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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Would you betray your faction?
by Dan O'Halloran 
Sep 13th 2007 at 8:00AM
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Player Valansio of the Deathwing realm wants to be a Horde-lovin' gnome (will those short people call anywhere home?). He understands there will be consequences such as loss of current faction rewards, temporary exile status and/or a lengthy quest to perform. But he still wants it.This is not unheard of in the MMORPG world. Everquest 2 with its two player factions (now three, soon four) has patched in the ability for players to betray their racial faction and embrace the other side. This was done due to player demand. Some people want to be able to play with their friends regardless of which race they started with.
The ability to betray to the other player faction was floated to Blizzard pre-TBC and the response was along the lines of "no can do because of the pally/shammie thing." That reasoning is no longer valid. So Blizzard has now retreated to the RP excuse and recommends the petitioner roll a Horde alt.
What do you think? Should you be able to betray if you wanted to? Or should you just level an opposing faction alt to 70 to play with your friends?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Factions
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Jerm Sep 13th 2007 9:26AM
One way I could see it working is to make it as close to a real betrayal as possible. If a Tauren druid wanted to defect in order to be with his Night Elf brethren, fine, there should be a way he could gain enough rep that he could enter Alliance cities unmolested by the guards. BUT! Doing so would still automatically flag him for PvP (on a non-PvP server) in that city. And he could now be killed by Alliance AND Horde. As it should be, because now no one trusts him.
Sedair Sep 13th 2007 9:26AM
For all you naysayers who say it can't be done it can't it can't it CAN'T... I just propose a simple question to you... What about all those NPC factions that have humans, orcs, gnomes, dwarves, undead, working together in the same faction? if the big bad blue can make it happen in NPC land they why should it be any different for player characters?
Metaphyzxx Sep 13th 2007 9:29AM
Yeah, I think they should implement it, just make it a one time deal, maybe, and you can never reach "exalted" with the new faction or any related factions.
betray horde, and the best you can get is revered with Stormwind, Ironforge, & Darnassus.
Also, with PvP factions, Honor Hold, etc..
unless, maybe they hit revered with ALL base factions, then they can unlock factions that they can exalted with. Hit revered with all 3 cities, then you can exalt with 1. Hit exalt with that, then you can get another, and so on.
Dahkeus Sep 14th 2007 9:09AM
Personally, I like it the way it is and would hate to see any nelfs or gnomes running around with us Horde.
Fabian Sep 13th 2007 9:50AM
I'd just love if there was any way for me to get my good old tauren druid to join the alliance (and server-transfer it to put it alongside my newer main on alliance).
I don't see much chance but I'd love it very much!
yotix Sep 15th 2007 3:11AM
@18: Blizz will NEVER allow Horde to talk to Allies, or Allies to talk to Horde. Come on.
In our hearts, we all know why: After each and every open-pvp kill, after each and every time some cloth wearer gets pureed by a rogue, and for hours every day in front of Kharazan, people would yell, spit, insult and whine at the opposing faction ... trade channel would have even more idiots in it than now, the Horde rogues in IF would spend all their time taunting allies in /general ... NO WAY they can allow Horde to talk to Allies.
Gill Sep 13th 2007 9:54AM
EQ2 had one and did it right. I wish for WoW to have one too.
Prauche Sep 13th 2007 10:02AM
You're missing the big picture here. Blizz won't do this for one simple reason: Money. Plain and simple. The response, "go level an opposing faction alt," means ..... more time playing the game at $15/month -- or whatever rate you are getting by paying up front for longer blocks of time. It's a business decision plain and simple.
Fizzl Sep 13th 2007 10:23AM
I'd like to see the ability to abandon both factions and be a mercenary meaning:
You can attack and be attacked by either faction, you can't go to any faction cities, only neutral ones such as shatrath and steamweedle cartel. You can join either factions BG/Arena/Groups/Guilds.
When you become a merc you get hated with all horde/alliance factions then as you play for either side your reputation will gain, at honored your alowed into that factions city, at exalted with one and at least friendly with the other you can chose to join that faction.
I think this would have to be something reserved for level 80 or deathknights otherwise you would break the current quest progressioin. Deathknights would start with no faction.
