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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsForum post of the day: Random acts of kindness
by Amanda Dean 
Jul 20th 2008 at 3:06AM
Of course there's a lot of bad blood between Horde and Alliance, but every once in a while we work together. About half of the times I've done the Ring of Blood quest line in Nagrand I've seen Horde and
Sometimes we just find ourselves compelled to do nice things. Sukalin of EU-Anarchronos told a tale of a complete stranger coming to his rescue:
Just a few minutes ago, I was running down through Stranglethorn Vale on my 20 Warlock, so I could get to
About a quarter of the way down I was attacked by a tiger and was reduced to about 5% health when a Troll Shaman called Ayisah shocked the tiger and saved me! I was grateful, of course, and expressed my gratitude in the form of emotes - but in addition to that she helped me travel down the rest of the zone by following close behind me on my way to Booty Bay.
Though he doesn't specifically state that he was on an alliance character, there would be no reason for a 20 Horde Warlock to travel through STV to get to the Barrens. He was very grateful to be saved, even by a sworn enemy. Many of the responders have had similar experiences. Sadly, the thread then devolved into Barrens Chat.
I had a similar experience way back on my first character. I was fighting Lake Creepers in
I get by with a little help from my friends, and sometimes my enemies. Have you had any spirit-lifting moments of cross-faction cooperation?
Filed under: Horde, Alliance, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Factions, Forum Post of the Day
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Al Jul 20th 2008 2:01PM
I was about 50 killing fire elementals in the center of Un'Goro Crater and I killed one and had about 15% hp left when I saw 2 enemy Level ?? players. I figured they would just finish me off. All of a sudden I got Mind Controlled by the priest and thought "Oh, here goes, they're gonna MC me into another mob and kill me that way" But instead, he was just using MC so that the other healer could heal me up back to full hp. Then they /saluted me, mounted up and left. I was in shock at first, thinking "What the F#%$ just happened? Were they actually being helpful?" That was my most memorable Random Act of Kindness in the game.
CursedSeishi Jul 20th 2008 2:12PM
Eh, I have a good example from yesterday doing some SSO Quests for cash on my BE pally.
I was working on killing a summoner when an ally toon ran by with low health, followed by a couple bloodknights. I decide to be nice, and hit the two bloodies off the ally so she could escape.
Well, I guess the knights had a bunch of friends, because more enemies popped in from around the corner, so instead of a couple knights, it was 3-4 knights, a marksman, and a summoner or two. I basically went "Oh S%%T", and started trying to kill what I could kill, I ended up having to blow LoH on myself, but they tore through that health and left me with little mana, not enough to use DS. Well, just when I thought i was a goner, that same alliance toon and a friend ran back through and saved my arse.
Coincidental? Yeah, but it was still nice
Sad thing, is that orcs tend to be the A-holes on my server, I was questing in Netherstorm on my BE, and while i was doing an escort quest, an orc warrior shot a few enemies, lead them over to me while I was busy killing a couple, and ended up makin me fail the quest. When I finally killed the enemies, he spat at me, then sat down over the bodies so i couldnt loot them.
Cliffrunner Jul 20th 2008 3:20PM
While trying (emphasis on TRYING) to gather the pristine yeti horns in Winterspring, a 70 gnome lock was killing them as well. Using emotes and common sense, i found out she ws getting her skinning up. In an unspoken agreement, she let me tag them first. She also helped me kill them. I'd loot, she'd skin, rinse and repeat. Thats my best cross faction story.
Skarlette Jul 20th 2008 3:31PM
When I was leveling my first character through Felwood I had a pair of lady orcs help me with some satyrs.
I had died near the named one I needed for a quest, and when I got back to my body I found the two orcs killing him. I /sighed at him or something to let them know I needed him too, and they waited around for him to respawn, then helped me attack him. Except I got myself killed AGAIN somehow, so I didn't get credit.
They graciously stuck around for another respawn and helped me finally manage to kill him and complete the quest. They probably took pity on me because I was such a noob then and I died really easily, but they wouldn't have had to stay through two respawns just to help me.
