Alterac Valley

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Alterac Valley
Level 51–70

Race	Dwarf Orc
Location	Between Hillsbrad Foothills and Alterac Mountains

The Alterac Valley in-game map, Note: As of Patch 2.4 the Horde cave was moved south, near Wildpaw Cavern, so this map is outdated.

Alterac Valley is a battleground in the continuing war between the Horde and the Alliance. The two opposing sides are the Frostwolf Clan (led by General Drek'Thar) and the Stormpike Guard (also known as the Stormpike Expedition, led by General Vanndar Stormpike), both of whom lay claim to this secluded territory. Alongside the Generals are their two Captains, Captain Galvangar and Captain Balinda Stonehearth, respectively.

History and politics

Long ago, before the First War, the warlock Gul'dan exiled a clan of orcs called the Frostwolf Clan (led by Durotan, father of Thrall) to a hidden valley deep in the heart of the Alterac Mountains for refusing to drink the blood of Mannoroth. It is here in the valley's southern reaches that the Frostwolves eked out a living until the rise of Thrall's new Horde.

After Thrall's triumphant uniting of the clans, the Frostwolves, now led by the Orc Shaman Drek'Thar, chose to remain in the valley they had for so long called their home. In recent times, however, the relative peace of the Frostwolves has been challenged by the arrival of the Dwarven Stormpike Expedition.

The Stormpike Expedition have set up residence in the valley to search for natural resources and ancient relics. It is likely that they did not know of the Frostwolf orcs' connection to the area when choosing to visit the valley. Despite their intentions, the dwarven presence has sparked heated conflict with the Frostwolf orcs to the south, who have vowed to drive the interlopers from their lands. The Stormpike dwarves sent in an initial expedition, the Stormpike Guard, to search for ancient relics of their past and mine for natural resources and were attacked (they felt) without provocation by the territorial Frostwolves.^{APG 166, 169} [1].

Alterac Valley is also being threatened by trolls in the area.^{APG 172}

It is important to note that the Alterac Valley is just one of many of "the valleys of Alterac" where the Stormpike Clan live, and are known to "defend fiercely against the trolls and orcs that invaded the area."^{APG 166,169}. Nevertheless, Brann points out, apparently he understands why the Horde are interested in the area, but is not sure why the trolls want the area^{APG 166 (2006)}. The valleys of Alterac are also sometimes referred to as the "Dwarf Highlands" — for example, "Frost Wolf was sent into the Dwarf Highlands in the mountains" – Bill Roper [2].^{APG 166, 169}

While the main conflict seems to be limited to Alterac Valley^{APG 168, 174, 217}, the fighting has apparently spilled into the other valleys of Alterac as well.^{APG 166-169}

Additionally the Ironforge dwarves believe they have a right to the lands as well, and Magni Bronzebeard has issued a "sovereign imperialistic imperative" to the Stormpike Guard to take the land for the kingdom of Ironforge.

At this point in time both factions (possibly even the troll faction as well) believe they have historical connections to the valleys and want to take them back. Note that the Winterax gave up on the valley and went to look for greener pastures.

Faction viewpoints

This article or section contains lore taken from the World of Warcraft MMO & its expansions, the manuals and related web material.

Alliance viewpoints

Vanndar Stormpike has been given orders from Ironforge against making peace with the orcs, and appears to agree with the orders. He dismisses the orcs as "savages trying to halt Ironforge's sovereign imperialistic imperative". He wants to slaughter all orcs including Drek'Thar, believing that when the General falls, the land will finally turn over to its rightful owner, "Ironforge". See also, Vanndar's book The Frostwolf Artichoke: Tales of Stormpike Glory.

Lieutenant Rotimer clarifies that the "sovereign imperative" originates from Ironforge, and was issued by King Magni Bronzebeard. He claims that they are fighting a brutal battle in the valleys of Alterac. The cannibalistic Winterax trolls attack them from one side and the savage Frostwolf Clan from the other. He believes both must be exterminated in the name of King Magni Bronzebeard. "The taking, culling, and turning of that land is a sovereign and territorial imperative to the kingdom of Ironforge." [60] The Sovereign Imperative

Wing Commander Ichman, said he had spent three years in the hell hole. Three years as a prisoner of war to who he believed were "damnable Frostwolf Clan". He believes he was made to sit in their tower and listen to them endlessly whine about the bridge to Dun Baldar. About how "unfair" the war was... even if "War isn't fair!". This is a humorous reference to player complaints about how the Dun Baldar bridge is a 'choke point'. [70] Dragonmaw Race: Wing Commander Ichman

The Alliance Brigadier Generals believe that the Horde was quite right when they said that Alterac Valley is Frostwolf Territory, it was never Ironforge territory. They claim that Stormpike Expedition arrived as peaceful visitors to the area in search of ore and relics. They believe that the Frostwolves reacted with the most brutal and uncivilized act of aggression the Alliance has experienced. They never want to forget the brave dwarves that perished in that "cowardly unannounced attack". [60] Remember Alterac Valley!

Prospect Stonehewer lets it slip that he recently plundered a few treasures. [3]. It is likely from the Frostwolf clan as they offer the same reward and the weapons all have an ice theme. It may also be from the Winterax trolls.

Horde viewpoints

Drek'thar sees the valley as Frostwolf territory and that the Stormpike Expedition has no right to take their land away. He has no intention of making peace with the Stormpike, instead wishing to execute them all to the last man (Vanndar himself) following the Rules of military conduct. He believes that the Stormpike have copied the Frostwolves defense plans and exactly how the Frostwolves own forces are set up, although Vanndar would claim otherwise (this is likely a reference to the gameplay balancing of the battleground). Drek'thar wants players to ask Vanndar to surrender (likely knowing that he would refuse), and orders his forces execute him whatever the response. See also Drek'Thar's book Peeling the Onion: The How to Guide on Dismantling the Stormpike.

The Horde Warbringers, claim that despite what others might have heard, that the truth is that "the Stormpike Expedition invaded Frostwolf Territory". They believe that the day the Horde allows the Alliance to invade Horde lands without a forceful response is the day they will hang up their axes and live the rest of their lives in shame. [60] Invaders of Alterac Valley

Ravak Grimtotem was sent to the war-zone by the Elder Crone to research the other races. More specifically, he was to collect gnome samples. Magatha was primarily interested in their survivability. They believed, that the gnomes — while pitifully weak and minuscule — exuded great resilience both in and out of combat. [60] Ally of the Tauren

The Wing Commanders of the Frostwolf Clan wanted hundreds of pounds of flesh from the Stormpike soldiers, lieutenants, and others to feed to their fleet of War Riders. They wanted the riders to consume their enemy.

Commander Louis Philips believes his brother is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the four Stormpike commanders. He believes that, perhaps if he is slain, the Banshee Queen could make his brother what she made of him, and show him the error of his ways... [60] Brotherly Love

Battleground overview

The Alterac Valley

There can be up to 40 players on each team in this battleground, making it the largest battleground in the game.

