Last Updated: 23/10/25
My name is Paige and I have been enjoying player vs player content for the past 11 years, my main class is a mistweaver monk which I love because of the class fantasy and all the lore surrounding it (and being able to punch things helps too.) My highest rating so far is 2130 in the 2v2 bracket.
PVP can be scary, I want to help you to overcome any fears you may have about it and become an awesome gladiator!
PvP is quite often viewed as an ‘inaccessible’ area of the game for both new and existing players as it requires a lot of in depth knowledge of not only your own class, but also the classes that you will fight against.
Just like PvE content (Mythic+, Raiding) there are small steps to take before jumping in.
I have split this guide into handy sections to make it easier to understand. The aim of this guide is to provide some foundations which you can slowly build upon in order to become more comfortable.
Let’s get started!
Choosing a role, specialization and class.
Your options for roles are either healer or DPS. Attempting to play a tank role within PvP is not suggested as they have absurd amounts of health and deal mediocre damage at best, this shifts the pace of things in a way which is not helpful. Although you may encounter some tanks in capture-the-flag based battlegrounds, this is usually balanced by both teams having one.
The most useful piece of advice I can give you is to choose a class that you are most comfortable with from a utility and rotation point of view, with lots of things going on within the encounters it is vital you are able to perform your rotation without having to think about it.
Just like PvE there is always going to be a meta, but playing something which you do not enjoy just because it performs well is not usually a great place to start. There are always fixes and balances being sent out so no class or specialization is guaranteed to stay at the top of the ladder forever.
“Play what you love the most and everything else will follow. ”
User Interface
For PvP I like to minimize screen clutter so I can have a clear picture of what is going on, only having the core information present.
You will want your Arena frames positioned in a place where you are able to see them clearly. Mine are off center towards the right hand side of my screen, keeping the middle area clear.
This can be achieved with no additional addons. Just use edit mode in the base UI. You can press escape to access these.
Your Target frame should also be in a visible place so you can see who you have targeted.
Gearing and Currencies.
There are two main currencies; Honor and Conquest.
Honor is capped at 15,000 and can be obtained by doing many forms of casual PvP such as random battlegrounds, arena skirmishes and the PvP brawl of the week. Conquest is slower to gain and there is a weekly cap at the start of every new season that usually lifts around week 10.
Your first set of gear will cost 10,000 honor, once you have this you can work towards saving 10,000 conquest for your second set.
I recommend the first thing you purchase to be a trinket called: Aspirant’s Medallion (Honour version) or Gladiator’s Medallion (Conquest version.)
This trinket is used to remove yourself from crowd control effects such as: Polymorph, Cyclone, Blind or Trap. Any crowd control used on your character will be removed when pressing this trinket. It also provides a set bonus when equipped with an Emblem.
Once purchased make sure to place it on an accessible key bind so it can be easily pressed during combat.
With so much Crowd Control in the game it is easy to be conflicted on when it is best to use your trinket. I recommend following the following rule: use it to get a kill, or stop yourself being killed.
If you know that using your trinket will secure a kill - use it!
If you know that you will not survive the current crowd control spell - use it!
Learning how to trinket effectively takes time and experience, so just relax and give it a go.
You will want to obtain a full set of honor gear first and once you have that you will find grinding out your conquest gear will feel much easier. Reason being PVP has the versatility stat on it that increases your damage, healing, and absorbs by a percentage, while reducing incoming damage by half that percentage.
Once you have earned 2500 conquest in total you will receive a token to purchase your conquest weapon for free, you may choose what you take but you only receive this once and any weapons needed after will have to be purchased.
The Gladiator set is from purchasing an entire set of conquest gear.
The Elite set is from obtaining 1800 rating in any bracket.
There are two sets unique to every class for every season of PvP, once the season ends they are unobtainable and will not come back.
Tier / Set Pieces
Set pieces can be obtained in two ways.
Option one; purchase conquest gear and insert into the catalyst and use the season’s relevant catalyst charge to change it to a tier piece.
Option two; purchase these items for the same amount as a gear piece would cost you to add a PvP item level onto your existing PvE gear [this is mainly so you don’t have to have a bunch of different gear sets in your bags]
Ensure you are purchasing the correct token for the gear piece you have on already.
Ideally you would want to be wearing a full set of honor gear before conquest, however wearing some fully upgraded heroic gear is the best choice while you’re moving between PvE and PvP sets.
