An RPer's reflection on Darnassus - four years after logging out for the last time

I’m starting to realize that Alliance fans are really obsessed with locations and “things” … which is why “breaking the Horde’s things” is the only way they can concieve of narrative satisfaction a lot of the time. The Horde playerbase can generally not give a crap about destroying stuff like Theramore and Teld. We never wanted either of those things, so Blizz forcing us to do it has no real value beyond us getting guilted for years on end because of it.

I sometimes wonder if this sort of “prioritize” differences isn’t a leftover relic of Vanilla? The Alliance held like 70 percent of the game world back then. The Horde had a lot less, and it did feel like we were an afterthought a lot of time. With us losing any semblance of story relevance after around lvl 40 content. Thus, locations are really important to the Alliance (and they keep losing them), while being allowed relevance generally and our characters are important to the Horde (and we keep losing them).

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While it’s not exactly a happy sentiment I want to thank you for setting the record straight. I wanted to do so myself but I it carries more weight coming from someone who’s still actively playing retail.

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… The Horde are still complaining about Taurajo… But Alliance players have an “obsession”?

I do want to push back on that, at least from my perspective. I don’t want to break your things. I don’t what you to eat what I feel Blizzard made me eat. Destroying capitol cities and making people feel bad is in general what I want to avoid, even if I feel that such was done for us.

However - this is a game built around a faction rivalry, which is built to stand up a competitive multiplayer environment - at least in PVP. Right now, if I want to PVP, the Horde looks like the obvious choice. They’re framed as powerful. Night Elves meanwhile in relation to them are framed as weak. Blizzard established us as your victims.

… and I want a big onscreen win to undo that perception. I should feel just as powerful rolling a Night Elf as I do when I roll a goblin or an Orc. I don’t feel that every one of my battleground wins should be punctuated by this feeling that none of it matters because Blizzard will force me to lose for their narrative, and because I know I’ll never get to strike back. That’s what I want.

No, I don’t want to take Azshara. No, I don’t want to blow up Orgrimmar, and I absolutely don’t want to see the Horde groveling and apologizing. I want my big juicy “W”, like the one you got. Then after that, we can resolve these needs for a power fantasy where they should have been resolved in the first place: in a Battleground.

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i find sad aethas didnt get his comeuppance, only a new kink and an apprentice, lorthemar shouldve tore him a new one.

Because they have nothing else to complain about, and honestly … I think they’re more mad that Taurajo wasn’t allowed to be a “thing” … over it actually being a thing.

I will fully admit that Taurajo was a valid military target, and that justice was served for it. The only real issue I have is the grater framing trend of Blizz refusing to portray Horde tragedies as tragedies. Especially when you compare Taurajo to say … Theramore. Theramore was portrayed as a Tragedy, Taurajo was portrayed as a Valid Military Target. Even though both were both. Blizz does this constantly.

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Basically, the Alliance experiences to much tragedy, the Horde doesn’t experience enough?

I would probably agree. I at least would like to not have my homelands destroyed, but it’s a bit late for that now.

Yeah, how many Alliance tragedies were justified by the party that was victimized?

:pancakes:

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They were more frequently justified by Blizzard, which largely doesn’t have the Alliance doing gray things so as not to confuse the good versus evil narrative that they have going on.

You can keep your homelands but we’ll kill or villain bat your important characters. Does that work?

:pancakes:

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You’re so needlessly aggressive and toxic for zero reason.

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To my fellow Night Elf posters - I’m going to request that if we’re going to be worried about toxicity, that we not be toxic ourselves.

I think this conversation has actually demonstrated that we can talk and we can get to common ground. Let’s not ruin that.

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Its less that, and more with how Blizz frames things the Horde never really is allowed tragedy. Taurajo for example was pushed off as a Valid Military Target from both sides, pretty definitively. Theramore in contrast had entire books devoted to its tragedy; despite being a far more valid military target than even Taurajo when it was finally bombed. Jaina and Vareesa were ultimately validated in the Purge of Dalaran, by pure virtue of Aethas part in the scenario apparently bugging out … and him (the leader of the Victims) being the only one to apologize for it. The destruction of Kezan (and the Undermine underneath it) was an event that easily rivals Teldrassil, but both it and the Alliance bombardment of the survivors was played off for laughs.

Its not that there aren’t Horde tragedies. Its that they aren’t allowed to be tragedies. There are so many examples of this its sort of terrifying. Especially when that uncomfortable (best not discussed) subtext of which RW inspired cultures largely comprise the deeply flawed, prone to evil, never allowed tragedy Horde races … and which RW inspired cultures largely comprise the nearly flawless Alliance.

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wait wait, when did this happen? he never apoligized to jaina or veressa afaik.

During Legion Aethas was forced to beg for forgiveness to allow the Horde back into Dalaran to aid with the battle against the Legion. He, the leader of a victims of a massacre, was the only one to bow his head and apologize for it. That is how far Blizz will go to invalidate Horde tragedies.

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If we’re going to have honest discussion we need to stop treating game bugs as hard canon.

I understand your point here, and I agree that it’s somewhat ridiculous that Blizzard pushes Horde pain under the rug like this, but - I do want to point out that being the victim of a tragedy isn’t a virtue. It just sucks. I get that the concern here has to do with the Horde feeling like it doesn’t have motivation to fight the Alliance, but I think both sides need to find that motivation from somewhere else to the extent that it’s still possible.

Tragedy as a motivation just leaves this pit that you can’t fill - it makes you angry and resentful. We need to pivot to more positive motivators, again once we’ve evened things.

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Then Blizz should stop doing that … looks at the Sunreaver in the BfA rescue Baine scenario.

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Point of clarification - did they ever resolve the bug? Because if it’s still there, unintentional or no, it’s part of the presentation now, and therefore part of our perceptions.

“Have you forgotten the purge of Dalaran, Murderer? Today, The Sunreavers will be avenged.”

I don’t see anything about a massacre in here. Canonically she killed the few that resisted. Those who complied were tossed into the Violet Hold.