How to 'Graveyard Ninja' in AV
If you are new to Alterac Valley, you may wonder what people mean when they start telling the raid "NEED SOME1 NINJA IB". They hopefully mean that they want someone to help them ninja a graveyard, a critical tactic to help push the enemy back and win AV.
1. Why do we ninja graveyards?
TAKES ONLY 2 PEOPLE. Ninjaing graveyards can be done with a minimum of two people which should not take too much power from the pushing force.
SLOWS ENEMY SPAWN. When you team is pushing closer to a graveyard flag, your team will be far from their respawn and close to the enemies respawn. This gives the opposing team an advantage. But when you capture their graveyard flag, it makes the graveyard contested. This means that no units can spawn there. The enemy will no longer spawn AT the flag, but rather will spawn at the next closest graveyard that they own. This only affects dead enemy units. Living enemy units are a different matter.
DISTRACTS THE ENEMY. When you capture the graveyard flag, it will be broadcasted in RED and a soundclip will play to accompany the message. Usually, at this point, the enemy will get a bit disoriented. Most enemies will continue fighting in the main force, but some will break from the main melee and run straight back to the flag to reclaim it. This is good for your team! They should be fighting a slightly reduced force.
2. What does ninjaing entail?
Two people, regardless of class can ninja a graveyard, although some classes are better than others and some classes really shouldn't be ninjaing. When ninjaing, the each player takes on one of these roles: the Runner or the Capper.
The Runner's job is to mount up and run by the graveyard flag, taking with him the aggro of all four guards and the commander if it is still alive. If dismounted, the Runner must stay alive long enough to allow the Capper to finish doing her job (greater than 10 seconds).
The Capper's job is to get to the flag just after the Runner has gotten ALL the aggro and right click the flag. After that, she just prays that no PC comes along and hits her before the 10 seconds are up.
This is me as a rogue Capper.
This is me waiting for my Runner.
My Runner just grabbed all the aggro.
With no one around, this flag is mine.
3. Class Comparison:
Warrior: As a Runner, a Warrior is excellent. If knocked off his mount; he has enough armor and health to survive long enough to let the Capper do her job. Use defensive stance, and any skills that seem conducive to your own longevity. Being unable to sneak to the flag, a Warrior may attract enemy PCs who will probably follow the Warrior and aim to disrupt the Capper.
Mage: As a Runner or a Capper, a mage can use blink to great advantage. I usually see mages as Runners because if they are knocked down, they use Frost Nova and sometimes Blizzard to slow down the graveyard guards. IF the mage plays the Capper, they can hide behind a tree nearby to the flag and use ranged attacks to keep any enemies from recapturing the flag.
Hunter: Although a hunter has enough armor and health to be a good Runner, they tend to be better Cappers because of their ability to covertly defend the flag after the capture has been made. Because crowd control is important when ninjaing a graveyard. It is advisable to not have a pet out when you are playing either role as a graveyard ninja. If you are a Runner, don't use feign unless you are less than one half second from death (i.e. death is imminent). If you are a Capper, hide behind a nearby tree and shoot any enemies that come by to reclaim their graveyard.
Rogue: My personal favorite for ninjaing, Rogues can play either role. Rogues can sneak all the way to the flag which means that the enemy should never follow a rogue back to the graveyard and attack the Capper. As Runners, the rogue could use Sprint to aid in the escape, but their armor is weak and their health is low. Because of their high stealth movement speed, they make excellent Cappers. Plus, after the capture, they can restealth to hide and snipe any enemies trying to reclaim the flag.
Druid: Could be the best graveyard ninja. They have the same weak armor and health as the rogue, but they should be able to instant heal (if you have Nature's Swiftness) to help increase survivability. They can also stealth up to the flag and use movement increasing abilities. Unfortunately, having a druid ninjaing a graveyard means having a druid that's not in the main fight healing...
Priest and Warlock: As Runner's these guys die quickly if dismounted. If there is a commander at the graveyard, these classes may die before being dismounted! Using voidwalker's Sacrifice will sometimes send the guards chasing a Runner Warlock back the graveyard to hit the Capper. As a Capper, a priest or warlock is decent, but your healing and AoE are best used to serve the main battle.
Shaman: I'll be honest here. I've never played a shaman. I know nothing about them. If you play a shaman, use your best judgment.
4. Some extra notes:
- Sometimes enemy PCs will stand under the mounted commander at a flag where they are harder to see. They are usually guarding the graveyard.
- If you have three people, you have two Runners and one Capper. The first Runner takes the NPCs aggro. The second Runner acts like he is going to capture the flag and then runs off to take any PCs that are guarding the flag away. Finally, the Capper moves in and takes the flag. This is my favorite manuever because it shows that the PCs guarding the flag are only barely smarter than the NPCs.
- As a Capper, positioning the flag between you and approaching enemies does not protect you from ranged attacks.
- If you are a Runner, using life saving skills like Vanish, Divine Shield, Sacrifice, Feign Death, or Fade will send the graveyard NPCs back to the Capper, don't use them until the graveyard is captured.
- If there are a bunch of PCs guarding the graveyard and you already failed to capture it, go back to the main fight and push for 10 - 15 minutes. No reason to take yourself away from the war effort when you can see the enemy must be a few players short.
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