Warzone Basics
So, you're unfamiliar with how Warzones work on the most basic of levels? Fear not my friend for I shall clear the air for you and hopefully answer every single question you could possibly have! Warzones are instanced PvP battles with unique objectives that vary depending on what Warzone you are in. The very first type of instanced PvP scenarios started in WoW and, in WoW, are known as Battlegrounds. Battlegrounds and Warzones are similar in the fact that two teams face off against each other, one of each faction and fight over whatever the objectives inside are.
The objective and what it takes to win vary from Warzone to Warzone, but there are some basic rules which should be followed in almost any situation. These rules are the rules that I will be going over in this little mini guide.
For more information on how Valor Levels work check out my Valor Level Guide.
Useful Swtor PvP Guides
Leveling Up By Playing Warzones
Types of Warzones
As aforementioned, there are multiple different types of Warzones, most of which all have different objectives. Currently in Swtor there are only three different types of Warzones but I guarantee that will quickly change so I will go over more types than what are currently in the game because I am lazy and don't feel like updating this page in the immediate future. Let's first take a look at the most basic Warzone currently in the game, The Civil War.
The Civil War - This Warzone is really just a "capture the nodes" Warzone. Usually for this type of Warzone holding a base will grant your team points and the first team to reach a certain amount of points wins. However, this Warzone is slightly different in the fact that as your team holds a node it decreases your enemies points. The more nodes your team controls the faster your enemies points are decreased and the faster you win. Each team starts out with 600 points and the first team to reach 0 loses.
Huttball (The Pit) - This is my least favorite Warzone of the three, not because of the Warzone itself but because of the rules that apply. For this Warzone your team needs to grab ahold of the Huttball and take it to the other team's score zone. There are many different traps located all over the board as well as a few other nifty things such as an air vent that launches you up into the air when you step on it. (The air vent is extremely buggy and only works half the time) After a certain amount of time the team with the highest score wins.
The Voidstar - This is probably my favorite Warzone just because it has the most interesting gameplay to me. This Warzone has two rounds, one your team plays as the Attackers and the other round your team plays as the Defenders. The goal for the Attacking team is to destroy each set of doors and progress to the very northern end of the map where you can find the Datacore Terminal. If the Attacking team reaches the Datacore Terminal they win, if the Defenders hold them off long enough then they win.
Capture The Flag - There currently isn't a capture the flag Warzone but let's face it, there will be soon. It's fairly self explanatory how a CTF Warzone will work, two flags, if you capture the enemies flag you score. If they capture your flag they score.
Deathmatch - The objective is to simply just kill the enemy. I don't know if this Warzone will ever be implemented, mainly because it took Blizzard close to 10 years to finally add it into WoW but they did.
Unspoken Rules to All Warzones
As you could imagine there are a few unspoken rules when it comes to Warzones. These are the things you should just know by default and follow without question. Things such as if your team has control of a node and the enemies attack the base, be sure to keep them from capping the flag. Also if your team is fighting a group of enemies, go for the healer rather than fighting the DPS that he is healing. Or, another obvious one, never attack a tank class first. Below are a few of the unspoken rules which you should know before entering a Warzone.
- Use Crowd Control! Whenever you are put into a situation where you're out numbered or there is a pesky ranged class or healer that you can't get to, don't forget you have crowd control!
- In almost every single situation it is smart to take out the healers first. Notice how I say almost every? Fighting a DPS class while he is getting heals is nearly pointless, so usually it is smart to take out the healer first. However, in some situations (if you don't suck) you can CC (Crowd Control) the healer with either Stuns, Silences or actual Crowd Control abilities and supress him enough to where you can eliminate the DPS.
- If your team has control of a node, be sure to defend the flag. Don't let an enemy cap the flag while you're not looking. Even if you can't win the conflict at the node, keeping the enemies off of it for as long as possible could win you the game.
- Always fight on the flag. This is another rule that can be altered depending on how smart and logical you're playing. Fighting on the flag is almost always a good strategy for the normal brain dead individual. However, if you're smart and you and say one friend can take on and keep five enemies occupied in the middle of no where between bases, it's obviously more logical to do this than bring them to a flag where they could actually be useful.