Hello there,
I’ve just returned to WoW (and AD) after a long time. After trying some classes out, I’m itching to main a Warlock (I’m pretty fond of green fire).
I’d like to PVE on it (mainly for cosmetics) and RP as well.
That said, I’m doubtful whether I should pick Horde or Alliance (Undead or Human to be more precise) and which side would fit better for both PVE (so raids, m+ etc. Content I’ve never done before but I’d like to experience) and RP (as a warlock, be it in disguise or not).
Even though I’d eventually like to join a guild, I kinda like a more casual/walk-up roleplay approach (no, I’m not gonna roll in SW/Org with an imp army or voidwalker by my side), as sometimes it feels more genuine/unpredictable to me, thus interesting.
On Alliance side I used to RP around Duskwood: at the time it was quite populated and it would be ok for warlocks Ig.
I’ve been in Stormwind and it’s quite varied and packed with RP atm.
On horde I’ve seen a few folks in Orgrimmar; not nearly as many as SW (cause pop imbalance Ik) but I appreciate you guys <3
I love the Undercity and everything around it but, everytime I checked, it was literally empty.
TL;DR: Alliance or horde for Warlock RP and PVE Content?
I’d ask what your character concept is and so how it might best be worked into a given environment. Certain folks have issues with warlocks, others don’t and it molds the experience a fair bit.
I can only speak and recommend Alliance because I haven’t roleplayed warlock on Horde but I can recommend Duskwood more than SW for this sort of roleplay or any darker-themed things in general. Duskwood generally allows more creativity and more chances to let you actually act out warlock shenanigans as opposed to just looking like a suspicious fella in Stormwind.
Imho I’d say Horde for RP, they generally seem more fitting for darker types of casters like warlocks n such, of course you can go Alliance if that’s what you prefer! Content wise it doesn’t matter too much anymore since you can cross faction a majority of non queued PvE stuff like M+ or normal/heroic/mythic raids.
However AD is more Alliance dominated iirc so you’d probably have an easier time getting into queues n such on Alliance.
(Folks are free to correct me on this!)
Warlock advice? well I am a warlock so I’ll give you some advice.
You probably already know the basic of how the server works, and it hasn’t changed much:
Alliance got plenty of casual rp if you engage in it and horde is guild based.
Alliance, because of the sheer amount of players there, is the one most likely to give you a hard time in RP, I can still encounter the odd ball claiming I need a permit to be a warlock etc. Ignore them, they are silly people.
Never had the same issue on horde, they are pretty relaxed with the warlocks in comparison.
So if you wanna be in the open go horde, if the concept of sneaky secret warlock, alliance is your flavour choice.
Duskwood is still pretty active far as I know, and the RP is mixed, some good some bad.
but you can find a good evenings worth of walk up RP if you want.
As for Undercity, sorry to tell you this, but the forsaken gnomeregan’ed their city a few expansions ago.
the above layer of the city is fine now, the underground part is still blighted far as lore tells us.
and I doubt you will find any casual RP in undercity until the blight is gone.
Meanwhile if you clear a lvl60 quest you get a new and slightly rebuild Brill which sees some RP, from what I hear.
I’ve made my mind to go as an Alliance Warlock, for now. I think it’s better for both casual RP and PVE content (since it’s 75-25 Alliance-Horde pop). I know there are a few evil themed guilds around (including warlock-centered) and I’ll probably seek them out. That way I can play openly as warlock in-game and,if I’m feeling like going “undercover”, I reckon it’s more effective on Alliance/Stormwind side mostly for population difference.
I advise against this. I had lots of fun roleplaying a warlock as an unapologetic felhead even in the presence of characters strongly opposed to that, but attempts at disguise and subterfuge generally fail because people are horrible with not RPing on TRP or OOC name/class. Kudos to the worgen that emoted sniffing us 5 minutes into founding then remarking randomly that we “smelled like the Deadmines”.
As a decorated war veteran and certified genocide subject matter expert I second this. People not directly involved in your narratives or stories love those “The jig is up!” moments where they “figured out” your allegiance or affinity for Fel magic without even discussing it with you OOC.
On the flip side being an endearing warlock who uses their abilities for the betterment of the Alliance (not necessarily the Horde or Azeroth) has always been immensely fun in comparison.