Originally Posted by
Saberstrike
Disclaimer: I'm an Alliance player, so I am biased.
BfA cinematic really got me wondering -- what -does- horde have that could even remotely compare to the combined power of the alliance? Plot armor not withstanding, I honestly just don't see why Horde as a faction is even a thing in post-BfA world. Let's break it down:
Alliance:
Humans. Weaker person per person when compared to members of the horde, but much more numerous, disciplined and better equipped. Humans in WoW universe aren't much to look at, but like in many fantasy universes their power largely comes form diplomacy and ability to assemble a fighting force of other races superior to the sum of its parts.
Dwarves. I feel like ever since Warcraft 3 Blizz was going out of their way to diminish the importance and power of steam tanks. They weren't even a part of any major conflict, purely for reasons of a giant metal thing with a cannon DWARFING -ANYTHING- horde can throw back at it. This alone would make alliance vs horde conflict quite trivial. But guess what? I'm not even half-way done. Dwarves also happen to be tough bastards that carry axe-rifles, and come BfA will also hold the most important chokepoint in the Eastern Kingdoms (Blackrock Mountain). They make best equipment in the warcraft world. And frankly, dwarves alone should be able to if not completely send the greens running, but win any defensive attrition war against any attempts to attack them in the mountains.
Gnomes.... Okay, as cool as their tech is, goblins just win this one. I'll concede that.
Night Elves. Lacking in numbers and evidently losing much of their territory, a night elf archer would still realistically be a much bigger presence on any battlefield than the game leads on. The way Saurfang just shrugs off arrows in the cinematic is a prime example of Blizz giving orcs plot armor. Those three arrows should've left him bleeding out and dying, but I guess with the healing the way it is in WoW real life physics of fractured bones & muscles don't really apply. Still; Night elves are quite big, nimble and vicious, and should be quite challenging to take down, even if they have largely lost creatures like stone giants helping them wipe the floor with orcs in warcraft 3.
Draenei. Again, big and experienced due to age; There isn't much in ways of old tbc draenei lore to really quantify their power, but the lightforged literally have SPACE SHIPS AND LASER BEAMS. Again; Much like dwarves, how does this even compete vs literal spear-chuckers?
Horde:
Orcs, trolls and tauren all largely fall into one category -- superior 1v1 to a human, but woefully under-equipped and unable to tactically take larger-scale engagements. There's no tactics to speak of, no discipline, just primal rage and blunt but effective shamanism. Well guess what -- being angry at a dwarven tank ain't going to do sh*t as it rolls you over and turns you into a horde-flavoured pancake. And unlike the alliance united under the humans, horde is a much more loose conglomerate largely weary of working together. They stand ideologically divided, with the races not in any way complementing each other on the battlefield.
Undead. Now this is probably the most powerful race the reds have due to one single trump card -- the plague. Realistically, with the Valkyr gone and the forsaken taking MASSIVE losses in those Legion warden tower quests there shouldn't be more than a few thousand of them left; But even that aside, a forsaken combatant is largely weaker than even their human counterpart. They may not 'die' as it were when they get their head cut off but it is mighty difficult to battle without arms. Their gear is busted and rotten. And there's a reason a stereotypical undead is a rogue -- their best way of attack comes from subtlety, not full frontal engagements.
Goblins. Again -- as combatants they're worthless, but their exploding machinery can prove quite deadly. But there has been no evidence of horde-aligned goblins building anywhere near as efficient and numerous mechanized military as their alliance counterparts, especially after most of it was dismantled during Siege of Orgrimmar.
Blood Elves -- Lore-wise they are very few, but even if we assume player-centered 60+% of the horde numbers, that still doesn't explain how a bunch of wannabe-paladins, decent rangers & decent mages can do much more than stall their alliance foes, should they choose to go fully offensive. Also; Any advantage blood elves have is largely trumped by the presence of void elves. A mana bomb would do some damage, but I doubt that after theramore the alliance would just let that happen again. And frankly I still consider mana bomb in theramore to just be bad writing.
So... yeah. Can some more horde-aligned players give me a different perspective on the matter? Cause it looks to me that red VS blue is swiftly devolving to a mix of 16th - 30th century warfare -somehow- struggling to defeat bronze age barbarians and their slightly less backwards friends. It's getting a bit ridiculous.