Elixir of Tongues: Final Nail in the Coffin of Split Community?

[Nomads]

I feel the Elixir of Tongues is setting a precedent. If they are putting this in the game, it seems Blizzard is finally admitting the language barrier between factions, is not needed. And by extension, the faction split itself is not needed.

I for one am happy if this is indeed the direction they are going. I think the faction war is extremely stale. Going from all races being accepted into our Order Halls to a faction war where you are fighting against some of those same companions is ridiculous. Legion had basically zero faction specific content outside of a few quest hubs in Stormheim and felt like the story-telling was much more on-point.

Players should be able to go to the next step and group with players from the opposing faction to complete PvE content. Battlegrounds and arenas should allow you to make a team of both Horde and Alliance characters, and fight teams of the same. This divide of the player-base which invariably gets lopsided needs to end.

The Alliance and Horde should basically be a PvE/flavor/cosmetic choice... like the Aldor and Scryers were in BC. You could align with whichever one you chose. Could not enter the opposing side's base. Earned different looking but, equal armor and weapons. But both Aldor and Scryer players could always group together for dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds...

What do you think?

[Drpizka]

Thank god classic is coming.

Retail is pretty much dead for me, the game has moved so far away from its roots

[AlmightyGerkin]

No I think combining Horde and Alliance in your way just gouges the identity of WoW. Just keep each to their own faction.

[Nathasil]

I think it's funny that every major and minor lore character - even a fucking low-level-questgiver - can EASILY speak every language on Azeroth, Draenor and Argus. But we, the champions of this Universe, who actually travelled all these places and met all these cultures are stuck with 1/2 languages for all eternity.

I do not agree that the language barrier equals the faction barrier. But i cannot see anybody defending the language barrier/our inability to learn the other languages.

I think throwing the faction barrier + language barrier together is a bit far fetched, though i agree with your view of it, it has far outlived it's pupose. Every conflict based on the faction barrier is by defiition a racial conflict. There can never be a conflict about an actual different opinion on something, it HAS to be racial. Which makes the story shit, unbelievable and from my PoV just extremely juvenile. Not everybody wants to play a racist asshole, just to immerse in a faction war story. I think cinflicts should be about an actual course....the current war is obvioulsy a war between life and undeath. But as it is mixed up with the faction barrier, you have no choice. If you are a Tauren Druid, Undeath it is for you. That's the nature of the faction barrier.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Kidding me? This sounds like Blizz trying to artificially keep the divide going despite literally everyone who actually plays wanting it gone.

They could have just been like "yeah you're right, we're going to add a learnable language that lets you do this whenever you want." Instead it's a potion that both sides need to use. It's a 200% opt in feature that could have been just a 100% baseline feature.

[Deleted]

I think it's funny that every major and minor lore character - even a fucking low-level-questgiver - can EASILY speak every language on Azeroth, Draenor and Argus. But we, the champions of this Universe, who actually travelled all these places and met all these cultures are stuck with 1/2 languages for all eternity.

I do not agree that the language barrier equals the faction barrier. But i cannot see anybody defending the language barrier/our inability to learn the other languages.

I think throwing ht efaction barrier into the language barrier is a bit far fetched, though i agree with your view of it.

I think it is Just canon due to gameplay mechanics. Talking to the oposing faction in pvp could have been problematic. Thats the only think I could think off...

[Nomads]

Kidding me? This sounds like Blizz trying to artificially keep the divide going despite literally everyone who actually plays wanting it gone.

They could have just been like "yeah you're right, we're going to add a learnable language that lets you do this whenever you want." Instead it's a potion that both sides need to use. It's a 200% opt in feature that could have been just a 100% baseline feature.

Actually this is a good point that I didn't consider... I didn't realize both sides need to use the elixir for it to work...

But still, as far as I know, it's the first Blizzard condoned cross-faction communication.

[Noctiphobia]

Talking to the oposing faction in pvp could have been problematic.

It's not like you never get angry whispers from your own faction (or even people relogging to other characters) after playing arenas, though.

[Nomads]

It's not like you never get angry whispers from your own faction (or even people relogging to other characters) after playing arenas, though.

And Pandas talking together... and Demon Hunters... And now Void Elves...

[EnclosedOne]

blizz got soooooooooo butt hurt in the beginning when people of different factions figured out a way to communicate so they removed the ability to do so and now they add in a potion that will allow the different factions to talk to each other despite them being at each others throats again? it makes no fucking sense. I doubt anyone would have batted an eye at something like this during any one of the number of xpacs where both factions were working together....

has everyone's brains at blizzard melted or something?

