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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Would you change your faction?
by Lesley Smith 
Jul 1st 2009 at 8:00AM
So, constant readers, in the wake of this bombshell I'm very eager to know what you think. Does the very idea of changing faction seem contrary to how the game works? Would you consider jumping factions? Would you rather see characters choose whether to become Horde or Alliance? Could you change your very species to join the opposing faction? From a lore perspective, how do you think would this work and, indeed, does it need to have a basis in lore? After all no one questioned the gender change. What do you think?
Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Breakfast Topics, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 12)
Lintra Jul 1st 2009 8:14AM
I've had a horde priest that I've not used in ages as I've been spending most time on my alliance guild. It would certainly be easier moving that over then levelling a new priest!
Hopleaf Jul 1st 2009 8:15AM
a simple big LOL says it all.. come on this has got to be the worst idea yet.. this game is getting worse and worse.
2) as i was reading faction change can happin between the same realm.. so yopu have your main and switch it over to ally.. what you gonna do about ur alts.. u cant have horde and ally on the same server..
3) this game is getting way to easy and just dumb... bring back old school vanilla please!!!
Wolftech Jul 1st 2009 8:18AM
If you would have bothered to engage your common sense mode for a second, you would realize that this applies to PVE servers. On a PVP server, you will not be allowed to swap unless you only have one toon or swap all.
Wolftech Jul 1st 2009 8:34AM
Additional response for point 3)
Seriously. If you do not like it go play another game. Stop complaining about every little change that gives things that a lot of people have been asking for.They are not SOE and this is not Star Wars Galaxies. The changes they made have only increased accessibility to more content for the majority of their paying customers. If you had a business, and you openly gave extra services to a minority of your customer base, but still only charge the same amount, then those that do not have access to the same services would get upset and perhaps would take their business elsewhere. Its the same with Blizzard and why the raid content is more accessible with 10 man raids and the upcoming badge change.
As I said, anyone that doesn't like it is free to leave. Complaining about problems with a class is one thing, but complaining about making the game more enjoyable for a larger segment of the paying public is not acceptable.
Hopleaf Jul 1st 2009 8:43AM
No offence mate but i made a comment just like you did.. just because your in favour dosent mean that i have to be.. learn the phrase freedom of expression,
2) lol you call a faction change a little thing... ehh mate if that is little i have no clue what to call big, if ur so full of it that u can only see to the point of your nose then thats your problem..
a faction change is a majour issue, economic changes, population changes etc etc.. most probably if your in a realm that has a low alliance rate then they will transfer over to horde.. wow what an enjoyment.. blehh, yeah a lot of things have improved but much has gone back,
since woltk came out wow is just getting easier and easier.. mounts at lvl 20 feral spirits at lvl 16..
you can get t 8.5 from nax runs buy collecting badges..
and the last of your comments.. i'm a paying customer to so i have a right to complain grumble etc... and dont come with this bull about changing games lol shows what a rtard you are if u cannot acceopt someone elses opnion.
sephirah Jul 1st 2009 8:43AM
Dumb? As in "I really dislike TBC and WotLK but still pay to play WoW and QQ constantly about the good old vanilla times!"
Dumb? It's really more than 2 years you pay monthly for the privilege of complaining about the game?
joerendous Jul 1st 2009 8:58AM
i pay monthly to understand the lingo and laugh at the silliness of some QQers. and that's worth it to me.
Tatinatorrrr Jul 1st 2009 9:02AM
I never really *get* QQ, it confuzzles me
Constructive criticism? sure, but the constant "The game is to easy" I hear just gets at me. I think bliz is doing a whole lot to maintain the balance between casuals and hardcores. Also, I know you're entitled to your opinion, but others are entitled to theirs and it seems that most of the player base is for making the game more accesible so the game is going easier. Stop complaining, an alternative is to think of some kind of comprmise and suggest it, the pointless whingeing is getting nobody nowhere.
on another note, don't call people retards, its not very nice :P
Cyrus Jul 1st 2009 9:12AM
"No offence mate but i made a comment just like you did.. just because your in favour dosent mean that i have to be.. learn the phrase freedom of expression,"
Learn it yourself. God, it's annoying when idiots holler "freedom of expression" just because someone disagrees with them. Are you being thrown in jail? Has your comment been deleted? No? Then nothing happened to your freedom of expression. Freedom of expression includes the freedom to be an idiot and to call other people on it when they don't use their common sense, and calling people idiots doesn't reduce their freedom of expression one tiny bit.
Especially if they are, in fact, being idiots. What value did you add? Do you really think people haven't waxed nostalgic about vanilla WoW many, many times? Often making the same mistake you do, confusing ease of the game in some ways with ease in all ways. It's getting easier to travel, obviously. And that's bad... why? I agree with you myself sometimes, but at least I realize that the game is a lot better than it would be if they were making new instances the size of BRD and if they hadn't made it a lot faster to farm rep with essential factions and, basically, there have been a lot of improvements too.
"you can get t 8.5 from nax runs buy [sic] collecting badges.."
I assume you meant t 7.5, right? Because I'd hate to think that someone as über as you doesn't even know something like that.