Manasseh Sep 13th 2007 10:39AM
If a Night Elf hunter shows up in Orgrimmar as my ALLY, I will quit the game. One elf race is MORE than enough for me to have to deal with on a daily basis.
boo Oct 6th 2007 11:13AM
i wanted to play horde so bad but i also wanted to play an elf so bad. so the night elves won. but i hate the other alliance races and i spend most of my time in kalimdor levelling. heheh.
now i have blood elves and all my alliance loving friends never see me anymore. for the horde!
Smurk Sep 13th 2007 10:40AM
I don't know the lore behind Hero classes, but if there was ever a chance of allowing players to "betray" (more like abandon, I think) their faction, this could be it.
Each Hero class could have a specific faction with which they can become Exalted - at which point they must choose whether to leave the Horde/Alliance. If they choose to stay with their faction, they get their class rep fixed permanently at max Revered.
But if they choose to leave their faction, they become Unfriendly with A/H (or even both factions?) - as an Exalted Hero, they're respected by the races but not trusted, as someone else said. You could still visit their cities, but would have limited vendor access, no faction auction house access, no faction quests, cannot be guilded, etc.
blackwolf675 Sep 13th 2007 10:45AM
I really liked the Draenai girl I made, but can't stand Alliance territory for more than a few minutes.
Home is where the Horde is, I'd love to drag my 3rd (>.
blackwolf675 Sep 13th 2007 10:46AM
(continued) I'd love to drag my 3rd shaman to kneel at Thrall's feet.
I agree with making it difficult - start with Hated or Hostile and then work through quests to improve your faction. A faction cap would be cruel, but fitting - Exhalted should be limited to natives.
Perhaps make it so that you have to relearn your abilities or spells since they are "a different style".
Paw Sep 13th 2007 11:02AM
I could see this happening, but likely not until WoW was in the final stages of existance and Blizzard was reaching for gimmicks to keep people paying, er...playing.
Leshrac Sep 13th 2007 11:14AM
Yes - my first char was a Human Paladin, since then I have been Horde exclusively and I will never go back. I only wish that I could roll him to Horde.
Dcruize Sep 13th 2007 12:04PM
Please for the love of God let me somehow commit suicide ingame and join the ranks of the Forsaken...
Erica Olson Sep 13th 2007 12:11PM
@23 "the conflict between Horde and Alliance makes WoW interesting, gives sense to PvP, has lots of lore to support it and it's great for the game."
How does it make it interesting to keep the factions apart? Not much large-scale raiding going on between factions. PvP is just an excuse to pwn other toons - no matter what their faction - but that doesn't make any sense to me. Does the lore really matter to those who aren't on RP servers but just want to play the game?
They should allow toons to betray their own race. After all, that's allowable in reality. Besides it would just be more rep to grind and keep people occupied. Plus it would give them access to different content and quests.
Beo Fraser Sep 13th 2007 12:39PM
I play Alliance for various reasons. I like the lore a bit better, I relate more to the struggles of the characters, and by God I love the cities.
The sweeping view of Stormwind's gates, Ironforge majestically strutting out from the mountain - even the Exodar crashed but perfectly huge in glory on the side of Azuremyst. I'm shallow. And I spend a lot of time in cities. Orgrimmar feels like I'm living in the time of the caveman, as does Thunderbluff - and they're both just as confusing with their bridges and strange curves everywhere. I like Undercity, but I call it Lordaeron - because it was Lordaeron. If everything was "overcity" then I could stand it. The only Horde city I like is Silvermoon, and that's only because it looks as wonderful as an Alliance city - because it used to be one!
If any of you have seen the Blood Elf priest and speaker in the Bazaar who speak out against the Horde, and are then mind controlled, my own blood elf believes them. I would love to keep playing my BE warlock, but I just can't stand the cities. And I end up resenting Horde side. So I want to bring my BE warlock to Stormwind and have him pledge allegiance to the Alliance.
Maybe one day.
Durane Sep 13th 2007 12:40PM
It wouldn't work, for several reasons, some of which would be the innate hatreds certain races carry for other races. Trolls and Humans have been at war with each other long before the Horde existed, just for instance, and before that they warred with the Night Elves.
I do think it would be cool, however, to have some sort of alternate faction where both Horde and Alliance could defect to. Another thing that could be done is add playable races into the game such as Goblins, Ethereals, and/or Ogres (Pandarens? =D) which would start as a neutral faction, but could have the choice of staying that way or joining one of the other factions. Sure, they'd be KoS to members of their own race, but we've seen plenty of that in-game already, and you could make their neutral cities "safe" zones where they can't fight like in Shattrath. Just a thought, but I think it'd be interesting.