#1 - Feb. 26, 2015, 3:27 p.m.
Our primary goal with Ashran was to create a zone where two factions were competing against each other throughout the zone. The average visitor in Ashran has two motivations: earn 200 conquest to fulfill the Ashran bonus portion of their conquest cap, and kill the faction boss for their daily chance at loot from the Gleaming Ashmaul Strongbox. Prior to 6.1, players could earn that conquest by either killing the faction boss or by doing events. We were allowing the same reward to be earned at two different places at the same time.
This setup does not encourage competition. It encourages collusion. As a result, an implicit truce had emerged between the factions, where the Alliance claimed victory in the Road of Glory while Horde wandered the event areas unopposed for conquest. Both sides earned their reward in an efficient manner without any fighting. But Ashran is not a place for truces. Ashran is a place for killing. We removed conquest from the bosses knowing full well this meant the Alliance would be forced to compete against the Horde in events for conquest. Furthermore, we knew that facing new opposition at events, the Horde would once again engage in the central road.
Of course, we acknowledge that killing a faction boss only to receive Aspirant gear isn’t very motivating. As a result, we’ll be removing Aspirant gear from the Gleaming Ashmaul Strongbox. That means it will always award either Combatant (ilevel 620/675) or Gladiator (ilevel 660/690) gear.
We are already seeing increased competition between the two factions in both events and the main road. In every Ashran instance, the population of both factions is tightly controlled to maintain equal numbers. Your faction has the opportunity to compete, but it is up to you to earn victory. Good luck and have fun!