Hopleaf Jul 1st 2009 9:20AM
Yeah i apologise re the rtard thingy just watched south park and its stuck in my tounge lol :)
anyways... i am for changes into the game, i dont mind change really i dont but i think this would be a major change to the game which if not handeld correctly will bring a huge unbalance to most realms which already have.. i have p[layed on an'q, vek'linash and currently on grimbatol, (horde)... i really ever saw an alliance player accept for (grimbatol), i can imagine this service coming out and whats left of the allies there just switching over.. wow that would be a great pvp server...
I have ally chars to on outland.. were i think its some what balanced..
someone mentioned before from a pvp point of view this is gonna suck big time.. av is a huge joke and gonna get worse, on my server wintergrasp ally always have there stupid buff and yet cant win one.. imagine with the faction change....
About making the game to easy its simple...
Attunments dont exsist anymore.. you can get t8.5 chest and head from bagde runs from Nax, mounts down to lvl 20 (its a good thing if you wanna re roll ) but still makes it easier ;) true wow does start at lvl 80 .. though betwen lvl 1 - 79 it's still part of the game ;)
before to see a toon with t 6 was like seeing God... now you have t 8.5 gz to you most of the population has it also...
even fishing is gonna be changed to make it easier to get.. so i spent countless hours of fishing to get to full 450 but now you probibly get it in a day with half the time i needed to.... yeah that makes the game easier.. and i for one dont really like it... nax is just basically a big AOE pull....
dont come mention uldi hard mode.. yes its hard though ulduar is just a fraction of wow...
"you can get t 8.5 from nax runs buy [sic] collecting badges.."
I assume you meant t 7.5, right? Because I'd hate to think that someone as über as you doesn't even know something like that.
ehh .. as from patch 3.2
# Any dungeons that previously dropped Emblems of Heroism or Valor, such as Naxxramas or Heroic Halls of Stone, will now drop Emblems of Conquest instead. Emblems of Conquest can still be converted to Valor or Heroism.
Meadbh Jul 1st 2009 8:15AM
Nope, love my Nelf Druid and won't change.
Wolftech Jul 1st 2009 8:15AM
If they let you keep your race, then I would in a heartbeat. Since that is not going to happen, I would say probably not.
Apophis Jul 1st 2009 8:16AM
Rerolled Horde and already leveled a new Mage to 80, but I would take my Priest, Shaman and Pally over to the Horde.
Flint Jul 1st 2009 8:16AM
I'd quite love to have my Tauren shaman pledge allegiance to the Alliance, keeping the character I love while getting away from the (IMO) not-too-awesome Horde. Although I would miss Thunder Bluff.
ArbyGrot Jul 1st 2009 12:01PM
Same here with my Tauren Hunter. I would really miss TB and Mulgore but I would head over to the Alliance in a heartbeat if I could. I just dont like the Forsaken and doing quests that help them out. As it is I do as few of their quests as possible.
phoenixsinging Jul 1st 2009 8:18AM
Alas, faction loyalty, we hardly knew ye.
Anyway, my understanding of "roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm" is that you literally change your character from one of the current faction's races, to one of those in the faction you're changing too. For example, you're not a human skipping over to the Horde, you're recustomizing your character from a human into a blood elf, troll, orc, tauren, or undead. So ultimately, it doesn't have anything to do with lore.
As for switching? Heck no. I have Horde alts, but I'm Alliance at heart. Have been since day one, love my faction, not going to change now!
phoenixsinging Jul 1st 2009 8:19AM
Passwords, I did them wrong. *headdesk*
Jeremiel Jul 1st 2009 8:21AM
I'm sure they won't blend species across factions (that would be crazy lore-wise in many cases - An Alliance Orc? A Horde Human? Not to mention all the green-eyed 'high elves' that would suddenly turn up in RP).
They say 'roughly equivalent'. To me that means you'll keep your class, your level, your gear (as best you can). Your race will change. Achievements, reputation and titles are up in the air I guess.
Anyway, when I first heard this, I thought, that's kind of cool.
My characters are all Horde-side, and at the moment I'm levelling an Alliance Shaman just to experience the quests in the other half of the game. I would love to raid Enhancement when I reach 80, but there's no way I can play for two raiding guilds at once. So my first thought was, hey, maybe I can transfer him to Horde once I finish all the Alliance quests and raid with him as my alt.
But the more I thought about it the more 'wrong' it felt to me. After fifty levels of playing him, he is already a concrete character in my mind. He is a Draenei, and although Trolls and Orcs are far preferable races to me in principle, to 'change' him from one to the other would feel like losing a character I have worked hard on and grown attached to. Even his name is very much a Draenei name, so that would have to change as well. I don't really RP in game, but he is still very much a developed character in my head, and to change his race and name would feel like losing him altogether.
While it would be nice to have an 80 Shaman Horde-side, I think it would be too much of a shame to lose my Draenei to get it. I would probably sooner level another Shaman Horde-side.
For those whose friends are on the opposite faction, or who just want a change, and who don't want to face re-rolling, I can see this being a wonderful addition.
I just don't think I could use it myself.
Seraph Jul 1st 2009 8:20AM
Since having rerolled Horde to my new main Tauren Warrior, I have started to miss my Night Elf Druid. However, since I rerolled, my Alliance-side guild has fallen apart and I really have no friends on the server anymore. As such...
BRING ON THE BEEF, BABY!
Sindrow Jul 1st 2009 8:21AM
No, but I most definitely absolutely certainly would pay for a RACE change, which is a much less controversial service that Blizzard might consider offering ........ **cough cough**