[Deleted]

Thank god classic is coming.

Retail is pretty much dead for me, the game has moved so far away from its roots

This, retail is for participation trophy casuals

[Mormolyce]

Lore-wise, the way languages work in the game has never made a lick of sense.

Thank god classic is coming.

Retail is pretty much dead for me, the game has moved so far away from its roots

You're quitting over the elixir of tongues?

I'm going to add this to my list of "silliest last straws".

- - - Updated - - -

blizz got soooooooooo butt hurt in the beginning when people of different factions figured out a way to communicate so they removed the ability to do so and now they add in a potion that will allow the different factions to talk to each other despite them being at each others throats again? it makes no fucking sense. I doubt anyone would have batted an eye at something like this during any one of the number of xpacs where both factions were working together....

has everyone's brains at blizzard melted or something?

Shrug. Players breaking an intended game design choice obviously requires a fix. Them changing a design choice doesn't.

[Lochton]

I feel the Elixir of Tongues is setting a precedent. If they are putting this in the game, it seems Blizzard is finally admitting the language barrier between factions, is not needed. And by extension, the faction split itself is not needed.

I for one am happy if this is indeed the direction they are going. I think the faction war is extremely stale. Going from all races being accepted into our Order Halls to a faction war where you are fighting against some of those same companions is ridiculous. Legion had basically zero faction specific content outside of a few quest hubs in Stormheim and felt like the story-telling was much more on-point.

Players should be able to go to the next step and group with players from the opposing faction to complete PvE content. Battlegrounds and arenas should allow you to make a team of both Horde and Alliance characters, and fight teams of the same. This divide of the player-base which invariably gets lopsided needs to end.

The Alliance and Horde should basically be a PvE/flavor/cosmetic choice... like the Aldor and Scryers were in BC. You could align with whichever one you chose. Could not enter the opposing side's base. Earned different looking but, equal armor and weapons. But both Aldor and Scryer players could always group together for dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds...

What do you think?

Naw, I believe the potion is there to fulfill a need. A need that not everyone has.

[Phuongvi]

Is it going to allow you to communicate in Genreal , Trade chat or LFG LFR ?
No I guess. Big fucking deal ...

[Prime92]

Once again...something that used to be a joke among older devs has become truth in 2018 WoW. It's sad.

[Irian]

Fuck the faction war, and fuck this god awful story that they've dragged on for decades now that was resolved in Warcraft 3. If the faction divide mechanically and lorewise is loosened after BfA, all I have to say is good riddance.

It's baffling to me how many people are actually upset about this. What does segmenting the game still do? Look at the mythic raid rankings, or the servers being heavily slanted one way or another and tell me with a straight face that anything in WoW benefits from this hard faction line that forbids all engagement. It's stupid. It was stupid in the past but at least back then it was backed up by game mechanics that made your experience drastically different or more interesting but nowadays even that's not the case.

I've had so many friends drift away ingame because I was playing Horde and they wanted to stay Alliance, or vice versa since I moved my main to Alliance. I'd be glad to get rid of the divide altogether and just let players group with opposing faction after this fiasco of a "faction war" story is dead and gone. It's like the most brutalized, bloodied, bruised horse corpse in video game history, christ it may as well be a skeleton by now. Even the game's narrative takes every available turn to tell us how bad of an idea the faction war is.

I don't want the Alliance and Horde to no longer exist, but what I'd rather just have is the ability to party and join guilds affiliated with the opposing faction, with an opt-in mercenary mode for when War Mode is off. If someone wants the faction divide, it can still exist in War Mode which seems specifically designed for faction-based world PvP.

[Drpizka]

You're quitting over the elixir of tongues?

I'm going to add this to my list of "silliest last straws".

Who said that I will quit? I will just stick to the classic!

[Maell]

If all factions are all merry it stops being Warcraft.

[Felixon]

Lorewise,it doesn't make sense,that many races don't understand each other. Heck,it would make sense,that the blood elves and the undead would understand and even would be able to speak common. Even the orcs,which were imprisoned in camps should understand at least basic common. Same applies for the humans,gnomes and dwarves,who should understand basic orcish, probably a bit thalassian. The night elves should understand the nightborne - not sure about thalassian.

Besides,what does it change? You will understand the insults toward you from the enemy player? And what about that?

[Scottyjscizzle]

Fucking good, factions are stupid and only serve to split the population. Would be nice if they could deiwgn without worrying about one side getting butthurt because they see it as "favoritism"