BFA New PVP Season & MDI !

[Pantoufle]

 

Greetings !

As we previously announced, next Wednesday, October 6th will mark the beginning of the new season 4 for PVP, as a way to give it a fresh breath and add some new features to make the whole system less bothersome.

On top of that, we also mentioned that we wanted to organize our very own Firestorm MDI: a Mythic+ dungeon tournament with real cash prizes and this refresh of a season is a great timing to get things started !

More details below related to its organization, how to participate etc: make sure to read through the whole post so you won't miss on anything
 

 

NEW PVP SEASON

 

Since the 8.3 update shipped around 6 months ago, puting an end to the current season allowed us to "refresh" the ladder, give some rewards in the meantime but also make some large-scale changes without introducing them mid-season.

Starting Wednesday October 6th, with the new season (which will still be a season 4 reward-wise) we will implement changes that tackle the most important issues forwarded to us for the past month:

• Unfairness to fight better-geared players: while it's perfectly normal that someone who is 475 ilvl has an easier time fighting a 425 ilvl player, the difference seemed to be overwhelming to the point that there was no chance at all for players to climb above a certain rating in rated arenas. Back when Sethraliss was released we decided not to implement retail's scaling because it had too many flaws, so we scripted something similar but simpler that we can tweak easily in real-time to lesser the impact of ilvl differences: if you hit or heal someone who has better gear, your damage / heals will be boosted by a % calculated based on the ilvl gap. Obviously, you will never get an advantage by being the lower ilvl player, but this should render some matches a bit more skill based rather than relying solely on gear difference. We'll asses the initial values and tweak it if it's either too strong, or too weak to notice.
   
• The tedious process of gearing yourself: aside from being rewarded random gear at the end of battles, the current system gives you a specific piece of equipment when you cap your conquest each week, which sometimes mean you have to wait months before getting that piece you really need. So we're getting rid of that by introducing a custom PVP vendor which will sell every piece (and tokens to increase gear's ilvl) for conquest currency, located at your PVP hub in Mugambala or Hook Point. We're getting rid of the weekly quest, but you will still need to cap your conquest each week if you want to unlock the PVP weekly chest: aside from that you should be able to now regularly buy that specific gear your character is lacking !
   
• The infamous wintraders: while our replay system made it impossible for high rated players to wintrade, some people still exploit the system to get gear at lower ratings,  which is something troublesome. It makes it look unfair for those who play legit, and even if we catch them, everything they obtained will still remain after their account suspension has ended. Therefore, we will now remove every BFA gear from convicted wintraders depending on the case at hand. This should make most of them think twice before deciding to abuse this way. Our rulebook has been edited to reflect on that change, which you can access here.
   
• Echoes of Ny'alotha gains doubled: In every PVP activities you will receive twice as much echoes to help you get corruptions faster !
   
• Malefic Core price halved: to help newcomers and alts increase their cloak level faster.
   

While the last point isn't something that will really affect most of you, the first 2 are important changes that we think will help PVP as a whole, and may entice new players to try this very different aspect of World of Warcraft: if you have been hesitant to join the fray, now would be the time as it will feel fairer, and more rewarding !
We'll keep a close eye on their impact, and potentially tweak a thing or two based on your feedback: so don't hesitate !

 

FIRESTORM MDI

 

Teased in our latest announce, it's now time to unveil the mysteries surrounding the Firestorm MDI first edition !
Special Thanks to Zuhal for his addon, and to Alexiuly for his help setting everything up

The whole tournament will take place in 3 separated steps:

• Qualifiers 1st Round: Those will take place on Sethraliss starting Wednesday October 6th and will last around 4 weeks. Everyone's "dungeon skill" will be measured using a custom addon similar to Raider.io: the highest the key, and the faster the completion the better ! You can track your own Firestorm.io (or Fio) here (link to be added soon™). Once this round of qualifiers is over, we will select everyone above a certain rating to enter the 2nd phase. This first selection will be fairly lenient, to allow for newcomers to have a shot even if they don't have a full BIS character.
   
• Qualifiers 2nd Round: Those will take place on a separate realm only dedicated to the MDI. Those who qualify will be granted access, and will find there vendors with every piece of gear, essence and corruptions to make the optimal build on their characters, and create their team of 6 players (the 5 main + a sub). Once their team has been validated, they will then need to compete there and build up their Fio. The top X teams will then access the final phase: the tournament itself.
   
• The Tournament: This part will be fully streamed, with a double elimination bracket. Two teams will race each other on a designated dungeon at a set key, and the fastest to complete it will move forward until the best team has been revealed !

Obviously, any abuse / exploit used during the tournament will result in instant disqualification. All matches of the tournament will be reviewed to ensure fairness from all parts.
The cashprize will include 7500 euros, Firestorm Points and exclusive in game rewards.
The first team will get 5000 euros, while the rest will receive splits of the remaining amount depending on their placements.

To help newcomers participate, we will also have a special Boris from Friday October 8th to Friday October 15th that will give 430 ilvl gear so you can start running Mythic+ right away !

This is our first time setting up something like this, but we want to give it our best, because it could be the first of many Firestorm MDI!
So spread the word, start preparing and contacting potential teammates, because the battle will be fierce !

See you soon,
The Firestorm Team

Edited October 6, 2021 by Pantoufle
Added new changes for the new season !