Probably true, but the future potential is magnificent all the same. The fact that the Alliance is the more populated faction might ultimately mean very little, if the lines are blurred to the point of free cross-faction interaction at some point. We sure seem to be moving in that direction.
Also it would nice to see mercenary guilds with an actual roster of races from all over, swearing loyalty to coin rather than creed.
On the topic of major cities: Iâd probably favour opposite faction players being able to enter them but not being able to interact with the utilities like the bank and auction house. That feels like a good way to manage it and continue to allow RPers to wrangle it.
I hope full cross-faction doesnât happen, because in the end it would result in slow destruction of hubs that arenât Stormwind and removing any type of RP interactions between Alliance and Horde that arenât full friendship and magic, thus limiting what RP people can do.
It would also harm the game as there are many players who enjoy the factions as narrative tool, which would be essentially removed if they get merged.
That is entirely down to player decision, though?
Hubs outside SW and Org have been ghost towns for ages, and thatâs purely down to player choice?
You have Dalaran as neutral hub and people on the Horde are doing multiple community projects recently. All of that would be severely diminished if everyone could just RP in Stormwind because people tend to move to hubs with the most people.
Right now, Stormwind doesnât allow for presence of Horde races, which is why those who want to do cross-faction stuff need to find a place for themselves, and those who want to RP their Horde races also need a place for that. The second you open up Stormwind for everyone, all the other places (besides Darkshire) will start bleeding people.
Just how the free market works, baby 
Wait, does that mean Iâm left wing both in RL and in RP?
Based.
Whilst I donât think the fear of hubs being destroyed has much basis (given that weâve had war rp for years now on AD and everywhere except Stormwind and on-occasion one other zone at a time are all totally dead) I can understand some people being discheesed if it disappears as a narrative tool since a lot of people joined WoW due to the factions and being able to root for their faction.
As for what kind of RP it would create: thatâs entirely based on the players and community tbqh, there are people even now that still do war-rp so thereâs no reason to believe one will suddenly stop the other, it never has on AD.
I donât see the factions disappearing pretty much ever. I really donât think thatâs a remotely realistic issue here.
Faction conflict
Personally I donât mind the idea of faction conflict itself, but BFA executed it poorly and helped to create a divide within the playerbase that I do not like. And bring myself to like the story.
The faction conflict should not exclude neutrality and vice-versa: rather, they exist on a spectrum where one informs and brings new life to the other. Neither should be done for its own sake : I would argue that they should exist within what I would call the characterâs psychological horizon, where the conflict is, indeed, a way to reflect upon Azerothianâs political and sociological issues, but also a window on the characterâs soul.
This, I think, is what BFA failed spectacularly at. Characters were inconsistent, with years of development ignored to shoehorn them within this or that role for the blues or for the red, often offering a single line of dialogue to justify the decision. âIt was hard to be neutralâ, a line which was meant to cancel years of character development for the likes of, say, Lilian Voss, or all the story building during the Class Halls, where our characters transcended faction rivalries to fight a greater good. Youâd think they would have had any effect on the story but no, it was completely forgotten. In the meantime, neutrality could be switched on any moment because someone decides that they needed to go on with Saurfangâs plot. It was an absolute disaster.
I have been writing long enough about the topic so I will stop, but imho something like WotLK is how you should handle faction conflict. Learn from your betters, New Blizzard.
Beyond Faction Conflict: the Threats
I will be honest. I think the dragonflight villains are decent, but overrated. The Primalists are a step above the Shadowlands, and a major reason for this is that the plot doesnât cheapen previous lore to make them more threatening. They still manage to feel threatening however, and I am much more engaged with Raszageth than I was with Denathrius or the Jailer. However, there is a massive shadow looming over the horizon, as the Primalists characterization is weak, and often saved by good voice acting and loaded statements: âthe stain of order!â rather than something tangible. While I understand why they hate the Aspects (kinda), their reasons for hating the Arcane as its own force are vague and ill-defined, much like Sylvanasâ âthis world is a prisonâ.
We need better worldbuilding, whoever is at work is doing a bad job. Period.
What I am saying is: the story wonât be saved because they try to make us forget the disaster that was BFA and Sylvanas.
Cross-faction guilds
Now back on topic: they are a good thing!
I think this can only benefit both factions, especially the Horde. Neutral guilds already exist, and these players can only benefit from having an easier time.
War-heads will still be able to engage in faction conflict with the guilds they dislike, so that shouldnât be a problem.
They should remove faction crests when you flag for pvp, too.
It should just be a free-for-all in war mode.
Lovely addition, now we can make a guild rank for our voluntary labor force from the Cauldron, consisting of emaciated Horde members, and use them in our vanguard.
Thanks Blizzard!
Tsk! Before making these bold statements you should at the very least clear the Blackrock presence from your citadel. Last Iâve checked, there were a few roaming around in your halls.
A part of me is sad to see the faction conflict slip away into the annals of history, that was after all what brought me (and many others I suspect) to Warcraft in the first place. Orcs vs. humans (and orcs vs. everything else, including each other) will always hold a special place in my heart, but Iâm also excited to see where the story takes us next.
As long as it isnât another EVEN BIGGER threat than the last one. Whereâs that Jailer meme with all the puppet strings when you need it?
While I have stated before that after all this time, Alliance and Horde going to war with each other again would be silly given how often weâve teamed up against a bigger foe now⌠on the other hand, I would also like to see more characters that are struggling to adapt to the new reality, or atleast show their doubts. Like Talanji for instance, the Alliance killed her father just for joining the Horde, I cannot imagine that sheâd hold much love for the boys and girls in blue.
By all means, I am glad to see a more peace-oriented approach but, you still have a generation on both sides that are used to constantly duking it out with one another. I do not think that that is something you can just shove under the rug. Nor should you want to pretend it never happened.
This is covered (in part at least) in Shadows Rising. Of course, these things should be reflected in game too, but I do also understand that the nuances at home / away from the Dragon Isles arenât necessarily what Blizzard are focusing on right now.
I assume the people who really didnât want to play ball with the other faction just⌠arenât there. They wouldnât join the Dragonscale Expedition.
When I first came to WoW (more than 15 years ago damn), the faction divide was one of the novelties that I found really cool. I liked that there was an opposite team for me to fight against. But over the years, that narrative has been just about done to death as a major plot point â I wouldnât see much sense in there being another World War Azeroth after the last oneâs consequences.
Iâve not read that book yet. Iâve been sailing the high seas with the Jolly Roger 
, but alas, have not found it yet.
I think so too. I reckon theyâd have done some pretty strict selection on who gets to join. Especially when the Dragonqueen herself asks you to keep your conflicts at home.
Same, I also found it fun to battle an opposing team while at the same moment going up against threats that threatened the entire world. But, I think the problem is is that the faction conflict just⌠as others said, consistency got thrown out the window to make it work and then halfway through what was supposed to be -the- faction war expansion youâre up against Nâzoth.
Iâll keep saying it, BfA crammed too many stories into one expansion where you could have made atleast three seperate expansions worth of content.
I mean, they still have to explain how the Night Elves are still at War with the Horde(they never signed the treaty) while the Alliance is having a big ol ceasefire (with extra steps) with them.
North Korea situation maybe? Never formally end the war but still not fighting one another?
In reality I assume they just stopped fighting.
I assume the night elven approach to geopolitics at the moment is, âif you stay out of our lands we wonât have any hostilities, but if we catch you where you shouldnât be, youâre getting merked and your bosses wonât back you up.â