor points intact?
No, the honor points will accumulate like currency, similar to the gold
and silver you can obtain through killing monsters or completing quests,
and will not degrade or be lost over time. This allows you to
participate in PvP at your own pace, working toward the honor rewards,
which you can purchase as soon as you have enough honor points to do so.
There is no longer any ranking associated with the honor system, so you
no longer have to worry about maintaining a rank or standing under the
honor system. Players still interested in measuring their PvP ability
against fellow players will be able to participate in the Arena System,
which is a separate, new form of competitive PvP in The Burning Crusade.
Is there a limit to how many
honor points I can accumulate?
Yes, there is a limit to how many honor points a character can
accumulate, but it is currently set to be approximately twice as much as
the most expensive reward. If you max out your honor points, you'll need
to spend some before you can earn additional honor points.
The limit of course, is subject to change depending on what works best
for long-term game balance.

Are honor points the only
thing needed to purchase the rewards?
The battleground marks of honor currently awarded for participating in
Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley will also factor in to
the cost for many of the rewards. The amount of honor points and marks
of honor required will vary for each reward. However, for most items the
honor cost is the most significant part of the item's cost.
How are honor points earned?
Honor points are earned in a very similar manner to the honor rewarded
in the current honor system. The game tracks your participation in world
PvP as well as PvP within battlegrounds. As you kill enemies and assist
your allies against the enemy, you'll earn honor. You will be able to
track a rough estimate of your approximate amount of honor points
received, and the points will then be calculated and awarded each night.
Marks of Honor Power Grinding
Alterac Valley -
Arathi Basin -
Warsong Gulch
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Will the honor and
battleground reputation rewards available in the current system still be
available?
All of the same rewards are available in the new honor system, costing
both honor points and marks of honor from the appropriate battleground.
What will happen to my
current battleground reputations, honor, and rank?
A new title system will display your highest rank achieved under the old
honor system, but ranks will no longer play a part in the new honor
system. The battleground reputations will carry over to the new system,
and still be visible and increase through participation in the various
battlegrounds, but the current rewards are now only available through
the new honor system. However, you will be able to obtain a special
title if you obtain exalted reputation with each battleground faction.
This title may be displayed through the new title display system.
How will dishonorable kills
factor in to the new honor system?
Although this is subject to change, we are not currently planning to
have dishonorable kills play any role in the honor system. The NPCs
around the world will no longer be set as civilians, so killing them
will not impact your ability to obtain honor points.
Gaining Honor
What is the Honor System?
The Honor System allows players to gain Honor Points based on PvP kills
and battles that can be used to spend on special rewards. Players earn
Honor Points mainly through Battlegrounds and World Outdoor PvP. For
more competative battles, participate in the Arena System.
Can I earn honor if I am in
a group?
Yes. When grouped with other players, honor are divided equally amongst
the members of the party. Just like in groups for killing monsters,
players can gain bonus experience for killing players while in a group.
If the character levels of some group members are significantly higher
than others, the amount of honor gained by the lower level members will
be reduced, just like it is with monster experience.
What if I do less damage
than the rest of my group, say through healing, damage over time, or
area-of-effect spells? Do I still get the same amount of honor as my
group?
Yes. Players who are grouped in a party equally split the honor they
earn. The Priest who heals will receive an equal share of points as the
Warrior who is swinging away at the target.
What happens if we take out
a faction leader in a raid group? Who gets the honor?
Members of the raid group that taps the creature will share the honor
points equally. The points will be distributed the same way as
experience points. It should be noted, however, that strategic targets
are there to promote conflict and role-play between the Alliance and
Horde, so players will find that killing enemy leaders will not be a
disproportionately large source of honor.
If I am a raid leader, will I receive more honor
than other non-leader raid group members?
No. Honor is
divided equally among all raid-party members.
If I am on the other end of the battlefield as my
party or raid group, will I still get honor for any kills they make?
No. Earning honor falls within the normal rules of experience gain.
Players must be in the general area to receive the honor.
Will I get credit for
killing guards?
Based on player feedback we have decided to no longer award honorable
kills for killing NPCs that are not racial leaders. This will prevent
players from feeling as though they need to "grind" NPC kills for honor.
This change will also help the honorable kill totals mean more than they
otherwise would.
What happens if I am
fighting a player and that player runs away, then another player or
group finds the player and kills him or her? Do I get any honor having
damaged the player first?
No. If a player does not take damage for 1 minute since the last time
they were attacked in PvP, any damage done by the first player is null
and void. The next player or group who finds and kills the target gets
the credit.
Will there be additional
honor gained for rapid-fire killing? For instance, three honorable kills
in thirty seconds.
There are no current plans to reward players for going on killing
sprees, other than the normal honor they earn.
Will there be a survival
bonus?
For instance, each kill
beyond the first without dying equates to more honor.
This will not be a feature upon initial implementation of the Honor
System, but is a possible candidate for continued refinement.
WOW Honor Rewards
What incentives do I have
to gain Honor Points in the Honor System?
By killing other
players and racking up honor, players will gain access to new equipment
and weapons. Some of these weapons also require Battleground tokens.
Can I earn Honor Points in Arena Matches?
No. This is a
seperate system where players earn Arena Points that can be used on
special Arena weapons and equipment.
Honor Decay
Once I gain Honor Points, do I keep it
indefinitely, or do I have to keep earning it?
There is a limit to
how many honor points a character can accumulate, but it is currently
set to be approximately twice as much as the most expensive reward. If
you max out your honor points, you'll need to spend some before you can
earn additional honor points.
Warcraft Battlegrounds
How does the Honor System fit in with the
Battlegrounds?
In the Battlegrounds
players will be fighting primarily against other players which will net
honor points. There will also be other methods of earning honor in the
Battlegrounds besides player-vs-player battles. Battlegrounds are
instances geared towards promoting player-vs-player combat, so players
who complete objectives in Battlegrounds will receive honor.
Will killing players in the Battlegrounds
automatically result in me getting more honor than if I kill someone on
the other parts of the realm?
No. However players participating in Battlegrounds can earn honor in
other ways besides killing players.
Misc.
Will one class have an advantage over the others?
Some classes seem to be better equipped for gaining honor than others;
was that taken into consideration?
During our testing we did not come across any one class that had a
distinct advantage over the others. Each class has an equal chance of
gaining Honor Points depending on how it is played.
It seems that some realms have way more Alliance
than Horde members. How will this affect the Honor System ?
Contrary to popular belief, the numbers of Horde and Alliance are very
similar on player-vs-player realms.
How am I supposed to play the game when every
where I go someone is waiting to gank me? The graveyard is nice, but I
want to see the rest of the world too!
Players who chose to create characters on a PvP realm are supposed to
feel a sense of danger where ever they go, that is why we offer player-vs-player
realms!
What happened to the old ranks?
Ranks from the previous sytem are now purely cosmetic. They no longer
affect anything beyond the name above a character that has previously
earned them.
HOW TO Gain World of Warcraft PVP Honor
What is the Honor System?
The Honor System
allows players to gain rankings based on their PvP performance,
with lucrative rewards for those who distinguish themselves on
the field of battle! Read more about the PvP Honor System.
How do I gain rank in the Honor System?
Players advance in rank by helping to defeat players of the
opposite faction (Horde/Alliance), or by vanquishing special
target NPC's in the game, which ultimately confers honor.
The amount of damage a player deals to their target determines
the amount of honor they earn. Contributing more damage yields
more points, and less damage yields fewer points. Causing slight
damage to multiple targets may not net as many points as causing
severe damage to a single target. Also, the target must die and
the kill must be honorable in order for honor points to be
awarded.

