With Arena Season 9 starting this week, Blizzard today posted details on WoW/en/blog/1597874″ rel=”nofollow”>a new feature introduced with Cataclysm called War Games. Players will be able to participate in pre-arranged arena and battleground skirmishes against teams of their choosing, either to prove who is truly the best or to just get some practice in. It’ll also be great for trying out potential recruits in a format that doesn’t risk you losing team rating.

Because this new system will no doubt be confusing to some players, they also put together a FAQ to better explain it. The most important thing to remember is that you do not earn ratingfrom participating in War Games skirmishes. These are unranked matches.

Q: What’s a War Game?
A: A War Game is an unranked match in which one group of players challenges another group to an Arena or Battleground skirmish in a setting of their choosing. You will be able to initiate a War Game by using the /wargame or /wg command, as explained below.

Q: When will War Games be available?
A: War Games will become available with the start of Arena Season 9. After that point, you’ll be able to play a War Game at any time, regardless of whether a season is underway.

Q: How does it work?
A: After you’ve formed your group, use the /wargame or /wg command to challenge another group leader to a War Game match, like so:

/wg groupleadername mapname

Ifmapnameis left blank, a random Arena or Battleground will be chosen automatically based on the initiating team’s size.

For example: JohnnyRaider wants to challenge TommyPvP to a 2v2 Arena skirmish in the Nagrand Arena. After each forms a separate group with his respective Arena partner, JohnnyRaider uses the following command to start the War Game:

/wg tommypvp nagrand arena

TommyPvP will receive a pop-up notice stating “JohnnyRaider has challenged you to a War Game in the Nagrand Arena.”

TommyPvP then has a little over a minute to accept the challenge. Once he accepts, each group will be placed in the queue and will receive a pop-up window prompting them to enter the skirmish once it’s ready.

Q: Can I play War Game skirmishes against members of my own faction?
A: Yes! The War Game skirmish system allows you to challenge players in your same faction to Arena and Battleground matches. You can also challenge those of the opposite faction.

Q: Do I have to type the whole map name, or can I just type “/wg tommypvp warsong” to enter Warsong Gulch?
A: You can type only part of the Arena or Battleground name, and the system will select the closest match. If you want to be safe, you can use the entire name (as below) to launch a War Game skirmish.

Arenas:
Blade’s Edge Arena
Dalaran Sewers
Nagrand Arena
The Ring of Valor
Ruins of Lordaeron

Battlegrounds:
Alterac Valley
Arathi Basin
The Battle for Gilneas
Eye of the Storm
Isle of Conquest
Strand of the Ancients
Twin Peaks
Warsong Gulch

Random map options:
Random Battleground
All Arenas

Q: Can I challenge a team from another realm to a skirmish?
A: No, you can only challenge opponents on your own realm.

Q: Can I start a game if one team has fewer group members than the other?
A: You are able to create a Battleground War Game with uneven team sizes, but you are not able to create an Arena War Game with uneven team sizes. For example, an 8v5 Warsong Gulch War Game is possible, but launching an Arena War Game with uneven team sizes won’t work.

Q: What’s the largest possible size for a War Game?
A: Arena War Games can support up to 5v5 matches. Battleground group sizes are limited to the maximum number of participants each map normally allows.

Q: Are any statistics recorded from War Game skirmishes?
A: No, they work similarly to the old Arena skirmish system. Kills, damage, and healing are tracked and displayed at the end of the match, but wins and losses are not.

Q: How long does it take for a War Game match to start?
A: Once the challenge has been accepted, you will generally be through the queue in less than 30 seconds. War Games offer you a quick way to get into practice matches with other teams, test out potential recruits, or just have fun with your friends.

Q: Can I receive achievements or guild experience in a War Game?
A: Because you can pick who you play against, nothing is awarded for playing in these skirmishes — except for the rush that comes with a hard-won victory, of course.

Q: Do I get honor for killing players in a War Game Battleground?
A: No. These are skirmish matches, so no honor is awarded for objectives or kills.

Q: What’s the difference between the /wg command and the War Game button in the PvP interface?
A: The War Game button is used only for launching Battleground matches. The /wg command covers both Battleground and Arena skirmishes. We plan to further integrate the War Game feature into the PvP interface in a future patch.

Q: Why have you added this feature?
A: Players have long been asking for a way to challenge specific teams, guildmates, friends, and rivals to skirmish matches in Arenas and Battlegrounds of their choosing. We hope you enjoy this new feature, and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!