Breakfast Topic: Beyond good and evil.

by Elizabeth Harper Jul 25th 2007 at 8:00AM

It seems to be common assumption that as far as good and evil goes within the World of Warcraft, the Alliance are the good guys and the Horde are the bad guys. And when I first started playing the game, I bought that concept and rolled Alliance, wanting to be a "good guy." But after spending many subsequent levels playing on the Horde side of things, I have to wonder -- are the Alliance really good? Are the Horde really evil? Sure, I can buy that some Horde races are pretty much evil (both Blood Elves and Undead come to mind immediately) and that some Alliance races are sickeningly good (Draenei, anyone?), but after spending some time on both sides, I'm just not convinced that either side is all good or all bad. But this morning, I'm asking you -- are the Alliance the good guys and the Horde the bad guys in this game?

Tags: alliance, faction, horde, world of warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow

Filed under: Horde, Alliance, Breakfast Topics

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Tumples Jul 25th 2007 8:07AM

In the past maybe the lines were as clear cut as that, what with the demonic Old Horde and that, but now I think there is more of a grey area.
Thrall is probably the most important individual as far as stopping all out war between the two forces is concerned, having the only link with a prominent Alliance figure in Jaina Proudmoore.

But yes, in the Forsaken and Blood Elf races there is clear evil, but the Tauren are probably the most innocent and peace loving race of all, so it balances out.

Nick S Jul 25th 2007 8:13AM

those gnomes look pretty evil to me...

Mordiceius Jul 25th 2007 8:16AM

Lets take a brief look at the goods and bads of each race.

Alliance:

Humans - Generally racist, egotistical, and can be megalomaniacs. When Stormwind was rebuilt, they hired masons to rebuilt the city, but when it was finished instead of payment, the masons received exile.

Dwarves - The "Exploration Guild" is nothing more than strip miners digging up large areas of land.

Night Elves - Narcissistic. They created a new World Tree (Teldrassil) against the direct order of the Dragon Aspects. As such, Teldrassil is rotted from the inside out.

Gnomes - Short sighted. Foolishly nuked their whole city. Tend to be materialistic.

Draenei - Pure for the most part, though their pureness can often lead to zealotry that can take things too far.

Horde:

Orcs - Tend to be a bit savage in their methods. Currently clearcutting areas of Ashenvale.

Trolls - Darkspear tribe has sworn of canibalism and most voodoo, though other tribes still practice it and the sins of the past still weigh heavy.

Tauren - Generally the purest of the races. Native american-like. Not much against them.

Undead - Working on a new plague to wipe out all living things.

Blood Elf - Syphoning magic from demonic sources can't be good.

Naaruminded Jul 25th 2007 8:17AM

Consider the harm Night Elves have caused through the creation of Teldrassil, Human infighting making menaces out of Van Cleef and the Syndicate, Gnomes irradiating their own population, and Dwarves keep digging for Titan artifacts (sure to end well) while their own little war brough Ragnaros into Azeroth. I think there's enough evil in everyone to go around.

Quoi Jul 25th 2007 8:19AM

Yeah, I really don't think it's like that anymore. It hasn't been that way since WC2.

slayerboy Jul 25th 2007 8:23AM

Honestly, I don't think it's an issue of good vs evil anymore. I think the world of Warcraft has evolved so much that neither side is completely leaning towards one end of the spectrum, even within races. Every race has a split between good and evil with the exception, to my knowledge, of the Tauren and Draenei.

Night Elves and Blood Elves could be the only deciding factor over which side is "good" or "evil", since they both stem from High Elves. And if I'm not mistaken, Orcs and Draenei came from the same planet.

Dave Jul 25th 2007 8:25AM

I admit to not knowing the lore as well as most people, I'm more a "complete quests, get XP, level, repeat" sort of guy, but I've always been under the assumption that the only truly evil playable race in the game is the Blood Elves.

Sure, the other races in the game have their own shades of evil (well, except the Tauren) but there's always been one explanation or another for it.

