Breakfast Topic: Emotes to improve cross faction communication
by Amanda Miller 
Mar 3rd 2009 at 8:00AM
Then the dance ensues. I salute, and the Mage waves. The Mage starts /saying things that I don't understand. I shrug. I wait for awhile, hoping that this will signal that I am willing to let the Mage go first. I'm hoping that my politeness infers that I will help.
Finally, I point at the Mage, then at the mob. Taking a leap of faith, the Mage tags it, and I run around behind to help, perhaps with a guildmate at my side.
After our parting farewells, I sit down to await a respawn. Personally, I think it would be much easier if I could say "I'm here to save the day!" or "I come in peace." Of course, there is some charm involved in finding a way to use our current emotes to communicate other messages, especially after Blizz added new ones in 2008.
How do you communicate to a player of the opposite faction messages that aren't directly built-in to emotes? Are you aching for a certain emote that would help you do this, or do you enjoy having to puzzle it out by piecing together existing ones?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Factions
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Liljimmy Mar 3rd 2009 8:05AM
/agree :P
yeah i know how you feel my friend
we can only sit and hope
Liltimmy Mar 3rd 2009 12:03PM
Decided to respond to this post since our usernames are so uncannily similar...
Anyway, I would probably go for a nice gesture to the person who needed help, like /hug or /greet, then target the mob and do a /threaten or /warn.
If I were hoping for help from another, I would /poke them, /point at the mob, and then target the person and ask for /help.
The /truce emote listed above is interesting though, I had never heard of that. Will have to try it out :)
Matchu Mar 3rd 2009 8:04AM
I want a "I come in peace" emote, preferably with my character making the Vulcan sign.
McRaider Mar 3rd 2009 8:54AM
yea... I play on a PvP server and it would be a good thing to "tell" the other factions player that you are not going to attack him (I usually don't)
Most of the time they think I'm a great threat looking at them...
Chuddy Mar 3rd 2009 9:24AM
Well you can but I've heard that it's a bannable offense to use the combo of letters to spell out words to the other factions. Who knows, i've never been banned. We all know about lol appearing as kek already. The only direct thing I know of is if you're alliance type " SS EE OO P" and it says "me like you". For whatever reason i've had a lot more luck with orc's and tauren. trolls and undead never.
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Barra Mar 3rd 2009 10:01AM
Kill first!
Talk later?
peon47 Mar 3rd 2009 10:29AM
I remember getting to HFP once to capture the three towers at 70, and found them already red, but with a level 61 alliance there. Even though it was a PvP server I greeted him with a /truce and a /wave and let him turn the tower blue so I could then turn it red afterwards.
We did this little dance at the Overlook and the Stadium, but then when we got to Broken Hill, I realised I could get credit from turning it from grey to red, and didn't need to wait for him to turn it blue all the way.
He died shortly after.
Yeng Mar 3rd 2009 11:38AM
I would love to do this, then when the mage jumps in, just watch as he gets flattened :D
lamb Mar 4th 2009 3:08AM
I came across that once, waiting for a guildy to fly in. /point + /point had no effect, i rand to the mob and feign'd hoping he's hit it, no luck. In the end i just killed the lowbie and I have to say I think that was more enjoyable.
lethian Oct 10th 2009 1:11PM
that is the one thing that makes me rage, im all good for helping an Alli if they need it, but once i was in Wintergrasp, I'm a DK mind you, well along comes this better geared mage and he proceeded to fly around following me and murdering me inside the horde controlled fortress, all the while yelling ME LOVE U, ME LOVE U, ME LOVE U. I wanted to report him sooo hard, But i didn't and several other horde showed up and be the living crap outta him. he left soon after. :D
sliq Mar 3rd 2009 8:05AM
Kill all horde. Take the mob. Don't be a weeny
Trilynne Mar 3rd 2009 8:06AM
I LOVE using emotes to communicate with the other faction. xD It's so much fun! I did that exact thing once, my fiance and I just killed an elite quest spawn, when an orc ran over and began /begging and /pointing at the corpse of the beast. I realized what he wanted and /nodded. We all danced and cheered a bit until the mob respawned. The orc tagged it, I picked it up from him (being tank RAR) and my fiance kept me healed. It was awesome. ^^
There is the alternate form of communication: That's my node of saronite you're mining translates very well into "+1 Honorable Kill" :D
Jeff R Mar 3rd 2009 8:09AM
Hi Amanda. You aren't a teacher by chance are you?
Kajira Mar 3rd 2009 8:11AM
A troll and i were doing the DHETA questline in Borean Tundra yesterday. We did a similar dance.
The emotes we have work well enough - a bow, curtsy or salute is a good "I come in peace" gesture.
I've frequently worked the arena quests (Nagrand, Zul'Drak, Icecrown) with Horde cooperation like this. Sometimes you get a full "group" with just a few on your side and a few on theirs.
We ARE supposed to be working together up there, after all... If you subscribe to the Argent Dawn or Ebon Blade philosophy.
Grazwa Mar 3rd 2009 8:13AM
Using the emote /work comes up with
You work with
Grazwa Mar 3rd 2009 8:14AM
bah, I'll try that again
You work with (Target)
Cyanea Mar 3rd 2009 12:09PM
When I was doing Cho'War in Nagrand on my DK, a Belf Pally (I'm a Draenei) came along. I figured it was a gank, but I doubted he'd be able to solo it because he was two levels below the mob.
Belf asks you to wait.
You nod.
Belf questions you.
Belf points at Cho'war.
You tell Belf YES. (Or whatever the emote for /yes is. I can't remember)
Belf claps excitedly for you.
Belf tells you to go.
So he let me attack him to tag him, then helped me take him down. I did the same after the respawn. We /hugged and went on our way.
Grognak Mar 3rd 2009 8:19AM
When levelling my warrior, a ?? Mage decide it would be fun to gank me. After the first hit, i /kneel'ed and the mage thought twice about killing me. They /frowned and I just waited. They actually mounted up and left me there alive!
Shardrell Mar 3rd 2009 8:23AM
My (level 50-something when 60 was the level cap) mage once got through a mob of Horde unmolested to hit the Undercity fire during the fire festival by wearing a lovely red dress and blowing kisses. :)
Bald Mar 3rd 2009 8:26AM
A accept this situation only if you're alliance ;)
I'll better die standing then live /knee