WoW Rookie: Talking with the enemy
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.You can't talk to the enemy in the World of Warcraft. Shouting "KEK" when you're on your Alliance character doesn't read as "LOL" to the Horde players, no matter how many times you've heard that rumor. You can't Mind Control the enemy and then babble away in your own tongue (although that did work for one amazing, once-upon-a-time period in a long-ago patch). The truth is, trying to leapfrog the Alliance/Horde language barrier is a bannable offense; you're just not supposed to talk to the enemy.
That said, there is a way you can make your intentions known to players of the opposite faction: standard, pre-set emotes. The only emotes that work between factions are the ones that are already in place in the game. Creating your own emote by typing "/e yourmessage" only works for players of your own faction; for others, it translates to "X makes some strange gestures" – pretty antagonistic, really, no matter what you're actually intending to convey.
The emotes you're looking for are the ones that involve any combination of set text, vocalization or character animation. While that may sound skimpy and potentially disappointing, you'll actually discover a fairly rich vocabulary.
Want to combine forces with an enemy player at a quest spawn? Look how clearly you can communicate your intentions with emotes.
/greet You greet <Enemy Player> warmly.
/introduce You introduce yourself to <Enemy Player>.
/talk You want to talk things over with <Enemy Player>.
/point You point at <Quest Target>.
/helpme You cry out for help!
/work You work with <Enemy Player>.
/volunteer You look at <Enemy Player> and raise your hand.
/knuckles You crack your knuckles while staring at <Quest Target>.
/ready You let <Enemy Player> know that you are ready!
/followme You motion for <Enemy Player> to follow.
/victory You bask in the glow of victory with <Enemy Player>.
/commend You commend <Enemy Player> on a job well done.
/salute You salute <Enemy Player> with respect.
/thank You thank <Enemy Player>.
/bye You wave goodbye to <Enemy Player>. Farewell!
Obviously, you don't need to get that long and involved to get your point across. The more emotes you make, however, the better your chance that the other player will realize that your gestures are not random and stop to listen to your message. Whether you come in peace or are seeking a more intimate connection with the object of your destructive affections, standard emotes help you make the statement.
/moon
/grin
Filed under: Tips, How-tos, Features, WoW Rookie, Rumors






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Cramez Jun 24th 2009 6:33PM
Always wondered if the Alt+### worked. I assume not, because you can type with actual letters that way too.
SeanOr101 Jun 24th 2009 6:34PM
You Cheeky Monkey!
Sneaking that /moon in there at the last second!
/snicker
Lyncis Jun 24th 2009 6:43PM
/target [alliance player in the area I want to get some damn questing done]
/wait
/calm
/cast Mind Control
/cast Power Word: Fortitude
/cast Mind Control
/cast Divine Spirit
/nod
Usually it works pretty well!
Lynnora Jun 25th 2009 3:23AM
This is so funny you point this out! I have been playing a priest for over four years and I never knew you are able to Mind Control an enemy player and then buff them.
I noticed yesterday. My 70-ish rogue had to do the fishing daily in Wintergrasp. The battle had just ended so I knew I was toast, but figured I'd just stand there amongst the enemy and do my fishing.
Got killed 4 or 5 times in a row by the same Deathknight (name something like Deathlol ;-)) but I did nothing to defend myself. After a while, I stood in between three enemy players, a priest amongst them, and I made sure to tell them I just wanted to do my fishing.
/wait
/calm
/point
/nod
They just let me be and after a while I made my campfire, cooked my fish and invited the other enemies to cook theirs too over my campfire.
In the end, the Draenei priest Mind Controlled me and buffed me the way you just pointed out. How is it possible I never thought of that, after all these years?!
Golis Jun 24th 2009 6:44PM
Actually, cooperating with the enemy can be rewarding in its own right. as Alliance on Shadow Council, every now and then I find myself in a zone with Hordies that are all trying to get through the same sludge. The other day, I was trying to get my alt through Durnholme (the regular durnholme, not the instance) when a forsaken started pulling along side me.
