Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: "Blizzard's Horde bias" -- fact or delusion?
by Jeff Fincher 
Oct 26th 2011 at 8:00AM
It seems every week on the official forums, other game sites, and in daily conversation in Azeroth or Earth, the topic comes up that Blizzard favors the Horde. When the claim is directed toward lore development, even Horde players sometimes agree. But is there merit to the accusation?
Chris Metzen admits he loves Thrall and gets excited talking about the Orc's story, but he's also named Malfurion Stormrage as his favorite character in the past. Developers incite cheers of Lok'tar Ogar and For the Horde! at BlizzCon while suggesting Not the face! for the Alliance's new battlecry.
Most of this, however, is not where players look for their sole source of faction pride. It's in the game. The Horde's story has gotten very interesting with Sylvanas' darker path, Garrosh's controversial leadership, and Thrall's place on center stage in Cataclysm. The Alliance, however, has seen very little involvement from its leaders, and some players feel what they have seen has been out of character for their leaders. Malfurion neutral as Ashenvale burns -- or worse, as Tyrande is attacked?
Perhaps the strongest supporting evidence for or against bias (depending how you interpret it) are Metzen's recent comments that the Alliance will get some needed attention to strengthen that faction pride in two novels focusing on the Alliance, first with Wolfheart by Richard Knaack, followed by a still-untitled novel about Jaina Proudmoore by Christie Golden. But is that enough?
Do you think novels will stir the passion in the Alliance players' hearts, or is Blizzard going down the wrong path for the right desire? Do you think there's any merit to the claim of bias to begin with, or is it just more faction feuding amongst players?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 19)
Hal Oct 26th 2011 9:29AM
You could not possibly be more wrong.
Brann Bronzebeard for High King of the Alliance.
*runs away*
Daedalus Oct 26th 2011 10:14AM
@Hal:
Oh, yeah; that would end well:
King Brann: "People o' Stormwind, I've asked you here today to dedicate these statues I've had constructed to honor the heroes who gave their lives in my first five royal expeditions. I've had 'em built them out of the blocks o' strange material so many gave their lives to recovering in my sixth royal expedition."
*Statues begin coming to life; eating children*
King Brann: "Oh. Well then. Uh.. d'nae worry people of Stormwind, I have just the thing ta fix this: an ancient scroll of power I found in a black chest emblazoned wi' skulls, evil runes, and warnings in 17 ancient languages about the hideous curse within."
*Reads scroll*
Later:
Orc Grunt: "My Lord Garrosh; we've attempted to take Stormwind as you commanded, but there's been a small problem: it appears the entire city has been frozen in amber."
Garrosh: "Hmm... we must investigate and discover two things: whether or not King Bronzebeard survived, and how hard it would be to convince the Night Elves to make him their leader."
Wolftech Oct 26th 2011 11:05AM
Personally, I think they are setting up The Chin to die. The one to watch is Anduin Wrynn. I think that he will soon step up and people will start to realize how powerful he really is. Velen sees it and Malfurion sees it and they have walked with the gods. I hope he gets to play a pivotal role in the upcoming expansion (although I know its going to be Jania Proudmoore who will be the major figure in the alliance this next expansion)
vocenoctum Oct 26th 2011 1:13PM
I think the problem with Thrall is the idea that he isn't responsible for the stuff the horde did while he was in charge. He didn't step down because he disagreed with the path the horde was taking, he stepped down to talk to the elements and put Garrosh in charge.
He shows little to no regret for how his faction is acting, but just seems to have stepped out of the conflict.
Contrasted with Hamuul. He doesn't seem as "horde" as Thrall was, and operating as one of the Circle doesn't seem like a stretch for him. In the short story for Baine, it even seemed like he was ashamed of Horde politics but unable to do much about it.
Ashlar Oct 26th 2011 8:11AM
Who cares? Honestly, I don't pay enough attention to even notice.
Even though I play dirty Horde, I like the Alliance better.
Jamie Oct 26th 2011 8:11AM
Blizzard's staff are human beings (right...? Although some of them are probably robots), So it's hard to be impartial all the time. Having said that faction bias it's certainly a luxury we as players have.
I am a die-hard Alliance fan, having played since early TBC and have seen the game switch favour. Although I've never truly plyed Horde so my picture is a little cloudy and it's easy to get swept up in the negativity of online debate.
As Alliance we've had a rough time of it. I just want some glory to be bestowed upon us once more. But unfortunately the NPCs event can't update enough to make us believe our factions are actually doing something. They just wait around in their throne rooms waiting to be raid targets.
