Dalaran might be Alliance-only
by David Bowers 
Oct 5th 2007 at 1:59PM
Sorun is a rogue who loves his Horde-Alliance conflict. As he posted on the forums, he feels that every action and little quest in the World of Warcraft should reflect the reality of War that exists in that world, not the good old intra-faction get-together that Shattrath has turned out to be. If Dalaran is going to be a neutral city in Wrath of the Lich King, however, it could really mess up the lore and war-filled feeling of the game:Neutral Dalaran? How does that even make any sense when horde to this day have quests to go attack the ruins of dalaran and can and have been freely killing the wizzards [sic] all around that area.He's got a point there. What is Blizzard really going to do with Dalaran in the next expansion? Read on to see what Blizzard says about it.
Dalaran has always been on the side of the alliance, but ever since Shattrath came out with The Burning Crusade, players have kinda gotten the feeling that Blizzard didn't want to put all the work of designing separate Horde and Alliance cities into every expansion, and we assumed that Dalaran would just open its doors to everyone in the face of imminent threats from the Scourge and other enemies. This doesn't really fit in with the lore very well, though, and it seems an inelegant resolution to the problem. Fortunately, Drysc popped in to tell us:
It's a bit too early to say if it's going to be like Shattrath. I wouldn't get too upset about it until it's actually designed and we can tell you what it's going to be like.Unleash the barrage of questions! If Dalaran is Alliance-only, then what would new city would the Horde get? What kind of Horde city would be just as cool as a magical city floating in the sky? What if Sylvanas led an attack and took over one of the Scourge's flying necropolises? Or, what if they invaded the ancient caves of Azjol'Nerub, found some of the spider-like Nerubians who rejected the lich king, and formed together to create a new underground city?
Personally I would love something different for each faction -- not only would it provide more lore and interesting conflict, but it would help reduce the lag that comes from everyone in the game hanging out in the same small area.
Filed under: PvP, Expansions, Lore, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Sam Jul 26th 2008 6:42PM
Lets use logic here.
The Burning Crusade introduced Outland, and with Outland, Shattrath City.
1 capital city.
Along with the 2 new *races* Belfs and Draenei.
that makes 3 capital cities
WotLK will have Dalaran.
1 capital city.
In my opinion, there is every possibility that there will be atleast 2 capitals in WotLK, TBC bought 3.
Just my thoughts.
Huntadude- Ghostlands EU
Todd Oct 5th 2007 2:17PM
Could be worse, Dalaran could only allow casters to enter. o.O
Amalgham Oct 5th 2007 2:17PM
An underground city for the Horde would actually be cool. Especially if it was well designed.
kristoffer belau Oct 5th 2007 2:20PM
All right, the argument about this is just silly. It's not like warcraft lore is lacking instances of two warring factions teaming up to take on a greater evil.
But lets look at the facts. Rhonin is now the leader of Dalaran. Rhonin has been on multiple adventure through time with an Orc. It seems to me that a lot of those racial prejudices and conflicts may have eased in him after fighting for his life besides his enemy...just a thought.
Remember that there are mages on both sides of the lines, and this fight with the blue dragonflight effects them all equally. If Dalaran if neutral, it makes prefect sense that Rhonin has convinced (or outright told) the council of tristfal that they are going to have to accept the horde in their city if they want to stand the slightest chance against this threat...
Perhaps it will be a situation like Shatt.. a neutral city with a portion of it set aside for horde and a portion set aside for alliance (to avoid conflicts) with the center of the city being protected by a magical barrier (a technique learned from Kadghar's time with the naru perhaps?.. i assume he'll come back to help out his fellow mage friends)... to make the city a safe harbor for those inside it.
dpoyesac Oct 5th 2007 2:20PM
Two reasons why Dalaran should be Alliance only:
First, I'm tired of going to the Aldor bank... only to stand next to the Dwarf priest who killed me ten minutes ago.
Second, if Dalaran is Alliance only -- that means we Horde get to raid it!
kristoffer belau Oct 5th 2007 2:21PM
./wishes he proofread his comment.
Rynehart Oct 5th 2007 2:22PM
I look at this the same way I look at why elves(blood) are horde, nonsense.
1 - Did you all fight the horde for a few decades looking from the time line of Warcraft - Warcart 2 and Warcraft 3?
2 - Aren't some of you guys still technically at war/open hostility with the horde? Look at the current location of the Dalaran bubble and the forsaken quests that have you going after them.
3 - It really makes no sense
Basic Oct 5th 2007 2:22PM
It makes sense because the Kirin Tor are the magical guardians of Azeroth... not of humans.
If we wanted to pick the various allegiances that Dalaran has had over the lore in WC3TFT it could be a city which is hostile to everyone except humans (neutral to Dwarves and Gnomes... maybe they'd have to faction grind).
I think from a continuity standpoint that the Kirin Tor OPTED OUT of the Horde vs Alliance conflict (that's what the bubble is for) and have re-established themselves as a neutral city.
The WoW lore should be consistent, but that doesn't mean that Blizzard can't develop the plot and put new twists into the various factions in the game. Time *does* move forward in an MMO universe! Even if Van Cleef, Onyxia, Nefarion, and Magtheridon are beheaded dozens of times a day.
kabes Oct 5th 2007 2:31PM
lorelol?
it's their lore and they are making it up as they go along, so....they can do what they want.