Goal of the Battleground

The goal of Alterac Valley is to reduce the opposing faction's reinforcement count to 0. Each team starts with 600 reinforcements. There are a number of ways to reduce reinforcements, named below, but killing the enemy General does it instantly, and awards extra honor for killing him.

There are also secondary objectives to complete:

The enemy Captain can be killed. This will award your team bonus honor (guaranteeing your faction some honor) and reduce the enemy reinforcements by 100.
The enemy towers (or bunkers) can be burned. This awards your team bonus honor, and reduces the enemy reinforcements by 75 per tower. There are four towers per side, for a total of 300 reinforcements. These structures are also important because, if they are lost, your team loses the respective Warmaster (H)/ Marshall (A). As of Patch 2.4, these Warmasters/Marshalls are key in defending your General.
Enemy graveyards can be captured, giving your team another place to resurrect. The two key graveyards are the Frostwolf Relief Hut and the Stormpike Aid Station. The loss of these graveyards can almost guarantee the death of your General. Each team controls one uncapturable graveyard, their starting cave.
The two mines can be captured by eliminating the enemy boss in the mine. Capture of a mine will give back 1 reinforcement per 45 seconds. Capture of both mines will give back 2 reinforcements per 45 seconds. This gain is on a separate timer, so both mines will give a reinforcement point at the same time.
Collecting supplies to turn in. See: Battle Quests.
Killing enemy players. This will reduce enemy reinforcement by one per player killed.

The primary bases are Dun Baldar for the Alliance and Frostwolf Village for the Horde.

For information relating to balance issues in Alterac Valley, please see Alterac Valley Tactical Overview.

Entry to the Valley

The official entry to the valley is in northern Hillsbrad. The Alliance entrance is due north of Southshore and the Horde entrance is north-east of Tarren Mill. Like any battleground, you can also enter through a Battlemaster in any capital city.

Note that Alterac Valley does not share the same level ranges as Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Eye of the Storm. Instead there are only two level ranges, 51–60 and 61–70.

NPC Officers

Alterac Valley
Generals
Vanndar Stormpike
Drek'Thar
Captains
Balinda Stonehearth
Galvangar
Summoners
Arch Druid Renferal
Primalist Thurloga
Bosses
Ivus the Forest Lord
Lokholar the Ice Lord
Wing Commanders
Slidore
Guse
Vipore
Jeztor
Ichman
Mulverick

Each side in the Valley has one General and one Captain (also see Blizzard's Alterac Officers page)

The Generals, Vanndar Stormpike and Drek'thar, stay inside their faction fortresses at the far north and south ends of the map. When a General is killed, the match is over. Generals are tough, raid-level bosses; and typically require coordinated tanking and DPS to take down. If a General is drawn out of his fortress, his health will reset to full.

Generals are guarded by several Marshals (Alliance) or Warmasters (Horde). As of 2.3, it is no longer possible to pull these guards separately. The number of enemy Marshals or Warmasters is decreased if enemy towers are destroyed.

The Captains, Balinda Stonehearth and Galvangar, stay inside the more central bunkers of Stonehearth Outpost and Iceblood Garrison. As long as these captains are alive, they will periodically grant a 20% health buff and a size increase to all members of their faction. They are fairly tough bosses that can be taken down by a skilled 5-man group.

In addition, both factions have a number of non-elite NPCs that assist their side. These NPCs spawn at all graveyards and towers, and a small number of road patrols. When a graveyard is captured by a faction, the NPC guards for the graveyard spawn immediately. NPC players in AV can be buffed, healed, bandaged, and many other spell effects apply to them, like paladin auras or the AoE buff of Battle Standards.

In Patch 1.11, the number of NPCs was severely reduced. On some servers, this has led to a strategy that is usually called "the race". In this strategy, both sides bypass the main enemy group and rush the graveyard nearest the enemy base, quickly clear the two bunkers in the base, pull the Marshals, and then pull the General. Each side may also kill the opposing captain and claim a mine or easy Graveyard on the way, but the goal is still to rush the General without directly engaging players of the opposing faction. This leads to a faster-paced game which can be easily won or easily lost. The safest route is to leave some defenders to at least slow the opposing team's attack, but to still maintain an overpowering offense; to give up some ground, but not too much. The way some of them do it is to run most of a faction as fast as possible to the enemy base and then some of the team will use their recall to go on the defense team and slow the progress of the enemy. This provides enough time to let one side win while the other is held up by the defense.

In Patch 2.2, a Marshall or Warmaster no longer spawned when an enemy bunker or tower was captured. Before, it was possible for the general to have a maximum of eight Marshalls or Warmasters. Now the maximum is four. In most games, the General will have zero Marshalls or Warmasters by the time the enemy faces him because the four enemy bunkers or towers will have been destroyed.

In Patch 2.3.0 All Commanders and Lieutenants were removed and many elites were turned into normal mobs.

In Patch 2.4.0 Warmasters and Marshalls now have a stacking buff that increases their damage and health by 25%. With 4 Warmasters/Marshalls up, each General has 200% health and 200% damage, making him very difficult to kill.

Wild Creatures

Troggs (Found in Irondeep Mine.)
Wildpaw Gnolls (Found inside Wildpaw Cavern. Prior to Patch 1.8, they were also found in Wildpaw Ridge.)
Snowblind Harpy (Found inside Icewing Cavern.)
Kobolds (Found in the Coldtooth Mine.)
Rams (Found north of the Field of Strife.)
Wolves (Found south of the Field of Strife.)
Winterax Trolls (Removed in Patch 1.8, once resided in Winterax Hold. Once led by Korrak the Bloodrager.)

Map and subregions

Click for a larger view

Note: As of Patch 2.4, The Horde now start closer to the Frostwolf Keep, the map needs to be updated for this.

Newbie guide

If you've just visited Alterac Valley (also shortened to AV) a few times, and quickly want to know what's going on, here's a short and simple overview. The goal in AV is to reduce the opposing faction's reinforcement count to 0. The most direct way to do this is to kill the enemy general, which will immediately drain all reinforcement points from the enemy and end the round. Other activities which reduce reinforcement points include killing enemy players, capturing towers/bunkers, and killing the enemy captain. Reinforcements can be regained by capturing mines. The two generals are raid-level bosses that can be found in their fortresses at the two ends of the map — Vanndar Stormpike ("Vann") for the Alliance north, Drek'Thar ("Drek") for the Horde south. About 15 players need to work together in order to bring one of the generals down. A rather elaborate system of NPCs, fortifications and graveyards fills the map between the generals. Both sides can do quests to improve themselves and their NPCs, and spend quite some time capturing many positions, but usually that's not done. It is far more efficient (considering reputation and honor gain) to just rush the enemy general, and kill him ASAP.

