I have played both sides and even have all the heritage armor for all the Alliance races except for Mechagnome and Dark Iron Dwarf.
I have experienced the whole game, and that’s why I hate the Alliance.
1 Like
My thoughts on this, as with my thoughts on most things, are a jumbled mix of sense and senselessness.
First off, I’ll say that for better or worse, I’m Alliance for life. That said, I have a greater and more endearing fondness for the Horde than I likely will ever have for the Alliance. So why do I play Alliance? I’ll get to that.
While I am fond of some Alliance leaders, Gelbin and Genn for instance, and several characters of lesser importance, there are multiple individuals in the Alliance of very great importance who I just don’t like.
Varian was never a favorite, as he mostly just always seemed pompous and difficult to connect with. He did have moments of grace in which he was uncustomarily interesting; e.g., the trailer for BFA and the cinematic for his sacrifice; but overall, his character was just a grindstone.
Jaina Whinemore is a character I have never liked, ever. She just isn’t a likeable character to me in any regard. I literally cannot recall even one moment of ever feeling endeared to this character, and this is despite the fact that Blizz conducted a massive PR campaign for Jaina in BFA to try and paint her as the sweetheart of the Alliance.
Malfurion can lay claim to exactly one instance – one and one only – in which I did not find him the most ridiculously boring Druid in the game, and that’s the cinematic in which he ambushed the Horde caravan. In that, he was actually interesting and seemed driven, emboldened, capable, and formidable for once. Aside from that one grain of sand, he is an absolute beach of disappointment and annoyance.
Tyrande has, to at least my own perception, historically been written as one of two extremes: a dismissive, uppity, out-of-touch old crone who works very poorly with others; or just a full on next level psycho rage monster who still works very poorly with others. She also lays claim to the most definitively unattractive female voice in the game, with the possible exception of Warlord Zaela.
The Alliance, as a faction, is a joke. It is a faction of very uninteresting, supremely arrogant, condescendingly intolerant personalities with Argus sized egos.
The Horde, by comparison, has a heart. A spirit. An energy. A soul. There is an enduring authenticity within the Horde that the Alliance has never been able to duplicate on its best day.
The Horde is filled with characters who are memorably endearing – characters of substance and intrigue. I won’t individually name and praise them but, suffice to say, they are known to me.
Sylbarfas Windfarter is not included among those in the Horde I deem worthy of reverence.
Why, then, do I play Alliance? There are various reasons of differing importance, some mild and some strong, but it ultimately comes down to aesthetics.
I prefer Stormwind over Orgrimmar. I prefer Ironforge over the Undercity. I prefer the color blue over red. I prefer stone and masonry over wood and skins. I prefer gryphons over wyvern. I prefer green grass over brown dirt. I prefer a sense of orderliness and structure over a sense of disarray and base necessity.
At the end of the day, the Alliance is just more pleasing to the senses than the Horde. I’m uninvested in faction loyalty beyond a trivial extent. I’m just playing my own game and doing my own thing, independent of most all else.
TL;DR:
Swarf is weird.
1 Like
You heard em Blizzard. Give Orc and Draenei demon hunters.
1 Like
Im with you, back in BC, WOTLK or vanillia our server everybody knew each other and we all knew the alliance. We would constant get ganked by certain groups of people and we just grew a hatred for them. We would do the same and it would be a cycle of hatred and great pvp.
Now that community\servers are dead in retail with cross realm you cant really get that experience.
This only means that you are in touch with your own authenticity. We are neither Klingons nor are we Vulcans. Logic has its place and so does emotion.
Fair enough.
We share this perspective.
I like Gelbin, but I am not a fan of Genn. I think the reason I dislike Genn is because he feels like he was neutered by the writers. He’s a King, but he defers to the Wrynns like a lacky. He should be asserting himself as equal in authority to the King of Stormwind, always. Yes, his lands were destroyed, but his people are still his people and he is still a King. He should act like it. Instead, he comes across as Varian/Anduin’s Nathanos. Feels bad, man. He’s got tons of potential and I feel like the writers did him dirty.
Gelbin’s a boss though.
Jaina is my least favorite character in WoW Lore. I would like to see her butchered in spectacularly bloody fashion. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I hate her, and not in the fun way that you hate a good enemy character, but in the annoying way that you hate badly-written Mary Sues who don’t add anything worthwhile to the narrative. Her flying ship is stupid. Her magic is stupid. She’s stupid. Yuck.
When I saw Malfurion in 'clysm, I thought to myself, “Is this a joke? Are they actually serious right now?”
Dude is a night elf with antlers, owl wings, and bear feet bedroom slippers.
He looks silly as hell.
