Alliance RP - Thoughts and Discussion

[Claresta-wyrmrest-accord]

A lot to catch up on. Big thoughts time.

@Thomasbates-wyrmrest-accord

Hearing that the rp ‘dies’ when me or a select few are not around definitely does add a lot of pressure that makes me want to extend my break a little longer. I love the server, I love this community with all my heart! I want it to thrive with or without me, but I can’t sustain it on my own.

If this helps Thomas, it did sustain for quite a while in your absence during Dragonflight. It was around Season 4 and also the usual slower Summer season when things stagnated. You’re a beloved part of Duskwood and an integral part of its server Lore (perhaps one of the few commonly agreed on server Lore things in WrA), but know that others have filled in your stead and respected your breaks. There were 20, sometimes 30 characters at peak on some nights, with several storylines and events weaving in and out.

For my part, I was very active in DF Duskwood scene till said Summer and the more recent pre-patch and expansion. I find myself wanting to return to the old haunted wood because it’s still my favorite OG zone, and rolled a fresh face who will appear there in the coming days. It seems few of us can stay away for too long.

I just wanted you to walk away not only with the validation of the hard work you’ve done but that there is still a Duskwood when you’re having much-needed time away. It’s quiet at this part of the expansion because we’re still playing with new shinies, but we’re rounding the usual corner where we pause the grind and return to RP roots.

@Norman-wyrmrest-accord

Warcraft is in the midst of a revival with twenty different versions you can play right now. It would be a great time to brainstorm this and try to figure out what we can offer differently than MG; not better or worse, just different. I’m over the “server rivalry” thing. MG has great reasons to go there.

@Norman-wyrmrest-accord

Let’s forge a new path and come up with a new reason people should make WRA their home.

Yes. WrA is very different from MG. Our pros:

• WrA-A is smaller, which means less crowded, more real estate, and therefore a more open RP sandbox
• WrA-A/H does not have stringent server Lore that must be agreed upon to enter
• WrA-A does not have the reputation of MG’s Lion’s Pride Inn or other negative mainstays of MG
• WrA-A currently is a fresh slate for unwritten opportunities and less competition of a more crowded server

Much of the above is related to WrA Alliance specifically and remains my focus, because it’s where I predominantly play and purposefully transferred Vanguard of the Rose here over MG at the end of Shadowlands. The Vanguard of the Rose has cross-faction characters and has since inception, but our focus is still very much blueside and we’re vested in our new home.

Any efforts in Stormwind, Duskwood, and elsewhere have our support. Also canonically, our storyline is currently in Mereldar and we’ve been there nightly the last week and are putting out the word to invite others: (H/A) Mereldar Roleplay

@Vanndrel-wyrmrest-accord

The biggest problem we face as a server, especially as Alliance, is that a lot of Alliance RPers want the RP but don’t want to put in the effort for the RP. That’s why poor Thomas and others feel a pressure to show up/perform.

This happened on my old server. It opened day one of launch but when newer RP servers opened such as WrA and MG, our population slowly began siphoning away. Mists of Pandaria finished off Horde entirely due to players detesting the direction of the Horde storyline. Alliance limped on for a bit longer till Shadowlands, which was our last hurrah before the final two established RP guilds decided it was time to finally seek a new home. One went to MG, the Rose went to WrA.

We had conversations like this. Many of us had ideas or criticisms of ideas, but there wasn’t enough starters and folks to rally around the starters to start something new. Positioning ourselves as different instead of a rival is key because the conditions that built MG into how it is now started years ago. We can’t repeat that process; we’re on a different road.

And these conversations, no matter how bumpy or prickly or contrary, are necessary because…

@Feyawen-wyrmrest-accord

It’s my belief that this recurring discussion of Horde/Alliance population and RP activity on WRA isn’t the heart of the issue, but rather a symptom of the real problem which is the growing discrepancy of population ratios between RP players and RP hosts/DMs for community-focused events.

Discussions like this are part one. Moving on the ideas bandied or rejected in here is part two.

For my part, I will focus my energies into restarting the Alliance Guild Faire. The goal will be consistency and outreach towards Alliance guilds who did not attend the faire before. The previous iteration focused entirely on RP guild while our Hordeside counterpart invited everyone (raid, social, PvP, etc.), and we will do the same. Our Hordside counterpart has a dedicated Discord to coordinate and a carrd to spread the word, we will have the same. As soon as the October date is finalized, forum posts will go up and efforts will turn toward keeping it monthly and bringing in as much WrA Alliance guild representation we can.

Any support with the effort will be greatly appreciated because as you guys know, WrA-A needs that serious leg up.

As for the Stormwind Local Businesses carrd and map, I’ll freshen it up but also wait and see what comes next with a potential Alliance-focused Discord. It will need a home and originally I intended it to be the WCP, but I’m game to collaborate with whoever steps up alongside the plate. I also didn’t intend to end up head of the Alliance Faire, I intended to join the previous team and help out, but…

@Feyawen-wyrmrest-accord

I, for one, welcome the lull because it means there is space now for the next generation of hosts to step up and give back to the community, if/when they are ready to do so.

This next generation is here and we’re feeling the strain, too. Some of us also held up our previous communities years ago and lost them in spite best efforts, so are deeply vested in things here.

As for the WCP, we’re brainstorming based on recent feedback to re-tune equal energies towards RP. That said, we have very active OOC, Lore Discussion, and Character Workshop channels that are welcoming and help new people daily with getting set up and introduced to WrA, and that effort continues. We’re extremely welcoming to new people and eager to point them in the right directions for the RP they’re looking for. That said…

@Kirsy-wyrmrest-accord

And if I’m honest, I’m disappointed in how hard it is for new players to join [the WCP]. Look at the number of times I’ve bumped its forum thread, the time between bumps and the number of new people who’ve been trying to use the Discord link, but couldn’t. At the very least, it needs a new thread. For every person who asks on the thread why the link at the top doesn’t work, there’s probably another who tried it, found it didn’t work and didn’t bother to say anything at all. And then went to MG.

As for the oft-mentioned thread, the reason it hasn’t been updated is we’d hoped to finish the Level 3 grind to edit it and keep it at its current fancy iteration. Unfortunately, the grind is time locked and it’s time for us to move on re-creating it sans images and other pretties. Luckily, the WCP Discord recently reached Level 3, which means now we have a custom invite URL that will make things easier: https://discord.gg/wrawcp/. I’ll also look into a URL shortener version so no one will have to search for various codes anymore, the URLs will remain consistent.

So expect an updated thread with consistent URLs soon, Blizzard’s forum grind system be damned.

@Raseri-wyrmrest-accord

I’m going to come in here and reiterate, as I hoped after waking up today I’d get some kind of explanation.

I didn’t see this post till tonight after I finished a busy Saturday. What I posted is what I heard from multiple sources I thought were trustworthy, but I’ve since privately followed up and critiqued their misinformation. Taking it and passing it on was my fault alone and I edited the original post to reflect more accurate information. If you wish it to be entirely removed, you can update or delete your quoted version of the post as well.

Finally…

@Enekie-wyrmrest-accord

The only person truly capable of fostering a perfect RP environment is me.

And I refuse to.

Damn it, Enekie. You’re killing us here.