Review: Was Allied Races the right approach? or would customisations have been fine?

[therealbowser]

In some cases, customizations would have done the trick. In other cases, allied races were fantastic and perfect.

All of the allied races (yes, including highmountain tauren and lightforged draenei) were unique enough to be ideal for an 'allied race' with new racials. That said, more customizations would be nice. An example of a race that would have been a poor choice for an allied race, but can exist perfectly with customizations, are wildhammer dwarves. (I'd mention high elves as a customization for blood elves, but I fear that might rile people up)

I hear people arguing that "mag'har should have been a customization", but there are problems with this. First of all, the lore and sheer amount of customization behind all of the options for mag'har more than justify its own race. Second of all, brown skin orcs cannot exist as warlocks. Period. For it to be a customization would mean that that is possible, and that can't be possible.

Mecha-gnome complaints I do understand, but it's mistaken. They alter the animations of gnomes slightly and wouldn't make sense as 'customizations'. You can argue that the race itself is flawed and that's your opinion to have if you want it, but that's a completely different topic. They wouldn't work as a customization in their current form.

No other race should be even up for debate, but people are going to use any excuse to argue against them if they hate allied races so there you go.

[ravenmoon]

Allied race was a good choice. This opens possiblity for more than just customization. I'm always looking for highest pontential even, if it comes at cost of invidual desires. Why would you settle with a race customization, which is basically only partial recolors or possibly new hairs, beards, yet still the same race. Allied races offer more potential... entirely new races.

Yet... blizz didnt do it the right way. They opened up the potential, but they mostly have made it customization of existing races rather than giving us something new. Its just basically recolors for the most part. Lowest possible effort...

Which is why I picked the fourth option.

We could be getting so much more, but instead we get the lowest possible effort...

I agree with you here, doing as an allied race is far more impactful, a much better selling point, and makes the choice feel more meaningful and attractive as you now got unique lore, creation screen, class selection, racials in addition to the look, it feels like a group of people that have an identity and lore distinct from their parent race while still under the same umbrella.

Not all the responders feel that way from some of the races, but while they could have been added as customisations, they are more meaningful and impactful as allied races

- - - Updated - - -

Nightborne 'might' have bene able to work as night elf customization if they were given to the alliance, but because of the faction swap with the elves, they were needed regardless of whether they 'could' work as cusotmization options. I don't think void elves could because you'd end up with things like blood elves with normal skin tones but also voidy tentacle hair etc and that would be weird.

.

And I think that if they were customisations, blizzard wouldnot have been able to give extra features like the void tentacle hair. This si the major advantage of it as an allied race over a customisation. You can actually have more unique features. If lightforged had gotten wings, they'd really feel like an allied race of their own rather than customisation. They could have made that move.

- - - Updated - - -

My main beef is that the reputation gates. If I came to WoW after a break Following any previous expansion, I could unlock the marquee feature right away whether it was a new race, Death Knights, Monks, Demon Hunters or anything else. You gate that feature off behind a bar I haven’t filled up yet? That removes it as a selling point for me that I can just jump in an enjoy after purchase.

If they had restyled the gating process as the sort of starting intro, or pre-race intro you could play separately. So let's say you design your nightborne, but you don't have access to him straight away, you have to then play as a hordec haracter of your choosing the Suramar storyline and finish it with the reputation process, the bonus is that you get to transfer all your gear and gold to your new character when it hits the level.

Rep requirrements i sort of view as a 1-20 stretch.

- - - Updated - - -

I think allied races are fine and don't mind the tedious grinds to get the rep for them, but I just wish they'd have discounts/sales/promos on race changes. A decent amount of the playerbase already has one of every class at max level, so that means we have to create a new alt just to play a particular race? I don't see why blizzard doesn't reduce race changes to $10 or something for a week or 2. I'd happily race change 7 or so of my chars instantly. 7 chars at $25 a pop is just too much for me to spend, especially over something cosmetic.

To be honest i think purchasing a race change, shoudl allow you to change as many characters as you want for the day, or a few hours, or if you're generous 3 days.

Any future race/faction changes would require a fresh payment.

- - - Updated - - -

In some cases, customizations would have done the trick. In other cases, allied races were fantastic and perfect.

All of the allied races (yes, including highmountain tauren and lightforged draenei) were unique enough to be ideal for an 'allied race' with new racials. That said, more customizations would be nice. An example of a race that would have been a poor choice for an allied race, but can exist perfectly with customizations, are wildhammer dwarves. (I'd mention high elves as a customization for blood elves, but I fear that might rile people up)

I hear people arguing that "mag'har should have been a customization", but there are problems with this. First of all, the lore and sheer amount of customization behind all of the options for mag'har more than justify its own race. Second of all, brown skin orcs cannot exist as warlocks. Period. For it to be a customization would mean that that is possible, and that can't be possible.

Mecha-gnome complaints I do understand, but it's mistaken. They alter the animations of gnomes slightly and wouldn't make sense as 'customizations'. You can argue that the race itself is flawed and that's your opinion to have if you want it, but that's a completely different topic. They wouldn't work as a customization in their current form.

No other race should be even up for debate, but people are going to use any excuse to argue against them if they hate allied races so there you go.

Exactly. Without being an allied race, MAg'har would not ahve been possible. The brown skin and dark skin you could have added, but many of the other features just add up, and it would be too much, it needs to be it's own race. Also i think they were going to be default uprgith, if normal orcs weren't given an upright optoin, Mag'har would have been the only way you could get an uprgith orc.

And the people who say Mechagnomes should a be a customsaition, I don't think they've been to the PTr, they have 7 customisation option, they're way more complex and diversified than gnomes., no way htey could "Just be a customisation"

[Pony Soldier]

I think they were a great addition. One of the best things Blizzard has done with this game. Although it's something that should've been done back in WoD starting with the mag'har orcs and maybe dark iron dwarves. Better late than never I guess.

I also think more customizations options are needed too though most of the allied races have next to nothing in terms of unique looking features. Nightborne I think have the least amount with like 4 or 5 different hair styles and colors and like 3 skin tones and just a few different faces that look pretty much all the same.

So while the allied races were an awesome addition I still think we need additional customization options for them and also all the other races as well. Makes the game more fun when you can look the way you want to look.

[Nathanyel]

Yet... blizz didnt do it the right way. They opened up the potential, but they mostly have made it customization of existing races rather than giving us something new. Its just basically recolors for the most part. Lowest possible effort...

Except that is the intended purpose of Allied Races. New races with new lore with "just enough" effort. They didn't do it because they were low effort, they did it because they (correctly) anticipated that players would love it, and they could do them without taking too much time away from other projects, much of the effort being art anyway. (The reception of the other BfA features is another matter, of course)

[RobertMugabe]

I think that for example Void Elves and Nightborne were a great addition, but things like HM Tauren, Mechagnomes etc. should've been just extra customisation options. Vulpera don't make sense as an Allied Race. These should've either been a "normal" race that everyone gets or they shouldn't have added them at all.

[Varodoc]

Another thing I want to bring up is racial abilities. Let's assume the Ren'dorei were written so that they remained in the Horde, if they were limited to a customization option they wouldn't have any of their unique racial abilities, like the rift in space or the Voidform-on-steroids.

Honestly I just don't get how customization options are preferable. With allied races you get:

- More customization options by default, because it's an entirely different race on the character creation screen;
- Racial abilities that fit thematically with that race;
- Heritage armor;
- New racial mount;
- New racial hub;
- More lore and development for that new race and their leader...