Alliance and Horde Peace?

[Karthorn]

I could build a barn if you want?

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[Jaxi]

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Come on, it was a little funny.

[Karthorn]

Come on, it was a little funny.

I know, I laughed, but that's the best thing I could come up with :P

[Nathanyel]

Warcraft 3 had plenty of Horde vs. Alliance battles.

Yes, but not full-out war. It was about the scale of, say, the battlegrounds, isolated battles about this or that: Thrall's Horde escaping imprisonment and stealing ships to get to Kalimdor, Grom's fel relapse (the Night Elves weren't members of the Alliance yet, but I'd say this was one of the major reasons for them joining) and of course the Theramore-Orgrimmar war (which was technically a pact of the Horde and (then-kinda-rogue) Alliance members against other Alliance members who clung to the old hatreds, so it's difficult to categorize)

It has been repeatedly stated that the Horde and Alliance conflict is embedded in the core of this game

I don't expect that hostility to ever fade during the lifetime of WoW, or in general in the next handful of generations on Azeroth, but Vanilla and BC established this so much more interesting Cold War, where Horde and Alliance as a whole don't like each other one bit, but agree/are forced to cease immediate skirmishes because of a larger threat at hand.

I often say "Cold War" in this thread, and yes, I very much see analogies between Azeroth and Earth '45-'90: Two large wars ravaged and changed the world, there's two massive "nations" that grew immensely in power and influence over the last years, to the point that an actual full-out war (not just localized skirmishes) between those would devastate the whole world. Thrall's Horde often reminds me of post-WWII Germany in that it has a dark past, with some trying to come to terms with it, while others ignore or romanticize it, and after those two wars (which it caused) left it in ruins, it experiences an economical and technologcial "boom", or resurge - of course the Horde has a far larger impact on Azeroth, it controls effectively half of its known territory. Stormwind obviously is the USA, a major player and aware of that, technically they're "the good guys", but in truth, they're pretty shades-of-grey as well. In WoW of course both factions are overall pretty equal, neither is "good" or "bad" - a stark contrast to WC1&2, where the Old Horde definitely was the bad side. Though WC2 already had some Horde anti-heroes.

And next up, we have Pandaria, inspired heavily by Southeast/Far East Asia, where both Horde and Alliance technically invade to secure new territory and resources, starting/fueling proxy wars (Jinyu/Hozen) and having their own localized skirmishes again, which, as previews suggest, will have a heavy impact on Pandaria during the course of the content patches - without necessarily spilling back to "the Old World".

What I'm trying to say is: There's no need for a senseless "full-out war" when you can have a much more captivating story with more than just two opposing sides. There's infighting, there are more-or-less neutral enemies (Virmen, Yaungol, and maybe Mogu and Zandalari, though those seem to be somewhat "evil" and maybe related to the Sha/Old Gods) and of course the "True Evils" Old Gods and Burning Legion.

---------- Post added 2012-05-25 at 01:02 PM ----------

"I believe we are headed towards a reckoning. And no, I am not talking about the current conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. Believe me, what Garrosh Hellscream achieved in Theramore is nothing compared to the horrors that are even now bearing down on our fragile home. But, the war deeply troubles me, do you see my concern? A divided Azeroth cannot possibly stand against the darkness. This war has to end, soon, before it consumes our strength."

- Wrathion.......

[Deleted]

I loved that Nathanyel

[AdriWar]

There's deep hatred for both sides and the list is endless for reasons why, and if there was peace it wouldn't be World of Warcraft anymore :/

[Thage]

I'm still trying to figure out where the Alliance and Horde are going to have the warm bodies to carry on a full-scale war in Pandaria. We're repeatedly told that both factions' economies are rapidly failing, resources are at a premium, and Deathwing's breaking of the world caused a massive loss of life. If anything, I would think a faction coalition in the name of basic survival would be a logical next step after further losses incurred from the four-way fight they had between each other, the Twilight's Hammer, and the Black Dragonflight.

After MoP, I seriously think the faction war needs to end. Blizzard can't expect suspension of disbelief to hold up if there's another plot arc with the factions going at it, because not even the orcs and humans are that populous (and some races, like the gnomes, dwarves, trolls, and blood elves, don't have that many warm bodies to lose in the first place), and unless they want to basically admit they're telling the story to go hang to continue shilling a faction war that should've ended after Hyjal, the alternatives are to end the war or have the next expansion's villains effortlessly wipe out the beleagured, undermanned, underpaid, underfed armies and put the players in a worst-case scenario where it's just Azeroth's last battered defenders against whatever threat whose job we've been doing since Wrath.

[delus]

World of Peacecraft would have to be a different IP entirely, so I would say no.

I prefer world of Lovecraft to world of peacecraft.

---------- Post added 2013-04-22 at 07:10 PM ----------

Btw, was it ever explained why the Alliance captured Thrall and were bent on leaving no witnesses? Were they Twilight's Hammer or otherwise rogue members acting on their own? Or were they on official business?

They were duped by TH into doing it. A certain prophet and his underlings were responsible.

[Dreknar20]

"wars will exist as long as there are people to wage them"

Thousands of people died in the war, Theramore, Dalaran, do you think people will easily forgive and forget such things?

[Windfury]

I prefer world of Lovecraft to world of peacecraft

Looking at C'thun, Yogg and all the other Old Gods and related plots we already have World of Lovecraft to some extent.

[Florena]

I prefer world of Lovecraft to world of peacecraft.

---------- Post added 2013-04-22 at 07:10 PM ----------



They were duped by TH into doing it. A certain prophet and his underlings were responsible.

There any evidence for that? I've only heard blind speculation.

[Dreknar20]

There any evidence for that? I've only heard blind speculation.

Yeah I never heard of that

To me is what just a case of a buncha Alliance seeing Horde, on a Horde ship, with the added bonus of containing the former Warchief, a prize kinda hard to let slip by.
Its not like every person knows of Thralls motivations and plans. A lot of Alliance during the Shattering viewed Thrall as a brute.

[Talen]

They were duped by TH into doing it. A certain prophet and his underlings were responsible.

That's quite a necro....not the worst I've seen though.

As to the question...we don't know. It's never revealed. Nor was Garroshes reaction to seeing the medal.

To me is what just a case of a buncha Alliance seeing Horde, on a Horde ship, with the added bonus of containing the former Warchief, a prize kinda hard to let slip by.
Its not like every person knows of Thralls motivations and plans. A lot of Alliance during the Shattering viewed Thrall as a brute.

Its fairly obvious they knew who was on the ship, and they knew the route and schedule. Duped (somehow) by Benedictus is a reasonable assumption. But its still an assumption.

A random encounter wouldn't have a "No witnesses" order. Then again, that order doesn't have any obvious benefit either as it implies the Alliance didn't want anyone to know. As it appears Thrall was headed to the Maelstrom....Benedictus or the TH Cult appears to be the most likely source of the orders.

What this has to do with Garrosh and the Medallion you return is unknown. Both are plot threds that haven't been explained.

EJL