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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast 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 2 of 7)
Karma Mar 3rd 2009 8:19AM
I usually communicate with arrows.
After about 2 or 3 they usually get the hint or take a dirt nap
Fate Mar 3rd 2009 11:52AM
Karma, perfect name for solving problems with arrows...
Notatroll Mar 3rd 2009 3:24PM
That's clever, Fate.
Shardrell Mar 3rd 2009 8:20AM
I just want an emote that says, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to steal your node, I just want to tag it for Gatherer." That'd be awesome.
Rasko Mar 3rd 2009 8:23AM
I always said and I even posted it on blizzard forums that engineers should be able to make translators. Called it Gnomish Univeralizer 5000 or something like that. Only engineers could use it but it allowed people of oppossing factions talk to eachother for say 5 minutes. Of course it could back fire and make it so you couldnt talk to anyone or something like that. Never did get an ok on it.
sephirah Mar 3rd 2009 8:25AM
Lorewise the A/H enmity is quite outdated (if you exclude the human jerk king).
If you exclude the BG, the two factions are technically in "peace".
If a NPC is from a race of the opposite faction but friendly to you, you can communicate with him.
I see no reason, at least on PvE servers, to not allow cross faction communication.
Gessilea Mar 3rd 2009 8:40AM
I'd really like a way to grind rep with the opposing faction. Like, you can't have any honor kills for six months and have to do a bunch of repeatable quests or something, I don't know. I think it would be pretty awesome. I'm the biggest carebear ever.
sephirah Mar 3rd 2009 8:47AM
I don't see why I'm attacked on sight by opposite faction guards even if I've the title Ambassador. I come in peace!
Keyra Mar 3rd 2009 6:45PM
I agree, ESPECIALLY on PvE/RP servers. There are Belf, Orc and Tauren NPCs (not certain about undead or troll as I've not seen them yet) on the Alliance side that speak with you and even offer quests (Fiora Longears in Darkshore, for example, and the Tauren, Loh'atu, in Azshara), and I imagine that there are the same on the Horde side of things (the dwarf spy just outside of Falconwing Square comes to mind - even though you eventually kill him), so if NPCs can speak cross-faction, why not players?
Undead, for example, were human before the plague, so why isn't at least "common" in their repertoire of languages?
I think it would be a nice addition to be able to learn languages as well, like learning a profession, weapon type, etc.
SithLlenniuq Oct 10th 2009 11:11AM
As for the undead speaking [common] or something the alliance toons can understand, it is my understanding they used to be able to speak common. I read this on a website once that the undead were the "diplomats" in PVP and Battlegrounds...
But I think in BC they changed it.
Again this is all I heard as I came in shortly after BC.
skreeran Mar 3rd 2009 8:25AM
I'm on Horde and we're particularly outnumbered, so it's usuually a quick salute before I try to take the mob. Otherwise it's /point, /wrath.
Monsoon Mar 3rd 2009 8:26AM
Many, many times I've wanted to be able to communicate across the factions. Especially for the seasonal achievements such as visiting the elders in the opposing faction's capital cities. I would have loved to have been able to /yell to the people of Ironforge, "I come alone, I come in peace, I come merely to pay my respects to Elder Bronzebeard!"
Of course, that would probably just earn a response of "lawl, go roll on RP server" just before I got zerged by 50 gnomes.
For achievements like that which require no real PvP but would require entering hostile territory, I would love to be able to have a debuff that makes me unable to attack or be attacked for the duration. Maybe force me to unequip my weapons and have a *huge* elite guard escorting me to discourage me from taking any offensive action.
smiley Mar 3rd 2009 8:27AM
I have an emote I love sending to alliance players, its called ambush
Korenwolf Mar 3rd 2009 8:37AM
The clearest approach I've seen was last weekend when a hordie waiting on the rest of his group pointed at the quest mob and using /attacktarget.
My normal approach is to /wave, /point and then sit down making it clear I'm not going launch an attack on the target. Once the opposing faction PC starts whacking and it's tagged I wade in with whichever alt I'm running with
SunwellVialist Mar 3rd 2009 9:48AM
That usually seems to work for me as well.
Pointing at the mob, pointing at them, then sitting down.
Have helped a few low level Alliance chars that way before.
Of course, you also get the rude people who just give you the finger in response for wanting to help em...
Lanth Mar 3rd 2009 8:33AM
Usually a /bow, /point (while targeting said elite mob), /helpme works.
Though looking at the emote list, I reckon you could work /work in there.
Muse Mar 3rd 2009 8:34AM
For elite tagging?
/point mob
/point character
/agree
/yes
And take 2-3 steps back. If that doesn't get the point across for them to go first, /sleep usually fixes it, even if it gives them the impression that I wont help, rather than just to go ahead.
For node-tagging for gatherer... well, I whack the node, step back, and /sorry. Doesn't tell them the detail, but they get the point that the node is theirs and no harm was meant.
For the general "I'm just here to farm, I come in peace", /greet. If I'm still attacked and it's clear the other person is outclassed (my character's gear is pretty good and I play an OP class) a /no before proceeding to whack them is the best substitute for "Surrender while you can."
Azhural Mar 3rd 2009 8:34AM
Out of range: /wave
if no response comes I carry on killing them, because I think not responding is somewhat a hostile action on a pvp server.
If they wave back I /point at the ally and the mob until they get it.
Nadril Mar 3rd 2009 8:39AM
Generally I communicate with my sword (PvP server so I'm not about to help someone cross faction).
The exception to this was when I was leveling my mage. I was leveling in Searing gorge and ran across this paladin and rogue team. I killed them both and started camping them both at the same time.
Well, eventually this 80 came running by and saw the scene. This troll mage (me) over the dead bodies of whom I assume had called for help. Luckily one of them had not released yet so I decided to try and explain my self.
I /wave'd at the lvl 80. He pointed at the dead body to which I pointed and did a /bad. While it does "I have a bad feeling about..." I think he got the message that I was saying they were both bad. After a little more emote talking he mounted up and rode off.
schm0 Mar 3rd 2009 11:09PM
Not only did you sit and camp two lowbies, but then you emoted (lied) your way out of being ganked yourself?
Pathetic.
Funny, but pathetic.