alt="Orc and Human" />

Have you ever wanted to play a Horde
Night Elf or an Alliance Goblin? Then you would be one of the many
World of Warcraft players who are tired of being stuck in a certain
faction just because of the race they want to play. Even worse, the
Horde are always the bad guys and the Alliance are always the good
guys, no exceptions. In World of Warcraft we are always stuck walking
this line.

Many MMOs have a similar setup and, for
the most part, it works. However, as pointed out recently
by fellow
Ten Ton Hammer writer, Gunky, this status quo is really the easy (and
less fun) way
out.
Not to mention, less interesting and engaging. With Warlords of
Draenor on the horizon and a new dawn of changes that seem to allow
players to freely choose what race they play and what profession they
choose, without negative consequences, it may be time for the same to
be said of faction.

The Gray Area

As mentioned above, when it comes to
factions in World of Warcraft, there is very little gray area. The
race you choose locks you firmly into the faction that race belongs
to, no exceptions. However, this is not very true to life and can
lead to a feeling of monotony.

In the real world, people are rarely
totally good or evil. Instead, they fall somewhere in between. This
does not happen in the game world. Instead, we are forced to assume
that every Draenei is good and adheres to the principles of the
Alliance and that every Orc will likely rip your throat out at the
smallest provocation. This is both unfair and rather boring,
especially with a long lasting game like World of Warcraft.

Keeping Things Interesting

Boring is not a word Blizzard wants to
be associated with their game. While subscription numbers are still
around 7.6 million, they have fallen. While we may never see the
numbers of the glory days of WoW, making things a bit more
interesting could stop the outbound flow.

Allowing players to choose which
faction they wish to belong to, regardless of race, could be the
perfect solution to sparking interest in the game. At this moment, if
you see a certain race, you instantly know if they are a friend or an
enemy. If you pick a certain race, you are assigned a faction and
you are stuck with it for that character's entire career. Imagine if
things weren't so black and white and how much more interesting the
world would be.

alt="Horde and Alliance" />

Blurring the Faction Lines

If Blizzard were to blur the lines
between factions, a whole new world would open to us. We could choose
which faction we wanted to belong to, regardless of race. Letting the
lines blur may also mean that players would be able to change from
one faction to another, without paying a hefty fee like race or server
changes. Instead, we could earn reputation with another
faction by completing quests, deeds, or other means.

Why shouldn't players be allowed to
choose a Human who feels an affinity for the ideals of the Horde or a
Goblin who would rather make a profit under the banner of the
Alliance? With Warlords of Draenor boasting new opportunities for
players to play the game the way they want, it seems that this is the
next logical step in the process. A revolutionary move in the world
of MMOs, this move could easily draw player interest back to World of
Warcraft.

Implementing the Plan

This all looks great on paper, however,
putting it into the game would certainly be a much harder process. I
won't deny that. However, considering that Paladins (once Alliance
only) were introduced to the Horde when they were once only available
to Alliance, I have high hopes that it could be done. In fact,
despite any set backs, I really feel like this is something that
should be heavily considered to be put into the game in the near
future.

Adding the ability of players to change
between Horde and Alliance, regardless of race, would not only add an
interesting new dynamic to a once black and white area of the game,
but would also bust open a whole new world for roleplayers. Not to
mention the new game play content that would come along if faction
switching was also allowed. In this authors opinion, faction swapping
could be a key factor in revitalizing the game.

Do you think you should be able to
choose whichever faction you want, regardless of race? Would you do
quests, earn reputation, or do other in game tasks to swap factions?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.

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