Hello everyone, a friend of mine is thinking about playing World of Warcraft and he wishes to start in anniversary classic, he says that this way he can experience older versions and content from the game, these are his words:
"I am a new player to WoW, well I have not started yet, I will be playing the old version or what you guys call classic anniversary but I’m just wondering which faction to pick.
I see faction choice as an identity thing, I don’t want to go back and forth between factions.
I have read some stuff about the game in the good old days and I have read some interesting opinions like “Blizzard loves mages”, and that also they seem to prefer Horde over the Alliance for whatever reason… as a new player I am here wondering, the Alliance doesn’t get some love in this game?
In terms of the lore I looked at Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King and while I agree that Outland feels more of a setting for Horde, the villain, Illidan was part of the Alliance at some point, much more Wrath of the Lich King with Arthas which was a poster boy for the Alliance and Northrend feels more of home for the Alliance if not only lore wise BUT again I may be completely wrong."
From my perspective, if they want a more clean entry into the broader mythos and world of Warcraft and want to start with a Classic version for those reasons … they should take two to three months and play through Warcraft I: Remastered, Warcraft II: Remastered and Warcraft III: Reforged.
Depending on their time, this is arguably the best way to find their footing in that way.
They’ll play through both sides and can then pick a side after entering World of Warcraft.
There are so many stories within this universe to see, experience and read about. If your friend wants some real backstory about it all I would suggest checking out the story behind Warcraft 1, 2 and 3. They cover a lot of the basics between the Horde and the Alliance.
These two factions are the basis behind the setting as a whole. But neither faction are the same as they were before Warcraft 3.
The Old Alliance of Lordaeron and the Old Orcish Horde have changed quite a lot since those times. There are history books scattered around the world in no order that shed some light on some things. Mostly players are left to figure out the story on their own.
Best advice I can give is explore, search for the story inside and outside of the game. There are a lot of lore videos on Youtube that do give quite a lot of good info as well.
As for which faction to choose, that is more up to his own style more or less.
The Alliance is usually portrayed as noble and orderly, fighting to defend their peoples against the darkness of the World.
The Horde is more savage but the spirit of survival in a world that hates them is what unites the races of the Horde together.
Basically the two factions in classic are tied to the bellow .
In short The alliance is the local mega power , perceived as civilized , but it is in downfall , with lots of problems . They are trying to keep it together in their own lands , whist being under attack from new threats . They are your typical “civilized faction” that is perceived as better than the savages , trying to keep a high moral standard , but are often far bellow that .
The horde is a foreign power , that just got build . They are on the rise , but they are trying to shake off their violent past . They are perceived as uncivilized , violent and shady , but can also be honorable and stoic . They are trying to expand at the sake of nearby powers , while tying to rethink and rediscover their roots .
I told my friend that he should play Warcraft 1, 2 and 3 to look around for stories BUT the biggest issue, and he knows this given Blizzard’s roadmap, is that Burning Crusade Classic is going to last around a year if that Reddit calculation is true, that phases are going to be 30+% faster than the previous run of TBC.
He’s a new player and already feels rushed to make decisions or he will miss out on content and the time that he will have to enjoy the game.
If you are talking about questing and seeing the world , there’s enough time .
If you take your time and level casually , ( basically doing 10-15 quests every other day or so ) it took me about 2 and a half months to reach lvl 60 and that’s with me specifically doing everything I can to slow down my leveling ( green /gray quests , not doing dungeons , not sitting in resting places)
If you are talking about raiding , it might be a bit off , but you can easily catch up later in Kara with people who are gearing .
Both factions have decent story and have spotlight in both TBC and Wrath .
Your friend should chose whichever class /race/faction resonates with him and play with it . All have their good and bad sides so don’t sweat over who is best . Play which looks cool to yourself .
Remember in classic a character is a huge time investment , so play something that you like visually and can like thematically .
Illidan was never part of the Alliance, this faction was created long after he left Azeroth for Outland during Warcraft 3. When it comes to choosing a faction, I’d suggest your friend decides which class he wants to play. Each race has different racial abilities that can pair better with some classes than others. I started playing during the original TBC and always had one character in each faction so I personally don’t think that one is better than the other, or that a choice is necessary and irrevocable.