I wanted to make this topic for a while, so I might as well do it now while not being banned.
Factions and why people choose them, has always been a very interesting topic to me. Did people choose their faction because of their favorite race? Aesthetics? Story? Friends being in that faction? Even if you play both factions, you most likely favor one over the other.
Because of that, I wanted to ask you guys some questions:
What Faction do you play/favor?
Why do you play/favor that faction?
Do you dislike/hate the opposite faction?
If yes: Why?
Iâll go first: What Faction do you play/favor?
Alliance
Why do you play/favor that faction?
I guess I liked their aesthetics more and that was the reason why my first char wasnât Horde. Other than that, I really started to immerse myself into the whole faction thing back in MoP, when I transitioned to a pvp Server. However Iâve to admit that I kinda started to dislike the Alliance over the years. It seems to be the complete and utter opposite of what I would want it to be.
Do you dislike/hate the opposite faction?
Yeah I pretty much dislike the Horde.
If yes: Why?
Certainly not because of MUH THERAMORE or MUH TELDRASSIL or any other âââstoryâ"" attack against the Alliance. I dislike them because in my opinion they are disgusting looking mongrels that live in ugly buildings and shout out cringe lines about âMUH HUNURâ.
Not that thereâs anything wrong with disliking the Horde for those reasons. Theramore was a quiet and nice place to afk in and Teldrassil was⌠uhm⌠was⌠Well, if they hadnât destroyed it, Stormwind wouldnât be littered with bothersome elven refugees right now.
I mean, itâs certainly better than disliking the Alliance for that tauren camp and that emissary who didnât make it past the gates of Stormwind 10 years ago.
I tried Alliance in the past, but something just felt wrong about killing and scheming against the Horde. Not sure what it is, but the Horde always felt like home to me.
On and off. They have surprised me in some instances, like Jaina saving my boy Baine. She risked a lot to get him out of Sylvanasâ clutches, and she won a lot of my respect. Made me think, âWell, maybe they arenât all badâ.
The Horde accepts everyone, no matter their background or race. Theyâre almost like one giant family. Alliance on the other hand will use âlesserâ races when it benefits them most. Worgen for example, the Horde would welcome with open arms as equals, but the Alliance sees these mangy dogs as tools to put down the scourge.
There is no respect and honor among the Alliance, and their personalities are lifeless.
I feel like the horde would always have my back no matter what, because youâre not just another pawn in their ranks - weâre their brothers and sisters.
Though I am secretly hoping that Sylvanas becomes the âbad guyâ of the story, because I want her replaced as Warchief. Iâd much prefer to see Baine or Thrall on top, because I think they could really make a huge difference.
I always liked the idea of an underdog faction, but also a faction of outcasts that come together and bring various skills and talents to the table.
Orcs - Shamanistic beliefs
Undead - Shadow Magics
Tauren - Nature beliefs as well as giving Horde insight into Anâshe
Trolls - Loa
Blood Elves - Light, Arcane and Archery prowess
Goblins - Finances
Pandaren - âŚsomething something Monk relatedâŚ
Nightborne - strong Arcane prowess as well as Horde insight in the ancient Highborne magics.
I love when diversity like this is done right. It promotes a good identity for the faction.
No. I do have a Night Elf Mage at 120. I just dislike the Allianceâs story mainly. It is so bland and uninteresting.
The races could be interesting. Void Elves, Dark Iron and Worgen could be made into something that is unique, but Blizzard nerfs them to Human standards and below.
Horde, by far. I do have an Alliance character as well, though.
Iâve been playing Horde since I started, and never thought about switching. I like it here. But these days, I mostly play Horde because of the Tauren. They are my favourite race, and Iâll always stick with them.
No, honestly I donât really care about the Alliance. I donât dislike it, I certainly donât hate it, but I just donât feel at home in it and wonât switch to it.
I feel more at home in the Horde for some reason. Absolutely unrelated to current lore.
I mean, yeah, itâs not that just because a thread has good intentions you can just slap obvious misinformation into it, and if I see someone telling me that the Alliance is basically the evil Sith Empire and the Horde are the abused Rebels, I will put that in question at the very least.
I find it especially baffling that someone would claim that there is no ârespect and honorâ amongst the Alliance. In front of such a claim, I wonder if we are playing the same game.
It has been the faction I have been playing most consistently throughout since I started playing mid Wrath of the Lich King (Wrathbaby). And it has been story wise proved more interesting to me despite how difficult that seems to be nowadays.
I still enjoy it for the same elements - what scraps there are left to play.
