Every few days, a call to battle for a specified Battleground is made to the denizens of Azeroth. From August 12-14, that Battleground is Deepwind Gorge, and we’ve put together a handy field guide to help you answer the call to arms.

Deepwind Gorge Basics

Number of players: 15 vs. 15

Minimum required level: 90

Location: Valley of the Four Winds

Entry points: Speak with a Battlemaster in any capital city, or activate the Player vs. Player window (the default hotkey is H). From August 12-14, select the Call to Arms option and then click the Join Battle button to enter the queue for Deepwind Gorge.

Objective: Acquire 1600 gold before the enemy team.

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Call to Arms Rewards

Participating in and completing the current Call to Arms Battleground grants you bonus Honor and Conquest points, with greater bonus rewards going to the players on the winning team. Even more bonus Honor and Conquest points go to players for their first win of the day.

Other Rewards

Among the more interesting achievements you can earn here are:

• Capping Spree [Personally capture the enemy mine cart 4 times in a single Deepwind Gorge battleground.]
• Mine! Mine! Mine! [Assault 50 mines in Deepwind Gorge.]
• Puddle Jumper [Fall 25 yards without dying in Deepwind Gorge.]

For the Win

It’s an Alliance vs. Horde gold rush, and everything comes down to gathering and holding onto gold faster than the other team. Each team has a base in which they store their accumulated gold in mine carts. These carts can be interfered with – and even brought back to your own base to steal a portion of enemy gold. Try to do that if you possibly can; this is a battleground where the team that is behind can rally and win by stealing one extra cart of shiny victory.

Capturing and defending at least two of the three mines is of paramount importance here. Whichever team exerts more control over the mines is going to accumulate gold faster, and while it can be stolen, it’s easier to hold on to what you’ve got than steal from the other team.

But it’s not impossible…

 

Winning in Deepwind Gorge often comes down to the following:

• Organized mine capping and defending. Groups of four players who are well-formed and working together can easily take and hold a mine against a disorganized group of five or six or even seven enemies.
• Constant communication. When it gets quiet, you’re either so far ahead that victory is a given, or you’re losing. Don’t let it be the latter. Call out attacks on the mines and attempted cart steals, and keep an eye on chat so you can help your team.

• Tactical agility. Often, the team that best changes what it’s doing on the fly pulls out the stunning win in Deepwind Gorge. Trying to take two mines and then hold is a strategy that can be easily undone.

Deepwind Gorge is one of the better examples of a battleground where too much focus on honor kills (rather than objectives) spells trouble. It’s a fast-paced resource race, and every player on the team that wins the game stands to earn more honor than every player on the losing side, so the best thing you can do is get yourself a case of gold fever. An enemy who isn’t attacking or defending a mine or a cart is practically unimportant, and may be trying to draw you away from what really matters. Conversely, you may find that you can distract your opponents – if not outright lure them away from their own gold – and spring your teammates to victory.

Learn more about Deepwind Gorge at: WoWpedia, Wowhead, and the Battle.net Deepwind Gorge Battleground guide.