Has Blizzard abandoned Allied races?

[Nathanyel]

Again I don’t get why people think Blizz will add Allied Races as opposed to, oh I don’t know, Races…

Well true, the terminology is a point of confusion.

At this point, ARs were mostly "(cousin) races that were not distinct enough, or for other reasons not considered an option for 'main races', and unlocked through gameplay ways of befriending them, with a release not tied to expansions ".

That's why I mentioned an overhaul, parts of that system could be reworked, rephrased, renamed.

Possibilities:

• unlocking customizations, even subraces, through questing (NE dark eyes were a prototype of that)
• neutral races added with patches, not expansions, after meeting & befriending them in the previous patch, with or without gameplay to unlock them (although having them start at 10 like AR would avoid having to explain them in Exile's Reach, and due to that, at least doing their related story quests should be a requirement - I admit if taken that far, that's essentially like Allied Races, but with another name)
• wild idea: community goals to unlock new races early, participating in certain activities shaves off time until the (eventual) release - although I can already see how this would go over with the modern playerbase, who wants all datamined content as soon as the patch goes live.

[Swnem]

The alliance is the problem. Lore and otherwise. You will not get what belongs to the red team.

Yes, i think Manchester united should get it all.

[WowIsDead64]

Allied races - aren't great design. Mostly because Blizzard tried to squeeze maximum profit from them and done them wrong way. It was their attempt to make all players grind Legion's reps, nobody needed otherwise. But this concept failed. Reason is simple. Why should I make new, let's say, Paladin with allied race, if I already have one, that is my favorite race? Adding allied races as customizations for existing races would be more reasonable.

[Nathanyel]

The alliance is the problem. Lore and otherwise. You will not get what belongs to the red team.

Tbh also the Alliance playerbase. Even with the haters complaining about Vulpera, that's nothing compared to the hate that Kul Tirans and Mechagnomes received. While Dark Iron are edgy enough to appeal to them, and Void Elves are, well, Elves, the aforementioned were ripped apart for essentially being "too different". Not the standard fantasy gender bodytype? "Fat". Hip that's exposed when not using a robe, showing basically the same undergarments as regular gnomes, but in a different color, not even white? "diaper gnomes"

The average Alliance player doesn't want interesting options, they want the tired, "cool" LotR protagonists.

[Allied races] was their attempt to make all players grind Legion's reps, nobody needed otherwise.

Why are people still fucking going on about the fucking rep requirements, that any regular player had long done by the time 7.3.5 came around?
Play the game, get rewards. It's that simple.

I agree thag most ARs should be customizations by now, but I understand that the tech then made separate races much easier to implement.

[WowIsDead64]

Why are people still fucking going on about the fucking rep requirements, that any regular player had long done by the time 7.3.5 came around?
Play the game, get rewards. It's that simple.

I agree thag most ARs should be customizations by now, but I understand that the tech then made separate races much easier to implement.

Some players, including me, don't grind reps.

[Nymrohd]

"diaper gnomes"

Well, they look like they are wearing a diaper . . .

[Nathanyel]

Some players, including me, don't grind reps.

And I don't like PvP, but I have resigned to the fact that this means I can't get the Elite sets, and have to grind Marks of Honor through WQs to buy regular set Ensembles later.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, they look like they are wearing a diaper . . .

Vanilla Gnomes look even more so without pants, they have the exact same underpants texture, but brighter.

[Nymrohd]

Vanilla Gnomes look even more so without pants, they have the exact same underpants texture, but brighter.

Mechagnomes also were the first race added with severe transmog restrictions.

[sam86]

oh the horror, blizz abandoned the idea of reskineed races, how can we live without that

[PenguinChan]

oh the horror, blizz abandoned the idea of reskineed races, how can we live without that

I mean the flavor of alternate races and racials is actually pretty compelling IMO. Not done in the most in depth way, but it beats just being a Draenei and having the light-forged options baked in with no new customization for your racials.

[Ielenia]

Because there is content that you can play while unlocking them.

Content you'd be playing regardless if there was an AR unlock linked to them or not. Case in point, the overwhelming majority of Legion players already had all the requirements for unlocking Highmountain Tauren, Nightborne, Lightforged Draenei and Void Elves all done and over with even before BfA and its AR feature were even announced.

[The Stormbringer]

So what is it? There are still many races who could be a great addition to the factions. Like Ogres, Ankoans/Jinyu, Saberon, Earthen, Furbolgs, Sethrak and so on. Has Blizzard given up on adding those races as a concept or will we see more of it now that a new core race(Dracthyr) was implemented? Discuss!

>Dracthyr
>One class
>No capital city
>Half a starting zone
>Modified skeleton of another race
>Two available specs to play

None of this screams "new core race", mate.

[vizzle]

I am so tired of anthropomorphic animal people. I'd rather take Ogre than arakkoa, sethrak, tuskarr, naga, gnolls.