Offense and Defense

In the "rush" games, a strong emphasis is put on offense. Usually at least 30 people will take part in the attack, and at most 10 will try to delay the enemy. The defense needs to be aware that they do fight a losing battle, nevertheless it's usually the quality of the defense which decides the final outcome of the battle.

Important: When fighting the enemy general, NEVER run outside of his building! If he chases you out of the building, his health will reset to full. Even if you are clearly about to die, it is still in your best interest not to run out, as the time lost because you reset the general might be all your enemies need to win. This common newbie mistake can draw battles out unnecessarily or even cause one side to lose.

In "turtle games", a strong emphasis is put on defense. As of Patch 2.4.0, turtle games can lead to far better honor rewards due to the removal of Diminishing Returns on Honorable Kills. The typical Horde strategy is to send 15-20 defenders to Iceblood Tower and the "choke" (the small one-way chokepoint that provides access to Iceblood Graveyard) which prevents any Alliance players from racing to the Frostwolf Relief Hut. The Alliance, similarly, can defend Stonehearth Graveyard, Captain Balinda Stonehearth, Stonehearth Bunker, and Icewing Bunker. In these games, which last somewhere between 25-45 minutes, Snowfall Graveyard is a strong, tactical advantage because it allows your team to keep pounding on the enemies' defense. In some cases, Archdruid Renferal and Primalist Thurloga are sent out to summon, and in some, very rare cases, Ivus the Forest Lord and Lokholar the Ice Lord are summoned.

Horde

Three graveyards are usually taken — Stonehearth, Stormpike and the Aid Station. Stonehearth GY is optional, but usually needed if the defense is in any way competent. Stormpike is most important, and at the same often time hard to win, because alliance players often get trapped on defense due to the chokepoint at Icewing Bunker when horde control the Stonehearth GY. Late coming alliance players also often go to defense because the alliance starting point is so close to Stormpike.

Although it seems there's a narrow passage through which all Horde forces must pass to reach Stormpike, advanced players will know that there are several approaches to the graveyard flag. Horde can go up the mountain to the right when approaching the choke then circle around near the mine or come down the cliffs above the graveyard. Horde can also come under the Dun Baldar bridge. The Alliance defense usually focuses on Stormpike, and it is not an unknown occurrence that Horde completely fails to take it. If SPGY has been taken, the Ally forces will defend the bridge next, which is a chokepoint that supposedly cannot be bypassed. However, there are reports that some horde have discovered a way to climb the cliffs to the south of Dun Baldar and enter the base that way.

In "turtle games", the Horde usually send defense to the chokepoint, which prevents Alliance from running south, towards Frostwolf Keep. See "Offense and Defense" (above).

Alliance

The four important graveyards are Snowfall, Iceblood, Frostwolf and the Relief Hut. The Alliance often does not defend Stonehearth and so the Alliance caps Snowfall at about the same time as the Horde caps Stonehearth. A danger of this strategy is that if the Horde assault Snowfall before the Alliance has capped it, the Alliance have only Stormpike to resurrect in. When the Horde assault Snowfall while they also hold Stonehearth the Alliance is often forced into a turtle at Stormpike.

About half of the Alliance raid will ride to Galvangar (Iceblood Garrison) while the remaining half of the group will break off and ride directly to the Relief Hut and capture the Relief Hut graveyard and then work on the Relief Hut towers. After Galvangar is killed, the raid continues and captures Iceblood Tower, Iceblood Graveyard and Tower Point. If the Horde are defending the choke point just before Iceblood Graveyard, the Alliance will stay mounted and ride past them to either Frostwolf Graveyard or the Relief Hut. The danger of fighting at the choke point is that the Alliance do not yet control a forward Graveyard, so if you die you will end up back at Stormpike Graveyard. A common mistake that groups will make is fighting the Horde defense at each successive Graveyard. If they are defending Iceblood and you fight them and capture the Graveyard, then the Horde defense is at Frostwolf Graveyard and you'll have to fight them again. It is important to capture the Relief Hut first to avoid having to fight a moving wave of Horde defense.

On the final assault on Frostwolf Keep, the Alliance captures the Frostwolf Relief Hut and 2 more towers. They normally wait until the Relief Hut is fully captured and the 4 towers are burned before attacking Drek'Thar. Note: Drek is worth 83 honor and each tower is worth 62 honor.

However and very important for matches are most times won within seconds of the other team and more Alliance matches are lost because the following strategies are not followed.

Ensure you have a tank at the RH to take on Drek. If the Alliance does not have a tank and is waiting for one while the Horde are engaging Vanndar it will be a loss for the Alliance.
If the Horde are progressing faster than the Alliance it will be necessary to start Drek'Thar before all 4 towers are burned. So killing Drek when you have 2 towers left is necessary when the Horde will kill Vanndar before the towers finish burning for you get more honor for winning a match with 2 towers than losing with 4 towers.

If any mob near Drek is pulled, all mobs and Drek come along. All of the mobs in Drek's room are linked, which means if any of them are kited or feared outside then Drek will reset to 100% health. Then, Drek'Thar is finally attacked. Due to the proximity of the AV entrance cave for Horde, Iceblood graveyard and Frostwolf graveyard are both often recaptured.

An effective strategy is to send one or more Alliance directly to the Frostwolf camp, bypassing all other objectives. This advance team prepares the way for the main offensive by capturing the East and West Frostwolf Towers and the Frostwolf Relief Hut. Speed is an essential quality to a winning strategy. It takes 4 minutes to capture a Graveyard or burn a Tower, so it is best to do as many of these things in parallel as possible, but it is important to balance this with defending each of the Towers.

The Alliance can also use priests to defend the Dun Baldar Bridge, by Mind Controlling any Horde that attack and running them off the bridge.

In "turtle" games, where the Horde are defending the chokepoint, it is common for Alliance players to try to rush south, but doing this gets them killed and allows Horde players to collect Armor Scraps and Blood to get stronger guards and summon Lok'holar the Ice Lord. Instead, Alliance players should defend Stonehearth or push Iceblood Graveyard, kill the Horde healers, and try to ninja the Iceblood Graveyard flag while the Horde are fighting at the chokepoint.

Frostwolf Towers and Dun Baldar Bunkers

For horde, a typical base defense strategy is for hunters to place freezing traps on the ramp by the Frostwolf towers to slow the Alliance and while the NPC archers and horde AOE and ranged attacks cut them down as they come up the steep ramp. Horde also often kite Alliance pets or players into Drek's keep to aggro warmasters and Drek's wolves into the battle. Horde can also try to aggro the wing commanders into the battle as they stand nearby. Horde often run into Drek's keep for cover and to heal.