What is an honorable kill?
An honorable kill occurs when a player takes part in the killing
of an appropriate player or NPC in the player's level range. The
color system for players works the same as it does for monsters.
Grey level players will not yield an honorable kill.
Also, only specific NPC's will yield honorable kills. These are
special target NPC's that are extremely difficult for players to
attack, as they are some of the main leaders of each player
faction. Defeating these NPC's will require a large force of
players.
What is a 'Dishonorable kill'?
Any NPC that is marked with the green word 'Civilian' in its
tooltip is considered a 'dishonorable kill'. The 'Civilian'
marking will be applied to general NPC's such as vendors and
quest NPCs as the level of the player begins to exceed the level
of the NPC. This means that players of the appropriate level are
allowed to kill general NPC's that are considered to present a
fair fight.
Can I earn honor if I am in a group?
Yes. When grouped with other players, honor are divided equally
amongst the members of the party. Just like in groups for
killing monsters, players can gain bonus experience for killing
players while in a group. If the character levels of some group
members are significantly higher than others, the amount of
honor gained by the lower level members will be reduced, just
like it is with monster experience.
What if I
do less damage than the rest of my group, say through healing,
damage over time, or area-of-effect spells? Do I still get the
same amount of honor as my group?
Yes. Players
who are grouped in a party equally split the honor they earn.
The Priest who heals will receive an equal share of points as
the Warrior who is swinging away at the target.
What happens if we take out a faction
leader in a raid group? Who gets the honor?
Members of the raid
group that taps the creature will share the honor points
equally. The points will be distributed the same way as
experience points. It should be noted, however, that strategic
targets are there to promote conflict and role-play between the
Alliance and Horde, so players will find that killing enemy
leaders will not be a disproportionately large source of honor.
If I am a raid leader, will I receive more
honor than other non-leader raid group members?
No. Honor is divided equally among all raid-party members.
If I am on the other end of the
battlefield as my party or raid group, will I still get honor
for any kills they make?
No. Earning honor falls within the normal rules of experience
gain. Players must be in the general area to receive the honor.

