BlizzCon 2011: Pandaren will be playable by both the Horde and Alliance

by Alex Ziebart Oct 21st 2011 at 3:05PM

The moment we've all dreaded (or eagerly anticipated, that's up to you) is here: The Pandaren will be playable in the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. Here's the kicker: They'll be playable by both factions, which means Blizzard really has thrown out the silhouette theory it's stood by for years. We saw that coming with transmogrification, though. It isn't much of a surprise.

The choice as to whether you're Alliance or Horde doesn't happen at character creation, though. The choice will come after you've played through the introductory quest chain for your character. Once the stage has been set and you see where the lines of war have been drawn, you will choose which faction represents your interests best. Exciting? Oh, yes.

Turn to WoW Insider for all your BlizzCon 2011 news and information. Look for our liveblogs of the convention panels, interviews with WoW celebrities -- and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!

Tags: blizzcon-11, blizzcon-2011, mists-of-pandaria, pandaren

Filed under: BlizzCon

Reader Comments (Page 3 of 10)

DrKwang Oct 21st 2011 3:34PM

This is what I came here to say. If they're abandoning the whole silhouette thing by allowing the same race on both sides, why not allow individual characters to "defect" to the other side?

milkman Oct 21st 2011 3:09PM

But the real question is will we get a new character slot to make this toon?

Wrath Oct 21st 2011 3:12PM

Oh i really really hope so

joshychrist Oct 21st 2011 3:13PM

yes another slot please

eirinefrostblade Oct 21st 2011 3:16PM

^This. Want. I am at my max on my main server, and have no current intention of shelling out the money for another account.

Kylenne Oct 21st 2011 3:16PM

No kidding, I had to delete a toon just to roll a goblin. This is getting out of hand. ;_;

AltMaster Oct 21st 2011 3:18PM

^^^ This!

By now most people have their favorite realms, and that's where their favorite toons are and, not least of all, where the bulk of their gold is. They HAVE to add new character slots! They HAVE to!

osteenq Oct 21st 2011 3:25PM

This. I've got a Horde server with one of every class on it.

Sacrilege Oct 21st 2011 3:08PM

I like the way Pandaren are available to both factions. Traditionally if you liked the look of say, the tauren or dwarves, you had to go with that faction. This way, pandaren fans can enjoy that race with the freedom of joining either faction.

Ironhammer Oct 21st 2011 3:43PM

I suspect you will only be able to choose Monk if you play a Pandaren. Think of all the new character animations that would have to be added to the other races to accommodate the Monk's fighting style.

MattKrotzer Oct 21st 2011 3:50PM

Ironhammer: I'm hoping gnomes get them, as well. They're already behind by one class combination compared to the other races.

Larka Oct 21st 2011 4:19PM

This expansion actually made me so happy i was bouncy around the room. Which is odd for me since i have been so stressed lately. I hate how if you like the idea of the expansion your a "Wow loyalist" or something. This is not the freaking American Revolution people, its a game. Some people like the idea of the pandas and some people (like myself) love the story. Also its wow's story, and if you go watch the Pride and Jesse thing on this expansion they high light a lot of things that actually make sense story wise. I'm just tired about how if there is ANY type of plot development people bawl over it. A story has plot developments just keep an open mind about it. Especially over fantasy.

Boobah Oct 21st 2011 4:44PM

"Think of all the new character animations that would have to be added to the other races to accommodate the Monk's fighting style."

All the races already have animations for kicks and a few weapon strikes. Among other things, you can be sure that while monks may use fist weapons (among others) there is no way they aren't going to have something to go in the weapon slots.

Most of their special attacks will probably just be extra graphical affects on top of existing animations; it's not like there's a separate animation for warriors between Mortal Strike and Slam, or a death knight's Frost Strike and Obliterate.

I'd love it if there were more unique animations for different attacks... but it doesn't seem all that likely.

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