World of Warcraft: Cross-Faction Play starts today (patch 9.2.5)
- Thread starter Magnus
- Start date
- Activision/Blizzard
they would have too as a a practical matter, at least in dungeons and raids.
I think BFA made me realize how outdated it was. After Legion where the factions were so close and working together, them trying to create another Horde v Alliance story felt forced to a comical degree.
The writers really wanted me to believe I would become the literal leader of the shamans, work hand-in-hand with others across the world who I directly commanded, saved the world with them, and then i'd throw it all away because Sylvanas was angry and my true loyalty was to the faction? The story and internal character development had moved so far past it that it was massive whiplash.
I think it's fine to have it around for world building purposes and more background storytelling, but having the factions be in major conflict with each other is something that doesn't make any sense this deep into the game's life and story.
come to think of it, it's way past time to just make common speakable by every race, considering that's technically true in lore
there's already plenty of notable exceptions to faction locked languages with pandaren, blood and void elves and demon hunters, it's time to just rip that bandaid off
there's already plenty of notable exceptions to faction locked languages with pandaren, blood and void elves and demon hunters, it's time to just rip that bandaid off
Last edited:
It's a good change but I need it to go all the way. That's my biggest hope for 10.0.
It's hard for me to get excited about WoW anymore. I barely talk about it with anyone because I find the community to be so exhausting. And god help you if you try pointing out something in the lore that is BS because all you're going to get in return is "Sylvanas is a WHORE and DESERVES TO DIE." even if that response has literally nothing to do with the conversation.
It's hard for me to get excited about WoW anymore. I barely talk about it with anyone because I find the community to be so exhausting. And god help you if you try pointing out something in the lore that is BS because all you're going to get in return is "Sylvanas is a WHORE and DESERVES TO DIE." even if that response has literally nothing to do with the conversation.
It already is kind of like that right? The few orc npcs Alliance can interact with, and vice verse, all speak common. My alliance guy had jo problem communicating with Highmountain Tauren etc etc. I think the language barrier they have essentially waived away.
They could party up but not with people on the other faction. Which disproportionally affected one of the factions because of imbalances never addressed until now.
i should clarify specifically for players - npcs have always broken that rule because of course canonically everyone speaks common anyway
Yeah, that's what I mean, two people of opposing factions not being able to party up is kind of wild to me.
I assume in practice it'd largely mean most people choosing one of the factions even if they might prefer the other just to have more party opportunity.
Oooh sorry, my mistake. It would be interesting for battlegrounds; randomly calling out shit to the other side.
Now they need to go all the way with it and just remove all faction restrictions, the game hasn't been about Horde Vs Alliance in many years.
It really depends, if you were an alliance character in a server where the population split is like 10% alliance and 90% horde... it was a bit more challenging to find people for content lol. They made a really good decision.
This is a good change. I remember when WoW was new my friends wanted me to play but they were Horde and I hated all the base Horde races (Alliance weren't much better tbh, but I liked Night Elves from WC3 so wanted to be one). Played some with them when WotlK launched and I could be a Blood Elf (added in BC, but I also had no interest in playing then).
I totally get and understand the faction stuff from a gameplay and lore perspective, but it seems so forced after every other expansion has the sides coming together against a common for only for them to be back at each others throats in five minutes because some main NPC has done a stupid. Plus, from my limited experience (WotlK, then cataclysm, then MoP) the horde was always the more popular side, essentially the FFXIV equivalent to cat girls (super popular and overbearing).
I totally get and understand the faction stuff from a gameplay and lore perspective, but it seems so forced after every other expansion has the sides coming together against a common for only for them to be back at each others throats in five minutes because some main NPC has done a stupid. Plus, from my limited experience (WotlK, then cataclysm, then MoP) the horde was always the more popular side, essentially the FFXIV equivalent to cat girls (super popular and overbearing).
That's right. If you wanted to play with friends who had Alliance characters, you needed to roll an Alliance character to do it. If you wanted to play with friends who had Horde characters, you needed to roll a Horde character to do it. Alliance and Horde characters literally could not understand one another's language in game. As a horde character, if there were alliance characters talking or yelling in proximity chat, I'd see a lot of "bur vrum kek" etc. You couldn't invite them to groups manually or dynamically through the matchmaking tools for PvE, you couldn't trade with them except for on the cross faction auction house, and you couldn't join one anothers guilds. The only restriction being lifted here of all of those is that you can now MANUALLY organize with characters from the opposite faction. STill can't get together and do matchmade activities, so far as I'm aware. Can't trade, can't join one anothers guilds.
Having given it some more thought, and given the storylines in FFXI, I'm excited for WoW players if this gets worked into the narrative, having the 3 nations in FFXI work together but absolutely not trust each other in a post cold war kind of way allowed for pretty interesting vibes and ideas to come about. As opposed to XIV's take on it which chilled them the f out immensely.
Well, yes.
Back then none of us thought it was weird though- it totally makes sense that members of the two factions would never work with each other as the main story setting is one of uneasy peace with occasional skirmishes from both sides.
But after 10+ years and multiple storylines where both factions had to put aside their differences and work together for the common good, it got really REALLY stupid to keep trying to revert and prolong the conflict between the two after every crisis.
Several years to late for me personally. It's something my friends and I have wanted for well over a decade now. But shadowlands was kind of the nail in the coffin for me. Not that I thought it was bad particularly other than the stupid Sylvanas/Jailer storyline. But it's just time to move on. Same with Destiny for me. Too much goodwill burnt.