duel (WoW)  

A duel refers to a specific type (not just any) battle between two players. You can challenge other players to a duel by right clicking on their character portrait. Players from opposing factions can challenge each other to duels. You cannot be killed during a duel.

Once a duel is accepted, a flag will appear in the UI between the two players, but battle doesn't start right away. The chat log will show a countdown from 3 to 1 after which players can attack each other.

Tips Regarding Duels

• It's bad form to "Duel Spam" another player. If a player has declined your invitation to duel, do not repeatedly send the invite. They don't want to duel, move along.
• Occasionally a flagged player will challenge another (usually much lower) player to a duel and then, at the last minute, cancel the duel thereby creating a PvP situation. In this situation, since the duel is no longer occurring, the player can be killed. This is commonly used as a trick to cause the challenged player to be flagged unintentionally and then gank them.
• Some players consider it bad form, or at least lame, to use potions (obtained from drops or through the Alchemy trade skill) during a duel. Sometimes these players are Engineers and think it's perfectly fine to use products of that trade skill. It's generally best, if it mattes to you, to set the parameters of a duel prior to starting.
• Some players will consider it unfair to use: fear, a pet, a shield, stealth, a self-heal, or other class-specific abilities during a duel. These people are sore losers and deserve to be laughed at.

World of Warcraft Wikibase™