Pacts or Races for SL 2.0?

[Peacemoon]

Yeh, the horde and alliance use to have separate themes - distinctive, but they chaged that to make the horde more popular. As many of thier player base didn't identfy with the sort of cultural norm that was typical of horde races, they had to bring races that the player base could relate to and love - what would be more popular than a model beauty like race that epitomise their playerbases ideal type ? high flyign, advanced city culture, state of the art and beautiful - well in fantasy the elves occupy those places, and as high elves weren't playable yet, well it wasn't too alte to swing them over.

So you get what use to be exclusively an alliance trope, now also on the horde, and the distinction was broken. It was partially broken when the forsaken joined, but the blood elves erased it completely.

But shipped sailed long ago.

Yes absolutely. When me and my brother started playing WoW, we hated that the forsaken were even part of the horde (remember they start neutral not friendly, to symbolise the distinction).
Also hated that the night elves were not treated the same way for the Alliance. Night elves basically became the new high elves with WoW, whereas in WC3 they were against the humans as much as the horde. (Basically, any outsiders!).

[Mace]

Yes absolutely. When me and my brother started playing WoW, we hated that the forsaken were even part of the horde (remember they start neutral not friendly, to symbolise the distinction).
Also hated that the night elves were not treated the same way for the Alliance. Night elves basically became the new high elves with WoW, whereas in WC3 they were against the humans as much as the horde. (Basically, any outsiders!).

Yep, it totally did. PEople sometimes think night elves fit the horde more - citing they are savage.. but they don't, nor do they fit the alliance.

I mean, they put them in alliance because they are tall beautiful humans - albeit with exotic purple skin.

However, the type of nature love the night elves have was completely foreign to horde races like orcs/trolls/tauren who had shamanism - a respect for nature, a kin to tribal societies, not this intellectual, green peace/tree lover/ harvest witch type nature love which is distinctly european , especially celtic based. The Tauren adaptation of druidism that makes them feel similar to night elves only come sin wow, and only comes because they wanted all classes to be on both factions, and Chris Metzen did not want Druids or palas on the horde, and din't want shaman and warlocks on the alliance. He didn't want female night elves to be able to be druids, nor male night elf priests.

Furthermore, that wasn't all to the night elves, they were a highly advanced and civilized people, from an advanced civilization, living in rural settings, not because they are savage, but because of their circumstance. The authors of arcane magic, the first civilization - these would put them closer to the alliance but they were still nothing like them.

That nature love, that star/moon arcane magic, and Well of eternity + demon hunter fel type usage simply put -t ehy were their own entire faction. . They created a faction for elves through the night elves.


So it was surprising to see them just join the alliance.


Exactly the same with the undead, they are so different, they only thing they have in common with the horde is that you could classify them as 90s/00s idea of monsters. That's it.. The horrifying process of undeath is nothing like what any race had experinced.. not the night elven near genocide of the 1st invasion of the legion+sundering, not the Orc enslavement after losing WC2 nor their fel corruption - it was terrifying , horrifying and unique. The whole premise of death, the death cults, the raising of the dead, struggle for free will from magical powers.

The whole feel and look is different, this is a zombie world with an element of the supernatural, you also expect vampires and stuff to show up at some point in addition to your ghouls, banshees, skeletons and walking dead. THat is not the hhorde, fits more with the alliance, but it's not the alliance iether, it's a whole new faction too.