Player vs. Player (PvP) Mode Activation
he main difference between Normal ("truce") and Player vs. Player ("war") realms is the way the PvP game-play mode is activated. This section will tell you how and under which circumstances the PvP mode is activated. No matter how PvP has been enabled for a character, the PvP mode will remain in effect for five minutes after the last action that triggers the PvP mode activation.
To see whether or not your character is in PvP mode, check your character's portrait. If you see the shield next to it, then you are in PvP mode.
Color Coding
The shield allows you to see your own character's current game-play mode. You can see the mode that other characters are in by looking at the color of their character name (the one that appears over the character's head).
* Green - Friendly character, PvP mode enabled; healing or buffing this character will enable PvP mode for your character
* Blue - PvP mode disabled; you cannot attack this character
* Yellow - Enemy character, PvP mode enabled; this character cannot attack you unless you attack him first or activate PvP mode in another way
(see below)
* Red - Enemy character, PvP mode enabled; this character can attack you, and you can attack this character
PvP Mode Activation: Any Realm
Actions that will trigger PvP mode are:
* Attacking a non-player character (NPC) of the opposite faction (Horde/Alliance)
* Attacking a player character (PC) of the opposite faction who is already in PvP mode
* Helping a player character (PC) of your own faction who is already in PvP mode
The PvP mode will stay enabled until five minutes after the last action that triggers the PvP mode activation.
PvP Mode Activation: Normal Realms
Actions that will trigger PvP mode are:
* Entering an enemy capital city
* Entering a battleground
The PvP mode will stay enabled until five minutes after the character has left the city or battleground.
PvP Mode Activation: Player vs. Player Realms
Actions that will trigger PvP mode are:
* Entering a contested zone
* Entering an enemy zone
* Entering a battleground
The PvP mode will stay enabled until five minutes after the character has left the zone or battleground.
PvP Mode Activation: Manual Activation
By typing /pvp, you can activate PvP mode for your character manually. Note that PvP mode will stay enabled until you manually turn it off by typing /pvp again. After you manually deactivate PvP mode, you still need to wait five minutes until your character reverts back to PvE mode.