wow PvP Item Level System Changing in 9.1 and Season 2

[Staff 1,488]

 

Blizzard is chaning how PvP items work, with them getting an increase in item level when used in PvP-specific situations in 9.1 and Season 2, while having a reduced item level in other content, compared to what it would have been like in Season 1. Check out the specifics and the reasoming behind the decision below:

PvP Item Levels (source)

In Shadowlands, we’ve been happy to see that the reintroduction of Honor, Conquest, and PvP gear vendors has been well-received by players. Nonetheless, we feel that there is still room for improvement. One piece of feedback we’ve heard repeatedly is that PvP gear needs something special for it to stand apart in PvP specific situations.

In an upcoming build of the Chains of Domination PTR, you will notice that all Season 2 PvP items have +13 item levels in PvP. This means that in PvP situations (such as battlegrounds, arenas, and war mode), the power of these items will increase by 13 item levels. Along with this, the baseline item level of these items will be reduced by 6 from where it would have otherwise been.

If this arrangement had been in place during Shadowlands Season 1, Duelist gear would have had a baseline item level of 220 and would have scaled up to item level 233 in Season 1 PvP.

What we want here is for the different endgame sources of gear to be viable in all content, while the very best gear for PvP generally comes from PvP activities, and the very best gear for raids and dungeons generally comes from raids and dungeons. We believe this small adjustment gets us closer to accomplishing that, while still allowing for plenty of crossover play between PvE and PvP.

[Brutalis 165]

Back to the superior WoD system that should never have been removed in the first place. Progress.

[Mishmish 65]

Perfect. Glorious. The best pvp change since wod. 

[Haadesda 0]

Great news. Should have never been changed from the way it was in WoD.

[leapingshadow 50]

Everyone seems rather excited about this change, but it's a pretty net negative to everyone.

This change is only aimed at stopping the following; PvE players from doing PvP, making PvP players worse at PvE, therefore making it harder if you wanted to ever switch to one from another.

This change also makes it worse to try and gear in a world full of Duelist geared players and increases (instead of decrease, like we asked) the gap between someone at the very bottom and the very top. It does absolutely nothing to address the issue of boosting and getting crushed in Arenas by someone who is 13 ilvls higher than you because of another bracket.

All around, a terrible change without the other support PvPers have been asking for, like bracket capping and increased conquest gains.

[Alastor7783 11]

3 hours ago, leapingshadow said:

Everyone seems rather excited about this change, but it's a pretty net negative to everyone.

This change is only aimed at stopping the following; PvE players from doing PvP, making PvP players worse at PvE, therefore making it harder if you wanted to ever switch to one from another.

This change also makes it worse to try and gear in a world full of Duelist geared players and increases (instead of decrease, like we asked) the gap between someone at the very bottom and the very top. It does absolutely nothing to address the issue of boosting and getting crushed in Arenas by someone who is 13 ilvls higher than you because of another bracket.

All around, a terrible change without the other support PvPers have been asking for, like bracket capping and increased conquest gains.

well, the change is to appease PvE whiners that they "have to" do PvP to get gear. Activision doesn't give two flying fucks about PvP. Only the content that can be cleared by a group of trained monkeys is important!

[Brutalis 165]

11 hours ago, leapingshadow said:

This change is only aimed at stopping the following; PvE players from doing PvP, making PvP players worse at PvE, therefore making it harder if you wanted to ever switch to one from another.

Hard disagree that it's a "net negative". WoD's PvP gearing system was universally acclaimed from what I can tell and it made PvP gear the best gear for PvP and PvE gear the best gear for PvE as it should be. You get the best stuff for the content you want to do by doing the content you want to do, which is a wonderful departure from BFA where you had to grind PvE like mad to get the best traits and the broken trinkets.

Having a different set of gear for PvP than PvE is how gearing has been since TBC. This is a welcome return to the norm.