With just a few emotes it became clear that we were both trying to get to the top, and took turns tagging the mobs as we worked our way to the top.
She got the first kill, then waited for the respawn for me to get mine.
We couldn't say a word, but there was a real sense of accomplishment that we were able to work together as well as we did.
Amethyst Jun 24th 2009 7:04PM
Being on a PvP realm, and hating PvP (not to mention how much I suck at it) I like doing this. Not only does being nice and helping someone make it less likely that they'll kill you, but I always get a nice warm feeling inside after having a friendly emote exchange with a random ally. Especially if I can get away with cheekily /patting a gnome ^_^
Aoeadin Jun 24th 2009 7:15PM
And then you shout at me for ignoring your friendly emote patter and caving aforementioned alliances skulls in. :P
Aedilhild Jun 24th 2009 11:42PM
Hear, hear.
Since "Rescue OOX-17/TN!" takes a fair amount of time to respawn, I shadowed an Undead warlock who had begun the escort quest moments before I could. He was below-level and was nearly overwhelmed at one point, but I stepped in and helped.
Not fifteen minutes later, as I was finally accompanying that robo-chicken, the warlock showed up and ran with me all the way to Steamwheedle. Good times.
Gypsy Rose Jun 25th 2009 12:58PM
I've had that - running through a neutral area, I came across a Troll who started following me and waving. I waved back, and she gestured towards an area I'd been planning on hitting up later, as I needed to level up three or four times before I'd be able to hold my own against the MOBs.
After I indicated that I'd be happy to run through there with her, we went to collect one of her friends (a blood elf), and the three of us merrily hacked our way through the MOBs that would've killed any of us in pretty short order if we'd been on our own.
We couldn't properly talk, but it was fun and immensely satisfying, and I'd gladly help them out again if the opportunity arose.
JKWood Jun 25th 2009 5:25PM
My (at the time) 17 subtlety rogue got "the Noble" directly through the efforts of a friendly Tauren warrior and Belf paladin. I stealthed all the way into Tanaris, then snuck through quite a bit of the desert on my way to the Un'goro crater before I started aggroing everything in sight. We were all too low for the area, but with their help, I made it through. The warrior tanked, the paladin healed, and I DPSed to my heart's content. In all honesty, my blows made pretty much no difference, but Expose Armor made the tank's job a ton easier, and so they were happy to escort me along.
Inside the crater was a different issue. The first time Devilsaur came around the corner, we ALL ran. No amount of armor reduction was going to help us there.
Mai Jun 24th 2009 6:50PM
My favorite way to talk with the enemy:
/mourn
In quiet contemplation, you mourn the death of (Enemy Player).
Jay Jun 24th 2009 6:58PM
I've used /salute more than once, especially after a spirited battle.
dAnixx Jun 25th 2009 10:42AM
That or u can simply teabag his body.
The Artist formally known as Jesus Jun 24th 2009 6:55PM
don't forget /truce for those times you just don't want to fight
cjshrader Jun 24th 2009 7:06PM
I find I have better luck with /dance if I just don't want to fight. Sometimes they'll laugh and go away.
McDuff Jun 24th 2009 7:18PM
"You can't Mind Control the enemy and then babble away in your own tongue (although that did work for one amazing, once-upon-a-time period in a long-ago patch)."
What about if you do a /e? Like /e "Stop running away, I'm trying to help you."? That's how I used to do it.
Lisa Poisso Jun 24th 2009 7:18PM
No, McDuff, no custom emotes. All they see is " makes some strange gestures." You have to use the pre-defined emotes that have text, voice or animations.
Tribunal Jun 25th 2009 9:55AM
Somehow you read part of the article, but not all of it, or the WoW.com team is lazy with their "EDIT" tag.
It mentions that /me emotes do not work.
Worcester Jun 24th 2009 7:15PM
I'm an Undead Rogue on a PvP server.
Not fighting is just not an option... and I'm fine with that.
Almoderate Jun 24th 2009 7:20PM
I like to use /offer when I'm feeling helpful. It's useful AND entertaining to see "Marthajones attempts to make you an offer you can't refuse."