Project Lore

The Only Advantageous Aspect Of Being Short Is Ruined By Nameplates!

After slightly redeeming myself in raiding last night - assuming you consider Vault of Archavon raiding - I was able to participate in my first Wintergrasp in a long time.  The battle was nothing special - Alliance fell apart and lost, shocking - but my main mode of defense made me realize something.  Why the hell are we able to see nameplates for the other faction?

The ability to recognize the opposing side isn't new, and people, yours truly included, have been griping about it since day one.  Yet we can still locate baddies thanks to their nameplates.  I'm not complaining about being able to identify one troll rogue from another.  Or being able to learn someone's name that I am standing next to.  I am referring to one's ability to identify a target as hostile when the only identifying marker is the nameplate.  That means without it, I would be clueless as to who they are without further investigation.

During my hold of a southern tower I completely abused the mechanic.  I sat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the nameplates to show up.  Show up they did, through the many layers of floors.  The markers popped up ages before the attached target was near the top level, so I simply went into stealth and waited.  I'm not sure if the unsuspecting horde were able to see me or not.  If my streak of kills is anything to go by, they had no idea that I had just committed first degree murder.

There are numerous other cases where your nameplate can give you away (see screenshot), or outright get you killed.  I know it's a thing of small concern to those who don't bother PvPing, but Blizzard prides itself on the small details.  In my opinion, the nameplates should only come up when you're close enough to engage - say 40 yards - and have the person targeted.  That would tidy up some of the forms of abuse, such as the edge Solidsamm had, and still be informative.

I'm sure the PvPers out there have some good stories on how they took liberties with the mechanic, so let's hear them.  Perhaps nameplates explain how some of the apparently random kills came to be?  What's your best explanation for the plates existing as they do?