Heroic gear currently scales to 717 which is the same as honor gear which is why it is okay to use it for a short while however; you will be more susceptible to damage without the versatility stat.
At 1600 rating in any bracket you will receive a free charge in your catalyst for you to use on a piece of conquest gear you have purchased.
Enchanting and Gemming PvP gear.
Gem slots for PvP can only be placed onto gear pieces by purchasing ‘Astral Jeweler’s Setting’ from ‘Hotharn’ [to the left of the gear vendors] for 3x Blood Stones and 5000 Honor, per setting. You can also purchase the Blood Stones from the auction house if you have more gold than honor.
This works out to a lot of honor and is really considered endgame PvP content.
Each class and specialization will have different recommended enchants and gems each season, it will be worth doing a little bit of research on which ones will help you out the most. A good resource for anything you would need to know about PvP is Murlok.IO.
Murlok.IO has so much information on it for everything PvP. Here you will be able to find out what the top players of your class are putting on their gear regarding enchants and gems alongside lots of other information.
Enchantments can be purchased from the Auction House and they go into the following slots:
Boots
Legs
Rings
Chest
Back
Wrists
Gem slots can be created on the following slots;
Neck
Rings
Helm
Wrists
Belt
A well enchanted and gemmed character will always have the edge over one without.
GAME MODES
PvP is split into two different categories; casual and rated.
Casual game modes do not gain your character any rating, rating being a specific score to your character. These modes also offer you less currencies for winning/losing but you will receive bonus currency for your first win of the day.
Casual modes
Random Battle Grounds (RBG’s)
Randomly selected map which places you in a team of either 10v10 or 15v15 for a certain amount of time. Work as a team to either defend bases or enter the base of the opposing faction and bring back their flag to your base. Score points by capturing flags or holding bases in order to win.
Epic Battle Grounds
Much like the Random Battlegrounds these are the same but on a larger scale. Bigger maps and more people (40v40) with a longer timer.
Arena Skirmishes
There is no rating for this version of arenas, meaning your wins and losses will not increase or decrease your PVP rating. This mode consists of 2v2 and 3v3 matches, healers will only be found in 3v3
PvP Brawl
These switch every other week and have some sort of variant on the standard version of the battleground it is based on, for example:
Snow which obscures your vision
anti gravity
A race against the clock to claim bases faster than the other faction.
Casual game modes are good for:
Gaining confidence
Understanding mechanics of the modes
Taster for what you would like to try in rated modes
Rated modes
Solo Shuffle
This is a way to queue 3v3 arenas. You are placed with five other players and split into two teams of three, you will then have your teams shuffled around for 6 rounds so you will play with everyone. The more you win the more rating you receive at the end.
Solo Battlegrounds - Battleground Blitz
The same format as random battlegrounds only with rating. These are often done with some strategy communicated in the instance [/i] chat.
Arenas
The same format as skirmishes, except rating for wins and losses. The difference with queueing these is that you need to be a premade group beforehand. Simply form a group with friends typically 2v2; a healer and dps or 3v3; a healer and two dps.
You will be placed with an enemy team that is closer to the highest rating on your team.
Rated Battle Grounds
Battlegrounds only with rating for wins and losses. These require a preformed group to queue and have mass amounts of strategy with them, you often will have a group leader that will send all the calls and commands out.
Rated game modes are good for:
Gaining and improving skills
Play against similarly skilled players
Enjoy the competitive edge during matches
PVP Simplified
CLASS
Play what you love the most and everything else will follow.
UI
Adapting and changing your UI can feel very alien at first, especially whilst also being delivered new information. Make changes gradually if it feels better and adjust in casual modes mentioned in this guide before trying anything serious.
GEAR AND CURRENCY
Buy your trinket first
Two PvP currencies: Honor and Conquest.
Gain a full set of Honor gear and then work up to a full set of Conquest gear.
A full set of both will cost around 10,000 of each currency.
The difference between PvP and PvE gear is Versatility
TIER
Create PvP tier pieces by inserting conquest gear into the catalyst.
Use fully upgraded HC tier pieces as placeholders until you are able to purchase PvP ones.
ENCHANTS & GEMS
Purchase enchants from the Auction house.
Purchase gem slots from the PvP vendor
GAME MODES
Casual modes are good for practice, wins and losses will not affect your rating
Ranked modes are for pushing your skills to the limit and increasing your rating