Typically speaking, Season 14 is too late to start getting into a thing. CSI is just now entering its 14th season, for instance, and I haven’t even the slightest desire to discover which creative new places the show’s stars are finding semen these days. Last time I checked in, it was rollercoasters. I kid you not.
World of Warcraft is different. It doesn’t matter whether you were playing in the beta in 1885, or joined when the first 20 levels became free-to-play – Blizzard want you to try your hand at PvP. And now’s a good time to start.
“With sharpened blades and well-honed spells, the time to strike has come!,” exclaim the dev team. “Season 14 has begun, and the leaders of the Horde and the Alliance are once again looking for new champions to carry their factions’ banners to victory!”
Here’s one less reason not to play PvP: you’ll no longer need to join or create an Arena team to compete. The existing Team Ratings system has been abolished. Instead, you can now queue for an Arena match in a group of either two, three or five, and have your opponents selected according to your team’s average Match Making Rating.
What’s more, some long-in-the-oven technical jiggery pokery has seen the pool of competitors expanded beyond the confines of your server. Region-wide matchmaking is now the norm, and you’ll be able to put together cross-realm Arena teams with friends from other worlds.
In accordance with new season tradition, all personal ratings have been reset. Which means a level playing field, player level willing. And at the season’s end, there’ll be titles and mounts for the leaderboard’s best.
Do you think you might have a friend, or two, or four, you might persuade into the Arena?