Not really, no. They have their own things I dislike for sure, but not outright hatred.
Itâs the âsameyâ and cold feel that disappoints me most. My personal take on it.
What Faction do you play/favor?
I play both but donât favor either. Most of my characters are Horde though. Probably around 70 - 30 ratio
Why do you play/favor that faction?
I play each one for different reasons. But I donât like the story of the Horde atm. They donât really know what they are right now.
Do you dislike/hate the opposite faction?
No I donât. But I sympathise with Alliance more atm.
Because the theme about developing in depth a series of âmonster racesâ beyond the fantasy trope of chaotic evilness, seemed rather appealing to me. That seemed much more appealing than the standard âGood guyâ theme that the Alliance races follow.
Perhaps thatâs the reason why I play a Worgen when experiencing Alliance, or played Night elves in Warcraft 3: because they are as far as you can get from said trope with an Alliance race.
These days, with Anduin and Jaina itâs become harder to enjoy said sort of experience.
And with the villain batting of Horde races, thatâs become harder too.
From a meta level, no. Meta speaking I dislike certain attitudes, but thatâs more related to player/human behaviour.
From an ingame perspective, Iâd understand if certain Horde factions would want to stamp their foot down and retaliate hard against the Alliance.
1.What Faction do you play/favor?
Mostly Horde
2.Why do you play/favor that faction?
There is much bigger diversity of unique races even if I donât like all of them. Bar blood elves core races are quite evenly picked and itâs really nice. I also really enjoy plaing trolls as no other game offers me to play such a weird but very fun creature. Alliance is just ok, but there is nothing holding me there. (But I love the Dark Irons, yass!)
But nowadays I donât really feel like Horde player. Since both factions are big disappointment I am now imperialist.
Do you dislike/hate the opposite faction?
No, I donât hate Alliance, I really dislike some bits of them, like particular characters. But so I find dislikeable stuff in Horde nowadays. If the story is underwhelming for both of them I stick up to playing the races I like the most.
Characters like Jaina, Anduin. The overall stagnant setup, I think Horde and Alliance shouldâve swap because villan batting Horde AGAIN was extremely demoralizing to a lof of horde players, while Alliance is upset that their perspective doesnât matter and their main representatives are super forgiving to Horde. There is no inside dynamic in that faction.
I liked their aggressive, expansionist vibe in Cata (When I joined). Also Blood Elves and Orcs are my two favorite races.
Iâve been falling out of love with the faction since Lolâjin took over at the end of MoP. BfA has hit me particularly hard.
Yes. But Iâm starting to hate the Horde more. Especially when the rebels end up taking over. I despise all the Horde leaders, I only side with Sylvanas because sheâs the most tolerable.
Theyâre utterly boring, self righteous pricks. I feel like most races have no real identity due to the massive human focus. Anduin is the Allianceâs Baine (Although I donât think heâs quite as bad, at least Anduin attacks the Horde and is actually willing to go to war in BfA). Jaina is inconsistent, Bipolar and insane (Also hate her as a blood elf fan for obvious reasons)
The rest of the leaders donât really do much but pay lipservice to Anduin or whoever else is âHigh Kingâ of the âAllianceâ.
They were much better in Classic, if theyâd stayed like they were then Iâd probably be playing them in BfA. Especially with the Horde in itâs current state.
I play both Alliance and Horde, but favor the Horde.
I favor the Horde because I like their simplistic aesthetics compared to the Alliance stupid Castles (I love Ironforge and Shadowforge City on Alliance).
I play Alliance, only have one Horde alt to see the story.
Gilneas is in there, and the faction has great story-telling potential which is barely used, unfortunately. Reducing the Alliance to a passive Captain America faction is detrimental for both us, and the Horde.
I also enjoy the faction esthetics. Unrelated observation, a lot of Alliance players are more fond of their chosen races then the Alliance in its entirety, and for that, I blame Blizzard for consistently portraying the faction as idiotic.
Not really, we are pretty much in this crap together. BFA has drained me of most of the mostly jovial animosity towards the other faction.
My second RTS after Dune 2 was Warcraft 1. And I liked those green peons so much
3. Do you dislike/hate the opposite faction?
Yes, I dislike the faction. (not the players)
4. If yes: Why?
High moral
White Knights
Goody Olâ Shoes
Gnome Voices and Eyes. I do not know why, I can not stand them. The only cool thing on gnomes was the comedy in The Black Morass (they were the only chars that were to small to run through water on some places, and had to swim)