Faction Changes Q&A
by Zach Yonzon 
Jul 1st 2009 at 9:40PM
Of course, with the shocking news comes a lot of questions, so Nethaera hops on over to the forums and answered a few concerns that players had. The biggest bummer for me was that I couldn't change race within my own faction! So... let me get this straight... I can change faction and become a totally different race but I can't swap my Blood Elf Death Knight into an Orc? Blasphemy! Unfortunately Blizzard doesn't think choice of race isn't something you can regret unlike faction choice. Anyway, more answers after the jump...
Q. Will we be able to switch between the races on our own faction?
A.. No. Players will only be able to switch to a race of the opposite faction.
Q. Will I be able to choose the race on the opposite faction that I want to change to?
A.. Yes, but you will only be able to switch to a race that has your class type available to it. So if you play a human paladin, you'd only be able to change to a blood elf paladin.
Q.How much will it cost?
A.. We do not have further information on this at this point in time.
Q.Will I be able to switch back to my original faction but a different race?
A.. No. You will only be able to switch back to your originally chosen race.
Q.. How will the switch between reputation, gear, mounts, etc be handled?
A.. We'll have more details for you at a later point in time, though we plan to keep these as close to a reflection of the other faction as much as possible.
Q.How often can you change your faction?
A.. We do not have any information to share on this at this point in time, however we will have restrictions on the frequency by which players can change their faction.
Q. How will this affect the balance of Horde and Alliance on the realms?
A.. We are taking great care in how we implement this new service in order to maintain balance between the factions on the realms but do not have any further details to share.
Odd how they won't allow race changes as part of paid character customization when faction change obviously creates a bigger impact on the playing environment. Then again, Blizzard may just be wary of players jumping to another race to min-max, such as all PvP players hopping on to Humans for that extra trinket slot. Oh well. Stay tuned!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Marshy Jul 1st 2009 9:45PM
Allowing racial changes within a faction might lead to people choosing a race for their 'better racials,' thus leading to less diversity.
Marshy Jul 1st 2009 9:46PM
.....and I somehow missed that last line in the post =P
Qenunie Jul 1st 2009 9:45PM
Everyone on Alliance is going to be a Male Blood Elf cause they like the homo-slouch
Pvpers are going to go undead or humans
Only 3 races will exist in WoW
Lok'Tar Ogar, sucka Jul 1st 2009 10:10PM
@Zalvi
I'd flame the shit out of you, but by illustrating the Horde's progressive approach to social roles vis-a-vis their acceptance of the LGBT community you have inadvertently proven the superiority of my faction.
King Varian = knuckle dragging homophobe?
Zalvi Jul 1st 2009 10:15PM
@ Lok'Tar
me homophobe? honey im gayer than the day is long. im Marvin Gay, i bought my short short and already put them on
Lok'tar Ogar Jul 1st 2009 11:06PM
@Zalvi
Was actually accusing the alliance king of homophobia, not you.
The man has no neck and a list of prejudices longer than the fall from altar of storms. just saying he looks like the type.
Anyway, work it sister!
Elmo Jul 2nd 2009 4:35AM
GO horde, GO alliance stuff...
grow up please, we're talking about picking a green or a pink skinned character here.
you all deserve to be downrated.
Wats Jul 2nd 2009 7:52AM
My wife is a Female Orc, they were the only ones she liked (Pre BC) when she rolled her first toon. So dont generalize =P
quamaretto Jul 2nd 2009 9:47AM
I think you're confusing orientation with gender identity. Orientation is who you like; gender identity is which gender you feel you are. (True story: In some places, trans people have the right to use the opposite sex's bathroom.)
Dr. Giggles Jul 1st 2009 9:49PM
This article puts my apprehension at ease. For a while the thought of seeing gnomes checking their mail in undercity was having me chewing on tums tablets like pez.
Dethgar Jul 8th 2009 9:37PM
You should really get out more.
Cowy Jul 1st 2009 9:49PM
Now if only Blizzard would do what FFXI and Freerealms does for characters (Job switching). I get tired of doing the same things over and over again for all my characters. It would be nice if I could just have one core character and switch her jobs around and level whatever job I was in the mood to play at the time.
So... tired...of...getting...achievments...over...again...
epsilon343 Jul 1st 2009 11:49PM
I'd actually like that. My roommate played FFXI from some friends back home and it seemed like such a good idea. I've never played so I don't know if they have specs for the different classes which necessitates the need for role switching.
Binya Jul 2nd 2009 1:14AM
@epsilon343: There is something akin to a spec in FFXI, however its not available until your job of choice hits level cap. They're called merit points, and they are a royal pain in the arse to collect to use to upgrade (you can toggle the ability to gain merits on and off through the interface, and for every 10,000 experience points you gain with the ability on, you gain 1 merit point. You spend it in specific categories through another interface window, but should you decide to remove points from a category after you've spent them, they're gone forever. It's not like WoW where you can spend the same talent points however many times you decide to re-spec).
I played FFXI for 5 years. There's a reason why I'm playing WoW these days instead. :P
Knyle2 Jul 2nd 2009 8:04AM
THERE HAS BEEN RUMORS AND WHISPERS OF ALL ALTS STARTING AT 55, AND IT TAKES LIKE A WEEK TO GET A NEW TOON TO 80, YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH PLAY WHATEVER YOU WANT FAIRLY EASILY, AND THAT WOULD GET TOO MUCH FLAVOR OF THE MONTH GOING ON.
wE CANT ALL BE RET PALLY'S DK TANKS AND RESTO DRUIDS, CAN WE?
Porky Jul 3rd 2009 9:42AM
Cruise control for cool.
gdr441 Jul 1st 2009 10:07PM
same faction needs to be able to race change if class is elegible....
Dreadskull Jul 1st 2009 9:55PM
It's a shame that Blizzard seems to be going down the path of saying "screw the in-game explanations, we're getting money by doing it this way" with how they've worked on stuff like character customization (wouldn't have been hard to just throw in a giant machine run by goblins/gnomes where you'd pay to have your DNA/molecular structure redone) and now faction changing.
There could be so much more potential in having the ability to cross to the other faction by doing a series of in-game quests and whatnot. First off it'd show that not all of the heroes are as loyal to their faction as you'd think, but it also would show that possibly the two main leaders of the factions (Thrall/Varian) are starting to lose influence on their people.
Oh well, I won't be surprised if they add in paid race changes within a year or two. And then in maybe two more years or so they'll just toss in "pay to obtain" gear/levels.
Arcaria Jul 1st 2009 10:02PM
That's exactly how you switch factions in EQ2. You do a series of betrayal quests that leave you without any real faction for a while. It takes a lot of time and effort to prove your loyalty to the other side.
Zalvi Jul 1st 2009 10:20PM
isn't RaF already paying for levels?