Why do u play Horde

[Raelbo]

Hi guys!! 15 year Vanilla player here. I know this post is opening up a floodgate. But its an honest, genuine, inquiry. I'm a NE Hunter. I've been one since I started. I love the aesthetic, and everything they stand for. The Alliance as well. Their emphasis on teamwork, acceptance, living with the land and standing together against all threats. The Horde on the other hand......
Lets see. Vanilla. Orcs burn trees.
Burning Crusade: Orcs burn stuff 2, electric boogaloo. Wrath: let's ignore the uber-zombie apocalypse, Orc get mad!! Cataclysm: Giant world ending dragon!! Orc burn more stuff. Pandaria: Orc kidnap children; THEN Orc burn stuff. Priorities. Warlords of Draenor: Orc burn stuff in other dimensions. Legion: Orc HAPPILY burn stuff.
And then there's Battle for Azeroth. Orc burn TREE!!

Simplified? Yes. Accurate?? I'd say so. So why is this half the playerbases fantasy this?? I mean my job is horrific. Literally. So this green, beautiful place is my escape. Why is the Horde other's fantasy?? Help me understand.

I can only speak for myself, but I see the Horde as so much more than just a bunch of bloodthirsty savages who pillage and destroy. If you look at what Thrall's Horde stood for it was things like freedom and honor. Pretty much all of the races in the Horde are essentially noble at heart and have been oppressed, downtrodden or used as pawns by others.

Also, the Alliance isn't as clean cut as many would like to believe. They have a lot of bigotry outright hatred that drives them with a zealous belief that they are always right, even when, often, they aren't. Having played both faction's stories (and it sounds like you haven't) players on both sides are presented with a very different view of their own faction than what the opposing faction is.

And yes, the fact that the terrible story lines keep on shoehorning the Horde in the role of "bad guy" because of leaders whose stories just don't make a hell of a lot of sense does grate somewhat. MoP was tolerable, but repeating it again for BfA is a travesty. It's a pity, because I think the writers could have done a much better job of "morally grey" than they actually achieved. I think that the Horde even had a legitimate grievance with the Alliance following the events of Legion and the introduction of Azerite as a game changing weapon. But clearly the story got botched...horribly.

[BetrayedOf52]

My guild faction changed as soon as it came out, because of server imbalance. And 10 years of characters is to much time and invesment to faction change $$$ or redo all iv done.

So I'm stuck on the horde now.... Id much rather be alliance

[czarek]

Hi guys!! 15 year Vanilla player here. I know this post is opening up a floodgate. But its an honest, genuine, inquiry. I'm a NE Hunter. I've been one since I started. I love the aesthetic, and everything they stand for. The Alliance as well. Their emphasis on teamwork, acceptance, living with the land and standing together against all threats. The Horde on the other hand......
Lets see. Vanilla. Orcs burn trees.
Burning Crusade: Orcs burn stuff 2, electric boogaloo. Wrath: let's ignore the uber-zombie apocalypse, Orc get mad!! Cataclysm: Giant world ending dragon!! Orc burn more stuff. Pandaria: Orc kidnap children; THEN Orc burn stuff. Priorities. Warlords of Draenor: Orc burn stuff in other dimensions. Legion: Orc HAPPILY burn stuff.
And then there's Battle for Azeroth. Orc burn TREE!!

Simplified? Yes. Accurate?? I'd say so. So why is this half the playerbases fantasy this?? I mean my job is horrific. Literally. So this green, beautiful place is my escape. Why is the Horde other's fantasy?? Help me understand.

In the roots Orcs are good. Maybe a bit rough but still. They came to Azeroth throu portal just because of evil Guldan overwhelmed by fel blood. The humans were bad against them just because they were big green and ugly. On both sides are good and bad characters. Orcs are maybe a bit more naive and simple. And tbh Horde and Orc are bad ass lookin races and have great world design (in my opinion). Just FOR THE HORDE ! Playin horde races since W2 :P

[Yarathir]

People : "Horde has so much diversity and cool looking races!!!"
Yet same players in statistic : 70% of Horde is human looking Blood Elfs.

Thanks for making me spit out my drink. This is too true.

- - - Updated - - -

The Horde stand up for what they believe in, as we've seen throughout the history of Warcraft.

Like when they help their Warchief genocide a race because their Warchief said it, then helped their Warchief blight Alliance troops and their own troops and raise them as skeletal servants and then the Orc who stood against the Warchief became a kill-on-sight traitor and the Tauren who stood against her got locked up in Garrosh' basement?

Anyone who opposes the Alliance within the alliance, gets cast off. The alliance, and yes, I've played at least one toon every expac just to see their side of the story, are pansies. 100%.

You mean like when Tyrande opposed Anduin multiple times in BfA alone and went to do her own thing and Genn openly told Anduin he kind of agreed with Tyrande yet neither got cast off?

BFA might have been some of the worst story for the Alliance, as they attack the Zandalari for almost zero reasons. Just because the Horde helped them, they attack them and kill their King?

They were quite clearly helping the Horde in the war and were launching attacks on Kul Tiras before Battle for Dazar'alor.

So when you really look at things, the Alliance was just as bad as Sylvvie in regard to Teldrassil.

the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke: "theres actually zero difference fighting soldiers up until you reach the King of an Empire, offering him the option to surrender and killing him when he refuses and outright burning thousands of noncombatants alive because a single elf made you mad or because you are the buttbuddy of some Death God."

Not to mention, Trolls were the first race on Azeroth ( from what we know ), and are still the best race. If it can't be troll, I don't play it.

Fair. Trolls are (mostly) pretty cool.