Warlords of Draenor Preview - Faction Change/Betrayal Quest

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Warlords of Draenor Preview - Faction Change/Betrayal Quest
It looks like we're still getting information from the European press tour of Warlords of Draenor from February and the NDA has been lifted on one of the major features of Warlords of Draenor.

Judgehype, Mamytwink, and Millenium all posted about one of the biggest features we were able to test was the faction betrayal questline, which allows you to change factions without changing your race.

Important points:

• The Alliance and Horde have been arresting the neutral Goblins and seizing their assets to fund the upcoming Draenor war effort, killing them when they resist. Each faction feels that this is justified, as the Goblins have been profiting off of the war between the Horde and Alliance for a long time.
• You begin the quest by looting a Spy Report and taking it to Gazlowe, who is in need of assistance. He will consider your offer to help him until Warlords of Draenor has been released and the next phase of the questline is activated.
• Upon accepting your help, Gazlowe and the Steamwheedle Cartel will require your protection at various points around the world, with their trade caravans, and eventually in Booty Bay.
  
  • Some of these events have a weekly participation cap, which will limit how fast you can complete this part of the quest line.
• Baron Revilgaz will send you on a mission to protect Booty Bay. Something goes wrong and it ends with your capture and imprisonment in Tol Barad.
  
  • Upon reaching this phase of the quest, you are flagged as a traitor to your faction and you become a PvP target for both the Horde and the Alliance.
• You escape from Tol Barad and meet up with the Steamwheedle Cartel again in a solo scenario.
• You are then given the task of assassinating your faction's leader in another solo scenario, which was unavailable during testing. The faction leaders are traveling in a caravan to the Dark Portal. You are joined by members of the other faction, who see your heroic deeds and invite you to join them.
• Upon joining the other faction you are still not trusted, and must unlock cities other than Stormwind / Orgrimmar by earning reputation with the various Alliance / Horde factions. Reputation is earned through defeating players of the other faction in PvP and doing quests that involve PvE.

Rewards

• Your character changes factions, your race remains the same.
• You are awarded a new character title:
• You also get a new pet:

A couple sidenotes

• You can keep and continue to use your faction specific mounts.
• You can keep anything in your inventory or void storage, but your old faction will seize any assets left behind in your bank.
• This is a one way change, you won't be able to change back after you do the quest.

The Reason for Betrayal
In the wake of Garrosh's escape to Draenor, heroes of each faction have discovered that their own faction has started hunting down and arresting or killing Goblins and using their gold to fund the Draenor war effort. Most Goblins have remained neutral throughout history, profiting off of the conflict between the Alliance and Horde, which is how each faction justifies such actions. These actions aren't okay with everyone though, and you will be given a choice to accept what is going on or help the Goblins and betray your faction.


Betraying your faction is not a choice to be made lightly, as it is irreversible outside of using the paid faction change character service. Once Patch 6.0.1 is live, you can begin the quest line by looting a Spy Report from rare spawn NPCs that run through the Barrens, Dustwallow Marsh, Tanaris, Stranglethorn Vale, Winterspring, and Netherstorm. These zones were selected to get players out in the world again, just like the Patch 5.3 events in the Barrens.

After getting a report and learning what is happening to the Goblins, you take it to Gazlowe, who is still enjoying his windfall profits from the friction between the Alliance and the Horde. He will be wary of accepting your help, taking his time to consider your offer. This means that while you can loot the report as part of the patch leading up to Warlords of Draenor release, you will be unable to continue the quest line until the expansion has been released.


Helping a Goblin in Need
Once the expansion has been released, you continue by going through a series of quests that require you to kill NPCs of your own faction that are attacking Goblins around the world. This will work similarly to the Patch 5.3 Barrens event, where a zone wide alert goes out when a group of attackers spawns, allowing you time to get to the location and save the Goblins.



Earning the Goblin's Trust
After demonstrating your loyalty to Gazlowe and the Steamwheedle Cartel, you will be tasked with protecting the Goblins on their trade routes by Baron Revilgaz. These quests are a mix of an escort quest and the Patch 5.3 Barrens caravans, as you will follow a group of Goblins and kill NPCs that spawn to attack them. These quests are gated by the limited number of trade runs you can complete each week, similar to the Mists of Pandaria legendary quest line requiring collection of items from raids.



Betrayal Discovered
After you have built up your reputation with Baron Revilgaz, he will give you a quest to assault the Horde or Alliance base of operations on the nearby Jaguero Isle before they can attack Booty Bay. Upon arriving on the isle and killing the leader of the camp, the recently freed Princess Poobah sees what you have done and panics. The Alliance / Horde (phasing will show you the right camp for your faction) on the isle then attack, driving you away from the isle. If you are able to escape without dying, you will earn a Feat of Strength achievement. They also send word of your actions to Orgrimmar / Stormwind, which results in a bounty being placed on your head.



Everyone's Enemy
From this point on the quest line, you will be vulnerable to attack from both factions and NPCs of your own faction. This means you will no longer be able to access your bank or safely idle in town. Unfortunately this also means you have to be caught to continue the quest. Approaching any major city and allowing the guards to attack you until your health drops low enough will trigger the capture. Once captured, you are taken to Tol Barad. A guard that remembers your assistance with clearing out the prison during Cataclysm takes pity on you, which begins a solo scenario, Escape from Tol Barad.


Upon escaping, you are met by members of the Steamwheedle Cartel, who have one final task for you. The Goblins have learned that your faction's leader will be part of a convoy traveling through the Blasted Lands to the Dark Portal. Your job will be to assassinate him while the convoy is traveling. This part of the quest line also uses a solo scenario that wasn't implemented yet. You will be joined by heroes from the other faction, who see your actions and offer you the chance to join their faction.



Betrayal Aftermath
However, the quest isn't over just yet! Once you have changed factions, you are still disliked by your new faction, with NPCs acting hostile towards you whenever they encounter you, similar to Death Knights at one point in their quest chain. Upon switching factions, you are limited to Stormwind and Orgrimmar only, with the guards of other cities removing you from the city if you try and enter. To prove yourself worthy to your new faction, you must earn reputation with each of the Alliance / Horde factions in order to unlock access to their NPCs and cities. Reputation is earned from defeating players of the other faction in PvP and doing quests that involve PvE.


Switching factions will also grant you a new title , as well as a tabard of your old faction, and a treasure goblin pet, similar to the Reaper of Souls preorder bonus. You will be allowed to keep and use the mounts from your old faction, which is a nice perk over the paid faction change service. Unfortunately anything in your bank will be lost after you betray your old faction, so anything you want to keep must be in your inventory or void storage.


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