PvP seasons or arena seasons are periods in which rated PvP combat may occur. Each season has its own name (i.e. season 13 is called Tyrannical) and rewards. A season usually starts one week after the release of a major patch and ends when a new major patch is released. These seasons also usually coincide with PvE seasons. While the length of time between seasons varies, there is a PvP season active most of the year. With the release of Burning Crusade Classic, seasons returned but they usually launched with the release of a new patch (or Phase).
During a PvP season, players can join rated arenas and battlegrounds in order to obtain 
[Conquest Points] which can be used to buy powerful PvP gear.
Once the latest season has ended, arena and rated battleground matches will be unavailable for one week, and all Conquest Points will be converted to 
[Honor Points]. Any Honor above the 4,000 cap will be converted into in-game currency at a rate of 35 silver per point.[1] Those characters eligible for end-of-season rewards (see below) are then determined, and rewards are typically awarded within one or two weeks of the end of the corresponding season.
Conquest window between two seasons, telling players that there is currently no active PvP season.
When a new season begins personal ratings are reset. Matchmaking ratings are sometimes also reset at this time. With each new season, the available PvP rewards are also refreshed, although the exact details of this process vary. Typically, the previous season's non-elite Conquest Point PvP rewards are made available for Honor Points, while a new tier of items is made available for purchase with Conquest Points. In this way, players are encouraged to once again begin gathering points with which to purchase new, more powerful gear.
Rewards[]
At the end of each arena season, players that rank among the highest ratings within their respective arena brackets (2v2, 3v3, 5v5) are awarded titles marking their accomplishments. Team members who have been in at least 20% of a top arena team's matches and are within 100 personal rating of the team's rating, in each Battlegroup, will receive a title according to their standing (highest to lowest). Those who were in the Top 0.5% would also receive that season's unique PvP mount, with the first season awarding the 
[Swift Nether Drake].
Starting in Wrath of the Lich King, earning the Gladiator mount would also get you a Feat of Strength achievement in the same name of the mount (example: Swift Nether Drake). This was changed in Warlords of Draenor, where you would earn a Feat of Strength achievement and that achievement would award you with both the mount and title (example: 
[Gladiator: Warlords Season 1]). You would still get a second Feat of Strength for earning the mount itself (example: Primal Gladiator's Felblood Gronnling). A second change that was made is that you had to win at least 50 games to be eligible for the rewards.
Starting with Legion Season 3, the number of games you had to win was increased from 50 to 150 (for the seasonal Gladiator title) and be with your current faction. A warning was added to every season ending announcement to not faction change as you may not get the rewards if you currently are eligible. An example is if you won 150 games on a Horde character, but you faction changed to the Alliance before the end of the season. You would need to win another 150 games as an Alliance to earn the reward before the season ended.
With Battle for Azeroth, the ranking system was changed from percentage-based to formal ranks in a bracket format. As you rose in rank, this unlocked PvP gear that you could buy. Several changes were made in order to obtain PvP titles and the seasonal mount:
- To earn the new Combatant and "the Elite" titles, you just needed to obtain their associated rank
- To earn the Challenger, Rival and Duelist titles, you just needed to obtain their associated rank
- To earn the Gladiator title & the seasonal PvP mount, you needed to win 50 3v3 games while at the Elite rank
- To earn the seasonal Gladiator title, you needed to place in the top 0.1% of the 3v3 ladder and winning at least 150 games on your current faction
With Shadowlands, the ranking system had its values slightly changed for the brackets. Combatant would now range from 1000-1399 (down from 1400-1599) and Challenger would now start at 1400 (down from 1600) while all other ranks remained the same from Battle for Azeroth. The ranks of Combatant, Challenger & Rival were further broken down into two rankings of I & II. The rank of I would range the first 199 of Combatant, Challenger & Rival while rank of II would range the second 199 of Combatant & Challenger and the last 99 of Rival. Each rank would unlock PvP gear and be able to upgrade that gear to higher item levels. The rank titles are awarded when you reach rank I of the associated rank since there are achievements for reaching both ranks I & II.
