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"It's Alterac Valley weekend once again, and although you can't currently use the Alterac Valley Marks of Honor for anything other than old world rewards right now, the Battleground still remains one of the best places to farm Honor. In case you're hitting up the frozen valley this weekend, here's a handy guide that should help you through the Achievements you need to get Master of Alterac Valley. Alterac Valley VeteranWin 100 games. I don't know about you, but I personally don't enjoy Alterac Valley enough to slog through the number of games required to win 100 times. That's probably because of my Battlegroup, where I find myself losing more than I win. Like all veteran Achievements, this really is just a matter of time, and the only real problem is finding yourself on the losing faction -- which tends to be a trend in many Battlegroups unlike other maps, which are largely symmetrical. Alterac Valley is asymmetrical, so a Battlegroup with a faction that knows how to take advantage of the asymmetry will tend to win most of the time. I'll peg this one at hard, and I think some of you will agree.Difficulty: HardAlterac Grave RobberThis is ridiculously easy because it doesn't require you to actually capture or convert the flag, just tag it. During the course of one game, there'll be many opportunities for you to do so. Snowfall Graveyard, the uncontrolled graveyard at the start of the game, is an excellent target that can be taken over and over.Difficulty: EasyTower DefenseRetake 50 Towers. This isn't quite as easy as taking graveyards, as smart opponents will always leave defenders at a tower to protect the flag until the tower is destroyed. Most of the time, you'll need some assistance, who in turn will also try to retake the tower. Tower defense also works with a four minute timer, so there isn't a lot of room to keep trying if you die to the tower's defenders. Fortunately, it also happens that many players are idiots who tend to leave towers undefended or just leave one person to do the job. With these two extremes in mind, it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish over time.Difficulty: ModerateLoyal DefenderKill 50 players in your General's room. Since this is counted over time, this isn't too hard to do. Simply defend every now and then, preferably with some help, and you're guaranteed to rack up some Honorable Kills by your General's side. In all likelihood, your General will be doing the killing for you, too. This Achievement can be unlocked with a few games, whether you win or lose.Difficulty: EasyEverything CountsWin while controlling both mines. This is another easy task as many players tend to ignore the mines. Over the course of 100 games, you're certain to get this Achievement. You can make it easier by capturing one or two mines yourself, or mentioning it casually in Battleground chat where some players will take the cue and do the job for you.Difficulty: EasyThe Alterac BlitzWin in 6 minutes. Now this is hard. The only way to win in six minutes is to rush the General, complete with all his lieutenants. This means you will have adds, as well as a General who has higher health and hits harder than usual. You will also not have control of the nearest Graveyard, which means that players who die during this rush will spawn all the way back at the starting point. This means you will have one and only one shot of doing this every game, and you're unlikely to do it with a PUG. You will need a well-geared tank, dedicated healers, and enough crazy DPS to burn the General down before he or his lackeys start wiping you. Throw in the monkeywrench of enemy players trying to be Loyal Defenders, and you've got your work cut out for you.Difficulty: HardThe Sickly GazelleKill someone in the Field of Strife before they dismount. Ah, yes, one of my favorite Achievements ever. This Achievement was put in the game to prevent players from trying to escape combat while staying mounted in Alterac Valley. Yet many players still stubbornly stay mounted, making things a lot easier. Note that you do not need to make the killing blow in order to get this, so hanging out at the Field of Strife will eventually lead to this Achievement.Difficulty: EasyFrostwolf Perfection / Stormpike PerfectionWin without losing your towers or captain. Here's another difficult one, albeit quite doable with a PUG. The idea is to simply play solid defense. As long as you luck out on a group that's dedicated to keeping all your resources alive, it usually will translate to a win. I won't go so far as to say that you'll get this eventually in 100 games, but with a concerted effort, it's certainly within reach. Because towers can be retaken, the only resource you'll need to protect with more tenacity is your captain.Difficulty: HardAlterac Valley All-StarIn one game, assault and defend a graveyard and tower, and kill someone in the Field of Strife. This is a really fun Achievement where a lot of things can go awry. While it's conceivably easier to assault a graveyard and tower (simply take the first ones you get to), it's a little trickier to get them back. Having a teleporting trinket will help you here, so hope some enemies ninja the towers or graveyards near your base. One of the more conscious efforts on this list of Achievements.Difficulty: HardFrostwolf Howler / Stormpike Battle ChargerObtain an Alterac Valley mount. This is a retroactive Achievement, so players who already had the mount before 3.0 get this automatically. Otherwise, these can be purchased with 50 Alterac Valley Marks of Honor, which you'll pick up along the way to 100 wins. Since there's nothing else you can do with the marks at the moment, it's pretty much a no-brainer. Besides, both mounts look pretty pimp.Difficulty: EasyHero of the Frostwolf Clan / Hero of the Stormpike GuardGet exalted with the Frostwolf Clan or Stormpike Guard. Compared to either Arathi Basin or Warsong Gulch, Alterac Valley reputation is ridiculously easy. Many old school players will get this retroactively, but newer players have nothing to worry about. Killing the enemy General alone is worth 389 Reputation, Captains give 125 Reputation, destroying a tower is worth 64 Reputation, and killing players is worth 1 Reputation each. There are also numerous repeatable quests such as turn-ins of hides or armor scraps, as well as guards who grant 5 Reputation until you hit Revered. To top it all off, bonus Reputation is awarded at the end of a match for certain conditions such as having a Captain still up (125 Reputation) or towers destroyed (25 Reputation each). So while other Battleground reputations are a pain to grind, Alterac Valley reputation rises whether you win or lose, making every game relatively worthwhile.Difficulty: EasyTo the Looter Go the SpoilsLoot an Autographed Picture of Foror &amp;amp; Tigule. This is probably this meta-Achievement's equivalent of Be Mine!, as it's completely random. The gray item is also the zone's rarest drop, making looting it purely a matter of luck. The idea is to loot everything including enemy players and hope for the best. Note that the Achievement calls for it to be actually looted, so even though the item isn't soulbound, it cannot be traded or bought off the Auction House to get the Achievement. Good luck!Difficulty: HardThe Master of Alterac Valley is part of the Battlemaster meta-Achievement, and requires a bit of dedication to do in comparison to some other Battleground metas. The difficulty also lies in the fact that it's harder to form a premade for Alterac Valley considering it's a 40-man Battleground. That said, the Honor gain from Alterac Valley is pretty considerable, making this Battleground grind often worth it."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/28/the-overachiever-master-of-alterac-valley/>