The article from WoWWiki is more than a decent start, but it may be a bit confusing with a lot of different strategies and tips. Remember, they key here is to deliver basic information and strategies, to avoid the biggest mistakes that make you lose.

Default Horde strategy

Having the Farm and the Forge may be obvious to everyone playing on the Horde side. If it is not, you are either playing in a team with alternative strategies or being dumb. This leaves you with one choice : Lumber Mill or Mine ? Apart from the fact that LM is on the left and Mine on the right, what's the difference ?

  • Mine : located below ground surface, closest to the Stables.
  • Lumber Mill : located upper the ground surface, closest to the Farm.

Now if you are still wondering which point fits best, please quit playing World of Warcraft and play Sudoku. Or play Alliance. Whatever.

Starting from Farm and Forge, Lumber Mill is the closest point. This means faster backups, and an slight advantage for the first capture. Faster backup is something that's often overlooked by players. But it's basically the same as reducing your respawn timer. If you respawn in 30 seconds and get to the flag in 15 seconds instead of 20 seconds, it's like you respawned in 25 seconds. Moreover, LM is the highest spot in the battelground, allowing a single player there to see every single move from the opposing team.

The strategy is thus very very simple : take that damn Lumber Mill. I repeat, take that damn Lumber mill, please. Never, ever go to Mine at startup, for this is a loss of precious time and energy, and could cost you the victory. Don't hesitate to tell other people in the battleground at the beginning. Have a macro that says "Farm/Forge/Lumber Mill first". Tell the word. Lead people to the left when portal opens. Click the minimap. If your team fails to understand the easiest way of winning Arathi Basin on the Horde side is to take the Lumber Mill, I'm afraid winning will be extremly hard, if possible.

Golden Rules

Now that you have a strategy to start with, let's get some tips and rules you can't live without in Arathi Basin.

  • Look at the map, dammit! : Shift+M. Enough said.
  • Communicate : tell the others when the Alliance is attacking one of your points
  • Communicate early : tell your mates when the Alliance is en route, not when they have wiped the defenses away and are capturing the flag.
  • Defend : never, ever leave a point defenseless.
  • Stay on the flag : when fighting for a flag defense, stay near the flag to prevent capture. Do not let the attackers drag you away.
  • Keep an eye on the flag : try to interrupt any opponent that tries to capture the flag.
  • Be ready : nothing to do ? Stay at the backup point (white X on the map), and answer to calls for help.

Sta-bi-li-ty

If you don't own the 3 base points yet, your one and only goal is to get them. Refer to the WoWWiki article if you want to know more about successful capture methods. Once you have the base points, you are in a stable winning situation. You get more resources than the Alliance, thus time is on your side. There is no need to rush anywhere, no need to hurry. Let the Alliance make the first move, let them make the first mistake.

You should never, ever rush for the Stables without the 3 base points, except for a potential ninja. This is even more critical if you don't own the Forge, since players dying at the Stables will respawn very far and lose precious time running around. Rushing the Mine is out of the question too.

Once you have established a stable situation, with 1-2 people defending on each point and someone that announces incoming ennemies, this leaves you with around 8 people to wreak havoc on the Alliance defenses. Those people should stay aware of alerts and be ready to backup as soon as possible. Remember keeping the 3 base points is your most important objective.

If you can successfully manage to make it happen, it's a win. A nice win with Honor Points, Marks and maybe Champagne. And now you've read this article, you can't say you didn't know.