Isn't there a significant gap between a level 1 warhammer player and a level 11 warhammer player?
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

Wouldn't the level 11 player still just one-hit kill the level 1? WAR uses what they call Battle Ranks to help even the odds. In tier 1, everyone below level 8 receives a buff known as "Bolster" when they enter an RvR area. The Bolster buff increases a player's HP, stats, and ability strengths to essentially match what a base level 8 player would have as long as they stay in an RvR enabled area. Note that Battle Ranks do not grant abilities, nor do they increase the effectiveness of your equipment. If you are truly a level 1 player, you will still only have level 1 abilities at your disposal, only they will behave as if you were level 8.

Battle Ranks are not an instant ticket to victory land. The difference between a level 11 player and a Battle-Ranked level 8 player are still quite noticable. At the same time, Battle-Ranked players are certainly not complete slouches either. To prove my point, here's a screenshot of my level 4 Zealot dominating a scenario in HP healed.

Battle Ranks are present in every tier, so when you transition from one tier to the next, you can immediately begin PvPing again while still being a contributer.

Tier 1: Ranks 1 through 7 will be bumped up to Battle Rank 8.
Tier 2: Ranks 10 through 17 will be bumped up to Battle Rank 18.
Tier 3: Ranks 20 through 27 will be bumped up to Battle Rank 28.
Tier 4: Ranks 30 through 35 will be bumped up to Battle Rank 36.

All in all, they play a major part in enabling players to level exclusively from PvP combat.