Not only this, though I feel like the “confirmation” on goblin based 11.1 is loose at best, but horde has had a big spotlight for a long time.
Cata - Mists was the Garrosh Show, with horde story and characters taking center stage. Heck the end cinematic was the alliance leader walking up and being like “So whose warchief now? Voljin? Ight see ya” and walked away like nothing happened.
Warlords - the orc expansion with orc lore orc characters and an orchish focus. Did we mention that orcs were there? Incase you missed it orcs were a big focus. And again, the alliance was just there.
Legion - BFA was the Sylvanas show with the horde story and characters taking center stage. Heck the big finale was the alliance leader walking up and being like “you good saurfang? Here take my families weapon.” And then walking away like nothing happened. (Sylvanas wasn’t garrosh 2.0 guys)
Shadowlands - probably one of the first evenly mixed xpacs because neither horde nor alliance took center stage. But alliance had more than past xpacs.
DF - alliance characters take center stage for once.
To be honest. Alliance was due some spotlight for a bit.
It was a picture that the best illustrated that Talanji was a placeholder for Oweyna. Datamined NPC who has a tag <TEMP CDI> So temporary file.
And in here you can see yourself.
WoWhead is datamining site aswell, you can have access to plenty of items that were downloaded from Alpha. So that included Talanji’s model, but the tag TEMP CDI meant that it’s not a final model and it will be updated.
The problem is that Tauren, Trolls, Orcs, and Goblins have no characters matching these cosmic power themes.
That’s not to say they couldn’t, mind you, only that they don’t. I think it becomes complicated trying to make it work. For example, could Baine become a Sunwalker? Absolutely, but would that necessarily endear him to anyone, or only make his detractors mock him for being even more like a human, and going Paladin?
What about Fel? Neither faction really has any prominent Warlocks, and the Demon Hunters for each faction are B-tier, with the Horde’s being a Blood Elf, and thus not addressing the matter of Tauren, Trolls, Orcs, and Goblins having no characters representing the Horde in these expansions.
I think what’s long overdue is another Cataclysm old-world revamp of the game, but one in which the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor focus on building the factions and, more importantly, new characters. Coincidentally, they can also build up existing characters who would probably go far.
I think of Jevan Grimtotem, a staunch and loyal ally to Baine Bloodhoof. There’s a character who could easily be the sort of badass that really lights a fire for Horde Player enthusiasm, without going off the rails the way Garrosh did. Show us this ungodly Avatar of the Storms absolutely wrecking sh*t for the Horde, and 9/10 players will instantly love him and want him to replace Baine. Thing is, Baine easily acts as that insurance against future villain-batting, because Jevan is loyal to Baine. Bonus? Jevan can easily replace Baine for most future content as a representative of the Horde’s Tauren wherever we go.
Jorin Deadeye would make a fantastic mage if that is the route Blizzard goes with him. We really don’t see a lot of orc mages of note, but I don’t see why that can’t be. I think it’d be interesting if he developed magic on his own and came to rival the likes of the elves and draenei.
A troll character with a connection to the Void feels like a natural choice. Heck, do a retread of Gul’dan’s storyline, except instead of being evil, just make him loyal to his people and the Horde instead.
A Goblin Warlock who mastered the art of the deal in his childhood enthralling an army of demons to his service would be pretty interesting. An entire mercenary company worth of fighters he can whip out at a moment’s notice? That’d be amazing.
I just imagine a revamped Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms where you’re following these characters around from a low level. That Goblin Warlock could show up in every zone, and you watch as he forms pacts with wayward demons, bringing them under his command, and using them to secure land for the Horde, or even just for menial work such as constructing a base.
Imagine from level 1 on the Echo Isles following this troll who was born disfigured and weak grow in strength through the Void, only to master it on his/her own. Each zone they reappear, and you watch them struggle, with no teacher, no guide, and succeed by the skin of their teeth and the sheer desperation to survive in a world they were born into at such a disadvantage. For our edgelords you could even hear them agonize about what a cruel joke it was of the Loa that they should be born so frail and weak.
