We Have a Tabard: Strange bedfellows
by Amanda Dean 
Oct 5th 2009 at 3:00PM
For years Blizzard has claimed that there would be no chance for faction changes. They didn't use the word "never" but they did say there were no plans on doing it. Much has changed since the Blizzard/Activision Merger. Well, the time has come, and what has become of it. I honestly can't tell you if the impact has been good or bad, but there has certainly been an impact.
If I haven't mentioned before, I play Horde. The first night that transfers came out, a number of my friends and guildies swapped characters over from Alliance. Good to see an influx of variety, but much attention turned to leveling forgotten alts. I don't know anyone who has transferred from Horde to Alliance. Given a better opportunity, I'm sure there are plenty who would make the switch.
Faction changes have had an interesting effect on guild on my server. A number of raiders from the top guilds swapped factions and joined forces with the top guilds on the Alliance side. The Alliance guilds have always been front runners in progression and this move has served to make them stronger. That's excellent for them.
On the Horde-side though, we've seen some pretty severe instability. One guild has crumbled and a new guild is rising from it's ashes. It's sad to see empires fall, but it's opened the door for some folks to move up the raiding ranks. I wonder if it's had the opposite effect on the Alliance side of the deal -- if it's bumped good, but not stellar players into a lower raiding bracket.
I've also heard tales of ninja disappearances with name changes and all. For those who play both sides or favor the other, it only stands to believe that these folks took their spoils to the other side. Honestly this behavior isn't really different from server/name transferring with an extra added level of faction complexity.
As for the raiders that merged with Alliance on my server, I don't know if they were compelled to do so by a raid leader. The guild was suffering some persistent personnel issues, and it may have been a good time to regroup under new management. There were many great players left behind. Did they stay due to Horde loyalty? A general distaste for the Alliance? Were they unwilling to pay the transfer fee? I don't know.
I am curious what the effect of race changes will be. As is stands now, it would be unreasonable to ask someone to change race. It would require having someone level up a new character to optimize racial benefits. But once race changes come out I could see raid leaders compelling players to optimize their racials. If a raid leader can ask a blood elf hunter to change from beast mastery to marksman, what's to stop the leader for asking for a switch to orc?
The dust is settling. I believe that the vast majority of transfers happened shortly after they went live. Normality should be restored. In some cases, like my server, it's just a slightly different version of normal.
WoW.com offers a plethora of information on guild leadership and guild membership. Be sure to check out Scott Andrew's Weekly Column Officer's Quarters and keep an eye on the community with Mike Schramm's Guildwatch.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Raiding, Factions, (Guild Leadership) We Have a Tabard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
elphalaofelune Oct 5th 2009 3:10PM
There is a big difference between changing talent spec as opposed to changing race, namely cold hard cash. If my GM asked me to change spec and was willing to front the gold fine, I doubt they'd do the same when it boiled down to cash though.
Kurdaj Oct 5th 2009 5:27PM
If you can afford $15 a month, then you can afford the $30 to give you a significant dps boost in a raid or the edge in PvP.
Let me paint you a picture: you're playing a class that has been riding the buff/nerf roller coaster. The raids you've been in haven't been showering you with loot. You've hit a major slump, and you're dps or PvP success haven't been improving in a while.
Well here you are, magic wand, pay some CASH and receive the Orc's pet damage racial. Or the Human's get-out-of-jail-free ticket. Or really mix it up and became a level 80 T10 geared Goblin on day 1.
Racials matter. If Racials didn't matter, then people wouldn't be talking about them, they wouldn't be a factor, and Blizzard wouldn't be revising them for the next expansion. RACIALS MATTER. And if you chose the "wrong" race for your playstyle, well now you can buy the "correct" race.
SaintStryfe Oct 6th 2009 2:27AM
Any guild who would force me to pay real money to minmax a few more DPS/HPS/Threat Points out of me doesn't need, want, or deserve my play time. That's a ridiculous requirement.
jfofla Oct 5th 2009 3:12PM
Agreed cash is the difference, but I could still see a raid leader demanding it.
Personally, I would not switch for anybody.
Dysmorphia Oct 5th 2009 5:07PM
I suspect that if you're the kind of raider who is in the kind of guild where your raid leader would seriously ask you to switch races, then you're the kind of raider who has already done the research about your optimal racials and are already planning to switch races as soon as the option becomes available (and you have the cash). Most people don't raid like that. Somehow I also see this more as something that avid PvP'ers will take advantage of.
Skonged Oct 5th 2009 3:12PM
"The Alliance guilds have always been front runners in progression and this move has served to make them stronger. That's excellent for them."
