Originally Posted by
composemail
This is a good point, and why I think Draenei should've been just been broken (as seen in WCIII) and not angelic space goats. Worgen were also kind of random, didn't ened to be a player race, they were fine as NPCs. Horde is good in this regard.
The problem is that the Horde is more 'open' to a greater variety of physiologgically and morally diverse groups. So, Naga, for example are a race lots of people would like to see, but would fit better in the Horde. Same goes for Ogres. It's not because the Alliance is innately racist or human-looking supremacist; but because the Alliance is the faction of established Azerothian powers. Adding new members dilutes and confuses what they are. The Alliance of Azeroth is like 'the Allied forces' of Europe in WWI and WWII- a coalition of top-dogs, established prosperous nations with long standing colonial holdings. They were 'the establishment'- whereas the Horde is a lot like the Axis forces- a coalition of new players, unstable and authoritarian regimes who were too late to the party to gwt their own colonial empires, and want a bigger slice of the pie. Old guard, and new guard.
It's based on this reasoning that I think that it'd be better if the two factions weren't so perfectly mirrored. Give Alliance model upgrades of their core races and quit adding random shit to their ranks. Let them be the proud and shining defenders of the realm from the monstrous savaers and invaders. Let the Horde be a disparate mix of questionable factions with the common problem of needing to fight for a place in a world that doesn't want them. I was ok with the Alliance exclusively having paladins, and the Horde having Shamans. I'm ok with the Alliance having geopolitical dominance over the 'good bits' of Azeroth, and the Horde being a warlike force that is pushed to desperate measures by having to scratch a living out of barren and inhospitable outer regions. Nelves should thoroughly control Northern and western Kalimdor. Winterspring, Azshara, Ashenvale, Hyjal, Moonglade, Darkshore, Stonemaul, and Feralas should all have major Nelf cities in them. Horde should feel the pressure bearing down on them, and be more established in places like Desolace, Tanaris, Sillithis, and Uldum.
When I play Horde, I don't want to feel like an equivalent faction balanced against the Alliance with positive and negatives in similar proportion. I want to feel like an abused and violent dog backed into a corner. I want most of the world to be a hostile zone for me, to rampage across these sectioned estates, then rest in the remote and inhospitable reachers where the iron fist of the alliance can't relatiliate.
WCII used to have the factions as perfectly mirrored and balanced; and in terms of gameplay it was dull. Advancing to the 3 armies different but balanced model of WCIII and Starcraft was way better. They should think about it for WoW 2 (because too much is invested into the current framing of WoW to change, I think).