This thread is for the purpose of explaining what the basic etiquette is in a duel.

To begin, dueling is a way to engage another player of your own faction in combat. There are no two on one or three on one duels, only one on one. There are no rewards for winning a duel, and no penalty for losing. You do not die if you lose a duel, you simply drop to one health. It is a way to test your skill in a fair one on one fight, without the trouble of someone actually dying.

If challenged to a duel, a duel flag will drop, and you will be asked to accept or deny the duel. To challenge someone to a duel, right click their portrait and click duel.

Here is a basic list of the commonly accept dueling practices. Please feel free to post more, and I will add them.

1. The biggest one, in my opinion - Don't use consumables, with the exception of bandages. Health potions are the big one - using consumables, whether you agree with it or not, is widely accepted as a 'noobish' thing to do in a duel. Bandages are usually acceptable because they cost a fraction of what a potion costs, and are not instant regens. They are also interruptable. There have been quite a few posts asking me to change this section - These are not my opinions; they are more what I have gathered, in my experiences, to be the opinions of the majority.

2. Don't be a sore loser, or a sore winner. Even if you know that you lost because of lag, a misclick, or because your opponent used a long cooldown - you lost. Duel again, and if the person doesn't want to duel you again, don't pester them. Walk away knowing why you lost, even if the other person thinks it's something else. And don't harass someone because you beat them. Common examples - You beat a higher level person, you beat someone who used a long cooldown, you beat a warlock (sorry had to throw that in.) You won, there's no reason to be obnoxious and try to make the other person feel bad.

3. Don't complain about someone using their class abilities. If you think you lost because the class of your opponent is overpowered, the suggestions forum is here.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=11122&sid=1

Telling blizzard your thoughts will be a lot more productive than telling a player "You couldn't beat me if you didn't have Divine Shield." If you honestly think that you can not beat someone if they use a skill with a cooldown, rethink you're playing strategy. Every class has cooldowns to use to get out of a tight spot, use yours to match the ones they are using. See #13 for a slight change to this.

4. Going out of combat is OK. When a player uses a skill to get you away from him so he drops combat, and proceeds to use an 'out of combat only' skill, don't get mad about it. This is something you'll face in any battleground or open world pvp - might as well get used to it and practice it in duels. Note - this does not included stalling a duel that you think you aren't going to win. Don't run off and stealth and just hide for 10 minutes, till your health refills.

5. I'm not too experienced with PvE servers (never played on one) so I'm going to let Bellatrix take this one -

 

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Q u o t e:
NEVER, EVER turn on your PvP flag while dueling an opposing faction, just so you can tag them and have an honorable kill. This is, BY FAR, the biggest NO-NO of a duel. If you want some honourable kills, find a flagged person or join the battle grounds. Don’t trick people into getting flagged. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, you CAN duel the opposing faction and in the middle of the fight turn on your PvP flag, thus on the next hit flagging your opponent. When the duel is over, the flagger would kill the opponent in PvP. This is not very nice and if there is something that is considered cheating, this is it! Also, this only applies to PvE servers where you are not permanently flagged for PvP. On the other hand, pay close attention when dueling opposing faction so that you are not on receiving end of this exploit
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6. If someone does not want to duel you, leave them alone. No if, ands, or buts. Leave them alone.

7. There isn't much sense in challenging someone much lower level than you to a duel. It really proves nothing, gives you no practice, and is just a mean thing to do. If you feel up to it, challenging someone higher level is generally acceptable. But if they don't feel like dueling you because you're low level, don't bother them saying that you're good or you have good gear, you won't change their mind.

8. On PvP servers, dueling in neutral or enemy zones isn't a good idea. Case in point - Back in the day I dueled someone in the Barrens on my mage (60 at the time.) After losing, a 21 hunter shot me and killed me. Then he posted a screenshot on the realm forums. It was quite embarassing, and I set myself up for it. X<

9. Check out the area you're about to duel in beforehand. Try not to fight in an area where someone may run into a mob, or a mob might patrol into you. Taking a dura hit because someone feared you into a mob in a duel can be quite frustrating.

10. Unless you're in a place that is specifically used as a dueling area, it's considered rude by some to drop a duel flag on them without saying anything first. It doesn't hurt to send someone a tell asking them if they'd like to duel beforehand.

11. Start a duel from a decent range. Don't cheeseball and run up on top of a warrior so he can't charge, or a caster so he can't get a cast off. A duel should be a fair fight, not an ambush.

12. For priests - mind controlling people into mobs or off cliffs is not acceptable. Causing someone to take a durability hit (even for a low level new person, where buying skills makes even silver extremely valuable) is a very mean-spirited thing to do.

13. Warriors and paladins - Warriors, using your half hour cooldowns is considered unnacceptable (Recklessness, Shield Wall, or Retaliation). This applies to paladins Lay on Hands also, your 60 minute cooldown. I realize that earlier on I mentioned not to complain about using your class skills, but these are extremes where you gain a ridiculous advantage over your opponent. And again, given the nature of dueling, these cooldowns are considered to be unacceptable to use. I understand that this is contradictory to #3, but as I've said before, I'm trying to show what the normal etiquette is in a duel accepted BY THE MAJORITY, so please, don't flame me for it.

14. Please, please, please don't take duels too seriously. It is a fun option in the game, and is there for amusement. You will lose many duels in your time in WoW; look at each of them as a learning experience.