Post by Corgan
While testing continues and a delay could possibly change these dates, we are currently planning to start Season 3 on November 20 once the realms come back up from their weekly maintenance. This means that Season 2 will come to a close when the realms come down for maintenance on November 20. During that maintenance the final standings are taken and the end of season rewards are distributed.
The start date for Season 3 is purposefully planned to be one week later than the release of patch 2.3, which is currently scheduled for November 13. We will be closely monitoring the testing of the 2.3 patch, and if it looks like it won’t make the November 13 date, we will announce a delay.
With the end of the current season all previous recipients of the end of season titles will have them removed, and the titles will be redistributed for participation in Season 2. A unique armored swift nether drake, visually distinguishable from the Season 1 reward, will be awarded to the top 0.5% of teams. We’ve recently added new requirements for a team to be counted when determining the top 0.5%, which can be found here:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2649798359&sid=1FAQ
Q: Can I keep my title from Season 1 even if I haven’t participated in Season 2?
A: No, the seasonal titles are intended to be a reward for performance in the previous season. Similar to a sports title or award, it’s handed off or moved to different players/teams as their performance rises or declines throughout the seasons.
Q: What happens to my Nether Drake?
A: You will keep your Swift Nether Drake, and a new visually distinguishable Swift Nether Drake will be given to the top 0.5% of teams for their efforts in Season 2.
Q: So I’ve heard something about items having rating requirements?
A: Yes, the Season 3 weapons will have a personal rating requirement of 1850, and the shoulders will have a personal rating requirement of 2000.
Q: What is a “Personal Rating”?
A: We’re introducing an additional rating system with the start of Season 3 that will only track your personal games played, which you’ll be able to see through the in-game PvP interface. This rating will be used to determine the ability to buy specific items, and also to determine eligibility for the end of season rewards. The personal rating rises and declines using the same formula as the arena team rating, but only in games that you participate in. If you switch teams the rating will be reset to a default 1500. The personal rating is only used for the initial purchase of specific items, and isn't required that you maintain a rating to use them.
Q: What happens to the Season 1 and 2 items?
A: The Season 2 items will be priced the same as Season 1 is now, and the Season 1 items are moving to the honor system, purchasable with honor points and Battleground marks.
Q: What happens to my rating when Season 2 ends?
A: Ratings for all teams are reset to the default 1500 for the new season. You still keep your arena points though, they aren’t diminished or removed.
Q: When does Season 2 officially end?
A: Barring a delay, when the realms come down for maintenance on November 20.
Q: How sure are you that 2.3 will make a November 13 release?
A: Pretty sure, but there’s always the possibility for a delay. Due to the upcoming holidays any necessary delays to the release of the patch may require us to delay Season 3 into the start of December. We’re trying very hard to avoid that.
Q: Why isn’t Season 3 beginning with the release of the patch?
A: To help us focus on both a major content patch release, and start of a new season, we’re separating them by one week.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2766101883