I think people can be too anal about Blizzard's bias. I'm sure a lot of them play Alliance, but I don't feel the community managers can condone/ignore any less than light-hearted hatred for either faction.
Regards, the corpsegrinder video. The guy is clearly a douche who's been swept into the World of Warcraft but really buys into it. Fair enough, in the world he's used to being in (death metal..? no idea) he can freely say he wants something to die. Unfortunately, people can take that the wrong way. I think it might have been the wrong idea to play that video at Blizzcon given the mixed audience of the crowd, although the worst thing is the person behind their keyboard picking it apart and getting aggravated over it.
So yea, I'm saying Blizzard's bias really depends on the content at the time. I hear the Horde have been undeveloped at points in the game. And no doubt they will be again. The real problem here is when it's not equal and people call them on it. It's hard to remember the good times when it's been raining for months.
jealouspirate Oct 26th 2011 8:27AM
Yeah, I have no idea what they were going for with that video.
There you go, Alliance players. Go to BlizzCon and get told to "F***ing die you emo c***suckers", not by stupid Horde players, but by the band Blizzard puts up there as entertainment.
Zaet Oct 26th 2011 8:47AM
What video?
Nina Katarina Oct 26th 2011 9:10AM
I was far more disturbed by the virulently homophobic nature of the video, and the fact that very few people seem to be picking up on that, focusing on the petty 'red vs. blue' aspect.
jtrack3d Oct 26th 2011 9:35AM
Very carefully, Corpseeater has a sticky apology now in General Forums claiming it was all meant in "fun".
While I accept that there isn't much more they can do to apologize at least this was a step in the right direction. Any farther step would likely have lead to liability (legally).
I do think they make the Horde into the "bad (cool) side" and the Alliance is more "established" ... They need to add some really cool kick-butt responses from the Alliance soon.
The horde is cool enough.
Deathknighty Oct 26th 2011 10:07AM
As an exclusively Alliance player, I thought the Corpsegrinder video was funny. He's taking the piss, he even says it's just a game towards the end.
loop_not_defined Oct 26th 2011 10:40AM
I think the point of the video was to:
A) Show that George Fisher is actually a pretty huge WoW player, something players constantly criticize other BlizzCon guests as simply feigning.
B) Get a chuckle from a video where, literally, half of what he says is "BEEP".
Also, George Fisher isn't a member of L90ETC, or a Blizzard employee. He was just a guest, and the video was part of an unrelated interview from 4 years ago. Additionally, the clip they aired at BlizzCon only had the words "emo" and "die" uncensored - and even uncensored, the word "homo" was used once (other parts of the interview, which weren't shown, had more homophobic comments, mostly directed at Blood Elves).
I don't think an apology was unwarranted from Blizzard, but I do think people are blowing this a little out of proportion.
loop_not_defined Oct 26th 2011 10:44AM
Gah, I think the uncensored part is a little confusing.
Out of what WASN'T censored, only "emo" and "die" were heard. And no, you couldn't tell what the other words were from watching it. So nobody knew there was a homophobic comment in the clip until the next day, pretty much.
Out of what WAS censored, only "homo" was used, and just once.
Puntable Oct 26th 2011 10:55AM
It seems to be a recent trend, in this age of Facebook and Twitter, that anything said in jest is taken seriously. Comedy has no obligation to be politically correct ot unoffensive. I think it is sad that everyone is always ridiculed for every little thing they say. Soon nobody will say anything for fear of offending someone.
jordan Oct 26th 2011 11:21AM
You know what they say about people who make fun of homosexuals? I think Corpsegrinder finally needs to come out of the closet.
SR Oct 26th 2011 11:32AM
The difference in comedy and open hostility is that you don't see Carlos Mencia going up on stage, calling Americans the same thing as he did, and try to blow it off as a joke.
Ok, I lied. It's not open hostility. Just pure idiocy.
Blayze Oct 26th 2011 1:22PM
Ah yes, the "apology." More like "we're sorry you people can't take a joke." That video being there at *all* was inexcusable.
Xantenise Oct 26th 2011 8:11AM
I think it's fact, but I also think the label will be hard to shake off. I mean, it's already been taken badly when Metzen wore an Alliance shirt, for crying out loud -- he was obviously trying to cover up his bias! [/sarcasm]
SR Oct 26th 2011 8:23AM
Don't forget what L90ETC showed on the stage, with Cannibal Corpse's lead singer...
A person with half a brain would know not to put shit like that on something so public. But if that's not enough to show disregard for Alliance (and even OFFICIAL disdain), I don't know what is.
Cephas Oct 26th 2011 8:36AM
OFFICIAL disdain? If that's truly what you felt it was, L90ETC would like to apologize. http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/3424906852