Battlemaster
- For other uses, see Battlemaster (disambiguation).
Battlemasters are NPCs that offer characters the opportunity to join the queue for battlegrounds. Originally one of the only ways to queue for battlegrounds, with the introduction of the PvP interface, battlemasters are largely redundant, and serve no practical purpose.
Each capital city has several battlemasters, but not all capital cities have battlemasters for all the battlegrounds: only Stormwind City and Orgrimmar have Tol Barad Battle-Mages, and only Dalaran has Wintergrasp Battle-Mages. The battlemasters can usually be found gathered in one place, often a war-room or similar. Battlemasters can also be found at the entrances to the original battlegrounds. Interacting with any battlemaster will open the PvP interface window. When using the tracking system with the minimap battlemasters will appear with the Alliance and Horde icons (
) at their locations.
City battlemasters were originally the only way to queue for a battleground without traveling to the physical entrance of that battleground. There was one battlemaster for each battleground, with players having to seek out the correct battlemaster to queue for the corresponding battleground. Players who had queued for a battleground could continue to travel around and play the game while they were queued, but upon leaving the battleground would be immediately teleported back to the battlemaster's location. Since battlemasters were located in cities, players generally had to travel from the zones where they were adventuring in order to seek out a battlemaster, making it difficult to combine battlegrounds with non-city-based activities. With the introduction of the PvP interface, battlemasters were made redundant, as players can access the same options directly through the Micro Menu, without needing to seek out a battlemaster.
Tactics
Battlemasters come in two varieties: warriors and mages. Battlemasters without a mana bar are considered warriors. City battlemasters are often in separate areas from normal PvP combat, however Sylvanas Windrunner and Velen both pull with their respective city battlemasters.
Warrior battlemasters use strong physical attacks, can 
[Cleave], have a 
Frightening Shout, 
[Mortal Strike], and 
[Whirlwind] attacks. As such, they are best kept separated from the rest of your party to minimize their overall damage and interference during combat.
Mage battlemasters are weak physically but use 
[Frost Armor], 
[Fireball], 
[Fire Blast], 
[Frostbolt], 
[Polymorph], and "Amplify Damage". "Amplify Damage" increases the target's damage taken by 100% for 10 seconds and as such should be dispelled quickly. When engaged with a city leader they should be quickly eliminated to avoid sudden spikes in tank damage.
Alliance battlemasters
| Location | Battlemasters | Battlegrounds |
|---|---|---|
| Darnassus (Warrior's Terrace) |  Landuen Moonclaw  Rissa Shadeleaf
|
All All |
| Ironforge (Hall of Arms, Military Ward) |  Borim Goldhammer  Lixa Felflinger
|
All All |
| Stormwind City (War Room, Stormwind Keep) |  Alison Devay  Devin Fardale Kaellin Tarvane
|
All All Tol Barad 
|
Exodar (Vault of Lights) 
|
 Hunara  Liedel the Just
|
All All |
| Shattrath City (Lower City)
|
Jonru Mijiri
|
All All |
Dalaran (Silver Enclave) 
|
 Arcanist Braedin
|
Wintergrasp
|
| Alterac Valley tunnel, Hillsbrad Foothills | Grumbol Grimhammer
|
All |
| Silverwing Grove, Ashenvale | Su'ura Swiftarrow
|
All |
| Refuge Pointe, Arathi Highlands | Radulf Leder
|
All |
Horde battlemasters
| Location | Battlemasters | Battlegrounds |
|---|---|---|
| Orgrimmar (Hall of the Brave, Valley of Honor) |  Karba Blazemaw  Karg Skullgore Zugra Flamefist
|
All All Tol Barad
|
| Silvermoon City (Hall of Blood)
|
 Alenjon Sunblade  Irissa Bloodstar
|
All All |
| Thunder Bluff (Hunter Rise) |  Mosha Starhorn  Ruk Warstomper
|
All All |
| Undercity (Royal Quarter) |  Deathstalker Fane  Misery
|
All All |
| Shattrath City (Lower City)
|
Asara Dawnblaze Saeld Brightflare
|
All All |
| Dalaran (Sunreaver's Sanctuary)
|
Magister Surdiel
|
Wintergrasp
|
| Alterac Valley tunnel, Hillsbrad Foothills | Usha Eyegouge
|
All |
| Mor'shan Base Camp, Northern Barrens | Gargok
|
All |
| Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands | The Black Bride
|
All |
Removed battlemasters
Battlegrounds and Wintergrasp
Wintergrasp battlemasters were removed in patch 4.0.3a, and most battlemasters for specific battlegrounds were removed in patch 6.0.2.
Arenas
Arena battlemasters were removed in patch 3.2.0.
Other
Aelus Goldmorn in Silvermoon City and Sawemba in Orgrimmar were generic battlemasters, like the battlemasters still in-game today.
Arena Battlemasters for Arena Tournaments were found in all races' starting areas on Arena Tournament realms.
Patch changes
Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14): Most battlemasters removed, along with related Call to Arms events. - Hotfix (2010-12-07): Players are no longer able to endlessly kite the outdoor Battlemasters.
- Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Most battlemasters now only appears during their respective Call to Arms events.
- Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Battlemasters in major cities affiliated with specific Battlegrounds have been replaced with a Battlemaster for each faction that will allow players to queue for any Battleground. Battlemasters for specific Battlegrounds will still be seen around the cities during corresponding Battleground holiday weekends. Undocumented: Battlemasters at the three old world entrances kept but also give access to all battlegrounds. All Arena Battlemasters removed.
Patch 1.7.0 (2005-09-13): Characters that use the Battlemaster to enter a Battleground will now port back to that Battlemaster when they leave the Battleground for any reason. - Patch 1.6.0 (2005-07-12): Added.
See also
- Alliance Brigadier Generals and Horde Warbringers, battleground quest givers in Classic
es:Maestro de batalla