Preface:
This was written with Stranglethorn Vale in mind but with these simple rules can be applied to any zone. This guide is more about dealing with getting ganked more than it is about avoiding getting ganked. If you spend a whole lot of time trying to avoid PVP it’s going to eat up much more time than if you just die and get back to work. If your goal is to level fast and avoid distractions please read on, if you want to enjoy a little pvp while leveling just do the opposite of what I suggest and I can almost guarantee you’re going to be waist deep in the opposite faction.
Ziah's guide to dealing with PVP while following Jame's leveling guides:
While you’re following Jame’s leveling guides Stranglethorn Vale can be a big slow down when you’re dealing with all the ganking going on. I managed to breeze through the zone pretty good. With just a few simple (and passive) rules you can minimize your down time. I want to share these methods I used to minimize how many times I got ganked and to make the recovery time as fast as possible.
Before we get into the methods it’s important you live by my mantra…
You are going to get killed. Get over it as fast as possible.
Pre-emptive medicine…
I suggest that if you’re in an area that is rather "busy" just move to another area and try a different quest and come back to it later. If all your quests are in the same area, go grind somewhere else for a few minutes. Chances are that person will finish what they are doing there and move on shortly. Stranglethorn Vale may seem very open but there are a lot of little hidden nooks that you can grind for 10 minutes or so in peace while you wait for the enemy to vacate the area you need to quest in.
The simple rules if a high level player attacks you...
1. Do not run away!!
Just stand there and die. Don’t even bother fighting back. You’re not going to kill a level 70! Why spend 10 minutes getting chased, hiding and eventually killed when you can just die and then take 2 minutes to get back to your body, rez up and go back to killing your tigers or whatever. When I use this tactic they get bored really fast because it shows you just don’t care and you’re going to continue what you were doing whether they are there or not.
2. Do not emote!!
Instigating someone that is killing you just makes them mad or gets them all worked up to want to kill you again. They are trying to get an emotional response from you. If you do not give it to them, they look for someone else that will.
3. Don’t worry about the chat window!!
It’s Stranglethorn Vale! We know what goes on there. Complaining and begging for help is much more of a slowdown than just pushing through the distractions and getting killed a few times. You have a task. Focus!!
The simple rules if you come across an equal or lower level player than you...
1. Do not gank them!!
That’s when they get their 70 and grief you. Just give them a pass and let them know you did so by giving a /wave or something. This way they know you could have gotten the jump on them but didn’t. People tend to pay the favor back and leave you alone. Remember, they are leveling too.
2. Let them win!!
If they attack you, fight back but do NOT kill them. This way they don’t keep trying for the "revenge" kill even though you know you could wipe them up in 3 shots. They are generally satisfied with their "win" and they want to go back to leveling too.
If they want to continue to “dual” you because they think you’re a scrub and can get a few easy kills, you can just move on for the time being and come back to those mobs once that player is done in that area. Of course you give them a nice taste of what you can really do so they understand that you let them win. Again, I would avoid laying the killing blow but they will see your not a lightweight and can easily tear them up had you chosen to do so. They will probably not bother with you again, and since you didn’t lay that killing blow revenge from their main won’t be needed.
I got killed about 10 times a day in Stranglethorn Vale. But using the methods above I managed to not get slowed down a whole lot and was out of there in no time. I will be editing this or adding to it If I think of anything else but these few basic tactics are very useful in keeping your play time productive even though you’re on a PVP server.