With Dragonflight, no major changes were made to the ranking system. A new title and two achievements were added: Legend title for 100 Rated Solo Shuffle wins and seasonal Legend title for top 0.1% of the Solo Shuffle ladder with at least 50 games played. The Legend achievement rewards the title and a pennant which is learned as a toy. Due to the introduction of Dragonriding, you get both the seasonal mount and a glyph to customize your drake to have the same appearance, if you earn the seasonal Gladiator title, mount, and achievement. That way you are able to ride it both as a normal mount and a Dragonriding mount.
With the release of Burning Crusade Classic, rewards were awarded similar to how they are in retail than how they were during the expansion's original release. If you placed in the Top 0.5% (Gladiator & Season Gladiator titles), you also would receive that season's custom mount[2]. The titles would last until the end of the following season (example: if you earned it with Season 1, you would have the title until the end of Season 2). In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, the rewards were mostly kept the same from BC Classic but you are required to participate in at least 50 games during the Season and not be disqualified for breaking the Blizzard EULA[3].
| Standing | Title | Percentile (BC - MoP) | Percentile (WoD - Legion) | Rating (BfA) | Rating (SL - DF) | Classic Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | <Season name> Gladiator
<Season name> Legend |
Top in the bracket | Top 0.1% | Top 0.1% | Top 0.1%
Top 0.1% (Solo Shuffle) |
Top 0.1% |
| 2 | Gladiator* / Elite | Top 0.5% | 0.1% - 0.5% | 2400+ | 2400+ | 0.1% - 0.5% |
| 3 | Duelist | 0.5% - 3.0% | 0.5% - 3.0% | 2100-2399 | 2100-2399 | 0.5% - 3.0% |
| 4 | Rival | 3% - 10% | 3% - 10% | 1800-2099 | 2000-2099 (II)
1800-1999 (I) |
3% - 10% |
| 5 | Challenger | 10% - 35% | 10% - 35% | 1600-1799 | 1600-1799 (II)
1400-1599 (I) |
10% - 35% |
| 6 | Combatant | N/A | N/A | 1400-1599 | 1200-1399 (II)
1000-1199 (I) |
N/A |
Seasons[]
Classic seasons[]
| Season | Title | Gladiator mount | Start date (NA) | End date (NA) | Duration | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Season 1 |  [Gladiator]
|
[Swift Nether Drake]
|
June 1, 2021 | September 7, 2021 | 14 weeks | Began with the launch of Burning Crusade Classic |
|
|
Season 2 |  [Merciless Gladiator]
|
[Merciless Nether Drake]
|
September 15, 2021 | January 11, 2022 | 17 weeks | Began two weeks after launch of patch 2.5.2 & Phase 2 |
|
|
Season 3 |  [Vengeful Gladiator]
|
[Vengeful Nether Drake]
|
January 17, 2022 | May 3, 2022 | 15 weeks | Began with patch 2.5.3 & Phase 3 |
|
|
Season 4 |  [Brutal Gladiator]
|
[Brutal Nether Drake]
|
May 10, 2022 | August 29, 2022 | 16 weeks | Began with patch 2.5.4 & Phase 5 |
|
Season 5 | [Deadly Gladiator]
|
 [Deadly Gladiator's Frost Wyrm]
|
October 4, 2022 | January 9, 2023 | 14 weeks | Began one week after launch of Wrath of the Lich King Classic |
|
|
Season 6 |  [Furious Gladiator]
|
[Furious Gladiator's Frost Wyrm]
|
January 17, 2023 | May 29, 2023 | 19 weeks | Began with patch 3.4.1 & Phase 2 |
|
|
Season 7 | [Relentless Gladiator]
|
[Relentless Gladiator's Frost Wyrm]
|
June 2023 | TBA | TBD | Expected to begin with patch 3.4.2 & Phase 3 |
|
|
Season 8 | [Wrathful Gladiator]
|
[Wrathful Gladiator's Frost Wyrm]
|
TBA | TBA | TBD | Expected to begin with Phase 4 |