For alliance, the strategy is similar in that hunter freezing traps and AOE and ranged attacks on the Dun Baldar bridge are effective. The NPC archers in the bunkers aid greatly in the fight. However, the horde often send a stealthed rogue or druid into the bunkers to kill or despawn the archers ahead of the main horde offense. Due to a bug, the archers often despawn when the bunker is assaulted. To protect the archers, a hunter can keep freezing traps and flares on the bridge to prevent stealthers from getting in the base ahead of the horde offense. Kiting horde pets or players back to the druids up the path by the North bunker may draw the druids into the battle. Fleeing to the druids may also serve as a sanctuary for Alliance players to heal. The several NPCs in Dun Baldar help to slow the horde advance.

Personal Quests

There are a number of quests that can be completed in Alterac Valley for reputation and rewards. They are broadly identical for Horde and Alliance, so they will be described in general terms here. These quests provide permanent rewards to a character, unlike the "Battle Quests" described below. For specific faction details, see Alterac Valley Alliance Quests and Alterac Valley Horde Quests.

Alterac Valley Trinket quest: A quest-giver outside the instance gives a quest to retrieve a banner from a cave. The caves are located in the far north and south ends of the valley. The reward for this quest is a trinket that provides a small amount of frost resistance and the ability to portal back to your faction's fortress from anywhere in the Valley. The trinket is upgraded for free at the original quest-giver as you gain reputation with your Alterac Valley faction, ultimately reaching epic status and carrying additional effects such as health regeneration and chance to dodge attacks. "Trinketing back to base" or 'recalling' is a standard last-ditch defensive strategy, and you will be expected to have completed this quest and be carrying your trinket. In addition to this the trinket is also useful to quickly return to your faction's fortress in order to turn in armor scraps and various other turns in. The rewards are Stormpike Insignia / Frostwolf Insignia.

[] The Battle for Alterac/ [] The Battle of Alterac: A quest-giver outside the instance gives a quest that is completed by winning a match. You must have the quest and be inside the instance when the enemy General is killed to complete the quest. The rewards for this quest are quite desirable blues, including the [Ice Barbed Spear], [Cold Forged Hammer], [Wand of Biting Cold] and [Bloodseeker].

Capture a Mine quest: A quest-giver outside the instance gives a quest to capture a mine. This quest is intended largely to teach you where the mine is, since you may be repeating the Mine Supplies quest many times.

Capture a Tower quest: A quest-giver outside the instance gives a quest to capture a tower. You do not have to be the one who personally clicked the flag, nor does the tower have to burn for the quest to be completed. You simply have to be in the vicinity of the tower when someone in the raid captures the flag in the tower.

Capture a Graveyard quest: A quest-giver outside the instance gives a quest to capture a graveyard. You do not have to be the one who personally clicked the flag, nor does the graveyard have to be successfully captured for the quest to be completed. Like capturing a tower, you simply have to be in the vicinity of the graveyard when someone in the raid captures it.

Battle Quests

In addition to the personal quests, there are a number of objectives that can be completed during a battle to provide a bonus to a faction. Many of these quests provide reputation points and all are worth doing whenever your side can complete them.

Unit Upgrades: You can complete a collection quest to upgrade some of your stationary troops. Players, officers, and roaming, mine and tower units are exempt from this bonus. Upgrading troops through armor scrap turn-ins will also result in your team's General enabling a periodic buff to your melee and spell damage. This buff scales from 10% at the Seasoned unit level, 20% at the Veteran unit level, and 30% at the Champion unit level. Both Alliance and Horde players gather armor scraps from the corpses of enemy players and guards. As armor is gathered, boxes of supplies visibly build up next to the forge. Once enough supplies are gathered, a person with high reputation can instruct the smith to upgrade units to the next level (such as Champion). The friendly troops will now be much more powerful.

Ground Assault: There is a mine located near each of the fortresses. The mine is initially under the control of hostile NPCs but can easily be captured by a single player. The mobs within are low-level (~52/62) and have unusually low health (though they do hit hard). A non-elite mob resides deep inside each mine; when he is killed, the mine comes under the control of your faction and is quickly filled with friendly NPCs. Once the mine is under your faction's control, the Quartermaster inside your fortress will start to collect supplies. When enough supplies have been gathered, a player with Honored or higher reputation can direct the Quartermaster to launch a ground assault which will spawn a group of elite NPCs that will move forward through the zone attacking enemy players and NPCs. This requires 6 turn-ins from opposite faction mine to get the NPCs. Around 12 from the Mine closer to your base.

Cavalry: You can create and command cavalry provided you complete the requisite quests found in your base's stables. Initially, players must capture rams or wolves by taming them using the tools they are given by the Stable Master. After the stables are full, a message will be broadcasted across the valley. Players must also collect pelts from the opposing side's wild mounts: Horde must slay rams and the Alliance must hunt the wolves. After all the necessary components have been gathered, a player with high reputation (Honored or higher) must give the command for the calvary to ride. Additional commands must be given (by clicking on them, provided your reputation is high enough) to send them further in to attack. After the attack is over, there is a period of waiting before you can order another charge.

Ultimate Unit: Arch Druid Renferal and Primalist Thurloga, located inside the faction fortresses, will accept Storm Crystals or Stormpike Soldier's Blood, which are dropped by fallen characters of the opposite faction. When enough of these items are turned in, the Druid or Primalist will move through the valley, accompanied by a group of elite guards, until they reach the Field of Strife. Primalist will go to the area south of Snowfall and north of Iceblood Garrison, and Archdruid Renferal will go to the area west of Stonehearth Bunker and east of Stonehearth Outpost. They will then start a summoning ritual, which requires ten players to click on their summoning circle. When this summoning is complete, Ivus the Forest Lord or Lokholar the Ice Lord will be summoned. These are tough raid-level bosses. They will spend some time on the Field of Strife killing whatever they see, and will then start to move towards the enemy base. These bosses are, unfortunately, plagued by evade bugs and are fairly simple to train into areas where they can easily be killed. The standard Horde strategy is to train Ivus to the entry tunnel and to kill him there. But if they are guarded carefully, they can easily turn the battle and end the match.

Aerial Assault: Through rescuing lost Wing Commanders and completing a series of quests, you can gain the ability to summon aerial units that patrol from your base to the center of the valley. Alliance and Horde players gather three different items. Each item can be turned into a specific Wing Commander once they have been rescued. After you have brought the requisite number of the particular items needed, players of Revered or higher faction reputation can receive a beacon to place on the map. The beacon, once placed, orders an air strike that lasts for a time. If the wing commanders are not rescued, you will be unable to turn in the items needed. These particular items will disappear if you leave the battleground.

Once you have rescued the appropriate Wing Commanders and turned in the required number of medals or amount of meat, you have two options for each flight (assuming you have the required Stormpike Guard or Frostwolf Clan reputation level.)

