WoW Wednesday: The Brawler’s Guild – Another Look


WoW Wednesday: The Brawler’s Guild – Another Look

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Warcraft Reporter

 

 

If you play WoW you’ve undoubtedly heard of the Brawler’s Guild. You know that it is a PvE arena event and you probably also know that it is invite only. There is also a chance you have heard you can get an overpriced ticket on the black market. So what is all the fuss? Is it even worth it?

 

 

When the Brawler’s Guild was introduced the price of a ticket on the black market was upwards of 40,000 gold and with limited availability. This put most people off. Nobody but a select few want to spend their hard earned gold on fighting PvE bosses for very little reward.  On most realms the price of the invites has dropped dramatically. Some invites are as low as 12 to 20,000 gold now compared with upwards of 80k on some realms only a week ago, which might mean people aren’t truly interested or are finding other ways to get an invite.  However, there are not many people at any given time taking part in the Brawler’s Guild even with cross realm zones, which could indicate a real lack of interest.

 

 

It would seem the main reason people aren’t interested in the Brawler’s Guild is lack of reward. WoW players are so used to instant gratification that the thought of doing anything without immediately being rewarded is abhorrent. The rewards are almost non-existent. At this time, from the quartermaster, there is a pet called Clock’em (rank 4 needed to purchase) and a bind on account fist weapon which requires rank 7. When you win a match you gain some rep and a Brawler’s Purse, which contains junk quality items which can be sold for some gold (under 50).

 

 

However, if you are an achievement junkie there are some to be had by participating in the Brawler’s Guild.

 

 

To get the I Am Your Number One Fan achievement all you need to do is /cheer a player after they’ve won a match. Sometimes one of the NPC spectators will turn hostile. Hit them in the head with Expired Blackout Brew and get the achievement Bottle Service. If you get ten stacks of stink on you and can win a match you will get the Haters Gonna Hate achievement. Aside from these three there is a series of five achievements as well: Now You’re Just Showing Off, Rabble Rabble Rabble, The First Rule of Brawlers Guild, The Second Rule of Brawler’s Guild and You Are Not Your $#*@! Legplates.

 

 

Having the right gear isn’t meant to be an issue for Brawler’s Guild. As a fresh 90 you should be able to complete the lower ranks. As your gear improves through normal game play such as rep gear, heroics and raids, you should be able to advance through the higher ranks. Some say rank 8 is nothing but a gear check is in place and requires an ilevel of about 485.

 

 

Anyone can watch the Brawler’s Guild matches. It is a spectator sport after all. It is nice to see that since PTR Blizz has accommodated the spectator by making things to stand on for the best view.  There is one very interesting aspect of the Brawler’s Guild that brings to mind earlier incarnations of the game. That aspect is the incredible sense of community.

 

 

Some players have expressed concern about being judged or ridiculed while engaging in their matches and that is the reason they don’t want to participate and rightly so. The WoW PvP community is notoriously full of foul mouthed reprobates but this is PvE and surprisingly the community surrounding Brawler’s Guild is helpful and encouraging.

 

 

Players are forming raids for shared buffs, cheering and congratulating when a match is won or commiserating on losses.  There is absolutely no trash talking compared to the always present haters with duels or even raids.  It is this sense of community that Blizzard wants but sadly happens very rarely. When it does happen though it makes for a great experience.

 

 

The Brawler’s Guild is failing to thrive mainly due to lack of interest rather than anything else. The price of the tickets are coming down so cost isn’t really the issue.  The real problem seems that there is no point to the Brawler’s Guild. There isn’t a substantial reason to participate.  A few achievements, a pet and a fist weapon aren’t worth fighting for.

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