Like… why? He’s written as such a cool character and then they do this to him?
I dunno. It felt like Blizzard was making fun of him to me.
But the ambush scene was badass and I did enjoy that. He was, as you said, formidable for once.
Tyrande is just Night Elf Jaina and I find her irrelevant and redundant. She’s also an idiot. Evidence? She finally catches up to Sylvanas, the Banshee Queen of the Undead, and she tries to choke her.
Hey, Tyrande. She doesn’t need to breathe. What the hell?
I agree!
All the heroes who have resonated with me have been Horde. I don’t like all the Horde heroes, but most of them are at least respectable. I love the story of Grom Hellscream’s crusade to correct his mistake and redeem his people. I love how Thrall rallied the New Horde and established Orgrimmar. I love every Tauren who has ever lived except Magatha Grimtotem. I adore the Darkspear and the Zandalari Trolls. And, frankly, Dolly & Dot are my best friends. They pull my wagon through dunes of sand.
She was a decent character until Vol’jin appointed her WarChief. That’s when she jumped the shark for me. I always laugh when she power slides into Frostmourne.
I prefer Orgrimmar to Stormwind, but I prefer Thunder Bluff to either.
I’m pretty much dead even on these two.
US Politics conditioned me to prefer blue over red, but if I disregard politics, I like them both equally. Therefore, aesthetically, it comes down to secondary colors for me… black or gold? Always black.
I prefer more primitive structures. I’m a fan of nomadic living and hunter/gatherer/wander societies. Brick and mortar dwellings make me feel trapped.
I’m not a huge fan of either. They’re okay. I don’t hate them. But I prefer almost any other flying mount to these two.
I agree with this completely.
Yeah, this is our primary difference. I like chaos and disorder in keeping with total freedom. I like that no one is walking around keeping things in order. I prefer an “anything goes” approach to living and existing.
Horde wins out for me, but I understand why you prefer the aesthetic of the Alliance.
1 Like
I especially enjoyed your sentiments on Malfurion… 
1 Like
Star Trek reference!
You win!
1 Like
That’s the average orc for sure.
commits several genocides for no reason other than moronic bloodlust.
“How can the Alliance be so judgmental against us?!?!”
3 Likes
When I started a Blood Elf, all was ok until I had to go to the Undercity.
The attempts to explain how to the haughty, often snotty Blood Elves ever could manage to stay in the Undercity more than a split second, were sincerely pathetic.
1 Like
Synthesis, what was it?
So, analysis.
Alliance sucks. Horde sucks. Horde sucks more. And there’s the Path of Glory.
I love Genn. Really. I’d date him. I see Sean Bean portraiting him.
Like and admire Gelbin Mekkatorque. Right from the name. A small ball of badass.
Admire and miss Varian. A great and often misunderstood leader.
Jaina is a friend. She’s also a traitor, guilty of her father’s death. That is unforgivable, but as I am what I am I chose to forgive her all the same. And am always ready to step in case she gets so goody-two-shoes again.
Malfurion who?
Tyrande was nice when she was possessed by Elune. Reminded me of myself when I am doing a Horde dispatching quest.
Horde having a soul? It’s sure the soul of somebody the Horde butchered.
The only Horde character I like is Sylvanas. The way everybody, Alliance and Horde, decides to ignore that she’s just a desperate crazy banshee with a split soul, and just wants her head on a pike, is really sad, and even disturbing.
I prefer Alliance aesthetics, but I like Horde’s, too. I loved old Orgrimmar, before Blizz butchered it.
My problem with the Horde is ethical. Again, the Path of Glory. Enuff said.
Prefer blue as a colour, but red (old fashioned red, not the current travesties) as a symbol. Love green both as a colour and a symbol.
I am European, so weird by definition. Ah, when I say red I mean European red, not US red.
I will not heal alliance players in cross faction play, eff em all. Dead serious, true story. For the Horde!
2 Likes
Interesting.
That’s not what you said to me that one time at Goldshire.
2 Likes
You wish bruh
No u
/
/
For me it’s pretty simple: I don’t really want to play a faction that’s considered the “darker” faction. Not interested in blood red and black faction colors. It’s not my style. When I was a teenager sure Horde seemed cooler but to me it’s kind of dorky these days. Ironically, I looked down on alliance when I played horde back in the day too. So it’s all point of view I guess.
I did, but then the furry race was released and everything made sense in the world.
When I started playing early in 2006, my first two toons were a troll warrior and a tauren druid. It didn’t take long to realize that the starting areas for each were half-finished. Those for the undead lock I made were finished, but depressing. I switched to Alliance just because more effort had been put into the initial experience.
Alliance with WarMode off feels like:
