World of Warcraftwas built on the Horde and Alliance conflict, and it has defined its content for the last 18 years. Players could only play with members of their faction, the PvP pitted the factions against each other, both factions could not talk to each other, and the faction conflict played a major part inWorld of Warcraft’s narrative. However, Blizzard seems to be changing that with the highly-anticipated addition of cross-faction guilds in patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion.
Blizzard has slowly been lifting the barriers between factions to give players more freedom in how they playWorld of Warcraft. It started with the mercenary mechanic in PvP and is now expanding tocross-faction guilds in patch 10.1. While Blizzard has not revealed the specifics of the feature, it is a huge game changer. Yet, some players are worried that this feature will impact the game’s future faction conflict, but there is no reason that it should.
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Cross-Faction Guilds Explained
World of Warcrafthas had a faction imbalance problem for years now, and it only seems to be getting worse. There are far more Horde players than Alliance ones, and this has affected the overall gameplay experience. As more players join the Horde, Alliance players have felt abandoned. There are fewer strong guilds, raiders, PvP players, and players leveling up. The lack of Alliance players doing endgame content has hurt players' enjoyment and has pushed even more to the Horde, and that’s where thecross-faction gameplay inWorld of Warcraftcould help.
Blizzard seems to want to fix this issue by lifting the barriers between factions. The developers introduced the mercenaries mechanic to help alleviate the faction imbalance in PvP, and patch 9.2.5 saw the introduction of cross-faction groups forWorld of Warcraft’s raids and dungeons. This has helped Alliance players feel less alone, and gave some players a reason to switch back. It has helped make the faction imbalance less impactful, and that is great for the community.
Blizzard is planning to lift the barriers even more with the introduction ofcross-faction guilds inWorld of Warcraft’s patch 10.1. This will let players of opposite factions work together in a guild, and reap all the benefits of the system. While the studio has not shared exactly what this will look like, it seems like it will be a fantastic change. After this addition, the faction imbalance may no longer matter, and the game will feel alive for many players again.
Cross-Faction Content Does Not Mean the Faction War Has to End
With the addition of cross-faction content, some players are worried that this will mean the end of theHorde-Alliance conflict inWorld of Warcraft. The faction conflict has been the core of theWarcraftstory ever sinceWarcraft: Orcs & Humansand has played a major part throughout all ofWorld of Warcraft. While it may take a backseat during some expansions, resentment and hostilities are still present within the narrative. Removing that conflict may do a disservice to the larger story, but there is no reason why that conflict would have to be removed.
Blizzard may be lifting the barriers between factions for players, but that does not mean that the factions will suddenly love each other. These barriers are being lifted to make the gameplay experience better and help fix thefaction imbalance that has plaguedWorld of Warcraft. It should make it more fun to play, but the faction conflict will likely play a part in the narrative for years to come. Not every piece of gameplay needs to be added to service the narrative, sometimes the studio can just add new mechanics that make the experience better for its community.
The faction conflict is currently taking a backseat to thePrimalists' conflict ofWorld of Warcraft: Dragonflight, and that makes it a great time to start lifting the barriers. However, this conflict will not be gone forever as there are centuries worth of resentment between the faction leaders. That resentment will not suddenly be fixed just because players of opposing factions can finally play together, and the conflict will surely rear its head again.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC.
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