Objectives
Your main task is to kill the enemy general and win the battleground as fast as possible. The faster your team burns through the match, the faster you can collect your bonus honor, tokens, and advance to the next game. You should always be working toward slaying the enemy general. This is achieved by fighting your way across the map, taking over graveyards, and destroying enemy buildings.
You also want to earn as much honor as possible per game that can be redeemed for better equipment. You gain honor by destroying towers, killing enemy players, killing enemy NPCs (lieutenants/commanders/captain), and by defeating the enemy general. You will have more honor if you have destroyed all the towers, own as many graveyards as possible, and prevent the enemy from holding graveyards or destroying towers.
Game Flow
As soon as the game begins, players rush out of the starting gates toward the enemy graveyards. If you're not quick enough leaving the gate, you might be trapped behind a sea of enemy players rushing toward your general. It depends on your battlegroup, but often Horde players attack Stonehearth to kill Captain Balinda while Alliance players take Snowfall and kill the lieutenants near Captain Galvangar but skip the captain himself. Players rush ahead and capture graveyards working their way quickly through the towers and graveyards until they reach the enemy general.
Depending on the game, and players, sometimes the enemy team will have many players on defense - and other times there will be little to none. If you have too much defense and not enough offense your advance along the map will be slow. Games will typically go longer and there will be less honor over time for players because the game isn't ending as quickly. On the other hand, having no defense whatsoever is not advisable. Even a handful of defenders can slow the enemy, especially at chokepoints. The delay, however slight, that they give to the enemy attackers can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Chat
Good communication is essential to teamwork. Upon joining the battle, you will automatically be in the battleground channel (/bg), where allied players can communicate. Players are also automatically joined together in a raid group. Keep each other appraised of what is going on in the battle. The offensive and defensive teams should communicate often on their status and progress throughout the match. For example, if the defensive team finds the other side pushing hard in one location, they can rally to that point. They can also let the offense know that they need to hurry to defeat the enemy general. The offense may then bypass some objectives in favor of rushing to the general's fortress. Similarly, the offense can discuss which objectives to conquer and which to bypass amongst themselves. Each side can also call for reinforcements from the other.
Stay Together
Try to stay together with a pack of allies, as there is strength in numbers. In Alterac Valley, some enemy NPCs (such as the two generals) are extremely tough and can only be defeated by a large group of players. The number of guards, enemy players, and sheer amount of terrain to cross lends itself to having a large group of players sticking together to accomplish the objectives of the battleground as fast as possible. If you are off on your own, you might be very susceptible to attacks by a mass of enemy players. However, it is also a viable tactic to station small teams of players or even individual players to hold and defend objectives such as graveyards and towers. On defense, having the bulk of your defense banding together to hold strategic objectives is very effective. This is particularly true at key chokepoints, where even a small defense can hold off a larger attacking force.
Rejoining the Front
If you find yourself unable to proceed in the map because you've been cut off from the main force and are surrounded by the enemy team, you have several options to rejoin the main pack. One is to wait until your teammates have captured a forward graveyard, at which point you can attack the enemy, die, and be revived at that forward graveyard. You can also "ghost walk" to a graveyard on the other side of the enemy then use the spirit healer at that forward graveyard to revive you. Another trick is to ask a Warlock on your team to summon you up to the battle.
Graveyards
Controlling graveyards is very important to your team's success. Control over the graveyards assists your team's advance across the map. Once you've captured a graveyard, your allied players can now spawn there when they die. Eventually, if you capture the graveyards near the enemy town, you can use them as a base of operations to launch your final assault. An additional and very important reason to capture graveyards is for bonus honor at the end of the game.
Capturing Graveyards
Graveyards are defended by NPC guards from the faction that controls them. To capture the graveyard, you have to click on its control flag located nearby. One player should "train" the flag's guards away from the flag while another player right-clicks it to begin the capture process. If you're attacked during this time, the process will be interrupted and you will have to start over again. Once the process is complete, the flag becomes "contested" and both sides are notified.
Once the graveyard has become contested, enemy troops can no longer spawn there. They must now travel from another graveyard further away. At this point, you need some players defend the graveyard until it's converted to your side. This process takes about five minutes. If the enemy comes over and is able to complete the flag re-capture, the graveyard is instantly converted back to their side. They don't have to wait several minutes to get it back; they only have to complete the flag capturing action. If the other side doesn't recapture the flag in time, the graveyard will come under the control of your faction.
A common mistake players make is to leave the graveyard after it has turned to contested. The enemy then just shows up and recaptures the graveyard. Some players need to stay behind and guard the graveyard until it's converted to your side. If there aren't enough players staying, make sure you alert your team.