Placing a beacon: You can request a beacon from any of the Wing Commanders that must then be planted on the battleground. (All beacons share a 30 minute cooldown before you can deploy another. If you want to have multiple beacons deployed, other players must deploy them.) The beacon takes 60 seconds to arm, during which it can be disabled by the opposing faction. When the beacon arms, it will summon an Aerie Gryphon (Alliance) or War Rider (Horde) to patrol the Field of Strife and alert nearby ground troops there when they spot the enemy. Slidore and Guse's beacons must be deployed at the east crater on the Field of Strife; Vipore and Jeztor's beacons must be placed at the west crater; Ichman and Mulverick's beacons must be placed at the north crater.

Ordering a strike: This will launch the Wing Commander by air to assault the enemy's base. Each Wing Commander will patrol a specific area of the enemy base, and support ground troops there. Slidore and Guse will assault the graveyard immediately outside the base (Stormpike and Frostwolf); Vipore and Jeztor will assault the outer section of the base (the Dun Baldar tower area and the lower part of Frostwolf Village); Ichman and Mulverick will assault the inner base (immediately outside the Generals' fortresses.) Prior to patch 1.11, it was considered advantageous to hold off on air strikes until your forces were attempting to assault an area; after 1.11, this became less of a factor since there is now much less time between ground pushes.

=== Amounts of needed items for events ===

Icelord / Ivus - 200 Blood/Crystals are needed for the Primalists/Druids to start going to their summoning points.

Wing commanders:
- Slidore / Guse - 120 Frostwolf Soldier's Medal / Stormpike Soldier's Flesh
- Vipore / Jeztor - 60 Frostwolf Lieutenant's Medal / Stormpike Lieutenant's Flesh
- Ichman / Mulverick - 30 Frostwolf Commander's Medal / Stormpike Commander's Flesh

Ram riders (A) / Wolf Riders (H) - 25 Frostwolf Hide (A) / Alterac Ram Hide (H) and 25 tamed Alterac Ram (A) / Frostwolf (H)
Unit Upgrades:
- Murgot Deepforge (A) / Smith Regzar (H) - 500 Armor Scraps (total 1500 for 61/71 lvl Guards)
Ground Assault - 280 supplies (28 turn-ins) from the near mine and 70 (7 turn-ins) from the other mine.

Note: Once you order a strike, you will not be able to pick up that wingman's beacon. Thus, it's best to pick up the beacon 1st.

Strategies

Advice to new players — The strategy points below are mostly opinions on how AV does/should play out. Don't enter AV as a new player believing that because you have read the strategies section below that you know what to do and proceed to start ordering other players around. This will most likely result in ridicule; you will not be the first. Additionally, you will not know if people speaking are veterans or newbies. You can only learn how to play AV from experience. Listen, watch, learn and within your first 50–100 games you will know all there is to know. Try not to form too many opinions based on your first few games, many new players fall into the trap of assuming that because their side has lost 5 games in a row using the same strategy, that the strategy must be wrong. Play both in the offensive and defensive groups in order to understand how they affect each other.

Standard Battle Strategy

A battle in Alterac Valley tends to follow a standard pattern:

Initial Phase: Both factions attempt to gain control of the enemy chokepoint to prevent access to the Field of Strife. For the Alliance, this means capturing Iceblood Graveyard and destroying Iceblood Tower. For the Horde, this means capturing Stonehearth Graveyard and destroying Stonehearth Bunker. Snowfall Graveyard is easily defended and difficult to capture once a side has claimed it.
Consolidation and Advance: Typically one faction will control the chokepoint and capture the graveyard there. That faction will then attempt to push onwards to the graveyard nearest the enemy base (Stormpike or Frostwolf). The defending faction will attempt to recover their graveyard and delay the advance. Often, both graveyards are captured and the two factions push forward simultaneously, leaving around 10 players on defense.
Fortress Assault: Once a faction has captured the graveyard outside the enemy fortress, they will attempt to push into the fortress. For the Alliance, this means pushing through a twisty series of ramps to the upper courtyard, where the two Frostwolf towers and the Frostwolf Relief Hut are located. For the Horde, this means fighting across the bridge and into the Dun Baldar Bunkers located north and south of the main road, and then to the Stormpike Aid Station located on the rear plaza. Defenders can use their trinkets to portal back to the main defensive area during this phase.
Fortress Capture: Each faction has a graveyard close to the enemy fortress. It is important for the opposing faction to take this graveyard and leave a few defenders behind to allow it to cap.
General Pull:Patch 2.3.0 (11/13/07): After patch 2.3 the generals/dogs can no longer be pulled independently. They are linked to the general and will be reset if pulled outside of the fortress.
All In: The raid leader should give the "All In" command, and everyone enters the fortress, again allow the main tank to pick up aggro before laying on the dps, again have healers only heal the main tank. If generals/dogs are still left from undestroyed towers, these are usually off tanked, ignored, or killed depending on the group. Defenders may attempt to trinket in and disrupt the fight, or to mount a coordinated attack into their own base from the graveyard outside. Once the general is dead, the match is over.

IMPORTANT: Once the "All In" command has been given, NO ONE must leave the general's room once inside. If the general chases you outside, he will immediately reset and heal to FULL HEALTH.

There are certainly variations on this pattern. The most important factor in the flow of a battle is control of the graveyards. A stealthy capture of a graveyard in the interior of the map while a heavy attack recovers a graveyard at the end of the map (for example, a stealth capture of Snowfall while the Horde recovers Frostwolf from Iceblood), can cause a sudden reversal of the entire match. (In this example, the Alliance would be forced to resurrect at Stonehearth, suddenly losing control of half the map). The use of cavalry or ground unit charges in coordination with an offensive or defensive push is another rich source of advanced strategies.

Patch 1.11 (6/20/06): Since patch 1.11, it is considered a good strategy to allow the enemy to hold at least one friendly graveyard, since recapturing all the friendly graveyards will force the enemy back into its base and make the offense team's job considerably more difficult. This leads to a race of offenses that can be easily lost if there is not some defense to slow the opposing team's assault. So an all-out assault tends to be the fastest way to win or the fastest way to lose. Around 10 defenders will often give your offense time to wage the assault. Balance is key.

As of Patch 2.4, the Horde cave has been moved farther south, relatively close to Wildpaw Cavern and Frostwolf Keep itself. Due to this, Horde players may find it hard to "race" the Alliance to Dun Baldar before they reach Frostwolf Keep. Because of this and the removal of Diminishing Returns on killing enemy players, it may be more rewarding to fight the opposition. It is also very key to defend towers and bunkers as each Marshall/Warmaster provides each other and the General a 25% bonus to damage and healing (stackable).

Many times you'll find a faction not playing any defense. This could easily lead to disaster. Take the case where one side doesn't play defense, but the other puts 10 on defense. The offense going against no defense will get to the enemy stronghold much quicker than the offense going against the 10. The function of the 10 is not to hold ground, but to delay the enemy's offense. From experience, the Horde has a much bigger tendency to not play defense — and lose accordingly. It is worth noting that a common argument for the Horde's tendency to play full offense is the imbalanced nature of the terrain. While Dun Baldar fortress and its associated bunkers and Aid station are protected by a choke point (a relatively thin bridge), Frostwolf Keep and its associated towers and Relief Hut are easier to access due to the open terrain.