Another time, back when the giant gorilla on the island near Booty Bay was still elite, a friend and I were two-manning him when a lone Tauren wandered up. He /begged and /pointed to indicate that he needed the gorilla, too. We waited for a respawn and helped him kill the gorilla. It worked but my friend died in the fight, and so the Tauren and I both stood around /crying and /mourning her. When she got back to her body we all /danced and /cheered and jumped around being silly.
Akussa Jul 20th 2008 3:44PM
I like to help lowbies of either faction when I see them struggling through mobs in a specific area. I had a night elf help save my butt from the satyrs in Ashenvale a long time ago and even follow me around to help with a few more quests before we parted ways.
My small way of paying that forward is to always look around me for someone that may be needing help as I'm traveling through low level zones.
Two days ago I was heading to BRD to farm runecloth, fell into The Cauldron in Burning Steppes because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going(har har), when I came upon a night elf getting trounced by a bunch of mobs. So I helped him out and ran him through the caves to where his quest objective was. We parted ways and that was that.
I always hope that one act of random kindness to anyone anywhere in the game will encourage them to do the same for others along their journey to 70 and beyond.
Pay It Forward!
Aaszs Jul 20th 2008 3:49PM
I help or kill the other faction depending on class.
If its the class of the month then I kill,if its a neutral class I do nothing,if its a weak class I help.
Right now If I see a resto druid hes dead.
If I see a hunter I help.
If I see a pally I do nothing.
rick Jul 20th 2008 4:36PM
Hey - I just did that last week (helped a lowbie warlock through STV). I'd wondered why a level 20 warlock would be trying to run the length of STV. It was impressive how much aggro he drew. Normally I kick gnomes, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for the little guy...
Yofu Jul 20th 2008 4:38PM
One of my funnest moments? Me and 4 friends were in tanaris, on our 70s ( stupid ony attunement ) and we spotted a 37 NE druid. Well we go off to mess with her a bit, not kill her, maybe just fear her or something, when, just because we were there, another warlock comes up and tries to kill her. Well, my friend, a shadow priest, after we tried to convince the guy to stop, mind controls her and our druid heals her up ( we did this multiple times, lol ). She then killed the warlock, but w/e, he was a jerk sauce anyway. He then proceeded to say we "give horde a bad name". We however found it rather hilarious.
kabshiel Jul 20th 2008 5:45PM
My random act of kindness is that I don't kill low level players. I just follow them around draining their life/mana, forcing them to eat/drink all the time. And kill their pets. But at least I don't kill them, right?
adx Jul 21st 2008 12:17AM
The only time i helped a hordie out that i can remember was on elemental plateu. I had my level 70 warrior out and was just farming some motes of air . water , and fire. as i am doing this i see this one horde warlock just farming and so i decided to be nice. i let him aggro one and then tanked it while he killed it. Did this like three times till he got the hint. We ended up taking like 5 fire elementals at a time. I would tank and he would kill we shared some of the motes and what not and did this for an hour. I went to bed that night and when i woke up i had 5 gold in my mail from an unknown.. i just think it was that warlock helping me out :)
You never know when you helping someone might be returned :)
Morel Jul 21st 2008 1:09AM
i one time when i was lvl 37 omw to the badlands, i came across a lvl 6 NE in the mountain pass of the wetlands, after scaring her with my pet for the fun of it i escorted her all they way to loch modan, was interrupted once by a troll shammy ridin up behind her and killin her, but after waiting for her to rez, we took off again. i will admit that certain guilds i give no remorse too, and certain char names practically beg for a ganking.
Taytayflan Jul 21st 2008 1:35AM
This may sound mean, but I think it's helping, kinda.
When I come across lowbies that have bitten off more than they can chew, as I'm a 70 rogue, and I came across a 50 shaman at 20% health and 6 elite mobs beating on him. I /welcome /wave /welcome /mourn and then 1 shot him, because he's not going to last longer. He actually Reincarnated in front of me, /salute /bow, and left.
Badger Jul 21st 2008 12:27PM
Hey, why was this voted down? This is a cool idea!
Badger Jul 21st 2008 12:57PM
Here is a "Random Act of Kindness," without exaggeration.
