Breakfast Topic: The other half
by Jon Bush 
Apr 2nd 2010 at 8:00AM
Have you ever found yourself wondering how the other half lives? I don't mean your rich neighbor -- I mean that other faction. I must admit to a bit of curiosity, as I'm a die-hard Alliance player. I love gnomes and although my main is a spacegoat ("Oh, you have a shaman? Come heal!"), I've never been interested in most of what I consider to be rather unsavory Horde races -- but Tauren intrigue me. I really don't understand why they'd want to be with the Horde anyway, so I guess I need to roll one to find out.
What about you? Are you old-school Horde or true-blue Alliance? Are you one of the people who plays both? What led you to choose that faction or factions? Were you playing with friends or, like me, was that gnome just too cute? I'm sure there are as many reasons out there as there are players. Tell us why you rolled Horde or Alliance and if you've ever jumped ship and why. How did it go?
As for me, I'm off to roll up Supercow the intrepid Tauren warrior. Wish me luck!
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Celarein Apr 2nd 2010 8:06AM
I actually first rolled Alliance, as I started playing this game when my niece and nephew told me about it and I got hooked. They were Alliance at the time. But then, when they moved servers and rolled with their old Horde guild, I followed, and haven't looked back. So, while I play both, the Horde is definitely my first love!
greenthumbs Apr 2nd 2010 9:36AM
I also rolled Alliance when I first played the trial (a human Rogue, because I quite enjoyed playing as a Thief in AD&D). However upon seeing the debauchery that was the Goldshire Inn I immediately logged out, deleted that toon, rolled Horde and never looked back.
Boz Apr 2nd 2010 11:13AM
Like you, I didn't pick my faction, my friends - existing players - did. I wonder what faction I would have picked had I not joined to play with friends?
Rodrigo Apr 2nd 2010 8:07AM
I've seen the other side...
Isn't it just weird to see Tauren pop out of druid cat and bear forms?
othragon Apr 2nd 2010 8:08AM
Well, i initially rolled Alliance because as a former Warcraft I and II player i simply loved the lore and the Heroic figures on the "good" side of the trenches, however, and maybe it was just the server i started in, the bulk of ally players didn't attracted me at all. Not like i love gnomes anyway, but everything about dwarves is pure win. Too bad the friendly, easy going ways of the Alliance never thrilled me, so i rolled my next-best passion, the Undead. And i've been rolling with them ever since, gotta love the sarcasm on the Horde side.
muffin_of_chaos Apr 2nd 2010 12:32PM
Yeah, the sarcasm is good. I've played both sides, and the Horde player base is really superior to the Alliance player base on at least two servers. The Alliance seems to be almost half-filled with whiny adolescents...the Horde maybe 10%.
It's also good to be on the side of the dark horse antihero.
The Horde raids the same content as the Alliance, saving Azeroth from the same evils as the Alliance. I.e., they are doing the dirty work without looking for a reward in brownie points from the Light, but either because they're trying to survive or the tauren and Thrall's moral code say to. The Light is not a factor for the Horde.
(Ignore the blood elves, they aren't true Horde.)
Now, from time to time the Horde can seem evil, and to a large extent they are that semi-anomalous moral construct. Yet somehow Thrall manages to twist the nature of his people to the ends of good. This is why we like Thrall. This is why the Horde is going to become much more boring when Garrosh takes over.
The Alliance, similarly to Garrosh-Horde, are really, really boring. So typical from every fantasy setting ever. They have good guys, who spearhead all the fights against demonic invaders. All dwarves are literally carbon copies of each other, and it's a slightly humorous carbon copy, but it's old by Dun Morogh if you care. The Gnomes are the same...they're all either mischievous or foolish, and generally inept.
Humans can be separated into Soldiers, Brooding Former Soldiers, Mages, and Warlocks. The Soldiers are mindless channels of a "Good" mentality ruled by committee, the Brooding Former Soldiers eventually become Soldiers again or die in stereotypically heroic ways, the Mages kind of hang out being worried about things--this is all they do, unless they become powerful enough to leave the Alliance to seek evil ends--and the Warlocks do evil much worse and less interesting than the Horde.
The Draenei could have been cool, but Blizzard capitulated to making them universally pretty and completely focused on the Light.
The only sin of Night Elves is the veneer of natural nobility. Natural nobility is boring, but at least Night Elves *can* be interesting.
