The original objective of Alterac Valley was to slay the opposing General. Killing the General ended the game. In patch 2.3, it is also possible to win without killing the General by reducing the enemy reinforcement count to zero. Both the Generals, wolves, and Warmasters/Marshals can be buffed and/or healed by players of the same team. When defending against the opposing team it can often be advantageous to assist these NPCs, because if the entire attacking group is defeated they will reset to full health.