Alternate Strategies

Bury's Rush is a bum rush with some simple rules to follow.

Bonus Honor Weekend Rush:

On the weekend, from Midnight Friday morning to Midnight Monday night, one Battleground awards bonus honor. The 4 battlegrounds rotate on the calendar; currently Alterac Valley is the last weekend of the month. (See the WoW official event calendar for more information at [4]).

Because of the many awesome honor rewards, such as Season 2 gear, many people just want to maximize honor gains on these weekends, and not necessarily play for sport. They are in the majority and can be mean about it. AV awards the most bonus honor, so time-efficient honor acquisition is serious business for people; for perspective, a full Season 2 gear set may take 72 hours or more play time to grind out. (Thus, if you want to play for sport, you may want to avoid the bonus honor weekend.) This strategy allows both Horde and Alliance to get as much honor in a short game as possible. The Bonus Honor Weekend Rush basically has both teams race to win, while maximizing the bonus honor accrued.

Wave 1. Take 5+ stealth characters (Rogues, Druids) and go straight to the last graveyard of the defenders. For Alliance, assault the Relief Hut. For Horde, assault the Aid Station. DO NOT take the second-to-last graveyard (GY), the one immediately before the home base. If you do, the only GY available for enemies to resurrect at will be the Relief Hut or Aid Station. This will make capturing it take much longer and your assault could be repelled! (Note, other classes often participate, but stealth characters have the advantage of NOT aggroing the whole base when they run through, making for a smoother ride.
Wave 2. 20 players. These players rush to kill the other faction’s mini-boss, Balinda or Galvandar. They also take over the enemy towers and graveyards in the middle of the map. This offense pushes forward and then occupies the enemy’s base. If the towers are not yet captured by wave 1, their presence makes their capture easy.
Amidst this chaos, make sure there are healers and tanks for the final boss fight. (During the first 5-6 minutes, dying players will go across the map to rezz.) You will lose the race if you aren't ready to go ALL IN on time.
This leaves 10-15 players on defense. You want to slow down the enemy advance so you can win, but NOT draw out the game so everyone has to wait for their honor. Hunters can frost trap, others can stun lone travelers to stunt their assault, some also hold the relief hut or aid station as long as possible. Defense then moves on to recapture towers for more honor.
About 10 minutes into the game, the Relief Hut and Aid Station will be captured. Also, the 2 base towers will ideally be captured and destroyed 30 seconds thereafter. Move in for the boss kill.
If everything is done right, both sides will get at least 400 bonus honor. The winner of the race gets some extra. The game will take about 12-13 minutes. Players should get at least 550 honor per game, that’s over 2k per hour!

Common Exploitable Mistakes

Open Graveyards - The downfall of a team in a race against each other is the defense being underalloted. Both the Aid Station and the Relief Hut are soloable by anyone strong enough to take on or crowd control all four guards; typically a rogue. If capturing the main graveyard is synchronized closely enough to the capturing of the graveyard before resistance from the other team could be wiped out completely and the last two bunkers / towers could be captured without the worry of getting zerged. This can be prevented if one player camps the flag (preferably a hunter with stealth detection) so it doesn't get ninja'd. If you are a rogue or a druid that is geared well enough to take on all four of the NPC guards, work from the start of the game only to getting to the enemy's main flag, first. If multiple rogues or druids are working on taking everything early, synchronize it so the opposing team's two graveyards and two buildings before the enemy general are captured. Players who notice this should immediately get to any captured points to secure holding them.

Hasty Runs - Players running immediately out of captured towers / bunkers right after they capture them also cause problems. If the other team has players that stray off to try to recapture towers, then they can kill the defense if there is any and recapture the contested building. Recapturing will disturb the allocation of players on the other team by having some go back just to capture it again. Time is undoubtedly wasted and sometimes creates a disadvantage. It is hard to call whether to put one or many into a building because it happens in a later phase of the game. Making sure the flags of the buildings are captured as quickly as possible so that players are not left behind for too long and a recapture would be too late. On the contrary, if the other team is attempting to zerg everything in sight, but leaves not enough players behind to camp pending captures, a team of defense can be organized to follow the opposing offensive closely behind only to recapture anything that they fail to keep their eyes on.

Tactics

There are many individual tactics employed to accomplish the strategic goals of the game. We'll attempt to enumerate a few here.

Graveyard Offense

One of the most common mistakes you will hear repeated while attempting to take a graveyard flag is: "Fight on the flag!" This is the goal much of the defense. They must keep you from capturing the flag. As offense, you must make this possible by drawing as many of their defenders away from the flag as possible. It is far more effective to push as many offense into their actual spawn point as possible. As each wave of respawns happens, they will be immediately in combat at some distance from the flag they are trying to defend. This leaves far fewer people to stop a capture.

Graveyard Defense

A smart offense will attempt to draw as many of you away from the flag as possible to allow a capture. Any hit on an enemy player capable of causing a critical strike will reset the capture attempt, thus you must be in range to strike. If the opposition is allowed to draw you back into your spawn point and away from the flag, it will be captured.

Reputation

As you fight in Alterac Valley, you earn reputation with either the Frostwolf Clan for Horde or the Stormpike Guard for Alliance. There are two vendors for each faction; one inside Alterac Valley and one outside in Alterac Mountains. For the Alliance, the NPC within the battleground that sells vendor rewards is in the Dun Baldar South Bunker.

Note that in Alterac Valley all reputation with the Frostwolf Clan and the Stormpike is shared amongst all combatants, whether or not they are partied with you. However some turn-ins will give reputation with one of the four main primary factions. This faction reputation is not shared.

Stormpike/Frostwolf reputation is gained in the following ways:

Killing Enemy General (389 Rep)
Killing Enemy Captain (125 rep)
Killing an Enemy Air Master (5 rep)
Killing any Enemy Guard (5 rep) *NOTE: This is capped through honored and does not give rep in revered*
Killing an Enemy Player(+1 Rep+HK+CP). As of Patch 1.12 as soon as you enter Battlefield, you are assigned to a Raid Group. To score a kill, all you have to do is to be in a vicinity of a player who made the kill. The kill will be granted to you as long as you are alive.
Killing Ivus the Forest Lord or Lokholar the Ice Lord (125 rep)
Destroying an Enemy Tower (64 rep)
1-time quests (first turn in of each repeatable, capture a tower/mine/graveyard, etc) (~100 rep each, varies) — rep gained from these quests is NOT shared amongst all combatants.