After Dracthyr I don't trust their judgement on anthropomorphizing animals. We went from tiptoeing through furry territory to busting down the front door.

Were they ever really tiptoeing, though? Didn't Vulpera come out years ago? I honestly can't believe those guys are a playable race.

[BaumanKing]

I am very glad that they abandoned this idea. I don't want them to waste resources on customization options for allied races anymore, instead expand those options for core races. I mean, just imagine how many options we could have got if the developers didn't waste their time on unpopular races like kultirans or mechagnomes.

[sam86]

I mean the flavor of alternate races and racials is actually pretty compelling IMO. Not done in the most in depth way, but it beats just being a Draenei and having the light-forged options baked in with no new customization for your racials.

i love new races, heck i still wish the 5th original race of each faction since 2001 be added to game (furbolgs for alliance, ogres for horde)
i despise how lazy half assed 'allied' reskinned races were done, they just getting slapped a reskin of already existing model and done, there are exception like yuff race (or is it based on goblins? never plan to even try them), but just check mechagnomes: even worse than normal gnomes

[KainneAbsolute]

It would be cool a Drakonid with warrior class.

[Berkilak]

I have great news for you regarding the last third of your request.

A Bronzebeard in cosplay does not make a Wildhammer. Ostensibly, both Dark Iron and Wildhammer were added to Bronzebeard Dwarves with Cataclysm, the former represented by the Warlock class, the latter by the Shaman class. If they can tease the Dark Iron out into its own thing, there's still hope for Wildhammer.

[Hallowseve17]

Sometimes it feels like an abandoned feature. I agree that allied races was terminology used for the Alliance and Horde to bolster their forces during the war. It's kind of unfortunate in the long run and a tad confusing in relation to where we're at currently. We got a couple of "new" races that were unique and a few like Dark Iron, Lightforged, Mag'har, and Highmountain that are considered different enough, which is true, but then dwarves were given Wildhammer customization which makes the differences obsolete. It's like they weren't sure what qualified as an allied race back when they were introduced.

I always welcome the addition of more customization and for years I've supported the inclusion of "allied races" and/or subraces. We all have our wishlists for races we want to see playable. I personally think the developers should look back on every previous expansion, especially the earlier ones, and see which races have pledged themselves to either faction and which races have actively helped us against the antagonists.

Look back to Warcraft, Vanilla, and early expansions. There are prime examples of "allied races" who appear in story, albeit minor roles in the greater picture of things, that remain out of playable reach. Ogres and Furbolg have been around for a long time and have been requested for years, but they still aren't playable. You continue playing and you see these races out in the world, even in settlements and cities, and it feels like a tease. Looking back, there is the Wildhammer and Revantusk conflict in the Hinterlands. Once again two frequently requested races (well, subraces) are somewhat relevant here and neither were playable until Dwarves were finally given Wildhammer cosmetics. Oddly enough, the Forest Trolls are still unaccounted for despite playable trolls having received a Sand and Dark Troll skin tone during the overhaul. They are mostly big and buff, sure, but just having a green skin tone would be nice.

Another example are the Jinyu and Hozen. Both fought each other before and during Mists of Pandaria. These races are requested, Hozen less popular than Jinyu, but they are once again "allied races". They pledged themselves to the Alliance and Horde, and are even seen as minor NPCs in most expansions afterward. I was playing through the Thaldraszus quests, saw Jinyu at the spa, and immediately thought "they love to tease us". We even had the Ankoans in Battle for Azeroth that could offer more options for a Jinyu race.

There are a lot of these examples I could elaborate about. Anyway, going forward I think they should rework the allied race system and races in general. Maybe the first step in the right direction would be to give every races a choice of origin, like a homeland, clan, or tribe, and give some simple flavor racial to whatever is picked. Say someone wants to play a Dwarf. During or after customization has been completed, they should have something that pops up asking about origin. For Dwarves, you could choose clans: Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, Dark Iron, Frostborn. Same would apply for other races. You get the point.

My thoughts went a little all over here, but hopefully the point is clear.

[DatToffer]

“Allied specs” makes no sense. Like what

A spec you unlock by grinding a reputation lmao

[Villager720]

A Bronzebeard in cosplay does not make a Wildhammer. Ostensibly, both Dark Iron and Wildhammer were added to Bronzebeard Dwarves with Cataclysm, the former represented by the Warlock class, the latter by the Shaman class. If they can tease the Dark Iron out into its own thing, there's still hope for Wildhammer.

And a class does not a race make. Tauren became paladins, but not ostensibly blood elves in Cata.
I agree Wildhammer could have been it's own allied race, but Blizzard rolled them into the broader dwarf race and that's that. They're not cosplaying anymore - they've got everything unique to "being a Wildhammer" they'd need : hair, tattoos, classes, gryphons.