My Recent PvP Thoughts

A week or so ago I ran Wintergrasp for the first time. We already had the keep, so I was defending...sort of.

When I zoned in, I did not know what to do. I found the quest givers and picked up the quests, then ran around the keep. I found some wall-mounted guns, but players were already on them. I peaked outside and saw some Horde coming around. I jumped into the fray and died.

When I came back I did it again, but I caught someone with only about half their health and chased them down, literally, they were running away as best they could. I charged, or intervened, or whatever the Berserker version is, and promptly hit them with a hamstring (or whatever slow debuff I have, honestly, I don't know the names of my own skills after three years of playing), and hit them with everything I had, then charged again and did it all over. I finally got my killing blow in, but man, I really had to work at it, and he only had about 50% health when I started on him.

Anyway, I died quickly after that.

So, I rezzed once again and then the achievements began rolling in. And I noticed I was completing quests that I had not even done anything with.

Well, of course I turned them in and got my "free" shards.

By the end of it, we won and I had "earned" over 8k honor points, racked up three or four achievements, and picked up over 100 Stone Keeper Shards. All from one killing blow.

Now, at first, I think I cheated somehow. I certainly did not earn all of that on my own terms.

But, on the other hand, I was severely out-geared.

Now, I do not know how well I can actually PvP these days, but I never was that good. But, when the average player is wearing item gear that is pushing 70 levels higher than your own, it is difficult to say who is actually better. When the bonus stats on their helms can kill you at a glance, how can you fairly compete?

Thus, the "free" honor, kills, achievements, and shards.

Granted, a poor player in item level 271 gear would also get those freebies, at least I would have a fighting chance against him if I had the same level of gear, or at lease near that level. But at nearly 70 levels apart, I am just meat in the grinder, no matter how bad another player might be.

So, at some level, I am grateful for the freebies, but how do I get any better if the rewards are just handed to me?

I guess I am just supposed to keep jumping into the thick of it until my gear matches my opponents, then we can see who is really better.