Repeatable reputation quests

Ram Hide/Frostwolf Hide (2 rep each)
Bringing a Frostwolf/Ram to your stable (1 - 3 rep each)
Armor Scraps (1 rep for 20 plus 10 Orgrimmar/Ironforge plus 5 rep of the other factions(for every 2 turn ins)for the character)
Storm Crystals/Stormpike Soldier's Blood (1 rep for 1 plus 10 Orgrimmar/Ironforge plus 5 rep of the other factions(for every 2 turn ins); 5 rep for 5 plus 50 Orgrimmar/Ironforge for the character)
Wing Commanders
- Slidore/Guse (1 rep)
- Vipore/Jeztor (2 rep)
- Ichman/Mulverick (5 rep)

At the end of the game, extra rep is gained for each of the following conditions:

Enemy Captain Killed (36 rep)
Allied Captain Still Alive (125 rep)
Enemy Towers Destroyed (24 rep each)
Controlled Intact Tower (12 rep each)
Controlled Graveyards (12 rep each)
Controlled Mines (12 rep each)

Bonus Honor in AV as of Patch 2.3

Official Blizzard values of bonus honour :

Killing Enemy General (4 kills)
Killing Enemy Captain (3 kills)
Destroying an Enemy Tower (3 kills per tower)
Live Captain (2 kills)
Surviving towers (2 kills per tower) - Note: Must be "Controlled", not "In Conflict."
Completing AV during it's holiday weekend (4 kills)
Having a Wing Commander safely return to his or her home base (1 kill)

Each kill yields ~20.9 honor in the 61-70 bracket and ~14.1 honor in the 51-60 bracket.

Events that do not award bonus honor

Killing Enemy Air Masters (Running back or Inflight)
Killing Marshals/Warmasters
Killing Vendors/Quest Givers
All quests
Capturing a resource (mines)
Taming a wolf or ram
Capturing a Graveyard
Killing any Guard not including the ones listed above
Killing Ivus the Forest Lord or Lokholar the Ice Lord

New Faction Reward System

Alterac Valley items are now available by spending honor accumulated and a varying amount of Alterac Valley Mark of Honor. Though some of the Frostwolf and Stormpike factions items have different names and artwork, their bonuses and equip effects are identical. Unlike those from Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin, Alterac Valley rewards are not available for upgrades. Most rewards require level 55 or 60.

Item (Alliance/Horde)	Type	Level	Cost	Restrictions	Description
[Frostwolf Battle Tabard] [Stormpike Battle Tabard]	Tabard	*	60	Unrestricted	Alterac Valley Tabard
[Stormpike Soldier's Cloak] [Frostwolf Legionnaire's Cloak]	Back	55	1530 10	Unrestricted	Stamina and Frost Resistance bonus Adds 24 attack power while equipped
[Stormpike Sage's Cloak] [Frostwolf Advisor's Cloak]	Back	55	1530 10	Unrestricted	Stamina and Frost Resistance bonus Adds 14 spell damage when equipped
[Stormpike Soldier's Pendant] [Frostwolf Legionnaire's Pendant]	Neck	55	1530 20	Unrestricted	Stamina bonus Adds 18 attack power while equipped
[Stormpike Sage's Pendant] [Frostwolf Advisor's Pendant]	Neck	55	1530 20	Unrestricted	Stamina and Intellect bonus Restores 4 mana per 5 sec when equipped
[Stormpike Plate Girdle] [Frostwolf Plate Belt]	Waist	55	2805 20	Unrestricted	Strength, agility, stamina, and frost resistance bonuses
[Stormpike Mail Girdle] [Frostwolf Mail Belt]	Waist	55	2805 20	Unrestricted	Agility, stamina, intellect, and frost resistance bonuses
[Stormpike Leather Girdle] [Frostwolf Leather Belt]	Waist	55	2805 20	Unrestricted	Strength, agility, stamina, and frost resistance bonuses
[Stormpike Cloth Girdle] [Frostwolf Cloth Belt]	Waist	55	2805 20	Unrestricted	Stamina, intellect, and frost resistance bonuses
[Stormpike Battle Standard] [Frostwolf Battle Standard]	Battle Standard	*	30	Unrestricted	Increases damage caused by party members by 10% for 2 minutes
[Electrified Dagger]	Dagger	60	2380 10	Alliance	Agility bonus Chance on hit nature proc
[Glacial Blade]	Dagger	60	2380 10	Horde	Agility bonus Chance on hit frost proc
[Crackling Staff]	Staff	60	2720 15	Alliance	Stamina and intellect bonuses Adds 15 spell damage when equipped
[Whiteout Staff]	Staff	60	2720 15	Horde	Stamina and intellect bonuses Adds 15 spell damage when equipped
[Stormstrike Hammer]	One-Hand Mace	60	2320 10	Alliance	Strength bonus
[Frostbite]	One-Hand Axe	60	2380 10	Horde	Strength bonus
[Gnoll Skin Bandolier]	16 Slot Ammo Pouch	55	1530 10	Unrestricted	Increases ranged attack speed by 15% when equipped
[Harpy Hide Quiver]	16 Slot Quiver	55	1530 10	Unrestricted	Increases ranged attack speed by 15% when equipped
[Stormpike Battle Charger]	Epic Land Mount	60	50	Alliance	Summons epic mount when used
[Horn of the Frostwolf Howler]	Epic Land Mount	60	50	Horde	Summons epic mount when used
[Lei of the Lifegiver]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Increases healing by 53 and restores 3 mana per 5 sec when equipped
[Therazane's Touch]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Increases spell damage by 33 when equipped
[Tome of Arcane Domination]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Increases arcane spell damage by 34 and restores 3 mana per 5 sec when equipped
[Tome of Fiery Arcana]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Increases fire spell damage by 40 when equipped
[Tome of Shadow Force]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Stamina bonus Increases shadow spell damage by 34 when equipped
[Tome of the Ice Lord]	Held in Off-Hand	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Increases ice spell damage by 34 when equipped
[The Unstoppable Force]	Two-Hand Mace	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Strength and stamina bonuses Increases critical strike rating by 28 1 sec stun proc
[The Immovable Object]	Shield	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Stamina bonus Increases shield block value by 27 when equipped
[The Lobotomizer]	Dagger	60	4760 25	Unrestricted	Proc wounds for 200–300 and lowers intellect by 25 for 30 sec
[Don Julio's Band]	Finger	60	4590 25	Unrestricted	Stamina bonus Increases critical strike rating by 14, hit rating by 10, and attack power by 16 when equipped
[Don Rodrigo's Band]	Finger	60	4590 25	Priest, Mage, Warlock	Stamina bonus Increases spell critical strike rating by 14 and decreases spell target resistances by 20 when equipped

Quotes

Captain Balinda Stonehearth:

Begone, uncouth scum! The Alliance shall prevail in Alterac Valley! - Captain Balinda Stonehearth (Balinda is attacked)
Filthy Frostwolf cowards! If you want a fight, you'll have to come to me! - Captain Balinda Stonehearth (Balinda resets)

Vanndar Stormpike:

Soldiers of Stormpike, your General is under attack! I require aid! Come! Come! Slay these mangy Frostwolf dogs. (Vanndar is attacked)
You'll never get me out of me bunker, heathens! - General Vanndar Stormpike (Vanndar Stormpike resets)

Drek'Thar:

Stormpike filth!? In my keep! Destroy them all! - General Drek'Thar (Drek'Thar is attacked)
You seek to draw the General of the Frostwolf legion out from his fortress? PREPOSTEROUS! - General Drek'Thar (Drek'Thar resets)

Galvangar:

Die! Your kind has no place in Alterac Valley! - Captain Galvangar (Galvangar is attacked)
I'll never fall for that, fool! If you want a battle, it will be on my terms and in my lair. - Captain Galvangar (Galvangar resets)

Wing Commanders:

I'm coming, Frostwolf! And this time you're gonna feel the flames! - Wing Commander Slidore (A) (Slidore flies to attack)
Guse is entering the battle! Time to take out the Stormpike filth! - Wing Commander Guse (H) (Guse flies to attack)
Senior Wing Commander Vipore launching. Pray for a swift death, Frostwolf. - Wing Commander Vipore (A) (Vipore flies to attack)
Jeztor's coming for you, Stormpike! - Wing Commander Jeztor (H) (Jeztor flies to attack)
Drek'Thar, I'm coming for you! - Wing Commander Ichman (A) (Ichman flies to attack)
Incoming air support to Dun Baldar! Stormpike bow down! - Wing Commander Mulverick (H) (Mulverick flies to attack)

Miscellaneous:

Wicked, wicked, mortals! The forest weeps. The elements recoil at the destruction. Ivus must purge you from this world! - Ivus the Forest Lord (Ivus kills an enemy Horde player)
Soldiers of Stormpike, aid and protect us! The Forest Lord has granted us his protection. The portal must now be opened! - Arch Druid Renferal (Arch Druid and the other Druids head to the summoning place)

Soldiers of Frostwolf, aid and protect us! The Ice Lord has granted us his protection. The portal must now be opened! - Primalist Thurloga (Primalist and the other Shamans head to the summoning place)
WHO DARES SUMMON LOKHOLAR? The blood of a thousand Stormpike soldiers shall I spill... none may stand against the Ice Lord! - Lok'holar the Ice Lord (Lok'holar is summoned)
It is done! The Ice Lord has arrived! Bow to the might of the Horde, fools! - Primalist Thurloga (Lok'holar the Ice Lord is summoned, Primalist reacts)
I drink in your suffering, mortal. Let your essence congeal with Lok'holar! - Lok'holar the Ice Lord (Lok'holar the Ice Lord has killed an Alliance player)

Patch 2.3 Changes

In Patch 2.3, Alterac Valley has seen major changes. At present, these include:

A "reinforcement count" is a new victory metric introduced. Each team starts with 600 reinforcements that are lost as the battle goes on. When a team reaches zero reinforcements, the match is lost.
Losing towers costs 75 reinforcements.
Losing Captain Galvangar or Balinda Stonehearth costs 100 reinforcements.
Each team member death costs one reinforcement.
The death of General Drek'Thar or Vanndar Stormpike costs all remaining reinforcements, automatically losing the match for that team.
Warmasters can no longer be single-pulled.
Destroying a tower will eliminate an associated warmaster on the opponent's side.
Warmasters cannot be regained once lost.
Time required to capture towers and graveyards reduced from five minutes to four — except for the first capture of Snowfall Graveyard which is 5 minutes.
Players will only respawn at the starting tunnel graveyard if their team controls no other graveyards.
Bonus honor will be awarded only for destroying towers and the enemy captain, as well as for having any of these remaining on your own side at the end of the match, i.e. bonus honor is now balanced around the other objectives on the map.
Fewer elites in Stormpike and Frostwolf holds.
No more lieutenants and commanders.
Controlling a mine now grants one reinforcement every 45 seconds, or 2 reinforcements every 45 seconds if you control both, up to a maximum of 600.

Source: [5] and [6]

Bonus Honor:

The bonus honor unit is based on the full honor you receive while killing one opponent, without sharing with your teammates or diminishing returns. One kill = 20.9 honor at level 70.
Each opposing faction Bunker/Tower you destroy is worth 3 kills (62.7 honor at level 70) on that spot; i.e. you receive the honor as soon as it is destroyed.
The Captain (Balinda/Galvangar) you kill is worth 3 kills (62.7 at Lvl70) on that spot.
If you win the game by killing the enemy General (Vanndar Stormpike/Drek'Thar), you receive additional honor equal to 4 kills (83.6 at Lvl70).
Each of your faction's 4 Towers/Bunkers you defend (meaning it is not destroyed or in conflict when the game ends) is worth 2 kills (41.8 at Lvl70)); you receive the honor at the end of the game, win or lose.
The Captain (Galvangar/Balinda) you defend is worth 2 kills (41.8 at Lvl70) at the end of the game.
When a wing commander safely reaches the home base it's worth 1 kill (20.9 at Lvl70).
Other NPCs you kill or defend do not yield bonus honor.
The graveyards or mines you cap or hold do not contribute to the bonus honor at the end of the game.
Holiday (AV Weekend):
- According to a blue post the only extra bonus honor on AV weekends is "Map Complete" that refers to the bonus honor awarded on holiday weekends for both the winning and losing teams when the match has concluded. It is worth 4 kills (83.6 at Lvl70).
- But according to my observation, the survival of your faction's general is the necessary condition to gain the extra bonus honor; in other words it may be interpreted as "on AV weekend if you successfully defend your general you receive extra bonus honor equal to 4 kills, win or lose.".

Source: Honor and Battleground Holiday Weekends

Note: Since approx 4 December, honor for Towers/Bunkers which become destroyed after the end of the Battleground will no longer convey additional honor, nor enable the winning conditions to be met through the reduction of opposition reinforcements to zero.

Patch 2.4 Changes

In Patch 2.4, Alterac Valley has seen more major changes. As of current, these changes include:

Captain Balinda Stonehearth has been buffed significantly. Her spell damage has increased greatly and she has now learned new spells. She can no longer be slowed or locked out of a school with interrupts (although she can still be interrupted).
Reversing the previous hotfix, Vanndar Stormpike's and Captain Balinda Stonehearth's health totals have been decreased, to match the totals of Drek'Thar and Captain Galvangar.
Major buffs have been applied to Warmasters and Marshalls; Warmasters and Marshalls now increase each other's maximum health and maximum damage by 25%. This is a stacking buff.
The Horde cave has been moved significantly south, so Horde players start very near to the Frostwolf Keep.
Join as Party returns to Alterac Valley. (NOTE: "Join as Party" does NOT mean "Join as Group". Only 5 players can queue at the same time.)
The time required for the first capture of Snowfall graveyard has been reduced from five minutes to four.

Source: Alterac Valley Improvements in 2.4

Source: Patch 2.4 Patch Notes

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