Very good point! It looks like fun is the focus, and not only for casuals. They put a lot of fun elements in for hardcores.

Yes... but at what cost!!? At what cost!!??!

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/topic/204003/theramore-in-flames-horde-favoritism-pt-2

This. A hundred times this. I'm so excited that the game is shifting back from part-time job to game, I can't even describe. I'm simply looking forward to the fun.

@Anne

I don't think it'll be just Jaina alone ... I think when Garrosh moves against Theramore that Thrall is going to have more than a few words with him. Could we be watching the end of Garrosh Hellscream and the rise of the young-yet-wise Baine Bloodhoof?

Now THAT is a Horde leader I could believe in. And he'd be a perfect compliment to the peaceful Pandaren ... after all, Metzen said that the Pandaren would change Azeroth forever and make us remember who we are.

I think the attack on Theramore will have really, really dire consequences for us Hordies. We have that non-aggression pact with them since Proudmoore died and Thrall has respected that for years. Now good ol' retarded Garrosh just goes and attacks the one place he should NOT have touched, like, ever. I expected the whole Alliance to rise in anger and Jaina joining the fight, Thrall going berserk on Garrosh and who knows what else will happen. Maybe not even orcs will get to pay the price.. imagine Darkspear trolls get attacked in retaliation? Taurens? Can you imagine what Vol'jin and Baine would do? the Horde as a whole could be further shattered thanks to Garrosh and his complete lack of vision and responsability. Even Jaina could become badass and hate Thrall for it, because he couldn't keep his little dog on a leash. I expect this to be the start of something really huge. Add to that all the territory that Alliance lost during Cataclysm and you have massive hatred just waiting to come out and get sweet revenge. Just look at what our dear Zarhym wrote on his twitter account:

"If you wanna make an omelette, you gotta break Theramore"

it's just the first step towards massive, all out war. I could not be more excited for this x-pac, it has incredible potential and I think we'll have a blast!!!

I really don't like the loss of Theramore, as Cata was already a kick in the jimmies to the Alliance. But what I *am* hopeful for, is that it will be the catalyst for the "King Wrynn becomes a badass" questline they hinted at for patch 4.0. I want to see an event where an army of revenge-hungry Alliance, all following Varian, ride in and just decimate Orgrimmar, slaughtering our way to Garrosh. And while Vol'Jin quietly steps to the side after first leaving a couple of important doors unlocked, we get a permanent solution to Thrall's big mistake.

Then it's on to the Undercity. Because if we can't have a city on your shores, you sure as hell can't have one on ours.

Aah, wishful thinking, I know. But man... that'd be enough to make me buy a panda/pokemon game.

Best comment ever. Yes. The humor and unabashedly gleeful aspects of the fantasy world are back, as opposed to just "OMG KILL IT AND LOOT IT". Which, while fun, isn't what got me here in the first place.

Well, I think Anne's thoughts on Theramore are good ones. I don't think that "Giving the Alliance some love" doesn't mean giving the Alliance all sunshine and rainbows. It means (to me) giving them good story and compelling quests in the game. Jaina having to struggle over whether her opposing her father over a good cause WAS in fact for a good cause in the long run is a good cause.

(My objections to how the Alliance was handled was over how lackluster it was compared to the Horde)

"If you wanna make an omelette, you gotta break Theramore"

You love omelettes more than eggs, how much more will you love what's coming than you love Theramore?

the 'problem' with how the alliance has been handled as far as the war is concerned- them losing all the time- is that blizzard gave them too much territory in vanilla WoW. there had to be losses, but for some reason through cataclysm the alliance (as far as i can tell, i play horde mostly) seems not to have taken much offence to things like us cutting down ashenvale and virus bombing southshore. as far as playing through the eastern kingdoms and cataclysm zones goes they don't seem to be attacking us, even though i seem to spend a lot of time slaughtering them.
sooner or later they would have to fight back, but it's a shame that it will take the loss of theramore to prompt them into war. from a horde perspective, they've hardly been putting up a good fight, which is boring, even for us. oh and i know most people don't agree, but i like garrosh. Probably because i'm used to a more warlike type of orc than WoW's 'noble savages' kind, but hey i just like having a leader who's more 'savage ...erm savage'

@Amaxe

It's no secret to some that I have a definite Horde bias. But I agree with you 100%. If the Alliance had more compelling lore and quests I'd be more inclined to play Alliance characters regularly. As it stands I find most of them boring. And where I'll never play a Human in this game, I did enjoy aspects of the Worgen starting zone.

And yes, Dwarves are cool too, but it's not enough to keep me interested in the Alliance. The funny thing is, almost every time I RAF my invite goes to a friend that inevitably makes a Night Elf, because "they're pretty". At least now when they do I can jump on my Alliance Panderan and feel some what better about it.

It definitely seems like Blizzard is trying to instigate more faction loyalty, but I really hope this is all headed toward a neutral faction. Maybe THAT will come after Jaina gets her wrath on?

I don't really see how it is "wrong" of Garrosh, or for that matter Baine, to beat back the attacks of the Barrens. (I do understand though, some people may not like the Horde beating someone again).
But it is completely sane and wise to not allow the Alliance further movement in the Barrens, or anywhere else close to the Horde.
And it's pretty obvious that they come from Theramore, though they might not be under the rule of Jaina.

@Luke
To be fair, the Allaince had one of the best story quests in the game at one time. The whole Onyxia quest chain was awesome, and gave you a real since of entitlement when finished. Then Blizz killed it and sent it off to never never land or wherever! I play both now, started as a hordie and only went to ally because of family playing them, and that story/quest line alone was worth it. But now, I completely agree with you, I don't really see any story quests on ally that draws me in, they have them, just not my cup of tea. Horde however seems much more involved and draws you into the game more in my opinion!