Really? Perhaps on your server, but most server firsts have been accomplished by the Horde. I guess it all depends how well your side it doing.
Gidaeon Oct 6th 2009 4:06PM
Er really?...
Cause Premonition is Horde....amirite?
http://www.wowprogress.com/guild/us/sen-jin/Premonition
tim Oct 5th 2009 3:56PM
@Gidaen
Er really?...
Cause Ensidia is Alliance....amirite?
1. Top PvE guilds are split between Alliance and Horde
2. Comparing the top .01% to anyone, even the top 1%, is ridiculous.
The writer of the article might have mentioned that traditionally (as in, in Vanilla) Alliance guilds enjoyed superior progression. There were a number of reasons for this, such as vastly more players on the Alliance side on PvE servers and then exclusive Paladin class. (This was the time when many rolled Alliance for progression and Horde for PvP.) I don't think that there is such an Alliance domination anymore, but player perception is difficult to change. In any case, she probably meant that--on her server--Alliance enjoys superior progression.
Arednel Oct 5th 2009 6:48PM
no ensidia is horde
their armory link... http://eu.wowarmory.com/guild-info.xml?n=Ensidia&r=Tarren+Mill
lethian Oct 6th 2009 3:20PM
Drow, on DoomHammer,
Gidaeon Oct 6th 2009 3:27PM
@Tim
You fail at reading comprehension? I was responding to
Skonged Oct 5th 2009 3:12PM
Perhaps on your server, but most server firsts have been accomplished by the Horde
My comment was in no way directed to the author of the article...who was talking about her own server and not some general statement like the one I was responding to
Der..
Skonged Oct 5th 2009 3:13PM
Forget faction changes. I wanta see class changes.
Hasteur Oct 5th 2009 3:20PM
Never going to happen. A change between factions or races is pretty easy to do. The changeing of an entire class is practically impossible (with mounts/pets/tallents/specializations/etc.). But if you want to do that we have
/pdelete
/roll new character with same name
Skonged Oct 5th 2009 3:38PM
You know the same was said before about faction changes. If Blizzard can change factions they can change classes for you. Honestly making a change to a database to change your faction, race, class, and talent reset is not a big deal. Blizzard already has the tools to do it. Now if we can put this idea into VPs heads they can make money from class changes. Then this should be the next paid service from Blizzard.
After all I did put my time into leveling the character. I'll pay $30 to change my class. Wouldn't you?
Britannic Oct 5th 2009 3:55PM
I don't think you'll ever see a class change option. What I believe you're more likely to see is that at some point, people with high level characters will be given the ability to start their new characters at a high level, like the Death Knights currently do. That would make more sense to me.
garfunkel Oct 5th 2009 3:58PM
imagine a rogue/pally/melee whatever.....would one day wants to turn his raid toon into say, a lock or hunter...
interesting idea, but I think this would lead to an influx of "poor" players...
i'm a raid hunter through and through, but if i switched to a prot warrior for 30 bucks, it certainly doesn't mean i'm ready to tank
Skonged Oct 5th 2009 4:18PM
"interesting idea, but I think this would lead to an influx of "poor" players...
i'm a raid hunter through and through, but if i switched to a prot warrior for 30 bucks, it certainly doesn't mean i'm ready to tank"
Its the player and not the class that determines how well your character is played. So there would not be an influx of "poor" players, just an influx of classes.
By no means would you be ready to tank. Some time reading tanking specs, running normal instances for experience and gear would put you in a better place to tank.
Cyrus Oct 5th 2009 3:15PM
"If a raid leader can ask a blood elf hunter to change from beast mastery to marksman, what's to stop the leader for asking for a switch to orc?"
Um, money? Respeccing costs at most 50g. In a worst-case scenario there might also be items to buy and stuff, and maybe more than one respec before you get it right, but still, it's just in-game gold. Changing factions costs money IRL, though, and so will changing races, and any even remotely considerate guild will not require that of raiders. Yeah, a one-time $30 isn't a lot, but maybe your guild includes kids who just don't have jobs or credit cards of their own, or maybe someone's out of work. If you're talking about a faction transfer, maybe someone wants to keep all their characters together so they can support each other's professions and pass account-bound items around and stuff, and if so that'll cost $30 for each toon. Unless it's a close-knit guild where everyone can be totally confident about this stuff, guild leaders really shouldn't expect any real-life commitments other than time.
Amy Oct 5th 2009 3:17PM
Is that Draenei Paladin transfering over to an Orc Warrior? What monkey designed that banner?
Continuum6 Oct 5th 2009 4:37PM
^^ this