I did it after voljin death, best thing I did in this game, the whole sylvanas nonsense plot destroyed the faction, and none wants to fix it, horde is DEAD
I can’t speak for other Horde players(and I play both factions) but for me I love the themes of the Horde. At least the themes they are supposed to have.
they all dead, the new orcish horde is just starving new borns from concentration camps, yet the alliance chases them, and basically any other race they don’t like or find savage
‘Iam the right one, and these mud huts are savages who need to be take down’’
“savage warrior” is only one expression of their themes. But it isn’t what the Horde is. The elves fit into the Horde because they are pragmatic survivalists while also having a sense of honor for their comrades not because they are gritty and savage warriors. Obviously the Horde does not always live up to the themes(especially in bfa) but people like what they like nonetheless.
I honestly blame a lot of the horde leaders turning into villians on Christie Golden. Almost every single time I saw her write anything about the Horde and the Alliance it seemed to revolve around the Horde doing something bad, and the how Alliance were the noble victims.
It’s what the Horde WAS before Asian players cried that all the Horde races were monsters and we ended up with Horde Elves in TBC.
In WC3, the Horde was absolutely the “savage warrior” side.
We literally have the Devs who worked on TBC telling us that Blood Elves ended up on the Horde purely for Cosmetic reasons, not because they actually fit thematically. Which is why a very large subset of Horde players back in 2006/2007 hated the idea of Elves in the Horde.
The entire premise of this post is just wrong. Each expansion provided unique questing experience for both Horde and Alliance.
In WoD Alliance had to aid the Draenei, they get to meet new faces and learn extra lore on their playable race. Horde on the other hand had to fight the Oldschool big names.
It’s as if we had alternative Azeroth, and we had to take down every human Kingdom.
and the only friendly faction is the hidden in the mountains Alterac.
That’s WoD for the Horde. This expansion was orc heavy, but to pretend that Alliance didn’t get alternative experience is just flat out wrong. In fact I believe WoD achieved perfect 50/50 split when it comes to mirrored content.
In Legion Alliance didn’t have to interact with Sylvanas, only Horde did. The only Zone that was split when it comes to separate experience was in Stormheim. Most of Order Halls were Alliance heavy when it comes to the roster, lore and artifacts, and faction. Even the Shaman Order Hall - which you’d believe should be the most Horde thematic was mostly run by Space goats and Dwarves, and Nobundo was the main face, even when Muln was the one who created Earthen Ring Organisation.
Then we had to deal with questing in Val’Sharah that was all about Tyrande and Malfurion and Ysera… Then we had Argus patch, which was about How Draenei led the charge against the Legion, and on the frontline there were Alliance heroes. While Horde was reduced to Liadrin standing in Vindicaar basement. Horde didn’t even get robocat equivalent for a major content patch.
Oh and the Horde lost Vol’Jin. Which cased plenty of problems afterwards.
As for BfA. Alliance still had entire Kul’Tiras to quest in, they had their own heroes, their own subfactions. Developers made more CGI cinematics sure, but nobody asked for them. and the more they did them (Old Soldier should be fine, and last one, or to give Alliance at least one on their own).
But cienematics are hardly a content in game.
In Shadowlands, we still were carried by the nose of the likes of Tyrande, Jaina, Anduin.
So you say that it is fine that Alliance gets all the story, while Horde got none, becuase Sylvanas cinematics.
The issue here is the Horde is made up of races that, well, tend to be the bad guys in Tolkein/Narnia-esque fantasy as well as classic DnD monsters. The other part is that makes the Alliance the classic "good guy: races (even though Worgen and Dark Iron Dwarves could be attibuted to more evil allinged races if they were not flanderized for the Alliance(. As such we have those that rolled Horde to be the villain and alliance to be the hero, when the best writing would have them, via individual characters, run the gamut between the 2.
If you want connection to the void, Horde already has AU Shadowmoon clan. They studied the void in WoD.
And I don’t think you really need a big established champions to make it work. New names that are simply capable and have flexible enough skills should just be enough.
I think everyone remembers fondly questing in Jade forest, where we had bunch of not so big NPCs but adventures with them were fun and memorable.
