War Mode players will get a 15% experience boost in Battle for Azeroth

In Battle for Azeroth, PVP and PVE servers are going by the wayside. At last year’s BlizzCon, Blizzard announced that instead of segregated servers, all players would have a toggle to flag for PVP. Players that flag from all servers will go to their own server shard, where they can PVP to their heart’s content. It will also be balanced between Alliance and Horde, solving both faction imbalances and underpopulated servers in one go.

Not everyone likes to PVP, or has really experienced it. But Battle for Azeroth has a little bonus tacked onto flagging. PVP-flagged players will receive 15% bonus experience when leveling out in the world and 10% extra rewards at max level from World Quests. It’s a nice bonus for players who already like to PVP. It’s also lucrative enough to spark interest in those who might not have the desire to try it out otherwise. However, the bonus experience is far from mandatory or forcing players to PVP. It’s pretty much making up for the time spent getting into fights with the other faction. It’s also a high risk reward for those willing to court danger.

If you really want to level extra fast, you can take the chance of flagging for PVP. Factions level separately this time on different continents, Kul Tiras for Alliance and Zuldazar for Horde. Because of this, there isn’t exactly a guarantee that you’ll come across enemy players. The War Campaign quests that take players to the enemy continent start at 112, but they won’t be a constant presence there. Honor talents and gear scaling will be present in world PVP, as well as bounties if you manage to anger enough people.

The chance for abuse is pretty low. To turn War Mode on, you have to be in either Stormwind or Orgrimmar, depending on your faction. The toggle is in the PVP talent UI. So players hoping to turn the buff on and off at will when in a losing fight will be disappointed. There’s also no guarantee that turning it back on will even place players back into the same server shard. As for players wanting to game experience without being vulnerable, technically you could probably do quests, hearth to turn War Mode on, and transport back to turn them in. However, that would probably negate the time saved from having the bonus. It also only works in the world zones — you won’t be able to use it in dungeons.

So if you want to take the chance, go for it. If you don’t want to worry about any questing delays, the lack of bonus probably won’t be noticeable. It may save you a couple hours at best if you don’t run into a single enemy player, and less time if you’re actively fighting. The extra resources look a little alluring, but I’m honestly ok with fewer resources in exchange for peace of mind.