How many points do I need to get my next
rank?
This is one area where the PvP and normal experience system
differ. There is no set amount of honor needed to reach a
certain level. The PvP ranking system is based on the number of
players engaging in PvP combat, and how good each player is in
relation to other players.
Think of the PvP rankings as
a curve, where the highest ranks will encompass the top
percentage of players. While there are a finite amount of
players who can be in the top ranks, the actual number will
depend on how many other characters on the server are involved
in PvP. The more players competing, the more players will be
able to reach the top ranks.
How many WOW Ratings needed for PVP Rank
60000 <= 14 Rank <
65000
55000 <= 13 Rank < 60000
50000 <= 12 Rank < 55000
45000 <= 11 Rank < 50000
40000 <= 10 Rank < 45000
35000 <= 9 Rank < 40000
30000 <= 8 Rank < 35000
25000 <= 7 Rank < 30000
20000 <= 6 Rank < 25000
15000 <= 5 Rank < 20000
10000 <= 4 Rank < 15000
5000
<=
3 Rank < 10000
0 <=
Rank < 5000

How does my PvP Rank update?
PvP ranks are
compiled once a week, and will coincide with the weekly server
maintenance. There is a minimum number of honorable kills per
week required for eligibility; this number is flexible and
depends on the average number of honorable kills for your realm
that week.
Based on the number of honor received per
week and the amount of people involved in PvP combat, a rating
value is assessed for each player. This value is used to
determine progression through the PvP ranks.
Will I get credit for killing guards?
Based on player feedback we have decided to no longer award
honorable kills for killing NPCs that are not racial leaders.
This will prevent players from feeling as though they need to
"grind" NPC kills for honor. This change will also help the
honorable kill totals mean more than they otherwise would.
What happens if I am fighting a player and
that player runs away, then another player or group finds the
player and kills him or her? Do I get any honor having damaged
the player first?
No. If a player does not take damage for 1 minute since the last
time they were attacked in PvP, any damage done by the first
player is null and void. The next player or group who finds and
kills the target gets the credit.
Will there be additional honor gained for
rapid-fire killing? For instance, three honorable kills in
thirty seconds.
There are no current plans to reward players for going on
killing sprees, other than the normal honor they earn.
Will there be a survival bonus? For
instance, each kill beyond the first without dying equates to
more honor.
This
will not be a feature upon initial implementation of the Honor
System, but is a possible candidate for continued refinement.
So far it seems like the Honor System is
designed for players who can devote large amounts of time to the
game. What if I am a casual player who cannot devote so much
time?
Since the
majority of players in WoW are casual gamers, the majority of
player will be competing against players of a similar skill
level and playtime. We expect many players to be surprised at
how viable they will be in the Honor System.

Rewards
What incentives do I have to gain high
ranks in the Honor System?
By killing other players and racking up honor, players will gain
access to the Officer's barracks in Orgrimmar and Stormwind
City. Each new rank players gain will open up new items,
weapons, and armor for them to use. Along with the new items
players will also have their current Honor Rank displayed for
all to see. Here is a list of the ranks and rewards given per
rank:

Will the rewards ever include new spells
or talents for characters of higher ranks?
No. Currently we do
not have any plans to reward players with new talents or spells.
Will my title be visible to those around
me?
Yes. Players will be
able to see other player titles as part of their names. In
addition, players may view others' honor tabs through the
inspect feature.
The previews on the website showed a few weapons and armor. Is
that all we will be able to obtain?
No. The preview
displayed just a few of the rewards. More rewards will be
available in game.
Honor Decay
Once I gain Honor, do I keep it
indefinitely, or do I have to keep earning it?
The Honor System is
created so that players have to continue killing the enemy in
order to keep their ranks. If a player does not fight or does
not earn as many points from week to week, his or her standing
will fluctuate. Over time Honor points will "decay". If a player
goes down in ranks, any titles he has earned will be taken away
until the rank is earned back.
What do you mean my Honor
points will decay?
There is only a percentage correction
between the current honor rating and the new rating. This is
because honor points behave more like a rating system than a
leveling system.
Does it always correct at the same rate,
or do the player's rank/duration away affect it?
Rank changes as a
percentage of the difference between a player's current honor
rating and his or her current week's honor rating. However, in
order to give players a cushion for "off weeks", the correction
is substantially faster when a player is increasing their honor
rating than it is going down.
Does it decay to zero, or is there some
nominal rank it stops at?
Players would
typically have to be inactive in PvP for a very long time
(months) before they lose all rank.
Penalties
What sort of penalties are there for
dishonorable behavior?
We have recently implemented the first steps toward a Dishonor
system. Trivial civilian NPCs such as quest givers and vendors
give Dishonorable Kills to players who kill them, or who are
part of a party that kills them.
Are there any places where
we can fight that will cause a negative honor gain if you kill
the opposing faction? An example would be an Argent Dawn camp?
Not at this time. However, there will be times at which players
will be worth no honor. For example, when a player loads into
the world by crossing an instance line or logging in, or
immediately after landing from a flight, that player will be
worth no honor for a short time.
Are there
any safe guards in place to prevent players from killing each
other to climb up the ranks? For example, "you let me kill you
and I will let you kill me" over and over again? That seems like
it would be the fastest way to reach the top ranks of the Honor
System.
Killing the
same player repeatedly will have diminishing returns, so it will
not be worthwhile for either player. In addition to that, any
players caught participating in behavior described above will be
guilty of exploiting the game and will be dealt with
accordingly. The system we have in place can track unusual
patterns to help expose this behavior.
What if guilds coordinate with each other
to "trade" players to kill so they are not always fighting the
same player?
Any guilds caught participating in this activity will also be
considered exploiting the game and will be penalized
accordingly.
If I gain the 5th rank, and I purchase the
Bracers as listed in the chart above, what happens if I drop
down to the 4th rank. Will I still be able to wear the bracers?
Characters are able
to equip gear obtained from honor rewards based on the highest
rank that the character has attained in their lifetime.
WOW Battlegrounds
How does the Honor System fit in with the
Battlegrounds?
In the Battlegrounds players will be fighting primarily against
other players which will net honor. There will also be other
methods of earning honor in the Battlegrounds besides player-vs-player
battles. Battlegrounds are instances geared towards promoting
player-vs-player combat, so players who complete objectives in
Battlegrounds will receive honor.
How does the PvP system that is being implemented affect the
world outside Battlegrounds. In other words, in contested zones
will I be able to control graveyards and other key points?
While we are looking to have player-vs-player combat affect the
outside world in ways that are interesting and most of all fun
to players, this will not be a feature that is included in the
initial Honor System or Battleground patches.
Will killing players in the Battlegrounds
automatically result in me getting more honor than if I kill
someone on the other parts of the realm?
No. However players
participating in Battlegrounds can earn honor in other ways
besides killing players.

Misc.
Will one class have an advantage over the
others? Some classes seem to be better equipped for gaining
honor than others; was that taken into consideration?
During our testing
we did not come across any one class that had a distinct
advantage over the others. Each class has an equal chance of
rising through the ranks depending on how it is played. Keep in
mind that the number of honorable kills that a player makes does
not determine the rate at which ranks are gained, only that a
fair kill was made. That should help alleviate some of the fears
about certain classes being better than others. The more a
player participates in player-vs-player battles, the higher the
rank will be.
It seems that some realms have way more
Alliance than Horde members. How will this affect the Honor
System ?
Contrary to popular belief, the numbers of Horde and Alliance
are very similar on player-vs-player realms.
How am I supposed to play the game when
every where I go someone is waiting to gank me? The graveyard is
nice, but I want to see the rest of the world too!
Players who chose to
create characters on a PvP realm are supposed to feel a sense of
danger where ever they go, that is why we offer player-vs-player
realms!