Defending Graveyards
When you receive an alert message that the graveyard is being taken over, you need to send some team members to save it. Since the graveyard was under your control, all you need to do is go back and click on the flag and complete the channeling time to recapture it. The enemy will try to prevent you from doing this. If you don't have enough people, you might not be able to recapture the graveyard.
If the enemy has not yet contested the graveyard but is trying to, players on your side will continue to respawn at the graveyard for its defense. It's good to cast AoE spells over the graveyard so that anyone trying to steal the flag will be interrupted. Rogues often like to sneak in and try to steal it when no one is looking. If you ever see an enemy standing next to your flag, attack them to stop them from capturing the flag.
Towers
Towers contain allied NPCs and have guards equipped with bows at the top that attack enemy troops from long distance. Towers are very effective in supporting your defense. Once a tower is destroyed, it will remain destroyed for the rest of the match. In the center of the tower rooftop is a flag. The enemy has to get to the top and capture the flag in the same way as the graveyard. After several minutes, if the tower hasn't been recaptured, the tower is destroyed.
Alterac Valley Loot
When you kill enemy players, enemy guards, and certain creatures, they will drop money and quest items. These items can be turned in to activate special events, such as summoning powerful NPCs to assist your side. Some of the items can only be turned in if the NPC that collects them has spawned or is currently alive. The items you gather, such as Storm Crystals, Stormpike Soldier's Blood, and Armor Scraps, will disappear when you leave the battleground. These events are more likely to occur in longer games. They aren't used as often as they have been in previous versions of Alterac Valley.
Captains
Your side's NPC captain gives everyone a powerful buff every so often. The captain also controls various guards. If your captain is slain, you will no longer receive the buff and you will have fewer allied NPCs to help your cause. For this reason, you need to protect your captain whenever he or she is under attack. Make sure you alert your team that the captain is in danger and organize a defense. Depending on your battlegroup and side, sometimes armies skip killing the captains since they only give 20 honor and take valuable time to kill.
Assaulting the Enemy Town
To take over an enemy town and fight the general, you should first capture the graveyards outside and inside the enemy base. Once you take over both graveyards (which is easier said than done), the enemy guards will be forced to spawn at the tunnel entrance leading to their base, which is far away from their town. Enemy players can still reach you to harass you, but it will take them a little longer.
Attacking the Fortress
Before you take out the enemy general you need to pull the warmasters and other NPCs who guard the general. It's a good idea to assign a main tank to the job of tanking these hard-hitting NPCs, with plenty of healing to back them up. If everyone does their role, the process will go much more smoothly. The puller also has to make sure that they don't bring back too many NPCs in one pull. If a player rushes in and engages the general before the guards have been killed, they should just die in place rather than running out, as that will draw the general out as well.
When it's time to take on the general, people usually say something along the lines of "all in" which indicates everyone should rush into the general's chamber and kill him. Again, having a designated tank with plenty of healing is best. Without reliable tanking, the general bounces around between players slaying them. The generals should be tanked right where they stand rather than dragging them outside, if possible. If a player aggros the boss by mistake by doing too much damage, or threat, they should stand their ground even if it means death, rather than train the general out. It's still possible to kill the general without a tank if you have enough players, but it's less than ideal as it is much more time consuming. Also, make sure you kill any enemy players you see in the general's room once you're fighting inside.
If you have a Battle Standard, place it in the general's room to help in the final fight, or use it on the warmasters outside. It has a long cooldown, so save it until you really need it.
Overcoming Fortress Defenders
Defenders can significantly slow down the attack on the general by attacking players, assisting NPCs, attempting to capture graveyards, or other forms of disruption. A common defensive tactic is to attack the gathered enemy force outside the fortress from the fortress entrance, and then run back into the fortress by the general and hide. This can be countered by crowd control / movement impairing abilities such as fear, entangling roots, polymorph, and stuns. In close matches, defense is key in delaying the enemy's attempt on your general while your attackers are simultaneously attacking their general.
Defenders with a Stormpike Insignia or Frostwolf Insignia can use it repeatedly to teleport just outside the fortress entrance. This can near your general and defend them.
AFK
If you type /afk or go too long without taking any actions, you'll exit the Alterac Valley instance. This is in place to encourage players to actively participate in the battle. Players who exit by these means will be affected by the Deserter debuff, which prevents you from joining another battleground queue for 15 minutes. However, if you find yourself in a protracted stalemate, then the debuff could be an attractive option in comparison.
