Good evening, and welcome to my opinion. It is neither designed to sway the direction of the game, nor is it a demand for change. The following is simply an idea, written down, and shared for discussion. Thank you.
After all these years, and all of the times the Alliance and Horde have come together to bring down the next big bad, I see the opportunity for change. In fact, there is substantial lore and evidence to suggest this is absolutely possible.
- The Knights of the Ebon Blade
- The Order of the Silver Hand
- Twilight Hammer Clan
- The Darkmoon Faire
- The Kirin Tor
- The Cenarion Circle
All of these 3rd party factions have one thing in common: they all have Alliance and Horde races working side by side together. They all have the same goal, the same purpose. Now, while I would never join the Twilight Hammer, or even the Darkmoon Faire, I could be persuaded to do so with the Kirin Tor, or the Cenarion Circle as an example.
So what does it mean? Where is this all going? Glad you asked. I believe a Traitor’s Questline would shake things up a bit. Much like the legwork needed to unlock an Allied Race, we need something at level 20 that unlocks an Allied Faction. What does that even mean “Allied Faction”? Allow me to explain. Sometimes, when someone no longer believes in a cause, they defect to another group and work for the other side. At level 20, you receive a cryptic message in your mailbox asking for a confidential meeting, outside of your faction’s zone. The other side has heard of you, and wants to recruit you; bring you over to their cause.
So your Worgen Druid, or Dwarven Paladin decides to check it out. Even though you know a Dwarf would never EVER consider working with the Horde, you as a dwarf are simply tired of Alliance politics and wars we can’t win. You meet at the designated spot, agree to defect, and then a 25 step questline (same number to finish unlocking Vulpera) puts you through the test, and when you pass, you are welcomed by the Horde instantly changing your faction and your Dwarven Paladin is now Friendly with the Horde and hated by the Alliance. Same goes for your Forsaken Warlock, or Tauren Warrior. Welcome to the Alliance, because the Horde will kill you on site.
Now, to make things even more wide open, here comes the second idea. Every class in this game, and every race, have technically worked side by side for thousands of years, and some races are curious about the abilities of other race’s classes. What does that even mean? Well, once again, I am glad you asked. Imagine a Gnome working side by side with a Dwarf and a Night Elf for several decades, but just doesn’t feel like he has a purpose. So he watches closely the class and abilities and gets excited about the potential to become more than he is and learn from the Druid, or the Dwarf. He could learn Shamanism, Paladial duties, Druidic nature magic, and might even build a mech suit to channel it.
Sam goes for the Horde. A fallen Paladin, raised back up by the Vrykul still feels the pull of the Light, and instead of settling as a Priest, he needs his old life and new life to come back together to feel whole again. Forsaken Paladin. Maybe the Pandaren wants to learn how to be a Druid, or the Tauren wants to wield Fel magics because nature magic constantly backfires on him, and Sunwalkers don’t want him. Any race, could be any class (simply by following a questline to learn it) and then could be any faction at 20 (by doing another large questline).
More content, more options, and you personally would not make a Gnome Paladin for the Horde, or a Forsaken Paladin who has come back to the Alliance, you simply do not do it. No harm, no foul. However, if you ever wanted a Goblin Druid, or a Worgen Paladin, imagine the Luke Skywalker style discipline questline that would absolve you of all your previous knowledge and disposition to now remake yourself in another Class’ image and then later decide if you even want to keep fighting for your faction. Best part, once you have done it one time with that race, all new characters would automatically unlock.
So there it is, the wind up and the pitch. For those who made it this far, bravo. My idea for a complete Race/Class/Faction unlock through meta achievements and a way to open the game up so anyone can play their favorite race, and class, and faction. As shown in the very beginning, there are 6 major factions who are already free of the bonds of the Alliance and Horde, and Class halls showed regardless of race, your class defined you. Bosses prove that regardless of faction, your actions define you.
Thanks for reading!