World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Doing away with the classic honor-earning system, PvP combat will no longer be a competitive ladder-style system. Instead, you'll be able to swap your honor points for item/equipment rewards in a straight transaction... no more competing with every other PvPer on the server for rank and no more spending gold on the coveted loot. Before you start tearing your hair out in frustration and indignation, know that any rank or gear already earned by the expansion's release will still be associated with your character, and the competitive ladder system will still be in place, although through alternate PvP objectives discussed below the screenshot.

A part of the new outdoor PvP objectives through which you can earn this honor/currency will be the town of Hallah nestled within the land of Nagrand. Home of several quest-givers that will accept the various bits and bobs of enemies you pick up during your travels through Outland (like Bone Fragments or Crypt Stalker Parts... but not actually either of those specific items), Hallah is guarded by the burly warriors of either the Horde or the Alliance - the trick is in which faction can hold the town. The two sides will battle it out for control of Hallah, and the one that can hold it will reap the benefits of the quest-givers within. But laying siege to the town will not be as straightforward as simply killing all the guards, instead assaults will be lead by placing flight paths on the outskirts of Hallah and leading bomb-dropping sorties over the unsuspecting city dwellers. While the paths of the flyers are pre-determined, you'll get a reticule similar to existing area effect spells, which makes attacking Hallah sort of like a shooter on rails.

Also deep in the heart of Nagrand will be the Nagrand Arena where players can duke it out in teams of two, three or five that are set up beforehand (similar to guilds, but smaller). Sort of like duel/battleground hybrids, these arena battles will be competitive ladder-based affairs that result in an arena rating. You and your team's arena rating determines who you will fight and how much you stand to gain or lose - if you're battling a team that has a better rating, you'll lose less rating if you get crushed, whereas if you win against a team with a higher rating, your rating will be increased astronomically. You can then spend your rating points on special items and equipment available only by participating in arena combat. Of course, in order to keep players from abusing the system, you'll need to compete in a certain number of arena battles (around 10 to 15) in the course of a week in order to actually earn your points and your character must participate in at least 30% of your team's battles as well. Nagrand Arena will be limited to level 70 players only (at least for rating competitions).