Last week, I was leveling my L37 Human Paladin, Andronikos, in Stranglethorn Vale. My longest and most irritating quest, "Kurzen's Mystery," required me to view four tablets scattered across the Vale at various Troll ruins. The fourth set of ruins, I believe, was Zul'Kunda, to the far northwest of the Vale.
Zul'kunda - for those of you who aren't familiar with it - is largely walled in, built of long corridors and open chambers, where mobs are only a few yards apart, thus virtually guaranteeing many a bad pull.
I slowly worked my way in through the back entrance of the Ruins, AOEing my way through two to three mobs at a time, with short breaks for Mana in-between battles. My target was in the far back corner of the innermost chamber, so I wasn't looking forward to what would inevitably be an hour-long trek through the Ruins.
As I found myself hacking and slashing my way into the Ruins, though, I crossed paths with a small Horde party, consisting of an Orc Warrior, an Undead Priest, and a Blood Elf Mage. I figured I would give them a hand, as they pulled several mobs at once. The Orc - I believe his name was Crovax? - brought down a few Trolls, and I did the Mage and Priest a favor by trying to keep enemies away from them.
Via emotes, I got several angry glares, a rude gesture, and a loud snarl.
I suppose I could have done something truly malicious and pulled more mobs onto them, but that's not me. That's not the way I play. Since WC3, when Thrall and Jaina established their truce between the Alliance and Horde to combat the Legion, I've never been a big fan of the fake faction war, so I do what I can to build (rather than strain) ties between Alliance and Horde. I decided, with a /shrug, to just let the Horde party go and just concentrated on doing my own thing.
I spent more time in the outer corridors, however, and experienced difficulty getting into the innermost chamber, where my target sat, waiting for a right-click. I tried to maybe scale the tiered wall and climb in through the side of the chamber, but that resulted in a messy pull that I narrowly avoided by outrunning.
I was about to try climbing into the chamber a second time, when I heard a commotion from a short distance away. The Orc Warrior had managed to jump the wall, in an effort, I presume, to lead mobs in the innermost chamber away from his faithful charges, the Mage and Priest. I stood back and gave him room, watching carefully from a nearby wall to see how he handled it.
Two more Trolls joined the fight, chasing him down the wall, and then a few followed him down the corridor to ground level. Then, a few more followed. Then a few more. Then a LOT more. Then a room full. And another.
I am not exaggerating when I make this statement: The ENTIRE LOWER HALF of Zul'kunda, in the worst, most misplaced aggro-pull I have ever seen while playing Warcraft, was pulled onto the top of this Orc Warrior, while his Mage and Priest friends ran as fast as they could to catch up and try to keep him alive. We're talking at least twenty to thirty mobs here; I didn't get an exact count, because there were so many.
I don't know if maybe I'd taken my "Paladin training" to heart in a whole new way, but I could not stand by and watch this senseless, one-sided slaughter. If the Orc was going to die, then by the Light, I was going to make sure he either made the Trolls pay a heavy price, or he didn't die alone.
I jumped from my perch along the nearby wall and started hacking and slashing my way over to him, just as the Priest and Mage turned the final corner and saw us going to work on the attacking mobs.
I threw everything I had at that battle. I cast Consecration and Seal / Judgment of Light whenever possible, and watched with satisfaction as the Light - in the most delightfully ironic and fulfilling literal sense - IGNORED FACTION LINES and HEALED THE ORC, every time he struck a Judged target. I also used Righteous Defense to keep the casters safe from the final waves of Trolls, and threw in a few explosives of my own manufacture, for good measure. (I'm a Goblin Engineer. Hehe.)
After nearly five minutes of brutal, non-stop combat, with the Orc and I at something like 1/3 or 1/4 of our health, we stood, just barely still alive, on a literal *mound* of Zul'Kunda Troll corpses.
I stood and anticipated another angry snarl or a rude gesture.
Instead the Orc turned, cheered, and saluted me. I bowed respectfully. I believe that one or both of the casters may have thanked me, but I was so dumbfounded by what had just happened - turning faction hate into respect - that I really wasn't paying attention.
This was my favorite moment in my entire time playing Warcraft, breaking down the boundaries of Alliance vs. Horde to help save lives and conquer our mutual enemies.