Rubeus Jul 25th 2007 11:18AM

I don't think either side is inherently good or evil. within either side there are good and bad elements. Especially if you read the lore you will this. In the end the only truly evil side is the Burning Legion and anybody who turns to their side.

Lanth Jul 25th 2007 8:32AM

World of Warcraft is one of the few games that allows people to play both the stereotypical "good" Alliance and "evil" Horde.

When you've played both sides, you notice that they both see themselves as good and the other evil; the Alliance believe it's okay to take whatever land they want, because the savage Horde doesn't deserve it, while the Horde see the Alliance as invading their sacred lands, thus it's okay to slaughter them.

yotix Jul 25th 2007 8:32AM

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Alliance running concentration camps.

Most players I know agree that the Alliance prisons full of orcs -- e.g. where you rescue Thrall from Old Hillsbrad -- are very much against Humanoid Rights.

alienatheart Jul 25th 2007 8:40AM

the Draenei are uncorrupted Eredar, so they aint that pure if they want to be as well. The only pure race in all of this are Taurens imo.

Durane Jul 25th 2007 8:49AM

I used to think that Alliance was good and the Horde was bad until I got a copy of Warcraft III and played it. I feel like anyone who played as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, Grom Hellscream, and Rexxar would realize, that in some ways, the Horde can be more honorable than the Alliance at times. They struggled through W3 and the Frozen Throne to gain freedom from oppression (by the Alliance), settle in a new land, and in the end even fought along side the Alliance against the Burning Legion. Granted, the Forsaken and the Blood Elves seem inherently evil, but if you look at what they've been through (what they are still going through), you may not see things in such intense shades of black and white.

Riptidez Jul 25th 2007 8:52AM

There are some evil tauren in Feralas as well as Thousand Needles...

Kaiser Jul 25th 2007 8:55AM

I was always under the assumption that the Scourge were the plague spreading, living hating, evil ones. Whereas the Forsaken were indifferent to everyone (including the Horde), and were just about self-preservation.

Razhlok Jul 25th 2007 9:07AM

Here is a simple rule in WC lore: Burning Legion = bad, everyone who fights against the Legion is not that bad. No one in WC is purely good (except maybe the Naruu). Every faction and race has flaws.

Arawn Jul 25th 2007 9:11AM

I agree with a lot of what has been said above. The original WarCraft game was very clear...orcs bad, humans good.

Subsequent games made it much more interesting. Illidan, for instance...not so good. Admiral Proudmoore...not so good. Thrall...pretty good. I play a human warlock and we meet under the Slaughtered Lamb...not so good.

These days in WoW its "everyone just trying to get by" while avoiding the depredations of the big bad villians that cross racial lines. I like that.

Forgrim Jul 25th 2007 9:25AM

I think it's no longer a question of good vs evil, but superior vs inferior, in which the horde are vastly superior :)

Attapooch Jul 25th 2007 9:29AM

Unless I'm mistaken, aren't the Forsaken trying to create a new plague with the intent of turning all living things into Forsaken?

That alone would make them wholly evil, whereas the Blood Elves, while evil as well, are acting more out of addiction than pure malice.

As an aside, the Forsaken are my favorite race to play.

Zuty Jul 25th 2007 10:02AM

Good and Evil should not exist in WoW. Alliance does have a lot of corruption going on and Horde has had some wrong doings in the past (Most of them they were possessed by demons, Which can't be helped), but Horde are just trying to survive as well as Alliance.
Still, I don't play Alliance mainly because the majority of Ally players I meet are A-holes, while on the Horde side its only a few A-holes that everyone hates (IE. Fig)

~Zuty

lonekorean Jul 25th 2007 9:37AM

The tauren hunt and kill for sport, and many dranei were naive and have been corrupted.

Meanwhile, the undead and blood elves both are simply trying to reclaim the life that was taken from them. Their methods may seem excessive, but playing nice guy isn't their philosophy.

And the good/evil lines are not drawn squarely along race. I have fought and killed every race in the game, even those on my side. Likewise, I have sided with every race at some point.

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