And the Worgen...ugh. Just...ugh. Go read about your precious Jacob or whatever. The Undead are a way better, and more original, way of filling the niche Worgen supposedly fill than Stephanie Meyer's cult of wolves that have the ability--rather than impulse--to transform into monsters. That Blizzard has to make cute.
At least with the Horde, each member is more likely to be individualistic. Orcs have this whole continuum of good vs. evil, ambition vs. survival...Trolls have a philosophy that's actually different entirely, and have voodoo, and dance around randomly *by nature*...Tauren do Good more convincingly than Alliance, as being a tribal, nomadic race they have to have an edge that no Alliance has, but loving the Peacebloom makes them willing to work towards greater goals anyway without hope for reward even from their own society...Undead have a moral ambiguity and history that's actually engaging, even while short.
The odds a Worgen character would randomly capitulate to their primal urges to kill an innocent bystander? Zero. The chances an Undead would? Good. But the Undead can choose to feel bad about it.
Ignore Blood Elves, still.
Basically, if you want to not be cookie-cutter, especially morally, you can't be Alliance. Of course, it's all just flavor.
Aaron Apr 2nd 2010 8:08AM
I love killing horde! FOR THE ALLIANCE!
I would roll a horde only to sacrifice it to some level 1 mob. x-D
I did run one up the the Orgrimar AH once just to see what their economy was like. Meh. I sneezed the whole time I played cause grunts stink and I'm allergic to them. x-D
RetadinMan Apr 2nd 2010 8:42AM
Just goes to show, anyone that doesn't scream "FOR THE HORDE" is silenced.
On that note:
FOR THE ALLIANCE, FOR LORDAERON, FOR THE LIGHT!
Aaron Apr 2nd 2010 8:50AM
FOR UTHER!
themightysven Apr 2nd 2010 8:54AM
@retadinman
does it show that? because that post hasn't been voted down.
Sylargrey Apr 2nd 2010 8:54AM
Sorry ladies... don't be upset that FOR THE HORDE rolls off the tongue so smoothly!
RetadinMan Apr 2nd 2010 8:57AM
@themightysven
It was voted down when I put that up
Aaron Apr 2nd 2010 9:00AM
It's getting darker. POOR WITTLE HORDE SCUM GOTTA COME GWEEEVE ONA WOW dot COM AWWWTICKLE DAT DOESNT SQWEEM FUH TEH HOAWDE
Eternauta Apr 2nd 2010 9:18AM
Just FYI, Lordaeron is part of the Horde now.
It's ironic, when you yell FOR LORDAERON actually you're yelling FOR UNDERCITY!
Aaron Apr 2nd 2010 9:26AM
This is like PvP in the comment section. Your down voting proves a point and your tears taste so sweet. ; )
Ullaana Apr 2nd 2010 9:27AM
Alliance Forever!!!
Fletcher Apr 2nd 2010 9:30AM
No, we're not yelling "for the Undercity". The long form is "Vengeance for Lordaeron! In the name of the Light, we shall cleanse the evil from these lands! Drive out the undead monsters from our homelands!" and so on.
You've got to remember that many of the human members of the Alliance - while nominally under the rule of Stormwind now in the same way that the entire Alliance is nominally led by Varian "Needs Anger Management Lessons" Wrynn - hail from other human nations such as Arathor, Dalaran, or - yes - Lordaeron. To these people, the fall of Lordaeron was a tragedy; and the fact that their former friends and family have risen to become hideous mockeries of the people they once were, bent upon the extermination of the living, only compounds the case.
This is where Forsaken apologists and Sylvanas fanboys will say "but the Royal Apothecary Society was working without official approval, the undead don't really want to kill you all!"; but the fact that it's the *Royal* Apothecary Society, set up by the Banshee Queen, operating under her mandate and given a ridiculously free rein by her, kind of refutes that argument.
The Alliance might be willing to make peace with some undead - there are undead in the Argent Crusade, after all - if only the vast majority of undead weren't bent on the goals of the Lich King ("death to the living" irregardless of having free will.
FOR THE LIGHT! FOR THE NAARU!
kooda Apr 2nd 2010 10:45AM
FOR PONY!
Kanap Apr 2nd 2010 10:55AM
Aaron seems to fall under the Alliance fanboy area. Each side has its pros and cons but the alliance need their own phrase besides for the alliance It does sound and roll of the tongue better from the horde standpoint.
Side note: Can we get some of that blight to use against the Lich King? I mean it did somewhat harm him.
Also I have rolled both and have just ended up horde
Timidger Apr 2nd 2010 11:29AM
GLORY TO THE ALLIANCE!!!
There. That good?