To Crovax: If you and your Mage and Priest friends are still out there, conquering your foes, I hope this helped change your stance on the so-called "war." Lok'tar Ogar.
Cyanea Jul 22nd 2008 11:59AM
That was a fantastic, entertaining, and well-written story. I agree with you in disliking the forced war...such deep and involving lore requires a more involving story than, "You're blue. You fight all the red guys."
Zanzi Jul 21st 2008 3:03PM
I know that Night Elf rogues like my main can have a bad reputation among the Horde for both racial and class reasons, so I try to go out of my way to help people I see struggling, both to help and show good will. As a rogue I have no buffs to give (and couldn't anyway without that cool mind control trick), but I can kill things, so if I see someone losing a fight (or even even) with a mob or more, I'll see if I can help finish it off.
For some reason, even though RP-wise Tauren seem like the nicest of the Horde, I've had some not-so great experiences with them. During the fire festival, I took my lowbie Draenei mage alt to the Exodar to do her daily torch tossings/catchings and tagged myself accidentally because a stealthed druid was standing on top of the quest giver, blocking them. I was then one-shotted. Of course, since it's the Exodar, there were no alliance 70s in the area that could have retaliated. Having no desire to wait 5 minutes or get camped, I rezzed at the spirit healer and made my way back inside. The druid was leaving but managed to gank my mage one last time on his way out the front door.
However, I had an experience last week that was the exact opposite. I was trying to take out one of the Legion's leaders in northern Hellfire Peninsula, and a Tauren warrior was in the area, apparently on the same quest. We tried working together to take down the baddy, but we got an add or two and I died. By the time I ran back to my corpse, the warrior was finishing off the boss and was shutting down a teleporter as the next step in the quest chain. But he didn't leave the area. I couldn't figure out why. After I ate to get my health back, I headed back toward the boss mob (which had already respawned) and started attacking it. The warrior joined me and made sure I also got the kill credit for my quest! Afterwards, I bowed and he saluted. I can't remember his name and couldn't add him to my friends list (or course), but I'll always remember that kind and honorable Tauren. /salute
ivyleaves Jul 21st 2008 9:25PM
Love, love, love all of your stories. Have a ton myself, cuz I love to help everybody.
Just one hint - Alliance going to do Lock quests or Horde who want to go to Deadmines in Westfall - SWIM up or down the coast as far from shore as you can and you won't die.
Cyanea Jul 22nd 2008 11:58AM
I was running around Hellfire, and thought I'd grab the Overlook Tower since it's the last that I need to complete the quest to grab those towers. I normally don't bother too much with PvP combat unless I'm gunning for something in particular from the Battlegrounds. I started capturing it, and noticed a Level 70 Tauren Hunter, and a Level 62 Orc one running up towards the flag. I'm only a 60, so I wasn't sticking around. I mounted and booked it away.
The Tauren mounted up on his flying mount and followed me...but didn't attack me. We ended up just playing around instead through the emote system...like /flirt, /hug, /lick, and stuff. He set a Freezing Trap which went off underneath me, but he didn't attack me. He /laugh-ed, I /laugh-ed. Good time for all.
He ran up to me and set another one, and the 62 Hunter ran up and started attacking me. I broke from the trap, Scare Beast-ed his pet, sicked Fury on him, and triggered Bestial Wrath/Beast Within. Completely wiped the floor with him. Utterly destroyed him.
All while the Tauren just sits there, watching. I figured he'd then turn around and rip me a new one...but he just /laugh-ed, and applauded me for destroying his friend. :P
Badger Jul 22nd 2008 12:45PM
"[H]e just /laugh-ed, and applauded me for destroying his friend."
I wonder how you say, "That's okay, nobody liked that guy anyway" in Taurahe. :P
Awesome story.
Kaylad Aug 1st 2008 6:16AM
Have you ever helped someone of your own faction - after they've tagged the mob and appear to be having trouble - only to get a mouthful of abuse in return for "stealing" their kill? You know, when the XP was theirs and the loot was theirs? And this wasn't a lowbie... this was a 60+ in Hellfire. Stupid bint. Every time we (I was in a party at the time) tried to explain that she still got the kill and the XP and the loot, she hurled more abuse. I think she was the first ever into my /ignore.