But in the case of dalarn its my opinion it should be alliance only. The horde send their members to attack it on a daily basis.
EvilCheese Oct 5th 2007 2:34PM
This headline is a complete and total failure. There is nothing to suggest that Blizzard is -actually- considering making Dalarn Alliance-only.
MechChef Oct 5th 2007 2:36PM
"An underground city for the Horde would actually be cool."
We have one those. We call it Undercity. Next.
Skarlette Oct 5th 2007 2:40PM
As a mage, I'm just thrilled at the idea of being able to go inside Dalaran in any fashion.
That said, I'd prefer it Alliance-only for lore reasons, if and only if the Horde gets something as cool.
They already have an underground city, though--Undercity! It's right there in the name! ;) A Sylvanas-led necropolis would be awesome though, just have it floating near Dalaran or something.
Vestras Oct 5th 2007 2:39PM
If I had to guess, any new Horde location would need Sylvanus at the lead, and would somewhat negate the importance of Undercity.
I think things will resemble Shat with seprate areas, and some more hostile guards. Maybe any player trying to pick a fight is automaticly sheeped hehe.
The Blood Elves are very dangerous and pissed off folks. They blame the alliance for failing to protect them and then some careful political manuvering by Thrall and the others brought them into the Horde fold. My only issue is that the link from Silvermoon leads to Undercity...Those two REALLY should not get along, at all. I mean, Forsaken already start neutral with everyone else, but I think they and the Blood Elves need to start at unfriendly at least...
Sylvarus Aug 31st 2008 9:10PM
Actually, the Forsaken and Blood Elves share common heritage. A large population of the Forsaken used to be High Elves. The Blood Elves sympathize with the Forsaken as their "fallen" kin.
Rynehart Oct 5th 2007 2:41PM
@7 What game have you been playing, it is firmly rooted in lore (and in game) that Dalaran is part of the Alliance, lending muscle and spell in defense of the alliance and their enemies.
Dalaran didn't opt out of the Horde vs Alliance conflict their city got flatted (See warcraft III). How can they fight if they got smashed. This was a surgical strike that took away their ability to effectively wage war. The bubble as has been stated is there so they can rebuild their city with someone showing up and catching them at a tactical disadvantage. Its a simple military tactic, 1st secure the perimeter(bubble) then tend to the fallout inside.
As for developing plot - hogwash. Tell them Forsaken and Tarren mill gang to stop attacking the humans. If they make it netural its a cop out, changing many of the current dynamics in the old world (quests, battlegrounds, etc..). If they are going to be 'working together' they need to stop fighting each other on the 'home-front' before any collaboration makes sense.
The Kirin Tor are not "the magical guardians of Azeroth" - the Kirin Tor are the leaders of the City-State of Dalaran. The blue dragon flight is stated as the defender of Magic in the lands of Azeroth.
Chriasas Oct 5th 2007 2:43PM
I actually think that we're supposed to be in a more "Cold War" mode, in terms of Alliance and Horde. The lore backs up this idea (WC3). I'm not a heavy PvPer, but I can rationalize BGs as hotspots of conflict, rather than all out war, ala Korea, Vietnam, Six Day War, etc of RL.
What does worry me is that it's not very fleshed out, based on Drysc's statement. If Blizzard doesn't have any ideas about Dalaran set in stone, then we'll be lucky if we see the expansion before Christmas 2008.
Hooper Oct 5th 2007 2:49PM
I wish more kids playing their Ally toon actually read about the Lore a little bit better.
For the above poster, of all the Horde races who should get along the most, its Blood Elves and Forsaken who are full of members who used to be alliance and hold a grudge.
Lore wise the current timeline is obviously heading towards a re-arranging of factions.
Its easy to see future warcraft games/novels/etc. have Orcs, Tauren, Dwarfs, and Gnomes working together against Humans, Elves (all), and Forsaken. I'm still not sure where our Troll/Draeni friends will fall in.
Read your quest lines people, read the actual lore from Blizzard.
/end rant
r.a-c.r. Oct 5th 2007 2:55PM
The Violet Eye is a secret sect founded by the Kirin Tor of Dalaran to spy on the Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, in his tower of Karazhan.
Horde have the same attunement quests for Kara. They have rep with the Violet Eye. Therefore, in-game lore already has hordies exalted with a portion of Dalaran, specifically the leaders. Having the new conflict in the expansion continue this trend would not be off track.
Chris Anthony Oct 5th 2007 2:54PM
"ever since Shattrath came out with The Burning Crusade, players have kinda gotten the feeling that Blizzard didn't want to put all the work of designing separate Horde and Alliance cities into every expansion"
Man, it's too bad TBC didn't include home cities for the Draenei and the Blood Elves. They could have made a multi-leveled crystal city showcasing the Draenei/Naaru technology, and a vast magical city for the Blood Elves. That would've been...
Oh, wait.
Tyrean Oct 6th 2007 7:57AM
It makes sense to me that Dalaran would be a neutral city. After all, the Kirin Tor was formed in part by both High Elves (future Blood Elves) and mages from Tirisfal (future Forsaken). And yes, there are tensions in Silverpine at the moment, but politics change and history contantly moves forward. If, in the real world, the United States can be allied with Japan and Germany, then in the pretend world of Warcraft, Dalaran can declare its neutrality.